Reece was acting weird on our phone call on Monday. Since then, he's been acting pretty normal except for when I mention Ethan. I don't think he likes him, but I have no idea why. He's never even met him.

"You have to come to this party with me tonight, babe." Ethan states more than asks as I shut my locker.

I frown as we start walking down the hall, "Uh, why?"

"Because I need to find a hot guy to hook up with."

I snort out a laugh, walking out of the front entrance of the school. We've just finished school for the day and I'm more than glad. I'd find it a little hard to fit in at my new school. People are nice to me, but I haven't really found my place. Luckily, Ethan has taken me under his wing. "You don't need a guy to be happy, Ethan."

"No, babe, but I do need some díck to keep my gay áss satisfied," he replies, as blunt as ever. I really have never met anyone quite like him before.

"Okay, fine, I'll go. Only because I need to make sure you don't get into any trouble," I chuckle, walking towards my school bus which is already pulled up as people board.

"Okay, great, we're going to your place then," He replies, following me instead of heading towards his own bus.

I raise an eyebrow at him, "Is that so?"

"Well, duh. I already have my clothes in my bag, I knew you'd say yes," He replies before skipping up the steps and onto my bus. I just shake my head, following after him and sitting down in the seat next to him.

~

"What floor are you on?" Ethan asks as we step into the elevator on the ground floor of my apartment building.

"Ten," I reply, getting out my phone. "I have to warn you, I'll probably have to Facetime my friends back home while we're getting ready."

He gasps, "I'll finally get to meet them!?"

I raise an eyebrow at him as the elevator starts going up, "I didn't realize you wanted to."

He scoffs, "How can I not? I basically know everything about them already! Of course I want to meet the people you can't stop talking about."

I chuckle as the elevator comes to a stop at my floor and the doors open, "Do I really talk about them that much?" I ask as we step out into the hall.

He nods with wide eyes, "You manage to bring them up in almost every conversation, babe."

I sigh softly as we start walking, "I'm sorry, I probably annoy you."

"Of course not! They're important to you and I understand that. I don't mind."

"Thank you, Ethan," I smile at him as we come to a stop in front of my apartment door. I quickly get out my keys and unlock the door before stepping inside.

"You're welcome, babe. Now let's get some food because I am starved."

~

"Ethan, I'll freeze."

"You'll be fine, babe!"

"It's gonna start snowing any day now!"

"Bring a jacket!"

I huff, staring down at him. He stares right back at me pointedly, shoving another potato chip in his mouth. Finally, I sigh, giving in.

"Fine, I'll wear it but I'm wearing my leather jacket too," I tell him, ignoring his shout of excitement as I grab the black tube top and ripped blue jeans from my bed. I swear he's trying to give me hypothermia.

I walk out of the bathroom after changing, now in my outfit for tonight. Ethan wolf whistles loudly, "Yes! You look hot!"

I chuckle, doing a little spin for him, "Thank you. But I'm still wearing the jacket."

"Fine, fine. Please wear heels though!" He practically begs.

I pout, "But my feet will hurt."

Ethan begins to argue further, but we both fall silent when a phone begins to ring. My eyes dart to my nightstand and I instantly run over to it when I see my phone lit up with the picture of Reece and I that is set as his contact photo. I quickly pick it up, accepting the FaceTime call with a wide smile on my face.

When the call connects, I see Reece's smiling face fill my screen and my heart jumps in my chest. "Hey, Reece," I greet him, flopping down on my bed.

"Hello, Sunshine," He replies, his dimpled smile just as big as mine. His dark hair is messy as always, his broad shoulders covered in a dark grey shirt.

"Did you guys just get home?" I ask, tucking some of my hair behind my ear.

"Yeah. It's just me and the girls at the moment though, because Anna's with Liam, Max is at basketball and Cody is at his friend's place for a sleepover tonight," He replies, the camera shaking a little as he walks around. He's clearly at home as I instantly recognize his surroundings.

"Can I see them?" I ask eagerly, sitting up.

"Ah, I see what this is. You're just using me to get to them," He chuckles softly, the sound like music to my ears.

"You caught me."

He clicks his tongue, "I knew it was too good to be true."

"Aww," I coo, "Don't worry, Reece. You know you're my best friend!"

"Sure, sure," He chuckles, "Here they are. Layla's on the phone," He tells them.

"Layla!"

"Yay!"

Soon Reece's face disappears from view and is replaced by Macy and Sophie. "Layla! I haven't spoken to you in ages!" Macy exaggerates.

"I talked to you guys this morning," I chuckle.

"Well it feels like forever!" Macy tells me.

"Who's that?" Sophie asks, making me frown.

I turn around and see Ethan now looking over my shoulder at the two girls on screen. "They are so adorable!" He exclaims.

"Aren't they?" I agree, turning my attention back to them, "Princesses, this is my friend Ethan. Ethan, this is Macy and Sophie."

"I thought we were your friends?" Sophie asks with a pout, looking sad.

I frown, "Of course you are! I love you girls! But I made friends with Ethan to keep me company here since you guys are so far away."

"Oh," Macy murmurs, looking as though she's contemplating this. She looks at Ethan for a moment before asking, "Do you know my brother, Reece?"

"I haven't met him, but I've heard a lot about him from Layla," He replies, sending me a smirk.

I only roll my eyes, standing up and going over to my dressing table. I lean my phone up against the mirror on top as I sit in the seat so that I can continue talking to the girls while I do my hair and makeup. "So, how was school today?"

"Good! We played tag at lunchtime!" Macy exclaims happily.

"And we did painting in class today!" Sophie adds.

"That's so cool! What did you guys paint?" I ask, running a hairbrush through my hair.

"I painted a flower," Macy states proudly.

"And I painted a puppy," Sophie says.

We continue talking for about another five minutes while I straighten my hair. Ethan leaves to have a shower down the hall.

"Hey girls, there's popcorn on the bench. Why don't you watch a movie now? It's my turn to talk to Sunshine," Reece comes into view, his head popping up over the back of the couch that girls are sitting on.

They easily oblige, saying a quick goodbye and handing the phone back to Reece. I straighten another strand of my hair as I wait for him to walk to his room. I can already tell that's what he's doing as I have seen him walk there from this view too many times now.

Finally, he collapses onto his bed, holding his phone out in front of him slightly so that I can see his face. An adorable, dimpled smile slips onto his lips as he looks at me through the screen. "Hey, Sunshine," he murmurs, softly.

"Hey, Reece," I reply just as softly, pausing doing my hair just to admire him for a moment. He looks so relaxed but at the same time, he seems almost sad. He has the same look of sadness in his eyes that I know I have as well. Being away from him and the rest of the Carter's is really taking a toll on me.

"What are you getting ready for?" he asks curiously, breaking the comforting silence.

"I'm going to my first party here tonight," I reply, lifting the straightener in my hand back up to continue doing my hair.

"Ah," He replies, nodding his head slowly, "So no call tonight?"

I finish straightening the strand of hair and focus my gaze back on him. He looks disappointed. I smile slightly, "Maybe not tonight. Unless the party really sucks, which is definitely a probability. Then I'll call you."

He nods, lips quirked up slightly, "What time do you have to leave?"

"Uh, the party starts at eight, and it's... seven thirty now. So we'll probably leave around eight and show up a little late," I reply, checking my phone for the time quickly before going back to doing my hair.

"We?" Reece questions.

"Yeah, Ethan's here with me."

As if on cue, Ethan waltzes back into my room, hair still damp and only wearing a pair of black ripped skinny jeans. "Okay, which shirt should I wear?"

I turn away from Reece for a second and look at him, "Didn't you say you'd already picked out your outfit?"

"I always bring options, babe," He replies with a roll of his eyes.

I look back to Reece to see his face now hard, jaw clenched. I furrow my brows before speaking, "Reece, this is Ethan. I don't think you've ever actually met before."

"No, we haven't," Reece grinds out between clenched teeth, glaring slightly at the screen.

"Ooh," Ethan quickly moves behind me, moving his head beside mine to look at the screen. He gasps, "Dámn, I knew he was hot, but girl. Why haven't you introduced us before?"

I chuckle softly, my cheeks tinting with a blush, "He's not gay, sorry, Ethan. Unless you've suddenly started batting for the other team since I left?" I turn my attention back to Reece, raising an eyebrow at him.

His mouth has dropped open slightly and he no longer looks angry. His eyes are wide as he replies, "Uh, no, I haven't."

Ethan sighs, "Really? Dammit."

"Is everything alright, Reece?" I ask, leaning in closer to the screen.

"Uh, yeah, you just, you never mentioned that Ethan was gay."

"Is that a problem?" I ask, laughing slightly.

"No, of course not. I just thought... never mind," He shakes his head slightly, before smiling, "Go with the red shirt, dude."

"Thanks! At least someone's helpful," Ethan replies, staring at me pointedly.

I chuckle softly, going back to straightening my hair as Ethan moves away to continue getting ready. "Have I really never mentioned that he's gay? He makes it a pretty big part of his personality."

"Hey!"

"You can't deny it!"

"I know..."

I shake my head with a laugh, returning my attention to Reece.

He shake his head, "Nah, you never mentioned it."

"Oh, well he is very gay. Almost too gay to function."

"Ha! I like the Mean girls reference!" Ethan calls out, flopping onto my bed and immediately going on his phone.

I roll my eyes, "So, how was school today?"

"Fine, I guess. I missed having our usual conversation at lunch today though."

"And whose fault is that?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

He sighs, "I know, sorry."

"If you had showed up to class on time, you wouldn't have gotten a detention and then we would have been able to talk. But no, you had to arrive late."

"But you know I hate Chemistry class," He whines softly, an adorable pout forming on his lips.

"You never used to," I point out, straightening the last strand of my hair.

"Yeah, but you're not there now, so I hate it."

I smile softly, turning off my straightener and setting it down. "You have Ella there now though, don't you?"

He shrugs, "I guess, but she's way too peppy. I don't like her."

"You better be kind to her, Reece. I don't want to find out that you're being mean. You're not like that," I tell him pointedly.

"But Chemistry class makes me angry because you're not there anymore and I associate Ella with that class so I automatically dislike her. Also she's kind of annoying."

I sigh, "Reece..."

"I know, I know. I'll try and be nicer. But I'd much rather sit next to you than her."

"That's sweet. But that can't happen anymore."

He huffs, "Don't remind me."

I chuckle, glancing up at the mirror in front of me to inspect my makeup from today. It still looks okay. I quickly add a fresh coat of mascara and use some concealer to fix a few spots. Lastly, I add some more blush that seems to have worn off throughout the day.

"The face you make when you do that is cute," I hear Reece murmur and I stop, glancing back down at the screen.

A real blush tints my cheeks now and I duck my head to hide it. "Stop."

"What? I thought you liked it when I voice how I feel?" He replies cheekily.

"That's not saying how you feel!"

"Yes it is. I'm feeling admiration for how cute you look. Is that a problem?"

I blush deepens and I press my hands to my cheeks in an attempt to cool them down, "No."

He grins, showing his adorable dimples, "Good."

I sigh, standing up and picking up my phone, turning to face Ethan. He sits up and wolf-whistles loudly again. "You look gorgeous, babe!"

I blush again and sigh, "The both of you need to stop."

"Why?" Reece chuckles.

Ethan grins, standing up, "Pass me the phone. He needs to see how hot you look right now."

"No, Ethan," I try to move away from him, but he persists.

"Come on. I need to take photos of you anyway, so pass it here."

"Why do you need to take photos of me?" I ask, hiding the phone behind my back.

"For Instagram, duh," He replies as if it's obvious before jumping at me and easily getting my phone from me. "Yes! Hello handsome."

I hear Reece chuckle, "Hi."

"Okay, hold on, I need to show you Layla's outfit. She looks fúcking hot."

"Ethan, you really don't have to-"

"Nah uh," Ethan cuts me off, holding the phone up, grinning, "Doesn't she look gorgeous?"

I cover my face with my hands, turning my head towards the ground in an attempt to hide my embarrassment. "Ethan, stop."

"Pass her the phone," I hear Reece's deep voice come through the phone and my cheeks flush deeper. Ethan's grin widens as he steps forward and hands me the phone. He's already turned the camera back around so Reece can now see my face. I still cover my face with one hand, looking down at the screen.

"Sunshine," Reece murmurs and I hum in acknowledgement. He's staring at me pointedly, eyes bright. "Please don't hide your face from me," He continues and I reluctantly pull my hand away, moving to sit on the edge of my bed. Reece smiles, "Why are you hiding? Ethan's right."

"What?" I squeak, bringing my knees up to my chest and hugging them to me.

Reece only chuckles, "Do you really need me to say it?" When I don't say anything in response, he continues slowly, "You look beautiful, Sunshine."

I blush an even deeper shade of red if that's even physically possible, "Thank you."

He grins, giving me a perfect view of his dimples, "Good. Remember that. Now, I have to go, you have fun at the party."

I nod, standing up, "Okay, bye Reece," I lift my hand to my lips and kiss it, blowing it to him as I always do.

Reece's lips soften into a real smile as he reaches his hand up to catch the kiss. "Bye, Sunshine."