~ Your POV ~
You smile at Ethan through the screen "It's gonna be so cool to hang out with you again after all these years!"
Ethan beams at you and nods "I cant wait!"
You giggle "You're comin' home Mrs Thompson!"
Your childhood friend laughs and shakes his head at the reference to a character he pretended to be when you were kids "I swear, if you bring that up in person, I'll actually kill you."
You pout at him like a toddler.
Ethan raises an eyebrow "Dont."
Your pout intensifies.
He sighs and looks up at his ceiling "Why does that still work on me after all these years?"
You grin "You never could resist me! Just like I cant resist laughing at your goofs."
Ethan smiles "Awh HELL yeah."
You chuckle and check the time "You should go to sleep Ethan, you've got an early flight tomorrow morning."
Now it's Ethan's turn to pout "I dont wannaaaaa."
You laugh and raise an eyebrow at him "Why noootttt?"
Ethan huffs "When have I ever wanted to go sleep when talking to you?"
You smile as you remember all the times you would argue with Ethan about going to sleep when you were kids, how he'd always wanna stay awake and talk to you for hours when you had sleepovers, but you'd always fall asleep on his shoulder at something.
Ethan smiles warmly back at you "What're you thinkin' about?"
You blush slightly, realising you just zoned out "Just about us when we were kids. I wonder how different things'll be now, 'cause we're older and stuff."
Ethan nods "It'll be interesting to find out, but I think both of us have changed a lot to the point where we came full circle and the same best friends we were before."
You laugh "That honestly wouldnt surprise me!" You shake your head "Hey! Stop distracting me! Go to sleep!"
Ethan grins "Damn it, I almost made you forget! Fiiiiine, but you have to go to sleep too."
You shrug "That isnt a punishment to me at all, sleep is great!" A thought suddenly pops into your head "Oh, wait, Ethan, before you go..."
He raises an eyebrow "What's up?"
You smile "I was watching some of your videos today, and in one of them you talked about a girl being on your 'hand holding list' or something like that. I was just wondering, am I on that list?"
Ethan rolls his eyes "Of all things, you wanna know if you're on my hand holding list?"
You laugh and nod "Of course! It's very important!"
Ethan sighs dramatically, then smiles at you "If you really wanna know, yeah, you are on my hand holding list, you were the first person ever on it, the first person I ever actually held hands with."
You gasp "I TOOK YOUR HAND VIRGINITY!?!"
Ethan bursts out laughing "NEVER say that again!"
It takes you a moment to come to terms with what you just said, and as soon as you so, your face flushes red and you cover your face with your hands "Ohmygod, never speak of this, ever, no, this never happened."
Ethan laughs so hard that he has to wipe tears from his eyes "I really hope we still laugh like this all the time, I also hope that your parents havent forgotten who I am!"
You feel a sting in your chest, but cover it up with a small smile "Dont worry, they both remember and love you as much as they always did, they're both looking forward to seeing you again!"
Ethan grins "It's a good thing I dont have to worry about making a good first impression on either of your parents, considering I stayed at your house more than my own when we were kids."
You laugh slightly, the pain in your chest getting worse "Yeah." You change the subject back again "Ethannnn, go to sleeeeeppppp. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner you'll get to talk to me in person!"
Ethan nods excitedly "That's a good point you make there yes I agree what a good reason to sleep ooh wowie!"
You both laugh at his quick outburst, before you smile at him gently "Goodnight Ethan, see you tomorrow."
He reflects your smile back at you "Goodnight (Y/N), I look forward to it!"
Your smile widens "Me too."
With a final smile shared between the two of you, you end the skype call, and close your laptop, falling back on your bed in a defeated heap, completely exhausted. You're staying in your family home at the moment because you're at the end of your gap year, and when you decided to come home, it was the ideal time to try and meet up with Ethan again. You and him didnt exactly lose contact when school ended, but you didnt talk anywhere near as often as you used to. It went from daily messages, to weekly, to you being lucky if he replied within a month. It wasnt his fault, and you dont blame him for it, but it really sucked. You're really glad you're going to see him tomorrow, and hopefully bring your old friendship back to life. You miss your childhood friend.
You wake with a start, your phone alarm jolting you awake, and you frown down at yourself as you sit up. You fell asleep in your clothes like a goddamn kid, you really are a mess. Shaking your head, you turn off your alarm and stand up, taking your phone with you as you grab your towels and head to the bathroom. After a hot shower spent dramatically lip-syncing to the High School Musical soundtrack, you leave the bathroom and stroll back into your bedroom to get ready. As you shut your door, your phone dings in your hands, and you smile at your screen.
ZestyNesty: I'll be landing in an hour, you better be awake sleeping beauty ;)
You giggle before texting him back.
You: Im awake but Im still in my I-havent-eaten-so-dont-even-look-at-me mood, cant wait to see youuuuuu
You place your phone down on your bed and start getting dressed. Just as you finish squeezing yourself into a pair of black skinny jeans, your phone beeps again.
ZestyNesty: I've got chocolate in my suitcase for you so you cant ever get mad at me :D I cant wait to see you eitherrrrr
You gasp and quickly type out your reply.
You: OMG I ACTUALLY LOVE YOU!?!
ZestyNesty: I would hope so after the amount of fun times we have had madam! Like the time we were pretending to get married and I asked your dad for his blessing, remember that?
You: Of course, it was adorable!
ZestyNesty: Im definitely gonna have to bring that up with him to see if he remembers, it'll be hilarious if he does, we could hear the story from his perspective!
You: Sounds like a plan :) I've gotta go finish getting ready, I'll text you when Im at the airport good sir
ZestyNesty: Ok, see you sooonnnnn
You: You will indeed ;P
With that, you place your phone back down and decide to leave it charging while you carry on getting ready, ignoring the pain that's back in your chest. You push all thoughts about that to the back of your head, and instead focus on Ethan, because he's a happy memory, and you can bring that back to your life now. You need that. You havent had that consistency in your life for so long, you need it more than ever now.
The closer you get to seeing Ethan, the brighter your smile becomes, and you cant stop. You've missed this happiness. You decided as soon as Ethan's flight was arranged that you're going to pick him up yourself in your car, rather than going with your whole family, because it'll be less awkward if it's just the two of you. Well, you hope it'll be less awkward. Your family noticed you grinning as you got ready, skipping around the house as you ate and packed a few things in your bag before you left, they havent seen you so happy in a long time.
Your eyes light up as you lock onto the airport parking lot entrance sign, and you pull in, squealing excitedly as you park your car. Grabbing your bag as quickly as you can, you practically fly out of your car and speed into the airport, then pause briefly to text Ethan.
You: Im here and Im excited and omg
ZestyNesty: I literally just landed, Im collecting my stuff!
You: omgomgomgomgomgomgok
ZestyNesty: Wait, is that you?
You: Where are you looking?
ZestyNesty: Just look up from your phone, please
Your hands are shaking as you lift your gaze from your screen, your eyes landing on a man about 20 feet away from you, staring at you in shock, his phone in his hands and a bag on his shoulder. Smiles slowly spreads their way across your faces, and you cover your mouth with your hands as tears fill your eyes. It's really him. Oh my god. You both stare at each other, too scared and shocked to move. Fuck it, you think to yourself, before running towards him at full speed. Ethan drops his bag just as you reach him, and wraps his arms around you, holding you tightly as you snuggle into him, crying into his chest.
"Long time no see!" Ethan exclaims.
You sniffle and laugh into his sweater, before pulling away from him slightly, just enough to see his face.
"It's been so long." You say in a hushed voice.
Ethan smiles "Too long."
You nod "Way too long." You wipe your eyes and step back from him "Alright, we'd better get going, or we'll get all nostalgic and flood this airport with our tears."
Ethan laughs and picks up his bag, walking beside you as you head back to your car.
All the way home, you and Ethan were talking and laughing exactly like you used to, the conversation was flowing effortlessly. You even both broke into song when certain songs played from your phone, like Fergalicious, and it was absolutely hilarious.
You pull up outside your family home, and Ethan sighs "It hasnt changed at all."
You smile at him as you unbuckle your seatbelt, choosing not to say anything. The two of you exit your car, and make your way up to your front door. You stroll inside, and you're instantly greeted with your mom calling out to you from the kitchen.
"ETHAN! IT'S BEEN TOO LONG!"
Ethan laughs and calls back "IT HAS!"
Your mom rushes into the hall, drying her hands on her apron before pulling Ethan into a hug "It's so nice to have you home again, we've missed you here!"
Ethan smiles "I've missed you all too, Im glad to be back!" He looks over at you, his smile widening.
Your mom steps away from him and is about to say something, when the fire alarm interrupts her and makes her gasp.
"UH OH, SPAGHETTI-O'S!" She shouts as she runs back into the kitchen to save her spaghetti-o's from setting the whole house on fire.
Ethan laughs hysterically "I forgot your mom said that!"
You giggle "Every single time she cooks spaghetti-o's, without fail."
Ethan starts looking around the hall, paying particular attention to the photos on the walls "Is your dad at work?"
The sting returns to your chest again.
"It's been so long since I've seen him, I cant wait to catch up with him and tell him I had blue hair, he'll call me a punk and I'll finally feel like a bad boy!" Ethan laughs slightly.
You hold your hand over the sting in your chest, pressing down and rubbing circles in it to try and ease the pain, but you know it wont work.
At your silence, Ethan turns around, and he immediately frowns "(Y/N)? Are you ok?"
You stare down at the floor, tears filling your eyes and making them burn.
He walks over to you and places his hands on your shoulders "(Y/N), talk to me, what's wrong?"
You sniffle and close your eyes, not daring to look at Ethan.
"He's dead." You whisper.
"What? I didnt hear you." Ethan responds quietly.
You squeeze your eyes shut tighter and clench your fists "He's dead, Ethan. My dad, he's gone."
Ethan processes this for a moment, and the tension in the room is suffocating you. Suddenly, your face is buried in Ethan's sweater again, and his arms are holding you tighter than they ever have before. You cling to him desperately, clutching onto his sweater as you cry into his chest.
"Im so sorry (Y/N)." Ethan whispers into your hair, his voice hoarse.
You whimper into his chest "T-Talking to you, it was like n-nothing had changed, I could almost convince myself he was still here and e-everything was fine, but whenever we talked about him, i-it hurt so much!"
Ethan rubs your back soothingly and speaks in a low voice "Shhh, it's alright, I understand, you just wanted to feel like things were back the way they were." His tone shifts to a whisper "How long has it been?"
You sniffle "Two years."
He squeezes your body "The same year I went to LA?"
You nod "He died the day before you left."
Ethan chokes on a cry "Oh my god, Im so sorry (Y/N)! Im so sorry I left when you needed me, Im so, so sorry."
You shake your head into his chest "You didnt know, and I knew that if I told you, you would have stayed to make sure I was ok, so I kept it to myself."
Ethan subconsciously starts to rock you in his arms "What happened?"
You swallow the lump in your throat "Car accident, he was on his way home from work and a truck pulled out in front of him, h-he didnt have time to stop and he hit the truck full force. H-He was, uh, unconscious, and he died a few minutes after my mom and I saw him in the hospital."
Ethan kisses the top of your head "Im so fucking sorry (Y/N)."
You shake your head and pull away from him, wiping your eyes with your sweater sleeves "You have nothing to be sorry for."
Ethan wraps his hands around yours and slowly pulls them away from your face "I promise you, I wont ever leave you again. Whether Im here, in LA, or anywhere else, I will not leave you like I did before. You dont have to face anything alone anymore. Im right here, and Im not going anywhere."
You blush at the contact "Thank you Ethan."
He squeezes your hands "You dont need to thank me, why're you blushing?"
You smile and roll your eyes playfully at him "You're holding my hands, what do you expect me to do?"
Ethan grins at you "I told you you're on my hand holding list!"
You giggle and shake your head at him "You're such a dork."
He smiles smugly "A dork that can make you smile though, and I'll take that title any day."
You beam at him, fresh tears stinging your eyes "I've missed you so much."
Ethan pulls you back into his arms and kisses your hair again, before whispering in your ear "And I promise you, you will never have to miss me again."
Needless to say, you were overjoyed to have Mrs Thompson back in your life.