Two

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Later that day I was cuddled up in bed, contemplating everything that happened earlier in the day; the call from Georgie and all. Mom started calling from the kitchen so I rushed down, she was dressed in an evening dress and had a full face off makeup on, a complete change from earlier. "What's this for?" I said feeling the skirt's fabric between my thumb and index finger. It was dark navy silk and I think she wore it to her and Dad's 10th wedding anniversary. Mom spun around on the spot, making her brown curls bounce slightly.

"The Dolans booked us a table at 'Il Pescatore'." She said, attempting what she thought was an Italian accent but actually a Mexican accent. "It's very expensive so you need to sort out whatever this is." She gestured to my face. 'Whatever this is' being no makeup and a non-tumblr messy bun. I sighed heavily and returned to my room. None of my clothes were in their closet so I just went to the medium box, labelled 'Hayden's Clothing, not to be confused with trash.' I rummaged through and pulled out a black shirt dress. My hair was thrown into a straight ponytail because who can be bothered to make an effort these days? My makeup was a simple foundation base and mascara. nothing complicated for the Dolan's. Once I was completely finished, I met Mom and Dad in the car. "We're meeting them there." The car journey was almost silent except from the soft hum of the engine underneath us. We found a parking space directly left to the entrance which made the whole manoeuvre very easy. We three walked in as a modern day family and stuck on our best I'm-alright-making-conversation-tonight face. The Dolan adults beckoned us over, they already had already saved us a table. With them was their three children, all dressed in their finest clothing. Cameron was in a floral dress with tiny white and pink flowers over it. Ethan had a grey suit on with an off-white shirt underneath. Grayson was in a black waistcoat and matching trousers with a blue shirt beneath it. I had to say, they cleaned up well.

"What drinks would you like? We've already ordered ours." Cameron said. Mom and Dad sat dotted amongst the other adults and I was left in-between Ethan and Grayson. The waiter handed out beverages and then gave starter and main meal menus. After skimming across each dish and letting it soak into my brain, I realised where I was. There was a branch of 'Il Pescatore' back in LA, I went there with Georgie a couple of times and on the fourth time, some popular kids from our school came along. They sat in the booth right behind us and occasionally took photos of me eating to share with everyone; all ridiculing my weight. Me and Georgie let that one go because that was classic but on the fifth time they dumped their 'Pasta Con Gambeli' all over me. School became hell afterwards.

"Hayden? Are you okay? You look upset." Ethan rubbed my upper arm, in hopes of calming me down. 

"I think I'm going to home, I don't feel so good." I placed my napkin on my seat and waved to everyone. As soon as I felt the cold breeze hit my face, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach faded slightly. 

"What happened? You don't like Italian seafood?" I chuckled at the voice from behind me. "I don't want to eat either. Gray's eating at the moment but he promised to come out after to see you." I took a seat on the nearest bench and Ethan sat a few centimetres away. "So, tell me?"

"Why I can't stand to be in that restaurant?" I tried to joke to lift the awkward air between us. He passed a small laugh and ran his hand through his combed dark hair. "There was the same restaurant back home and it just brought back memories."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to ask. Where are you from?" He scooted over a tiny bit so that he could hear me over the evening crickets and music from the restaurant. I liked how he was genuinely interested and asked me questions about my life.

"I'm from Los Angeles, California. I used to live near Hollywood Boulevard but I left because of school problems." Ethan has hanging onto every word, anticipating what I would say. I smiled internally at how cute he was being. "I used to get bullied quite badly. They'd throw food at me and take pictures of me in that restaurant to call me fat and ugly. My parents found out when they sent a letter to my house. Mom opened it and started looking for houses all over America. We looked mostly in the South Florida area because Mom really likes the ports and attractions. But when Dad mentioned Long Valley and the scenery, Mom kind of fell in love with the area.

"Wow, I'm so sorry that you got bullied. A similar thing happened with me and Gray but we never had to move across America because of it. I love LA, I've always wanted to go because a lot of our friends live out there." I nodded, showing that I was on the same page as him. "Me and Grayson were always the odd ones out." I placed my hand on his and brushed my thumb over his calloused knuckles. "I don't know why I let that happen. I could've protected Grayson and Cam but instead I was a coward."

"Ethan, there was nothing you could've done. You are brave and courageous for just sticking around  your hometown." I pulled him into a hug and we both heard Grayson running over. "Listen, you know that you can come to me whenever you feel like this. It's actually the worst to keep it all bottled up." Grayson reached us and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 

"The adults are saying that they are going to stay at the hotel down the road. Cam is going to drive us all back." I stood up before Ethan and we walked in a line towards the Dolan's car. "Oh, I forgot, Hayden. Our mom and dad say that you can stay at our place for a sleepover."


A/N

If you want some more of this kind of stuff, check out my previous book 'Dolan Twin Blurbs'. It's just short paragraphs about the twins in different situations. Also take a look at my best friend (Georgie_Espinosa)'s book called 'gap year'. It's about the twins and shows the lives of two British girls that have a whole 6 months to spend with twins and I am obsessed. 

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From Pia :]

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