Let's Get Ethan ✔

Chapter 38

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up," James teased craning his neck back to look sideways at Ethan from the couch. Aaron sat beside him looking at a textbook.

Olivia had probably deserted them and gone to her room. Aaron looked over his shoulder to smile and wave. Perpetually in a state of indifference the guy had his nose in the textbook immediately after. Ethan walked over to the shaggy couch and opted to sit on a nice vacant armchair in the corner. Bending inward toward the two, Ethan asked, "What's up?"

"Nothing much, what's up with you coming home at eleven on a school night?"

Aaron sounded like his mother with that line.

"For shame," James added, his eyes cold with disappointment and his lips in a childlike frown.

"Look guys, I just had an Improv show, no other reason, also it's only eleven," Ethan needlessly defended himself. When did he suddenly gain an extra set of parents? That doesn't just happen when you go off to college, does it? The second you leave the nest a couple of crows with bad haircuts kidnap you and suddenly you're a kid again with bedtimes and curfews?

"Oh, no way. And you didn't even invite us?" Aaron said perfectly on cue. Ethan knew his friends would be disappointed with his lack of mentioning the show, he was sure they'd get a kick out of seeing him attempt to "act." But he certainly wasn't inviting those two to watch him, maybe Olivia, but even then, how was he supposed to be all loose and casual on stage when the girl made him feel like he was going to keel over.

Love was strange, chaotic, unpredictable, and completely uncontrollable.

"Well, if you don't invite us to the next show, we won't make you pancakes anymore," James stated.

"Uh, James, you hate cooking, you never make them anyway. You're wide awake in the morning whenever 'Pancake Day' comes because you don't want to make them," Ethan brought attention to the one fatal flaw in James' plan.

"Yeah, okay, I'll be the one cooking you pancakes then, not Aaron or Olivia," James threatened. Ethan knew that he was just kidding, but the idea of James cooking anything other than toast was not a comforting one.

Ethan just shook his head before staring at the mind-numbing television show, he barely had a chance to chill out his heart before it was all revved up again with the opening of a bedroom door.

"Hey, Ethan!" Olivia called.

Oh right, how silly of him thinking he would be able to get a break from the excitement of the evening when he lived with the one the only . . .

"Olivia!" he greeted in mock enthusiasm. He wanted to put his face in his hands and scream. He also wanted to kick himself for not leaving the show with enough energy to be funny, charming, attentive, or awake enough to make Olivia notice him as more than a friend.

Olivia wore a ribbed white cotton blouse with army green leggings and had twisted her hair into a bun. Wearing some comfy red and green Christmas socks about a month after Christmas. Decked out in her finest evening wear she sat on the floor opposite the guys and Ethan. She wiggled her toes and looked at everyone expectantly.

"What's everyone discussing?" she asked putting on a look of curiosity. Although she probably had heard the entire conversation through the skinny walls between her room and the living room, it was only polite to pretend like she didn't.

"I just got back from an Improv show," Ethan notified her. She gave him a wild smile. He noticed her brown eyes lift in wonder, the little wrinkles of her smile at the corners of her mouth still permanent after her wide grin.

"Oh, Ethan, that's great," she said trying to contain herself. She looked like she was about to burst out in lyrical medleys and Ethan was both overjoyed she was so happy about him being in a show. It was very endearing.

"Yeah, and I'm making Ethan all kinds of pancakes now," James interrupted.

"Ethan, what did you do to deserve that?" Olivia asked in fake shock.

"Well, he didn't tell us he was going to be in a show!" James groused, "right, Aaron?"

"Absolutely, James."

"Darn it, now we get James cooking, what's next? Aaron doing the dishes?"

"Olivia," Aaron said in a wavering tone, warning the girl she had overstepped her bounds. "I totally do my dishes; I just use paper plates and eat a lot of takeout."

"Explain 'the pile' finals week and then I'll cut you some slack," Olivia stated.

Aaron opened his mouth thinking before smiling, "And what are you going to do about it?" Aaron asked playing the game.

"I'll make James make your dinners?" she questioned James whilst threatening Aaron.

"First, Ethan, now Aaron, I'm flattered you obviously all want me to cook for you, but I retire guys," James said shaking his head.

Ethan smiled as she kept chatting, wondering why in the world he would ever think that she was ever "just a friend" to him.

Liking someone is a funny thing; you can misread them; they can be completely wrong about something. They can make so many mistakes, you never even notice it. Not for one second do you think she stuttered, or she doesn't make sense, even if she did and she doesn't. It was probably not a good thing to think like that, she could tell him anything and he'd consider it, but that was the way he felt.

After making a good show of her grievances, Olivia headed back to her room giving everyone a lingering glance.

When she noticed Ethan still staring at her when no one else was looking she looked surprised and waved him over. Ethan shook his head confused as to why she wasn't talking. Then he understood why she had her finger to her lips; they were about to discuss something.

"Hey, I'm just going to head out for a bit, got too hot under the stage lights," Ethan said excusing himself like he was some sort of undercover cop. Though the excuse was legitimate, he was, in fact, hot from the stage lights, and for other reasons too, there was a more personal reason why his face was burning, and his heart was skipping beat after beat.

Ethan never really lied all that much, when he did, he just came up with believable and true excuses when he was trying to save face for himself or someone else. Lying was for people who could get away with that sort of thing, they were much cleverer than him. Although getting yourself into situations where you had to lie was probably a bad thing too, one was not very clever if they needed to think of a bunch of lies anyhow. Then there were compulsive liars which just sounded like they'd be a headache to deal with.

"Yeah, you can run, Ethan, but you can't hide," James warned.

"I'll just be on the porch, guys, no need to hunt me down."

Although James was probably kidding Ethan had his guard up, one wrong move and he and Olivia would be interrupted.

Ethan looked at her short sleeves and paused for a second, James and Aaron couldn't see them, so he put up his pointer finger signaling her to wait a second. She was already down the steps and put her hands on her hips, waiting, quite impatiently. She was nearly out the front door when Ethan returned with a sweatshirt for her, she nodded with a smile and whispered, "thank you" before she tried it on for size, she zipped it up over her shirt and she was ready to head out into the cold. It hung down lowly on her shoulders and body, his torso was a lot longer than hers, so it looked more like a dress on Olivia than a sweatshirt. Ethan trailed behind. Out on the porch, with the door closed, they were left in darkness.