Dear DoubleO

Stress and Stress

The comfy atmosphere of 'Stresses Sweet Sundaes' was usually great for calming one's nerves. Today, however, it did not keep that feeling very long.

"Etho wrote WHAT?" Stress shouted at Iskall, despite being only a foot away from him.

"I know! I was shocked too! " Iskall remarked, Spooning mint chocolate chip banana split into his mouth. Stress looked both shocked and excited.

"Details Iskall! Details!" He chuckled and pushed his sundae aside.

"Well, Doc was supposed to turn in Etho's english assignment and he accidentally turned in the note instead."

"Poor Etho! I hope Doc got the correct one turned in now..."

"Don't worry, he found the paper. It had fallen off the Etho's desk or something."

"Well that's a relief!" Stress sighed, "Well now what are you gonna do with the letter? What are you gonna tell Etho?"

"We're not." There was a pause from both parties before Stress spoke up.

"Luv, you can't just pretend you didn't find it. Etho's gonna find out eventually..." Iskall frowned and looked away guiltily.

"I know. But the dude's been omega stressed lately. I don't want to put that pressure on him. And besides, if we don't tell him we saw it... maybe we can secretly set him up with Bdubs?" Stress's eyes grew wide.

"Iskall!"

"Wait! Before you get all worried, consider the fact that Etho has never outwardly shown interest in anyone before! AND did you SEE Bdubs at Etho's birthday party?!?! DEFINITELY flirting!" Stress looked skeptical as she contemplated the idea.

"Do we even know if the note was truly a love letter, Iskall? You sure you're not reading into it too much like you did with Ren and Doc?"

"A, it literally said I love you to Bdubs in the letter. And B, I didn't read too far into Doc and Ren! They TOTALLY like each other." Iskall pouted as Stress rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'm in." Iskall stared at her confused.

"On wha..."

"On setting Etho and Bdubs up. You'd do it without me so I might as well help so you don't end up ruining everything." Iskall grinned like a little kid and hugged Stress.

"Thank you thank you thank you times a bajillion! " Stress smiled and hugged back.

"On one condition..." At that Iskall pulled away, worried at what Stress might say.

"You have to at some point tell both Etho and Bdubs about the note. It's not fair to keep it a secret from either of them. Not now that you've told me." Iskall nodded.

"Can it be after they get together?" Stress shook her head.

"Bdubs maybe, but the note is Etho's property. It's not right to keep it from him."

"Fine. We'll tell him when he gets back from his trip. And hey, maybe the letter could be used to help get the two together?" Stress seemed satisfied at that answer.

"Perfect. Be careful though! I don't want anyone's feelings being hurt ya hear?"

"Of course Stress. I'll keep in touch about the whole situation. Thanks for the Icecream! And thanks for your help!" Stress smiled as Iskall headed out the door.

"Hey! Flip the sign back to 'OPEN' for me!" Iskall paused, flipped the sign on the door, and went on his way, leaving Stress shaking her head and chuckling behind the counter.

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Bdubs was annoyed. More annoyed at school than usual at least. It was 5th period which happened to be art class. It's not that Bdubs hated art, he just preferred to actually craft and build things over sketching them. Bdubs wanted to be a landscaper or an architect, which meant he disliked art more today because they were working on portraits. Faces were NOT his strong suit. And what he disliked most about art today was the fact that Etho wasn't there to crack jokes or give him tips on how the heck to draw faces.

Bdubs erased the nose for the fifth time. He hadn't even got to the important details yet because the nose just wasn't right! His perfectionist brain cursed him for not being able to draw the face correctly. Annoyed, Bdubs scribbled all over the start of the sketch and threw the paper away, drawing a bit of attention to himself. He shrugged it off and grabbed a new, blank sheet of paper.

What would Etho do? Bdubs let the question sit in his head for a moment, swirling around all his thoughts. Etho's probably working on some great drawing right now. Bdubs thought about Etho and how he drew, remembering a specific conversation the two had had at the beginning of the semester:

"Having troubles there?" "Shut up Etho! I'm doing great" "Yeah, great at drawing a polar bear in a snowstorm! Let me show you the Etho patented method, it helps loads with art block." "Fine. Go ahead Mr. show off." "Gladly." Etho started sketching an elbow. "If you start somewhere random, you can build the character around it. It gives your characters a better personality and it gives you a less boring and repetitive way to start!"

Bdubs smiled. It was an odd trick that Etho had shown him, but it proved true. Bdubs put his pencil to the blank paper and started drawing an ear first. From there he drew the rest of the face. It wasn't the best thing ever, but it was better than it was. Gosh darn you Etho. Why do you always have to be right? Bdubs kept working, adding line art and color. By the end of class he had a finished piece. Bdubs snapped a quick picture of his artwork and sent it to Etho with a little message of: 'The Etho method never fails :)'. Before putting his phone away, Bdubs sent Etho one more quick message: 'Miss you.' He blushed and shoved his phone in his pocket. Had he really just sent that to Etho?!?!

The bell rang, snapping Bdubs out of his thoughts. He grabbed his backpack and rushed out the door, trying to rid himself of the red tint on his cheeks. As he exited the doors of the school, Bdubs felt his phone buzz.

*EthoSlab sent a photo*

Bdubs opened the notification. It was a selfie of Etho on the beach, sunset behind him. The last sun rays of the day illuminated his face perfectly. The waves reflected in his gorgeous eyes. His hair was slightly messy and wet. Bdubs smiled, the blush returning to his face. Then he noticed the caption: Miss you more ;)

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Double POV?!?! Who even am I anymore?!?!?O.o Hey guys! How are y'all? Sorry for the delay on this chapter I been working on the other stuff.

Quick little easter egg: Etho draws sporadically because that's how he builds in minecraft.

QOTC: If Etho had a signature art pun he'd use in class, what would it be?

Love y'all! Have a nice day!