I stood there for a second, staring at Ethan like he had just personally ruined my life.
Which… he kind of had.
"Do you ever knock like a normal person?" I asked.
"I did knock," he said proudly. "Twice."
"That doesn't make it better."
"It does, actually."
Austin walked past me and sat back down on the couch like nothing had happened.
Traitor.
Ethan's eyes followed him, then shifted back to me with that same annoying grin.
"So," he said slowly, "what exactly did I interrupt?"
"Nothing," I said quickly.
"Something," he said immediately.
"Nothing."
"Something."
I crossed my arms.
"You're not getting anything out of me."
Ethan looked at Austin.
"Your turn."
Austin leaned back casually.
"We were talking."
Ethan stared at him.
"Talking."
"Yeah."
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
"That's suspicious."
"It's true," Austin said calmly.
Ethan looked between both of us again.
Then suddenly smiled.
"Oh."
I didn't like that "oh."
"What?" I asked.
He pointed at us.
"You didn't finish."
My face heated instantly.
"There was nothing to finish!"
Ethan gasped.
"So there was something!"
I groaned loudly.
"I'm leaving."
I turned and started walking toward the kitchen just to escape him.
Of course, he followed.
"You can't run from the truth," Ethan called out.
"I'm not running, I'm getting water!"
"Water won't save you."
"It might drown you."
He laughed.
"Violence. I like it."
I grabbed a glass and filled it, trying to ignore him.
Unfortunately…
He leaned against the counter like he had all the time in the world.
"So," he said casually.
"No."
"I didn't even ask anything yet."
"You're about to."
He grinned.
"Did he almost kiss you?"
I choked on my water.
"ETHAN!"
He raised his hands.
"That's a yes!"
"It is NOT a yes!"
From the living room, Austin's voice came calmly:
"Ethan."
"What?" Ethan shouted back.
"Relax."
"I am relaxed!"
I slammed the glass down.
"You are the opposite of relaxed!"
Ethan laughed again.
"This is the best day ever."
"For you," I muttered.
"For all of us," he corrected.
I walked back into the living room, trying to regain some dignity.
Austin glanced at me.
"You okay?"
"No."
Ethan sat up straighter.
"Alright, serious question this time."
I narrowed my eyes.
"I don't trust that sentence."
He ignored me.
"Are we continuing the fair 'not-a-date'… or are we upgrading?"
"Upgrading?" I repeated.
Austin sighed.
"Ethan…"
"What? It's a valid question!"
I looked at Austin.
"Answer him."
Austin looked at me instead.
"You want to?"
My brain froze again.
"Why are you asking me everything?!"
"Because it involves you."
"That's stressful!"
Ethan clapped.
"This is amazing."
I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
"Stop enjoying this!"
He caught it easily.
"Never."
Austin stood up.
"Alright, that's enough."
Ethan blinked.
"What?"
"You're overwhelming her."
"I'm helping."
"You're not."
Ethan opened his mouth to argue, then paused.
"…Okay, maybe a little."
"A lot," I corrected.
He leaned back.
"Fine. I'll behave."
I stared at him.
"For how long?"
"…Five minutes."
"Unbelievable."
Austin chuckled.
Then he looked at me again.
"So?"
"So what?"
"His question."
I groaned.
"You're bringing it back?!"
He shrugged slightly.
"I'm curious too."
I crossed my arms.
"Why does everything feel like a test?"
"It's not a test," he said. "It's just… figuring things out."
Ethan nodded dramatically.
"Exactly. Character development."
I threw another pillow at him.
"Stop narrating my life!"
He laughed
Austin looked at me, softer this time.
"We can take it slow."
That made me pause.
"Slow?"
"Yeah."
"No pressure. No labels. Just… see where it goes."
That sounded… less terrifying.
Ethan leaned forward.
"So basically a slow-burn romance."
"ETHAN."
"Okay, okay!"
I sighed.
Then looked at Austin.
"Slow sounds good."
He nodded.
"Good."
Ethan clapped quietly.
"I approve."
"No one asked you," I said.
"I still approve."
I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop a small smile from forming.
For a moment, everything felt… normal again.
Until—
My phone buzzed.
I froze slightly.
Something about it felt different.
I slowly pulled it out and looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
Again.
My stomach dropped.
I opened the message.
Unknown:
I told you to stay away.
My grip tightened on the phone.
Another message came immediately.
Unknown:
You really don't listen.
I swallowed.
Austin noticed instantly.
"What's wrong?"
I hesitated.
Then showed him the screen.
His expression darkened.
"Again?" Ethan asked, suddenly serious.
"Yeah."
Austin exhaled slowly.
"She needs to stop."
Ethan stood up.
"Okay, now I'm involved."
"That's not reassuring," I said.
"It should be," he replied. "I'm very protective."
"Of chaos," I muttered.
"Of my friends, and my baby sister" he corrected.
Austin looked at me.
"Did you reply?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"Good."
Another message came.
Unknown:
This isn't over.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Ethan read it over my shoulder.
"Okay, now I'm definitely involved."
Austin took a step closer.
"Hey."
I looked at him.
"She's just trying to scare you," he said calmly.
"It's working a little."
"That's fair," he admitted.
Ethan crossed his arms.
"Do we confront her?"
"No," Austin said immediately.
"Why not?"
"Because that'll just make things worse."
I nodded slightly.
"That sounds right."
Ethan sighed.
"Fine. But if she throws water again, I'm throwing hands."
I blinked.
"That escalated quickly."
"I mean it," he said.
Austin shook his head.
"Let's just keep things simple."
I looked at him.
"Simple?"
"Yeah."
He gave me a small smile.
"Like earlier."
My heart skipped again.
Earlier.
Before everything got interrupted.
Before the messages.
Before the chaos came back.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "I liked earlier."
Ethan groaned dramatically.
"Wow. I leave you two alone for five minutes and we're back to this?"
"Be quiet," I said.
He smiled.
"Never."
Austin laughed again.
And despite everything—
The interruptions.
The jealousy.
The messages—
That feeling was still there.
Stronger than before.
Like something that refused to disappear.
And this time…
I had a feeling no amount of interruptions was going to stop it.