*Update - a live version of Back in Black has been added for your viewing pleasure. And BTW, its still Angus on guitar, so, yeah. He's amazing.
Back in Black - ac/dc
Hope spent a restless first night in Diane's spare room. It's not that she was uncomfortable, the bed was a huge upgrade from a sleeping bag on the ground in her little pop up tent. And it's not that she didn't enjoy roughing it at a camp out either, although she had been more than happy to have a warm, cozy bed. But just as she was starting to fall asleep, Hope was suddenly hyper aware of the fact that she was sleeping in Ethan's bed. Sure, he hadn't lived there for about a year and she was confident that the sheets had been washed and changed, but this had been his room for years. And now she was staying there.
Hope wondered more about what Will had told her. She couldn't imagine what Ethan had seen over the years to become interested in her. What could she possibly have done while camping for an extended weekend with her family that caused Ethan to "like her" as Will had put it? Hope was at a loss, for words, for impressions, for answers...all of it. She was more confused about that bonfire night than she had been before.
These are the thoughts that kept her up throughout the night. Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, she was able to fall asleep. And right about that time when her mind relaxed and she was truly, deeply out, her phone alarm buzzed. She had told Will she would meet him in the morning to watch him surf.
Hope lay in bed debating with herself whether she should even bother going. She enjoyed the time she had spent with Will. It had been surprisingly easy. She hadn't once felt the nausiating butterflies that she usually felt around someone new, especially someone of the opposite sex. She had been nervous at the beginning, but she was proud of herself for keeping calm and continuing with conversation. She had never been able to talk so comfortably with anyone so early on in a friendship before. Hope continued to think that it must have something to do with Will, but for the life of her she couldn't figure it out.
He was insanely good looking, that in itself should have tied her tongue up in knots. He was really tall, so looking up at him the whole time would have normally made her feel super short, one of her insecurities. She knew it wasn't the little rocks she now carried everywhere, with their associated words of affirmation, because she had gotten those after meeting Will and then seeing him the next morning surfing. Hope had no clue what it was that seemed to calm her down around him. So she stopped trying to figure it out and decided to go ahead and meet up with him again.
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For most of the week, Hope followed the same routine. She would get up early, head out to north beach to watch Will surf (after stopping for, you guessed it, COFFEE), talk with him about her day, her mom, his surf board or whatever came up, and then watch him go back in the ocean for more surfing. Their conversation never revolved around Ethan after that first day. Will was always complimentary to her, making her feel comfortable and confident even. But he never touched her, like trying to hug her hello or hold her hand. In fact the only time he had done that was at the bonfire, helping her walk back to her tent.
After the morning surfing "meeting", which is what Hope started calling it, she would head back to the campground and work for Diane. Hope did whatever odd jobs Diane had for her: filing paperwork, clearing sites when campers leave, hauling trash to the dumpster, and her absolute favorite; cleaning bathrooms. Hope would save that one for last so she didn't spend the whole day smelling like a toilet. She didn't mind the work, and it really wasn't that much. Besides, she was getting enough money to fill her tank and sightsee each afternoon.
Hope went to all the places she remembered as a kid. She shopped in Cambria. Toured Hearst's Castle and even drove into San Luis obisbo for the afternoon. It hadn't slipped her mind that Ethan lived there but it would have been highly unlikely to run into him anyway. And of course she didn't.
Things changed on Thursday. Hope still got up early, snagged her coffee and headed to north beach. That morning, as she and Will were rapping up their surfing meeting and saying goodbye, he said, "I won't be surfing here for a while, not sure how long, so I guess it's so long until we meet again."
This took Hope by surprise, she really enjoyed talking with him. "What do you mean, why?"
"Well, I've got some things to take care of so I won't be able to come for some time, actually" he stated matter of factly.
"Oh, well, I'll miss our morning talks. Come see me sometime if you can." Hope said. Then Will grabbed his board and started walking down the beach away from the lot. Hope was struck by two thoughts. First, she was blown away by how different she felt about herself. That she was able to say out loud for Will to come see her was in and of itself a small miracle. She had just never been able to speak up for herself in the past. Second, she wondered if Will being unavailable had anything to do with the fact that Ethan would be in town later that day. Once that thought became conscious in Hopes mind, she quickly dismissed it as improbable. How would he even know? They don't talk anymore and I never mentioned it.
So, Hope went back to the campground and started work for the day. There was a lot more to do, being a Thursday, because weekend campers would start arriving soon and every site was booked. Hope worked later into the day than she had been which meant she wouldn't have much site seeing time. As she was finishing up cleaning the bathroom she decided she was too tired today and would just stick around for the evening. She figured she and Diane could watch a movie or something.
Hope stepped out of the bathroom and started walking back to the trailer when she looked up and stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart was racing and threatening to climb up her throat. A black Ford truck was parked right next to the trailer, Ethan's truck. Hope had forgotten about his visit temporarily, being so consumed with her tasks that day. Then she looked down at her clothes and gasped. She was a complete mess. Hope spun around and ran back into the women's bathroom.
She tried to brush and wipe off her t-shirt, which was a lost cause. So to distract from the grime, she bunched it up on one side and tied a little knot. Thankfully it had been an oversized shirt she had gotten from her grandma, who didn't know her size. Then she looked in the mirror to check her hair. Her ponytail looked a little sad, so she undid it and bent over, pulling all of her hair into a messy top knot. Then she splashed her face with water to clean off any dirt or sweat, and to calm her down a bit. Finally she looked at her reflection once again and smiled back at herself. She thought of things Will had told her over the week, very similar to the words her rocks represented. Oh, I wish I had those rocks! Hope's shorts didn't have pockets so she had left the rocks in her little room. Never mind, just breathe.
And then she walked out of the bathroom and over to the trailer. Her heart had calmed down, she was ready for this. She was different, confident. Well, at least she was more confident than she had been, but she would go with it anyway. Hope got to the trailer and paused. She heard voices inside, Diane and a male voice, Ethan's. One more deep breath and she grabbed the door handle, opened it wide, and stepped inside. Their conversation stopped as both people looked over at her. "There you are, sweetie! You remember each other, Ethan, Hope" Diane exclaimed, gesturing to each of them. Hope thought she seemed rather excited about this reunion.
Ethan spoke up first, "yeah, hi Hope. How are you?"
"Really good, thanks. How are you?" Hope said with a slightly nervous smile. Although she was not nearly as nervous as the last time she saw him. She was really surprised by that because after what Will told her, she figured she wouldn't be able to speak at all.
She took a quick look at Ethan, wearing the familiar black Yankees cap. Her heart did beat faster and there were tiny butterflies but they tickled rather than making her feel sick. He was definitely attractive, and she decided that her nervousness was really excitement at seeing him again
"I'm good. I had the evening off so I thought I'd visit my mom. Glad to see you again" he said with the tiniest of smiles. Hope decided he seemed hesitant. He was not nearly as confident tonight as he had been at that bonfire. She wondered if he was still upset with her for leaving. Or maybe his interest in her had faded after all, it had been two years. Hope was certain he had to have moved on from wanting to get to know her. That thought made her sad, which also surprised her, Do I want to get to know him? She immediately decided she did.
Diane started talking to them about dinner, "Ethan, why don't you go into town and pick up dinner, just get our usual. Hope can stay here and help me get the table ready"
"Sure mom. I'll be back soon, see ya, Hope" he looked back at her.
"Yeah, see ya in a few" she responded. When he stepped out of the trailer and closed the door, Hope turned and rushed into the bathroom to shower and clean up. She thought she heard Diane chuckle, so she called to her,"I'm just gonna clean up quickly then I can help you set up."
"No rush, I can manage. I figured you would want to freshen up after today being so busy." Diane said, there was a smile in her voice. (Hope couldn't see it but it sure sounded like a smile)
After about 20 minutes, Hope was showered and dressed. Her hair was wet so she put it in a side braid. Since it was evening and cooling down, she put on her jeans and a sweatshirt as well as her Ugg boots. Diane had pretty much gotten everything ready. So, Hope gave her mom a quick call to check in and waited on the couch.
Pretty soon, Ethan got back with food from a local Mexican restaurant. He looked at Hope and said, "I hope you like Mexican. I didn't know what you'd like so I just got our usual, tacos and enchiladas."
"Yum, sounds great! I love Mexican food." Hope smiled at Ethan. He looked surprised, and she felt a bit the same. Wow, I've come a long way.
They sat down and passed the food around, starting to eat and talk about different topics. Hope had been "practicing" small talk with Will all week so she had some questions prepared, which made her feel a ton more comfortable. Everything seemed to be flowing nicely between all of them.
Ethan told her about his job as a waiter at a restaurant in SLO. He was taking classes part time at Cal Poly San Luis, planning on becoming an engineer. Hope told them that she wasn't sure what she wanted to do and planned on attending Jr. College to get her core classes completed. The evening started to wind down and Ethan started to get up.
"Well, I better drive back, I have an early class tomorrow."he said while looking at Hope. "Do you want to walk me out?"
Hope's eyebrows shot up, but she quickly recovered and responded, "Sure" She actually was thinking about walking him to his truck, she felt she needed to apologize for leaving the bonfire so quickly and she wanted to do it in private. Even though she had come such a long way in her comfort level, she wasn't ready to suggest walking alone with him. So, she was relieved when he brought it up.
She got up and followed him out. They walked silently for a minute, so Hope used her "20 seconds of insane courage", from We Bought A Zoo, and decided to speak up. "Hey, I wanted to say I'm sorry for taking off from that bonfire a couple years ago. I've always been really shy and uncomfortable with new people. I guess I just lost my nerve, so again, I'm sorry."
Ethan paused walking, turned and looked right into her eyes, that soul-piercing look that he seemed to have perfected. "It's okay, Hope" (her knees went a little weak when he said her name) "I understand. I've always been a little shy myself, so I recognized it in you." He paused again for a second, then a look crossed his face, as if he made a decision about something.
"Would it be okay if I came back tomorrow night and took you on a drive? It would be kind of late, I have to work until 9, then the 30 minute drive after I go home and change..." Ethan seemed to be nervous as he spoke.
Hope thought she should put him out of his misery, "Of course, that would be great. Anytime you get here would be fine." She sent him a smile.
Ethan smiled back then, "Great, give me your number and I'll call when I'm on my way." They exchanged numbers and Ethan got in his truck. Hope watched and waved as he drove away. When he was out of sight, she put her hands to her blushing cheeks and sighed.
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Author's note -
Yay! We finally get Hope and Ethan in the same place! She really noticed how hesitant he was, and it was a good thing that Will spilled the beans about Ethan's feelings or Hope wouldn't have thought he was even interested in her. And can I say, bravo to her for getting the guts to speak up about leaving the bonfire. I know it seems like her personality is changing quickly, but in my mind, she has been ready for a change and Will and Diane are helping her with the courage to do it.
Notes on chapter title - back in black
I just had to. Simple as that. Ethan drives the black truck, always wears the black Yankee's cap (even though I'm an Angels girl myself). There's something mysterious about him. Truth be told, I had originally planned him as a dark character that Hope needed to stay away from. Funny though, Ethan wouldn't let me write him that way. So instead, I think we may all be cheering for... Hothen? Ethope? Oh well, their names don't make a good shipping combination.