Evelyn groaned as she rummaged through her sock drawer, frowning at her sister's immature and senseless request. Katie wanted Evelyn to return a pair of socks she'd borrowed years ago, before Evelyn moved out. Evelyn never remembered asking for them, it didn't sound like something she'd do, and if she did ask for them she had no idea how Katie remembered it. She was tired but her little sister was not going to let up until they were returned. So Evelyn kept looking. "Never mind, Ev! I found them!" she heard the younger girl shout from down the hallway. She rolled her eyes.

     Evelyn was about to shut her door and move on with her evening when the tips of her fingers ran along a hard object hiding at the very bottom of her drawer. She pulled it out and her heart almost stopped when she saw what it was. It was a framed picture of her and Troy from when they were younger, when they were supposedly together. It had once resided on her nightstand. It was one Katie took of them sitting at the dinner table, and she'd completely forgotten about it. Evelyn gave a sweet smile to the camera while Troy looked at her and reciprocated it, their hands intertwined under the table where nobody else could see. Her exhausted expression hardened as she stared, all her old emotions flooding back in. Her teenage self was so happy. Her teenage self was also crushed when she found out that her devotion meant nothing in the end.

A knock at the doorway caught Evelyn's attention. She immediately began to blink away her tears. She'd found herself crying a lot in the recent weeks. "Hey," Ethan's easy smile calmed Evelyn's nerves a bit, but she still didn't want him to see her upset about this, again. "What's that?" He gestured at the frame she was holding close to her chest. Evelyn was going to answer, but she figured it'd be better if she just showed him. She pointed the picture at him and his face dropped.

"Sorry, I know you probably don't want to hear me crying about this again," she solemnly chuckled and sniffled. She was going to change the subject and address the elephant in the room, because she had never seen Ethan like this, and it concerned her. "What happened to your face?" She questioned as he stepped into the room, shutting the door.

Ethan forced a grin back onto his face, not wanting to worry Evelyn. "It happened a couple days ago during one of my late shifts. It's whatever, accidents happen," Evelyn scoffed at the way he shrugged it off. Now she knew why he hadn't been coming over to see her, and why he was nowhere to be found when she wandered off to look for him. This wasn't even the worst of it.

"That bruise looks like it came from more than just an accident, E," she disregarded the old picture frame and moved towards her friend to get a closer look at his bruised face. He flinched at her touch, but she ignored it. She tilted his chin and turned his face. "Did someone hit you?" The tips of her fingers traced gentle lines over the discolored patch of skin.

"Do you want the truth?" Ethan avoided eye contact with the girl standing in front of him. He didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want her to know that he'd gotten into that scuffle because he wanted to defend her. He didn't know what reaction to expect from her.

"Of course I want the truth, Ethan," she moved her hand to cup the side of his cheek, the same way he did when he was comforting her a couple nights before. "Tell me what happened."

"Troy gave me this," Ethan winced as he saw Evelyn's expression change for the worst. Part of him knew she wouldn't react well when she heard this, but it was still hard watching it happen right it front of him. "But I kind of asked for it. I went looking for the fight, I was the one who threw the first punch and everything."

"Ethan... why?" Evelyn struggled to understand what it was that he was insinuating. Ethan wasn't a confrontational person, at least not the Ethan she knew of. He was the innocent boy next door, born and raised in Milwaukee. At first she was sure Troy had been the one to start it, as he'd always been hotheaded, even when he tried to hide it during their time together. Learning it was her friend who sparked up the whole ordeal shocked her in more ways than one.

"He kept hurting you," Ethan shrugged like it was no big deal. "And he was going to keep hurting you. I wanted to tell him to back off. That's what I did," Ethan's expression was impossible to read, but Evelyn still didn't take her eyes off of his face. "I don't want you to keep crying about him, Ev. He doesn't deserve any of your time or energy. You deserve to be happy, with me."

     Evelyn's face contorted at Ethan's sudden plea. He wish he could take back his words. He wasn't originally going to confess like this, this was nothing like what he'd imagined. "With you?" Her words trailed off and she stared at him with a confused, but hopeful glint in her eye.

     Ethan wanted to break eye contact again, but figured she deserved more than some shy, reluctant confession. Evelyn needed to know how he felt. He pulled her warm hand down from his face so that he could hold both of them. "I've felt this way for a while now. I want us to be together, Ev," he squeezed her hands as he watched her face soften. He felt like a huge weight was just lifted off of his shoulders.

Evelyn stayed silent for a little while, absorbing everything Ethan said. He wanted them to be together, just like she did. They could be together, and be so happy. "I want that too," she managed to whisper back to him. His lips curled up into a smile and she couldn't help but smile back at him. He dropped one of her hands so that he could place his on her flushed cheek, gently rubbing his thumb along her skin. Evelyn's heart began to race as she anticipated what was coming next. She appreciated the moment and stared into his eyes. They were darker than hers, but right now they seemed so light. It must've been how close together their bodies now were.

Ethan's head tilted downwards, his eyes searching for any sign that Evelyn didn't want this. He didn't find one, she instead drew closer to him, so he kept going. Slowly their faces got closer and closer until they were both afraid to keep going. They were in absolutely no rush to complete the moment. Evelyn was going to make the most out of it. One of her hands slid up his arm while the other gripped his shirt.

"Ethan," the mutter of the boy's name was so quiet it would barely classify as a whisper. He grinned. There was no point in waiting anymore. He leaned in completely, placing his lips against hers so softly to the point where it felt like he was just testing the waters. In a way he was, giving her the opportunity to pull away if that was what Evelyn wanted. But that wasn't what she wanted. The feeling of their kiss consumed her entirely. It was cautious, but still heartfelt and the way they held each other showed how much care and love was stored in their relationship. She never, ever wanted it to end. Her hands moved up to his face to pull him closer and deepen the kiss. He appreciated it, now knowing what she really wanted, and he wanted it just as much as she did. His hands moved to slide down her body, stopping at the small of her back. Evelyn's cheeks reddened even more.

     Reluctantly, Ethan pulled back despite Evelyn's need to keep going. Ethan couldn't help but smile into the lingering kiss, and allowed their lips to touch a few more times before moving back completely. If he didn't stop it now, they would probably end up kissing all night; he liked the idea of it, but the two had things they needed talk about. "Was that good?" He offered Evelyn a sideways, partially insecure smile and she beamed right back at him.

     She nodded in affirmation. "That was really good," her hands slid up so that she wrap her arms around his neck. He didn't protest the gesture. That made Evelyn's smile grow wider. "So... what now?"

     Ethan chuckled. He was pleased seeing how content and relaxed Evelyn was with him, which was just the cherry on top of their shared kiss. "Well, we could kiss again.. or we could talk about where you and I go from here."

     "Why can't we do both?" Evelyn tilted her head. Ethan found her response both cute and flattering, so he read between the lines and gave into her request, planting a quick kiss on her lips before pulling her over to the bed so that they could sit and talk.

     "So... where do we go from here?" Ethan could practically feel himself buzzing and he squeezed Evelyn's hands to calm himself down.

     "Well, I don't know," Evelyn's short response disappointed the both of them, so she took it upon herself to continue. "We both want to be with each other, right?"

     "Well I know, but I also do know how you are with relationships," Ethan started and Evelyn's stomach churned. She had no idea that this was the direction their conversation would be taking. He continued. "I know you don't trust easily. I hope you know that I never even consider hurting you, Evelyn."

     Evelyn chuckled. "I know that, Ethan. You're not just some random person that I have to get used to. You're my best friend and we know each other. I trust you with everything," her fingers soothingly ran over Ethan's knuckles to stop him from being so tense.

     "I trust you with everything too," Evelyn was happy to see Ethan unwind and watch his worry fade away. He tugged her close to him. Evelyn just let him. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she couldn't help but feel like their bodies were made to fit together. Like two puzzle pieces.

a/n
so... how do we feel???
ethan and ev kissed!!!!
i originally didn't imagine
it going down like this and
i didn't really plan on
updating twice in one weekend
but i got the picture frame
idea and i decided to type
it out so that i wouldn't forget
and then i just kept going
and now here we are lol.
i hope you enjoyed!!! let
me know what you thinkkk
wc: 1842
04.24.23