TUTORS ; E.D.

THREE: SPINNING

"Why you tryna to convince little Dolan?" Elijah asks, crossing his arms. Though Ethan was the older twin, many people referred to him as if he weren't. "He doesn't like parties. Last--and first--time he went to one, some girl tried to hookup with him and he got so nervous he ran out of the bedroom and never went again. People say he came in his pants."

"He didn't," Grayson interjects with a roll of his eyes. "But he still doesn't like parties. C'mon, we wanna go!"

"Five minutes," she promises, jogging inside of his house before she can be stopped. Ethan would never go without a little persuasion, but she thought she could convince him.

Waving at his parents, she says a quiet hello before marching upstairs to Ethan's room. A dull laughter can be heard before she opens his door, seeing him sat on his bed holding his phone up to his face.

Ethan's eyes widen, looking over to where she's crossing her arms. "Uh--hey, Aphrodite. I-I didn't expect to see you tonight."

"Oh! Is it that girl? Can we see her?"

"Hi Aphrodite!"

"Dude, let us say hi--"

Ethan mutes himself and turns his volume down, swallowing slowly. She snorts, walking closer to him. "We're heading to the party. You should come with."

"I-I really don't... I'm all set."

"Ethaaaan," Aphrodite whines, reaching for one of his hands. He flinches lightly as she tries to pull him up out of bed. "Miranda is gonna be drunk and will barely remember if you're bad at flirting. Come on! If it makes you feel better, I'll even hangout with you all night."

He sighs, nodding softly and reaching for his phone again. "Hey, guys, I gotta go."

"Have fun, bro. But not too much fun."

"Wait, show us the gi--"

Ethan rolls his eyes and hangs up, getting out of bed while Aphrodite looks through his closet and bureau. "Think you're gonna sleep with her tonight if she's into it, or are you gonna wait?"

"I--," he chokes, coughing until his face is bright red, "I don't think that's gonna happen."

"Hm, okay," she nods, dropping the cute pair of boxers and tossing him a plain black pair, along with a belt and a new outfit. She didn't wanna take him too far out of his comfort zone. "Change."

"Are you gonna... turn around?" Ethan bites down on his lip, causing her to laugh and step out of his room. He surprisingly wasn't completely against this, though that might change when he actually gets there. Aphrodite was just so convincing, and yes he was nervous, but something about her made him curious--and a calm energy lingered around her that was hard for him not to get tangled in. She felt the same about the mystery surrounding him.

With a deep sigh, Ethan changes, tucking his shirt into his pants before spritzing some cologne on. After playing online earlier, his hair has a headphone indent and is a mess, so he reaches for his white beanie before meeting her again. She's leaning up against the wall on her phone, but looked up at him with a smile and an approving nod.

His eyes land on her arm, a bright red blister prominent. "Woah, what happened? Are... you okay?"

"Oh, I burnt myself earlier taking something out of the oven," she sighs, eyeing him up and down. His angular brows soften at the sight. "It's not that bad, just a blister."

"Let me--can I patch it up?"

Aphrodite almost says no, because it really isn't a problem, but Ethan's eyes are so gentle and he reaches tentatively for it. With a small smile, she follows him to the bathroom.