Ethan looked around the classroom; it was standard for a science lab, it had benches with gas taps for Bunsen burners and diagrams of different animals and body parts. A large microscope was set up at the back of the room with a large stack of slides packed beside it. The part of the room that most caught his attention was a large fish tank that ran the length of the backbench where fish darted around erratically and created random bursts of different colours as the light caught their scales. He looked at the floor, it was unusually dirty for a lab but still had the same white tile that the schools back home had.
"You must be Ethan"
Ethan looked up and saw a man sitting at the desk. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, "Yes sir"
"I am Mr Stone and I teach science. Would you please introduce yourself to the class by telling them your name and an interesting fact about yourself?"
Ethan froze as he noticed the full class staring at him awaiting his response. He cleared his throat nervously "Uh sure, hello I am Ethan Metshap, I am fifteen and I just moved here from Sydney. I like swimming and playing rugby league."
"You own the big house on Marshall Street."
A short nervous-looking kid said softly, He wasn't asking a question but stating the fact as if to remind everyone else, Ethan shifted awkwardly as the class started whispering.
"Yeah um, my dad had it built before he even told us"
"Your family must be very wealthy Ethan," Mr Stone said matter-of-factly
Ethan sighed and shrugged uncomfortably "I don't know I try not to pay attention to that kind of thing. It isn't my business how much money my family has. Money just causes problems anyways"
"Still it is a big house Ethan, more a mansion than a house." Mr Stone pushed again.
Ethan shrugged again and when it became clear he was not going to say anything else on the topic, Mr Stone directed him to a seat down the back.
Ethan groaned quietly as he took his seat, he hated awkward moments like that and made a mental note to refuse any more 'introductions'. He tried to focus on Mr Stone who was now introducing biology but he found himself zoning out every few minutes agitated that once again he'd been defined by his family's money, he sighed as he noticed students glancing at him every few moments. Mr Stone would have asked him to essentially recount the last six months of his life if Ethan had let him.
Ethan hated talking about his family's wealth; it made him feel horrible when people reminded him that he was not just a normal teenage boy with a medium-wage family. He rubbed his hand and wished for the millionth time that he just had an average family, all he wanted was to have honest friendships with people who wouldn't treat him differently. A girl at the desk next to him whispered his name and he looked at her in surprise.
"Yeah?" he whispered back
She batted her eyelashes "This is my number, text me later" she dropped a piece of paper on his desk and then refocused on the lesson. Ethan winced, he knew exactly why she wanted to speak to him and she didn't want to be true friends with him. Of course, he didn't know for sure but he'd seen it happen enough with Lucy that he wasn't going to fall for it and he hoped the next class would go more smoothly.
He zoned back out resolving to throw the paper in the bin on his way out, his mind drifted to the tour by Jake and he felt a weird flutter in his stomach.
Ethan wanted to keep spending time with Jake, which surprised him because he had not felt this way for a long time, he did not have much experience with people and they usually left him alone. It wasn't that he didn't like people, he did but was worried if he became friends with a guy he'd end up with feelings for them and if he became friends with a girl his father would pressure him about relationships. Even his teammates when he played footy had remained at a distance and the only real interaction he had with them was during training sessions or if they knew he had a chance of scoring during a game. He hadn't had any real friends and he had no idea how he should act now that he seemed to have made one, three if he counted the twins which scared him. He sighed again and tried to think of something else then started staring absently out the window.
He snapped back to reality when Mr Stone asked him a question and began staring blankly at him. There was a picture of a mouse heart on the board so he guessed
"It's a mouse heart sir" he crossed his fingers that he had answered it correctly
Stone smiled faintly "Thank you for that observation which repeated what we had already established. I just wanted to know if you were still with us"
Ethan's face flushed red and he tried to think of something witty to say but his mind was blank and nothing came to mind so he nodded
"Right, sorry sir. I'm still with you"
Mr Stone nodded and resumed talking about mice and Ethan zoned back out as the minutes ticked by and finally, the bell rang. Ethan hurried for the door, not waiting for Mr Stone to dismiss him and true to his word, Jake was standing there waiting for him. He smiled when he saw Ethan and they started to walk for the backdoor.
"Hey Ethan, I always sit outside under this huge, beautiful old tree. I don't mind if you want to sit elsewhere but I think you'd like it! Do you want to come sit with me?"
Ethan nodded eagerly and Jake grabbed his hand, Ethan froze blushing, Jake tugged at him then stopped,
"Is everything ok?"
Ethan snapped out of his surprise, "Yeah, sorry I was just thinking about something"
Jake laughed and they started walking, Ethan fought to keep his happiness below the surface as they weaved through crowds of students charging for the exits until finally they breached the barrier of the school buildings and made it out into the fresh air. Ethan breathed in deeply and grinned as he looked around, he closed his eyes as the sun warmed him which made sense since he was wearing jeans and a hoodie but even with all that it wasn't an uncomfortable warmth. He opened his eyes to see Jake watching him with an amused smile,
"You really like being outside don't you?" he asked,
Ethan nodded "I love it, it's peaceful and I can just let my mind wander a bit more you know?"
Jake looked puzzled but smiled "Well as long as it makes you happy!"
Ethan laughed and they kept walking, his jaw dropped slightly when they reached the tree, he'd seen it from a distance but he hadn't actually understood its magnificence. He gazed up at the huge oak tree in wonder and amazement, it was simply ancient with branches that looked like they were holding the sun and some of which were as thick as the trunks of some trees. The leaves were such a bright green they appeared almost fluorescent and the trunk was so smooth that it was as if it had been created from stone.
"You were right, it is a beautiful tree," He admitted, "It's huge, way bigger than it looked from a distance" he added
They sat down on top of some exposed roots and Jake instantly started digging around in his bag and pulling out books and stacking them in neat piles clearly looking for something.
"What have you lost?" Ethan asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"I think I left my phone in the classroom" Jake sighed "I have to go back to get it, did you want to wait here?"
Ethan hesitated and nodded knowing it would be weird of him to insist on going with him. Jake stood up,
"I'll be right back I promise"
Ethan nodded again and Jake hurried back into the school. Ethan quickly felt insecure, Jake had said he sat at this spot a lot, did it mean anything for him to have brought Ethan here? He quickly dismissed the thought, he didn't know anything about Jake and he had enough feelings to deal with, like becoming a mindless idiot if Jake smiled at him. Ethan smiled just thinking about it, Jake did have a wonderful smile, everything about him was perfect. He groaned knowing he was making things harder for himself, he began to distract himself with blades of grass by interlocking them in different patterns; he was not paying any attention to the goings-on around him and did not notice the boy approach.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my spot?"
Ethan looked nervously up at the boy in front of him, the boy had short roughly cut black hair and a mean expression on his face. His eyes were so dark, they looked cruel and angry, and he stood over Ethan threateningly as if itching for a fight.
"No one told me this was your spot," Ethan began to explain apologetically "Jake brought-"
Now the other boys' hands clenched and he glared down at Ethan "Why would my boyfriend bring a little maggot like you to our spot" he spat,
Ethan shrugged hopelessly "I don't know, I asked him for some help finding my way around today and he said we could sit here for lunch but he forgot his phone."
The boy laughed, "Well I asked you and gave you a chance to explain but if that's the only answer you have I'm going to have to kick your arse halfway across the school," He said raising his fists.
Ethan flinched away and stood up, his mind instantly running through any defensive tactic he'd been taught through school or from football.
"I'd like to see you try that faggot" Another voice snapped angrily
The boy spun around trying to find the source of the voice. Ethan put his head in his hands,
"Lucy" he groaned, feeling both happy she was there and upset with her choice of words.
She stepped forward getting in the boy's face "Go on, get lost you little gay freak" she yelled shaking with anger.
"Ethan, Justin what's going on?" Jake asked quietly, stepping between Lucy and the boy named Justin.
"Jake, baby" Justin said dramatically wrapping his arms around him,
"These two are having a go at me for being gay," he said sadly.
Jake glared at Lucy "I know what she was doing, the whole school heard her shouting" He looked at Ethan sadly, his glare softened before vanishing and was replaced by sadness "You seemed like a nice guy, I thought you were better than that."
Ethan frowned miserably but hung his head in shame, he knew there was no chance of explaining with Lucy or Justin listening in.
"Let's go, Justin, we don't need to be here" Jake looked sadly at Ethan again causing Ethan's heart to feel like it was being crushed but then as they started to walk away, Justin looked back with a smirk on his face. Ethan watched him feeling lost and Justin gave him a quick wink then turned around drawing Jake closer to him as they walked.
"Come on Ethan," Lucy said, "You can have the rest of the day off" Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder trying her best to be supportive. She knew how much his first day had meant to him and she felt sorry for him that it hadn't worked out.
As they walked slowly back to the car mainly due to Ethan dragging his feet. He realised three things, one, that Jake and Justin were the boys he had seen under the tree from his window, two, that he was slowly but surely gaining feelings that he could only describe as love for Jake even though he had not known him very long and three that he couldn't tell anyone how he felt!
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