song : maybe by alina baraz + galimatias
third person's pov :
ethan's head flies back as bri makes an incoherent joke and pal pushes her slightly, scolding her and blushing in embarrassment in the process.
nova watches from afar, her head peaking out of the corner; where the flight of stairs trailed downwards.
she watches as ethan stands up to bring pal to her feet, playfully teasing her while everyone else laughs at ethan's teasing and jokes.
the corners of his lips curl as every second passes, watching grayson who is also spitting out jokes about pal.
nova instantly smiles at the view of his bright smile and she bites her bottom lip, hoping to somehow stop her from smiling.
"you should go down there instead of just standing here and gawking at him."
nova jumps up and screeches out in shock but no one seems to hear over the blasting music on the tv from downstairs.
perla laughs immediately and clutches onto her stomach, pointing at nova.
nova rolls her eyes but still let's a smile spread across her face as she watches perla laugh even harder.
"scaring you never gets old!" perla screeches, now taking deep breaths in and out to catch her breath
"why would you do that? also, how did you get up here?"
"i ran up here to get something from grayson's room and then i saw you come out of ethan's room. you ok? you seem a bit, i don't know... overwhelmed." perla asks, tilting her head to the side to try and read nova's facial expressions
nova doesn't know how to respond to her question so she simply just shrugs her shoulders and crosses her arms across her chest, resting her back to the wall to face perla across from her.
"you'd probably feel more comfortable talking to ethan. i know he calms you down."
"no! no, no, no, no." nova quickly declines perla's suggestion
she laughs in discomfort and runs her hands through her messy ponytail, going back to her previous position and shrugs her shoulders again.
perla just stares at her with hooded eyes and furrowed eyebrows.
"you confuse the shit out of me sometimes, nova."
nova laughs softly and opens up her mouth again to say something but both of the girls head's turn towards the stairs as they hear heavy footsteps running up them.
"just hold on! i don't know what the hell happened to perla." grayson laughs, finally reaching up the flight of stairs and he pivots back as he sees his two best friends
"seems like i stepped into something... so i'm just going to-"
"no! no. i need you stay. this woman is scaring me and plus i need to help lisa with something. you talk to her. you have the dolan charm."
"what is that supposed to-"
perla quickly cuts him off as she pushes his phone against his chest and she waves both of her friends off before running down the flight of stairs.
"look who's arrived!" ethan shouts as he watches perla run down the stairs
grayson and nova laugh, shaking their heads slightly, just imagining the scene downstairs.
"did tyler tell you?"
nova's head lifts up hesitantly and her eyebrows furrow as she takes a step closer to grayson, her arms resting at her sides now.
"w-what did you tell him gray?" she whispers
"i told him to let you go. he needs someone who loves him the same way as you love-"
"sh!"
"but-"
"sh! just sh!" nova scolds him again, her hand covering grayson's mouth to prevent him from speaking
"don't say that out into the open! i-i don't wanna risk anything."
grayson smirks and wiggles his eyebrows up and down making nova pull back and laugh nervously, shaking her head and looking down at the carpeted floor.
she rolls her back onto the wall next to grayson and leans her head on his shoulder, needing any type of comfort in the moment.
"i don't know what to do gray. i'm fucking scared. i mean i'm terrified." she laughs in astonishment
"even after not seeing him for years, i still have these fucking feelings for him. i've tried anything and everything and nothing works. and looking at him everyday just pains me because we can't be what i wsnt us to be."
grayson scoops her up into his arms and she rests her head on his chest, hearing his slow heart beat. he runs his fingers through her hair, remembering how ethan once told her that calms her down when she's anxious.
she sighs in bliss and shuts her eyes as grayson rocks them back and forth, resting his chin on her head.
"well, you have to tell him now if you want to be my sister-in-law anytime soon."
"grayson." she whines against his shirt
he chuckles loudly and shakes his head, indicating it was just a joke.
"i know it might be scary but you have to let it out sooner or later nova. and if i'm being honest, you have to tell him now before it's too late."
nova lets out a deep breath and pulls back from his embrace, looking up into his hazel eyes and furrowing her eyebrows.
"why does everyone keep saying that?"
"because it's true. we can't tell you anything else, ethan has to."
