Let's Get Ethan ✔

Chapter 22

"Hey, we have to talk, now," Lincoln said forcefully, his face dead of emotion. Ethan shut the door and dropped his bag next to his poorly made bed.

"About what?" Ethan asked, wondering if Lincoln knew he was talking to Stephanie.

"About the whole privacy thing," Lincoln said. Clearly trying to get Ethan's attention, he got up from his bed and started walking toward him. Caught off guard by Lincoln's movements, Ethan backed up a bit, unsure if he was going to fall backwards onto his bed, he reached back and felt for his mattress, balancing himself between Lincoln and his bed. He stood up straighter trying to gain as much authority as possible, but still as Lincoln came closer, invading his side of the room, the air became increasingly more tense. It was like steel bars dropped down from the ceiling. All that he could hear between Lincoln's commanding voice was his own pulse.

"What about it?" Ethan asked concerned that Lincoln was going to try something.

"I mean, no offense, but you kind of need to knock then wait," Lincoln said, "you can't just barge in, and I think we need a schedule."

"A schedule?" Ethan was confused at this point, but also kind of relieved it wasn't going further into Stephanie territory.

"Well, yeah, you can only be in the room sometimes and I can only be in the room sometimes. It's fair that way," Lincoln said this thinking it was obvious what he meant. All this meant to Ethan was more restrictions and more complexities. Besides Ethan was sure Lincoln and his games were anything but "fair."

"Or, I have a better idea, you can bring your girlfriend someplace else?"

"You sure do have a problem with my girlfriend don't you, Tall guy."

This wasn't going the way Ethan had hoped at all. A simple "I won't have sex in the dorm" would have shut things down quick, if only Lincoln agreed, but Lincoln was a fighter. Ethan however didn't like the idea of not being able to spend the night in his own dorm, and he wasn't going to tolerate Lincoln controlling his sleep schedule. If he had a full schedule the next day, he needed to sleep. Simple as that.

"Look, I don't want to talk about Stephanie right now, that's in high school, whatever. Just do what you want and text me if she's over, just, I need a place to sleep. I don't have rides everywhere and I can't always stay at a friend's so, no, we are not doing a schedule. Just let me know okay?"

"We are doing what I say, I don't compromise," Lincoln seethed. His tone more menacing that time. It took Ethan a couple of seconds to realize Lincoln wasn't in the right headspace. There was a long silence, it was eerie, like one of them talking could lead to an explosion.

"I think we should talk about this with Darrin," Ethan responded, their RA would probably act as a good cushion between Lincoln and Ethan if things were to get ugly.

"Yeah, RAs don't do shit. You should've seen the stuff my boys and I got up to in the dorms Freshman year."

"Okay, I can't agree to this though you'll have to find some way to compromise—" Before Ethan could finish that thought, he was greeted to the sudden vision of only Lincoln, they were practically nose to nose. Ethan couldn't look left or right.

"Get out!" Lincoln yelled.

Ethan, not having any more patience, and nearly shitting himself, left the room. Angrily he stormed to the lobby feeling like he had nowhere left to turn. Look for a bright side he kept telling himself, but he saw none. He had been bullied out of his own room. He felt ashamed for being weaker than Lincoln; he was the nerd, the underdog, the last kid standing in the dodgeball lineup, he was the nobody.