What had been simple curiosity about a new kid was quickly turning into a full-blown cr-c-c--goodness, he couldn’t even say it-- crush! Ethan may have been crushing on the new black kid Chris Davis. No, not even “might”: it was quite bad.

In the past few months, Ethan went from wondering if Chris played sports to wondering why Chris hadn’t been sitting with his legs crossed during history. Any second when he wasn’t working in class, he was studying Chris.

So far, he learned that he has a dog, is an only child, listens to jazz music, and plays Rugby. All without ever speaking to the guy. Yeah, always speaking and talking to people that didn’t want to talk to him Ethan wasn’t talking to the new kid. 

He wanted to, wanted to really badly, but whenever he thought about it he got super nervous. Ethan thought it was probably for the best because then he wouldn’t push Chris away with his weirdness.

The good news about that though was Ethan was able to silently be around Chris without ever having to explain. He had been frequenting Chris’s rugby games too and has developed an interest in the sport as well. Whether it was a genuine interest or slowly because of Chris’s involvement, Ethan still wasn't sure. Either way, he was always the loudest when it came to leaping out of his seat and cheering his lungs off.

World’s #1 Secret Cheerleader award is definitely Ethan’s.

Ethan had decided a while ago that he wouldn’t be doing anything about his crush. He was in a similar position to Aiden’s because Chris had the attention of dozens of people, mainly girls, and had quickly assimilated himself among the popular bunch.

It was even more hopeless than Aiden’s dreams because Ethan wasn’t even into a girl, but a guy. The chances of uber-macho and cool Chris wanting to get freaky with hyper Ethan was just impossible--even Ethan could figure that out.

So, he watched from afar and enjoyed seeing the beauty of Chris's bright smile directed at someone else.

—————

Ethan was doodling the silhouette of Chris's face on the corner of his textbook and glancing up frequently to get a view of Chris's face. He often had to slap his hand over the corner when he thought one of his classmates was looking over but, for the most part, didn’t get much attention about it.

Their teacher announced an assignment that they had to complete by the end of the day and gave them some free time to get started. Completing the assignment now instead of later was especially important to some of Ethan’s classmates since it was Friday and tons of people wanted nothing to worry about so they could party and enjoy their free time.

Ethan had luckily been paying attention this time and pulled out his school laptop. Truly, it was his only laptop, but specifying that it was from the school always made him feel more special than he really was.

He had only just typed in his password and sat waiting for the device to load when he heard someone talking. That alone was pretty odd since everyone was talking and Ethan was always zoning out for one reason or another. But, he was hearing it clearly and soon realized that it was because Chris was talking.

Of-fucking-course.

From what Ethan heard, Chris had forgotten his charger at home and his laptop was nearly dead, making it impossible to work on his assignment for more than a second. Of course, all of Chris's popular friends were also irresponsible and hadn’t thought of bringing their chargers as well. 

Chris was now awkwardly glancing around the room, trying to find a classmate he felt comfortable asking for a charger. His eyes met Ethan’s for a second, two gazes locking in what Ethan felt to be an intense moment before Chris set his sights elsewhere. His gaze fell on a cute mixed girl behind Ethan. While Chris smirked, Ethan paled. 

Okay sure he told himself he would find seeing Chris with other people, Ethan had already spotted him flirting with some Latin girl in the halls last month, but being right here when the interaction felt like it was too much.

Chris got up, standing with confidence and purpose that had Ethan’s stomach rolling with need and started to walk through the desks to get to the girl. Ethan’s eyes went back and forth between Chris with the intentional gaze and his classmate with a charger visible in her backpack’s pocket. 

Chris was getting closer and Ethan’s heart flew up into his throat when he saw the brown eyes up close. With the speed he was going, Chris would pass by Ethan in a second. It was a split-second decision and Ethan had kind of moved without realizing it.

Yet, the next thing he knew his hand was shooting out and grabbing Chris’s wrist, keeping the taller boy still. Chris, who had been staring straight at the mixed girl the entire time, looked back at Ethan with a startled expression.

Ethan wanted to melt into a puddle, but he began speaking before his body got the chance.

“I actually have a charger if you want it.” He blurted out, reaching into his backpack quickly to pull out the thick black cord. “I mean, I kind of overheard your conversation so . . . ”

That was when Ethan went red.

God, what are you thinking?! Just talking to him like that and admitting that you were spying on him again?! He is never going to speak to you after this!

Chris blinked down at Ethan, still a bit surprised, before he gave him a bright smile.

“Thanks, man. I was actually pretty nervous about being able to get this assignment done on time.” Chris, the ever-so-confident man, was exposing a bit of himself as he scratched the back of his head nervously. Ethan mentally swooned and hoped that he wasn’t shooting major heart eyes at the boy that very second.

The handing over was pretty normal, Ethan’s hands not doing anything really weird and Chris returned to his seat without a hassle. But Ethan was left a blushing mess the moment Chris turned around. He had just spoken to him for the first time ever! This was a major development in their relationship and Ethan was thoroughly celebrating as he got started on his work.

The minutes ticked on and Ethan was pretty efficient about his work. So efficient in fact that he finished with a good five minutes in the period to spare. Ethan felt so confident that he even considered calling himself smart. Then he snorted. That was going too far, even for him.

Ethan shut his computer and was stuffing it into his back when he heard footsteps coming his way. He looked up, his back bent over the side of his desk and his cheek facing the dark abyss of his bag, and found Chris standing there with that perfect smile. Ethan choked. Like, legit choked and had to smack his chest to get that whole area under control.

Chris's hand went out, rubbing Ethan’s back in what should have been aid but really ended up making it worse. It was wonderful though and Ethan had no regrets remembering the heavenly warmth of his back. 

Chris let out a relieved sigh seeing that Ethan was alright before he handed Ethan his charger.

“Thanks for letting me borrow your charger. It was a big help.” Chris told him, a soft smile now resting on his lips. Ethan nodded and went to take the charger back. As Ethan took it, his fingers overlapped with Chris’s hands, yet he had to tighten his hand to pull it back.

Ethan’s eyes shot down to the table and ground as he put it back while Chris continued to stare at the spot where their hands had been. Ethan sat straight again and smiled up shyly at the taller boy. 

“You’re welcome.” Chris nodded at Ethan’s response but was now sending him a curious look. They stared at each other for a moment before Chris seemed to blink out of it, sent him a smile, and headed back to his seat.

Ethan had to force himself not to stare at Chris’s back and sigh wistfully, instead, turning to his phone as a distraction. Ethan would have cursed himself out if he knew that when he had been trying to distract himself, Chris had been staring at him with that same curious expression. That look that said Chris had noticed something about Ethan, and he might have just liked it.

Or maybe he even  . . . started to like him?