when riley learned that she had to interview a popular senior for her school's newspaper she was beyond frightened. it was easy when she had to interview the small freshmen who were oddly intimidated by her but now she was the one who felt intimidated.
never having the proper experience, boys made her nervous. the only boy she had ever dated wasn't really interested in her. he just talked to her in hopes to boost his body count.
this wasn't a boy, this was practically a man. at 5'11 he was taller than her, has muscles in places most boys didn't at that age. he even had a twin which meant there was two of him. twice the intimidation.
they go by the name of the dolan twins. on the school's football team, basketball team, lacrosse team, and more than she could ever imagine doing herself due to her anxiety.
as much as she wanted to not interview him, this counted as half her grade and she's always had straight a's. this would tear her apart if she got bad grades.
it was lunchtime, a perfect chance to interview him when he wasn't so busy. riley walked outside of the school to the lunch tables where she seen a table full of seniors. she felt her heart start to beat faster the closer she got.
she could hear the loud laughter coming from the older teens as they talked about something she didn't know of. her social anxiety was killing her once she stood a few feet away. for one, she had to make sure she was talking to ethan and not grayson.
riley stared at her dirty, scuffed high-top vans before she realized the table had now gotten quiet and she was standing behind the twins. she looked up seeing the rest of the teens staring at her curiously. oh shit, was all she thought.
she swallowed hard, mentally cursing herself for not drinking any water beforehand.
"yo, behind you." one of the guys called out as she tapped on ethan's shoulder at the same time. embarrassment burned her body as she hugged the clipboard to her chest.
ethan turned around to face her, not expecting the curly haired girl to be standing there. she felt his eyes pierce into her as he looked for what she had to say.
"h-hi, d-do you mind if i um, interview you for the uhh school's newspaper?"
she could hear the snickers around the table which made her heart drop. it also just made her want to ball up in a corner and cry.
"yeah, of course!" ethan nodded, standing up, towering over riley. she bit her lip, before waking some feet away so she could interview him in peace. he stuffed his hands in his pockets as he followed behind the shorter girl.
"so uh, y-you're the sport s-student of the month. and, i uhm have to interview you."
"okay, cool." ethan nodded once again. he was so assertive, riley was jealous.
"w-what's your f-favorite, no- best um thing about doing- i mean playing l-lacrosse."
ethan frowned at the younger girl's nervousness. he had seen her around taking pictures for what he guessed is the newspaper. back then, she seemed that she liked to be secluded from people. he never thought she'd be like this though.
ethan leaned against the tree the two were near, looking down at younger girl. "am i making you nervous?"
riley didn't say anything but continued to look at her dirty vans. he was so handsome she felt that she'd burst just by looking at him.
"what's your name?" he questioned her.
"riley." she told him, voice barely above a whisper.
"riley?" she nodded. "i'm ethan." ethan held his hand out towards her. riley bit her lip, grasping his hand and shaking it.
"so if i'm correct, i'm just going by what i've heard. but when you're the sport student of the month you have to basically follow me around, huh?"
she nodded. "yes."
"so riley, you acting really nervous with me is not going to work."
"uh, okay." riley didn't know how to tell him but she couldn't really help that she was nervous around him.
"for one, look at me."
riley looked up, peering into ethan's narrow greenish eyes, feeling defeated. ethan had this effect on her which made her feel like she was being brought under a spell.
ethan stared back at her into her own crystal blue eyes. "see, that's not so hard. my favorite thing about playing lacrosse is being able to do something i feel confident at. i can be myself on the field which is being the best i can possibly be. i like the feeling you get when you don't know what's about to happen but you just want to win and succeed."
riley almost forgot she had write down what ethan had to say. he seemed so passionate in what he did, she admired that. she cleared her throat so she could speak. "thank you for your time."
"it's no problem, riley. whenever you need to interview me, i'm available. do you need my number or anything?"
riley thought about it for a second. she didn't need his number she she could use it. it could be helpful. besides when would she ever get to say she has a popular senior's number.
"s-sure."
ethan smiled at her as she handed her clipboard over to him so he could write his number down.
"there you go. i'll see you around, riley." ethan touched her shoulder which sent chills throughout her body.
"bye." riley whispered, not sure if he heard her not. she watched as he went back to his table, loudly greeted by his friends.
riley walked away with a small smile on her face as she hugged the clipboard to her chest. yes, she did embarrass herself but she also felt something else. ethan made her feel like her favorite strawberry ice cream on a cone on a hot summer day. he made her feel like one of those volcanoes in hawaii that she learned about a few grades ago, all warm inside.
riley got to talk to someone she'd never thought she'd talk to. she hoped this month wouldn't drive her crazy. she'd definitely crash.
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heya, don't be a ghost reader and leave some votes and comments. it encourages me to write more when people interact w/ me. :)
so first ethan fic, probably my last fic bc i'm more into making original stories now. i had this idea of kinda sorta age gap? it's like two/three yrs which to me doesn't seem as bad as like eight yrs or something.
