"Kai, please." I heard from Faye in the next room. I immediately went into alert, standing up from the bed.
"Matteo," Ethan said softly, "she's fine."
"You don't know that."
"You're right, I don't. But what I do know is that you need to sit down and wait for them to resolve it by themselves," Ethan addresses, causing a loud sigh from me. Sometimes I hated that we were always together because he was always right. "Come sit," he told me, patting the seat beside him.
I immediately obliged, sitting shoulder to shoulder-with him.
He opened my laptop, went to Netflix, and turned on a movie. After it was playing, he brought his hand around my shoulder to get comfortable.
I tried my best to focus on the movie, but I couldn't stop thinking about the fear in Faye's voice.
Ethan's arm squeezed around me, bringing me impossibly closer. "Calm down," he whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine, "Your heart is racing."
"Sorry."
He leaned his head on mine in comfort, making me feel a little safer.
"Do you wanna watch a movie with them to make you feel more at ease?" He asked quietly.
"Yes please," my voice cracked. Ethan squeezed me once more before getting up from the bed and shutting my laptop.
"I'll be downstairs, you want to get them?"
I nodded and we both parted. I only knocked once before opening the door. I immediately regretted it, seeing Faye on the bed in a purple dress and Kai's jacket with Kai straddling her, looking down at her face. I just walked in on something...
"Oh- sorry, I'll... um- I'll leave you guys to your- yeah" I stuttered.
"No," Faye almost yelled before I left, "Stay. We weren't doing anything.
"Oh, we'll Ethan and I just wanted to know if you guys wanted to watch a movie with us?"
"That'd be great," Faye answered
"Okay great," I said, waiting for them to come with me.
Kai sighed loudly, got off of my sister, and left the room. As soon as the door was closed, I heard a choked sob. I glanced over at the bed and saw Faye with tears streaming down her face. I took her into my arms as soon as I saw her and let her sob into my shoulder for as long as she needed.
I don't know what hurt her. I didn't know if I wanted to. If I knew, I would want to kill them or shield her from all of the hurt. But I can't do that. That's why I shouldn't know.
Of course, if she were to want me to know, I would listen intently. But until then, my shoulder will forever be a place for her to safely cry on while I rubbed her back and told her it would all be okay.
"Sorry," she sniffled, wiping her snot on Kai's sleeve.
"Don't be," I interjected. "I'm not gonna ask what happened if you don't want to talk about it, but are you okay?"
"Yeah, I am," she answered before walking to the door and opening it up for me. I walked towards the living room with her on my tail to see Kai and Ethan, taking on the couch. Seeing them left me feeling jealous for no reason. Why was I jealous? I shook it off and sat next to Ethan. The open spot was small, so part of my leg was lying on his, but neither of us minded. He just rested his hand on it and continued talking.
The movie began, so Faye sat down in the middle of the couch. I noticed her flinch as Kai wrapped his arm around her, but thought nothing of it.
Halfway through the movie, I felt myself dozing off. Ethan noticed too, so he put his arm around me, causing my head to comfortably fall onto his shoulder.
"Sleep," he whispered, "you need it. It's been a long day." I nodded with already shut eyes and began to drift off.
*********
I woke up more warm and comfortable than I have in a while. I then realized what was providing that warmth and comfort. I was still lying on Ethan's shoulder, but his other arm was now wrapped around my stomach, kind of hugging me, and his head was on mine.
I didn't want to get up, so I stayed in my position, enjoying how it felt.
"Good morning," Ethan groaned in a deep morning voice, "how'd you sleep?" He unwrapped his arm from me and rubbed his eyes.
"Fine," I told him, slowly sitting up.
"I should probably go home and get ready," he sighed.
"Okay."
He stood up from the couch and began making his way toward the door.
"I'll be back in an hour."
"Okay," I repeated, again in a whisper. He smiled and shut the door behind him. I lay back on the couch and sighed. Something was different, but I couldn't pinpoint what.
"Matteo," a sudden voice called, making me jump and fall off the couch.
"What?" I groaned, holding the back of my head that hit the floor.
"Nothing," Faye shrugged, "You were just zoned out and you have to leave in a bit."
"Oh," I mumbled, "thanks."
I made my way up the steep stairs and into my room. I looked around, seeing the countless reminders of Ethan. Half of my closet was his clothes, and the other half was things he bought me. The pictures invaded with his smiling presence. Everything makes me smile I'm joyful any time I thought of him.
I grabbed a simple hoodie and jeans before walking downstairs. My stomach growled loudly, making my next destination the kitchen.
I was too tired to make anything, so I grabbed a blueberry muffin land took a bite, enjoying the sweet flavor that invaded my tastebuds.
"Hey I'm ready, so I'm gonna crash on your couch. Wake me up when you're ready." Ethan's voice sounded from the front door.
"Okay," I yelled back, taking another bite of my muffin.
I quickly ate the rest of the breakfast cupcake and grabbed another for Ethan. I made my way toward the living room and threw the muffin at him.
"Wake up. I'm bored."
"You're so mean." He groaned, stretching his arm.
"Yeah yeah, get up."
"Ooh muffin," he grinned, taking the crumbled muffin off the floor and taking a big bite. He groaned as it hit his tongue.
"Calm down, it's a muffin. A floor muffin," I corrected. He just shrugged and took another bite.
I sat and watched him until he finished the muffin, and was ready to have a civilized conversation. Never mind, it's Ethan. Nothing is civilized. Which is why I was currently grabbing a pillow and hitting him with it.
"Are you done?" he mumbled as the pillow hit his face for the third time.
"No," I told him, continuing my assault.
He threw his half-eaten muffin back on the floor and grabbed the white throw pillow. Before I had time to back away, he was already hitting my stomach, sending a laugh from me.
We continued hitting each other until I was on the floor and he was getting his final hits in.
"Now are you done?"
"I guess," I shrugged, pushing him away from me so I could get up.
"Umm... Matteo," Ethan's voice wavered.
"Yeah?"
"We're late."
"What?" I almost yelled, looking at the clock. Surly enough, it was 15 minutes past the first bell.
We scrambled to get our stuff together and piled into the car, turning it on before we were even inside.
I was basically speeding until we pulled into the parking lot. There were only a couple of spots open, all of them being far from the school. I pulled into the nearest one and we both jumped out.
Running with a book bag is a struggle, to say the least. But alas, we were in the building 30 minutes after the first bell. Out of breath, we both speed-walked into Mr. Wallis' room and sat in our designated seats.
I had no idea why Mr. Wallis didn't question us, but I just sat back in my seat and tried not to laugh at that ridiculous situation, Ethan doing the same.
QOTD: Is a hotdog a sandwich?
Word Count: 1390