Fragile Threads [boyxboy]

Chapter 6

Ethan stared down grimly at the score on his math test. How had that happened? He’d felt like he’d known it all going in—but the low score glaring up at him said otherwise. Just one test, Ethan told himself, stroking a shaking hand through his hair. No big deal, not the end of the world.

But what if it was the first of many to come? Ethan kept dwelling on it, his eyes stinging with the disappointment. He sucked in a deep breath to try and calm himself down. Jeez, where was all of this coming from anyways? He’d always cared about his grades, but not enough to cry over.

Ethan started drawing on the back of the test, ignoring the class as they went over it. He couldn’t bear to focus on it. When they finished he flipped to taking notes, trying to grasp everything he could. He would do better next time.

The class ended, but Ethan was still slightly on edge. Was it something to worry about? He was usually decent at math. It wasn’t like one bad grade or two would really hurt. He just needed to sit in his little cave for lunch, all by himself, and calm down. He’d pass the next test.

Ethan squirmed through the crowd for lunch, wishing he had more of a space bubble as he bumped and brushed against people. He got in the line for food, bouncing on his feet and hoping to get through quickly. He was at least towards the front.

“Hey, Ethan!” Brent greeted as he stepped into file down the line.

Ethan nodded and gave a small wave before grabbing a main off the rack. Brent was suddenly there though, using Ethan as an excuse to get further up in line. Ethan snorted and held off telling him to go back; after all, Ethan had done it himself a few times. And it was apparently childish to bitch about people cutting in line.

“So Landon’s got a new girlfriend,” Brent said, reaching behind Ethan for food. “She’s going to be sitting with us.”

Us. Right. “I uh, have to go study for something,” Ethan admitted. “Somewhere else.”

“Really? You know some of us might be able to help. We’re not all stupid. I think Rhett’s pretty good with math, and Ari’s really good with history and a bunch of other shit. And Jason’s good with science, though more for the blowing shit up,” Brent suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Ethan mumbled. Brent had all the bases covered; what was one of them not good at?

He finished the line and put in his student number for lunch. He tried to sneak away with his food but Brent wrapped a sure arm over his shoulders. “Come on. What, is Landon’s girlfriend going to freak you out?” he joked.

Ethan rolled his eyes and tried to smile along with it. He could do this. Next class wouldn’t be too bad. He let Brent lead the way to the usual table, and Ethan sat carefully on the end. Landon’s new girlfriend sat across from him, giving a nice smile.

“This is Katie,” Landon introduced with a lopsided grin.

“There’s a million Katies,” Someone down the table groaned, getting a laugh out of everything.