Disclaimer: I do not own General Hospital I wasn't even a thought in the wind when this show was created. I do not own Ethan or Kristina or any of the other characters in this.
Summery: Takes place after the scene in 9/1/11 when Kristina overhears Ethan tell Skye all about her and how she's a messed up kid and feels sorry for her. Kristina decides enough is enough. If that is how he really feels about her, then she is done being the victim.
Notes: Thank you bellagh6969 for the review! I hope you like this chapter and more people let me know what they think! I know there are still Ethina fans out there. I'm still hoping Kristina will one day make well on her promise to marry him someday!
XOXOX
It's been a week since Ethan and Kristina ran into each other at Kelly's. Since that day, Kristina has kept her vow to herself and stopped going into the small cafe so she wouldn't run into him. She went to class and chose to study at the campus library instead of home or Kelly's. She didn't even want to be tempted to call him out for being horrible to let her think they were really friends. She didn't go to the docks because she didn't want to run into anyone that would ask her how she was making her have to lie and say she was fine. So she kept herself busy with school; it made her mom happy but she knew Molly figured something was wrong; her little sister was too smart for her own good.
He sent her two messages in the week they haven't seen each other. One asking how she was and the second asked her when she wanted to get that coffee but both messages stayed in her phone unanswered. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of going off on him, giving him more ammunition on how she was too immature. She was trying to tell herself that this was for the best, yet every night she can't help but think of all the good he's done for her. How could all those things be a lie? Was she really that naive?
She just chose to use the silent treatment, not her most mature option but it was working out so far. She kept silent not so he would worry, because she now knows he doesn't worry about her like a friend or anything else would. He would worry about her out of obligation or the fear of him being blamed if something did happen to her and Kristina was no one's obligation. If someone wanted to be in her life they would be because they wanted to not because they had to. Excluding Max and Milo, the sweet body guards were in her life out of obligation to her father but she knows they are good people who have protected her with their lives.
When she looks at the clock she sees it's already after six and starts to pack up her things. She sees some people in her classes and gives a quick hi, but other than that people are too afraid to talk to her because of who her father is. It sucked but it was something she was used to.
On her way out of the library she looks at the bulletin board and sees a flier with a coupon for a new salon. It was a special; get a dye job or highlights with a free hair cut. Kristina fingered her own long medium brown hair and thought about how now might be time for a change. She was sick of being the little girl with the long brown hair that everyone looked at like she was sixteen still.
She smiled to herself and ripped the flier off the board and headed to the salon. It was time for a new Kristina.
By the time she made it to the salon it was almost seven, she sees the place almost empty and thinks maybe it was about to close. She looks at their closing time and sees it doesn't close until 10pm. Perfect.
She walks in and the middle aged man gives her a warm smile.
"Hello, I don't have an appointment but I was wondering if I can get highlights and a cut? I have a coupon." She says to him politely making the man smile back at her.
"Oh of course honey, you just missed the rush to be honest! Most people don't come in after six but since we just opened up we wanted to see when our client tell is available." He explains and gently guides her to a young woman who was sitting in her own chair, playing on her phone.
"Hey sweetie, what can I do for you?" She asks Kristina nicely. While she liked her down time, she needs the work or she would not make it till 10:30.
Kristina smiles and tells her what she was thinking of. A little bit of highlights with a haircut to frame out her face and give her more volume.
The lady smiles at her and stands up.
"My name is Nancy and I think I can help you out. Sit and we can get started." She motions for her to sit in the chair she was just in.
Kristina puts her bags in an empty chair and looks at Nancy through the mirror.
"So tell me hun, what brought on wanting this new look?" She asks the younger girl to make conversation. Some customers don't like to make small talk and you can usually tell who they are when they walk in. This girl seems like she might want to talk.
Kristina takes a deep breath as Nancy starts playing with her hair. She doesn't want to tell this woman her whole life story but she doesn't want to seem rude. Plus it would be nice to talk to someone.
"I don't want to look weak. I don't want to look like a foolish child anymore. I'm almost nineteen and want to look it." She says looking at the woman straight in her eyes.
Nancy wasn't sure who was making this girl into a fool but whoever it was made a big mistake. That girl definitely didn't seem weak.
"Don't worry my dear, I know just what to do. Trust me?" She asks her softly.
Kristina gave her a small smile but she didn't like her calling her hun or sweetie all the time; Ethan always called her luv and it was making her heart hurt.
"My name is Kristina and as long as my hair is longer than to my chin I give you creative control." She tells her and Nancy smiles.
"Perfect because I'm thinking side bang and layers!" She smirks and Kristina can't help but grin back at her.
She started feeling like a new woman the second the highlights were put in her hair.
XOXOX
At the Haunted Star, Ethan was behind the bar doing inventory trying to think about what he needs to order for this weekend. Who knows when his father was going to be back but until then the club was his responsibility.
If he were being completely honest with himself, he's been bored out of his mind this week. He saw Johnny a couple times in passing but he was surprised Kristina never answered him about getting coffee. It was very unlike her.
Since she turned eighteen, he was so used to her being around or texting him when she was busy. Their friendship may not be conventional but then again neither was he or Kristina. They were different but that was part of what he liked about his friendship with the younger girl.
She understood him, something that not only baffled him but amazed him. No one seemed to really get him and yet she did right from the start. Yes, the two of them had a very rocky road but he came to value his friendship to her. She was there for him when his marriage with Maya was a bust, she stubbornly refused to leave him alone at his lowest points and he gave her a lot of credit for that.
Although the last few months have been a little nuts. All the times she came onto him, flirting with him, claiming she knew he felt the same but didn't want to admit it; those times were a little tiresome for him.
Not that he didn't notice how beautiful she was; she was always beautiful, he knew that when she was sixteen. No, it was the fact that she lived a very sheltered life compared to the one he lived in and he didn't want to taint the last shreds of innocence Kristina does have.
He knew it sounded stupid even to himself because he really didn't have romantic feelings for her, but he didn't want Kristina to know all about his past, he didn't want her to look at him like everyone else does. Like he's a con man, like he was trash. He likes that Kristina has faith in him. That she looks up to him and trusts him to protect her.
He may not love all of her flirting but he does miss her. Yeah, that was all.
He wonders what she is up to. Maybe he will stop by the Lake House tomorrow.
XOXOX
When Kristina comes home a little before 10, she is surprised to see Sam's car in the driveway instead of her mom's. She guesses her mom had to work late and asked Sam to watch Molly.
She kind of wished that her mom was home to see her new look but she does admit she would love to hear her sisters' opinions.
She opens the door slowly to see Sam and Molly on the couch laughing at the television. When they hear the door and see Kristina they both gasp!
"Oh my goodness Kristina you look amazing! So much older." Molly exclaims running to her sister to touch her new hair do.
Kristina smiles shyly and thanks her little sister. She has to admit, Nancy did a fabulous job. She gave her honey brown highlights just to make her hair a little lighter and her haircut is unbelievable. Nancy cut her hair that was down her back to a little past her shoulders in many layers but also gave her long bangs that framed her face, adding more volume, and made her look a little older.
Sam slowly gets up and gives her little sister a smile. She does think Kristina looks amazing, she looks so grown up but she just hopes she didn't make this drastic change to her appearance to get anyone's attention. Like Ethan's.
"You look beautiful sweetie. What made you get this? Looking to impress anyone?" Sam asked her softly but Kristina's eyes turned icy.
"No, I didn't do this to 'impress' anyone. I definitely didn't do this for Ethan, which I know is what you are thinking. I did this for myself!" She says harshly making Sam flinch as she saw the fire in her sister's eyes.
Whatever happened between her and Ethan really hurt her emotionally, she just hopes her sister is okay. While she was never crazy about Ethan, she had to admit the slightly older man was good for her little sister. He made her happy in ways no one else ever has. She knows Ethan has some feelings for Kristina but until he can figure them out himself, maybe it's a good thing that the two of them seemed to be out of touch.
"I'm sorry Krissy I didn't mean to sound accusing. I love your hair, it's beautiful. Molly's right, you look very grown up." Sam apologized and Kristina gives her a smile in forgiveness.
Sam is being a good sister, but a part of her knows Sam feels sorry for her too. Sorry about not stopping her from getting kidnapped when she was little, sorry about wanting to choose her baby's life over her's before they knew they were related, sorry about not stopping Keifer. What Sam doesn't realize is that she needs to learn how to save herself. She has to stop relying on other people. Sam and Ethan may not be the same, Sam is her sister; but they still think of her as a weak little girl who can't handle the real world.
"We should get ice cream to celebrate this new you!" Molly interrupts before they could get into an argument. She knows something happened between her and Ethan. She over heard her sister crying in her room last week and her sister NEVER cried for something little. The next day she saw her sister watching Titanic, her all time favorite tragic romance movie. Since then she hasn't mentioned Ethan or even looked at her phone.
Whatever happened, Molly knew she would have to talk to one or both of them. It wasn't right; Ethan was her sister's epic love! She knew it from the moment they met at Jake's. A strong chemistry washed over them but Ethan was being pressured by too many people to stay away from her and that put him in extreme denial about his feelings for her! It was a disaster. She was going to get to the bottom of this but she would have to be sneaky. Possibly reading her sister's journal.
Kristina rolled her eyes at her sister.
"Molly it's almost 10 at night, you don't need ice cream." Kristina says although if she were being honest, she could do for a big cone of rocky road.
"Well I think it'd be a great idea! We could use some sister time, the three of us." Sam agrees with Molly and grabs her and Molly's coat so they can all go.
Kristina shrugs but agrees and the three of them head out.
They end up parking in the street by the late night ice cream parlor that closes at 10:30. They quickly get out and rush to get there before they close. Thankfully, the workers didn't start cleaning up yet so they opened the doors for them and took their orders. Sam was very grateful since she was also in desperate need of ice cream and gave the young kids a nice tip for their kindness.
On their way back to the car they were surprised to see Johnny walking in the streets.
"Hi Johnny!" Molly says happily. She knew Sam had issues with the guy but he was always nice to her so she wouldn't be rude to him.
Johnny smiles at the youngest Davis daughter and says hello to the sweet kid. He turns to see Sam and gives her a polite nod in acknowledgment which he gets back in return and he then is shocked to see Kristina. She looked so different! So much older and dare he say it sexier?
"Hey Kristina, wow, you look great." He compliments and Kristina just gives a small smile.
"Thank you."
"You been good?" He had to ask. He saw Ethan the other day and his friend seemed a little crankier than normal. Maybe this new look was the reason behind it. It was hard to deny your feelings for someone when they looked so amazing.
"Yeah just working hard at school. This is my first free night in awhile so I want to spend it with my family. Anyway, I hope you have a great night." She says wanting to make the conversation as short as possible. She didn't want him to mention Ethan or ask where she's been.
Molly chirps her goodbye to the older man and the three make their way back to the car where they go back to the Lake House and watch romantic comedies.
XOXOX
After running into the girls, Johnny finds himself going to the Haunted Star to see what his buddy Ethan was doing. It was weird how his conversation with Kristina went. Usually she was a chatter box to him but this time felt like a blow off.
He walks in and sees Ethan at the bar with a drink of whiskey by his side as he plays with his cards.
"Hey Ethal how's it going my man?" Johnny says loudly interrupting his thoughts. Ethan turns and gives him a grin.
"Hey mate, it's going alright. Plop a chair, I'll get you a drink." Ethan says as he gets up from the bar stool and walks over to get his buddy a drink.
"Thanks man. What have you been up to?"
Ethan shrugs in a bored way. Truthfully he was going nuts. He was itching for something new to do.
"Just helping time go by faster." He answers before sitting back down.
Johnny nods, thinking about how Kristina seemed to brush him off before. Maybe he was just imagining it but he was used to her coming to him when she wanted to vent about Ethan. He was personally rooting for them and loved to make Ethan jealous by mentioning how cute he thought she was. She was cute, but she was too in love with Ethan to even think about trying anything.
"Hiding out from Kristina? Not surprised after seeing her new look." He teases his Aussie friend but Ethan just looks at him confused and dare he say it, a little jealous! Oh this was one of his favorite hobbies.
"What are you talking about?" He was confused, when would Johnny have seen Kristina? He hasn't even heard from her in a week. What new look could he be talking about?
Johnny shrugs hiding his smirk.
"Oh I just ran into her with her sisters at the pier just now. She must have just got a new hair do or something because she looked gorgeous! She looked at least 3 years older. Very sexy if I say so myself." He over dramatically gushed over the only daughter of Sonny Corinthos. While he hated her father, he had respect for Kristina. She was a good girl; a little crazy but that isn't surprising considering who her parents are. He also gave her props for standing up for her feelings for Ethan, fighting her mob boss father on it; all while everyone tells her she is too young, including Ethan. Girl's been through hell but she was stubborn and she knew what she wanted and wouldn't let anyone tell her otherwise. People didn't give her enough credit.
Ethan tries to not read into his mate's words but he was having trouble. He hated when Johnny talked about Krissy that way! She was not a piece of meat to gawk at, she was a young lady who should be respected. She was already used by a bloke once, he wanted to stop that from ever happening again.
"I actually didn't know she looked any different, haven't heard from her all week." He tries to shrug it off nonchalantly but Johnny saw right through it. He knew it bothered him he hasn't seen her all week. Putting aside the fact that guy was crazy about Kristina, he did value their weird friendship.
"Well if it makes you feel better, she said she was really busy with school." and he sees Ethan nod like that had to be the reason he hasn't heard from her. They both knew school never stopped her from seeing him in the past.
They talk for awhile until Johnny tells him he has to go and will talk to him soon. Ethan waves him off half hardheartedly as he takes a big gulp of his whiskey.
He thinks about what Johnny said about Krissy being busy with school. He knows for a fact she just started school and shouldn't have a full case load yet. The last he heard they were mostly reviewing things she already knew which was why she stopped by the Haunted Star the night of his poker game.
Maybe something was going on...maybe Kristina was talking to some bloke and didn't have time for him or anyone.
The bad feeling inside his chest he blamed on the whiskey.
TBC