Friday, June 1, the sun was shining and Ethan was enjoying the cool wind on his face as he drove his dark-green convertible. He'd decided that visiting Ade was the perfect way to get rid of his writer's block, because honestly... it'd been there for two days, he hadn't written a word in that time and he doubted it would just disappear by itself. So in stead of expecting it to, he thought he'd take matters into his own hands. He'd take his best friend out for lunch and a walk in the park, perhaps they'd rent a movie afterwards and fall asleep in her bed as they'd done so often. He really hoped Ade would be enough to break down that blasted block; she usually was. He knew she didn't teach this time of day on Fridays, so she was open as she didn't have a boyfriend, and most others were working right now. Besides that, he missed her company... hadn't seen her for 5 days, and that was quite odd. They usually saw eachother all the time. Even a day without Ade was a rarity. He didn't know what had caused the drought, but he didn't much like it.

He pulled up next to her apartment building, cutting the ignition and pushing the usual button to make the roof go back up. People had more trouble stealing a car if they couldn't even get into it. Once the roof was back, E got out and took the box of white chocolate he'd had placed in the passenger's seat. It was her favorite, and Ethan had a thing for spoiling the girl. He knew no one but him had ever done so, which only made him more eager to. Every girl needed a little pampering, even if it was only from a friend. Then he shut the door, and looking through his key-bundle, he located the one for Ade's building. She had his keys too. Just in case of emergency, it was nice, and they didn't live all that far apart. Plus, it made the surprise-visit much more interesting. He couldn't wait to see her face.

Ethan unlocked the main door and trotted up the stairs, stopping at the familiar door with the silver name-plate he'd given her when she moved it. Just because he'd thought it funny. "Ade Bailey" it read, because he never called her Adrienne. Too bad if anyone had a problem figuring out the two were one and the same. As he stood in front of it, he smiled, watching it for a little while. He couldn't decide whether to knock or to just let himself in. He might scare her more than surprise her with the latter though, so deciding on the former not long after, he hid the chocolate behind his back, put his keys into his jeans-pocket and brought his hand op, softly knocking on the door three short times. Grin already in place, E then merely waited for his girl to open.

Bare feet padded across the rug in Adrienne's living room, as she made her way over to the sofa. Today was her day off; no children messing about, no accidents, no screaming - it was the perfect day. Friday's were her perfect day. Playing on the television was some sort of daily chat show, and as she sat down on the sofa, this caused a frown to appear on her face. "Loose Women? Ugh, there's no way I'm watching that." She said, turning to the large Border Collie that was sitting on the sofa next to her. "What do you think Beth? Jeremy Kyle?" The dog's dopey eyes looked at her with no sense of understanding, which made her giggle. "Okay, okay. I'll stop talking to you. You sleep." She grinned, patting the girl softly on the head, before grabbing the remote, and she began to flick through the channels. "No, no, no....Ah, Jeremy. There you are." The remote was placed back down on the coffee table, and replaced in the brunette's hand by her cup of tea. She sipped it, burning her tongue instantly on the hot liquid, before replacing it once more. She hated the feeling of a burnt tongue - it stayed with you for ages.

Adrienne curled her legs up underneath body and she slouched down into the comfortable sofa, as she settled down to watch her favourite, aggressive chat show. As the male talked away on the television, Ade's mind began to wonder, and it ran straight into the guy that she had loved for the past however many years of her life - Ethan Hart. She had been her best friend since she was thirteen or so, and the only guy that had ever held a permanent place in her heart, that wasn't her brother. He was the best friend that a girl could have; always spoiling her, even though she told him not to, always being there for her when she needed a shoulder to cry on, or someone to vent at about an annoying child at the dance school. She felt the little butterflies begin to swirl in her stomach as she pictures his gorgeous smile in her mind, and it was only then that she realised that she hadn't heard from him in a few days. What had it been now, about five? That was odd for them, odd enough for her to contort her face into a pout. She missed him. Although, if she had been at his right now, she wouldn't be curled up comfortably on the couch; Ade felt that his house was way too modern for the likes of such a clumsy, plain, innocent girl like her - she much preferred her comfortable, colourful, yet plain home, than his modern, roomy, tidy home. Her apartment was what she liked to call "an organized mess," and that was just the way that she liked it.

Suddenly, she was ripped out of her little reverie by a soft knock on her front door. Beth's head bounded up and her eyes were wide, her ears standing on end. "It's okay girl, it's just the front door. Nothing bad." She assured the collie, before pushing herself up from the couch. She looked down at her attire momentarily - Adrienne was only wearing this, her feet were bare, and she had no make-up on. Who was coming to disturb her when she was looking this rough? Slowly, she trundled over to the door, the dog tight at her heels as she went.

"Hel--?" She called as she pulled the door open, only to stop halfway through her sentace.

It was him.
The love of her life was standing at her door.

"Ethan!"

Ade flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "God, it's felt like years since I've seen you. Maybe it's good we had this time apart. I feel like I'm getting too attached!" She joked, the smile on her face growing in size with every passing moment.

When the door finally opened, Ethan couldn't help but chuckle, hearing her start a word that she instantly paused when her eyes found him. Yep, Ade definitely wasn't expecting company. She was barely wearing anything; the short, red sweater barely covering her ass. And she'd opened in that? what if it had been the mailman or something? He would've told her to put on some more clothes, but she squealed his name before he had the chance. Apparently she'd missed him too and he couldn't help laughing, wrapping strong arms around her, careful not to let her see then chocolate, when she threw herself at him. He hugged her close, though he was aware that her already very scarce attire was becoming more so, the sweater crawling further up. He ignored it. It was just Ade, after all. They'd been friends forever. Hell, she was like a third sister to him. Nothing sexual. They'd slept in the same bed before, and she'd worn less those times. So yeah, he'd seen enough to know Ade was a gorgeous girl, which of course was irrelevant. Completely so.

"God, it's felt like years since I've seen you. Maybe it's good we had this time apart. I feel like I'm getting too attached!" He heard her say say and raised an eyebrow at her big smile.

"You know, I don't really mind, I like a woman attached to me," he said, giving her a friendly squeeze with the flirty/teasing tone of his voice. "Other than that... what the hell are you wearing?" He added, that little usual glint in his eyes. "What if the person knocking had been some horny guy?" Then, thinking it over, knowing she'd comment on it, he said, "and no... I'm not a horny guy... right now." He chuckled, ruffling her hair playfully, before letting his grip go softer, though still holding her. He smiled looking her face over, noting the lack of make-up. Her hair was brushed though, with that usually soft, healthy glow. Very few women had that, and he wasn't sure if Ade did anything to achieve it, or if it was natural... it wasn't like he knew anything about hair-care products. Mostly either Ade of Krystal picked that out for him. Yes, helpless males and all that crap. It wasn't his fault Krys had gone all 'what the hell are you washing your hair in?!' on him, though. Ignoring his own mind-babble, however, E smiled a mischievous grin.

"I brought you something. Because it's Friday." Well... actually it had nothing to do with it being Friday, but he usually came up with one lame excuse or the other, giving himself the opportunity to pamper his girl once in a while... okay, often.

Ade felt her face turn red as Ethan made his joke about liking a woman always attached to him; he was much more comfortable about his sexuality and sexual things than she was - in all fairness, he had much more experience with it than she did. A lot of the time, he found it hilarious that she wasn't very comfortable talking about it, and she was so innocent about it. Her eyes fell to the floor with embarrassment as she stood there, but only for a moment. Her eyes soon came back up to focus on the boy of her dreams. "A hor--" She began to say, but he soon shot her down, already knowing exactly what she was going to say. Her eyes gazed down at her attire briefly, and she looked back up at him in confusion. "What's wrong with my outfit? This is my favourite jumper, you know it is. And, I did believe that I would be relaxing at home on my own on the couch - I wasn't expecting any horny guys coming over today." She smiled playfully, elbowing him with a mischievous grin plastered on her face. "By the way, you're always a horny guy."

It was a comfortable position, his arms around her in a hug, her hands resting on his forearms, but she knew that there was nothing romantic about it; they had always been comfortable around each other, no matter how they were standing, and it hadn't changed in the last five days. For a couple, this would be a romantic embrace, she had seen it before on television shows and in films - but for them, this was just their friendship. That's all it was ever going to be. The sooner Ade got that into her brain, the better.

She raised her eyebrow when he mentioned that he had brought her something, just because it was a Friday. "Hun, you got me something again?" She pouted playfully and wriggled out of his embrace, crossing her arms over her chest when she was free. "Why do you insist on spending your money on me, you idiot. Why don't you find a nice girlfriend to spend it on, or something - it's a big sad buying your best friend gifts!" She was curious as to what he was holding behind his back, and she craned her neck around to the side, hoping to catch a glimpse of her "Friday Surprise."

"By the way, you're always a horny guy." She said, and he chuckled, "Hey! I'm not always horny. I distinctly remember being decent several times in my life." He was joking, of course; he was only horny when he had something to be horny about, and he was quite able when it came to ignoring urges. If he wasn't, he would've had sex with her several times already. Obviously, he would never tell her that in all seriousness, though. Little Ade had this tendency to not know how gorgeous she truly was, and he really hoped she'd find some guy to make her realize. Someone who deserved her and could make her happy. Some day. Hopefully that someone would be able to accept his close friendship to the girl, because he knew they were a bit more physical than most friends, and that many guys would probably get a little jealous.

He grinned at her skepticism when he told her that he had a surprise for her, knowing she only pretended to hate it. In truth, Ade loved it when he brought her things. When she tried to get herself out of his embrace, he immediately let go, laughing softly at her as she crossed her arms over her chest. She was such a weird girl sometimes. "Why do you insist on spending your money on me, you idiot. Why don't you find a nice girlfriend to spend it on, or something - it's a bit sad buying your best friend gifts!" She then said, which again made Ethan laugh. Ade was well aware that he didn't do girlfriends, so the mere idea of it was funny. Relationships were not his thing. Even to think of being tied down, bound to someone like that, gave him chills. He didn't like letting others dictate him in any way, and besides that... he was maybe a little scared of getting hurt. Relationships evaporated so easily - friendships and fuck-buddies were much easier to deal with.

"You say that like you don't love it, baby." He told her teasingly, and stuck out the box of chocolates when he caught her trying to sneak a peak. She was a curious one, he knew, and she'd keep trying til he gave it to her, so in stead of drawing things out, he merely handed it to her. "Here you go..." he accompanied the action with and added in a humorous tone, "your favorite, because I'm the world's best friend. And because I like my women fat." Well... curvy, but this was much more fun. He smiled at her, expectant, slightly flirty and a little bit teasing look in his eyes, watching her face, waiting for the smile he'd wanted to see since he'd bought the damn thing.

"You are most of the time, hun." Ade laughed, moving backwards into her house, so that he would follow her, instead of them both carrying on this conversation out in the hallway. The dog was still stood by her side, her tail smacking into the brunette girl's leg as she stood there, waiting as well. When the two, three of them were inside, she shut the door behind him and walked into the living room. She plonked herself down on the arm of her sofa, Beth jumping back up onto her previous position, and she carried on her conversation with him. She felt a lot more comfortable sitting in here talking to him, especially after he had made a point about her attire; she didn't feel confident enough to be standing out in public wearing something so... revealing. Hell, she hadn't even realized it before! It was perfect for lounging around the apartment in, but not for standing in the hallway where anyone could see her.

She knew that her comment about getting a girlfriend was half-hearted; she didn't mean it, of course she didn't. If Ethan ever got a girlfriend, it would probably kill her. They had always been a duo, the two of them; a new girlfriend would either mean that their duo would become a trio, or that their duo would fall apart completely and she'd be the lone wolf, fending for herself. Adrienne didn't like the way that her best friend treated women (other than herself or his family), he really didn't treat them well at all, but maybe this was a blessing in disguise. If a woman who liked him found out about his Lothario ways, then maybe she wouldn't be interested in him and would walk away. It could work in her favour.

Ade's eyes lit up as he shoved the ornately decorated box of white chocolate out in front of him, and her lips bared a large grin. "Ahhhh! Thank you!" She laughed, taking the chocolates into one hand, and wrapping her other arm around his waist in a quick hug. She then placed a friendly, note the word friendly (she knew her boundaries) peck on his cheek, a thank you that wasn't verbal. However, she scowled at him briefly when he mentioned that he liked his girls fat. "One, yes, yes you are the world's best friend. And two, I am not fat, thank you very much." Of course, every other person who would have said something like that to her would have gotten underneath her skin, and she would have exercise for at least a month and started a diet, until she was at least half a stone lighter; she was an extremely unconfident and shy person, and she didn't take criticism easily at all. Unless it was from E. Then she knew it was a joke.

Ethan chuckled at Ade having to get up to give him a little peck accompanied by the big smile he so loved to see on her face. It was so cute and innocent, it just portrayed the kind of woman she was perfectly. As she stood, E put a single arm around her waist to keep her standing, then he winked at the dog, "sorry Beth, I knew her first." He liked to talk to the dog - he also liked to tell it that Ade was first and foremost his, just because he was certain the dog thought otherwise. He loved it though, Addie's dog. She was always so happy, bouncing around with that goofy look on her face, wanting nothing but for people to scratch her behind the ear.

"One, yes, yes you are the world's best friend. And two, I am not fat, thank you very much." Ade said, and it made Ethan laugh at her. Especially because it was so typically Ade to misunderstand him. He hadn't said she was fat already, but rather that chocolate would make her so. Not that it really would, with all the dancing the woman did. But he supposed it didn't much matter. He wouldn't bother correcting her, mostly because he knew she could take it... from him, anyway. From anyone else, he knew Ade could take absolutely nothing, even if people were just kidding around, she always had this... part of her, that told her they were right, and so she'd obsess. Ethan could calm her down most times, but in some cases it was just too severe, and there was nothing he could say or do to make her feel good about herself again. He hated when that happened, because he hated seeing Ade kill herself over some stupid thing some idiot said.

Still chuckling slightly, Ethan gave Ade a squeeze before merely smiling at her. "How about you get dressed, and then we go have some lunch? I'm starving." He said, before raising an eyebrow at her, "and don't you dare say no, Ade. I already made reservations." He knew their relationship was a bit odd if you asked most people, because he mostly treated Ade as if she was his girlfriend. Took her out on 'dates', bought her random gift... sometimes chocolate or cd's, but at other times it was flowers or jewelry. He had no clue how it'd started, but it had. Ade was the girlfriend he'd never have, without all the messy relationship-stuff, and he got sex elsewhere. Where E was concerned, it was as perfect as things got, while still remaining realistic.

Ade knew that Beth got easily jealous when someone else paid attention to her owner; Ade was the only person that Beth had ever really grown close to, so whenever someone came around her, like Ethan for example, she always got a little jealous. "Don't worry, Beth." She grinned, using her left hand to pat the dog between the ears. "You're still my favourite girl; you always have been." At first, she had been slightly reluctant to get the dog; that dog smell always sticking around your house, getting slobbered on when the dog was happy, and having to take her out for walks all of the time, but in the end, she had given in. She loved the old collie too much to have her shipped off to some other family, or to spend the rest of her life in a kennel, behind bars. Now, she was glad that she had taken the dog - it was nice to have someone else in the apartment at night with her.

"Lunch?" Adrienne asked, looking up at the boy she had loved since she was a child. She was about to tell him that she had bought some sandwich fillings today, or something like that, and she could whip something up for them at home, but he interrupted again before she could speak, explaining that he had made reservations. "Reservations? Well, then I can't say no, can I" She smiled, wiggling out of his grasp once again and walked into her bedroom. In a flash, her calm persona changed to one of panic. She liked looking good when she went out, especially when it was with Ethan. He was gorgeous, so she had to look good when she stood next to him. She slipped on this, an outfit that would look good if they were going to a small, beach side cafe, or a nice restaurant. She could never tell with Ethan, he never gave away where they were going until they actually arrived, so she had to be prepared. Ade kept her hair up in the mesy bun that she had been wearing, although she did make it a little neater. With a little bit of eyeliner applied to her eyes and lipgloss coated over her lips, she left her bedroom and went back to Ethan.

"I wasn't too long, was I?" She asked as she slipped her shoes on, stumbling as she went.

”That’s right, love,” Ethan said, chuckling softly as he let Ade out of his grasp and watched her hurry into her bedroom, red sweater moving with her. Ethan cocked his head, smiling wryly as he watched her backside disappear behind a door. Too bad, really, because though Ade was just a friend, E was still a guy, and he was allowed to appreciate the view… wasn’t he? Sure he was. Ethan moved to a squat next to Beth as he waited, busying his hand with scratching the dog behind the ears, on the stomach, neck… wherever he knew she liked to be petted. He smiled, watching the dog’s eyes close as it enjoyed the attention, tail whipping around like crazy. Ade was probably going to be a while getting ready. For some reason she always made an art of getting ready when they went out. It was a little odd, but he supposed it was just Ade’s way of being Ade.

For a girl as gorgeous as her, she had amazingly low self-esteem and an illogical need for confirmation all the time. It puzzled him how he could only ever feel confidence emanating from the girl, when he watched her dancing or danced with her. Perhaps that’s what he should do; take her to one of the dance-clubs she liked for him to take her to. It wasn’t all modern music and alcohol, but rather just a bunch of people who liked to relax, dance and meet new people to the sound of good music. There was always a wide selection of people there; young, old, gay, straight, male, female. It was all good, really. It was a nice place and E liked it there almost as much as Ade did. He adored dancing with the woman, not because he was a little dance-mouse like her, but rather because it made her happy, and he loved making smiles appear on her pretty face.

Hearing familiar sounds of bare feet, Ethan stood to watch Ade enter the room, Gaze moving over her. He chuckled as she asked him whether she’d been long and glanced down at Beth, “well, Beth, I believe we have the question of the day.” His voice was ironically teasing as he looked back her, wide grin on his face. It evolved into laughter as he watched her trying to put on stilettos… while walking. Ethan had never understood how women could walk in those. Personally he’d just as soon bed a woman in heels, as he would a woman in flats. Wasn’t really important to him, so he couldn’t quite grasp why they’d think they needed to wear them to feel sexy. Sure, E, like many other men, liked the image of a long-legged beauty, but it wasn’t exactly a requirement. A woman could be just as sexy with no shoes at all… actually no clothes did the trick on most occasions.

“I’m guessing you took exactly the time you needed to make yourself look gorgeous.” He replied, more serious, though still slightly teasing. It was a habit… the soft flirting, though he did mean it. Ade was beautiful. He winked at her, and walked to the door, opening it for her. “Now c’mon, Miss Bailey. We’re walking to the restaurant and our table should be ready in,” he glanced at his wrist-watch, “twenty minutes.”

Ade couldn't help but laugh at the expression that crossed Ethan's face, as he watched her struggled to slip on her heels. She didn't like to wear heels much, however, usually did when she went out with him. A small hue of red covered her face once again when he said that she looked gorgeous, and she gazed down at the floor, trying to hide the stupid smile that had flown across her face. If only he knew how he made her feel; how he always made her smile whenever he was around, how he always made little butterflies in her stomach dart around excitedly when he touched her, and made her heart beat a thousand times faster whenever he spoke to her. The male effected her in more ways than one, and she knew that he could see that - he just couldn't feel it. She knew that she had no chance with Ethan; he had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, and he was not the sort of person that wanted a committed relationship. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't dream, or make the most of their strange relationship - she loved being treated like his girlfriend - going out on the dates with him, holding him, hugging him, and kissing his cheek occasionally. They'd never be in a relationship - but she could keep on dreaming.

"Twenty minutes, eh?" She smiled, grabbing her cardigan, keys and handbag off of the door-side table as she went. "Are you going to tell me where you're taking me?" She asked him, patting the dog on the head gently, before then shutting the door and locking it - didn't want anyone coming into her house now, did she? She slipped her cardigan on after shutting the door, and then waited for his reply as they slowly made their way down the apartment block, out to Ethan's car.

"Nopes, but you weren't expecting me to either," E said in reply to Ade's question. His tone held a little laugh as always. Then he watched her silently with a smile until she started walking, at which point he merely followed her. Well, until they exited her building that is, then he took her hand in his leading her in the opposite direction of his car. "I told you we were walking, silly," he noted, having noticed that she'd been well on her way to his car. No reason driving when the weather was great and he was taking her to a near by Mexican restaurant. They had this amazing buffet with all the Mexican food you could possibly imagine. To Ethan, that was true heaving. Nothing ever beat Mexican food, and he knew Ade liked it too. They'd only been there a couple of times though, as E liked to try out new things and places. It wasn't unusual for him to take Ade for seafood in a little shack, and then for french in a fancy restaurant in the middle of London the next. It was rare he even took her the same place twice, so the fact that it was now the fourth time he was taking he to the Mexican one, was some compliment to the place.

"Can you guess it yet?" he asked her teasingly. He knew they very rarely walked to restaurants, diners and such, so he figure it'd be easy to guess where they were headed, if she was awake yet. She'd looked like she'd hardly had time to open her eyes when he'd surprised her with chocolate and company - then again, that was pretty normal for a lazy day. He smiled at her before letting go of her hand to put his casually in his jacket pocket. "It shouldn't be too hard by now... but then again, you are a little slow," he was teasing her again. He'd been trying to years to get her used to it, so that she in time would learn to be able to handle it from others than him too. So far he hadn't succeeded, but he was set on his goal. Besides, he had time, as long as Ade didn't go dumping his friendly little ass; something he didn't see happening any time soon.

Ethan looked around him as the duo walked down the street, observing the usual brick buildings and occasional trees. Ade lived in a pretty nice neighborhood, which he appreciated, because honestly, he knew parts of London were... less than nice, to but things mildly.