Let's Get Ethan ✔

Chapter 6

"I used to go to school with her. It was my senior year, and she just showed up," Ethan told them. He remembered that significant day when Linda broke up with him. How he wished he could take it back. After he freaked out about his girlfriend breaking up with him, someone else found out, and they obviously told Stephanie. Being the uncaring bully she was, she used this to her advantage.

"Well, I suppose I can admit this now. I was asked out by someone who I thought was nice, but she was also part of Stephanie's group. I realized this was a mistake when I was stood up. I got a text saying: 'You've been pranked, don't be a sore loser though. Maybe next time!'" Ethan stared at his audience again still confused as to why they weren't laughing. "My girlfriend of two years had just broken up with me, and Stephanie, and I know it was Stephanie, because she was the clear leader of that group had found that out. She wanted to make sure if I wasn't already sad for wasting my time with Linda I was going to get stood up in the same week."

The night crawled to a stop as soon as Ethan had admitted this. His friends looked at him with faces of concern. They were quiet at first but then and all they could do was apologize. Ethan tried to bring up the conversation with saying something light.

"Suppose you could say my girlfriend breaking up with me was the highlight of my senior year."

They all laughed politely. Olivia tried to make him feel better, "You know I've had trash roommates bring all kinds of sleazy guys around in boarding school, so I can understand, Ethan."

"Wow that stinks Olivia. Have you had much luck with roommates here?" Ethan asked feeling sorry for the girl.

"Well, my first roommate was actually great, we lived together in the dorms for the first two years, then I met these guys," she motioned toward her friends, "and we all planned to move in together and when that happened, it was pretty great."

The close-knit group made Ethan feel comfortable, they talked as if they were best friends from high school or something. The feeling of closeness between each of them amazed Ethan, as he had never had such tight a bond with his friends. In high school, he dated Linda, he hung out with his sisters, and he hung out with the people he was in clubs or sports with, like track and field or chess club, but he never managed to have friends he could be honest with. Close friends he figured weren't his "thing" because every friendship he had in high school felt disingenuous. The four had stopped drinking in order to sober up for the walk home. They decided on walking, as opposed to taking their car back to their house, for obvious reasons.

"Hey guys, you know what would be fun, we should show Ethan the camping trails!" James said as if it were a ceremony.

"Uh, you do realize all of us are drunk, tired, and it's like midnight, right?" Aaron said realistically.

"Well, if you can think about that many reasons for not going, who's to say we're that drunk? Huh?" James made the obtuse assumption.

"I say," Olivia said suddenly slipping down the couch unto the floor. The movement startled the group. Her skirt rose showing a bit too much skin. Ethan tore his eyes away before he was caught staring.

"Ethan, what do you think, huh? Late night adventure into the woods? This party is so lame, let's go!" James said excitedly. The thought of going into the woods for a hike at midnight drunk was very stupid, incredibly dangerous, and sounded so fun.

"I'm in," Ethan said gathering himself off of the couch. Everyone cheered and whooped, except Aaron. It was a strange turn of events, but now, this party was going into the woods.

They got up and headed out the door, past some girl puking in the fireplace, and unto the dark streets. The moon hung lowly over the sky and the crickets chirped passionately in the humid night air. The feeling was of invincibility that night, the woods calling to them like a siren's song. They walked up the hill toward the forest ahead.