Forbidden Love

Chapter 5

The next day in school I wished Joe a happy birthday. He thanked me quickly then turned away to talk to someone else.

Throughout the whole day he avoided conversation with me and I noticed how lonely I felt without him.

"What's wrong?" I cornered him at the back of our maths class when we were assigned an exercise and had to share a textbook.

"Why would something be wrong? It's my birthday." He smiled at me like he hadn't been ignoring me all day and I almost believed him.

"Have I done something to offend you?" I leant over the text book as we spoke so no one would notice we were talking. I noticed he leant closer too.

"Of course not." He kept his eyes on the pages of the book.

"Is it about your party?" I felt like I was pulling teeth talking to him. I didn't know why I continued to push. He didn't seem annoyed or agitated with me just distant.

"No not really." He answered slowly and then suddenly his hand was on my knee under the table and he gave it a gentle squeeze and turned his head to look at me.

I didn't move at first, his hand stayed on my leg then I turned my head towards him slowly and I was looking straight into his eyes. His eyes that were neither blue or green but somewhere in between. I couldn't help myself I smiled at him. He inched slightly closer to me in his chair so that no one would be able to see his hand that sat on my leg under the table for the rest of the lesson.

"Come on," he said, "let's do these." He tapped the book and I forgot that he had been ignoring me all day and that I didn't get an answer out of him until I was walking home from the bus stop that afternoon.

"You kids not going to your youth centre?" Mum asked us when we didn't rush away after dinner like we had been all week, I think she liked to see that we had a place to be even if she didn't love who I hung out with.

"Not tonight." I answered giving no details.

"I would have thought Friday would be a big night, no?" Mum asked starting the dishes, "do they not put anything on?"

I didn't know the answer to this so just shrugged.

"I said I'd meet a friend so I'm going to head out." Ethan said standing up and not looking at me.

"Ok love, have fun." Mum said smiling at Ethan as if she wouldn't have asked me a thousand follow up questions.

"Who?" I spun in my chair to face him.

"None of your business." He tried to walk out but I blocked the kitchen door.

"Who Ethan?"

"Why do you care?" He stared me down. We both knew why I cared. Nearly everyone in our year at school was going to Joe's party. Everyone Ethan knew anyway. I didn't want any trouble for Joe.

"Please Ethan." I looked up at him with wide eyes hoping he'd take pity on me. I didn't know why I was bothering so much to try and protect Joe.

He just laughed, "go away Olivia."

"Be nice to your sister Ethan or you won't be going anywhere!" Dad said coming in from the front where he had been fixing a problem with his car.

"Bring me with you." I challenged.

"No." Ethan said quickly.

"Why not?"

"Can't I have one night going out without my sister tagging along?"

"Ethan!" Dad said from where he sat at the table now with a beer.

"Well it's true."

I ignored him I knew he didn't mind that much he just wanted out without me, "who are you going out with?"