Connected To Him (ManxMan)

Part 1: Chapter 23

Chapter 23: First Day Back

Ethan Sterling was officially in Grade 11. He had a hard time grasping the concept in a similar way he had trouble accepting when he turned 15 last year. It didn't seem real and a part of him desperately wanted to go back to his History first period and find Chris waiting there for him. But he was in Grade 11 now and they would never take that class together again.

The school was familiar to Ethan, of course. He had to take a different path to get to his locker since it was now in the Junior hall, but for the most part it felt the same. Ethan entertained himself by watching the people around him. He saw many familiar faces of old classmates or upperclassmen he'd looked up to before. He now also watched as last year's frantic freshmen who were now sophomores, judged the confused freshmen around them. Ethan's wastes a lot of time people watching like this. It was just too entertaining, despite it also being quite creepy.

Finally, the bell rang. Ethan took one look at his room number, F114, and immediately knew where it was. The classroom was mostly empty when Ethan got there. His teacher, Ms. McGrath, gave him a soft smile which he returned before quickly finding a seat. He silently looked about the room, waiting for the rest of his classmates to enter. While Ethan prepared for the worst, which would be having no friends in the class, he hoped that wouldn't be the case. First period math would suck so much more if Ethan did not have someone fun to spend it with.

Then, Rachel walked in.

Neither of them held back their excitement. They garnered several looks when they high-fived with a lively cheer.

"This is going to be so fun." She told Ethan excitedly, a wide smile on her freckled face.

"Especially since everyone says Algebra 2 is super easy." Ethan whispered, getting a muffled laugh from Rachel. Ethan had hung out with Rachel several times over the summer, with friends and once alone, so it was easy to talk to her. About five minutes before the bell was to ring, Aiden strolled in.

He was rubbing at his eyes tiredly but froze in his spot when he saw Ethan and Rachel huddled together.

"Sir." Aiden told them, a large smile growing on his face.

"Sir!" Ethan and Rachel repeated, hardly containing their laughter. After Aiden rushed over to them, they all began laughing to themselves at their inside joke. They were definitely doing too much, but it was a celebration of being in the same class.

Ethan had mixed feelings about Courtney being in his 2nd period computer science class. He was glad to have someone else to talk computers about. It was hard for Ethan to find people interested in that sort of thing. And, when he did, it was rare that they didn't also expect him to be able to discuss advanced mathematics or niche science with them. And, Courtney was funny to talk to. Then, Chris would come up, and Ethan would be caught between jealousy and a deep need to claim Chris as his own.

But all was well when, in Homeroom, Ethan saw Chris. It took every fiber in Ethan's 5'9 being not wrap himself around Chris like a tortilla wraps itself around the burrito fillings. They sat in desks side by side, discreetly letting their feet touch.

As Chris' friends and acquaintances entered the class, Chris would say high or talk to them from across the room, but he never left Ethan's side. Whether out or not, Chris was making Ethan feel really special. Ethan tried to portray with his eyes alone how much he wanted to kiss Chris and hoped that the darkening of Chris' eyes meant he got the message.

The classroom was quite noisy with people unabashed no matter how loud they got. It was doubtful that it would get any quieter since this was homeroom. Chris and Ethan used that noise to speak comfortably. It would have been nearly impossible for anyone to hear them talking about their relationship with all of the other noise.