(y/n pov)
"This one, this is it," Gray said, walking in. You slapped his arm. "I love it, it--"
"Gray the walls are peel--"
"Y/N, this the place-- I love it."
"Grayson," you sighed with a smile. He chuckled and you rolled your eyes. "Let's go?"
"Yeah, talk about false advertising." You smiled and he led you back out of the apartment unit, now clear why no one was there for the open house anyway. "We're never gonna get somewhere at this rate," he groaned, hitting the ground floor button in the elevator.
"It's okay-- I'm sure Lisa'll let me stay for a little longer." He grinned.
"Of course." You smiled. "You sure you're not heading home?" You sighed.
"Things are not so good there." He frowned.
"What?"
"They don't like-- the whole internship thing." His eyebrows furrowed up.
"But it's good for you?" You shrugged. "Come on."
"I know." You sighed. "They said when I said I wanted to study what I did, I'd get like a, you know, office job type thing-- then the coffeehouse and all-- yeah, doesn't make it better." Gray nodded.
"Oh well." You shrugged. "Well, stay with us for however long, and if mom kicks you out, you can sleep in my tool shed." You laughed.
"Wow, thanks." He shook his head and let you exit the elevator before him, hand by the door to make sure it didnt close on you. "Where to now?" you asked.
"Home?" You nodded. "They've gone cake testing."
"Yeah?" Gray nodded. "Fuck, it's literally-- in what, two weeks?" He nodded again.
"Way too fast, I think they should've waited 'till after the baby." You shrugged as he shut the passenger side door for you.
He got into his side. "I guess it's their choice, huh?" He nodded.
"Guess so." He began driving and you sat in silence for a moment. You sent off a few texts and sat back. "Hey!" he exclaimed, after quite a bit of time.
"Hello."
"You want to come check out my place?" You raised an eyebrow. "Let's go over the weekend?"
"All the way to LA?" He nodded. "Wait-- so you and E sold the house you'd bought a few years ago?" He nodded again.
"Yeah-- I didn't tell you?" You shook your head. "I sold it to build these two."
"I heard yours is a lot bigger than Ethan's?" He rolled his eyes.
"Where am I gonna keep my ten kids?" You laughed, shaking your head. "Hm." He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
"Is it being built right now?" you asked. He shook his head.
"E's is; mine's not being worked on 'till his is done." You nodded. "They're the same guys and he's moving in first, so." You nodded some more.
"Makes sense."
"And I want to help out," he said with a grin. You rolled your eyes and he let out a sigh.
"Of course you do." He pulled up into Lisa's driveway with a frown, shoulders dropping with yet another sigh. "What's up?"
"I don't know," he grumbled, turning the car off but making no move to get up.
"Is everything okay?"
"It feels wrong talking to you about this-- or like, since-- I don't know," he sighed.
"You can talk to me about anything," you said with a smile. You pulled your legs up onto your seat. "Spill the tea." He laughed.
"Stop." You smiled, head tilting. "I'm E's best man, you know?"
"Mhm."
"And like-- e/f's maid of honour, she's-- she makes me feel kinda weird." You raised your eyebrows, head leaning on your palm.
"Weird?" He nodded. "Like uncomfortable."
"Yeah, yeah, uncomfortable." You frowned. "She's like-- I don't know, kinda handsy, you know?"
"I see."
"And like, I don't know if I should like say something, or just ignore it or-- I don't know." He shrugged. "I could just ignore it, it's not a big de--"
"It's a big deal if it's bothering you, Grayson." He shrugged some more.
"I just feel weird walking the thing with her, you know, yeah and like the speeches." You nodded. "I think e/f noticed or something because she told me she wanted to change things up."
"Change things up?"
"Yeah." You raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, she wants it to be 'unique' or whatever and that eliminates, you know, her and I walking together, arms locked, that shit-- maybe not having to walk with her even. Maybe I could walk with another bridesmaid, you know?"
"Okay," you said slowly. "Maybe talk to her about it; tell her she's making you uncomfortable."
"But that's rude." You laughed.
"Yeah, but remember in tenth grade when that kid commented something nasty about me in the hallway and you beat the shit out of him?" Gray sighed, "Yeah, not rude at all."
"Yeah, but that was for you," he mumbled. You smiled, patting his shoulder and pulling your seatbelt off. "What do I do?"
"Just tell E?" you asked. "He'll say something to e/f for sure, right?" He nodded.
"I guess so." You gave him a smile and he melted a little. Just a little. "I wish she had another bridesmaid- one I actually knew."
"She asked me," you told him. "But, it feels all weird, you know? Being a bridesmaid?" He nodded.
"Well, I would've rathered being with you than her." He looked at you from his peripheral vision, trying looking straight at the garage in hopes of not being obvious. You laughed.
"Are you trying to tell me you want me to be a bridesmaid just so you don't have to walk with her?" He smiled a little, shrugging.
"Maybe." You shook your head, leaning over the centre to kiss him on the cheek.
"Get your ass inside, Dolan."
You left him in the car as you made your way in. He watched you go in with a little dazed smile on his face, stupidly pressing his hand to his cheek where you'd kissed him.
---
"Cameron said she'd do it if she had to," Grayson said.
"But we need one more because I can't tell any of the guys no," E said. You rubbed your head, stirring your coffee. "I'm sorry, y/n."
"It's fine-- aren't bridesmaids supposed to be not married?" you asked. "Cam's married."
"We don't mind, we just need one more so the pairing's match," e/f explained. You sighed. "Please, y/n? I'm sure we can get a dress fitted for you-"
"No, it's not--" you sighed, taking a sip. Lisa walked by, squeezing Ethan's shoulder. "Okay." E/F's eyes lit up.
"Will you really?" You nodded.
"Yeah, okay." Gray threw a fist in the air. You laughed, shaking your head. "Wow, didn't know I'd be making your day too."
"Now I can just walk down the aisle with you, in-- woah," Gray cut himself off with a chuckle. E stood.
"Sounds like you're the one getting married, man," E said, patting his twin's shoulder. You shook your head, sitting back to sip on your coffee as Gray stood with E to go. "Okay, so you have to figure out the dresses then, babe," he said to e/f. She nodded.
"We can go get yours tomorrow- we didnt get them custom or anything, they're all just the same shade of pink but differen-"
"I have work tomorrow," you said. Ethan sighed.
"Can't you just get a day off?" You glared at him.
"I'm two weeks on the job, Ethan, I can't just ask for leaves when I want to." He looked at you for a moment before nodding slowly. "Sorry," you whispered, apologizing for snapping.
"It's fine-- help me start the car, Gray?" Gray looked over. "It's been acting up."
"Yeah." They headed out front while Lisa bustled around in the kitchen. E/F thanked you again.
"You really don't mind, right?" she asked. "Cameron is okay to-"
"No, I don't mind," you replied with a smile. "He's one of my best friends after all." She smiled nodding. "How's the baby?"
"Oh!" She touched her stomach. "It's good, yeah, perfectly healthy." You smiled and nodded.
"You're not showing yet?" She smiled.
"Just the littlest bit, only if I've got nothing on- even skin-tight it doesn't show, but just bare, you can tell." You nodded. "Though, it could pass for a little bit of bloating."
"Just wait 'till next month; then you'll really be showing," Lisa said. You smiled and leaned back. E/F was so fucking pretty it blew your mind. She gave you another smile.
"You wanna come see what they're doing?" she asked. You shook your head and she stood. "Well, I'll be out with them, then, maybe head home later with Ethan."
"Stay for lunch?" Lisa asked. She shook her head.
"We have loads of leftovers I've been trying to get him to finish." Lisa laughed as you waved bye. She left and you sat in your seat, staring at your now cold coffee. "Bye, y/n!" she called from the front door.
"Bye." You frowned a little, trying to imagine yourself with Ethan. It was strange, how just a year ago, you'd imagined all of this happening for you and him, and now you could barely see yourself standing next to him.
"You okay?" Lisa asked. You gave her a smile and nodded. "Yeah- needa talk?"
"No, no, I've got some work to do," you said, standing. She smiled. You took your coffee back upstairs and sighed, putting it down and getting your laptop out to edit some pictures for the company you were working for's Instagram. Your phone lit up with a text and you picked it up.
gray: you up for a road trip this weekend?
you: road trip? what for?
gray: to la??
You smiled to yourself, shaking your head. You thought he'd meant by plane but a long trip outdoors may just be what you needed. You could use a getaway before the wedding. The wedding that wasn't even for you.
you: count me in (: