TUTORS ; E.D.

TWELVE: BRIDGES

Aphrodite: come over hades isnt home
Ethan: i have homework :( sorry aph
Ethan: rain check?
Ethan: or you can come over... i can talk n work
Aphrodite: that was a test and you FAILED
Aphrodite: cant believe you missed that
Ethan: a... test?
Ethan: what kinda test
Aphrodite: when a girl says she's home alone you go dummy
Aphrodite: well only go for me now bc im your girl
Ethan: you're my girl? :)
Aphrodite: omg you're hopeless. luckily i already like you.
Aphrodite: yes im ur girl we're dating ethan
Ethan: okay but i really have a lot of homework, can you come over in a couple hours?
Aphrodite: fine fine. have fun baby

Ethan grins at his phone before he sets it down, opening up his history textbook instead. He would much rather spend his time with Aphrodite, but if he didn't get this done today he'd have to deal with a lecture from his teacher tomorrow--so he decided to postpone spending time with her for just a couple of hours.

At home, Aphrodite sits on the floor sorting through papers on the living room coffee table. If Ethan was busy for a few hours, she could at least be productive and clean up a bit. Hades was out with a few friends at the skate-park, and would be all afternoon most likely.

After some time, which feels like years to Aphrodite, her phone rings. She hopes it's Ethan, saving her from singing badly to pop music and cleaning, but it's not. However, it is Carla wanting to hangout.

Taking the opportunity to get out of the house, she agrees to meet her friends down at the abandoned bridge and railway. It hadn't been used in years, other than for kids to climb and jump off to swim in the water below in summers. It was a place they met at often, because it was close but away from the main road where no one thought to check much, and no one swam in this weather.

She slips her shoes and Ethan's hoodie she'd stolen on, grabbing her keys and heading out the door. When she arrives, Carla, Joey, Grayson, and Rosa are all already there. They're sitting in the middle of the bridge, cross-legged on the train tracks.

"Aphie!" Grayson cheers, letting out a puff of thick smoke. "Nice of you to fuckin' join us."

"I only got called 15 minutes ago," she snorts, taking a seat directly next to him. Rosa was practically in his lap, kissing his neck--Grayson wasn't paying much attention to her. His eyes were extremely bloodshot, a sleepy smile on his face. He holds a joint in one hand and grabs snacks with the other. That meant they'd been here a while already. "Bro, you look so fuckin' high."

"Mhm. We're celebrating!" Joey interjects with a grin. He looked as stoned as Grayson. "We heard you deflowered Little Dolan. Can't believe you didn't tell us sooner."

Aphrodite rolls her eyes, deciding not to comment on his wording. She shrugs, hoping they'll drop the topic. It wasn't fair to Ethan to have that discussion without him, and he probably wouldn't like knowing Grayson told everyone.

Carla giggles though, shaking her head, "Ignore him. What really happened is these two idiots wanted to see who could inhale the longest and got themselves fucked up."

That makes a lot more sense.

"You smoking today, Aphie?" Grayson asks, offering it to her. "You rarely smoke with us anymore."

"I'll smoke. Is it a strong?"

"A little, nothin' you can't handle." Deciding she doesn't want to end up like the two boys, she doesn't smoke much.