august; ethan edwards

chapter iv. breaking and entering

Ethan Edwards has no idea why his skin began to crawl at the thought of Spencer and Rutger being alone together for all hours of the early morning. He couldn't describe the horrible feeling he felt in his stomach upon seeing Rutger's story or the spike in anger. He had no right to be angry, let alone angry at Spencer.

His best friends little sister.

Walking into the library located on campus, his eyes searched the crowded area for a place to sit. Hockey practices and maintaining a social life had left him behind on all his school work, and if he continued down this road, he wouldn't be allowed to play. And with the first match of the season coming up, he knew he had to step up his game.

But it was borderline impossible for the boy to get anything done at his own house. The Soph house was always filled with people who didn't live there. And then there was the additional chaos of Luke blasting music, Duke and Mackie arguing over Mario Kart and Mark just nagging everyone to do something. The library seemed like the safest option if he actually wanted to get something done.

However, his search for an empty table was cut short when he noticed a familiar brunette, dressed in her usual baggy clothing, asleep on a desk. Papers surrounded her, along with her open laptop and the wires of her headphones. Walking over, the boy took a seat across from her.

Taking the headphones from her ears, Ethan spoke. "I'm pretty sure you're meant to study in here."

Spencer groaned slightly as she was awoken from her slumber, something her brain had decided to catch up on in the middle of a public library. Her eyes searched her surroundings before landing on the boy in front of her, jumping slightly at the sight of the company that wasn't there when she fell asleep twenty minutes ago. "Really? I was unaware."

Ethan scoffed at her sarcasm, shifting his chair to sit directly next to her and read over her papers, "whatcha working on?"

"I was working on psychology, but I got tired." Spencer explained before placing her head back on the table, planning on falling back asleep as the library seemed to be the only place she could do so recently. Ethan hummed in response, grabbing her bag off the floor and placing everything back in it carefully. The girl didn't even move.

When he was sure he got everything, he zipped the bag back up and slung it around his shoulders. Tapping Spencer on the shoulder, the girl raised her head again, eyebrows furrowed at the lack of her belongings on the table. "What are you doing?"

"Walking you back to your dorm." Ethan stated as if it were obvious. "No, I need to study." Spencer shot back, her arm tugging at her bag strap, but the hockey player didn't falter. Instead, he simply rolled his eyes before grabbing her hand and forcing her out of her seat.

"I can walk, you know that right?" Spencer asked the Edwards boy as he continued to drag her out of the library by her hand, weaving them both through the small collection of people that roamed campus. Ethan didn't respond, as he still held the girls hand tightly. Spencer, despite her subtle complaints, could have stayed in his hood for the rest of her life if allowed. And her mood dampened when they reached the freshmen dorms.

Ethan only dropped her hand when they finally reached the front door of her shared dorm. The girl searched the pockets of the bag that was still slung over Ethan's shoulder for her key, and when she finally found it, he handed her bag back to her.

"Get some sleep." Ethan teased, tugging at a strand of hair on her head. It seemed to be his thing, this proven by the fact that he had to do it at least once every time he saw her. If it were anyone else, Spencer would slap them. But Ethan wasn't anyone else, he was him.

"If you insist." Spencer yawned, unlocking her front door, turning to Ethan before she disappeared behind the hardwood. "Thank you, Ethan."

"Anytime, Spence."