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Snores escape my mouth as I sleep soundly. My arm hangs off the bed, and my pillow is on the floor when suddenly my phone begins to ring. I let out groans as I grab it, answering it tiredly. "What do you want, you freak?" I ask.
"That's rude." I hear a voice chuckle.
I sit up, slightly more away. "Shit, Ethan, sorry. I didn't know it was you." I confess. The boy continues to laugh.
"It's cool. I didn't know you were so grumpy in the mornings."
"The more you know." I hum. "What are you doing up, anyway? It's the middle of the night."
Ethan sighs, "Well, some of the football team is going to go prank the Salvatore School. I was wondering if you'd like to come." His voice has a slight shake to it. He's nervous. I giggle at the thought, then thinking about a good place to go to prank my old school.
It finally comes to mind. "I know a road that we can take to the Old Mill. How does that sound?" I ask him.
"Great! I'll come pick you up!" He chimes. The line goes dead, and I giggle, getting out of bed.
The bathroom light is bright, causing my eyes to squeeze shut. My dark hair is in knots, Ethans gray sweatshirt covering the shorts I'm in. It may be colder than winter in this hotel, but you will never catch me sleeping in sweatpants.
Sorry, not sorry.
Sighing, I turn on the shower, stripping of my clothes and stepping in. The hot water slightly burns my skin as I run my hands through my tangled hair. Humming a soft tune, my mind travels back to Hope. She probably already left, like she said she would. Anger bubbles up in my chest.
I let her in, I let her know my deepest secrets, my hopes, my dreams. I let her love me. Or what I believed was love. But worst of all; I let me love her.
An annoyed groan escapes my lips, the feeling of stupidity causing me to only get more upset at myself. Turning off the water, I step out of the shower before wrapping myself in a towel and getting dressed. After putting on leggings, a tank top, and Ethans hoodie, I sit on my bed, staring at the turned off TV.
Where was Hope, now? Was she safe? Why do I care? She left me. She didn't even care to say goodbye.
A knock on my door causes me to snap out of my thoughts. I walk over, swinging the door open. Ethan stands there in jeans and another gray zip up sweatshirt. "Hey," He smiles.
"Hi," I return the smile, stepping outside and shutting my door. "Thanks for coming to get me."
"Of course." He hums, walking towards a truck. "I want to apologize in advance, theyre kinda-"
"Major douchebags? I know." I laugh. We approach the truck, Dennis waving us over.
"Come on, ladies, let's go."
♞
"All right boys, let's do this. And don't screw up the spelling this year. There's one "I" in dick." Dennis explains as he gets out of the car. I had helped get them to where we are, but even Ethan felt uneasy about the whole thing.
The boy helps me out of the truck, "Probably should be a you." He says, walking in front of the truck. The two other football players walk over with supplies, whilst I stay close to the headlights.
Dennis slowly turns around. "Was that an insult?" He asks.
Ethan shrugs. "I don't know, Dennis. Let me know when you figure it out." He looks back at me, knowing my brother goes here. That I used to go here. Sympathy floats in his eyes, when he looks back at me. "Why are we doing this?"
"Because we always do. We vandalize the Salvatore School every year. It's tradition."
I lean against the truck, arms crossed. "So is the electoral college." I point out. Dennis stares at me for a second.
"Never heard of 'em. Football team must suck." I snort at his stupidity. "What are y'all waiting for? I told you what to do."
Ethan clicks his tongue. "Last I checked, QB calls the plays. I say we go home." I raise a brow. Did he really drag me out here for no reason?
Dennis scoffs. "The last I checked, I've been starting at linebacker for four years now. And you're only our quarterback because Connor transferred or something." I bite my lip, remembering when Connor got turned into an spiders meat suit.
"Not the only reason." Ethan chuckles. "God also put a thunderbolt in my right arm. So let's just go before you experience it." He walks up to Dennis, the two chest to chest.
Dennis glares up at Ethan "It's my truck, and I ain't going anywhere. So do what you got to do, Thor."
I roll my eyes. "I've had enough testosterone for one night." I step in between the two, my hand on Ethans chest. "Can we just go?" I ask.
Ethan nods, "Nice night for a walk, anyway." He grabs my hand on his chest, pulling me to his side before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Good luck with the spelling, Dennis." He chimes before the two of us begin to walk away, the two other football players behind us.
The two football players walk one direction whilst we walk the other. Ethan keeps his arms around me as the streets are lit up by the stars in the sky. "Thanks for coming," Ethan states. "Sorry I dragged you out here for no reason."
"It's okay," I hum. "You did the right thing. But why?" I ask. I look up at him. His head is tilted upwards as he stares at the sky. One arm is wrapped around me, whilst his other hand is in his pocket.
He remains silent for a moment, as if trying to piece together what he wants to say. "I was all in for it originally, you know? I mean, fun school rivalries. But," He stops in the middle of the street, looking over at me. "You're from the Salvatore School, right?" I nod, raising a brow. "And you have a brother there, and you just went through whatever it was with that Hope girl." Ethan purses his lip, "I can tell you love him, your brother. I just, didn't think it was cool to mess up your past with spray paint and stuff."
Ethan awkwardly shifts in his spot. I smile softly. "Thank you," I chime, smiling softly. I place a hand on his shoulder, standing on my tip toes. I press my lips to his cheek, before pulling away. "I'll see you in the morning." My voice is just above a whisper. I pull away, turning and walking down the street.
