Desperately Hopeful | Grethan

VI

"Hey, Cam. Is mom home?" Ethan asked his sister as soon as she opened the door.

"Uh, yeah, she's in the kitchen. Who's this?" She asked, scanning Grayson up and down. He held his hand out for Cameron to shake.

"Grayson Bailey, Ethan's boyfriend." Grayson smiled confidently. Cameron smiled back.

"Cameron Dolan, Ethan's sister." Cam laughed and called their mom to the door.

"What's going on?" Lisa asked.

"I was wondering if I could go over to Grayson's place for a little while. It's just down the street." Ethan explained. Grayson smiled his smile.

"Yeah, of course. Just be back by no later than 10:30." Lisa said and smiled at the boys before going back in the house.

"She's working on emails, which would explain why she's so abrupt. Have fun, E." Cameron chortled and closed the door.

"I hope you didn't mind me introducing myself as your boyfriend." Grayson chuckled as they walked across the street to his home.

"It's fine, I came out to them a little over a year ago." Ethan said, keeping his eyes off of Grayson. That was only partially true. He'd only come out to Cameron. His mother seemed to never have time for Ethan to come out to her.

"Good, because that's what people will call me from now on. 'Grayson' is out of the picture." Grayson joked, making Ethan giggle. He opened his front door. "My dad isn't home right now, and my mom and brother live in an apartment across town, so you don't have to worry about that. Make yourself comfortable." Grayson explained, kicking his shoes off as soon as they hit the hardwood floor. Ethan repeated this process, neater though, and set his backpack on top of his shoes. Grayson plopped himself on the couch, patting the cushion next to him. Ethan reluctantly slumped his way over to Grayson, sitting himself where Grayson wanted him to. "Say something before I make you."

"What could you possibly do that would make me speak up?" Ethan tested Grayson curiously.

"Maybe... this." Grayson immediately began tickling the smaller boy on his sides.

"Grayson! Grayson no! Stop!" Ethan giggled and snorted as Grayson tasered his sides. "Grayson!" Grayson laughed, stopped tickling Ethan, and pulled him into his side.

"Got you to talk, didn't it? Although, I do enjoy it when you say my name. Especially when your little voice cracks."

"Shut up, that's not my fault." Ethan huffed, resting his head on Grayson's shoulder.

"Grayson?" Ethan's voice broke the silence between them. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, anything."

"Do you, um... did you used to... do things with girls?"

Grayson glared at Ethan with puzzled look on his face and shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

"Well um... Jordan said that you got a lot of... girls"

"Let me stop you right there. I have never been romantically involved with anyone, nor have I been physically involved with anyone like that. He was just messing with your head, Eth. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I promise. If I'm to be quite honest, I've never been romantically affected by any guy before until that day I saw you glance at me for the first time." Grayson shrugged.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You said that wasn't the first time you'd caught me."

"It wasn't. I've noticed since the beginning of this school year, Ethan. You're not very subtle when it comes to stealing looks at your crush."

"Well I'm sorry if I've never liked anyone but you. I'm not exactly experienced in that sort of thing." Ethan thought of times when they were younger and actually talked to one another.

"Well gosh. How long have you liked me, E?"

"Since I met you." Ethan whispered.

"It's been that long? And you never even talked to me? Well now I'm just offended." Grayson huffed in an overdramatic tone.

"I was too scared. When you stopped talking to me and started talking to the popular kids, I didn't just want to butt in. You're good with people, I'm not." Ethan sighed heavily. Grayson looked down sadly at his baby, intertwining their hands.

"You should have butt in because then maybe I would have discovered my feelings for you earlier on. I knew I wasn't attracted to girls for the longest time, but then I also wasn't attracted to any guys until your cute little eyes stared at me from across the cafeteria." This made Ethan smile. He liked it when Grayson called him cute. "I'm really excited to see where this goes."

"Really?"

"Of course. Now, as much as I'd love to just lay here with you in my arms, we gotta do something to distract me from wanting to eat you up." Grayson chuckled and grabbed a remote from the side table, turning the tv on in front of them.

A weight had been lifted off of Ethan's heavy shoulders. That had been bothering him since the words came out of Jordan's mouth.

This is all I've ever wanted, so why am I so hesitant about it? I've had a crush on this guy for the past four years, and now that I'm with him, I can barely speak to him without fear of the worst. He's so much different than I expected, but I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

Ethan's thoughts were infecting his brain as he rested his head on Grayson's shoulder.

Grayson would flip through random channels, trying to find something to keep Ethan from falling asleep. He didn't know how to entertain him. He's not exactly experienced in relationships. Or Ethan for that matter. Grayson was just lucky enough to have Ethan in his arms, let alone be his altogether. He just wanted to kiss him and cuddle up with him for all eternity.

"Baby boy, don't fall asleep just yet, it's barely even 7:00." Grayson spoke softly into Ethan's ear. His eyes were heavy, but he didn't want to be a bad house guest and fall asleep on Grayson. "I'm gonna order some food to keep you awake. Pineapple pizza?" Ethan nodded.

After a few hours of just conversing and sharing different stories and eating pizza, Ethan finally fell asleep on Grayson's shoulder. Grayson didn't want to wake him, but he didn't want him to be uncomfortable. He picked Ethan's small body up and carried him to his room, laying him on his bed and covering him with his comforter. He kissed his head and slowly slid his phone out of his pocket. Luckily for him, Ethan didn't have a passcode on his phone, so he went to Ethan's contacts and clicked on his mom.

"Hey Ethan, what's up?" Lisa asked.

"Actually, it's Grayson, Mrs. Dolan. Ethan fell asleep on the couch, and I didn't want to wake him, so is it okay if I just send him home tomorrow? He's passed out." Grayson explained.

"Uh, sure, I guess. But make sure you don't wake him. He gets grumpy." Lisa giggled.

"Alright, thank you. I'll take good care of him. Bye." Grayson plugged Ethan's phone into a charger and sat it on his nightstand before sitting on the edge of his bed, marveling over Ethan as he slept. The way he curled up like a kitten, his chest slowly moving up and down with his silent breaths.

"Sleep well, baby boy."