Steal My Girl
Ethan’s roommate has the girl of his dreams, and he hates it.
You laughed, then screeched when Chad picked you up and spun you around.
“Chad put me down.” You demanded, rolling your eyes at his antics. He had a crush on you and constantly flirted, but it served more to annoy and amuse you than to win you over. “Oh my god. Stop.”
“There you are!” Chad exclaimed, still keeping you over his shoulder as he spoke to someone out of your line of sight. “Ethan, my man.” Your stomach twisted as you peered around Chad’s waist, seeing an upside down version of your friend.
“Hey E.” You laughed, waving and staring at his outfit. “What the hell are you dressed as? A robot?”
“I’m a knight.” He sighed and Chad finally put you down but swung an arm over your shoulders. “Chad didn’t give me much notice so I could get a costume.”
“Look at this snack.” Chad told you, pointing at Ethan. “I’ve been trying to find him a girl all night. Got any suggestions?”
“Ew, get off me.” You wrinkled your nose, pushing him away. “I’m not helping prostitute Ethan off on some sorority sister.”
“Suit yourself.” Chad said, grinning down at you. “Speaking of hookups, though,” he lowered his voice, playing with the strap of your dress. “Wanna go upstairs?”
“Ugh.” You moved away towards Ethan, grabbing your friend’s hand. “Save me from him. Please.”
“My heart longs for you, Y/N!” Chad yelled, making your face warm when several people gave you a curious glance.
“I need a drink.” You told Ethan, grumbling a curse under your breath.
-
You and Ethan had gotten tipsy fast and now stood in the kitchen, laughing as he told you a story about…what was he saying?
“What?” You asked, leaning closer to him to hear. He seemed nervous, but then he always did around girls. You thought nothing of it. “Speak up, E.”
“I was saying you look really pretty.” He smiled shyly, pointing to your outfit. “Your costume is cool.”
“It’s a dress, E. Nothing special.” You said, grinning, but still felt flattered. “I like your cardboard robo-suit too.”
“A knight. A knight.”
“Y/N.” You turned your head and met Chad’s eyes, his smile warm and friendly. Despite yourself the alcohol made you looser and you allowed him to take your hand. “Come on. I need a partner for beer pong.”
“Ask Tara.” You laughed, tugging your hand out of his grip. “I’m talking to my baby boy Ethan.”
“Your son can fend for himself.” Chad scoffed, raising an eyebrow at his roommate. “Can mommy and daddy leave you on your own, or do you need a babysitter?”
“Oh my god Chad.” Your grin was wide as you looked at his expression, his features filled with fake concern.
“I need my girl to annihilate people in beer pong. Do me a service, bro.”
“Yeah that—” Ethan glanced at you, then quickly away. “That’s fine. I don’t need a…a babysitter.” He winced and you frowned, opening your mouth to say more, but Chad was already pulling you away. You looked over your shoulder though, and saw Ethan looking dejected, before he pushed through the party and towards the door.
“Wait, Chad.” You said, pulling out of his grasp as you shoved your way through the party. “Ethan!” You called. “Ethan wait!”
He turned his head at your approach, brows furrowing as you slipped out the front door, his feet pausing on the driveway.
“What’s wrong?” You asked, panting slightly. “Aren’t you going to watch me win? You know I’m the best.”
“I’m tired.” He said, eyes sweeping across your face. “I think I wanna go home. But thanks. See you tomorrow.”
“Wait, no—” You grabbed his arm, unsure of why you were desperate for him to stay. “I’ll come with you. We can go to my place and have movie night like we used to.” Before you’d started receiving attention from Chad, you didn’t have to say. “Come on E.”
“I’m not sure if that’s—”
“Hey, what the Hell?” Chad asked, leaving the house and approaching the two of you. You let go of Ethan’s arm as he made it to your side. “You okay, man? I was just about to make you a Chad Supreme. He said, referring to his noxious concoction of tequila, vodka, Malibu, Sprite and fruit punch, a drink you secretly called Alcoholics Anonymous behind Chad’s back.
“Im tired.” Ethan said, avoiding your eyes. “Im gonna go—”
”Watch a movie with me.” You interrupted, giving Chad a wide smile. “Make me a Chad Supreme to go, will you? There’s empty water bottles in the kitchen.”
“You’re not staying?” He asked, confused. “But you..” He shook his head, forcing a smile. “Fine. Just because you’re so hot, and you know I love you. One Chad to go.” He turned and dashed back into the house as you valiantly ignored his strongly worded remark.
“Listen,” you said, glancing back at Ethan, who was watching where Chad had ran off to with a pained sort of look. “we’ll get pizza and do pickle shots and watch Stab. What do you think?”
Ethan took a moment to respond, biting his lip, before he nodded.
“I’m gonna need at least half that Chad Supreme, though.” He said, glancing at you with amusement in his brown eyes. “After hearing Chad call himself daddy I think I need a healthy blackout to make me forget.”
“Do you need a babysitter?” You teased, grinning as you reached out to flick his nose, and he caught your wrist in his hand.
“Listen here, young lady—”
“For the angel present." Chad declared, jogging up to you and passing you a bottle filled with suspicious looking pink liquid. "Keep your junk wrapped, E., if you’re planning on making moves on my girl. Y/N, are we still getting Dunkin in the morning?"
"We'll see." You responded, rolling your eyes. You still weren’t sure if you liked him calling you my girl. "Goodnight, Chad." You batted him away when he attempted to kiss your cheek and he grinned, running back into the party. "God, he's a mess." You scoffed, turning to give Ethan comically wide eyes. "Ready to go?"
-
You placed your head in Ethan's lap and stretched out on the couch, your skin practically buzzing. You two had split half the Chad Supreme, leaving the rest in the fridge, but you were almost certain you were going to have a headache in the morning.
"We need to chug water." You said, peering up at Ethan. He smiled and played idly with your hair, his eyes moving back to the movie. You were halfway through Stab, a pizza split between the two of you. "Hey E?" You asked, staring up.
"Hmm?"
"What do you think of me and Chad?"
His face dropped a fraction and he shrugged.
"I think he's...Chad." At your no-nonsense expression he laughed. "What? If you're happy with the ridiculous frat boy types, you do you."
"Shut up." You grinned, poking him in the stomach. But then your smile fell, and you bit your lip. "I think he really likes me. But I don't think.." You looked up at the ceiling, unsure of how to say it. "I don't like...just him. You know?"
"You don't?" Ethan asked, shooting you a surprised expression. You shook your head no, and a tentative smile pulled on his mouth. "Who's the lucky guy?"
"Ugh." You groaned, sitting up and moving off the couch into the kitchen. "Forget it. It's unimportant."
“Hey, wait, tell me about him.” Ethan laughed, following you into the kitchen. You both were tipsy as hell and he grabbed your hand, tugging you back towards him. “Come on. Best friends don’t keep secrets, right?”
“He’s—” you glanced down at his hand, your stomach twisting when he ran his thumb across your knuckles, making no move to let go. “it doesn’t matter, E.”
“I wanna know.” He insisted, his brown eyes soft and sleepy from the alcohol. “Come on, Y/N. I can keep a secret.”
Your smile was wide as you pulled away, backing up towards the fridge. He followed you every step, his brown eyes glued to your face as he subtly admired you, your indifference something like a knife to his gut. He liked you. God he liked you. And if you were going to have a crush on someone besides Chad, he wanted to at least put a face to the name he was going to resent.
“Tell me." He said again, watching as you pulled the Chad Supreme out of the fridge and took a sip. "Come on, how bad can they be?"
"Ew." You wrinkled your nose, passing him the bottle. "Drink first. Then guess."
Ethan took a swig, holding eye-contact, before setting the bottle on the counter.
"Do I know the guy?" He asked, searching his brain. There wasn't a single other guy in your friend group, nor anyone that he saw you with on a regular basis. A mischievous little smile curled on your lips as you nodded, then your eyes widened, surprised, as he moved forward and touched your chin, tilting your face up to his. "What does he look like?"
"He's...really cute." You admitted, biting your lip as you stared up at him. "And he's really smart."
"Tell me more." Ethan laughed lowly, moving closer to you and backing you up against the kitchen counter. "Would I like the guy?"
"I..." You swallowed, your hand reaching out involuntarily to clutch the fabric of his shirt. "Well he um...he's really kind. He's always there for me." Then you grinned. "But he has horrible taste in movies. I always have to pick them out."
Ethan rolled his eyes, looping his arm around your waist. Your heart was pounding in your chest, stomach twisting as he spoke, his hand moving from your chin to clasp the back of your neck.
"And do you see yourself...being with this guy?"
"I don't know." You said, searching his brown eyes for any hint of what he was thinking. You'd never seen him act so confident before. It was like every ounce of shyness had gone out the door since the moment he'd stepped into the apartment. "I'm hoping he'll make the first move."
Ethan stared for a moment, his chest rising and falling with his breathing, before he asked, "and are you...really into this guy? Like more than Chad?"
"Yeah." You licked your lips subtly, but his eyes still caught the movement. "He's all I can think about sometimes."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Ethan asked, moving closer, his jeans brushing your legs. "Tell him how you feel." His voice was low and raspy and you almost shivered. His hands slid to cup your face and you couldn't breathe; you stared at him, eyes slightly heavy, as you glanced from his mouth to his eyes.
"Ethan..." You whispered, eyes closing at his words and the feel of his hands.
“Tell him how you feel, Y/N."
"I can't." You whispered, your heart pounding in your chest. He was hardly two inches away, and the smell of his cologne was intoxicating. "I'm scared."
Ethan's breathing seemed unsteady as he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, murmuring a soft, "What's there to be scared of?" As he peered down at you.
"What if he doesn't want me?" You asked, glancing up at him. Still, though, you reached out, fisting his shirt in your hands and pulling him an inch closer.
"I..." Ethan's mouth went slightly dry as he watched you. "I think he does."
You stared up at him, heart pounding, and, before you could change your mind, leaned up to kiss him, pressing your mouth to his with as much force as you dared. Ethan's fingers tightened a fraction on your jaw as he kissed you back, making a low noise of pleasure against your mouth.
"God, Y/N." He whispered, his hands sliding into your hair as he kissed you again, then again. "I've wanted to do that for way too long now."
"It's you." You whispered, chasing after his touch. "It's you I want. Not Chad."
"I was hoping you were talking about me." He laughed, resting his forehead against your own. "This was going to be really awkward if I was touching you like this and then you said you had a crush on Tanner from Econ."
You laughed and tugged his face down to yours, kissing him again.
"We still have pizza. And Chad Supreme. And Stab." You said, looping your arms around his waist. "Wanna go?"
"Yes." He said, then gave you a coy smile. "Text time I see Chad, I'm calling you my girl."
