As I stepped foot on the trimmed green grass of the field, I instantly saw Dani sitting on the bleachers, but what surprised me was that she wasn't alone. She was sitting with Noah and Grayson, all three of them looking like they are having an incredibly serious discussion.

Walking closer to them, I called out to Dani, "Hey."

Hearing my voice, their necks snapped up to me, making me wave slightly. I came to a stop at the end of the bleachers, making them step down to stand beside me. Noah and Gray were in their practice gear, making it clear they have to go to the practice in fifteen minutes precisely or the coach would have their ass.

"What's up?" I asked, raising my brows. I would attempt to look more interested and curious, but I'm not. Everything that happened earlier was already bothering me.

"We need to talk." Danis said, with a serious look on her face.

"Okay?" I said, unsure where this was leading.

"This is an intervention." Noah said, for once looking serious in his life.

"Well, in that case, I'm out of here." I said, twisting around, but then someone grabbed my elbow and pulled me back.

"You're not going anywhere." Pushing me down to sit on the bleacher, they formed a semicircle around me, making sure I don't have a direct exit. I could very well climb higher on the bleachers, but I really don't think I'll be able to outrun two athletes, especially on my off day.

"What is it?" I asked, sighing. The faster they are done with their intervention, the faster I can go back to my bed and sleep and forget all this happened.

"What's up with you and Ethan?" Dani asked, making it clear we are not beating around the bush here.

"There is nothing up with me or Ethan." I said, looking at the girls running track behind them.

"Look me in the eye, Iris." Dani said, and I begrudgingly moved my eyes back to her.

"Nothing is happening and whatever happened to 'talk to us when you're ready'?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"That was when Knight and you weren't acting like kicked puppies." Grayson said, looking at me with a sad expression on his face, making me look away.

"Nothing is up, guys. Can I go now?" I said, huffing.

"Well, then why haven't you two even looked at each other since the anniversary dinner? You guys aren't even stuck to your phone texting each other day and night." Noah said, folding his arms.

"We're grownups. We don't need to talk every day to maintain a friendship." I said, defending myself.

"Hold up! What friendship? Last time I checked, you were maintaining an undisclosed relationship." Gray said.

"We were never in a relationship." I said, practically throwing each word at them before I sighed, knowing it wasn't their fault and all they want to do is help us.

"Reed..." Noah said softly, trailing off.

Knowing it wasn't my place to tell them that Ethan confessed his feeling for me, I sighed out, not knowing how to handle this.

"It's not my place to tell you guys much but we're not on the best terms right now and we may never be." I said, vaguely.

"Oh, my god." Dani gasped out making me shut my eyes. One reason I wasn't telling Dani anything was that I knew that even if I gave her the smallest hint, she'll figure it out. She's Sherlock Holmes-like that.

"He confessed his feeling, didn't he?" she said, softly making Gray and Noah widen their eyes while I stayed silent knowing I can't say anything.

"Oh, my god... and you freaked out." She mumbled, putting the pieces together.

"And now you don't know where to go from here." Gray said, completing her sentence.

"I don't." I said, sighing, and looked down at the notebook lying on my lap.

Instead of saying something, Noah pulled me up and all three of them engulfed me in a hug, making me breathe out in relief.

"You'll figure this out and even if you don't, we're here." Gray whispered in my ear, softly.

"Thank you so much, guys." I said smiling, against Dani's shoulder.

"Well, we have to go to practice before we get late. See you girls, later." Noah said as they pulled back, making me nod and smile. I knew they had the practice to get to, but they weren't going because of that. They're going because they have to be there for Ethan too, and honestly, I am glad. I am glad he has friends he can fall back on because I know all three of them will make sure he's fine.

"Okay, let's go back to the apartment." Dani said, pulling me along as we watched Noah and Gray disappear around the corner.

Both of us walked to the campus in the morning because we were too tired to drive, so here we were, walking back to the apartment in the scorching sun.

"Can you tell me what actually happened?" Dani asked me softly.

"Before the dinner, we met in his room and we were kissing and it kind of just slipped out of his mouth. I freaked out. He wants a relationship now and you know I can't give that to him or anybody for that matter of fact." I told her, precisely.

"I know where you're coming from, Iris, but I think we've already proved that Ethan isn't like any other guy you've ever met before." She said and while I knew she was right, I just wasn't ready to believe it.

"That's exactly what I thought before dating Chase." I told her, my face automatically contouring into a frown.

"Chase was a certified asshole. Ethan is nothing like Chase." She told me, strongly.

"I don't know Dani and I don't even know if I am ready to talk about it yet." I told her as we stepped inside the elevator.

For the entire ride, she said nothing. Just as I was about to push the door of the apartment open, she grabbed my wrist and stopped me before looking me in the eye.

"I understand your inhibitions but you need to trust someone, Iris and you need to do it before there is no one left to trust." She said before squeezing my shoulder and walked past me, inside the apartment.

⤎❁⤏

Later that night, I was sitting on my bed, blankly staring at my phone lock screen. Dani was out with Mason, but her words from before haven't left my mind yet. My trust issues have made themselves pretty visible over the past few years, but never have I hated them. I know I can trust Ethan and I so desperately want to, but every time; I talk myself into giving in for Ethan, it just feels like I'm preparing myself for heartbreak.

I was about to get up and go for a shower to calm my thoughts when someone knocked on my door and a second later pushed it open.

"Can I come in?" Riley asked, poking her head through the small gap.

"Yeah, of course." I said, patting the other side of the bed.

"What's up?" I asked her as she sat down.

"I really didn't wanna do this..." she said, looking at me with a somewhat guilty expression.

"What?" I asked her, genuinely curious.

"I was waiting for one of you to tell me because I can pretend to be deaf, dumb, and blind only for so long..." she said, and I just knew what she was about to say. My heart skipped a beat when the realization that this conversation was actually happening set in.

"But both of you have been acting so weird for the last two days that it's impossible for me to not bring it up." She said, looking me straight in the eye.

"Can you just say it?" I said, not wanting to drag this.

"So, when were you going to tell me you're fucking my brother?" She said, with a blank look on her face and all the air left my lungs as I coughed in shock. I knew this was coming and we all know Riley to be blunt, but I didn't expect her bluntness to hit so hard.

"Oh, shit!" She cursed as her eyes widened before she started rubbing my back to calm me down.

"I didn't fuck him." I said as soon as my coughing fit calmed down.

"You didn't?" She said, looking confused.

"No... we kissed... a couple of times but we haven't slept together." I told her, rushing to fill in the details.

"Oh, okay." She said before looking at me with raised eyebrows, obviously waiting for me to tell her everything.

"Look, I wanted to tell you, we both did, but didn't know how to. This isn't really something I could throw in a conversation over pizza." I said, hoping she would understand.

"Yeah, that would have been weird." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Are you mad?" I asked, wincing slightly.

"Mad that you didn't tell me? No. I understand why you didn't. I mean, this is not the most comfortable conversation to have. Mad that you kissed my brother? Also no. We are all grown-ups. Well, almost." She said, rolling her eyes.

"I don't one to be the one to come between you guys and I mean, he's a free man and you're your own woman, I don't have to tell you guys what you can and can't do. We're all mature here and understand relationships. All this was beyond anyone's control. So, I get it but I would be mad if you guys brought me between this. I don't want to take sides if you ever fight." She said with a teasing smile. At that moment, I had so much respect for Riley for being so mature and understanding.

"But how did you even know?"

"Oh, come on! You can't seriously think I didn't know. Both of you are not as discreet as you think. You really think I wouldn't notice you basically eye-fucking each other?" She said, smirking.

"Oh... but thank you so much for understanding." I said as I leaned over to hug her.

"We would never ask you to choose sides." I told her with a smile as I pulled back.

"Between you and me, I am on your side." She said teasingly. She expected me to tease her back or laugh, but her expression showed her confusion when I winced a little. If I told her what's going on, there is a high chance she would choose Ethan's side and I wouldn't even blame her.

"You don't wanna joke about that right now." I told her.

"Why? Does it have something to do with why my brother looked like you kicked him to the curb?" She asked me with a raised eyebrow, while I flinched at her words and the implication behind them.

"You know I didn't mean it like that..." she said, looking apologetic.

"No, it's fine. I deserve it. So, what happened is..." I told her everything that happened during her parent's anniversary and today outside the field. I could literally see her opinion and thoughts flash through her face in form of her expressions. The happiness on her face when I told her that Ethan confessed his feeling soon turned into confusion, disbelief, and sadness when I told her I turned him down.

"Wow... That's so much to take in." She said, looking truly overwhelmed.

"I know and I would understand if you take Ethan's side." I told her, looking down at my lap.

"As I said, Iris, I'm not here to take a side. He's my brother, but you're also my best friend. I could never choose between your two. This is your relationship. I am no one to pick a side. All I can say is if you're actually guilty like your voice suggests, figure it out before it's too late." She said, squeezing my hand with a sad smile, and walked out of my room, but before closing the door, she peeked back in.

"I love you." She said with a goofy smile on her face, making me chuckle.

"I love you too." I said, making her smile.

Just as she closed the door, I fell back on my bed and ran my hands through my hair. Before Riley mentioned it, I didn't even know I was guilty about everything that happened. I knew I was upset and angry, but I didn't know I was harboring guilt.

Dani and Riley's similar words started circling my head as I continued to think about everything. What if it's too late before I realize I want it? Do I want this? Did I make the wrong choice?

Just before my eyes started to close, my phone pinged with a notification. Unlocking my phone, I saw a message from my parents. They aren't coming on the weekend but Monday. If that didn't raise flags in my head, the fact they wanted me to pick them up from the airport definitely did, but before I could overthink it, my eyes started to droop.

⤎❁⤏

Hey guys! So, that happened... I think it was one of the most anticipated scenes and I thought now would be a good time to let it happen. What do you guys think about it? Did you expect it? Did you think Riley already knew? Is this what you were expecting or was there some vase throwing involved in your thoughts?

Gear up! The next chapter will most likely be in Ethan's pov and it's gonna be an interesting one. 

Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow me on Wattpad and Instagram (spiicychoco) if you enjoyed this chapter.

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Stay safe, stay grateful!