Shooting Stars ( Crankgameplays x reader )

9 ~Familiarity~

Please listen to the song while reading. I think you'll enjoy it.

Ethan POV:

Standing in front of my dresser, I was trying to pick out an outfit for the day. Nothing was seeming appropriate for a casual outing when I found my grey hoodie, black heavy coat, black 'i fear' shirt, red jeans, and grey sneakers I decided it would be good enough. I got dressed as fast as I could without looking messy, brushed my teeth, grabbed my beanie and glasses since I didn't want to wear contacts for the day, and went out my front door. Thankfully I had gotten a shower and cleaned the house last night otherwise I would've wasted more time before picking Y/n up.

Thanks to Mark's genius plan, the three of us weren't actually strangers anymore. I mean yes we didn't have to worry about her coming and killing us in the middle of the night, but at least it wouldn't be overbearingly awkward having her stay at my place. Just awkward enough I suppose.

The ride over to the hospital was long and boring. Even the radio stations we're playing slow songs that didn't fit the mood. So, I just turned it off and tried my hardest to focus on not going over the speed limit. I don't know why I was so excited to see her. Maybe it was having someone new in the house so it wouldn't be so goddamn quiet anymore. After Mika, really the only sound in the house was Spencer's nails on the hard wood and my occasional loud recording session. Maybe...just maybe...she'll stick around.

Arriving at the hospital, I parked my car and walked inside. It's then that I noticed just how many people were going home today. There was a older woman who still looked a bit sickly, but managed fine on her own with walking. Another younger woman that was crying softly as she was leaving, yet she had the biggest smile on her face. The one who stood out to me the most was a man...who didn't have legs.

He was standing there with was I presumed was his family, both of his legs were replaced by prosthetics, but even then he looked incredibly intimidating. Looking over at me, he started making his way over. Oh shit, I thought to myself. What the hell is this guy gonna do.

Once the man got right in front of me, he...stuck out his hand to shake it. I stared at him widely before grabbing his hand. "Good grip kid," he chuckled. "I'm Fred, my friends call me Freddie. You must be the one picking up little Y/n." I nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm Ethan. It's nice to meet you Fred."

Now that I wasn't close to shitting my pants, I actually got a good look at Fred. He was close to six feet tall, his black undercut hair had been slicked back for the occasion of being released, in all honesty, he looked almost like Mark with his size, but more or less like Freddie Mercury if I'm being totally real. He was basically a reincarnation of him.

Fred had been still holding my hand when he pulled my closer and whispered into my ear. "You better take good care of Y/n you hear me? She's as kind as this world can get. Yes, she keeps to herself but you just have to try and break her out of her shell. Y/n is worth every second of your time, that I can promise." At that, he let go of my hand, pat my shoulder, and walked back to his family that shortly left afterwards.

Finally gathering all my thoughts, I heaved them all up to Y/n's floor, put myself together as best I could, and entered her room. She looked absolutely beautiful. Her shirt was covered in intricate patterns of vines while her jeans were plain enough to not distract from her shirt, yet add onto the look. Even her hair was being held back by a tiny white rose barrette.  The only thing that made it all a little off was her shoes which had remnants of dried blood on them, most likely from the day she came in. Even then, I couldn't take my eyes off her.

I knocked slightly on her frame to not scare her but let her know I was there. She turned around and smiled at me. I smiled too. "Ready to go?" I asked her. She nodded happily and picked up her one suitcase. I grabbed the other and we made our way out to the car.

~~~~~

Y/n POV:

Ethan was following me out of the hospital while dragging behind my bigger suitcase that has wheels on it behind him. It seemed like he had something bothering him, but didn't want to talk about it so I didn't push him. He signed me out while talking to Lee and I said my goodbyes. He actually let me hug him which was a surprise since he wasn't that big of a hug person, but I think he knew I needed it. We waved as we walked outside and I was finally returning to normal. Well as normal as life could be without my parents and ending up living with my crush/idol.

It still hurt remembering that day, a wound that might not ever heal. I know they would want me to keep moving forward, and obviously I've been doing that, it's just different knowing I can't call my mom about my problems and ask her what to do or even sit with my day and watch tv as we fall asleep together. Life is going to be completely different without them.

Ethan must have noticed I was upset as he slowed down from in front of me and waited for me to catch up. When I got up to him, he put his arm around my shoulder and gave me what was most likely the biggest smile he could muster. I couldn't help but smile too. In person or not, he seemed to be one of the only people who could bring me back from the edge.

Linked together we walked over to Ethan's car, put my stuff in his trunk, he helped me get into the car, and went on our way. "So, I didn't know how you were with plane rides and Thomas told us yesterday that you wouldn't be able to go on one for a while with your condition. I hope you don't mind a road trip." "Actually, I've never been on one..."

Ethan turned towards me as his jaw dropped. "You've never been on a road trip?!" Shaking my head, he smiled and turned on the car. "Well, first time for everything huh?"

We laughed together for a while as we listened to music, ate lots of snacks, played some 'road games', and just talked at points. Nothing too serious, mostly small talk. I wanted to get more personal, but I understood. I was still basically a stranger. Maybe that would change soon enough.

As we pulled back onto the highway after a quick (favorite fast food restaurant)s stop, I felt my eyes become heavy and leaned back in my chair. Ethan was still singing "I'll Be Home For Christmas". His voice was so serine and calming, I couldn't help but gently drift off into sleep. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was normal.