Rough Heart | ethan dolan

[seventeen - revealing & talking]

"Well, at least we know he's home safe now. Robert and I were going to go out to eat, but I suppose I should stay in tonight-"

"No, mom! Go out, please! Go have fun, don't worry about us. Jessica and I will take care of Ethan, we promise."

I nod, agreeing with Grayson.

"Thank you, Grayson, but it would be selfish of me to leave at a time like this."

"Mom, it's selfish of Ethan to run off. Don't let him ruin your dinner plans! Please go," he begs his mother.

Anne looks at me with worried eyes.

"Yes, you deserve a night out!" I chime in.

Anne smiles from ear to ear.

"Well, alright. As long as you promise you'll take care of Ethan."

"We will, now go get ready!"

"Okay, okay. Jessica, feel free to stay here as long as you would like. Grayson, text me if you need anything."

I smile at Anne as she excitedly disappears down one of the many hallways in this house. I'm more than glad she'll get to have a night out with Robert. She deserves it, and I'm sure he makes her very happy.

"Why didn't you tell her we found him at the graveyard?" I whisper to Grayson.

He shrugs.

"I don't know, it's one less thing for her to worry about. It was easier to just say he was at the mall, I guess."

I admire how much Grayson tries to protect his mother. If he didn't, I don't know how Anne would hold up.

Grayson seems to be the glue that is holding this family together.

"I guess I'm going to go and try to talk to Ethan," I decide.

"Good luck," Grayson says before chuckling slightly. I lightly hit him on the shoulder, which only urges him to chuckle harder.

"This isn't funny!" I remind him.

"You're right. I'll see you in a little bit, if you make it out alive."

"Grayson!" I hit him again.

"Sorry, only trying to lighten up the mood."

I continue to laugh lightly as I begin to walk up the stairs. My laughter soon ceases, along with whatever good was left in my mood, as I finally reach Ethan's bedroom door.

I am too afraid to knock. He probably doesn't even want to talk to me after what happened.

I literally jump back when the door swings open, revealing a shirtless Ethan. He looks up from the floor to meet my eyes, and my heart flutters. He is so beautiful, it hurts. I can tell he has been working out a lot, which literally makes me want to fall down onto the ground right in front of us.

How the hell does this boy manage to look so incredibly hot...

"I didn't mean to scare you." His low, deep voice is quiet and raspy, making me melt even more.

"It's okay. I just thought we should talk."

He leans against the doorframe and laughs.

"About what, Jess?"

"About what happened," I say as if he should already know.

He continues to laugh, which elicits a sudden anger within me. How can he stand there and not take this seriously?

"Ethan, please?"

He takes a step closer to me, causing me to hold my breath. His face is inches away from mine, and I can feel heart beat accelerate.

"I'd rather not, princess."

He glances down at my lips before completely backing away and stepping back over into his bedroom. He attempts to shut the door behind him, but I surprise myself when I find my hand on the middle of the door, stopping it from closing.

"Well, you know what! We're going to talk about it, whether you like it or not, princess. It's not always all about you!" I am literally shocked by my own words.

And did I just call Ethan... Princess? He's literally driving me crazy.

I barge right past him into his room and walk over to his desk. My heart is beating out of my chest as I sit down in his desk chair and cross my arms over my chest. What the hell am I doing?

Ethan turns around to face me from across the room. He has a smug look plastered across his face and I try my hardest to not find it attractive.

Damn him for being so hot.

He paces over to his bed and sits on the side of it, facing me. I watch closely as he just simply smirks at me. It's like he knows he's taunting me.

"I'm sorry I didn't say it back, alright? I was just so surprised because you don't usually act like you even like me, and I just felt like it came out of nowhere." I confess.

Ethan nods before looking down at the floor. It takes everything in me not to continue staring at his bare torso.

It feels as if it is silent forever, but I am relieved when Ethan finally speaks.

"I am the one who should be saying sorry, Jess."

My eyes involuntarily widen as he continues. Did he just say that?

"I don't do this whole, dating thing. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I just hook up with different girls and then drop them. They don't mean anything to me."

His words sting, but I continue to listen anyways.

"But you're different. I want to be something more with you, but I don't know how. I don't know how to date, Jess, and I'm sorry. You deserve better than that, and you deserve better than me."

His words break my heart but make it warm at the same time. How could he be so clueless?

"I guess I thought if I told you that I loved you that it would make you want me, but like I said, I have no idea how any of this works. I am sorry."

It's crazy how Ethan acts all big and bad, but really, he's just like Grayson, in a way.

"Ethan, it's okay. I don't expect you to know everything, I know that you don't really do this. And you don't have to tell me you love me for me to want you, either." I blush at my last words and look down at the ground. I can't have him making fun of me for that, I won't be able to take it.

"Come here."

I glance up to see Ethan holding his arms out, and I suddenly become very excited. I slowly stand up from the chair and walk over to him.

Still sitting on the bed, he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head on my stomach as I stand between his legs. He holds me tight and I suddenly forget every reason I was angry at him. His cheek is warm against my stomach and he pulls me even closer to him.

"I want to be with you, Jess." He says against my chest.

"You'll just have to take control on the whole relationship thing, that is, if you want to be with me too."

He pulls his head away and looks up at me.

I laugh slightly.

"Of course I do."

He smiles before diving his head back into my stomach again, this time rubbing it around, causing us both to laugh. Before I know it, he picks me up and places me next to him on the bed.

He hovers over to me and leans his forehead against mine. I feel his deep, quick breaths against my lips.

My heart almost stops as he closes the distance between us and kisses me harder than he ever has before.

"Thanks for never giving up on me, Jess." He whispers in-between kisses.

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