Chapter 85: Chapter 85

" You know Michael...", Ethan says as we lie on his bed to sleep after the long day.

" Uhm...?", I hum.

" You are great.", he finishes his sentence. I tilt my head to him and he is smiling at me.

" How am I great?", I ask.

He opens his palm and starts counting on his fingers. " You are an artist, you are a dancer, you are really good at skating, you are so intelligent, good at studies and you are so handsome like Prince Charming. You are great."

" You are so exaggerating. And P..Prince Charming ??", I laugh at him.

" No I'm not exaggerating, Prince Charming. ", he smiles at me with his eyes crinkling at the corners.

" Shall I call you Prince Charming then ?", he then asks turning his body completely to me and throwing his one arms over my stomach.

" You can't....in...in front of others ! ", I say and he smiles wide.

" Okay. So Prince Charming, let's sleep. I need to go for practice tomorrow. Goodnight.", he says and kisses me on the forehead. I feel a blush creep onto my cheeks again.

" So you aren't waiting until 12 to w..wish your Mom ?", I ask him after sometime.

" No. I'm not wishing her through phone. I'm gonna pretend like I forgot her birthday. And last day I told her I'm not coming home this weekend. So tomorrow I'll go home with a big cake and surprise her.", he says with a hint of smile in his voice. I involuntarily smile at his words. He loves his Mom a lot.

" It will be a g..great surprise to her. She will be so happy. And Ethan, tell my w..wishes to her.", I say.

" Sure I will.", he responds.

" Are you....going to tell her about this ? Our r..relationship?", I ask.

" You don't want me to, right ?", he asks. I don't say anything. " I'm not telling her. Don't worry.", he says.

We don't talk after that. But I lie awake for a long time. Finally somewhere in the middle of the night, I fall asleep in Ethan's warm embrace.

I wake up to the sound of Ethan's alarm. But he quickly separates himself from my body and stops the alarm. Then he quietly crawls out of the bed, probably not wanting to wake me up. But I sit up and he turns and pouts a little that his mission to not wake me up failed.

" Sorry..I wake you up. Sleep for some more time. It's only 6.", he says and reaches to peck my lips.

" Can I come to j..jog with you ?", I ask as he pulls away from my lips.

He smiles as if surprised. " Sure baby. But did you sleep enough ?"

" Yeah I did.", I say rubbing the sleep away from my eyes. He pats on my cheeks and smiles at me fondly.

" C'mon..let's then get ready quickly.", he says and I nod, crawling out of the bed.

We quickly brush out teeth together in the bathroom and then Ethan changes into a Jersey while I change from my Pyjama pants into shorts. Wearing our sneakers hurriedly, we rushes out of the room together and runs down the steps. A few of the sports guys who were also sprinting down the steps, gives us surprised as well as suspicious looks.

I know my and Ethan's relationship is gonna get disclosed in school, sooner or later. I think already there are rumours. People has probably noticed Ethan acting strange towards me. And he didn't get a date to the ball and was sitting with me on his lap watching the ball. Since Ethan is a popular guy, I know it has already become a matter of discussion. And now that I shifted to his room, people will sure starts talking we are dating.

I knew it when I agreed to move to his room. And I'm ready to face the stares, whispers and questions that are soon gonna arise from people. Let me see what other consequences I will have to face.

Anyway I've went through enough bullying for my stutter. Now if I get bullied for being gay,(although I'm still not sure about it), I'll just face it. But I know Ethan will be there with me and he'll protect me. He has promised me, he won't let me face anything alone.

Anyway I'm not confessing to anyone that we are dating. If someone ask, I will just say 'no'. Not that I'm so scared about people's reaction but I'm scared about my parents knowing. What if they somehow comes to know from someone? But I hope they won't know. At least they are 13 hours away from here.

" Hey Ethan, so Gavin really changed room ?", One of the guys who was skipping down the steps beside us asks.

" Yeah..", Ethan replies.

" Why ?", the guy asks after eying me.

" He and Grace are partners in Computer science and Geography assignments. So it will be convenient for them to work if they are roommates. Also I and Nate are partners in History and arts. So we decided to exchange rooms.", Ethan replies.

" I see..", the guy nods and once again glances at me.

We soon reach down the steps and Ethan starts running. I quickly follow him, leaving the guy behind.

When we reach the ground, the footballers, basketballers and volleyball players are all jogging around. Ethan quickly joins the footballers as the football Coach who was sitting at a side bench was already looking at him.

" Hey Nate ! ", I hear Grace's voice and turn around to see her jogging to me whilst smiling widely. " You also came ! ", she asks laughing in surprise.

" Yeah..", I smile back. " How's stay with your n..new roommate? Is he better than me ?", I ask.

" Better than you ? No..you were better.", she shakes her head, smiling.

" Oh..why ?", I ask.

" Uhm..nothing.", she shrugs. " I like you more."

" Really ?", I ask narrowing my eyes a little.

" Yeah..", she nods and grabs my hands. " C'mon..let's go run."

And then we starts slowly running whilst talking. I feel a few people staring at us but I just ignore it.

Not before completing four laps, both I and Grace are completely drained out of energy and are panting heavily that we decide to go and rest for sometime. We slump down on a nearby side bench, breathing heavily.

Once I catch my breathe, I start watching Ethan running among the guys. He is currently running on the opposite side of the ground and I can barely see him.

Suddenly someone comes and sits down on the nearby bench. I involuntarily turn my head and my eyes go wide as I see the person is none else than Amelia and she is looking at me. I immediately turn and taps on Grace's arm. She tilt her head and soon finds Amelia sitting on the bench beside us.

" Why is she here now ?", Grace murmurs irritably, glaring at Amelia. She had turned her face and was now staring in Ethan's direction. Ethan soon notices her as he comes jogging round the corner with his teammates. His eyebrows are scrunched up in irritation as he jogs past us and Amelia. And to add to his annoyance, she smiles as him as he passes her. He responds with a hard glare.

But Amelia keeps on staring at Ethan, making me feel frustrated. " Let her stare. Ethan don't like her a bit.", Grace murmurs squeezing my hands.

"Not that. And I know. I j..just don't like her.", I reply.

When the football team again passes us, Amelia suddenly jumps up from the bench and runs to the track, sprinting behind the footballers. Her short skirts only reach up to her thighs, showcasing her long beautiful legs. Her curly blond hair is flying in the air.

Ethan probably realized she is coming behind him that he scoots into the middle of his group. However Amelia soon catch up with the guys and jogs side by side with them, staring at Ethan. I can see her talking to the guy beside Ethan. Soon that guy pushes Ethan to her side. Taking the chance Amelia tries to cling on to him making me fist my hands in anger.

" These football guys are all side with Amelia. I heard she has hooked up with most of them.", Grace says irritably as Ethan now seems really uncomfortable, trying to move away from her. But she and the guys on three sides of him has literally sandwiched him between them and aren't letting him move. Amelia seems to be talking something to him. I feel so exasperated that I really feel like going and slapping that bitch away from Ethan.

Thank fully the coach then whistles causing the guys to stop running and look at him. He motions with his hands at Amelia to move away from the guys. I feel happy as she jogs away with a frustrated look on her face.

" Oh thank you coach..! ", Grace sighs in relief and glares at Amelia who barges out of the ground, furiously.

I and Grace gets up and runs two more laps and soon after that the sports players’ jogging also comes to an end.

" Basketball practice is more fun to watch. Do you wanna go to the Basketball court ?", Grace asks me as the footballers starts practicing dribbles after taking a short break. Basketballers and volleyball players had left. Between Ethan didn't come to me during the break. Probably he don't want to give his teammates suspicions.

" Yeah..let's go.", I nod.

Soon we get up from the bench and leave the ground after waving at Ethan. We reach the basketball court and sit down on the side steps, watching their practice. It isn't that fun. I think watching football practice is better. And my mind is still at the ground. What if Amelia again comes back and tries to talk to Ethan ?

I meet Ethan after an hour at 8 at the canteen. The four of us sit around a table to have breakfast together.

" What was she talking to you while jogging ?", Grace asks.

Ethan sighs. " She wants to be friends with me. "

" Only friends??", She asks.

"Hmm...she is now saying she only wants to become friends and I should let her join us.", he replies.

"No way ! What did you say ?", Gavin asks in surprise as well as exasperation.

"Of course, I said I can't.", Ethan replies.

" Why the hell didn't she get dismissal along with those jerks ?", Grace grunts. " And what about the other girl Sophia ? She hasn't come back yet."

" Heard she changed school.", Gavin replies.

During the rest of the breakfast, Gavin and Grace continues to talk about Amelia and how Ethan should be careful of her. Hearing her name itself makes me extremely furious. And I'm afraid she would do something. She is a real bitch who won't hesitate to do anything.