introvert | ethan dolan a.u.

V.

Ethan's POV:

"Why are you friends with him?" I asked as I looked around her room. I've never actually been in here before. It was really nice.

It was painted an olive green, with white carpeted floors. Her full sized bed had all white sheets. As you could've probably guessed, she had a big bookcase, which was completely filled.

"He's my best friend, other than Bryce. He's a good guy." She said quietly, sitting on her bed as I sat on her desk chair.

"He doesn't seem like it to me." I scoffed.

"He is. He makes sure I'm okay. He tells me things and I tell him things." She shrugged.

"Is he always like that when he's drunk?" I asked, watching as she pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Yeah. He always tries to set me up with someone. He knows that's not me, though." She sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with that." I assured her and she looked at me.

"You really think so?" She asked, almost as if she didn't believe me.

"Yeah. I have a lot of respect for that. I'd much rather have a that than a girl who just offers herself up." I nodded.

"So, you're not like Bryce?" She asked, fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

"What do you mean?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"New girl every week." She explained simply.

"No, of course not. I like girls that are completely down for me." I said and she nodded.

I may be acting calm but, on the inside I'm freaking out. She's actually holding a conversation with me. The girl who hardly ever talks, the girl that I've liked for months, is actually talking to me. An actual conversation.

I look at all the books on her shelves. I recognized some of the titles but, not all of them.

"Which is your favorite?" I asked, standing up to gaze trough the titles.

"The Great Gatsby." She said softly as I felt her stand next to me.

I look down at her and smile, even though she isn't looking at me.

"Have you read all of these?" I ask. There has to be at least a hundred books here.

"No. The top shelf is all new books." She said.

"Do you read some of them multiple times?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Yes. She does.

"Yeah. I've donated some that I've read too many times." She nodded.

"Have you found any that you don't like?" I asked, looking at her, this time she looked back up at me, then quickly looked back at the books.

"Of course." She said, slightly chuckling.

I actually found that pretty hard to believe, considering I've seen her read books from virtually every genre.

"What are you reading right now?" I asked, she picked up a book from her bedside table, handing it to me. All the Light We Cannot See.

"Have you read this one before?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Bryce bought it for me a couple days ago. He said that he saw it and thought of me and had to get it." She said, smiling to herself.

As much as Bryce can come off as an asshole, he really is a good guy and a great brother for Ashlynn. As well as their older brother, Drew.

Typically, I would never want to talk about books. With Ashlynn, I was suddenly extremely interested. She makes me wish I read, so that she would be interested in what I had to say.

I heard a noise against the door then a couple came in, sucking faces.

"Out." I said sternly, pushing them and shutting the door behind them.

"Oh gosh..." Ashlynn trailed off.

"Do you want to go back to my house, so that you can actually get some sleep?" I asked. I honestly just want to go home now but, I still want to be around Ashlynn.

"If it's okay with you?" She said, sounding like a question.

"Of course. I saw Grayson leave with some girl earlier so, you can just sleep in my bed and I'll take his. I wouldn't make you stay in his." I chuckled.

"Okay." She nodded, "I can drive, since you've been drinking."

"Sounds good." I said and we walked downstairs, after Ashlynn locked her bedroom door.

She let Bryce know she was coming with me and we made our way out to the driveway and in her car.

The car ride was pretty silent, besides me giving her the occasional direction.

As we pulled up to my house, I noticed Grayson wasn't home so, he was definitely at the girl's house. Thank God. He definitely would've tried to ruin this for me.

"I guess it's only us." I said as we walked into the house. It was pretty dark but, I didn't bother with turning on the lights, considering we're going upstairs in a minute, anyways.

My parents were working and my sister, Cameron, was away at school.

"You hungry? Thirsty?" I asked. Usually, you'd ask just to be nice but, I really want her to be comfortable. I want her to feel welcome, like this was home.

"I'm okay." She said, giving me one of her award-winning smiles. Her smile is one of those that just makes your day so much better.

I nodded my head and lead her upstairs to Gray and I's room.

"That's Grayson's bed and that's mine." I said, pointing to them.

"Thanks." She nodded and I realized we didn't grab clothes at her house for her to sleep in.

I went into Cameron's room, grabbing a pair of shorts, then came back and grabbed one of my hoodies, handing them to Ashlynn.

"You can change here. I won't look. I promise." I said and turned around, getting a pair of sweats out of my closet for myself.

"Okay." She said and I turned back around. She looks so gorgeous. She had her hair in a messy bun, her glasses placed up top of her nose.

Seeing her in my sweatshirt made me realize how badly I wanted her to be mine. I want to see her in my sweatshirts all the time. God, please let me end up with her.