"please, we're sorry! gray and i fell asleep in the hotel room!" Mia screams through the thin door of the room.
"yeah, and mrs bruno caught Noah and i sneaking around and sent us right back to our rooms!" Aria sighed.
"I had diarrhea!" Isabelle explained.
"ew, izzy." i opened the door, "of course i forgive you guys, it wasn't nearly as bad as i had thought, even if Ethan was the only one who'd put up with me complaining for hours."
Mia chuckled, "it's true love."
"whatever, i gotta head somewhere soon, though. I'll be back later." i tell them, once they've entered the room.
"what? where? you just let us into the room." Aria says, her arms thrown up, confused.
"I was changing. and I'm late, so I'll see you guys later, okay?" i wave goodbye, and see myself out the door. i hear them sharing whispers behind the door, before smiling and walking off.
Mia promised me gelato the other day, and I never got it because they all ditched us. I mentioned that at dinner yesterday, to Ethan cause I was upset. he promised to treat me to gelato this afternoon, and that's where i was going.
as i made my way to the lobby, i spot him sitting comfortably on a chair, nervously tapping his leg at a fast pace. he checks the time, stopping his movement, before continuing it.
"hey hey hey." i say, from behind him. he turns around in a swift motion, standing up from his seat.
"hey! you look nice," he says gesturing to my outfit. "not that you don't look nice everyday. today is the.. same. not that you look the same everyday! you just- you look-"
"thank you, Ethan." i interrupted him, laughing. "let's go."
"yeah.." he clears his throat, allowing me to lead the way. "after you."
"so where is this place anyway?" i asked, opening the hotel doors.
"we have to take the train." he says, staring down at his phone while he walks. he stops at the edge of the road where i stood, never taking his eyes off the phone.
"so according to this," he says pointing to the words on his phone, "we have to take line nineteen, where we'll grab gelato. then i have some more cool stuff we can do planned."
"nice, you really thought this through, huh?"
"actually, i planned it all when i was waiting in the lobby," he laughs. well we're getting lost.
if you told me a month ago that I'd be right back to where i started, hanging out with Ethan like nothing happened, then i probably wouldn't have believed you. the time spent with him was nostalgic, and i missed doing this. i had so much fun, despite all the thoughts in my head convincing me that befriending your ex is super toxic.
but still, he was different. and i could see it. he was trying. and i was grateful for that. that someone would change their attitude and their perspective on things for me.
taking the train was weird, for I have never been on one. Ethan acted like a pro, even though I knew he was just as clueless as me. asking for help was useless, because of our fear that the Italians will get annoyed with us tourist.
but eventually, we had made it to the shop, and i couldn't have been happier. this entire trip had i been craving something cold and creamy in my possession!
i gasped, "oh my gosh, im in heaven!" i exclaim, eyeing the gelato through the window.
Ethan laughs, digging through his pocket, "which flavor are you gonna try?" he asks, pulling out euros, in which the school provided us.
"hmm. i gotta go for the wild strawberry." i say, looking back at him. he raises his eyebrow, examining the choices of flavors of ice cream in which he should get.
"ill get pistachio. it only seems appropriate." He shrugs, pulling out his money.
"appropriate for what?" i asked him. he orders our ice cream, paying before turning back towards me.
"because im nuts for you." he winks, in attempt to be somewhat flirtatious.
i laugh, bending over to hold my stomach, "how cute, man. also, i think a pistachio is technically a fruit."
"way to ruin the mood, Andi." he turns back around, grabbing our ice creams and spoons. he walks towards the entrance of the door, opening it with his back.
i cross my arms, huffing, before following after him. once catching up to him, he hands me my gelato.
the walk around Rome was truly how i expected it. i knew it'd be beautiful. especially as the sun was setting. it felt surreal that i had experienced such a perfect moment of time where the sun blended perfectly against our skin.
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"wow. why didn't we just stay here for our trip. it's gorgeous." Ethan says, taking a bite of his gelato.
"i know right," i follow in suit, scooping up my wild strawberry gelato and shoving it in my mouth. hmm, the smell of this is amazing. the aroma of fresh strawberry scent. not like the scents from the three dollar lipgloss you used to get at Walmart as a kid. more like when you're with your grandma picking strawberries in her garden. for hours and hours.
"we should probably head back soon. we don't wanna get killed by the darkness." he says, scooping up the last of his gelato.
my eyes widen as i looked towards him, "how did you finish it so fast?" i exclaimed, holding my half eaten ice cream in my tiny, cold hands.
"i eat fast," he shrugged, "let's go."
the walk back to the hotel was mostly silent. but i could tell we were both really content about this day. despite barely doing anything, we had lots of fun. sometimes I'd sneak glances at him when i trailed back a little, and i could see his tiny smile. it made me happy knowing he wasn't sad anymore. and it made me even more happier knowing that i was the cause of that happiness. even if it was just a little bit.
END OF CHAPTER FOURTEEN
wow it's been more than a month. yeesh... sorry about that.
but ok i just experience the worst week of my life. im sick, i have neck pain, and i have hand mouth foot disease. DONT LOOK IT UP it's nasty. im failing math nearing the end of the year and im super dizzy all the time 🙃
anyway yesterday i passed my drivers test! so now i finally drive despite being terrified of driving so that's great.
i have so much plans for this memorial week. what're you guys doing?
