Ethan talked to Grayson about leaving for New Jersey to clear their heads and they decided to leave the city just two days later. I hadn't anticipated they would leave that quickly, but it was the middle of the semester and I was bogged down with work and classes anyway. Sure, I'd miss Ethan but it was only for ten days and I knew how much he needed it. Plus, I figured it would take a couple tries to really see through Rachel and figure out what her motive was. Since he had picked me up from the airport so sweetly not that long ago, I met Ethan at the airport while he thought I was in class to see him off.
He was waiting in the terminal for Grayson to get their tickets when I came up behind him. "Ethan Dolan, is that you?! Can I get an autograph?!" I scream whispered. He jumped and turned around, expecting a fan. His eyes grew large in excitement when he saw me.
"Viola! What are you doing here? I thought you had class." He gave me a big hug, which I returned. I kissed his chin before backing away so I could look at him while I spoke.
"I may have lied a little bit to surprise you." I said. "I just wanted to see you one more time before you left. I am gonna miss you, you know." I put my arms around him, taking in his smell and warmth while I could. It really would suck not having him around.
"Well I'm surprised! I'll miss you too. But don't worry, it's only ten days. And who knows? Maybe someday you'll be coming to Jersey with me." I shuddered a little at the romantic way he said it. I sure hoped so. I bit my lip instead of replying, but he still knew how I felt. He hugged me tightly and then Grayson came up with the tickets in hand.
"Hey, Viola. Thanks for seeing us off." I gave Grayson a big hug too. I had a sinking feeling that he might need it soon. Besides, he gave the best hugs.
"You two have fun and relax, okay? That's your only responsibility." They smiled and nodded, then I gave Ethan one more kiss before they headed through security. It was gonna be a long ten days.
Ethan and I texted every day, though not all the time since he was busy exploring with Gray and spending time with his family and friends. I wasn't mad, I just missed him and wondered what he was doing. I had made a little ground with Rachel, though. We had texted a little until I figured out what she liked and used it to my advantage to hang out with her. Basically, she ran on compliments. All I had to do was act like an adoring fan and she agreed to get coffee. The third day the twins were gone, I met her for coffee after my class.
"Hey, Rachel. Thanks for meeting up with me. I think Grayson and Ethan would like if we became friends." I said, sitting down at a table with her. She smiled shallowly.
"Oh, absolutely. There's always time for coffee, right?" She said. I nodded.
"True that. Especially in college." I said. "So tell me about yourself? Did you move to LA to work on your social media presence or are you from here?" I asked. I really didn't know much about this girl, a bio could only tell you so much.
"I'm just here in LA to meet guys and gain followers, basically. And go to the beach, of course. Plus everyone knows LA has the best parties." She said, looking more at her coffee than me. The way she tapped her freshly manicured nails on the rim of her cup drove me crazy.
"That's cool, so you're a party girl, then. There are some pretty great ragers at UCLA. You'll have to go with me sometime. Lots of cute frat boys and free alcohol." I said. Maybe my trap was too obvious, but I wanted to see if she would fall for it. She hesitated for a second.
"Why would I want frat boys when I have Grayson Dolan? And I can get free alcohol anywhere. You just need the right dress." She said. Okay, so maybe she was shallow. That wasn't a crime. She didn't admit to wanting to cheat, though. I still wasn't convinced she actually liked Grayson, though. I fake laughed at her comment.
"True, the Dolan twins are hard to beat. Plus they have millions of followers. You'd be the envy of all their fangirls if you dated them, right?" Maybe she was in it for the follower boost.
"Hey, no followers are bad followers, right? Jake Paul might have haters, but those haters got him ten million subscribers." I couldn't disagree with her logic.
"Yeah, but I don't want the fans to hate me. In fact, they're all pretty great. I have talked to a lot of them since Ethan and I went public and they have become my friends in a way. Do you ever talk to your followers, Rachel?" How she treated her own fans would be a reflection of how she was likely to treat Ethan and Grayson's fans.
"I mean, occasionally. I don't have nearly as many and Ethan and Grayson, but sometimes they give me opportunities. And you have to interact with fans to get your name out there. At the end of the day, they're the ones who tell other people about you." Rachel said. She was definitely right, but there was no affection for her fans like there was for Ethan and Grayson. Every time they talked about their fans, they talked about how funny they were and how they owed everything to them. I doubted Rachel cared about who followed her at all, as long as people did.
"So why are you dating Grayson? Is it his smile? His goofiness? Maybe you liked his personality in his vines?" I asked. In my opinion, you should date someone because you actually like them. And from what I could tell, Grayson really did like Rachel.
"Well all of the above, of course. I actually didn't know about him until Logan Paul mentioned him in his disstrack. I looked him up and thought he was really hot. I figured we would make a cute couple." She said. That said nothing about who he really was. Did she even care?
"So… you're dating him…. because he's hot." I repeated.
"Why are you dating Ethan? Is it because you like who he is or because some hot internet star deigned to look at you?" She said. I sat with my mouth agape for a moment. This girl had nerve. She certainly wasn't what she pretended to be around Ethan and Grayson.
"I do love Ethan for who he is. And Grayson. If all you see in Gray is his looks, you haven't even bothered to get to know him. He's smart and funny and creative and kind. Traits you obviously don't possess." I said, standing up. She stood in my path.
"I'm not stupid. I know why you invited me here. Grayson won't believe you. I have him wrapped around my little finger. We're gonna be a power couple, I am gonna become famous and then I can leave him behind." She said. Oh, we'll see about that. Ethan and Grayson know who I am. Get ready to be exposed, girly. I left the cafe angrily. I wasn't mad at Rachel. I was mad that Grayson had found someone who made him happy and she was totally fake. He didn't deserve that. Fuck her for doing this to Grayson.
"Hey E. I hope Jersey is amazing. I can't wait to see you and Grayson again. Enjoy every moment. Love you." I said. I wanted them to enjoy the peace, this could wait a few more days.
"Hey Vi. I needed this so badly. Gray and I are having the best time. I miss you, though. And Gray misses Rachel. I think we'll be ready to face LA again soon. Love you too." She doesn't deserve for you to miss her, Gray. I went to the beach to walk around and let off some steam. It was the evening now and the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon. I couldn't be mad while looking at something so beautiful. I looked at my still healing tattoo. It really did look like an LA sunset. I found the place where Grayson and Ethan had found me.
It was odd, but I felt like it was all about to come full circle. Ethan was my boyfriend but as I recall, Grayson was the first one to come up to me that night and give me a hug. It was my turn to save Grayson. I just hoped he trusted me enough to believe me. I cared just as much about Grayson as I did about Ethan. I wasn't going to let him get hurt if I knew I could stop it.
I went home after the sun set and went to bed as soon as I laid down. It had been a long day and I felt like I was getting sick. If there was anything that prevented sickness, it was a good night's sleep. And a good night's sleep it was.
The rest of the week went by quickly. Every time Rachel posted a new photo, I scrolled past it, annoyed. I didn't even want to see her face. It made me sick that she could use such a sweet person. Ethan told me about four wheeling, hiking, and late night fun in New Jersey. It seemed like this was just the thing they needed. Boy, was I ready for them to be home, though. Finally, it was Saturday and they were arriving at noon. I went to Ethan's apartment and got his car so he could drive us all back to his place. I drove very carefully on the way there. LA traffic was still a little overwhelming to me and Ethan's car was way too expensive for me to fix.
I waited anxiously at the gate for them to walk out and hug me. It was about five minutes past twelve and they were bound to walk out any second when a figure emerged next to me. A girl with long blonde hair and very short shorts with a tank top and no bra underneath. Rachel. Shit. I was going to tell Grayson when we got home. Now what was I gonna do? She would play innocent if she was there and I told him. I would look like a total jerk. If she bugs me too much, I may just have to risk that. If Ethan and Grayson don't believe me, I would rather they knew the truth than hide it and hurt Grayson. It would hurt, but they would realize eventually. If not, I would feel better knowing I told the truth.
I gave her a look out of the corner of my eye, which she returned. We both smiled when Ethan and Grayson turned the corner and headed toward us. They looked so much happier than when they left, and even happier to see us. I made sure Ethan wouldn't notice my agitation. "Hey, E" I said, tiptoeing to kiss him. He scooped me up and kissed me.
"Hey, Vi." He said. Man, I missed his voice. I eyed Grayson hugging Rachel, who glared at me over his shoulder. Ethan didn't notice. "Well, let's get going, then." We all walked out together, and pooled into the car. Luckily, Grayson wanted to sit next to Rachel so I didn't have to. I held Ethan's hand as he drove. At least I had that for comfort.
Rachel and Grayson sat on the couch when we got to their apartment, and Ethan pulled me straight to his bedroom. He closed the door quickly and immediately began feeling me up and kissing me against the door. I had a chance to tell him about Rachel, but he was being very distracting. His hands on my body were hard to ignore. "Ethan, I have someone to tell you." I said. He just mumbled and continued kissing me, moving from my lips to my neck. "Uh, Ethan. I'm- I'm serious." I said.
"Mhm, it can wait." he said. When he picked me up, I gave up. I couldn't focus on my own words anymore. He put me down on the bed and continued kissing me. Yep, not gonna happen right now. I just let it be and spent some time with Ethan instead. After a while, we decided to go join Grayson and Rachel to watch a movie. I ended up sitting next to Rachel on the couch, with Ethan and Grayson on the ends. For a while, it all went smoothly. Then we started to talk.
"So what did you two do while we were gone? I heard you went for coffee." Grayson asked. Rachel looked at me with fake sweetness.
"Oh, yeah. It was great. Vi and I really got to know each other." she said.
"Yeah. I know all about her now." I said.
"That's great! I knew you two would get along." Grayson said. "You're both so nice." How was she nice? She really had him fooled.
"Did you give her advice about the fans, Viola?" Ethan asked. I gritted my teeth. She doesn't give a shit about your fans, or hers.
"Oh, I think she's got it figured out." I replied shortly. The less I said, the better.
"Yeah, I already have quite a few followers as it is, and they are like my best friends. I hope yours can be too." She said. Okay, that was just a straight up lie. Enough.
"Okay, no. That's enough." I stood up. "Grayson, Rachel isn't who you think she is." Grayson looked shocked and confused.
"What are you talking about, Vi?" Ethan said, trying to get me to sit down. I brushed him off. I hated being rude to Ethan, but he needed to listen right now.
"Rachel doesn't care about you, Grayson. I could tell from the moment I met her. She doesn't act the same around me that she does around you. She only cares about becoming famous. She doesn't know anything about you or care who you are." I let my tears escape. I was so mad, I couldn't hold them back. "She even told me all this. All she cares about is that you're hot. Not your brain, or talent, or kindness, or humor. I hate to see someone use you and hurt you because you're my friend." I said. Grayson looked mad now and Ethan looked skeptical. Awesome.
"Viola, I respect your opinion but I think I know Rachel. We have talked for months. That a lot of judgements to make about a person. I can't believe you would say all those things about her. You barely know her." Grayson said. He was clearly holding back although he was really upset. He still had his arm around her. I looked at Ethan, but he didn't meet my eyes. My heart sank. At least I told the truth. I stormed out, grabbing my purse on the way. I started running down the street to my apartment.
Someone ran up behind me, trying to catch up with me. I looked back, and it was Ethan. "Leave me alone!" I yelled, picking up the pace. He was much faster than I was, and easily caught up to stop me. I tried to get away, but he was also much stronger. He held me in place, then pulled me into my arms.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. It's just me. Vi, please. I just want to talk. I believe you. I had a bad feeling about Rachel too." I stopped. He believed me. I cried more.
"You believe me?" I asked. He nodded. I relaxed and wiped away my tears. I put my arms around his shoulders. "Thank you for believing me. I love Gray. I don't want him to get hurt if I know I can help. He's important to me now too." I said. He pulled me close again and kissed my forehead.
"I know. That's why I love you. Thank you for looking out for Gray. I'll walk you home." He said. I took his hand and we walked in silence to my apartment. He came inside with me and I asked if he wanted to go home to Grayson. "I think I better leave them to work things out and give Grayson some space." I nodded. It was probably best. He stripped down to his boxers while I put on some pajamas and we climbed in bed. He held me tight as we fell asleep together. I was just glad I had my Ethan back. Hopefully we could help cheer up Grayson tomorrow.