Undying Echo {1}

21 | Forest Green

Ethan was anxious.

For a long time, everything in his life has seemed so dull that it almost felt like he was alive, but not living. And now that something had gone right for him, he was anxious about how to keep it that way. Every time he thought about it, he would end up with negative thoughts, making him wish for Camilla to transfer some of her positivity into him.

All the times he sees her talking and laughing with people, actually talking. And the times he sees Corey making her laugh with some stupid joke. Or the times she'd whisper his name when he kissed her.

He couldn't hear any of it. And the thought of not ever hearing her voice made him distressed.

Yet, he knew he's eventually going to manage. He was just hoping against hope that Camilla would, too.

Sun rays peeked through the opened curtains and onto Ethan's eyelids, making him groan and turn to the other side of the bed.

A chuckle that he wasn't aware of sounded somewhere behind him. And he suddenly thought he was hallucinating when a very familiar smell of coconut and faint mint teased his nose.

Great, now he was dreaming about her scent.

Two taps on his shoulder made him finally open his eyes, knowing there was something not right. Maybe Penelope had sneaked into his room again, something that would make Camilla go red-faced with fury. And despite it being the first time he saw her actually get mad, that day she looked so adorable that he just wanted to kiss her right there and then.

And that, he did.

But he doubted Penelope would do it again, and that sweet smell that was still teasing his nose was surely not how Penelope smelled, not that he would care to know anyway.

Turning back to the other side, he came face to face with beautiful hazel eyes. A small mischievous smile was curving her velvet lips, making her rosy cheeks bunch up a little, and he just wanted to pinch her cheeks and kiss her soft lips.

But instead, he settled on wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer until her face was nestled into the crook of his neck. He didn't even bother to ask what brought her here, he just liked that she was that he didn't bother to know the reason.

Feeling her chuckle against his neck, he inhaled sharply when her lips brushed the skin of his neck, her sweet scent filling his nostrils in the process.

Placing her hands on his chest, Camilla pushed away a little and kissed his jaw, making his heart rattle in his chest, before unraveling herself from his arms—which made him groan in protest—and sitting straight on the bed.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." She teased playfully, her fingers brushing away the stray locks of hair from his forehead.

Ethan sighed before he pulled himself up in a sitting position and reached out for her hands before giving her a questioning look which was enough to get her explaining.

"It was their idea, they brought me here."

Ethan frowned in confusion, "who are they?"

"Kaylee and Ryan, I told you they were working on some plan."

A memory of her telling him that they worked up a plan to keep Penelope away from him flashed into Ethan's head, and he noted that he should tell them to keep going with their amazing plan if it consisted of him always waking up to Camilla's beautiful presence.