Just Friends

May 27th

     By the time I climbed into bed last night, and rolled over to check Ethan's clock, it was 12:36am. What a long, bewildering, and exhausting day yesterday was. I finished college early today. Which meant I could visit Ethan earlier since I broke my promise of visiting him every day. I felt awful for breaking my promise. I wanted to see him so badly. To tell him about Stanley and the audition, and to reassure myself that he's ok. We need to talk. I'll force it out of him somehow. This isn't a show anymore. He will tell me how he switched seats or I'll be very mad. Even though I can't really be mad at him.
     I spent several minutes wandering down the maze like hospital corridors in a fluster. Luckily, I stumbled upon Angela, who pointed me in the right direction. As I opened the door and stepped inside Ethan's room, I found Verity and her friends gathered around Ethan. I stared at them in silence. Verity walked over and hugged me. Squeezing me for a few seconds before I put my arms around her, giving her a comforting pat on the back. I flicked my eyes over at Ethan. His face has regained so much colour in these past few days. He smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up, settling my nerves.
     "Hi guys," I said.
     Scattered replies of, "Hey August," came from Verity's friends. Five of them including her.
     "We didn't see you at college yesterday, August. We wanted to check how you were doing." Verity said as she released her grasp from around me.
     "Oh yeah, Ms. Andrews planned this "last minute audition for me."
     "The girls and I thought we'd pop by and see him. We were all shocked when we heard the news."
     "That's very thoughtful of you, thank you."
     I appreciated them coming to visit Ethan, but I desperately wanted to be left alone with Ethan. Verity must have psychic powers as she walked back over to Ethan and sat down beside him. "I promise we'll come and visit you again soon." She rubbed his un-bandaged arm and kissed his forehead. I watched in discomfort. I felt a concerning jealousy come over me, like only I can kiss Ethan's head. Ethan briefly smiled at Verity, then her friends. "Thank you ladies. It was nice to see you all." His voice was croaky as he began his sentence, but it smoothened. "See you later Breakfast, bye Breakfast." They shouted as they left the room. I shut the door behind them, resting my head on it.
     "You look nice." Ethan said.
     "Thanks... How you feeling?"
     I walked over and sat on the edge of his bed.
     "Well, I'm being held together by metal. Other than that I'm fine!"
     Ethan winced as he shuffled over, patting the space beside him with his unharmed right hand. He raised his arm implying for me to sit beside him so he could put his arm around me. I rolled my eyes, then sat down alongside him. I didn't want to sit on any important wires or knock him, a typical thing for me to do. He put his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder. "Now we're alone. Tell me what's on your mind. I know you're bottling everything up."
     I rested my head on him and sighed. "Yesterday, was a really, really good day. I'm so sorry I didn't come to see you, I was with Ms. Andrews, you know, my performing arts teacher, It turns out her best friend is Stanley Tennant, the well-known director who hired her to be his casting director. She got me an audition, and I think it went pretty well. Stanley seemed to like me."
      He squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry. They'd be stupid not to choose you."
     I know Ethan is in a lot of pain. I know he's trying not to show it, but it's so good to see him acting like his usual self. I've missed him.
     "Ethan you need to tell me what happened. It's driving me insane, you can't keep this from me and expect me to be ok with it. You're in hospital Ethan. You could've died. That's what I'm thinking about, it's what I'm always thinking about."
     I nestled my head in further onto his chest. Ethan exhaled heavily.
     "August, sometimes... these things, are best kept a secret. Believe me. I couldn't have allowed you to be in the position I am. I spoke to the doctor. She explained if you were sitting in the passenger seat with your seat belt on, you would have most likely died. If not instantly, shortly after attempted treatment in hospital because you're a little dwarf and your positioning would have been different. Tell me, what should I have done with those odds? So I switched with you. If anything ever happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. You're all I have, August. I don't want to loose you, not now, not ever."
     His voice stuttered throughout his demanded explanation. I've never seen Ethan cry. Even now he wouldn't break. I delayed my reply, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry, I am a dwarf aren't I?" I replied with a groan.
     "Yes, yes you are. But you're my little dwarf. Listen, I'll make you a deal. You have until Saturday to choose one of my tricks for me to reveal. All those year's and you get to choose one. You'll need to test your memory. Apart from how we switched seats. That's the deal. Any mention of seat switching the deals off. You already know the one I told you in the truck about the apple. That's a bonus one. Then when you come in Saturday, we'll sit and I'll reveal the trick of your choice."
     "Ok." I said and closed my eyes.
Arriving home late last night must have tired me out because my eyes woke to Angela nudging me. "Sorry to disturb you, August, your Mum is here to take you home." I rubbed my eyes as I sat up. Ethan had fallen asleep, too. I stood and grabbed my things. I didn't want to wake Ethan, so I stroked the hair off his forehead and kissed it. I dawdled out of the room still rubbing my eyes.
     "There you are," Mum said walking up to me and patting my head as I exited Ethan's room. "Come on, let's go."