second to him | g.d.

t h r e e

third person's pov :

"you know... sometimes i don't even know how to talk to him, gray. i mean like how the hell do i tell him? do i just say, 'hi ethan. i'm madly in love with you. wanna date?'" elena rants

her choice of words make grayson cringe, with a burning sting targeted at his heart but he distracts himself by shoving a handful of fries into his mouth.

elena also grabs her burger and shoves it into her mouth, still ranting with her mouth full.

"lana, i can barely understand you." grayson chuckles, grabbing his cup and sipping on his sprite while the liquid stings him a bit as the bubbles of the carbonation become too much

he starts choking on his own spit, making elena take her cheeseburger out of her mouth.

with concerning eyes she asks, "you ok, gray?"

he nods his head quickly but a loud cough erupts from the back of his throat and he ushers her to wait, holding up a finger while he holds onto his stomach and rolls over the booth's fluffy padding.

"you fuckin scared me gray, stop playing around." she pouts, pushing her water cup towards his direction

his hand involuntary reaches out for the cold liquid and he breaths a sigh of relief as he gulps down the refreshing beverage.

"you may or may not have just saved my life." grayson breaths out, setting the glass back down staring at her with wide eyes

"stop being so dramatic." she chuckles, dropping her head to stare at her lap; a habit grayson picked up on that she does when she's nervous

grayson chuckles and stares at the ruby, red earrings that are placed on her tan ears.

elena notices his stare and her hand reaches for her earlobe, blushing as she realizes why he was staring.

"i've worn them everyday ever since you gave them to me." she grins, sliding her hands underneath her thighs, while leaning back and forth

another habit of her's, when she's nervous.

"i noticed." grayson smiles, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling nervously

"hey, thank you for being here. i'm sorry, i'm probably really annoying when i call you at two in the morning and-"

"hey, hey. you could never be annoying to me, lana. you're my best friend, it's my duty to be there for you." grayson smiles, leaning over to grab her hand

he ignores the butterflies he feels in his stomach as he rubs the back of her hand with his thumb and she shudders as she feels the surprise skin-to-skin contact between the two of them.

"but hey, who do you have a crush on?" elena asks, quirking her eyebrows up and grinning widely

"psh, no one." he quickly says, taking another sip of his sprite while chewing and biting down on the straw nervously

elena takes a notice of his actions and she smirks, bringing her free hand to cup her chin.

"hm... seems like this girl really has you worked up." she chuckles

"can we talk about something else?" grayson sighs

"i'm sorry. i didn't mean to make you upset or uncomfo-"

"you know, you say sorry too much lana. it's ok. i just... i know she won't ever feel the same way back."

"any girl who doesn't say yes to you is a fucking idiot. i mean, c'mon! you're the whole package! no wonder every girl is wrapped around your finger. i mean i can't even walk down the hall in peace because of the daggering eyes every girl sends me, since they know i'm best friends with you." elena praises

grayson's cheeks turn a deep, dark red and he intertwines both of their hands, him still rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"thank you, lana. it means a lot."

—

"why are you smiling so much?" sam cringes

aaron scoffs and shoves sam, whispering a "what the fuck is wrong with you?," obviously disappointed by his choice of words

"what?! i'm just curious! this boy is always so pissy unless elena is around."

"you're dead." aaron quietly laughs as he watches grayson lean over the couch for a pillow, tossing it in sam's direction

"aye, tell me i'm wrong!"

"you're not."

sam and aaron's eyes widen in shock but grayson holds a straight expression, jaw clenched with his fingers curling into a fist that looks like it's ready to punch anything and anyone that comes in his view.

"looky look, mister grant has time for his friends after spending his time with hannah." sam pouts

jesus that boy really has no filter, does he?

"ok, you know what? at this point you're asking for a death sentence and i won't even help when you're getting clocked, man." aaron chuckles in disbelief, stuffing a handful of popcorn into his mouth

"nah, he's right though. hannah's been following me around everywhere. she was obviously acting protective when elena came around but i didn't say anything about it." ethan replies swiftly, oblivious to everyone's widening eyes at the thought of hannah being jealous of their elena. "where is lannie anyway?"

lannie.

his childhood nickname for elena that grayson curses at himself for not coming up with it sooner because it's the cutest fucking nickname he's ever heard and he hates to admit it.

"she went home. said simantha called her and yelled at her for forgetting that her cousins were visiting this weekend." grayson responds bitterly

ethan nods his head but his eyes soften as he sees grayson's body language.

"you ok gray? you're so stiff."

"mhm, 'm fine."

ethan simply nods once again and sighs deeply, slumping into the comfort of his fluffy couch.

he was lying to himself if he didn't admit he missed grayson and especially elena. i mean for god's sake, hannah grabbed ethan by the ear any chance she saw him.

sure it exhausted him but he promised he'd make up for the time he's missed with his two best friends.

just hope's he remembers.