5:45 a.m// e.d

two// "well, she's beautiful."

ethan

i pull up outside a house which i assume is william's and switch off the engine. i sit for a few seconds, fixing my hair in the rear view mirror before getting out of my car.

i walk up to the front door and ring the bell, leaning against the wall waiting for someone to answer.

william opens the door and gives me a small smile. "hi ethan."

"hey william, how are you?"

"i'm good, come in. do you want anything to drink?" he asks, walking down the hall letting me follow after him.

i close his door behind me and follow him into his kitchen. he gets out two glasses from the cupboard above the sink.

"just water, please," i reply, waiting a few feet behind him. i slide my backpack off my shoulder and hold it by one strap in my hand.

"so, we can work in my room if you want," he tells me, handing me the glass. ice clinks the side of the glass as i take a sip.

"thanks. yeah, sure."

"okay, come on then," he laughs, going back out to the hall and walking up the stairs. i follow him again and we walk into a big bedroom, probably the biggest in this house.

"cool room," i mumble, looking at all the art hung up on the walls and the pictures of people in frames. there's a camera sitting on his desk, beside an easel with four or five coloured paints in it.

the floor is littered with scrunched up pieces of paper and there's a blank canvas on a stand in the far corner of the room.

"you paint all of these?" i ask, pointing to all of the paintings on his walls.

"oh, those? yeah they're mine but i was just messing around most of the time," william replies, his cheeks turning a dark shade of pink.

i raise my eyebrows at him. "are you kidding me? they're awesome dude. you're so talented!"

william sits on the edge of his bed and shrugs, a gentle smile growing on his face. "thanks, ethan."

"honestly, these are beautiful. i wish i was this good at art," i chuckle walking around the room looking at the pictures and paintings.

i come across a large photograph in a plain white frame. it's a picture of two girls standing against a red brick wall. one has long, curly blonde hair and is laughing happily at another girl.

the girl she's laughing at is stunning. my heart jumps when i see how beautiful she is. she's sitting in a shopping cart, holding on tightly. her shoulder length brown hair is shining in the sunlight and she's laughing while looking straight into the camera lens.

"that's zoë and rory. they're my best friends," william states from behind me.

"they're both really pretty. which one is this girl?" i ask, pointing towards the girl facing the camera. her smile is so breathtaking. i hope i don't sound creepy asking for her name.

"that's rory. she used to go to our school. do you recognise her?"

"i don't know. but she's beautiful."

"yeah, i love taking photos of her, she's so photogenic. she hates it though, she never believes me when i tell her she's a natural," william giggles.

"well, she's beautiful," i repeat. i move slowly away from the photo, seeing her smile in my mind even when i've turned back around and sat on william's bed.

we begin to write down ideas for our chemistry project and i'm only half focused on what he's saying.

i just can't seem to forget about her smile.