"Oh, come on! Jojo Siwa is such a diva, how could you not love her?!" I yell through my scratchy throat while pointing at my tv.
"She seems like a little brat to me! And her mom's a bitch." Grayson argues.
"Gray, it's Dance Moms. All of the moms are bitches." I yawn.
"True. But Maddie Ziegler is overrated." He yawns after I do.
"That I can agree to on." I play with the fuzz on one of the couch pillows.
It goes quiet for a little bit and I lose my focus on the show. Grayson has his arm around me and I am slightly leaning into him.
I still feel a lot of tension with him. And not the sexual kind, ya nasty. It's an awkward tension. I feel upset with him still but for some reason I can't help being around him.
What's even more awkward is that he knows I am upset. He just doesn't know why.
"Tia?" Grayson asks quietly.
"Hm?" I hum.
"What's been going on?"
Here we go.
I let out a sigh and I turn to face him. His soft brown eyes are gazing into mine. How could I even stay mad at him?
"Well.. do you remember when we were at the ice cream shop, and we saw Rachel there?" I look down at my hands.
"Yeah."
"It just made me upset that- you know what, never mind. It's not a big deal anymore-"
"No, I want to know.." Grayson grabs my hand and gently rubs his thumb on my skin.
"Rachel.. She's the one who always gives me shit all the time at school. I guess it just hurt a lot seeing you hang out with her." I admit, still looking down into my lap.
"Tia, I'm really sorry. I had no idea." Grayson lifts my head up with his free hand against my cheek.
"It's fine. She's a fan of you and Ethan. You have to spend time with your fans, I completely understand that." I give him a small smile.
"Are you sure?" He asks softly.
"Of course. I support you." A wide grin grows on Grayson's face as I say that.
The smile begins to fade away as his eyes flicker from my eyes to my lips.
Oh god. What's happening?
He slowly begins to lean closer to me. Before I realized it, I was starting to lean in too. I feel his lips hovering over mine—nearly touching.
"Mommy, I want Cheetos for dinner- AAAHHHHH!" Kenzie's voice hollers after she walks through the front door which makes Grayson and I quickly pull away from each other.
"WHAT- Why are you screaming?! Is everything okay?!" My mom comes running into the house.
"They were making out!" Kenzie covers her eyes and runs away.
"WHAT?! No we were not!" I yell through my scratchy throat and stand up to chase after Kenzie.
"HEY! Before you kill your sister, do you mind telling me why you have a boy alone with you in the house? And why aren't you in school?!" My mom grabs my arm and glares at me.
"Mom, it's not what it looks like-"
"Oh really? Go say goodbye to your friend and then get in your room." She lets go of me.
"We weren't doing anything!"
"I don't care. Go do what I said."
"MOM-"
"This really is just a big misunderstanding." Grayson stands up and sticks his hands up in defense.
"You need to leave. And you are not allowed to see my daughter anymore." My mom points toward the door.
I look at Grayson with an apologetic expression. My eyes begin to fill with tears, but I force myself to not let them flow.
He gives me a weak smile and places his hand on the doorknob. "Bye.. I'm really sorry." Is all he says before leaving the house.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" I scream at my mom as the tears in my eyes finally escape and run down my cheeks.
"It's for your own good." She says with no emotion.
"MY OWN GOOD?! Mom, he is one of my best friends!" My hands find their way to my head and my fingers tangle up in my hair.
"I'M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!" She screams back. "MEN WILL RUIN YOU. THEY WILL TREAT YOU LIKE ROYALTY, BUT THEN THEY LEAVE YOU!"
"I understand that dad left us, BUT IF THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL 'PROTECTING' THEN YOU NEED TO- UGHH.." I hit the wall, stopping myself from finishing my sentence.
"I need to what?!" She gives me a cold glare.
"YOU NEED TO GIVE UP! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT, AND I DON'T NEED YOU OR YOUR HELP!" I turn around and run to my room.
I slam my bedroom door shut and begin to have a panic attack. What is happening to me? What happened to our family? Why, why, why, why, why?!
I grab a big beach bag sitting in my room and begin throwing my clothes into it. I run in my bathroom a put all of my belongings into it.
God, what am I doing?
I continue throwing random items into the bag until I feel satisfied. I pull out my phone and begin texting someone frantically.
• • •
Me: i need to stay at your place for a while. i need to get away.
