Chapter 100: Chapter 100

Ethan's POV

As soon as Mr Garvey walks out of the room after telling Gavin to pack his things and move back to B69, I take my phone and dial Michael's number, ignoring the numerous questions from Gavin and Grace.

I walk to the balcony, impatiently waiting for him to pick my call. At last he answers at the last ring.

" Hello..", he says in a low hoarse voice.

" Are you alright, Michael?", I immediately ask him.

" Yeah..I'm...okay.", he replies.

" Are you nervous?", He just keeps silent. I know he is so nervous and scared right now. "Baby..it's okay..don't worry. Warden isn't calling your parents or anything. " He hums to me in reply.

" What happened to you earlier ? Why you suddenly started coughing ?", I ask.

" I- I don't know. I'm f..fine now. ", he replies.

" Okay...baby..please don't worry. There's no problem here, okay ? This isn't ant big deal. ", he wordlessly hums to me, making me only worried. " Okay, Gavin is packing. He will come there soon. And I'll try to come there after sometime."

" You..you don't need to. And It's risky. M..maybe Mr Garvey will come to check again. Let's meet tomorrow morning at j..jogging.", he says.

" Uhm..okay. Let's meet tomorrow then.", I reply. Indeed it's risky to go back to him today.

" Ethan...my s..sister's calling. I'll call you later.", he then says and ends the call without waiting for a reply from me.

I don't know whether he was lying or not when he said his sister is calling. But I know he isn't alright. I'm afraid he will start cutting again or doing something stupid. I need to send Gavin to him soon.

I turn around and Gavin and Grace barge towards me. " Ethan, what all Mr Garvey said ? What is Michael's condition now ?" , Grace asks.

I sit down on the balcony slab, replying to their questions. Gavin is reluctant to go back to our old dorm but anyway at last he starts packing whilst cursing Mr Garvey. Within less than twenty minutes he has headed out leaving a frustrated Grace and me in the room.

Gavin text me after sometime saying Michael is sitting at the balcony, aimlessly staring at a distant spot as if deep in thought. I don't know what all he is thinking inside that little head of his.

Please baby, just don't think about breaking up with me.

I call him at night and talks to him for almost half an hour. He doesn't actually speak anything but just hums to everything I say. I tell him that this is very normal and nothing would actually happen if our parents know and they will accept us. He just keeps on humming. Finally I end the call after making him promise to come for jogging tomorrow.

I wish Michael had the courage to come out to his parents.

I doesn't actually sleep the night and Morning I look like a zombie in the bathroom mirror. I feel totally dizzy as I walk down the steps with Grace.

Gavin and Michael arrives soon after we reach the ground. Michael looks worse than me. His eyes are so red and clearly indicates he just cried the whole night instead of sleeping.

" You didn't sleep ?", I ask him.

" I couldn't..", he replies rubbing his eyes. I just stare at him not knowing what to say. And then our coach whistles to start Jogging.

" Don't run too much. You will fall down.", I say and he nods. I and Gavin then turn around and sprint towards our teammates.

Michael and Grace just runs a two lap and then slump down on a side bench. When I complete my 7th lap, they aren't there on the bench. I text him after jogging and he replies they are at the ground near the pool, sleeping under a tree and will meet me after my practice.

We meet at the canteen after practice and have breakfast like usual. After we wash our hands, I drag him into a toilet and closes the door shut, pinning him to the wall and crashing my lips on him.

I kiss him hungrily and passionately than ever. I hadn't kissed him yesterday whole day and I was missing his cherry lips badly. But to my disappointment, he doesn't respond to my kisses. However he also doesn't try to pull away and just lets me kiss him.

" Michael, kiss me ! ", I feed against his lips, kissing him roughly. He finally starts moving his lips and snakes his hands around my neck, letting his long fingers dig into my hair. He tugs and pulls on my hair harshly as I slide my tongue into his mouth and feel every inch of his sweet cavern.

When we pull away panting, he strangely tucks his hands into his shorts pocket and stares deep into my eyes.

" I love you.", I tell him. He doesn't reply and continue to stare at me like he is seeing me for the first time.

" Baby....", I call him and he finally breaks the stare.

" Let's go ?", he asks. I nod to him and we quickly walk out of the toilet. Luckily there was no one outside to catch us stepping out of the toilet together.

Michael surprises me evening with a text as the three of us stand waiting for him near the basketball court. Last period we both had Physics and Chemistry lab and I had seen him walk out of the chemistry lab, ten minutes before the bell, along with Andrea. And I had then texted him to wait for us near the basketball court to go to a cafe outside. But the reply came only now, twenty minutes later. And it reads,

' Ethan, I'm going home. There's a train at 4:30. I'm now heading to railway station.'

As I stand looking shocked at my phone screen, Gavin grabs it from my hands, confused.

" Oh shit ! What's happening? Why he didn't tell us earlier?" , he utters in shock.

Why he didn't tell me ? It's sure that he planned this earlier itself and packed his stuff. Or he won't be heading to railway station now.

We had Calculus the hour after lunch and we sat together. And after that we walked to the lab together, talking. He didn't tell me even then.

He was actually talking and acting very normal at lunch and in Calculus class and I was kind of feeling relieved. I never imagined he had such a plan in his head. Was he just pretending he was alright ? What's actually happening?

"Gavin, you didn't see him packing his stuff ?", Grace asks in a surprised high pitched voice.

" No..I didn't.", Gavin shakes his head. " Maybe he did while I was showering or something."

" Shit ! Call him Ethan.", Grace says. Gavin gives the phone back to me and I hurriedly dial Michael's number.

He answers the call on the last ring. " Hey ! What's happening Michael? Why did you decide to go home without telling me ? What's wrong ?", I ask him tensely.

"C..Cool Ethan..! It's..It's just my Mom called after c..class. Our relatives are coming home tomorrow. I planned to g..go only now. And I found there's a train at 4:30. I was in a h..hurry that I couldn't call you.", he says.

" Aren't you lying ? You planned this earlier.", I say.

" No Ethan ! I'm not l..lying. My Mom asked me to come. Oh..I reached here. Let me p..pay the cab. I'll call you later.", he says and ends the call.

I don't believe him. He is lying. He is just running away from me.

" What did he say ?", Gavin and Grace asks, anxiously.

I look at the time, ignoring them. It's already past 4:15. And railway station is more than 15 minutes away from here. I can't reach there before the train departs. What will I do now ?

Am I losing Michael?