"Hey, Ethan," I said sleepily, when I opened the door. I had pulled an all-nighter the night before, studying for a test that I had in about an hour and had slept in late.

"It's noon. You're still sleeping?" he asked, walking into my apartment. I yawned and stretched, following him to my living room and sitting on the couch facing him. I rested my head again the back of the couch, my eyes half-open.

"I have a huge government exam today. I was up all night studying," I explained, yawning again. He put his hand in front of my mouth and patted it as I yawned. I laughed, moving his hand away.

"Want to go out tonight?" he asked. I closed my eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"Like, just to hang out. We haven't done that in a while," he said. I opened my eyes and looked at him curiously.

"All right. If I can stay awake long enough," I said. He ruffled my hair.

"Take a nap after your test. Did you skip all your classes today?" he asked me. I smiled at him in response and he shook his head. "I'll pick you up at 9," he said, getting up.

"Wait!" I called as he made his way to the door.

"What?" he asked.

"Can you make me some coffee, please?" I asked, laying down on the couch.  He came back to the couch.

"Ace?" he asked.

"Mmmm?" I mumbled, my eyes almost completely closed. He reached over me, pulling the pillow out from underneath me and smacked me over the head with it.

"Wake up, loser," he said, walking into the kitchen.

"Jack-ass!" I yelled, sitting up and frowning. I heard him laugh and the sound of him putting coffee beans in the coffee maker.

"All right. I started it off for you. I have to go or I'll be late for class. See you later," he said, walking out. I groaned and slouched back onto the couch. I wanted to go back to sleep.

                                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How'd you do on the exam?" Austin asked after we walked out. I shrugged as he took my hand in his.

"It wasn't too bad, I think. There were some that were definitely arguable, though," I told him.

"Yeah, we could probably argue points back if we had to," Austin remarked.  "So I think, in celebration of being done with that horrible test, we go out tonight," he suggested. I stopped walking. "What happened?" he asked.

"Ummm, I'm sort of already going out with Ethan tonight," I told him. His hand fell from mine and he raised his eyebrows.

"Going out with him?" he asked.

"Not in the sense you're thinking. We're going out to a club, just to hang out," I explained.

"So you'd rather go out with him than your boyfriend?" he stated.

"Austin, don't make this a big deal. It's not a competition. Ethan asked me first and I'm not going to cancel on him. We can go out tomorrow night," I said. He shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. I don't want to be a second option. I'll see you later, Avery," he said, walking away, clearly angry. I glared after him. He was pissing me off with his jealous mood lately. He seemed to think that he and Ethan were battling for my attention. I was giving enough to both of them. He had no reason to complain.

I shoved the angry thoughts out of my mind. I wasn't going to let his angry mood spoil my night to have fun and relax.

                                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Friday Night Relaxing. How long has it been since we've done this?" Ethan asked while driving.

"FNR. A while, I think," I said. "I don't think we have since..." I paused.

"Since you started dating Austin," he finished for me. I frowned and opened the window, propping my elbow out. "Fighting again?" he asked. I nodded. "Doesn't that tell you anything?" he asked.

"Like what?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I don't know. You two are always fighting about something. I thought you didn't like complicated relationships," he said.

"I don't," I told him.

"Then?" he asked, glancing at me.

"Remember how I said I wanted this to be a mature relationship?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Well, that's what I'm doing. I figure if I back out because of one problem, I'll never set the stage up for myself for a good relationship. I need to learn to deal with problems instead of holding them off or ignoring them," I explained.

"It's not just one problem, though. It's always one thing or another," Ethan pointed out. I looked out the window. He was right. I honestly didn't even know why I was still with Austin. All we did was make-out or argue. We hadn't even had sex, yet. I always backed out whenever he tried.

"All right. Forget everything we just talked about. It's time to have fun," he said, getting out of the car. We both made our way to the club.

"ID's?" the bouncer asked. We showed him our ID's and he let us in. The music was already blasting and the night was underway. I felt my mood lift immediately. We made our way to the bar to get some drinks. Ke$ha's 'Blow' came on and Ethan and I looked at each other and laughed.

"This place about to blow-oh-oh-oh-oh," we sang together.

When the bartender gave us our drinks, we both disappeared into the crowd of dancing, sweaty bodies. I felt the beat inside of me and danced, too. For a few moments, I lost Ethan in the crowd and danced with some strangers. I finally found Ethan just as the DJ put on a slow song. We looked all around us. Couples were joining together, swaying back and forth with each other. I looked at Ethan, who gazed back at me. I took a deep breath decided to slow dance with him. I put my hands around his neck and he placed his on my hips. I rested my head on his muscular chest and closed my eyes.

"I don't want to play these games anymore. I'm tired of watching you walk out the door. Hiding here still, scared to reveal, how we really feel. Baby, this is so real," the singer sang. "Tell me have you ever noticed, when we're all alone, how you get so nervous. Baby, why can't you see that you're searching all the wrong places. You say you've been through it all. Don't know how you're going to change it. Tell me why can't you see, that you're searching all the wrong places," the song continued. I looked up at Ethan and was surprised to see how earnestly he was looking at me. My eyes flitted over his suddenly serious face. Was he listening to the lyrics, too?

I looked over Ethan's shoulder, just so I wouldn't have to meet his intense gaze. Was I searching all the wrong places? Could it be that my best friend was meant to be something more than just my best friend? Should I let him in? I closed my eyes. No. He's my friend. I had to snap out of these thoughts. I had a boyfriend.

The song ended and the DJ put on a faster paced one. The people around us began getting into it again. I moved away from Ethan.

"Are you all right, Ace?" he asked me. I nodded, unable to speak. When I found my voice, I looked at him.

"I just need...I need some air. I'll be right back," I managed to say, stumbling outside after my jumbled thoughts and emotions.

                                                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                                                             Ethan's POV

The DJ had played the song that I had asked him to. I watched Avery's expression the entire time as we danced, slowly swaying back and forth to the soft beat. She seemed to be internally struggling with her emotions. Was she listening to the lyrics of the song? Did she know that I was trying to communicate to her through the music?

She kept glancing at me and then looking away. Her thoughts were discernable. It seemed impossible to think that I had known her for sixteen years and was always able to read her mind, but now, everything seemed cloudy. She was getting better at masking her emotions and my vision was becoming unclear because of my changing feelings. Was I scared to know what she was really thinking?

When the song ended, she pushed away from me slightly, creating a distance between us.

"Are you all right, Ace?" I asked her, concern flooding me. She nodded, but seemed to be unable to find the words to speak.

"I just need...I need some air. I'll be right back," she told me. She turned and vanished into the crowd of dancing bodies.

I sighed and went to the bar and got another drink.

"That your girlfriend?" the bartender asked. She was a woman, probably around 30 years old, with cropped blonde hair and several piercings in her ear. Her nametag read Linda.

"No, she's just..." I let my sentence disappear into the music.

"Complicated?" Linda asked.

"As of recently," I replied. She nodded.

"You two are cute together," she said. "Don't let her get away. You'll regret it once she's gone and then it'll be too late," she advised.

"I don't know what to do, though," I said, downing my drink. She filled it up again and I downed that, too, feeling a buzzing in my ears. "She already has a boyfriend. And she only thinks of me as a friend," I explained.

"From the look on her face when you two were dancing, she doesn't seem like she gives a rat's ass about her boyfriend. As for the friend thing, you have to make a move. Do something to let her know that you don't want to be just friends," she instructed. I pursed my lips, taking in her advice. She was right. How was Avery supposed to know how I felt if I didn't say or do anything? I had to make a move. I had to be willing to risk jumping off of that friendship ladder and onto the boyfriend one, even if it meant that I could miss and start to free fall.

"Thanks," I said, raising the glass she just filled. I drank it and made my way back into the crowd, feeling the alcohol start to buzz inside of me. I searched the crowd for her and spotted her coming back in from outside. I began pushing my way to meet her.

"Ace!" I called. She glanced up and began walking towards me. I felt a surge of confidence well up inside of me as we made our way towards each other. When I stood in front of her, though, I didn't know what to say and my mind went blank. What was I doing?

                                                                    End of Ethan's POV

                                                                       ~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you drunk?" I asked.

"Uhhh..." he replied, not really answering me. I gave him a look.

"Toto, I leave you alone for a half an hour and you go off and get drunk," I scolded, grabbing his arm as he began to sway slightly.

"Let's go home," he suggested. His voice was clear and crisp. He didn't sound drunk at all, but I could see it from the way his face was slightly flushed and his eyes were a bit unfocused that he was.

"All right, but give me the keys," I said, holding my hand out.

"Why?" he asked, pulling them out and grasping them in his hand.

"Because you cannot drive home in the state you're in," I replied, grabbing his hand to pull the keys away.

"I'm not drunk," he insisted, pulling his hand back.

"Of course you're not. Now give me the keys," I said, trying to pry his fingers off of the keys.

"I'm not drunk," he repeated.

"You might not be completely drunk, but I still don't trust you to drive," I said firmly, looking him directly in the eyes. He blinked and then let go of the keys, letting me have them. We walked out into the cool mid-March air, the change in temperature sudden from the heat inside the club. We drove home in silence. I was acutely aware of the fact that Ethan kept opening and then closing his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but couldn't figure out how to.

We got to his apartment and I parked outside. I decided to help him get to his place and make sure he was all right before going back home. We walked up the stairs to his apartment and went inside.

"I'm thirsty," Ethan said, going into the kitchen and getting himself water. "Do you want some?" he called.

"No, I'm good," I replied. After he drank water, he went into the bathroom to change. He came out wearing a pair of shorts and a muscle tank. I went into his room and he lay down on his bed. "You all right now? Am I good to go? You're not going to do anything crazy like jump out a window?" I asked. He laughed.

"I'm not that drunk," he assured me, smiling up at me. The light from the streetlamp outside cast a shadow on his face, but a sliver of light fell over his eyes, making them glitter. I smiled back at him.

"Are you all right?" he asked me.

"Me? Why wouldn't I be?" I asked. He shrugged.

"You seemed preoccupied all night," he answered. I blinked. He had noticed.

"I'm fine," I said, trying to sound convincing. I got up. "I should go. It's getting late. I'll bring your car-" I began to say but he cut me off.

"Why don't you stay the night? You had a few drinks, too. And it's almost 2 in the morning. I don't want you out this late by yourself," he said.

"It's all right. I'm just driving to my apartment," I said.

"Ace, please, just stay the night. It'll spare me some worrying," he said. I sighed.

"All right, but I don't have clothes with me," I pointed out. He got up and pulled a large t-shirt from his closet. He tossed it at me and I caught it. I went into the bathroom and changed out of my tight dress and pulled the t-shirt on. I didn't bother asking him for shorts. I knew they wouldn't stay around my waist, anyway, so I walked out in my underwear. The t-shirt was long enough, anyway. I went back into his room and he was sitting up in bed.

"I'll sleep in the living room on the pull-out couch," I suggested. He shook his head.

"I'll sleep there. You sleep in here," he said, patting the bed next to him. I climbed onto the bed and he made no movement to get off. I raised my eyebrows at him. He gazed at me, his face serious, his expression intense. Then, he slowly began leaning in. And maybe it was the slight alcohol that was obscuring my judgment, or my emotions finally taking over my intellect, but I leaned in, too.

And then I was kissing him. I was kissing him like I had never kissed anyone in my life. The fireworks and electrical surge that went through were a million times stronger than anything I felt when kissing Austin. Austin.

I pushed his name out of my mind. Austin who?

We broke apart for a moment, both of us breathing heavily. I saw a fire in his eyes, full of longing and love. It wasn't lust. I knew for sure it wasn't lust because his expression was different than Austin's whenever things were getting intense between us. It was love. He reached up and stroked my hair. I placed my hand on his as he brought my face closer to his. Then I closed the gap between us, and we were kissing again.

It grew warm inside the room suddenly. I felt him reach under the oversized t-shirt and pull it off over my head. I pulled his tank off and threw it to the ground. We fell backwards onto the bed and he began planting kisses all over my body, wherever he could find bare skin. He brought his lips to my ear.

"Do you want to do this?" he whispered, his breath warm against my already warm skin. The sound of his voice seemed to trigger my common sense. I shook my head.

"Not right now," I whispered back. I turned my face slightly to see his expression. It wasn't disappointed. It was understanding. He nodded and pulled away, laying down on the bed. I hesitated, and then crawled up next to him, curling beside him. As we got our emotions under control, our breathing slowed. Soon, Ethan was asleep, his chest moving up and down rhythmically. I found myself counting each time it went up, down, up, down, up, down....

______________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hhehehe. Happy now? Don't think it's all peaches and cream, though. We've still got Austin to deal with.

Comment and vote! Especially because I took the time out of studying to write this chapter.

XOXO