Didn't Know It Before( An EJ Caswell/HSMTMTS Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Who's Laughing Now?

After dinner, Mom and Dad decided to go to the office and catch up on the work they'd missed coming to the school board meeting, so EJ drove me home.

When we got there, he turned his car off and walked me up to the front door.

"You wanna come in, hang out for a bit?" I asked.

"Are your parents going to be ok with that?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, of course. Its not like we're gonna be doing anything. We're just hanging out." He shrugged, nodding and we walked inside. "We could...I don't know, we could watch a movie or something."

"Like what?" he asked. I smirked, an idea popping into my head. "What's that look for?"

"I know exactly what we should watch." I crouched down, digging through our DVD cabinet until I found the black, unmarked case I was looking for. I held it up.

"Am I supposed to know what that is?" He asked. I smiled.

"This, my friend, is the 2017 East High Production of Beauty and the Beast, staring EJ Caswell as Gaston."

"Oh my gosh!" He said. "Why do you even have that?"

"Everyone got a copy, remember? I was stage managing, so I got one too, and you were in it looking adorable so obviously I kept it."

"Wait..." He trailed off. "I do remember that."

"Do you?" I asked, popping in the DVD player.

"Yeah, I do, um...I kept getting lost during rehearsals because I was distracted...watching you." I raised my eyebrows.

"Seriously?" I asked. "Even in my awkward Freshman phase?"

"What are you talking about? You've always been beautiful." I laughed, shaking my head.

"No, I wasn't. I had that awful bob haircut-"

"I thought it was cute!" He defended.

"I looked like a chia pet!" He laughed at this.

"You did not!" 

"I totally did."

"No you didn't. Here, I'll prove it." He stood up slightly, taking his wallet out of his back pocket and opening it. I furrowed my eyebrows as he pulled out a small slip of paper and I sat down on the couch beside him, looking at it over his shoulder. It was my Freshman yearbook photo. My glasses were bigger then, and purple, and I had a bob that, due to my naturally curly hair, was frizzy and stuck out in all directions.

"Why do you have that?" I asked. He sighed.

"I cut it out of my yearbook Sophmore year." I said. "I forgot that I'd put it in here until recently when I found it by accident."

"You really did have a crush on me, huh?" I asked. He chuckled, leaning back against the couch.

"It was bad. Like...memorize your schedule just so I could see you, bad." My eyes widened as a memory came back to me.

"Oh my gosh, you always were conveniently outside of my Physical Science class!" 

"Yeah, there was nothing convenient about it, trust me. Eventually, the teachers figured out I didn't actually have to go to the bathroom right before the bell rang every day." I chuckled at this, and then my eyes widened as I saw the blush creeping up his neck. 

"EJ, are you blushing!?" I asked.

"No." He lied.

"You totally are! I thought I was the only one that did that! Oh my gosh, you're blushing! Over little ole me?" I fell into a southern accent at the end, causing him to laugh and finally meet my eyes.

"Shut up." He said. I smirked at him before grabbing the remote and pressing play on the TV. The video started, and I folded my legs on the couch beside me.

"You had a creepy stalker crush on me." I said in a baby voice as the video displayed the closed curtains.

"Ha ha ha. Funny."

"What's wrong? I think its adorable." I reached up, pinching his cheek. He grabbed my wrist, pulling it away from his face and turning his head to look at me. The movement of his hand had brought me exceedingly closer to him, so our faces were now inches away. I gasped in surprise as his nose lightly brushed against mine and his eyes traveled down to my mouth.

"Who's laughing now?" He asked, all traces of amusement gone as he stared at my lips. I couldn't respond to that, because then he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back, my face heating up at the unfamiliar intensity. He let go of my wrist to put his hand on my waist, his opposite arm draped over the back of the couch. I put my arm over his, with my hand resting on his shoulder, and my other hand was on his knee, pressed into a fist to hopefully conceal the fact that it was nervously shaking.

It didn't, and he pulled away, furrowing his eyebrows. He looked down at my shaking hand, and I pulled away from him, turning to face forward on the couch as the opening number played in the background.

"Was I making you uncomfortable?" He asked. "Because if I'm making you uncomfortable, just let me know, and I'll-"

"Its not that." I said. "Its just...its like I said earlier, this is uncharted territory for me. This is all new and...kind of terrifying, if I'm being honest."

"We can slow down." He said, putting a hand on my back. "You're calling the shots here, ok? If I'm doing anything that's too much too fast, stop me. I'm not gonna make you do anything you're not ready for." I nodded.

"Lets just...tone it down a notch, yeah?" I asked. He nodded, returning his arm to the back of the couch, and I leaned back, resting my head on his shoulder, turning my attention back to the musical.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I didn't mean to freak you out."

"You didn't." I assured him.  "We'll just...both have to adjust." I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him.

~~~

I felt the hand on my shoulder wake me up before I'd even realized I'd fallen asleep.

My eyes opened to reveal my Mom standing above me. I picked my head up, looking over to see EJ, fast asleep beside me, his arms still wrapped around me.

"I guess staying up all night finally caught up with you." She whispered.

"EJ..." I whispered, lightly tapping his chest with the back of my hand. He jumped slightly, waking up and seeing my mom. "We fell asleep."

"Sorry about that." He said, rubbing my eyes. "I should get home."

"I don't think so," Mom said, "I don't think your mother would be too happy with me if you fell asleep at the wheel. You can stay in our guest room. Text your Mom and tell her you're spending the night here." He nodded, clearly too tired to argue.

"I'll go get you some pajamas." I told him, standing up and heading upstairs to my parents room. Mom was already up there, a pair of Dad's Pajamas in her hand.

"You two looked adorable all cuddled up like that." She whispered, handing the pile to me.

"Mom..."I said, feeling the blush creep up my neck.

"What? I'm just saying." She said, smiling at me. I chuckled, rolling my eyes at her and going back down stairs. EJ was standing up now, still wiping sleep from his eyes.

"Here." I said, handing it to him. "I'll show you to the guest room."

I grabbed his hand, pulling him up the stairs and down the hall to the guest room, which was directly across from my room.

"Bathroom's down the hall, first door on your right across from the stairs." I told him.

"Thanks." He said groggily. "Goodnight, Megan."

"Goodnight, EJ." I stood on my toes, pressing a slow, exhausted kiss to his cheek before turning around and walking into my own room.