She stuck out her tongue at him. "Well, I'm not the one who cleans it!" She retorted while wrinkling her nose.
"Maybe you should." He stuck his tongue back out at her, laughing. "I have to vacuum tomorrow. That's it. It'll take me an hour though because I'm so picky about it."
"Why are you so picky like that?" She asked, flopping backwards so she was now lying on her back, staring up at his ceiling.
Ethan shrugged, rolling over and snuggling closer to her, lying on his stomach. "Because I am." He smiled and rested his head in the crook of her neck.
She laid flat for a moment, surprised by Ethan's movements. She really wasn't used to physical contact; she just never was a touchy-feely type of person. "Yeah, well. I guess you are," she finally muttered, smiling slightly as a light pink tint fell across her cheeks and nose.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes, draping his arms around her and snuggling in closer. "I'm tired. Wake me up in five?"
His yawn caused her to yawn, too. But she nodded. "Fine, as long as I don't fall asleep," she replied, rolling onto her side to face him.
He smiled, flushing and closing his eyes. Ethan really was tired, and he yawned again. She was almost too close to him for comfort, but he didn't mind. "Night."
She continued to grin and closed her eyes too. "Have a good sleep," she replied, resting her head on her arm.
Had it been anybody else, Ethan would have recoiled at the contact. But since Madeline was... well, Madeline, he rather enjoyed her close proximity. He blushed and snuggled closer to her, falling into sleep almost immediately.
After she felt his breathing become slower and more constant, she opened her eyes to watch him. It baffled her at how quickly they had bridged the rift in their relationship, but she was grateful for it. She smiled to herself in contentment.
Of course Ethan was dreaming, dreaming about Madeline. Who else would he dream about? She was the only non-invisible friend that he had- scratch that, the only friend. He shivered and scootched even closer to her, reveling in the warmth that emanated from her body.
As he moved in closer to her, she could feel the bridge of her nose and her cheeks burning. Any other time she would have hid her face in embarassment. It wasn't very often that Madeline blushed, and when she did, she always felt humiliated- like her feelings were in the open for everyone to see. She was glad that Ethan's eyes were closed.
He scowled in sleep and sighed. "Stop moving," he whined, snuggling even closer, if it were possible.
"Sorry," she mumbled, closing her eyes for the timebeing. She wasn't sleeping. She was tired...but she had to wake him up in a few minutes.
Ethan opened one of his eyes and yawned. "Madeline..." He began, voice thick with sleep, then paused. What had he been going to ask her?
Her eyes fluttered open, for she hadn't actually fallen asleep. "Hm?" she questioned, looking over at him with sleepy eyes.
"I don't think I'm gonna go to work today," he mumbled, yawning. "As long as you're with me, I'm not gonna go."
She sat up, leaning her elbow on the bed and resting her head in her palm. "Are you sure this time?" she asked with a wry smile.
Ethan laughed. "Yes, I do believe I am." He yawned and stretched, rolling away from her and sitting up.
She laughed for a moment after him, then sat all the way up. "So, why the sudden change of heart?"
Ethan shrugged. "Hmmm... I don't know. I kind of want to spend a bit more time with you- I've missed you, you know."
She nodded, smiling. "No, I know. I've missed you a lot, too." She was glad he was willing to give up his time at work to spend it with her.
He laughed and fell backwards, closing his eyes. "Ten years of not seeing each other? Yeah, I can kind of understand that."
She brought her legs in, crossing them indian-style as her smile lingered on her lips. "Ten years..." she paused, watching him. "It doesn't seem like ten years."
"You're right," he said quietly, opening his eyes to glance at her. "It seems longer."
"Definitely longer." She said in thought. Thinking back to the thirteen-year-old Ethan, she would have never recognized him now if she had just passed him on the street. "You sure have changed," she said with a slight smile.
Ethan laughed, sitting up to watch her. "I don't know," he responded playfully, sticking his tongue out at her. "You're still bratty as ever."
"Bratty? Me?" She asked innocently, raising her shoulders as if this comment was a surprise to her. "I prefer facetious." She replied, grinning.
"Nope, nope," he said, laughing. "Still bratty. Annoying as heck, too."
"Annoying?" This time, she was genuinely surprised. "Bratty, I can understand. But you really think I'm annoying?" She asked with a slight grin.
"Only when you're persistent." He laughed. "And only when you're acting like a little kid." Ethan reached out to tousle her hair, laughing.
She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well," she crossed her arms over her chest and pulled away from him playfully. "At least people give in to my persistence!"
"Not me." Ethan stuck his tongue out at her, reaching out farther to touch her hair. "I'll never give in. Neveeeer!" He laughed.
She grinned at him, scooting even farther from him on the bed. "Never? That's too bad!"
"Why?" He asked, scowling and crossing his arms. "You're silly." He stuck his tongue out at her again.
She shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I am just silly," she replied with a grin, wrinkling her nose at him.
"You didn't answer the question," he said in a sing-song voice, grinning. "Why does it matter if I don't give in?"
She shrugged him off, though she knew what she wanted to say. "I don't know. I was just messing with you," she replied simply.
Ethan sighed. "Are you shutting me out again?" He asked, his grin fading. "Madeline..." He sighed.
She watched him as an expression of concern crossed over her face. It wasn't that she was shutting him out. Truth was, she was really beginning to care for him again. She just wasn't ready to admit how much she cared. She had hoped he was "giving in" to the same amount of feelings that she was beginning to feel...but she was too afaid to find out. "No, I'm not Ethan. I promise you!"
"I wish you'd just tell me what's wrong," he whispered, playing with a loose string on the bed cover. "We never used to have secrets." Head bent, he looked at her through his eyelashes.
She turned her head to stare at the wall and shook her head. "Trust me," she starting, turning back towards him and looking him right in the eye, "nothing's wrong." She gave him a nervous, yet encouraging grin.
Ethan sighed. There's something wrong, and she's still not telling me, he thought, confused. But I'll let her have her own way. When she's ready to tell me, she will. He sighed and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Madeline."
She watched him. It wasn't like she was not telling him just because she was trying to be a b***h. Honestly, she felt shy around him. Shyness was something new to her, because even if she was feeling self-concious, she'd hide it with her aloof attitude. She didn't feel like she needed to put up a wall in front of Ethan though. She didn't say anything though, and just nodded at him.
Ethan sighed and shook her hair, flopping backwards onto the bed and consequently off of it. "Whoops," he said, legs propped up against the bed as he began to laugh, startled. "That wasn't supposed to happen."
She couldn't help but laugh at him after such a tense moment. She held out her hand to him, still smiling. "You're so clumsy," she commented.
Ethan grabbed her hand and pulled on it, hoping to send her off of the bed. "I know," he said, grinning mischievously.
She gasped, her breath catching in her throat as she tumbled head first off the bed and on top of Ethan. Smooth move, Madeline.
Ethan winced as she landed on top of him, the breath whooshing out of his body and his head snapping back to hit the floor. He coughed and winced, instinctively wrapping his arms around her to protect her. "You okay?" Ethan asked, looking at her through his eyelashes, a light flush tinging his cheeks.
She stayed sprawled across him for only a moment, before feeling her cheeks burn and quickly sitting up. "F-fine," she mumbled, quickly averting her gaze and running a hand self-consciously through her hair. "How about you?" she added.
"Y-yeah," Ethan said, blushing even harder. He winced and pulled himself back and from under her, resting his back against the wall. "Just hit my head on the floor." He laughed quietly.
She smiled, but only because he had laughed. "Well, is your head alright?" she asked, sliding over so she was sitting close to him. She felt bad for falling on him, even though it was his fault for pulling her down!
"Yeah. I think it needs some TLC, though." He winced and rubbed his head. "What did you do?" Ethan rolled his eyes at her.
She quirked a brow at him. "Excuse me?" She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hold back a smile. "You're the one who pulled me."
"Yeah, but you're the one who fell on top of me." Ethan's lower lip jutted out into a pout, trying to hold back a smile. Always the actor, he was. "Poo head."
"It's still your fault," she replied simply, letting the smile she was trying to hold back surface. She rose then and stood in the doorway of his bedroom. "I can get you some ice for your head, if you want..."
"I think it'll be okay," he said quietly, holding his hands out to her. "Come here, Madeline. I want a hug!"
"Mm, okay," she replied lightly, a small smile still across her face. She went to him, immediately burying her head in his chest and wrapping her arms around his torso.
Ethan grinned and wrapped his arms around her body, resting his chin on her head. "You know those moments where you just want everything to stop and keep that moment forever?" He smiled. "I think that this is one of those."
Madeline smiled. Not just a normal smile, though. It was probably the biggest smile she had ever had in her entire life. She was just so happy in the moment, and he couldn't have described her thoughts better. "This is definitely one of those."
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