Teenage love

Chapter 2: Report

Chapter 2

Abbi

During the following week, I try to avoid Ethan altogether, but it is a little difficult considering that we have almost all our classes together. I don't know what happens to me nowadays. I told Wendy what happened during chemistry class last week and she just looked at me and said; "Yeah well, it's called chemistry class." Whatever that means, and she refused to explain herself further.

"Ethan!" I hear someone shout, not far behind me. I turn around to see Ethan, who is probably headed to his locker, stop and turn around to see my other best friend, Sky Willis, walking towards him. Sky puts his arm around Ethan’s neck and they bend down when they wrestle a little and childish. However, their feet never leave the floor where they stand steady as rocks.

Ethan laughs when they release each other. Sky as well. If they had wrestled for real, Ethan would've won. He is a member of the school's wrestling team and he is the best, he wins over everyone, but it's not so strange considering how strong he must be after all the years he must have carried large and heavy sacks of flour and heavy plates of bread, after all, he is the baker's son.

Ethan turns his head towards me and I immediately start looking into my locker like I have something very interesting in there. I don't have time to get a look at Ethan's face so luckily I don't blush.

I pray and hope that they have walked away from there when I close the locker after taking out my chemistry book.

It is now a week since Ethan and I became partners in chemistry, oh Mr. Snow must really hate me for doing that to me.

“Wendy," I shout when I see a girl with long, blond hair set up with a light blue silk ribbon.

She is standing with her back against me but turns around when she hears me call her name.

"Hey Abbi," she says when I come up to her.

"What did you do all weekend?" I ask angrily. "I couldn't reach you."

"I know, I'm really sorry Abbi”, Wendy says and looks sincerely sad. "But I wanted to see how it went, just the two of us, if he could be the one for me, you know."

I know she's talking about a guy. So she must have spent the weekend with a guy. She’s always with a new guy, she has got to chill out. We start walking towards chemistry.

"Who is it this time?"

"Sim," she mumbles inaudibly.

"Who?" I ask confused.

"Simon," she mumbles a little louder.

"What?” I ask. "Are you serious right now, Simon?"

Wendy and Simon became lab partners in chem and now they’re hooking up? Jesus.

"Sshh," she hisses. "Well I started to like him, you know he was very sweet to me during chemistry class last week."

"Well you do what you want," I say. "I guess I'm happy for you."

"Aww, Abbi," she says sweetly. "But we need to find you a guy, you know."

"Why? We most certainly don't need to find me a guy," I protest. "You can date Simon how much you want, but don't try to pair me up again, remember when you paired me up with Mark? That ended up very well don't you think?”

"But he seemed so kind and sweet in the beginning, I didn't know he would do that to you, Abigail," Wendy says wounded.

"Then you don't know the next guy either," I say. "But it's okay, I'm not mad at you for what happened with Mark, he was kind and sweet at first, until ..."

"I know Abbi," she says as she puts an arm around me.

But as we arrive at the classroom, she is pulled away from me by Simon who comes forward and kisses her raw on the lips.

I find no interest to stand by and watch that, so I walk into the classroom and sit down. Wendy and Simon enter the classroom hand in hand which causes everyone in the classroom to begin whispering.

"When did that happen?" I hear a surprised classmate say.

I sit and stare dreamily out the door. I don't want to sit in here. I want to be outside, it's sunny and warm, who was to be sitting in a boring classroom? I see from the corner of my eye that someone I recognize walks through the doorway. Ethan.

I am truly shocked when I see him. What has he done? He has a big bruise on his face. But his face still looks absolutely perfect. He sits next to me without a word. Usually, he's cheerful, but now he's not.

"Ethan, what have you done to your face?" I ask without being able to stop myself.

Oh how I want to make myself hurt right now, maybe that wasn't appropriate to ask.

But to my surprise, he smiles innocently.

"I just stumbled in the stairs at home yesterday," he laughs low. "How clumsy of me, I know, Sky has already gone on and on about it for a long time now."

"Oh that must have hurt," I say, and curse myself for the silly giggle that comes out of my throat.

”It looks worse than it is, really," he assures me.

Mr. Snow walks into the classroom and starts the lesson.

We work quickly and efficiently during the lesson and are the first to be done with the experiment.

"We're done," I say to our teacher.

"Oops, that was fast", he says and looks at what we've done. "Okay, but you have to write a detailed report on how you did it, and what happens when you mix these things and why, you have to write it together and hand it in during the next class, let's see now ... Friday? Yep, Friday you'll hand it to me".

Oh no, that means I have to go home to him or he has to come home to me.

When the bell rings, I gather up my things and walk out of the classroom. I stand outside, waiting for Wendy, but Ethan gets to me before her. He stands in front of me with a dazzling smile.

"Do you want to write it today so we don't forget it during the rest of the week?" He asks me kindly.

Do I? I don't know...

"Okay," I say without thinking. "But can we be at your house?"

I really don't want him to come home to me, where my mother and stepfather are.

"Sure, I'm home alone," he says. "You don't have a car, right?"

I shake my head, slightly embarrassed.

"Okay you can meet me by the entrance at the end of the day," he says and then Sky joins us.

"Hello to you Abigail," he says with a comic voice.

I laugh.

"Hello Skyward", I say.

Sky and I used to play every day when we were kids, we were best friends, then Wendy moved to town, and the three of us began to hang out, but as Ethan moved here when we were in middle school, he and Sky started to hang out. We met Grace when we started at High School.

There has always been something with Ethan that has interested me, but I've never felt like this, I don't know how to explain it, so I don't care much about it.

"How are you today?" Sky asks me.

He seems unusually happy today.

"Cut the crap! What's up Sky?" I ask suspiciously.

"Grace and I are now together," he explodes with the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face.

"Sky!” I shout and jump on him with my arms around his neck. "Congratulations."

"Thank you Abbi, but I have to show Ethan something now, something... Manly," he says as I stop hugging him. "So goodbye."

"Bye pig," I say.

I see Ethan give Sky a look I can't decipher before he starts talking upset with him.

Wendy comes out with Simon.

"Bye, Simon," I say.

"What?” He asks.

"I said bye Simon," I say. "I want to talk to Wendy alone."

"Okay, okay," he says gruffly.

But before he leaves, he gives Wendy a rough kiss. I stand patiently and wait.

When they are finished I drag Wendy with me without a word to Simon.

"Abbi, calm down," Wendy says and I stop. "What's up?"

"I'm going home to Ethan today," I say breathlessly.

"Olala Abbi," she says, grinning wide.

I roll my eyes.

"You're not very helpful," I sputter and leave her.

After my last class, which I don't have with either Wendy, Grace, Ethan, or Sky, I walk outside the school and stand right outside the entrance doors. It's hot and muggy outside.

"And what are you waiting for?"

I recognize that voice. Tiffany. The school slut who thinks she owns the entire school. She also used to be my best friend once upon a time.

"Why do you care?" I ask.

"Oh I don't, but it seems pretty pathetic to stand there and think that you are waiting for someone," she giggles mean.

Don't show her that she is hurting you Abigail, I say sternly to myself.

"What if I am waiting for someone?” I ask with a hard. Tiffany starts laughing with her gang. "I am waiting for someone," I say hostility.

"Well yeah sure, and for who if I may ask?" She mocks. "Little mother perhaps? Is she finally coming out of her bed?"

My eyes widen. I know she's mean, but I never thought she could sink that low. She promised me she would never bring that up. Didn't our friendship mean anything at all to her? How could she say that?

"Nope for me," I hear a harsh voice behind me say.

I turn around and am really relieved when I see Ethan come walking towards me. He stands next to me. I don't know if he heard what Tiffany said right before he came.

"You can't be serious, Ethan darling?"

"Who gave you permission to call me 'darling'?" He snorts at Tiffany. "Come on Abbi."

He grabs my arm and pulls me towards the parking lot. I become warm from head to toe by his hand. Why is that? What is with me lately? Ethan is clearly annoyed right now, I don't knowing though since he shouldn't care about what Tiffany says to me. He takes out his car keys from his jeans pocket and unlocks a car with a 'click', we sit down in his midnight blue car and he backs out and drives away from the school.

"Don't care about what she says Abbi," Ethan says to me without taking his eyes from the road.

"I don't," I say, but I'm lying after all only to myself.

"Lies," he says. "You do care". I stare at him. How in the world did he know? “You continued to argue against what Tiffany said to you and it means that you do care," Ethan continues.

He's right. I know he's right, if I hadn't cared I wouldn't have given her the pleasure of showing it.

"Yeah but it's hard," I say.

"I know," he says.

"No, you don't" I sigh. "Tiffany and I were best friends when we were kids, but she left me to become popular, that's when I became friends with Sky."

Ethan doesn't look surprised. He looks guilty.

"Ethan?" I say suspiciously. "How did you know about that?”

"Sky told me," he mumbles and turns red in his adorable face.

Of course, he did. Sky had no right to tell Ethan that. But it doesn't really matter anymore.

"Good to know that I can't trust him", I sigh.

"You can trust him," Ethan says fast. "He just wanted someone to talk to about it, he was worried about you, you know, and you can trust me too, he didn't know what to do and just had to talk to someone".

Yeah, we'll see about that, I think sarcastically.

Ethan lives quite well. Close to his family's café, the sea and the beach, and the meadow.

I live near the meadow too, but not as close to the beach. Just as he said, no one’s home when we arrive.

"Where is your family?" I ask Ethan while he shows me to the kitchen.

"My father is in the café and my brothers are in college," Ethan answers. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Just water, please," I say.

He opens the fridge and pulls out two bottles of water.

"Come on, we can be in the living room," he says and starts walking.

"Where is your mother?" I ask as he leads me to the living room.

"Probably with my father”.

There's something about his voice. I can't put my finger on what it is, but it's something.

Ethan takes out his laptop and places it on the coffee table.

We start to write the report, and when we get halfway, someone is calling Ethan's home phone.

He goes to answer the phone.

"Scott House, Ethan Scott speaking," he says politely. "Oh hi, mom".

His voice is changing again and I'm sitting here on the couch and can't help but to eavesdrop. I hate myself for it.

"Abbi is here ... a classmate ... yes we are writing a report ... no but ... yeah but ... mom ... okay bye", he hangs up and comes back into the living room.

I stare at the computer screen as if I never left it with my eyes, maybe it seems like I think it will run away or something.

"Shall we continue?" He asks and seems a little out of sorts.

"We can take a break if you want," I say, and watch while he sits on the floor beside my legs underneath the couch.

I immediately understand that it wasn't where he was supposed to sit from the beginning, I think he was aiming for the couch, but he doesn't move, he starts writing the report.

"No, we can continue," he says sweetly.

"Ethan, we can take a break, we don't have to get it done in less than half an hour," I say.

He looks up at me.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yes," I smile.

It's the first time I smile at him. Ever. I've laughed around him. But it's not the same as smiling, because I haven't laughed with happiness or joy. I rarely smile at someone. He smiles back.

"As you wish," he says and sounds like himself again.

He takes his water bottle and take a sip.

"Do you have any siblings?" Ethan asks me.

I'm surprised by the sudden question, but I answer.

"Yes, a little brother, his name is Brandon," I say. "He's in middle school."

"Does he look like you?"

"No, he looks like our mom, I look like our father."

"Your father? I've seen him pick you up and drop you off from school sometimes, I don't think that you are alike at all actually”, Ethan says. "I'm sorry if I said something stupid." He quickly adds.

I now have tears in my eyes, but I don't cry, and I won't either, not in front of Ethan.

"No, I know, he's my stepfather Buck," I say. "My father died when I was little."

"Oh, Abbi forgive me," Ethan says and puts a hand on the back of my hand. "I didn't know, maybe you can trust Sky, after all, he didn't tell me that."

I laugh. He may be right. But I'm concentrating on his hand. So big, warm, and soft. Now my stomach begins again, what is it with me? I keep on getting sick or something. Anyway, I decide to ask Ethan some questions now.

"Do you not like your mother?" I ask carefully.

Ethan drops his water bottle. Fortunately, he had just put on the lid. He takes away his hand and stares down at the floor. I ask this because I found out what it is with his voice when talking about and with his mother. He is bitter in his voice.

"What?" He asks.

"Sorry, you don't have to answer," I say quickly and regret that I asked. "No, forget I asked".

Ethan sighs. "No it's okay, it's not that I don't like her, she's my mother and I love her," he says nervously. "But when she becomes angry... she can be a little ... a little violent."

Violent? Does she beat him? I think about it. Is that where his bruise on his cheek came from?

"She ... she beats you?" I ask quietly.

Ethan sighs and nods.

"Me and my brothers when she becomes angry, she's pretty short-tempered, that's why they chose colleges so far from home," he replies. "Not that they've said it out loud, but I know it is."

"Ethan... your cheek," I say. "You made me believe that you stumbled in the stairs, I laughed at it, and now I few horrible."

I do feel horrible. He must have thought I was a horrible person when I laughed. I'm so ashamed of myself right now.

"I lied on purpose," Ethan says. "You didn't know, everyone laughs if someone does something clumsy”.

"But you didn't do something clumsy," I say. "That's the point."

"I know, but hey, it doesn't matter," Ethan laughs nonchalantly. "I'm used to it and like I said, it's only when she loses her temper”.

"You shouldn't be used to it though”, I say.

And then I do something that I really wouldn't have dared if I wasn't feeling so bad about Ethan. I lift my hand and move it towards Ethan’s cheek and caress it. He closes his eyes and for a moment so do I. There is definitely something in the air around us.