when in rome | ethan

thirty two

ding

"ouuu! who's that from? ethan possibly? i saw the news." mia jokes, laughing as we sat in a booth at a small restaurant.

i check my phone, seeing a text message from ethan. it's a video attachment. i click on it, showing mia. "it's just a video of andi." i explain. "she likes making ethan film her doing stuff so i can see when i'm too busy to be there in person." i chuckled.

"you're gonna be getting lots of those in rome." mia says, chuckling. "you three remind me of a little family. it's cute." she states.

i blushed. "yeahhh, it is pretty cute. but i don't know about it."

"why not? i know you love him. and i know you love andi." mia explains. "what's stopping you?"

"when he was drunk, he said he missed angela, his ex. andi's mom." a tiny gasp escapes her lips. "when he was sober the next morning, he said he didn't want to get back with her. but... he couldn't even come up with a reason as to why."

"wow, and i thought he was completely over her." mia states, leaning her head on her hand; her elbow on the table.

"it only convinced me that he still wants to go back to her but doesn't want to hurt my feelings knowing that i love him and andi."

"wow, cass. i don't know what to say." she says, a sad look on her face. "the best advice i can give is to cherish the moments you have with them now before you leave for rome. because even if you know he's still stuck up on angela, being his friend and being close with andi won't hurt."

i nodded, a small smile on my face. "thanks, mia. your advice never fails."

WHEN IN ROME

"cassandra? where are you headed?" my mom shouts from the kitchen as i grab my keys from the key holder next to the door.

"oh, um. it's andi's birthday today. she's celebrating at a cool new place down the street. it's like a chuck e. cheese, but better." i explain.

my mom walks into the living room, a confused expression on her face. "you're going out to party with a bunch of five year olds?" she questions.

i laugh, shaking my head. "well, andi's six now so... and besides she is literally my best friend. plus, ethan, grayson and andrea will be there."

she nods, her hands on her hips. "have fun. don't party too hard." she winks, leaving the living room to go back to the kitchen.

i chuckled, leaving the house and walking to my car. andi has been talking about her birthday for months. ethan made sure to listen carefully every time so he knew what to do for her.

occasionally, i'd listen too. and i'm glad i did, because i knew the perfect gift to get her, for she'd given subtle hints about it here and there.

knowing this was probably going to be the last birthday of hers that i'll be attending in a while, i think my gift suits the occasion pretty well.

when i pull up to the place, i already see many children walking into the building. i carry the small box containing the gift, and i prepare to walk in. it looked busy, considering it was new.

immediately i spot andi and her family and friends. they sit at the birthday area, many people, probably school friends and moms attend. and there was so much attention on andi. i bet she felt like a princess.

"hey cass!" a voice from besides me says.

"oh, hey andrea." i always see her with either grayson or millie. she was never alone. but now she was. "where's grayson and millie?"