i think it's love | ethma

eighteen

"That took you two a while," Sophia remarks when they returned.

Emma fixes her mother with a benign, apologetic smile, and when Sophia doesn't smile back right away, she does a mental catalogue of her appearance. She's combed her hair out, fixed her make-up, smoothed down her clothes. She's checked; she looks fine. There's no way to possibly discern that Ethan had brought her to climax with his tongue in about five seconds and then they both did when he fucked her on that same freezer lid right after.

It was a very quick quickie. It wasn't that long.

Ethan, sitting down beside her looking equally calm, sets the pie and the ice cream on the table. "Emma couldn't find the ice cream in the freezer, so I went down there," Emma hides her slightly hysterical giggle by drinking some water hastily, "and it was in the bottom, under all the other stuff. Sorry, Sophia." He doesn't sound repentant at all.

"Strange," Dayton says, looking vaguely amused for some reason. "I could have sworn it was right on top. Oh well," he said, "let's dig in."

"Dig in," Ethan echoes with a straight face, and then the bastard winks at her and— oh, she's done, absolutely done.

Dessert and coffee pass by uneventfully, but Emma's smile for the rest of the evening is entirely natural.

-

Emma graduates on a sunny spring day with the rest of her peers.

She reuses a certain shimmery green dress under her graduation gown, and when the gown comes off later in the afternoon, Ethan eyes skate over her figure appreciatively.

"You look beautiful," he tells her quietly when they're left alone for a brief moment.

"I thought you said this colour looks like vomit," she laughs, calling up memories of a dinner from a very long time ago.

He smiles, humoring her. "Yeah, but today you actually chose to wear it, didn't you?" When she nods, he says, "So it looks fucking brilliant."

She leaves for college that fall. It's tearful goodbyes to her friends and family, even though she promises to drive down on weekends.

She and Ethan continue their relationship long distance, and it's hard sometimes but it works because they know it won't be for too long and because— well— she kind of loves him. And when they reunite and he hugs her, arms tight around her middle and breathing almost dazedly into her shoulder as if he can't believe she's in front of him, she knows it's worth it.

So suck it, Sydney.

Ethan goes on to do his Master's at a different college, near Emma's. So it's easier.

When Grayson graduates, they finally go public with their relationship. They tell everyone that they grew closer at college, which led into their attraction to each other. Sophia takes it relatively well, but she probably thinks it'll be a short term thing if the thinning of her lips is any indication. Emma kind of understands; her mother doesn't think anyone will be good enough for her daughter. Dayton looks unsurprised. Grayson laughs and claps his hands together and sings, "I've been waiting for this!"

Sydney texts her regards— they still talk now and then, and Sydney is happy with her long-time girlfriend Carly that she met in college. Emma's glad it worked out for her. Mark doesn't say much at all besides a "happy for you guys." Amanda smacks Will on the arm and tells him he owes her twenty bucks. The rest of their group of friends hoots about it and Olivia proceeds to take to social media so that everyone and their dog will know that Ethan Dolan and Emma Chamberlain, once rivals, enemies, siblings by social standards, are now dating years later.

No one will ever know about their attraction to each other when they lived under the same roof, and that's fine with Emma.

next chapter will  be the last one i think :(