shine - grayson dolan

0.23 «Grayson Dolan»

[edited]

It's been four school days since I asked Emerson out, and it has gone great. 

People at school congratulated us, and it was soon all over the internet. Fans claimed they knew it all along, and they seemed okay with it for the most part. When I asked Emerson how she felt about it, she simply smiled and shrugged. I loved that she didn't care what people thought, but I was still worried the hate might get to her soon enough and she would break. 

Hopefully that didn't happen.

 On Wednesday, after saying goodbye to the Samuels triplets after getting back from football practice, Ethan and I quickly showered and were just hanging out when we heard rapid knocking coming from the door.

We shared a confused glance before Ethan jumped up and ran to the door, me right behind him. 

He opened it, and we were both surprised to see Addi. It actually wasn't that surprising to see Addi, the surprising part was that she looked absolutely furious. 

"YOU DICKHEADS!" she yelled, pushing Ethan.

"What?"

"What is this?" she shouted, shoving her phone in Ethan's face. We both looked at the screen.

Ethan chuckled, "It's your lock screen."

"Wait, what?" she took her phone away, "Wait a sec. OK, here."

She turned the screen back to us, and I saw something that I absolutely, never wanted her to see. 

It was our YouTube channel. As my eyes scanned all our latest videos, seeing each thumbnail made me sicker. Ethan had the same look of fear on his face.

"TWO MILLION SUBSCRIBERS?! THREE MILLION EACH ON VINE?! FIVE MILLION ON INSTAGRAM?! AND TWO MILLION ON TWITTER?! Were you planning on ever telling me?"

I felt my head ache as she called out all our social medias. Though I was normally proud of those numbers, I now was not at all.

"Addi, we-"

"Shut it, Grayson. I'm not finished," she snaps, making me quickly close my mouth.

"I send my friend in Minnesota a picture of me and Ethan in New York, excited to tell her that I reunited with my old best friend and now we're dating. And I'm sure you can just imagine my surprise when she mentions that he is an internet star, along with his twin brother."

She shoots me a look, and I cannot even fathom what was probably going through her head at that moment. She had every right to be mad at us. We had been lying to her, and it had come back to bite us in the ass. 

"And," she continues, sniffling and close to tears, "I tell her, no, that's impossible. I've known these guys for years. If they were famous online, they would tell me, I would have been informed, right?"

WRONG, is all I can think. 

I think Ethan is even more scared than me right now. His expression is so pained and thoughtful.

"But she sends me a link to their YouTube channel, telling me to check them out. I thought it would be a small channel, you know, since I hadn't heard anything about them. But no, there's two million subscribers, and close to a two hundred million views. I'm shocked, to say the least."

Tears are streaming down her beautiful face, and I want nothing more than to wipe them away. I don't like seeing my best friend like this. It hurts me too.

"So, I watch the latest video. It's a vlog of New York uploaded just yesterday. Oddly enough, I find myself in the video. So are the Samuels Triplets. Do they know about this?"

Ethan is frozen still, so I do my best to answer Addi by slowly nodding.

"Ok, it seems like everyone knows except me. I'm just the idiot of the group," she manages to laugh between sobs.

"Addi, please-" Ethan seems to have regained control of his mind and begins to speak.

"How could you not tell me, guys? We told each other everything. Why wouldn't you tell me? What were you so afraid of?" she shouts.

"Addi," I say, "Please listen to us. We figured since you didn't already know who we were, it didn't matter. We didn't want you to treat us differently. We just wanted everything to be like it was before," I reason.

"But don't you see, Grayson. Nothing is like it was before. We're older now, and things have changed. We're not as close as we used to be, and when I go back, we still won't be. We don't have to tell each other every little trivial thing that happens, but something big like that is different," she wipes away her tears.

"Addi, baby girl please," Ethan coos, trying to give her a hug, "We're sorry. We just-"

"I don't want to hear it from either of you. We're over, Ethan," she interrupt, pushing him back.

And just like that, she's out of our house, door slammed behind her. Ethan is still holding his hands outstretched, his face containing a look of confusion. 

"She just broke up with me? No. No. No she didn't. She couldn't have. We were perfect together. We were gonna be together forever," he babbles on, falling to his knees.

"I told you, Ethan. We should've just told her. She deserved to know something like that," I say, sitting down with my head in my hands.

"Shut up, Grayson. You're not helping."

"I KNOW!" I bellow, "WE JUST LOST OUR BEST FRIEND, ETHAN. AND YOU LOST YOUR GIRLFRIEND! ALL BECAUSE WE DIDN'T WANT TO TELL HER ABOUT SOME STUPID SIX-SECOND VIDEOS WE MADE WHEN WE WERE THIRTEEN!"

Ethan stays quiet, just staring up at me, "I'm sorry, Gray," he whispers sadly.

I sigh, "Me too, Eth. It'll be ok. We'll just give Addi some time to cool off, and then we'll talk to her. I'm sure she'll understand," I say unconvincingly.

He gives me a small weak smile, "Alright. I'll see you later."

I give him a tiny hug, and he climbs up the stairs dejectedly. 

Even though I told him that Addi would most probably understand. I wasn't so sure. Addi was stubborn, and if she put her mind to something, she would never give in. It was a trait I both admired and hated about her. 

I just hoped Addi would listen to what we had to say, especially before she left for Minnesota again. If she left still upset from us, I knew Ethan would never get over it. 

~  ~  ~  ~

more drama because i'm petty :)

SONG OF THE CHAPTER: Mad Hatter

ARTIST: Melanie Martinez

ALBUM: Cry Baby, 2015