Grayson's POV
It's been a week since Ethan and I saw Annaliese last. It's been killing me not being able to hear her laugh in person and laugh at her awesomely terrible jokes. We're heading to California soon and I'm really sad it's time to leave New Jersey. I love it here and I know Ethan does too.
"Ethan, why are we going to California again?" I shout to him across the room.
"Umm... we have... is it..." and then he finishes with a shrug.
"Why can't we just stay longer?" I ask. He thinks about it for a moment.
"I think our whole family would very much enjoy that," he responds. I throw my hand in the air, celebrating that I didn't have to leave the amazing Jersey. I looked at my phone just in time to see a new text from Annaliese pop up.
I can't believe we haven't seen each other in a week. She says, I can imagine the fake pout in her lip and wish I was there to see it.
Luckily, our fans took our plea to heart and have mostly left her alone. She gets stopped occasionally, but mostly she said she's been back to normal, except she's still getting used to "being so popular on instagram. I didn't know so many people enjoyed what I posted!" She had said with a laugh as we talked one night.
I know. Even though we haven't known each other long, it feels like there's something missing from our day. Ethan still doesn't compare to your sarcasm. I push send. I can imagine her making a sarcastic comment to herself when she reads it.
"Dude, I swear you don't stop talking to her. It's weird... and cringy," Ethan says from across the room. I pick up the nearest thing and throw it at him, sadly it's just a pillow but I still end up hitting him in the head. I feel accomplished as I hear a satisfying thwack, from the pillow hitting his head, and an "ow" following it. I wish I could see her, but if people saw us together, especially without any Ethan, then they would be able to see right through me. I was glad that the video worked last week, but not glad that I had to lie about my feelings about her. I know that it's early to feel that way, but it just happened. I thought that the time away would help me realize that I was fine without her, but I ended up just texting her more and more.
Tell him that I miss you guys too and that no one will be able to replace my sarcasm. I am, obviously, the best. I read.
"Annaliese said she misses you too," I say, letting Ethan be happy. I see him smile, despite having made fun of me seconds ago. "She also said that you will never be as good as her with sarcasm," I finish. He responds with mock surprise and his mouth open, helping with it. I laugh.
"I miss her too, a lot more than I thought I would," he says, almost so I can't hear him.
"It's sucks, doesn't it?" I ask. He nods his head. "We had a good friend and we had to leave," I continue. He nods again, seeming like the nod itself got sadder. We both sit in silence for a couple minutes, realizing how much she effected us in such a short amount of time. In the silence, I respond to her. I hope everything has been alright, since we left and everything.
I look back at Ethan to see him straighten himself a little.
"Do you want to distract ourselves with comments on our video?" I ask Ethan, hoping he'll take the offer. The milk is still making its way through us. Ethan nods, already happier, which makes me feel better too. He moves to me and I pull up comments on the computer.
"I could NOT stop laughing!"
"One of my favorites!"
"Even though that was gross, I still enjoyed it immensely!" I love all of them. Ethan laughs and points to one. "The best part is that they both can't stop laughing when the other one is puking... oh also 'Siri, watch yo profanity'" I laugh as soon as I finish reading it. That was one of my favorite lines from the video too.
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After ten minutes of looking at comments and laughing we both get up to get ready for bed. I went onto Annaliese's instagram, just to check. I noticed how she still has a steady trickle of new followers everyday. She's up to 1.5 thousand. It's still silly to think of that as such a high number, considering I'm no where close to that, but I respect Annaliese for simply saying she liked having a small group of followers. Sometimes I wish I had that as well. I feel my phone buzzing so I take it out of my pocket, only to be met with the prettiest name ever.
"Hello girly," I say, answering on the first ring.
"It's weird for you to say that, to be honest, but I can't complain considering I call you Ken," I can hear the smile in her voice. I chuckle.
"I'm still hoping you let go of that," I say, feigning my pleading. I hear her giggle lightly.
"Okay... but I'll have to just change it to Prince Charming," she says, playfulness in her voice. I groan, which warrants another laugh from her. I smile. I could listen to her laugh all night, but we're talking now and I fully intend to remember and keep as much as I can of our next conversation in my brain. "Okay, to be honest, I called you because I REALLY don't want to do my homework," she says, feeling guilty.
"Hey, I'm always grateful to be able to talk to you, no matter what the cause," I say, not feeling bad at all.
"Really? You don't mind?" She asks, happily stunned.
I laugh into the phone. "Annaliese, you're even busier than Ethan and I. I'm always glad when you have time to breathe and you decide to call me or Ethan in your time," I say, truthfully. There's silence on the other end. And for a second, I think I said too much, but then I hear her smile. Yes. I hear it. She smiles so wide that I can hear the slight change in her breathing. I crawl into bed, knowing that she should be in bed too but know she won't be for awhile.
"The real question is," she says, breaking the silence, "is if I really have to do it in the first place or if I can do it during study hall tomorrow."
"I believe study hall is perfect," I say, playing the part she wanted me to do.
"Ahhh perfect," she says as I hear a thump that must mean she threw her homework on the ground. I hear rustling and know she's getting settled into bed as well. When the shuffling stops, I smile. She chose me over homework.
"Oh stop it you. I just really didn't want to do it," she says playfully, like she knew what I was thinking.
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We both lay in our beds, across the country from each other, talking for hours. I don't realize that we fell asleep to each other's voices until I wake up the next morning with breathing next to me. At first, I think it's Ethan, who snuck in my bed, but sure enough, it's just my phone, still showing "ANNALIESE" on my screen. I sit there, listening for a couple minutes, listening to her breathing, sleeping. It's weird, I know. But she sounds so peaceful and she's either stressed or pacing or freaking out, or, rarely, she's just happy, with no strings attached. And this is that. I smile, hang up and roll over to get myself ready for the day, letting Annaliese still take up a corner of my mind.
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Sorry this one was so boring, but I needed some fillers, because I can't just skip to my main next idea. Love you all! Hope you keep enjoying!!