31. Best friend

Pick of Ellie above ^^

Chapter 31: Best friend

Kelsey's POV

*****

I woke up the next morning with the feeling of something heavy on my stomach. I shift to my side as my eyes flutter open, finding myself face to face with Ethan who was staring down at me with a small smile on his lips. Realising that I caught him staring, he let out a small cough before he closed his eyes, making me laugh slightly as memories from the day came flashing through my mind.

So many things went down, and even thinking about them was enough to make me agitated. Things could have ended horribly, and I was thankful that Ethan wasn't mad at me. Not only that, but he also asked for us to be best friends, confessed that he still liked me, and promised me that he wouldn't leave me alone. No matter how horrible the first part of the previous day was, the end events made it all worth it.

"Why were you staring at me?" I asked him as he opened his eyes again, a goofy smile playing on his lips.

"Erm, I wasn't," he groggily stuttered, making me roll my eyes at him disbelievingly.  "It was just really hard not to. You smile in your sleep, did you know that?" he shyly said in the end, making me blush.

No one had ever said those words to me, not even Aaron. The thing with Aaron was always a childhood thing. We didn't compliment each other much and the only thing we ever did that actually showed we were in a relationship was hold hands and cuddle at times. It was a very innocent relationship between two best friends. Things were different with Ethan-much different. I wasn't entirely sure what was happening with him, but what I was sure of was the way my heart reacted whenever he did and said stuff like that.

"Now, wake up princess, we have to get ready to go to the aquarium. I promised Ellie and if anyone ever breaks a promise they made with her, they wouldn't live to break another one," he chuckled as he got up from bed, offering me a hand to get up myself.

"It's cute the way you take care of your sisters," I replied honestly, trying to ignore how my heart practically skipped a beat when he called me princess.

"Aww you think I'm cute," he smirked before running a hand through his already messy bed hair, making him look extremely attractive.

I hated the way he had a control over me and my emotions, and I hated the way he always got my hormones acting up with just one look. I knew that if things kept going on that way, I couldn't be able to resist him any longer.

"Shut up," I replied as I took his hand and got up, lightly punching him on the arm as soon as I was up on my feet.

Grabbing my stuff from Ethan's room and taking them back to the guest room so I could change, I made a mental note to organise things back as soon as possible. I hated it when things weren't in their place, and knew that I was bound to lose something if they weren't organised in a certain way.

Trying not to get too excited about the plans for the day, I put on a pair of ripped white high wasted shorts, a light pink t-shirt and my black sneakers before pulling my hair up in a ponytail and skipping downstairs, my good mood certainly evident by the way I moved. I couldn't remember the last time I was that happy, and it was nice to think that life didn't seem to hate me for once.

The smell of sausages being cooked instantly wafted up my nose as I entered the kitchen as Ethan was whistling some sort of tune as he was cooking breakfast-shirtless. I found myself in a momentary trance as I just stared at his back, the muscles on his back flexing every time he moved the pan.

"You're making breakfast?" I finally asked Ethan as I finally managed to snap my eyes away from him and towards the food he was cooking. "Since when?"

"I thought I would do something nice for my best friend while she gets ready," he grinned before bringing a sausage to my mouth for me to take a bite out of.

"Best friend? When did that happen?" Jake asked, coming in to the kitchen unannounced. "You're not taking my place pretty lady," he said before giving me a side hug.

My gaze switched between Jake and Ethan, as I smiled to myself at the thought of how Ethan and Jake's friendship resembled the one I had with Meg. They always had each other's backs, and Jake was always by Ethan's side. A lot of people came and went when it came to Ethan's lunch table, and his group of friends, and Jake was the only consistent one. I was happy that they had each other, and I found myself getting mad at the fact that I had never realised just what amazing people they were, and I also hated that I used to think that Jake didn't deserve Meg. I judged them quickly, despite the fact that I always hated doing so, and I found myself regretting it.

"Don't worry, he's all yours," I replied as I started getting out the plates to set the table, wanting the kids to find everything ready when they woke up.

"You weren't saying that last night," Ethan smirked, making my eyes widen as I dropped a plate on the table loudly.

With my heart thumping at the fear that I broke a plate because of Ethan's words, I gently picked it up and flipped it over, thanking the angel that was looking out for me in that moment upon seeing that it was still whole.

I couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth, and I found myself getting flustered at how wrong they sounded. It was clear to me that Ethan knew exactly what he was saying, especially by his smirk.

"It-it's not like that," I said at an equally smirking Jake, making my face burn impossibly more red.

"Sure, sure," he replied before messing up my hair and walking up to Ethan, putting his arm around him.

"We were taking the guys to the aquarium, wanna join us?" Ethan asked as soon as Jake was next to him.

"I'd love to but I'm kinda hanging out with Meg," Jake replied with a smile on his face, making a huge smile form on my own.

I was so glad that they were getting closer, especially because of the fact that Meg had always been petrified of having any form of contact with him. I remembered how she accidentally bumped into him after class one day, and instead of apologising, she thanked him. I felt embarrassed for her when she told me. I loved that she was becoming more confident, especially since she was such an incredible person, and anyone would be lucky to get to know her.

"If you break her heart I will hurt you in ways you never thought possible," I told him as I tried to muster up the best menacing look I could pull off. No matter how much I loved them together, I would never forgive anyone for making my best friend suffer.

"Same goes to you with my best friend," he winked before Ethan asked him for a high five after cheering for what Jake had just said.

"I love you man," Ethan said with a chuckle.

"You guys are so annoying," I joked before I headed upstairs, wanting to wake up the guys. I knew that if I let them wake up on their own, we would probably get to the aquarium pretty late.

"Lara and I are already ready!" Ellie said excitedly as I gently knocked on their bedroom door and walked in, surprised that they were already awake.

It was clear that Ellie was ecstatic about going to the aquarium, and I couldn't help but smile at her glee. Ellie was the kind of person to be always in a good mood, always managing to uplift anybody's mood.

"Do you guys know if Noah's ready?" I asked her as I fixed her messy shirt slightly.

"I don't know, ask him," Lara shrugged before taking Ellie's hand and going downstairs after sending me a bright smile, leaving me alone in their room with a grin on my face at how sassy that little ten year old was.

Getting up from the kneeling position I was in, I walked up to Noah's room and gently knocked on the door, asking him if he was ready before I heard his lock click and the door fly open as he came out.

"Good morning," I chirped as soon as he closed his door behind him, clearly ready to go downstairs.

"Morning. I've been meaning to tell you, that Ethan better not be taking my place as your male best friend," he said with a mock glare as he crossed his arms, in feign anger. My eyes widened slightly in shock as I wondered how on earth he could have known about that. It wasn't like Ethan and I were screaming it out to the world.

"How did you know?" I asked him, unsure whether I truly wanted to know the answer to it.

"Honey, I can hear everything coming from Ethan's room, these walls aren't that thick." My face turned red as soon as he winked, finding myself embarrassed at the thought that anything Ethan and I had ever said could have possibly been overheard by the rest of them.

"I'll remember that," I said with a nod before I opened my mouth in shock as soon as I realised how bad that sounded. "I mean, not that I'll ever have to remember, but like if for some reason we- I'm just gonna shut up now."

Noah laughed at me before shaking his head and walking down the stairs with me trailing behind him, my face feeling rather hot from that conversation. I knew that my face must have been red as I noticed both Ethan and Jake looking at my face quizzically before looking at each other in sync with raised brows.

"Kelsey, Ethan cooks better breakfast then you do," Ellie said whilst munching on a piece of bacon, clearly oblivious to what was going on.

Her words were enough to make me forget about what Noah said and snap my head towards her with a pout. She had told me that she didn't like bacon, and yet there she was, with about five strips of bacon on her plate, eating them happily.

"Ouch, thanks Ellie," I replied, placing my hand on my heart trying to seem as if I was pretending, despite having been truly offended at the fact that she didn't like my bacon.

"Oh come on Kels, you know I love you like a sister, but Ethan wins this one," she replied before Ethan let out a loud cheer, raising his fists in the air in cheer.

"Aww, thanks Ellie, at least someone appreciates my cooking," Ethan said, sticking his tongue out at me, making me shake my head at him.

"I have never said I don't like your cooking," I shot back as I stuck my tongue out at him as well.

"No, but you thought it," he replied as he pointed his tongs accusingly at me.

"You two fight like an old married couple," Lara nonchalantly said before biting her sausage, making everyone look at her as Ethan and I were blushing profusely.

*****

"Kelsey, we're here, we're here!!" Ellie squealed as Ethan parked in front of the aquarium and turned of the ignition. Ellie surely loved the aquarium, and I was happy that Ethan was doing all of that just to see her happy.

"Yes, we are," I replied with a small chuckle as we all opened the doors and got out of the car, preparing ourselves for a fun day.

Walking into the aquarium entrance, I was suddenly flooded with memories of my childhood. My dad would take me to the aquarium for my birthday nearly every year because he could never afford to do something expensive like go to an amusement park. I couldn't understand it at the time, but I still appreciated that he would always take a day off for my birthday just to spend it with me, even if it was in a place full of attractions I had already seen multiple times before.

The entrance was just the way I remembered it. A huge blue arch with red fish painted on it stood in the middle of a glass wall, allowing passers by to see inside. Once you enter, you can see a dark looking tunnel right next to the ticket booth, from which visitors need to pass to actually get inside. I would always feel as if I were setting off on an adventure whenever I passed from under it when I was younger, and that adventurous feeling seemed to return as soon as my eyes laid on it.

"5 tickets please, 2 kids, 1 youth, and 2 adults," Ethan told the girl behind the desk, who quickly propped up as soon as her eyes laid on Ethan, clearly interested in what she was seeing.

"Here you go," she said as she handed him the tickets, making sure her hand brushed against his. "And here's my number in case you'd want to call me," she winked, sliding him another piece of paper.

I couldn't comprehend how people could be so direct with someone they were attracted to. I knew for a fact that I would never be able to do that. It was also embarrassing to see that girl trying to hard, trying to seem smooth but clearly failing miserably.

Ethan took a glance at the paper and then back at the girl before he quickly turned to look at me, making me scrunch my eyebrows questioningly. "I'm pretty sure my girlfriend wouldn't be too happy about that," he said before putting his arm around me and turning back to look at her, crumbling up the paper and placing it back on her desk.

"That's my man," Noah hollered, smiling at Ethan.

I could hear Ellie and Lara snickering beside me as we moved towards the tunnel. By their hushed whispers and constantly glancing back at the two of us, I could tell that they were talking about the fact that Ethan had called me his girlfriend, and even if a part of me hoped that they knew he wasn't being serious, I also found myself being happy that they seemed so excited about their brother calling me that.

"Since when does Ethan Walker throw away a girl's number, and since when am I your girlfriend?" I whispered to Ethan whilst removing his arm from around me with a smile plastered on my face.

"Since Ethan Walker doesn't need to hang out with any other girl to escape from the sadness, and you're not, not yet at least," he said, making my cheeks burn as he placed his arm around me yet again.

"You're not taking drugs are you?" I jokingly asked, trying to avoid the comment he made about me being his girlfriend.

I knew that he meant that since he had me he didn't need to hang around other girls, and no mater how happy that made me, I was also scared of thinking that. I didn't want to get my hopes up.

"No, but I do have a pretty cool new best friend," he winked.

I opened my mouth, about to say something before I noticed Noah's head snap towards us as soon as Ethan said those words, a scowl on his face as he walked towards us.

"She's my best friend thank you very much!" he said as he removed Ethan's arm from around me and placed his instead, sending a playful glare towards Ethan.

"Guys, you can share me," I said, suddenly feeling important.

"For now we'll share, but someday you'll be all mine," Ethan whispered huskily in my ear. I didn't know what was up with all the flirting lately, but I certainly didn't hate it.

"Meg won't be too happy with that," I smirked as I patted his back before walking away from the two boys and next to the girls without a single look back.

My new relationship with Ethan was making me happy. I found myself being afraid of that happiness, especially since the universe had a funny way of working. All I hoped was that that same happiness would never falter, and that my friendship with Ethan, and Noah, would last for a lifetime.

*****