-------------------------------------------------------------------

I was a hypocrite.

Earlier today, I had told May to be nice to April, yet here I was on Ethan's lap, trying to flaunt our relationship in her face.

With a sigh, I untangled my arms from around his neck and flopped off his lap and onto the sofa.

"Hey, are you alright Chubs, you look a little sad?" Ethan said with a frown as his eyes roamed over my face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," I lied, trying to perk up my voice, so I sounded convincing.

He looked at me skeptically and didn't say anything for a while. His eyes did a slow glance over the room before a spark of excitement danced in his eyes.

He stood up abruptly and stood before me with a mischievous smile on his face.

"First off, imagine me, twelve, skinny and short," he laughed. I gave him a funny look, wondering what he was up to.

He cleared his throat dramatically and stuck his hands in his pockets as though he was pretending to be shy.

"Hey, so, Mia, I know I'm not your favorite person right now since you know, the whole lesbian rumor, but I-I just thought....maybe, only if you want, of course, mind dancing with me?" Ethan said as his eyes pierced through mine.

I looked at him in astonishment because he had just given a very accurate impression of exactly what he had said to me six years ago at our school dance.

"H-how do you remember exactly what you said?" I asked in bewilderment.

He snorted. "Well, it's hard to forget what you said when someone responds with, and I quote, 'Fuck off, you nasty piece of shit', he laughed.

He scratched the back of his neck. "Your rejection stung like bitch, so the cruel part of my brain likes to replay that memory over and over again in my head," he chuckled, but the laughter didn't quite seem to meet his eyes, indicating it was still a sore memory.

I felt guilt stab at my heart, feeling bad that my words had unknowingly caused him a lot of pain.

I cleared my throat sat up straighter. "Well, seventeen-year-old Mia says, yes, she'd love to dance with you," I said with a smile, deciding to play along.

A wide grin broke out on his face, and he took my hand in his, pulled me up before leading me to the makeshift dance floor.

I laughed in surprise as Ethan grabbed me by the waist and pulled me flush up against him.

Reaching out, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and gave me one of his heart-warming smiles.

I noticed the track was playing an emotional slow type ballad, which I recognized as A drop in the Ocean-by Ron Pope. I let out a helpless sigh, immediately knowing things weren't going to end well for my heart, with a song like this playing in the background and him so close.

One of his hands rested on the small of my back with the other was intertwined with mine. We slowly started to sway to the music, and the way he was looking at me, made my heart throb. His eyes held such an intense emotion in them, which could only be described as love.

I laughed as he started to sing along with the lyrics. "I was praying that you and I might end up together," he sang deeply along with the track. His eyes sparkled with humor, probably due to the irony of the lyrics.

"I think I finally might have found something you're not good at," I teased as I bit my lip to contain my laughter. It wasn't bad at all, but I enjoyed picking fun at him.

He let out a low chuckle and pulled me tighter against him as the lyrics said. 'But I'm holding you closer than most.'

The words of the song, timed with his touch made me feel like every nerve on my body was on fire. Our faces were close as we danced, and I took the time to admire every square inch of his handsome face, it was the face of someone I'd fallen in love with.

It both excited and scared me how deeply I cared for him because as moist as it sounds, he made me feel alive in a way no one else quite could. I never wanted to lose this, and I never wanted to lose him.

I let out a squeal of laughter as he suddenly bent down and lifted me up in his arms, spinning me around as the song reached the climax. He chuckled and lowered me down slowly so that my body slid down his sensually.

He moved his arms back to hug my waist, and I rested my head against his chest as we swayed gently to the music. I smiled as I felt him kiss the top of my head and gently squeeze are intertwined hands

To my disappointment, the song gradually faded out until it came to an end.

Suddenly Ethan ripped away from me fast.

"Fuck," he winced as he bent down and started to massage his temples.

The smile on my face slowly faded as I observed the look of pain on his face. His face had paled considerably, and he was starting to break out into an unnatural sweat. I had no idea what had come over him; he seemed fine a second ago.

"You need to sit down," I said with worry as I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him back over to the sofas.

He resisted me and refused to budge. "No, I don't want to ruin the night. We can keep dancing, it's probably just nothing," he said as he brushed it off dismissively.

As soon as he said that, he started to wobble unsteadily on his feet, and I grabbed his arm to steady him.

"No. We're sitting down," I snapped with finality as I wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

As I dragged him, he was worryingly leaning a lot of his weight on me, indicating he was getting weaker by the second. He was quite heavy, so it was a bit of a struggle, but I just about managed to make it to the couch.

I let him go with a grunt, causing him to collapse down on to the sofa. I crawled over to him quickly, to check if he was still conscious.

"Ethan, please, please tell me you can hear me?" I said in a panic, as I slapped his face softly, not wanting him to pass out.

"Yeah, I can hear you," he said weakly.

Thank God.

"How much did you drink, Ethan?" I asked him in panic. I assumed he had one too many shots with his friends when I was gone.

He groaned and rubbed his head again. "I only had one beer. I don't know what's wrong with me," he whispered croakily.

I was equally as confused as him. He didn't seem remotely drunk at all, and I'm pretty sure it was impossible for someone of his size, or any size, to get this sick off cheap beer.

"You're probably just tired from playing so hard in the game today. We can just find a quiet room for you to rest, okay?" I said as I softly stroked his hair.

"Chubs, I can't even move, and you're not strong enough to carry me," he groaned, his eyes still half-closed.

"Nonsense. I got you here, didn't I?" I stated in confidence.

I grabbed his arm and wrapped it over my shoulder, and shakily stood up.

"Mia, don't...," he murmured in protest, but he was too weak to stop me. I managed a measly few steps before I stopped to catch my breath.

"Hey, need some help, I can carry him for you," a smooth voice said from behind me.

I turned around and to my surprise, found Connor stood before me. He was the last person I wanted to see again, but his offer was too tempting to pass up.

I nodded my head stiffly. "Yeah, I'd appreciate that. I just was going to take him upstairs so he could lie down. He's very sick," I explained.

Connor didn't reply and just silently took Ethan off me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Ethan seemed completely out of it now and was mumbling to himself deliriously, barely seeming to know where he was.

I looked at him in worry, knowing for a fact that this was definitely not normal. I didn't know if I should call the ambulance or what.

Connor must have noticed my panicked face as he gave me a weak smile in comfort.

"He's probably just dehydrated, Mia. It happens to him all the time. Why don't you just get him some water? I'll take him upstairs, and you can come find us," Connor explained confidently, not seeming at all worried about Ethan's state.

I sighed in relief, trusting his explanation. He was his cousin, after all, so he must know Ethan well.

"Yeah. You are probably right, and thank you," I said as I forced a smile before jogging to the kitchen to get some water.

-----------------------------------------------