Lucy sat outside Ravera High, waiting to give her stupid—forgetful—brother his house key. She had texted him a few times—rang him twice as many. Lucy watched two boys entering the school, one was a bit taller than she was and the other was more around her brother's height.
As she watched them she noticed they were holding hands. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. How dare they do something so disrespectful in public? What they did in private was up to them, but to be so open about it was just disgusting.
Lucy imagined what her father might say and flinched. They chose to be with each other, and if they wanted to ruin their lives that was up to them. She checked her phone again to distract herself but still no response.
‘Where is he?’ She wondered.
She finally spotted him. Ethan looked frantic; running towards her at a dead sprint, “I’m sorry!” He skidded to a halt, “I didn’t mean to be so late.”
"Where the hell have you been?" Lucy yelled.
Ethan stopped running and smiled guiltily "I stopped for pancakes. Chill out, school hasn't started yet"
Lucy glared at him, "You made me wait so you could eat pancakes?"
Ethan smiled apologetically "I had heaps of time when I got there but it just crept up on me," He tilted his head slightly, "What's the real reason you're angry, waiting twenty minutes isn't enough to agitate you like this."
Lucy glared at him again "There are faggots at this school, just out in public holding hands! It is filthy and I have half a mind to ring dad and leave right now"
Ethan shrugged hesitantly.
Lucy opened her mouth, closed it and then opened it again, "You're okay with this?" She stammered.
Ethan shrugged again, "People are who they are and you can't change it any more than they can," ‘I only wish I could be who I am,' he thought sadly, "Please don't make a big deal of this Lucy.”
"Whatever," She snapped, shaking her head, "This is your key. Don't lose it because no one's going to be home this afternoon" She threw the key to him and he caught it easily.
"Thanks."
Ethan hugged Lucy goodbye, watching her hesitate for a moment when she saw one of the boys from before. She chose to enter the door farthest from the boy.
Ethan watched her go; concerned. All she had to do was mutter a word to their father for everything to come crashing down. He shook the thought from his head.
The school looked like all schools do; similar buildings with a letter on each block of classrooms with a number above the door to each room; all the buildings were a horrible pale mustard yellow. A big iron fence with sharp pointy tips surrounded the perimeter of the grounds. He found the canteen in the middle of it all. The school was an accurate description of what Ethan fondly referred to as a concrete jungle. On the bright side, there appeared to be a science block, which he found promising in regards to how much he was going to enjoy it there. . He knew he didn't have time to admire the area, so he headed back to the first building which had a large O on the front. He assumed it meant the office. He had stopped to admire his surroundings when he heard whispers behind him.
"Do you think this is him?" One asked.
"What? No, it's one of the other thirty new people starting today." Another responded sarcastically.
There was a muffled slapping sound, "Stop being idiots, he can probably hear us"
He looked over his shoulder and his lungs abandoned him. Three students were standing in front of him but one particularly caught his eye. He was taller than Ethan, his tan was lighter. He had shorter brown hair and soft almost caramel-like brown eyes. Ethan found himself studying the light scar that ran from the corner of his eye to his sharp jawline.
His clothes fit him well. Ethan could tell he was fit by the way they hugged his body in a flattering way.
He realised he was staring - his cheek suddenly burned and he quickly turned away, hoping they didn’t notice. His mind went blank, he blinked and tried to gather his thoughts but the weird fog in his mind didn't clear. His stomach churned and butterflies fluttered around his chest. . "Are you okay?" Somehow, Ethan knew it was him. His stomach flipped in desire.
Reluctantly, Ethan looked back at them. His gaze went straight back to the boy, the butterflies returned with a vicious force. Ethan desperately tried to think of something to say to smooth his awkwardness over.
"I... I'm sick" he sputtered. He tried to look away but he couldn't stop staring and to his amazement, the boy smiled at him.
Ethan's head spun. He thought he was going to pass out. This boy made him feel vulnerable as if his tower of defences was being ripped down while Ethan was still inside.
"That's just new school nerves, lots of people get them." The boy gestured to the two other students "This is Jacie and Nate Taylor" They both smiled. Ethan gave a slow nod back.
He cleared his throat "And you?"
His laugh made Ethan’s heart skip a beat, "Right, sorry. My name is Jake Primford"
Ethan watched as Jake glanced at a piece of paper in his hand and then looked back at him,
"So, Ethan, How are you liking Ravera? Have you seen much of it yet?" He asked politely,
Ethan shook his head, "Not really, we only got here yesterday. I had a look at a cafe and the supermarket this morning though"
The boy called Nate grinned "Which cafe was it?"
Ethan tried to remember the name but it remained just out of reach, "Actually I can't remember" he admitted,
The three of them smiled understandingly but no one said anything so Ethan used the awkward silence to get a better look at the twins. He silently decided that if they'd had the same hairstyle it would have been tough to tell them apart, they were essentially identical. They both were tall with fair skin, red hair and green eyes, Nate and Jacie seemed a little older than he was and Nate filled out his shirt a bit more.
"So do you like video games?" he asked, realising he had let the silence go for too long.
Nate nodded "I play a bit", Jacie rolled her eyes "It's all he does when he's at home."
Ethan nodded and turned back to Jake, their eyes met causing Ethan's heart to flutter again, "what about-" He cleared his throat nervously "What about you Jake? Do you play video games?" He found himself getting lost, entranced by the molten chocolate look in Jake's eyes. Jake opened his mouth to answer but a rather plump lady interrupted, calling out to the twins and then tapping her watch.
"Ah right," Nate said unhappily waving to the teacher "Our classes start about 5 minutes earlier than yours so we have to go."
Jacie pinched his arm "Well, we will see you later Jake, I hope you enjoy your first day Ethan and welcome to Ravera!"
Ethan nodded in thanks as they left and to his surprise, Nate winked as he went past leaving him confused but the teacher finally reached them and introduced herself giving him no further time to think about it.
"Hello, boys, Ah Jake you already found him well done! Hello Ethan, I am Miss Bryoney your Home Teacher, here is a map of your classes and the timetable is on the back."
She handed him the timetable map he thanked her and she walked away. Ethan turned to Jake intending to ask him to be a guide for the day but hesitated slightly, Jake smiled at him again and Ethan took the plunge.
"I know I have a map bu-"
"Yes," Jake said,
Ethan looked at him in surprise "How'd you know what I was going to ask?"
Jake laughed, "You're new here, Why wouldn't you want a guide? I know I would have wanted one if I was new."
Ethan grinned "Well where to first then?"
Jake traced his scar while he thought, "I'll just take you on a general tour" he announced
Ethan laughed softly as Jake led him through the school describing everything and every time their eyes met they shone with kindness. He stopped at a science lab door,
"This is your first class, I'll be here when you finish at ten-thirty"
"Thanks Jake, I would have been so lost without you"
Jake laughed, it was a soft almost musical sound, which made Ethan smile like an idiot. They stood there looking at each other for a moment
"Well thanks again, I'll see you after class," Ethan said breaking the silence.
Jake nodded, "Right, Yeah I'll uh, see you then" he promised
Ethan smiled again as he entered the classroom and closed the door. He stood there looking at it for a moment wondering if Jake was still standing on the other side until a quiet cough reminded him he was in a classroom with other people. He took a deep breath and turned around.
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