The Marriage Contract [Completed]

fifteen

I returned home that day to find the apartment empty. Ethan's not home yet...which means...I have the whole apartment to myself.

After doing a little happy dance, I proceeded to change out of my clothes to something comfier. After I was done, I lounged on the sofa as I dialed the hotline for pizza delivery and ordered two regular pizzas.

Reaching for the remote on the coffee table, I turned the television on and switched the channel to Cartoon Network, smiling as my favorite baby looney tunes came into view. I'm childish, I know.

It didn't take long for the doorbell to ring and I skipped to the door to get my pizza, the aroma of it bringing up the corners of my lips.

Plopping down on the sofa once again, I picked up a slice of Hawaiian pizza and began munching on it as I looked at Daffy swearing when he punched a wrong button on his toy.

Night soon came and I looked at the clock to find the hour and minute hand pointing at 10. Ethan's unusually late.

Just as I was about to clear up the mess I made on the coffee table, the door opened and a stumbling Ethan walked in.

Oh god...is he drunk?

I quickly walked over to him and helped him to the bed. After Ethan made himself comfortable, I was about to leave when I felt a warm hand grab my wrist. Before I could process what happen, I was pulled down and wrapped in Ethan's arms. "Hey, let me go," I tried to wiggle myself out of his arms, but stopped when I heard Ethan's voice. "No, stay with me," Ethan whined. I chuckled to myself. What's up with that cute voice?

"I'm just going to grab a towel," I tried to tell him but Ethan stubbornly kept his arms around me. "No," Ethan insisted in that voice of his again and I had no choice but to stay put, and before I know it, I'm fast asleep.

The sunlight streaming through the blinds woke me up the next morning. Squinting, I attempted to stretch my arms which felt a little sore but I was not able to as there were heavy weights around it. In a panic, my eyes snapped open and I saw Ethan's cherubic face in front of me. He looks so different when he's asleep. So innocent, there wasn't a trace of malice or coldness.

As I was looking at Ethan's face, his eyelids suddenly fluttered open. He seemed like he was at a loss but once he realized that his arms were around me, he quickly pulled them back and shot upwards into a sitting position. "What are you doing here?" His husky morning voice sounded.

"Why don't you try to recall what you were doing yesterday?" I replied as I sat up. "What happened yesterday?" Ethan asked after a few minutes of thinking. "Why don't I help you recall?" I smirked as I mimicked his cute and whiny voice.

Ethan's cheeks immediately reddened when he heard my imitation causing me to laugh. "Is the Ethan Ford actually blushing?" I decided to tease him. Ethan pouted as he turned his back to me, his cheeks still the shade of tomato. "Shut up," I heard him mutter.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," I told him, still laughing as I pinched his cheeks and left the room. I didn't know he had such an adorable side. I think I prefer this side of him better.

As I was about to eat the bowl of cereal I poured myself, my ringtone sounded. "Hello?" I answered as I picked up my phone. "Xael!" I heard Zoey shouting from the other end and I winced from the loudness. "What's up?" I asked after the buzzing sound in my ear disappeared. "Let's have a little catch up session," Zoey suggested and my brows raised. "That's not what that all is," I said into the phone knowingly and Zoey laughed. "You haven't told us about Xavier," she replied and it was my turn to laugh. "Fine, let's meet up in an hour at you-know-where," I told her and ended the call.

I finished up my bowl of cereal which had already soaked up some of the milk and went to the bedroom to get ready. Ethan was still lying on the bed using his hand phone.

After choosing my clothes, I went into the bathroom to wash up and change. I chose a ribbed mock neck shirt in grey and a white shorts for the day, casual yet not too casual. After I was done doing a french braid, I left the bathroom. "Are you going somewhere?" Ethan asked when he saw me dressed up. "Yea," I answered as I picked out a bag from the drawer. "With that Xavier guy?" He asked again with a sour tone. Sour tone? I must have heard wrong.

I turned around to see Ethan looking at me curiously and I smirked, "I don't think there's a need for me to report my whereabouts to you." "You—" Ethan frowned as he slumped back down on the bed and continued using his phone before commenting, "whatever."

With that, I left the house to meet my friends at the cafe we frequent.

"Xael!" I spotted my friends when I heard Ava waving me over. "Hey," I greeted them once I sat down and the nearby waiter placed a menu in front of me. "What are you guys ordering?" I asked my friends and they replied me with the words, "the usual."

With a smile, I called the waiter over. He seems new here. "Hi, can I get the maple sea salt latte, hot chocolate and the vanilla milkshake," I told him as he frantically jotted down what I ordered on the small writing pad.

After repeating our orders once, the waiter left after sneaking a look at Ava. As soon as he was out of earshot, Zoey and I gave each other 'the look' before we started our teasing. "Someone's into you," I wiggled my brows just as Zoey tried to mimic a wolf whistle which she failed miserably, sending us all into a feat of giggles. 

"I bet 50 bucks that he'll ask for your number," I told my friends after we regained our composure. "Me too," Zoey added in while Ava said, "I bet 50 that he would not." After making small talk, Ava suddenly brought up the topic of Xavier.

"Ok, this is what happened..." and I recounted the events from the day I met Maddie.

"What?" Zoey exclaimed after I had finished my recount. "Isn't that a little dangerous? What if you really fall for him?" Ava asked with concern and I shrugged. "I don't think I will," I told them but what Zoey answered caught me off guard. "What makes you so sure?" Its true. I'm not a hundred percent sure that I won't fall for Xavier, but...

"My gut feeling," I replied which earned weird looks from them. "Just be careful, alright?" Zoey told me and I nodded. "Does Ethan know about this?" Ava suddenly questioned. "I..." The cat got my tongue. Am I supposed to let him know?

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Zoey said knowingly and I nodded. "I don't even know what our relationship is. Are we friends? Classmates? Room mates?" I answered, but more to myself. I sighed. Its getting harder and harder to identify our relationship.

"Well...I think its all three," Ava remarked. I raised my brows at her comment. "You're certainly not strangers," Zoey reasoned, "and you guys don't seem like enemies." I nodded. She has a point.

Time flies when I'm with my friends. It was soon time for the sun to set and by then, we had already finished our second cup of drink. "It looks like I'll get a hundred," Ava said with a smile as we got ready to leave the cafe. "Well...that can only be decided when we leave the cafe," I replied and Zoey agreed with me.

Just as we were about to step out of the humble cafe, the waiter called out from behind us. "Wait up."

I smirked and gave Zoey a knowing look as all three of us turned to look at him. "Hey...I've been wanting to ask you this ever since you stepped into this place. Can I have your number?" He asked shyly and Ava blushed.

"We'll wait for you outside," Zoey said and dragged me out with her.

"Looks like we won the bet," I commented with a smile and Zoey nodded. Ava stepped out of the cafe with a spring in her step a few minutes later, the corners of her mouth curved upward.

"Looks like someone's interested in him too," Zoey teased as Ava came to join us. She giggled, "he's cute."

With that, we bid each other good byes and left for home.