He’s Cruel, You’re Cool // E.D. *
Summary: Y/N and her boyfriend Grayson had a perfect relationship - at least, she thought she did. But she wasn’t the only victim in a heartless betrayal.
Warnings: Angst, a bit of smut, swearing, fluff, and cheating. Also just wanted to add that I am not portraying Grayson in a negative context in real life as this is a work of fiction :)
Y/N was truly in the happiest moments of her life. She had a stable career, a cozy apartment near said job, wonderful friends and a very loving boyfriend. She met Grayson two years ago at a mutual friend’s party and ever since then, they were inseparable. It didn’t take long for Y/N to fall for his charm and genuine kind personality, and Grayson was just so obsessed with her. However, lately things have been hectic at Y/N’s job (she’s an editor for a very popular magazine), so she’s been a bit too busy to plan dates and hang out with him. But he’s been very understanding and doesn’t seem to mind - in fact, it’s almost like he’s a bit happy that she hasn’t been able to make time for him. But maybe he’s just thrilled that she’s making large strides in her workplace. That has to be it.
Y/N is currently driving to her boyfriend’s house, who he shares with his twin brother (she’s also pretty close friends with Ethan, but wouldn’t label them as “best friends”). She whips out her phone and sends him a quick text to let him know she was on her way over.
Y/N: Hey babe I’m almost there xx
She waited on the side of the busy road to see his response. Ten minutes passed and there was nothing - which was odd for Grayson, since he always sends a text back almost immediately, especially on his days off like today. When she thinks about it, he hasn’t replied to her texts at all today, nor has she gotten any read receipts. Y/N decided not to worry too much so she texted Ethan, hoping he was there with him.
Y/N: Hey Ethan… Grayson hasn’t been responding to my texts today, are you guys home?
Ethan: I’m not home but Gray should be… he’s not texting me back either and neither is Stacy. I’m coming home in a bit though
Stacy is Ethan’s girlfriend and one of the sweetest people Y/N has ever met. She’s been dating Ethan for a little over a year now and they’re perfect together. Her and Y/N have really bonded and become close friends since the time they’ve been introduced to each other. She truly makes Ethan happy, just as happy as Grayson makes her.
Y/N sighs and decides to drive to the twins’ house anyway. She pulls in and surely there was Grayson’s car, and Ethan wasn’t there yet. Stacy’s car was also there, but Y/N didn’t think too much of it. Her and Grayson were friends too; maybe they were watching a good movie and haven’t been able to check their phones.
Though, a deep and sickening feeling is telling Y/N otherwise.
She walks into the house using the spare key she was given, and sees no one in sight. However, she does spot Stacy’s familiar black Chanel bag laying on the couch along with a pair of her red bottoms. Why was she wearing red bottoms on a casual Sunday, and why has she taken them off?
“Gray?” Y/N decides to call out, but earned no response. She starts walking closer to his bedroom down the hallway, but slows her pace once she hears the sound of low grunting mixed with… a feminine voice.
Y/N’s heart dropped and her stomach twisted into a knot. No… he couldn’t have… Although she desperately wanted to run away and pretend that everything was fine, she knew she had to find out what was going on. Maybe he was watching porn without headphones on?
Grayson wouldn’t dream of cheating on her.
But Y/N’s suspicions were unfortunately raised when she leaned her head against the door and heard the very familiar voice of Grayson’s… as well as Stacy’s.
“Oh, Grayson!” Stacy belted out, nauseating Y/N.
“Fuck Stace… shit,” she heard Grayson huff as the sound of slapping skin was practically echoing off the walls. “I fucking love you.”
That’s the last thing that completely shattered Y/N; tears instantly swam down her cheeks as she couldn’t contain keeping herself hidden anymore. She twisted the doorknob and opened the door widely; of course the bastard hadn’t locked it. He always locked it when they were having sex… did he want her to catch him cheating on her?
“Grayson!” Y/N managed to shout, catching the sight of the two naked individuals on Grayson’s messy bed. He was currently buried into her, doggy style… a position he would always refuse to do with Y/N because he didn’t want to “hurt” her. She felt absolute disgust when Grayson’s shocked expression met hers.
“Y/N, w-what are you doing here?” Grayson sputtered nervously against a frozen Stacy, who looked incredibly embarrassed and ashamed. “I thought you had work today…”
“That doesn’t fucking justify you cheating on me, you dick!” Y/N snapped angrily, wanting nothing more than to slap that shit out of her now ex-boyfriend. “For your information, I got off early and decided to surprise you. What a huge fucking mistake that was.”
“Y/N…”
“No! You are not about to explain yourself… especially when you’re still inside of her!” Y/N was screaming now. “Stacy, of all people? That’s what hurts the most… Oh my God, what about Ethan? How the fuck could you do this to your own twin brother?!”
“What’s going on?” she heard Ethan’s voice from behind her, causing her to jump. “I heard yelling- WHAT THE FUCK?!”
Y/N’s body was shaking now, and she just couldn’t take it anymore. Ethan was furiously glaring at the two betrayers as Y/N ripped off the gold necklace with Grayson’s name on it and flung it at his face, making him flinch. She then pushed past Ethan and ran out of the house, ignoring the loud screams and curses flying from Ethan’s mouth. She quickly got into her car and drove off, refusing to cry until she was at least safe and at home.
And that’s exactly what happened. The moment she stepped into her doorway is when she bursted into full on sobs. She crawled into her bed, the same bed where she spent many nights with her so-called loving and loyal boyfriend, but now it was ruined. She wanted to burn every single little thing that reminded her of Grayson; the bedsheets, the t-shirts and hoodies, the teddy bears he won for her at state fairs… everything.
God, Y/N was so in love with him… how could he do this? Why did he do this? It seemed so unnatural of him… Grayson has always promised that he’d never hurt Y/N in a million years since the day he met her. But I guess that promise quickly broke when he unintentionally confessed his love for Stacy in front of her.
Y/N has finally stopped crying at around nine o’clock at night, six hours since the incident. She checked her phone and saw that she had multiple texts from both Grayson and Stacy, both begging for either forgiveness or the ability to explain what happened. She decided to ignore those texts after briefly reading them, and was about to shut her phone off until she noticed a text from the other Dolan twin.
Ethan: Hey Y/N… can I come over? I really need someone right now and I thought since we’re in the same boat…
Ethan: but I’d understand if you don’t want to see me… you know… because of that asshole
Ethan was right. Y/N wasn’t in the mood to see anybody, not just him. A part of her feared that once she saw Ethan, his face would remind her of him despite their obvious differences in physicality and personality. However, at the same time, she also didn’t want to turn Ethan away… knowing his heart was just as broken as hers, if not more. He was betrayed by his own goddamn brother, the person he loved most in the world. Y/N couldn’t let him be by himself.
Y/N: you can come over, e…
Ethan: thank you.
Surprisingly, after five minutes, Y/N heard a knock on her door which confused her. It couldn’t be Ethan, could it? Oh God, what if it was Grayson… or Stacy, trying to beg for a chance for her to hear them out. Y/N looked through the peephole and sighed in relief at the sight of Ethan, and she quickly opened the door. His eyes were bloodshot red and his cheeks were stained with tears… he looked just as messy as she does right now. He walks inside and immediately engulfs her into a tight hug.
“You got here fast,” she commented into the crook of his neck.
“I’ve been sitting in your parking lot for over an hour,” he explained, rubbing her back in circles. “I have nowhere else to go…”
“Nowhere else to go?” Y/N stupidly asked.
Ethan sniffled and pulled apart from Y/N, “I packed up all of my shit and left, even when Grayson tried to stop me. I couldn’t be there with… with…”
Y/N pulled him back into a tight hug as he sobbed into her shoulder, and it only took a couple of seconds for her to cry along with him. What did these two broken souls ever do to deserve this? What prompted Grayson to hook up with his twin brother’s girlfriend, while he had a girlfriend himself? No matter what explanation those two traitors provided, there was nothing to justify the type of pain that they brought upon the close-knit group. Now everything was going to be different and it was all their faults, ruining what was a really great thing.
And no matter how hard Y/N tried, she just couldn’t let Ethan go. And Ethan wasn’t able to let her go either. They both were currently having a similar thought process in which they’d be helpful in recovering one another’s shattered hearts. Sure, Ethan was Grayson’s brother, but he was also a victim in all of this.
“If you don’t have anywhere to go, E…” Y/N croaked, lifting her head up to meet his tear-filled gaze. “…Maybe you could stay here with me for a little while? Only if you’re comfortable with it, of course.”
“Are you sure, Y/N?” Ethan questioned, though he initially wanted to accept her offer right away. “Wouldn’t you uncomfortable knowing I’m related to the backstabbing shithead who broke your heart?”
She shook her head, and patted his shoulder assuringly. “You’re not like him, Ethan, I know you’re not. Besides, he broke your heart too, and I don’t think neither of us should be alone.”
Ethan smiled fainted, grateful for Y/N’s relentless kindness despite the situation. “Thank you, Y/N. You were the only person I wanted to see right now, anyway.”
The pair then proceeded to go down and unload Ethan’s car. He still had some stuff back at the house, but he certainly wasn’t in the mood to go back and get them at the moment. When he was finished cursing out his ex-girlfriend and shitty twin brother, he then went and started packing up his shit in his room, unable to stand being under the same roof where the love of his life fucked his brother. A half-dressed Grayson tried to prevent him from leaving, claiming that he hadn’t meant to have him or Y/N find out that way, but Ethan refused to listen to his pathetic defense. Stacy was also stupidly standing around with Grayson’s sheets wrapped around her naked body, profusely apologizing to Ethan about what he had seen and claiming that she never wanted to hurt him. Too fucking late, is what he told her.
Ethan ended up punching his brother square in the jaw, which was kind of an accident but also kind of not, as Grayson was provoking his burning anger and was crowding his face. He then threatened the asshole to stay away from him for a while, finished packing up his car, and drove away… the first place in mind being Y/N’s apartment. Her broken expression he saw on her face when she fled the twins’ house was a permanent stain on his face, and he was tempted to drive right back around and beat Grayson’s ass even more for doing such a terrible thing for a sweet girl.
Ethan always liked Y/N (not in that way, of course). When a giddy Grayson introduced her to him two years ago, he couldn’t help but respect Grayson for having a great taste in such a sweet, beautiful and intelligent girl. He was almost jealous of their amazing relationship until he met Stacy, who he immediately fell in love with. God… if only he could turn back time…
Ethan met Stacy about a year and a half ago when he and Grayson were doing a modeling shoot for a magazine cover, and she was one of the photographers working with him. They hit it off pretty quickly after being introduced to each other, and Ethan couldn’t help but feel charmed by her excessive beauty and slight sassy attitude the girl contained. Their relationship blossomed naturally and he was absolutely obsessed with her… now? Not so much. He wants the she-devil as far away from him as possible, despite his previous thoughts of marrying her and having as many kids as possible. Of course, those thoughts and promises future was destroyed now, but it still fucked with his mind that he used to falsely see her as this perfect angel who could do no harm. Clearly, she could do a lot of harm.
And now Grayson Bailey Dolan. This is what makes everything worse… when his own twin brother was involved and betrayed his trust. Despite this shitty action that he committed, Ethan couldn’t help but still love his brother… although he just cannot envision himself ever forgiving him or things going back to the way it was ever again. In the past, Grayson has made jokes of “stealing” Ethan’s girls, but this… this was obviously just too far. It wasn’t a joke anymore, it was a cruel reality that Ethan was now drowning in. He could forget about Stacy, even though it’ll be difficult since he’s still in love with her, but she’s just another girl. Grayson? Grayson is his blood relative, his twin brother. They shared the same womb together. They stuck together throughout high school when they were being teased and messed around with by other students. They were each other’s wingmen and helped each other out when they were down. They make videos together that have gained them plenty of devoted fans. They have fucking matching tattoos together. They are each other’s halves, and have promised each other to never let a girl get between them.
Why the hell did his stupid brother have to ruin everything?
Ethan couldn’t sleep that night in Y/N’s guest bedroom, though he was so appreciative of her being as accommodating as possible. His mind was racing with thoughts as he tossed and turned in his blankets. What was going to happen now? Ethan and Grayson’s relationship aside, which he doesn’t fathom how it will be mended, but what about the fans? They’ll be crushed and infuriated if they found out what Grayson did. His career would be ruined. What about the videos? They currently have a few pre-recorded and edited videos planned to go up in the coming weeks, but what happens after that? Do they separate? If they separate, would they have to make a video together explaining why? Ethan couldn’t imagine himself making a YouTube channel entitled Ethan Dolan. It was too painful to think about. His creativity relied on his twin; they just worked so well together despite their differences.
Ethan’s mind was eased to a sudden stop when he heard a loud sob coming from across the hallway. Y/N was certainly awake too, and before Ethan knew it, he had gotten out of bed and walked over to her bedroom. He opened the door to find her laying in bed, curled up in a ball with her face pressed against her pillow. He hesitantly walked over, feeling like he was the last thing she needed, and sat down beside her on her bed. Feeling the bed sink down beside her, she lifted her head up to see an empathetic Ethan, who was now rubbing her back in soft, slow circles.
“Ethan?” she whispered, her voice breaking.
He shook his head, urging her to not say anything. Instead, Ethan laid down beside her and wrapped a tight arm around her waist, spooning her. He then spoke in a fearful tone, “Is this okay?”
Y/N thought to herself, thinking back to how her and Grayson cuddled… well, they rarely did - only after sex. And even then, they never actually spooned each other. Grayson would always blamed it on his claustrophobia… which now had her wondering if that was a lie too. Did he ever cuddle with Stacy? Brought back to reality a bit, Y/N brushed her hand along Ethan’s arm and sighed at the feeling of his warm breath hitting her neck. She let the words flow out of her mouth, “More than okay.”
Two weeks. It’s been two weeks since that dreaded day and Y/N and Ethan have been getting better since. They’ve gotten a lot closer to each other, spending all of their time watching movies, going out to eat and ordering in, laughing and going shopping, et cetera. They had a lot more in common than they thought, they were just consumed in their blinding love lives to realize it. Neither have them have been in contact with Grayson and Stacy, both of which were doing God knows what - not like they cared. Nowadays they rarely thought about them - only on Tuesdays when Ethan uploaded a video to the channel without even mentioning it to Grayson. They pretended like everything was normal even though things were far from it… until the third week mark came and there wasn’t anymore Dolan Twins videos to upload.
Y/N sat in her bedroom as she heard Ethan speak on his Instagram story, “Hey guys, so there isn’t going to be a video today… actually, there won’t be one for a while. Due to personal reasons, we’re taking a break from the channel. I’m not sure how long it’ll be, but I encourage you guys to be patient for this process. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, I am too, but some things in life you can’t control. Thanks for understanding and always being supportive… love you guys.”
So, the Dolan Twins fans aren’t oblivious as to what’s going on. They knew something was happening when they noticed that Grayson and Ethan barely posted on their stories and weren’t seen together in public. They weren’t posting Snapchat stories together urging fans to check out the new video; and through a little digging, they also noticed that Y/N (her and Gray’s relationship was never publicly confirmed but it was obvious that they were together) had unfollowed Grayson and Stacy (her and E’s relationship was somewhat public). Y/N had also deleted pictures she had which she had taken with Grayson alone (innocent pictures, like them simply standing side by side together but it still sent shippers crazy). And now here’s Ethan’s Instagram story, in which fans noticed that his smile seemed fake and his bags under his eyes increased - it also looked as though he was in someone else’s apartment.
Y/N was lost in thought when Ethan walked into her room and sat beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder to shake her out of her momentary daze. She snapped out of it and giggled softly before asking, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah… I just know rumors are going to fly and fans are going to try to figure everything out,” he sighed heavily. “I know what they did was fucking awful but I don’t want Grayson being sent tons of hate and his career demolished…”
Y/N flinched slightly at the mention of her ex but nodded nonetheless. “I understand. I hate him right now but I wouldn’t want anyone sending him death threats, you know?”
“You know what we should do?” Ethan changed the subject quickly. “We should go on a road trip.”
“A road trip?” Y/N questioned.
“To get our minds off of this shit. If we go somewhere at a reasonable distance from… them… maybe it’ll help us,” he explained. “You’ve also been working a shit ton and you need a break, you work-a-holic.”
Y/N rolled her eyes but grinned excitedly. “Well, where will we be going?”
“I was thinking Vegas? You’ve mentioned before that you’ve never been and I think you should go,” he suggested.
Grayson had always promised to take Y/N to Las Vegas, though he never acted on it. He always claimed one day but at most times, he said he was just too busy.
“Let’s go to Vegas then,” Y/N agreed, realizing that she was in desperate need of a vacation.
So she took the rest of the week off and her and Ethan drove off to Vegas in his Jeep. Ethan had managed to book quite a lovely luxurious hotel and defended it by saying it was part of the “Vegas experience.” They were both excited to not be too cooped up in her slightly small apartment anymore, though Y/N feared that fans would spot them and confront Ethan about what happened… would he be able to tell the truth?
Ethan managed to convince Y/N in going to the ziplining place with him, despite her fear of heights. It was the first thing they went to when they arrived to Vegas, and since it was nighttime he told her that the view would be much more beautiful. He was right, of course, but Y/N’s chest tightened when she realized how high they truly were, nearly as high as the tall buildings of the city. Ethan noticed her nerves and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers together. She looked over at him and he smiled, “It’s okay, I got you.”
She returned his smile and gazed around at the millions of city lights, her fear diminishing as she admired the view. “Wow… it’s beautiful.”
Ethan was unknowingly staring at Y/N, though. Her hair was flowing through the wind as she stared in awe at the sights around her. God, how could he have not realized how beautiful she really is? Grayson really lucked out… and fucked up but not appreciating what he truly had. If his brother would have seen this lovely girl underneath the lights with her hair through the wind, hundreds of feet in the air - he wouldn’t have ever dared to consider being unfaithful to her. And though it was grossly cliché, Ethan couldn’t help but let the words blurt from his mouth, “Yeah, you really are…”
Y/N whipped her head around and gave him a puzzled look. “What?”
“I-I was talking about the view, not that y-you aren’t - I mean, fuck,” Ethan sputtered nervously, unable to cover his hilarious slip up. “Fuck it, you’re so beautiful, Y/N.”
Her mouth fell agape as she hadn’t expected the compliment from him. The difference in his words from his twin brother struck her almost immediately; Grayson would always tell her that she looked beautiful… but here Ethan was saying she is beautiful… Was she overreacting or is there a certain meaningfulness to this language?
Because looking beautiful and being beautiful are completely different terms.
When the zipline ride was over, Y/N’s adrenaline was rushing. She jumped on her feet and spoke excitedly, “That was so fun! Let’s do something else - like skydiving! Let’s go skydiving.”
Ethan chuckled, swinging an arm around Y/N’s shoulder as they walked back to his car. “Most of the places here are closed already, but we can come back tomorrow… that’s if you’re adrenaline hasn’t washed out yet.”
He shot her a knowing smirk to which she stuck her tongue out in response. They eventually drove back to the hotel and around a quarter to eleven, they decided to chill out on the balcony as they were on the fiftieth floor. They sat in the chairs and just stared at the stars, both lost in the sky until Ethan noticed Y/N shivering.
“Cold?” he asked, laughing as Y/N hugged herself for warmth.
“No,” she denied, shaking her head. Ethan rolled his eyes at her stubbornness and stood up, pulling off his hoodie to give it to her. She refused and tried to say she was fine, but he wasn’t having it - he ended up forcing her inside his oversized Kid Cudi hoodie, her scowling in defeat as he donned a proud grin.
He sat back down, and Y/N mumbled a quiet “thank you.” Secretly, she was glad that he had given her his hoodie, though now her heart was racing a mile a minute, just as it had when he called her beautiful. Did he mean anything by it? Probably not, and she knew better than to jump to conclusions. The scent of Ethan’s cologne was strong, though, but Y/N adored it. She very much preferred it to Grayson’s natural scent-
No, she wasn’t going to compare them. She couldn’t do that to her mind. She had to let Grayson go, despite hanging around his twin brother. If she had to be honest with herself, the time she has been spending with Ethan has been ten times more fun than the few, sparring times she had spent with her ex. Maybe it was the spontaneity of it all, or the fact that they were using this to get a lot of shit off their minds, but Y/N was having fun and she wasn’t going to let her cheating and lying ex ruin it.
That is, until she got a notification on her phone. In fact, it was multiple notifications. Her Twitter and Instagram was blowing up, many fans encouraging her to check out a video upload to YouTube on the Dolan Twins channel. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; she thought Ethan hadn’t uploaded anything? She then discovered that #GraysonDolan was trending number one on the Twitter page, as well as #GraysonDolanisOverParty underneath. A sickening feeling overwhelmed Y/N when she clicked on the hashtag, not expecting to see a candid picture of Grayson kissing Stacy on the lips in front of a Starbucks. She glanced over at Ethan, who was giving her a peculiar look and was wondering as to why she probably looked constipated right now.
“What’s wrong, Y/N?” he asked, concern evident in his tone.
She couldn’t show him the picture, she couldn’t let it tear him up inside. Before she knew it, she sprinted into the hotel room with Ethan closely following her - but she managed to lock herself in the bathroom. He repeatedly knocked on the door but she ignored it, clicking on the YouTube app on her phone. Instantly a video from the Dolan Twins popped up from her subscriptions box, entitled, I Made A Huge Mistake… with Grayson’s face as the thumbnail. It had nearly ten million views already, and with a lump in her throat she decided to click on the ten-minute long video.
Grayson sat in front of the camera of his bedroom, the same place Y/N caught him… the mere thought made her want to click off the video, but she stopped herself. Grayson took a deep breath and she tried not to notice the redness in his eyes and his tear-stained cheeks.
“Hey guys. So you’re probably wondering what’s been going on lately, and Ethan and I haven’t been posting together or hanging out,” he began, sniffling a little. “Well, I didn’t want to make this video because I wanted to handle this situation privately but a picture was leaked onto Twitter, so I guess I’ll just say it now: Ethan and I had a major falling out, and it’s all my fault.”
Grayson took a short pause before continuing, “No, this isn’t a prank. I fucked up… I really fucked up. I hurt the two people in my life I cared about the most in the world, just for a good time. So let me begin…”
Y/N scoffed at his words, then realized that Ethan had stopped banging on the door. Her focus was brought back to her phone when she heard Grayson speaking again, “Y/N and I started dating about two years ago and I fell in love with her… I’m still madly in love with her, despite the fact that we’re broken up now because of me. I took advantage of her kindness, and you’ll find out soon enough. Anyway, Ethan started dating Stacy about a year ago, and everything was all perfectly fine until about six months ago, when Stacy and I were left in the house alone and she started flirting with me.
“It was innocent at first, and I thought it was all a joke until her flirtations… started getting a little more physical. I was uncomfortable with it because I had a girlfriend - and she was dating my brother - so I confronted her and told her to stop. Then she started blackmailing me… she had taken some scandalous and intimate videos of Y/N and I when we thought we were alone, and told me that if I didn’t hook up with her she would release them to the public and ruin our lives. At the moment I should have told Y/N and Ethan, as well as authorities… but I was blinded by fear so I did it. Then we continued hooking up for the next few months to prevent her from leaking those videos…”
Grayson shedded a few tears and while Y/N wondered if they were real, she also felt completely and utterly disgusted. Her breathing hitched as the boy on the screen took another deep breath and started to continue his story, “For some time now, Y/N was really busy with work and we barely saw each other… not that I’m blaming her, of course. We grew distant and I used my need for comfort with Stacy, who I developed some feelings for but had ignored them. I used her as a way to distract myself from my poor relationship and was having fun, I’ll admit… until Y/N and Ethan caught us, and it all went downhill from there.
“I ripped both of their hearts to shreds and I know that they hate me now, and they’ll never forgive me. Ethan moved out and neither of them are talking to me, which I completely understand. I just want them to know that I am extremely sorry for what I’ve done, and there’s no possible way I could fix the pain they’re feeling right now. I disappointed my fans, my family, and even myself. I decided to break it off with Stacy and she promised not to release the videos if I gave her one last goodbye kiss, which was obviously caught on camera. I’m not sure what future entails for this channel, just know that we will be taking times for ourselves to figure out this mess that I’ve created.
“Y/N, if you’re watching this, I just want you to know that I’m sorry for breaking your heart and I love you. There’s no way you’ll ever take me back and that’s okay. You were the most perfect girlfriend and you made me really happy, and you don’t deserve the way I treated you. You deserve so much better. And Ethan… my best friend, I’ve betrayed you in the worst way a brother could ever do. I will regret hurting you for the rest of my life… I know you want nothing to do with me, which I completely get, but I can’t picture my life without you. You’re my family, my everything, my favorite person in the whole world… I love you so much, and I hope one day we can patch things up. It’ll take time, I know, but I promise I’m sincere and I’m not taking my responsibilities for the views or attention… but because it’s the right thing to do and I’m ready to face whatever consequences that are coming to me. Okay, that’s it… bye, I guess.”
The video ends there, leaving Y/N in a sobbing mess on the hotel bathroom floor. Her stomach churns and she feels so disgusted that she ends up crawling over to the toilet and throws up the remnants of food she had that day. She hears a sudden click of the locked door that is now pushed open to reveal a crying Ethan, who gasped at the sight of Y/N. He had used a card to slide through the locked door after watching the video himself. He quickly walks over and flushes the toilet, picking a shaking Y/N up and carrying her out. He rests her on the king-sized bed and asked softly, “Are you sick?”
She shook her head, and even then Ethan placed a hand on her forehead to see if she felt warm. “No… No… I just feel worse, even after that video. It’s been going on for months, and Stacy had videos of me… and him… oh God.”
Ethan pulls her into her arms in an attempt to calm her down. “Hey, hey… You don’t know that. Grayson could be lying…”
A part of Ethan couldn’t believe that Stacy would be capable of doing such a horrendous thing - blackmailing someone - but another part of him was convinced that it was the truth. Yes, he was in a tough situation with his brother, but he knew whether or not his brother was lying… and in that video, Ethan could feel that he was telling the truth. And Grayson is certainly not a decent actor.
“He’s not lying, I could tell,” Y/N spoke, clearing her scratchy throat. “It just hurts to feel like you weren’t good enough for someone, and they tell you that you are, but this still end up betraying you anyway.”
“You were more than good enough for Grayson, Y/N. You’re the best girlfriend he’s ever had and the biggest loss he’ll ever face…” Ethan says assuringly, grabbing onto her hand and squeezing it tightly. He then grabs her face with his hands and caresses her damp cheeks gently, smoothing over the dry tears with his thumbs. “When you look at me, do you see that monster? Does my face turn to his face? If so, would you still want to hang out with me? I’d understand if you-”
“No, Ethan, I don’t see his face when I look at you. I see you’re face, and in fact, he’s completely forgotten when I look into your eyes,” Y/N tells him honestly. “You’re a completely different person, you know that right? He’s cruel… and you’re cool. You’re the coolest person I know, E, and you’ve really helped me these past few weeks.”
“You’ve helped me, too,” he mumbled, casting his eyes into her own as he rubbed the back of her neck. His eyes then moved towards her lips, and his heart thudded in his chest. They looked so soft… so needy… “We should help each other out even more…”
Y/N detected the desire in his eyes and she felt it as well. She whispered his name before closing the gap between them, locking their lips together in a sealed and greedy kiss. His tongue ran across her bottom lip as she ran a hand through his fluffy dark brown hair, her legs straddling his hips as she pushed herself on top of him, his back meeting the mattress. The adrenaline she had felt a few hours earlier had returned, igniting a fire inside of her. This abrupt and rushed sensation was something she has never felt before, not even with he who shall not be named.
Ethan grabbed Y/N by the shoulders and flipped them around so that he was now on top, there kiss had not broken just yet. He was hypnotized by the way her lips moved with ease against his, as if it were truly meant to be. Before they knew it, all of their clothing has been tossed to the floor and he was now pounding her into the bed, no foreplay required. She trailed her nails down her bare back as he thrusted into her wet core repetitively, their moans syncing together like a beautiful harmony. He spread her legs further apart so he could go in deeper, slamming the headboard against the wall without caring that it would disturb the guests next door.
“Fuck, Y/N,” Ethan groaned, his hands wrapped around her wrists that were held besides both sides of her head as his chests slammed against each other’s.
Y/N threw her head back at the immense amount of pleasure, knowing she was bound to reach her climax very soon. “Ethan!”
They came together, and Ethan rested him beside her warm and panting body, his forehead coated in sweat. He pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek as she stared up at the ceiling; neither of the pair realized that they just opened a door to something they would never be able to close.
And so they continued their sexual rendezvous for the next couple of weeks. Whenever the strong pull of loneliness overwhelmed either one of them, one quick text and their needs were satisfied. While it seemed like a “friends with benefits” type of situation, they both saw it as something more but weren’t quite ready to make it official. However, they did agree to be exclusive to one another, deeming each other the best sex they’ve ever had. Y/N’s lingering sadness over the previous traumatizing events were finally beginning to fade away - she wasn’t in the process to forgive Grayson, but she no longer felt ill-will towards him. She shed no more tears over the boy that once made her heart flutter but now she feels absolutely nothing for. And no, she didn’t consider Ethan as her rebound - he was much more than that. As for Ethan, Stacy was completely rid from his mind, he forgotten what he ever saw in that twisted woman. The only woman that filled his thoughts nowadays was Y/N. He had a desperate urge to take care of her and act as a loving boyfriend would, but he needed she needed time. They both needed time. Not only for themselves, but for those around him, because thanks to Grayson the whole situation was now public. Fans came through with love and support, but Y/N and Ethan didn’t bother to make a response video or post. Stacy did, however, try to defend herself and deny the “accusations” but it ultimately failed when she was exposed by Grayson with receipts from his texts.
Currently Ethan and Y/N were engaged in yet another spout of intimacy when she could have sworn she heard the front door open. Something she should have remembered earlier was that Grayson has a spare key to her apartment, which in retrospect she should have taken when she stormed out of his house that terrible day. Her and Ethan were in the very position they found their ex-lovers in, doggy-style with Ethan’s large hand wrapped around her throat as he fucked into her. Both of their heads snapped up when they heard Y/N’s bedroom door open to see and shocked and disturbed Grayson with a bouquet of roses in his hands.
“What the fuck?” he spat, but his anger and annoyance only fueled Ethan’s arrogance because he continued his movements into his brother’s ex-girlfriend.
“What can I say?” grunted Ethan, wiggling his eyebrows in amusement. “What goes around comes around, bro.”
