2 | Exposed ( ETHAN DOLAN )

FOUR

E X P O S E D
C H A P T E R F O U R

AFTER an hour-long car ride filled with laughter, new inside jokes, off-key singing and deep conversations, Ethan had finally reached his 'surprise destination'. By the time they had reached it, however, Andrea already had a vague idea of where they were- a road sign they had passed saying 'Hollywood' had given it away, but Ethan intended to do more than just visit Hollywood.

As Ethan drove further and further uphill, their elevated location gave them a view of nearly all of Los Angeles. Soon Ethan came to a halt on a road at the edge of the mountain. He got out of his car and Andrea followed, her mouth dropping at the sight.

All she could see was lights. For miles and miles, tiny dots of bright white, yellow and red shone like fairy dust, stretching to the horizon. In the distance, she could see the built up city where her hotel was and where she had explored earlier that day. To her right, a little bit away from where she stood, was the Hollywood sign. Even in the pitch black darkness of night, the huge letters continued to practically shine.

"God, Ethan, this- this is amazing," Andrea breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. She was much too overwhelmed to even speak.

Each time Ethan had come up here, he was simply mesmerised, perplexed, astonished by the view. It never got old. However, this time, the gleam in Andrea's eyes and her tiny, wonder-filled smile was the most important and beautiful view.

Knowing they'd be there for a while, Ethan forced himself to snap out of his tiny daze when an idea came to mind.

"My pickup truck would be better for this kind of, uh, event, but it's in New Jersey, so. . ." Andrea gasped when Ethan's strong hands had picked her up and sat her on the roof of his BMW, followed by him hauling himself up too.

Ethan felt the girl shiver from beside him when a cool wind had bit at her skin.

"Are you cold?" He asked, not really caring for an answer. He was already jumping off of the car again and opening the trunk when she had replied with "a little,"- obviously she was cold wearing a t-shirt and denim shorts.

Once he was back in his original spot beside Andrea, he gently placed a soft, thick blanket over her shoulders.

"Why do you have a blanket in your car? Just wondering," she questioned with a giggle, wrapping the material around Ethan's far shoulder so that she could be closer to him. They hugged the blanket closer to themselves, body heat already travelling between them.

"You don't have a blanket in your car?"

"No, and I'm pretty sure that no one else does. Wait. . . Were you planning this all day?"

"Maybe," he mumbled, a timid smirk taking over his face.

"You're so cute," Andrea said, her arms snaking around the boy's torso and squeezing tight.

For the next while, they sat in silence, revelling in each others' presences, observing the lights and the stars that peppered the dark void that was the night sky. Andrea made up and drew constellations in her mind, while Ethan attempted to identify the ones he knew of. . . Big Dipper, Little Dipper and a few of the Zodiac ones that had come out on this clear night.

"It's only nine. Why aren't there any more people around here? Not that it's a bad thing, at all," Andrea said.

"Uh, honestly, we're probably in someone's driveway," Ethan admitted.