Ethan grunted, his thumb and forefinger becoming sore from pressing so hard against the zipper. But, when he heard the satisfying zip of his suitcase closing, he heaved a sigh of relief. Honestly, Ethan hadn’t needed to pack so much. They would only be staying in Muskoka for three nights and his large suitcase probably had enough to last him far longer than a week. But, as he packed he kept coming up with what-if scenarios, causing him to pull out something for every season and any occasion. In fact, he could probably throw together an outfit for a funeral if he had to. He had it all. 

Ethan decided to be responsible and double-check that he had everything that he needed. He was incredibly relieved when he remembered to take his toothbrush, toothpaste, and razor, items he had almost forgotten because he was too fixated on clothing.

Then, it was time to actually take his suitcase down the stairs. The loud thumping from the suitcase hitting the steps and Ethan’s pathetic breathing drew his mother out of the living room.

“Ethan, be careful with that thing. You don’t want to break through the steps. Again,” she warned him, a scowl on her face. Ethan rolled his eyes at her reminder, noting how she once again mentioned the incident. His mother loved to remind him of the time when he had been playing with a basketball in the upstairs hall—because of course that is a marvelous idea—and tripped over said ball. Somehow, he managed to do a complete flip and drive his heel through the 4th to the top step. There was blood, pain, some crying on his part, and a lot more yelling out of his parents. But overall he was fine and they had to get a stair fixed.

This was one of many dumb stories Ethan had to tell. Ethan knew that it was because of his energetic and crazy attitude that he always got into trouble, and he liked to blame his personality on his father. His dad wasn’t necessarily the most sporty guy out there, more of a book nerd if anything, but his mind was extremely active. His brain jumped from one thing to another in nanoseconds and his mouth just struggled to keep up. His mother was the more stern and calm of the two. Ethan liked to think that he was a perfect balance between them, energetic but stern when need be, but he knew that he was a lot more like his dad.

Actually, one of his mother’s favorite jokes was that she had to live with two children. The funniest part was that Ethan’s father never tried to deny it. Ethan could only hope to have such a chill relationship when he was old and crusty.

Ethan’s thought drifted to Chris again and he blushed. It was way too soon to be thinking about that. 

“When are you going to be picked up for this weekend thing?” his mother asked, speaking the second he got to the bottom of the steps. Ethan, a bit tired from carrying his heavy bag, managed a tiny shrug. 

“I’m not sure. It depends on when the guy driving me will finish packing his stuff, but it shouldn’t be more than an hour,” Ethan explained, briefly looking over his bag to make sure that nothing was broken. 

His mom stood in the doorway between the living room and the entryway and she had her arms crossed in front of her. She watched him silently as he rolled his bag next to the doorway, but finally spoke when he started towards the living room. 

“You have everything you need right?” she asked, her voice growing softer as the concern leaked out. “Shirts, pants, toothbrush, toiletries, swimsuit, underwear-”

“Mom, I packed everything and double-checked.” He assured her, wanting to stop her before she talked about his underwear some more. “I’ll be fine.”

She nodded, sending her son a soft smile right as the doorbell rang. Ethan quickly pulled out his phone, seeing that Chris had texted him that he was almost there five minutes ago but he hadn’t noticed. Ethan hurried over to the door and placed his hand on the knob when he stopped, taking a second to fix his outfit before finally opening the door. 

Chris had been looking up at the house but his eyes came back to Ethan when the door swung open, a smile on his face. The whites of his eyes and teeth were highlighted in the dimmer lighting and Ethan had to bite back a happy sigh.

“Hey,” Chris smiled, gaze filtering over Ethan’s face before stopping at his eyes. Ethan broke it, opting to stare at Chris's perfect lips. 

“Hi,” Ethan gave him a hesitant smile as he gestured to his door. “I’ll just go, uh, grab my bag.”

Ethan stepped back, about to shut the door before he got a bit of sense.

“Um, do you want to come in?” Ethan crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping Chris would say no.

“Sure.”

Curses. 

The second Chris was through the door, Ethan’s mom was there, eager to introduce herself. Ethan knew that his mom would embarrass him to some degree, so he resigned himself to his fate. Ethan tried to zone out their conversation and just focus on getting his bag out the door, but he couldn’t help but listen, just a bit.

“So, are you friends with Ethan, my son?” She asked, her face hard and blank despite speaking with a boy decades younger than her. She gave no shits whether he was scared or not: she wanted answers. Chris took her seriousness in stride, a pleasant look on his face as he responded. 

“Yeah, I am. I can’t say that we’re close but I’m trying to get to know him better.” He told her, chancing a quick glance Ethan’s way only to find Ethan already looking at him. Ethan’s cheeks grew warm and he snapped his head back to his bag, trying to appear innocent. Ethan got out the front door and their conversation became too quiet to hear. 

As Ethan rolled the heavy bag, he was surprised by River stepping out from the front seat. 

“Hey, Ethan,” River smiled, walking around Chris's car to the back. “Here, let me help you with the trunk.”

Ethan responded in his usual energetic and pleasant way because, of course, he was genuinely happy to see River. But, he couldn’t help but be disappointed that he wouldn’t be sitting up front with Chris. Though, it was probably better that River was there to remind him to stay cool.

Seconds after River slammed the car shut with Ethan’s bag safely inside, Chris walked around the car to the driver’s seat.

“Come on, guys. Let’s get to Aiden’s,” River didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled towards the front seat, slipping into it in a rush. By the time Ethan got in his seat, River was already buckled up and smiling excitedly.

“I can’t wait to go,” he commented, though both Chris and Ethan could evidently see that. “I’ve never been to Muskoka before.”

“Me neither,” Chris agreed, turning to look behind them as he reversed out of the driveway. 

Me neither, not with my crush. But Ethan didn’t say that out loud.

—————

“Okay gang, it’s time to head out!” Aiden’s dad yelled, clapping his hands as he rounded up all of the teens. “We have to get going before it gets too late. I don’t want you kids driving in the middle of the night.”

Everyone, especially the three driving, nodded their heads in agreement. They began to disperse and leave towards the cars they came in when Aiden’s mom spoke up. 

“Actually, I have another question. If you guys drive the way you came, Mason will be alone with us in the back of our minivan,” she said, gesturing over to an embarrassed Mason. “I don’t want him to be alone.” 

“Mom!” he groaned, trying to stay quiet despite the fact that everyone saw him. 

“I’ll drive with you guys!” Jasmine, the Tylers' youngest, said before turning to her older siblings. “Can I drive with them? Please.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Meaghan told her, smiling as Jasmine cheered. Jasmine ran over to Mason, wrapping her arms around him and not lightening up when he tried to loosen her hold. 

“Hey, I want to go too!” Mark spoke up, moving to stand on the other side of Mason without waiting for his older siblings’ response. Aiden’s parents looked over at Aaron and Meaghan, checking if they had anything to say. When the two just seemed amused by their younger brother, Aiden’s parents took that as acceptance and began leading the youngest of the group to their car. Ethan took that as the conversation was finished and walked over to Chris's car. He had his hand on the back door of Chris's car when Meaghan spoke up, grabbing his attention. 

“Wait, River!” River was standing in the driveway, stopped and turned to her. “Can you drive with us instead?”

River glanced over at Ethan and Chris, shrugged, then went to join Aaron’s car. Just like that, Chris and Ethan would be driving alone. 

Ethan was a bit in shock. In seconds the situation went from, hey, at least River would be there to holy fuck I have to interact with this blazing hot man alone?! Chris sent him a relaxed grin from over the top of his car.

“Move up to the front. I really don’t want to feel like a chauffeur.” Chris joked, chuckling softly. Ethan laughed as well, probably too loudly to be considered normal, and moved up.

“Don’t mind if I do!” he replied, only wincing at his volume when Chris had moved into the car.

He could do this. He could do this.

He sat down as well, buckling his seatbelt with his head down. Then, he looked up, his eyes falling on Chris' face mere inches away.

“You ready to go?” Chris asked, grinning widely. Ethan tried to forget about who he sat with and remind himself where they were going, a flipping nice ass resort hours away from the city. He should be excited, not dreading spending time with this hot guy. Ethan smiled back.

“You bet.”

Chris sent him a wink before turning to drive out. Ethan had to look out his own window and clutch his chest.

Holy hell, he could not do this! 

The two drove away, starting their three-hour-long journey. 

Just the two of them in a car. Alone and together.