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インスタグラム // 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦
𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝗁𝖺𝗌
𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗂𝗋 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒!

𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 via instagram stories
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𝟣𝟣 𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗀𝗈. . .

私はメッセージ// 𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞
𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝗍𝖾𝗑𝗍!

⤹ *·˚ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍 😌 ⋆.ೃ࿔*
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𝖳𝗈𝖽𝖺𝗒 𝟧:𝟣𝟪 𝗉.𝗆.

i'm outside baggage claim

mand-ella effect 🤟🏻
uh so am i and i don't see you

HOW?!
i don't see you anywhere

mand-ella effect 🤟🏻
dude did you turn invisible
where tf are you at

shit i guess idk
wait are you wearing a hot pink
hoodie

mand-ella effect 🤟🏻
nope

are you the girl with her hair
up in a messy but cute ponytail
that's wearing i think those are
leggings with a tan coat??
that's the only person that looks
like you but her back is kinda
turned so idk if that's you or not

mand-ella effect 🤟🏻
yup that's my dumbass

実生活 // 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

     TUCKING HER PHONE INTO HER COAT POCKET, AMANDLA JONES SPUN ON HER HEEL TO SEE GRAYSON DOLAN STANDING AWKWARDLY NEAR THE EXIT OF BAGGAGE CLAIM. With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed her suitcase and lugged it behind her as she made her way across. Quickly, the brown-haired boy met her halfway and pulled her into a tight embrace. Amandla's arms curled around him and she held him closely, feeling Grayson bury his head into her neck. His body shook slightly and tears immediately came to her eyes. Blinking them back, she pushed down the lump in her throat.

     The last time the two of them had been together was in early October and it was now January. It'd been the longest they'd been apart since they became friends, and the YouTuber would be lying if she said she hadn't missed him. However, that longing didn't fully hit her until she was holding him, and it slammed into her like a tidal wave.

     In June of two-thousand-and-seventeen, Amandla met Grayson and Ethan at the MTV Studios in Los Angeles. She was arriving to film a video and they were on their way out when they bumped into each other. None of them had met before but they followed each other on Twitter and were very aware of who the other was.

     It'd been Grayson who had initially spoken to her while Ethan stood beside him shyly, unable to speak. They talked for a few minutes and did introductions before Grayson suggested that they hang out sometime. Amandla had shrugged and agreed, not thinking anything would come of it, but boy was she proven wrong. That very night, they all went to grab food and ended up talking in Ethan's car until three in the morning. After that, they exchanged numbers and became fast friends.

     Amandla and Grayson were very close and similar in many ways. Their connection had always been platonic while her's with Ethan had blossomed into an eventual relationship. Despite anything that happened between her and E, Amandla and Grayson's friendship never wavered and that was something she was incredibly grateful for.

     The twin's family and her's became very close and were there every step of the way throughout her father's health journey. Sean and her father had become close friends and it was incredibly hard watching them both go through the same thing at the same time. So, when her father had died, it rocked everyone. Now, Sean's time was coming and Amandla wasn't sure if she was going to be able to handle losing two important people in her life within only a year apart.

     "Thank you," Grayson choked out; his voice causing the brown-haired girl to blink.

     Nodding, she pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "Always," she whispered, tightening her hold on him. They stood still for a few more minutes, receiving looks from those passing by.

     Eventually, he pulled away and sniffed, quickly wiping his eyes. "We should get going," he nodded, taking her luggage in his hands. Wordlessly, Amandla walked beside him as they made their way out of the airport. As they left, the YouTuber couldn't help but notice a few teenagers taking pictures. A quiet sigh left her lips and she ducked her head, hoping no one would come up to them.

     It wasn't that she didn't love meeting people, because she did, but not today. She didn't want the twins to have to deal with anything else on top of what they were already dealing with. Luckily, no one came up to or stopped them.

     Soon they arrived at Ethan's truck in the back of the parking lot. "Why didn't you drive your car?" Amandla questioned, jumping into the passenger seat.

     After placing her suitcase in the back, Grayson hopped in, locking the doors. "Cam's using it. She went out earlier to get Dad something at the house and she's going to pick up food for everyone," he answered, starting up the car. Nodding, she glanced over at him and frowned. Nothing but clear and utter stress masked his features and the circles under his eyes were sullen and dark.

     "When's the last time you've slept?" she murmured once they'd merged onto the highway minutes later.

     Grayson shrugged. "I uh, I don't know. It's been a while."

     "I'm assuming E's been the same way?" she followed up with.

     "Yup," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I'm really hoping you being here will help him. I know it's going to with everyone else—it's already taken some stress and anxiety off my shoulders—but I really want it to help him. He's struggling, Ella. More so than I am, but I'm not really the one who just broke up with the love of their life because their insecurities got in the way."

     Amandla's eyes widened. "All right then, call it like you see it and tell me how you really feel," she joked lightly, and he snorted.

     "I'm just being honest. Ethan breaking up with you after you fought with him for days not to was the dumbest thing he's ever done, and he's stupid and makes dumb decisions every day, but that one took the top spot. He let his overthinking and insecurities get in the way rather than talking it out and trusting you. He should have never done it," Grayson huffed, leaning back into the driver's seat.

     Averting her eyes out the window, she nodded in agreement. "Tom and I are pausing whatever it is that we have going on. He knows I still love Ethan and am in love with him. Not as much as I used to be, but still. It's why I can't tell Tom that I'm in love with him because I'm not. At least not fully; not in the way that I still am with E. What Tom and I have... it goes deeper than love and I've realized that, but it doesn't change how I feel about E. I told him that he didn't have to compete with Tom because there was no competition going on, but he didn't listen to anything I said. I get it; I understand why, but sometimes I really wish he had just trusted me.

     "After everything we went through—the rumors about us, the stuff with my dad, both of our trust issues, and how hard it was for me to allow myself to be with him—I thought that it would count for something. But it didn't. Looking back though, I think our relationship ended the night he FaceTimed me when I was at Tom's. When he called me out for the way I look at Tom and how it wasn't the same the way I stare at him, and he wasn't and isn't wrong. Tom was the first person I ever fell for and that will always stay with me, but Ethan was my future, you know? He was it for me, and he knew that. Despite the distance and despite our jobs, he was going to stay being my top priority. I just—I'm rambling at this point, so feel free to cut me off." Amandla forced a chuckle, shaking her head as tears came to her eyes.

     Grayson glanced over. "Amandla," he called. "I will listen to you ramble forever, all right? You're one of my best friends and I love listening to you. I love you. I agree with everything you said and I get it, I understand both sides. However, I will say I am more on yours than Ethan's because he's fucking stupid," he laughed, and she snorted. "He made a mistake, one that he's just now coming to realize was ridiculous. I don't know, maybe there's hope, or maybe what you both need is proper closure. Whatever it is, I hope you get it. Both of you."

     Amandla sent him a small smile, "Thank you."

     Not a minute later, they'd arrived at the hospital. The sight of it set her nerves on edge and she tensed, all color draining from her face. She hadn't been here in a while, and she had prayed none of them would ever have to return.

     "Yeah, I hate it too." Grayson mumbled, pulling the keys out of the ignition as he noticed her change in demeanor.

     In silent unison, the two hopped out of the car. Shrugging off her trenchcoat, Amandla tossed it in the passenger seat and grabbed her purse. As they made their way to the entrance, Grayson wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. Automatically, she put her arm over his waist and held her breath as they wandered through the lobby and to the elevators.

     "Why do I have a feeling E's going to react negatively to seeing me here?" Amandla suddenly blurted as they stepped into the next available elevator shaft. The doors closed and the boy next to her rolled his eyes.

     "He won't, I promise," he reassured her, his arm falling from her shoulder as they landed on the third floor. "That's your anxiety talking."

     "Well, this bitch needs to shut up," she grumbled, trailing down the light-blue painted hallway. The floor was nearly empty and incredibly silent; their footsteps echoed off the walls as they walked. Turning left, the breath in the YouTuber's throat hitched as her eyes landed on Ethan. He was standing at the end of the hall, looking out the window by himself. As her eyes washed over him, she saw that he was wearing an oversized hoodie over her's.

     "El," Grayson hissed.

     Shifting her line of sight, she blinked, unaware of the fact that her feet had planted themselves firmly on the ground. Recovering, she rushed back to his side, noticing the mildly nervous expression on his face. Together, they continued down the hallway, and each step brought on a new wave of panicked anxiety. Amandla bit down on her bottom lip, trying to keep her breath steady.

     At the sound of shoes hitting the tiled floors, Ethan's head swiveled. For a moment, it felt as if he was hallucinating due to the lack of sleep and the immense amount of stress he felt as his eyes landed on his twin brother and the girl he didn't think he'd be seeing for a while. Gulping, he pushed himself off the wall.

     Coming to a pause once she was ten feet away, Amandla let out a heavy breath. "Hey," she squeaked, her voice small and timid.

     Ethan hesitantly took a step forward, unsure of what to do. The moment that his eyes had landed on her, his mind went blank. Part of him instinctually wanted to grab her and kiss her in the middle of the hospital, while the other half knew that he couldn't do that. So instead, he froze.

     Behind the ex-couple, Grayson's eyes darted between them uneasily. Amandla's hands were beginning to shake and his twin was stunned to silence. She'd made the first move by talking and now it was his turn, yet Ethan stood still. Suddenly, the reassurance he'd given the brown-haired girl faded away and he held his breath.

     Maybe his brother wasn't going to react as positively as he thought.

     For once, he couldn't tell.

     Uncertainty shined in Amandla's eyes and she took a step back, clenching her hands in an attempt to cease the trembling. Her anxiety was getting the best of her and she hated it. Never before had she been anxious with Ethan, until today.

     As Ethan watched her take another step back, he quickly walked forward. "Wait," he finally spoke; his voice was rough and heavy. Amandla stopped. "Is this—are you actually here? Or am I hallucinating?"

     "I'm here," she replied, giving him a weak half-smile.

     "El..." Ethan whispered, his vision blurring with hot tears as he was hit with a wave of regret, grief, sadness, and heartbreak.

     Amandla's heart ached as she stared at him. "Hi," she choked out, wiping away a fallen tear.

     Within seconds, his arms were around her. Taken back by the sudden force of his body crashing against hers, she stumbled backward. His arms had enclosed around her waist and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, squeezing his eyes shut. Exhaling shakily, she placed her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer.

     "I'm so sorry." They whispered in unison, yet for entirely different reasons.

     "Why are you sorry?" she asked, biting down on her lip harshly as the tears in her eyes were beginning to fall.

     Ethan sniffed. "For everything. For how I handled the breakup. For breaking up with you. Everything."

     Smiling sadly, Amandla felt a small part of her heart being mended by his words. "We can talk about that later, all right?" she mumbled, and he nodded. "I'm here now."

╰┈ ⊰ 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔 ❞ ⑊ ⎯⎯ : ⊱˒ ♡

⌇ 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯⠀|⠀𝑛𝜊 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠⠀꒱
˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

     hey everyone!! i hope you all enjoyed the ninety-fourth chapter!

     did anyone noticed the "hot pink hoodie" text gray sent?? that's what amandla wore the first time she flew to see tom. yes, i am evil for that.

     honestly, i didn't even feel like updating today even though this was pre-written. today's been an off day, but here is a new chapter nonetheless. i hope you all enjoyed it!

     𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑: thank you all for taking the time out of your days to comment on this story. it means a lot and helps the story be spread to a wider audience &&& gives me the opportunity to grow as an author. all i ask is that people vote on each chapter, please. as a creator, it takes time to write and develop stories. especially social media-based ones because there's so much to take into consideration and the amount of time i've dedicated to finding graphics, screenshotting everything kelsey simone (and other characters) posts, making graphics, etc., is ridiculous. so please, vote on every chapter. it means a lot more than i could ever express.

     don't forget to vote & comment!