little lies (an e.d. fanfiction)

✭ chapter 10

ethan's pov

i held claire in my arms as she was sobbing. i could feel her struggling to breathe steadily and i pulled her off of me and propped her up to look at me, "hey, listen to me, breathe. i got you."

she nods and looks down at her hands, embarrassed. i felt sorry for her. she was shaking, badly. i pull her in for another hug and i feel her heart rate slow down against my chest.

i can tell that what she told me, she probably hasn't talked about it to anyone. i admit, i'm glad she opened up to me, because i wanna open up to her too.

after a couple minutes of calming her down, she then seems like she feels better. she lets go of me and sits putting her back against the headboard on my bed.

she looks at me and smiles softly, "thank you, ethan. it means so much to have you here for me."

i feel my heart skip a beat at her saying this. i don't wanna fall for her but it might already be too late. she's just too perfect.

i look at her in admiration, "nothing could ever make me leave you."

claire's pov

after i calmed down, ethan asked me a few more questions. there was only 5 questions for this assignment, since most of them were very deep. although, some weren't.

we finished up in the next fifteen minutes and it was time for me to ask him questions now. i'm excited to learn more about him. i think about him all the time, and to finally get to know more about him is intriguing.

i surprisingly don't feel regretful after telling him my situation. his reaction comforted me; he actually cares.

i grab my sheet of paper and ask him if he's ready. he nods, not seeming to be phased. we both have different questions on our papers.

i look at him through my thick and long eyelashes then look down to my paper.

i ask him the less serious questions first but then i move on to the deep ones.

"what's the one thing you would like to change about yourself and why?"

ethan looks away and looks guilty almost. he groans not wanting to say his answer, "my pride, i let it get in the way of everything. i feel like a dick when i let my pride get in the way and treat people like shit because they're not," he uses his finger to emphasize, "cool enough."

i nod looking at him intently. very interesting.

i look back down at the paper, "what was the best stage of your life and why?"

he looks up to the ceiling as if he's starting to think. he opens his mouth as if he's about to talk but then stops.

"i don't have a good stage. i've always felt the same. angry, rude, and arrogant. you've never really seen the bad part of me, but that's because i actually like you. i don't think anything will change with how i treat people."

i look at him shocked and repeat his words over in my head, "but that's because i actually like you."

it hit me, hard.

i look at him dead in the eye, "if you don't like the way you treat people, then change it. i know, it's easier said than done, but think about it- if you start changing the way you are with people you'll feel so much better about yourself. you won't feel sad all the time and you'll see yourself the way i see you."

he raises an eyebrow with a smile creeping onto his face, "and how do you see me?"

i exhale, "i see you as a confident person who doesn't care what others think. someone that will make you laugh so much till you can't breathe anymore. someone that looks tough on the outside but is soft on the inside. someone who has a sweet and generous heart and genuinely cares. you're amazing, ethan."