Paparazzi//Grayson Hawthorne

Chapter Twelve

I don't eat breakfast, claiming that I'm just not hungry.

I've never eaten much. I always told Libby I ate at practice because I knew we couldn't be spending a bunch of money on food.

Same with my mom, but she never took much notice of me not eating, so she never questioned it.

Grayson is giving me a tour of the place, showing me random bits and pieces and some secret passageways.

But he's holding my hand the whole time, "This is the gym. We have a basketball court, racquetball court, full rock climbing wall, dance room, and gym" He smiles down at me as I look around. The room is shaped in an L, so I can't see everything but holy shit.

"Holy. Shit," I let amazement fill my voice.

Grayson lets out a laugh, smiling down at me."So I assume you like sports?" He asks, his brows lifting as a smirk plays on his lips.

We sit down on a bench just off to the side.

"Yeah, god yeah, I've done sport all my life" I let out a chuckle as the words left my mouth.

"Which ones?" Grayson asks, urging me further into my life.

"I did dance since I can remember, cheerleading I started when I got to high school, I also played soccer and basketball basically religiously, I played volleyball for a bit in middle school, and I did track for a bit in high school" I smile a small, shy smile as his smirk grows.

"You did all that? But Avery's records show she never did sports" Grayson's brows furrowed, confused as to why they had been so different in their interests.

"You went through Avery's records?" I quickly ask. He shrugs slightly, "I just wanted to know her school history" He quickly speaks, his voice on the edge of becoming defensive.

"But yes, I did all of that along with other extracurricular, we didn't have to, and when I was young, my dad would pay for my dance lessons, but as I got older, I just started working there instead of having to pay," I quickly speak.

"Why? Why did you do all of that? I mean, I'm sure you enjoy a lot of them, but there is no way you could enjoy everything that you do," He says quickly.

I shrug this time, "I wanted to be noticed" They are only six words, but I've never said them out loud before, not to my mom or my sisters, not to anyone. "What do you mean you wanted to be noticed? I'm sure everyone noticed you, you're undeniably here and present," Grayson quickly says.

"But no one noticed me, Gray. My mom was always noticing Avery and giving her attention, while my dad was never around. Avery was always roped into my mom's games, so no one noticed me, and sure, I didn't like any of the attention I got; in fact, I hated the attention I got, but I tried everything to be noticed. From sports to ap classes, to instruments, to theatre club, I did everything I could, but she died, and then it became Avery, Libby, Drake, and I, but they never really noticed me either, apart from Drake, but he never noticed the good things" I hear my voice waver slightly as I finish talking, gesturing towards my face once more. 

Grayson's eyes soften. Great, now he's pitying me. 

"Don't you dare give me one of those looks, Grayson, I'm okay, and I'm perfectly okay with the lack of noticing I got growing up. It didn't affect me as negatively as people would think," I smile up at him before standing again, grabbing his hand gently once more.

"Now I heard there is a bowling alley" I smile widely. I always loved bowling growing up. I'm not the best at it, but I'm also not the worst.

"It's only four lanes," Grayson shrugs as we walk toward another room, "That's four lanes to play in" I smile forward at him before I start walking faster.

He notices I'm walking faster before he quickens his pace, turning into a run. I'm running next to him, laughing as our hands are wrapped together.

He's laughing as well. I'm making this boy smile and laugh. I'm making him run through halls just to get to a bowling alley.

"Here we are," Grayson breathes heavily as we make it to the room. He quickly pushes open the doors and places his arms behind his head, trying to breathe easier.

"You're actually not meant to do that" my voice is quiet as I suppress a small laugh. He looks at me as though I'm crazy.

"What do you mean? We're always told to do this" He laughs lightly as he gestures to himself.

"If you stand like that, you're putting your lungs into a hyper-inflated state. It's actually making it harder for your body to take in more air" I smile widely at the fact.

He gives me a confused look before standing normally again, quickly making his way towards the bowling. He puts in his initial, GDH, as I put in mine, AMG suddenly, and a message pops up on the screen as we press play.

Welcome to Hawthorne House, Ashlyn Maeve Grambs

"Weird" I let out a small laugh as Grayson looked just as confused as I was.

We played a few rounds, I won the first one, but Grayson won the second.

"Come on. You've gotta miss this one, no way you're winning," I laugh as he gets ready to bowl, hitting a strike, causing him to win.

"In your face Ash, I could beat you any time of day" He laughs as he cheers slightly.

"Well done, Gray, you managed to beat me twice," I laugh as I congratulate him, standing and walking towards him slightly.

I see him smile widely as I walk closer, laughing with him.

"Congratulations," I laugh once more before he brings me into a gentle hug. I feel warm and safe when he hugs me.

I gently reach my arms around him to hug him back. I can hear his heart beating slightly faster as he continues to laugh.

He pulls away, a smile still left on his face, "So what else is there to do around here?" I ask him as we turn toward the door quickly.

There, in the doorway, leaning against the entrance, is Nash. He's smiling at the two of us before he kicks off of the wall.

I look up at Grayson quickly, his face is stone once more, and his smile disappears almost as quickly as it had formed earlier. I feel myself frown as he steps away from me.

"I was just trying to find you. Your sister was wondering where you were, she just hasn't seen you since this morning, so she was worried" Nash gestures his head toward me.

"Well, can you tell her I'm okay, please? Grayson has just been showing me around" I smile a small smile towards him.

[Okay, but Grayson being happy owns my heart<3]