44: not in that way

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a/n this chapter was originally meant to be long af but I decided to split it into two halves, I think it'd be better this way lol idk

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a/n this chapter was originally meant to be long af but I decided to split it into two halves, I think it'd be better this way lol idk. Anyway make sure to vote/comment, I hate silent readers!

Also my end of year exams are next week so expect updates to be delayed...*cri*

This chapter is so shit eww but I've had such a good week :) happy belated Halloween btw!

44: CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

WE hear about the news two weeks later, a few days before Term 3 comes to an end.

"Can I please have once iced coffee and a flat white?" I'm rummaging through my battered wallet and slap on the counter a handful of coins. The employee behind the counter grabs the money and rings up my order.

I check the time on my phone. It's eight twenty. If she doesn't speed up my order, I'm going to be late for school. Finally, they call out my order and I rush to grab the drinks from her.

I finish my coffee on the way to school and dump it in a bin. I balancing Ethan's iced coffee in hand and walk inside the school gates, shoving my way through a group of chatty Year 10's.

I find Ethan sitting by the fountain in front of the main office, his face and nose flushed red from the cold. A black beanie is placed top of his curly hair and his hands are shoved into the pockets of his school rain jacket. At the sound of my footsteps, he looks up from where he was frowning down at the ground and his face lights up. The corner of his lips quirk upward and he begins to approach me. "Hi," he breathes out. It's so chilly that when he talks, his breath escapes in a white gust of smoke.

My heart flutters at the sight of him, and to suppress a grin, I have to bite down on my tongue. Will I ever get used to this feeling he gives me? "What are you doing standing out here in the cold?" My voice comes out breathless but I blame that on all the jogging I had to do.

He says over the sound of the wind: "I was waiting for you so we can go to class together." He's burying the lower half of his face in the black scarf tied around his neck.

My smile becomes taut. "You don't have to do that anymore. We're not dating, you know."

He ducks his head down and starts to look sheepish. "I got used to waiting for you, I'm sorry," he mumbles, avoiding my gaze.

"S'okay." I reach out to rub his upper arm. "I got you this."

Ethan peeks up from the ground and his eyes fall on the cup of iced coffee in my hand. "That's for me?" He smiles, his voice coming out muffled.

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