Stereotyping ~ e.d.

9

Ethan

"Why are you here exactly?" Grayson ask with furrowed eyebrows as he releases his seatbelt with a faint click. I let out a dry chuckle. "Wow. Glad to know that you enjoy me being here." I say sarcastically as I roll my eyes. "No no no. It's just you like never come to these things." He shrugs slightly as he looks up at the crowded house. I shake my head as I take off my own seatbelt.

"First time for everything right?" I ask as I open my car door and step out. I close the door softly as I take in the sight before me. When I say this place is crowded, I mean it. People are spewing from the elaborate house.

People aren't the only things littering the lawn. There's trash everywhere. Cassie probably doesn't care considering she probably has a maid to clean it for her.

I let out a soft sigh as I get a whiff of alcohol and maybe some weed as a couple guys walk up to the car and give Grayson a "manly" hug.

I guess I'm on my own. No one here wants to hang with me. Not even my own twin brother. I swear the last time he wanted to hang with me was when we were in the fucking womb.

I shove my hands into my dark jacket pockets as I approach the house. I'm half tempted to find Cassie. She did invite me so maybe she's actually looking for me. Eh who am I kidding? She probably just wanted as many people to show up as possible so she invited me because I'd be one extra person.

The house is filled with an immense amount of noise. Jesus Christ, no wonder I never came to this shit. I doubt I have any eardrums in the morning.

There's different conversations happening everywhere while music is blaring. Not to mention the drunk jocks playing beer pong that feel the need to scream every time they make a shot.

"Hey! You're the photography guy." Some weird guy with a red cup perched in his hand says. I can definitely tell he's had a little too much to drink. "Uh yeah. I guess that's me." I chuckle uncomfortably. "You take some pretty good pictures man. How come I never see you at these type of things?" He slurs. "Uh I guess it's not really my setting." I shrug slightly.

"Ethan!" I hear a familiar voice shout. I turn to see Cassie. I smile as I see her. I really can't help it.

She's wearing a tight crop top with some black jeans that have holes in the knees. "You came!" She shouts as she gives me a sloppy hug. She's definitely drank too much.

"Uh yeah. I told you I would." I chuckle nervously. "Come." She says quickly as she pulls me to the kitchen.

On the island there are several types of alcohol scattered around. "Take your pick." She hiccups. "I'll uh just take a beer." I murmur. One beer won't hurt I guess. Plus I need to loosen up. I can't be this uptight around her. I probably seem like a true loser.

She hands me a cold bottle of beer with a small smile. "If you don't mind me asking, how much have you had to drink?" I ask with a small chuckle. She can't help but laugh. "Way too fucking much." She answers which makes me burst with laughter.

We seem to laugh together for no reason until a guy comes up to us. "Hey Cassie." He says quickly. I've seen him around the school. This is the guy I caught her talking about the other day.

"Hey!" She says happily. She always seemed to be happy and peppy. Perfect cheerleading attitude if you asked me.

"You maybe wanna go dance?" He asks with a small grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Oh yeah. For sure. Let's go." She smiles as she pulls him to the dance floor.

I swallow hard as I watch her disappear into the crowd. I wish it was me that was dancing with her. Maybe I should've asked her. No no. That's a horrible idea. She would've said no and then I would've been embarrassed in front of everyone.

I chug the rest of my beer as I try and keep my mind off Cassie. It hurts to think about her with another guy but there's nothing I can do about it. She's not mine and she never will be.

I watch people come and go from the drinks table as I continue to sip beer by myself. I'm halfway through my third bottle when I'm snapped out of my thoughts.

"E-ethan." Cassie says softly as she tugs on the sleeve of my jacket. There's small tears the roll down her cheeks as she looks up at me. "What's wrong?! What happened? Are you okay?" I ask her all at once.

She just nods for a minute. "H-he kept trying to make me go upstairs with him but I told him no. He started to pull on my wrist r-really hard and he was hurting me and I got so scared. I didn't know what to do so I slapped him in front of everyone. Now everyone hates me." She cries.

My blood boils as I scan the crowd for the guy. I hate the fact that he tried to take advantage of her in a situation like this. She didn't deserve anything like this.

"Listen, no one hates you princess." I say smoothly. She relaxes as I pull her into my chest. The way she fits up against me is so satisfying. It's like perfect.

"How about I help you upstairs and You can get some rest?" I ask softly as I stroke her long hair. She just nods against my chest. "Okay come on beautiful." I say as I grab her hand and lead her through the crowd.

As we get upstairs she takes the lead and leads me straight to her room. She swings the door open and pulls me in with a sigh as she shuts the door behind us.

She sniffles as she placed her hand on my shoulder to help her kick her shoes off. "T-thank you ethan." She stammers. "You're welcome princess. Now how about you get some rest." I say simply. All she does is nod before I pull back her covers and help her slip into her large bed.

Her hair fans out against the pillow as she looks up at me with her big innocent eyes. "You're the nicest guy I've ever met." She says quickly as her small hand reaches up to touch my cheek. I can't help but smile at the small compliment.

"Thank you." I murmur right before I stand up straight and head towards the door. "Wh-where are you going?" She ask quickly.

"I'm gonna go downstairs. I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea or anything." I say hesitantly. "Oh okay." She says quietly.

"I'll lock the door. You're safe up here now." I smile at her softly. "Goodnight Ethan." She says barely above a whisper. "Goodnight Cassie."

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