when the sun came up

vi.

3. They fight like cats and dogs.

It's weird. Emma remembers feeling kind of, well, nervous around Ethan for the first couple of weeks after she moved in. It was odd getting used to all the rhythms of living with a new person. Emma had lived with Amanda for almost two years, and while they'd never been the closest of friends, they'd grown very comfortable around each other.

But Ethan wasn't just a new acquaintance; he was a wild card in his own right, and Emma, who was never at her best adjusting to any type of change, was uneasy in the loft during those early days.

Of course, that was before she came to the profound realisation that Ethan Dolan was the most irritating person alive.

He was stubborn as an ox, and about the most insignificant, inexplicable matters – the whole not-being-nice-to-girls-he'd-slept-with thing, for instance. He was tidy in some ways (he cleaned up after himself in the kitchen, thank god – Emma didn't know if she could've handled tottering piles of dirty dishes), but then hideously messy in others (his games and clothes were all over the goddamn living room and he refused to put them away). He was extremely punctual when it came to paying bills and meeting any kind of official deadline, but always late in person, casually strolling in half an hour after the fact as if he wasn't wasting anyone else's time (Emma's time, which was very precious, thank you very much). And he clearly had no idea what it was like living with someone who wasn't related to him, aka someone who wasn't genetically programmed to take any of his bullshit, leaving Emma fuming whenever he'd just smirk and snark and smarm his way out of any important conversations he didn't want to have.

It drove Emma crazy. He drove Emma crazy.

"So why don't you just move out?" Olivia had interrupted once, when Emma had, as was her custom, really riled herself up complaining about Ethan's latest transgression. "I swear, you two are worse than my parents before they got divorced. And that's really saying something."

Emma sighed, suddenly deflating. "I've asked myself the same thing, to be honest. But I really like the loft – it's the best place I've lived in since I moved out of home. And I mean, it's not so bad. I always make it sound worse than it is, I guess. He just... bugs me so much sometimes, I don't know." She looked guiltily at her two friends. "I'm sorry you guys have to listen to me complain about him all the time. Especially you, Gray – he is your brother after all."

Grayson opened his mouth to say something, but Olivia directed a meaningful look his way, and he seemed to change his words on the spot.

"It's fine, Emma," Gray said quickly, shooting her black haired friend a sympathetic smile. "It's Ethan, so I get it. Hell, he gets on my last nerve every week too, and I don't even have to live with him any more."

"Oh yeah!" Emma said happily, seemingly distracted from her previous bad mood. "How are things going with Elizabeth, by the way? We'll have to organise a big catch up with her soon."

Grayson's smile widened. "Things are going great, actually. Her housemates are so cool, the apartment's awesome, and, you know. We're doing really well."

He looked very slightly embarrassed; Gray had never been one to wax on about his romantic life in depth. But Olivia and Emma could see how happy she was, and both their faces softened. Gray deserved someone amazing, especially after his traumatic break-up with his crazy ex girlfriend. And though Elizabeth certainly looked intimidating at first glance, it was clear she absolutely worshipped the ground Grayson walked on.

"That's amazing news, Gray," Emma said warmly, Olivia smiling beside her.

Grayson cleared his throat. "Okay, enough about me and my boring domestic life. What about you two?" His face grew mischievous and he waggled her eyebrows. "Any hot new boys on the go? Hopefully not the same one."

He pulled a mock-agonised face, causing Olivia and Emma to burst into laughter. A year ago Grayson wouldn't have dared make the same joke, and even six months earlier would have been too soon. But they'd finally reached a point where they were able to shrug it off and laugh over the terrible, idiotic luck of falling in love with the same boy, and Emma couldn't have been more grateful. Having Olivia as a friend was infinitely more precious to her than any boyfriend; it sounded corny but was true.

"There's a hot new guy wandering around the office," Olivia said abruptly, fiddling with the straw in her drink.

Emma and Grayson exchanged expressions of surprise and delight. While Emma had casually dated (read: had rebound flings with) a few guys after The Anthony Disaster of freshman year, Olivia had barely expressed any real interest in anyone since then. Though that certainly hadn't stopped a few boys from trying their luck. Olivia had had to shoot them down quickly when the 'fuck off' vibes she naturally emanated hadn't deterred the more persistent among them.

"So, who is it?" Grayson exclaimed, at the same time as Emma asked, "What is he like?"

Olivia looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Scruffy," she said finally.

"Scruffy?" Gray repeated, wrinkling his nose. "I hope that's your answer to Emma's question and not mine."

That got a grin out of Olivia.

"It was," she said. "His name's Michael. He's..." she paused, starting to frown a little. "–not really my type, to be honest."

"That's a good thing," Grayson said pointedly. "Your last type was asshole."

"That's true," Olivia acknowledged, tilting her head in consideration.

"I think it's usually good when it's the person who you don't expect," Grayson mused.

Olivia rolled her eyes good-humouredly. "Easy for you to say," she teased, using her straw to flick drops of her drink at Gray. "We can't all spontaneously find love in our gardening classes."