37. Butterflies in my stomach

Chapter 37: Butterflies in my stomach

Kelsey's POV

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I felt excitement bubbling up inside of me as I parked Meg's car in front park the car in front of her house. I couldn't wait to share the great news of the locket with Ethan. It was funny how he was the first person that I wanted to share the news with, he had been the first person I thought of when it came to anything for that matter.

"Kels bells!" I heard a well known voice call from behind me as soon as I was about to open the door, making me turn around with a smile to greet him.

"Hey Ronny."

"I came here to wish you a happy early birthday!" He said with a boyish grin on his face.

I was surprised that he even remembered when my birthday was given that it had been a minute since we saw each other.

"Aww, you remembered" I say.

"Of course I did, I'm not heartless, Leah wanted me to wish you a happy birthday as well, oh and before I forget. She wanted me to give you this card" He says handing me a birthday card.

I smiled at the thought of Leah getting me a card. Without realising it, having Aaron and Leah around again also helped in my character development. I had spent years wondering what they were up to, and if they were okay. Those years were also spent with me thinking that maybe I hadn't been important enough for them to actually get in contact with me. The choice I had to make with whether to forgive them or not was tough, but the fact that I had chosen the more mature option of leaving the past in the past had helped me to grow in ways I couldn't even see.

"Thank you," I honestly said before turning around to open the door, asking him if he wanted to get in.

He shook his head at my offer, promising me that he would call me the next day to wish me a proper happy birthday, before giving me a small hug and jogging off. I smiled to myself as I stepped in the house, finding it sweet of him to have gone all the way to the Walker residence to wish me a happy birthday and drop off a card which Leah wanted me to have.

"Hey Eth," I said as I caught a glimpse of Ethan sitting on the sofa watching T.V.

My smile quickly faltered as I saw the look on his face. His lips were narrowed and thin, his jaw clenched as his eyes held a hooded look, evident that he was angry or upset about something. After removing my shoes by the door I made my way up to him, wanting to find out what was making him so upset.

"Are you okay?" I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder which he quickly shrugged off, making my heart sink slightly at the thought that he could have been upset with me for some reason.

"Was that Aaron you were talking to?" He asked, finally making me realise what he was so upset about.

"Yeah, he just came to give me something for my birthday. It was nothing," I gently replied before messing up his hair playfully.

It was evident that he was jealous about the fact that I was talking to Aaron, and even if I didn't understand why he could be jealous about me and my ex-boyfriend, I understood that the sole fact that I was even becoming close with my ex again could bother him. Trying to put myself in his shoes, I thought about how upset I would be if I ever saw him hugging one of his exes-which were plenty. It hurt me to think that Ethan was seeing Aaron as a threat, especially since Aaron was all in when he found out that Ethan and I could be having a relationship.

I smiled as I noticed a faint ghost of a grin appearing on his lips after he groaned and fixed his hair, that usual glimmer in his eyes returning. I loved seeing him like that, and I also loved the fact that I was the one who was able to make him happy again. It was evident that even if he didn't show it much, Ethan was as self-conscious as I was when it came to certain things, and the thought that he was afraid of losing me to someone else made me truly happy and appreciative of him.

"Okay, whatever. There's something important I have to tell you, come with me," he said before getting up from the couch and walking upstairs to his room, me trailing behind him.

"Okay so," he said with a nervous chuckle, playing with a small box which he grabbed from his desk. "So," he said as he raised his gaze. "It's your birthday tomorrow, and I wanted to-hey, is that a locket?" He asked as his eyes landed on my mother's locket which had gotten out from under my shirt.

"Oh, yeah, I got it today! Pretty much the best birthday present ever," I replied happily.

"Is it special to you?" He asked.

"Yeah, It was given to me by the most important person in the world for me, how could it not be? My m-" I replied before being cut off by Ethan

"Wow, I didn't know Aaron meant that much to you."

My eyes widened as my eyebrows scrunched down in confusion at his words, unable to comprehend what he meant. Not once had I mentioned Aaron, and the fact that Ethan was bringing him up out of the blue puzzled me.

"Aaron?" I asked, wanting to grasp what he was talking about.

"Yeah, he's amazing, congratulations," he said, his voice breaking before handing me the box and heading out, slamming the door behind him and leaving me standing there dumbfounded.

Tears pricked my eyes as I tried to make sense of what had just happened. Aaron was brought up out of the blue and Ethan walked away without even giving me the chance to tell him what I wanted to tell him. It hurt me to think that we were back to square one, fighting for no reason at all.

The door to Ethan's room slowly opened, and I quickly perked up in hopes that it was Ethan coming to apologise and tell me that he was wrong to do that. I was disappointed when instead of Ethan I saw Noah, standing in the doorway with a confused look on his face.

"Where'd Ethan go?"

"I don't know, I'm confused, and slightly upset," I said, before sitting down on the edge of Ethan's bed with Noah following suit shortly after.

He didn't say anything while I was recounting everything to him, starting from when I got to my house and ending with Ethan's sudden outburst. Noah just sat there, deep in thought as he was taking in every little detail I told him, and by the time I had finished, tears were streaming down my face. I hated the thought that things between Ethan and I were going so well, only for everything to come crumbling down once more because he was jealous of Aaron.

"Kels, I think I know what happened to Ethan," Noah finally said, making me look up at him.

"What?"

"Well, you never told him that it's your mom's locket and that she left it for you for your seventeenth birthday. Ethan thought Aaron gave it to you since you said he came to give you something," Noah said, everything he was saying making sense.

I got where Noah was coming from, but Ethan still had no right to get so upset, and to just walk out of the room without giving me the chance to finish what I had to say. It was clear that there was something else going on at the back of his mind, something which got him overly sensitive.

"Open the box," Noah sighed, seeming as if opening the box would answer all of my questions.

I nodded my head and opened the small, neatly wrapped box, a gasp escaping my lips as I saw what was inside, unable to believe that Ethan would do something like that for me.

"Ethan got me a locket?" I said in surprise.

"Yeah, he wanted to give you one for your birthday since he knew that you've always wanted one. He put in a picture of you and us, and another one of you and Ethan." I opened the locket, and well enough, two of the most precious pictures I had ever seen in my life became visible.

I could feel myself getting emotional as I took out the silver chain out of the box. I examined it for a while before I turned it around, the engraving on the back sucking all the air out of my lungs. I felt as if my heart was being squeezed, and I had the sudden urge to choke out a cry as I re-read the words. 'I love you, E'

"He loves me?" I asked on the verge of tears, my hands shaking as my vision started getting blurry.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The thought of Ethan engraving those words at the back of a locket he wanted to give me for my birthday after finding out that I had always wanted one made me feel as if I were in a dream. I feared that if I made one sudden movement, I would have waken up and realised that it was all fruit of my imagination.

"So much. You make him feel special Kels. He's liked you for such a long time but you just never noticed. For as long as I can remember he used to always be like Kelsey this and Kelsey that, and Kelsey looked cute in her pigtails today, like honestly, I got tired of listening about you," Noah said with a light chuckle.

"How do I fix this?" I asked him, the thought of hurting Ethan hurting me much more than the thought of anything else. He wanted to tell me that he loved me, and he thought that I was falling for Aaron once again.

"Do you love Ethan?" Noah asked after a moment of silence, his question sending my brain into over drive.

Did I love him?

"I don't know Noah, I've never been in love with anyone before. What I know is that everything's better when he's around. I get butterflies in my stomach and my heart beats so fast when I'm close to him, I can't quite explain it. It amazes me how cute he is with the girls and how protective he is of you. I love the way he calls me princess, and when we fight, it hurts me more than anything. I just want him to be happy all the time because it upsets me when he's upset. Knowing that he's sad because of me right now is killing me inside," I replied with as much honesty as I could have possibly answered.

"What were you saying about not knowing if you love him or not?" He asked with raised brows, making my eyes widen.

"Shit, I'm in love with Ethan Walker."

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