THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

5

||JACKSON||

Seeing as it was getting really dark, I was already heading back towards the dorms. The entire time I was conversing with Ethan, it felt like my whole being was going nuts. Just when I thought these feelings from last year started fading away, he just had to show up again. Gripping the steering wheel, my chest was starting to hurt from how hard my heart was pulsating.

-

"So where have you been?" Damian said, his attention on his phone.

"I went out to go eat, " I said, closing the door behind me. He nodded in response. Kneeling down to get my bag underneath my bed, I pulled out my indoor clothes; a tight green shirt and some gray sweatpants. Stripping off quickly, I wore my sleeping attire. I realized that we didn't exactly have a good place to put our used clothes on, seeing as there isn't a basket or hamper I just tossed them to the corner. Taking a slow breather, I collapsed on my bed, which wasn't as soft as I thought. Thinking of it now, we weren't exactly getting the best things for comfort, it's more of just necessities with a budget. I do need to start finding a way to earn some extra cash so I can get food or maybe other stuff we might need for this room. Out of nowhere, Damian's phone started playing a pretty loud video. I shot my head up and looked at him in grimace, "dude, can you wear some headphones please?" I said.

"don't have any, " he rolled his eyes. Sighing I got up and walked towards my backpack to scavenge for my own earphones. Finding them inside the smaller pocket, I trudged towards Damian and gestured him to take it. Giving it a look, he takes it from my hand and plugs it in his phone, muting the sound projecting from the phone and into the earbuds, "thanks, " he says before returning back to his device. Going back to bed, I pulled out my own phone and surfed through the Internet to pass time.  Curious, I searched through Instagram and input Ethan's name in the search bar. I realized that I didn't actually know what what his last name was. Feeling horrible for being ignorant, I stared at my screen, empty with ideas. Out of desperation, I pulled out my contacts, my finger hovered over Zack's number before finally pressing on him.

"Hey, Zack, what's Ethan's last name?" I messaged. Waiting impatiently for him to reply, I reopened the app and searched for Zack's profile. Checking his following and followers tab, I typed in Ethan's name only to get no results. I gazed, dumbfounded with a frown, "what?" I murmured, seeing as Ethan wasn't in both categories. A notification popped up with Zack's reply, "we're cousins sharing the same family name, why?" He asked.

"Does Ethan have Instagram?" I replied.

"No, he doesn't really use the internet that much."

A wave of disappointment washed over me to know that he doesn't have an Instagram, "what about Snapchat? Facebook?" Thinking about it now, I was sounding weirdly creepy. I cursed myself as to why I even bother to suddenly care so much about him.

"No dude, he really just doesn't do any of that stuff. What's the big deal anyway? Is there something wrong?" Zack caught on my obsession.

Scrambling to come up with an excuse, I typed back, "oh, I saw him working in this restaurant. I took a picture with him and I thought I would tag him," grinning awkwardly at my screen, I sent the message.

"Ah, I see. Yeah, I did hear he got a job. What's that place called, Romantic pairs? I should check up on him one day."

Pouting and looking at my dying battery, I didn't bother to continue the conversation and just left him on read. Messing with my hair in frustration, my eyes widened as I was just aware that I didn't even ask Ethan for his phone number. I cant ask Zack because it doesn't connect to 'me tagging Ethan' with the none existent photo I said I have. Groaning, I facepalmed. "Woah dude, what's up with you?" Damian spoke, who was sat down on his bed, eyeing me with a brow raised. I waved at him, trying to dismiss his concern. Shaking my head, I stood up from my bed and took out my charger from my bag. I plugged the box into a nearby outlet and connected the other end to my phone. "I'm gonna go grab something to snack on," Damian said, getting up and pulling out a pair of sneakers in the underside of his bed and putting them on. Watching him, he leaves the room and closes the door behind him. I sighed, left with nothing to do at the moment. Defeated, I just limped over to my bed and tried my best to get comfy. Covering myself with my blanket, I slightly pulled my pillow downwards so I had something to hug and comfort me. I snuggled myself into its soft cushion and curled up. There's no way I have a crush on him, no way, no way.

"No way, no way..." I muttered in denial before eventually passing out to sleep.