Ethan's POV (Bonus Book)

Chapter Fourteen - Ethan's POV

All I could do was stare on in horror as whistles and cheers broke out from all around me. This had to be a nightmare or some kind of sick joke. There's no way Ben was about to kiss Mia.

But despite all my racing thoughts, Ben only moved closer, and the space between them only grew smaller.

The cheers all around us grew louder the closer they became, and all I could seem to do was watch, frozen in time. I vaguely caught a few eyes from the circle nudge each other and smirk my way as though waiting for a reaction. 

Soon enough, I felt Lucas lean closer and tug lightly at my elbow in indication for us to get up. "Come on man, let's go upstairs. We don't have to watch this, okay," he whispered gently.

Ignoring him, I shrugged his arm off and kept my eyes fixated on Mia's. She was sat as rigid as a board and watched on with widened eyes as Ben drew closer.

It was only as he came to a kneeling stop in front of her that I felt the most painful stab twist throughout my stomach. It was a sickening mixture of fear, hurt, and above all anger.

I felt a more firm grip on my elbow. "Ethan, come on, let's go," Lucas said, slightly louder this time.

His words seemed to echo off into the distance into nothing. Soon, all I could hear was my pounding heart as frustration ate me alive. I felt my hands curl inward, and my nails pinched into the skin of my palm almost painfully.

Ben gave her one of his soft fuck-boy smiles, and that sickening feeling of anger ripped through me with ten times more force. How dare he waltz up to her without a word to check she was alright. How dare he think he was even worthy of her.

 In what felt like slow-motion, he reached out and cupped her cheek, and the hurt of that action solidified to me one thing: Lucas was absolutely right. 

There was no fucking way in hell I could watch this.

"Ethan, come on," I heard Lucas whisper again. 

In defeat, I nodded my head, but just as I was about to get up, I noticed Mia close her eyes, and Ben lean in for the kill. 

And that horrifying sight was all it took for something dark in me to turn.

 I don't remember standing up or taking my first step or my second, but then suddenly, I was halfway across the circle. All I saw was red-as I locked eyes on Ben. Without even second-guessing myself, I ripped him back by the hood of his jacket and shoved him roughly to the floor.

 He groaned upon impacting the ground, his body thumping against the ground like a sack of bricks. The whole room went deathly silent, and I didn't even need to look to know all eyes were digging into me. 

With a tightened jaw, I watched as Ben scrambled hastily to his elbows to look up at me in shock. A brief flash of guilt clenched at my heart as I saw how defenseless he looked. 

How strangely similar he looked to that red-haired bully I'd beaten up in the playground all those years ago.

Then, sharply an image of Ben gently cupping Mia's face washed through my mind, and like that, all softened feelings vanished.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" I hissed, the words leaving my mouth in a bitter laugh. "Don't you ever touch her!"

Barbie-boy has the cheek to furrow his eyebrows. "Jesus Christ, it's just a dare. You need to chill the fuck out dude."

This seemed to make me ten times angrier, and before I could stop myself, I let out a rude scoff.

 "I don't give a shit if it was a dare. You don't touch her like that. Ever," I spat out in between gritted teeth.