Connected To Him (ManxMan)

Part 1: Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Baby I Love the Way (You Make Me Feel)

It had seemed like the right decision to rush outside of the house instead of sitting in there with his mother, but Ethan was beginning to regret it. It was early November which meant that even in his sweater, winter jacket, heat trapping tights and pants, Ethan felt underdressed. But Ethan was too proud to go back inside and continued on his way to the bus stop.

By the time the bus arrived, Ethan was vibrating with his shivers. Next time he wanted to have a thinly veiled conversation with his mom, he would wait until after he came back from school.

The ride to school was short and familiar. Ethan was used to using this time to relax and enjoy some silence before he was dropped into the noisy and rowdy school environment. However, this morning he used it to seep in his anger. No amount of staring at the trees fly by would calm Ethan down at this point. He'd already gotten himself worked up over what happened with his mom. The more he thought about it, the more upset he became with Chris.

Ethan cared less and less if the blame was justified and more about the fact that, at the end of the day, he was keeping them a secret for Chris and no one else. As many are when feeling wronged and indignant, Ethan tried to hold onto these angry feelings. He wouldn't let Chris try to manipulate him with his sweet smiles and smooth voice. No, Ethan was going to stay strong.

Ethan was the epitome of resolve when he found Chris in front of Aaron's locker that morning, rolling his eyes as the lovebirds flirted right in front of him. Of course Ethan remained extremely angry when Chris paused in his conversation with Meaghan to send Ethan a small wave, the gesture being matched by an equally small smile. His heart did not flutter at all.

Ethan definitely didn't forget why he was so angry walking into school that morning, but it became a bit less important once he finally saw Chris again. No wonder he's been agreeing to this arrangement for months. He cared about Chris too damn much.

The five of them talked for the next ten or so minutes, the conversations light and relaxed. While doing so, Ethan and Chris leant side by side against the lockers, allowing nearly the full length of their arms to touch. It was a bit risky for them to do in front of three very observant friends but Ethan was feeling especially insecure and Chris didn't seem to mind.

One thing that stuck out to Ethan was Aiden's odd behaviour. It wasn't anything crazy but he seemed to be staring at Aaron even more so than usual, which already was a large amount. If anyone else noticed this, they would not have been too concerned. Aiden and Aaron were constantly giving each other gifts and surprises. They were the school's perfect couple, given the title because of how cheesy and cliche they were. They loved big gestures and gifts and the like so Ethan frequently heard about Aiden's plans to give Aaron a gift or heard Aiden gushing about something he just received.

This time, though, Ethan actually knew the reason. The yearly homecoming dance was coming up soon and Aiden had thought it would be cute to ask Aaron to go with him. It was expected that as boyfriends, they would go together anyway but Aiden really wanted to give Aaron a Promposal style of invitation. For the past three weeks, Aiden had been working with Meaghan and Ethan to organize a super cute and extra way to ask Aaron to Homecoming.

Ethan was super excited because it was going to be really cringy and he would be able to laugh at the video for years to come. And, as a bonus, it would make Aaron extremely happy.

Glancing up at Chris, Ethan wondered if Chris would be an extra boyfriend if they were dating publicly. Or maybe he would be really into PDA, holding Ethan's hand or kissing him every spare chance they got. It was a bittersweet thought to Ethan, more bitter than sweet after what he'd been stewing over that morning.