Cinderfella

Chapter Six

Ethan pushed his dinner around his plate. He was ready to leave the dinner table and go to bed, and maybe even call up Mikey if he had a chance. The teen had latched onto Ethan after he'd come out, relieved to finally have a male friend after going so long without them.

Mikey had two female friends, but one was a senior and the other was a junior, so despite their claims that Mikey was like their little brother, he had no one to ever talk to about his personal problems. He'd begged to walk home with Ethan so that he could continue talking about everything he'd kept bottled up, but Hank had hit the horn too many times and had scared Mikey off.

But Ethan had gotten his number before he left, and he was hoping to let Mikey finish what he'd been so excited and nervous to talk about in public. Perhaps it had something to do with Tyler and why he'd been the one to come out for Mikey.

"Mac, your mother has been trying to talk to you," Hank whispered in Ethan's ear.

Ethan looked up and met his mother's glare. "What?"

Marissa set her fork down heavily. "I asked, dear, how your day at school went."

Ethan smiled, which didn't go unnoticed by his family. Ariana nudged his leg under the table. "Did you make a friend?"

Ethan set his own fork down. "Yes, I did make a new friend. His name is Mikey, and he's a really sweet and reserved guy. He likes music, and he wants to travel the world someday so he can learn about other cultures."

Marissa smiled. "Oh, he sounds absolutely lovely! Is he a Christian?"

Ethan shrugged. "We never talked about religion. All he told me is his mother is Latina, and super religious, but she left him and his father a few years ago."

Marissa scoffed. "Typical," she hissed under her breath. Ethan chose to ignore the comment.

Ethan remained silent for the rest of the meal, not ready to answer anymore questions about Mikey or school. He listened half heartedly as Corey talked endlessly about his day until he could escape upstairs.

He showered first, using the extra time before he was to be in bed to dial Mikey's number on the home phone. It rang three times before an out of breath Mikey picked up.

"Anderson residence, Mikey speaking," he panted.

"Hey Mikey," Ethan greeted, already smiling as he curled his legs under him on the couch. "I promised you I'd call earlier, and this is the soonest I could."

Something crashed on the other side of the line, followed by Mikey yelling to someone and asking if they were okay, followed by a loud grunt. "It's fine, I just finished my homework, so I'm free the rest of the night. I was just going to tell you, on Wednesdays we have club day, where for thirty minutes after lunch, everyone goes to a club meeting or to classes to catch up on schoolwork."

"That sounds awesome!" Ethan exclaimed. "I could really use some help with my science class. I was homeschooled the last few years and my mother wouldn't teach me anything other than what was in the Bible."

Mikey sighed over the line. "Man, I wanted you to come to Queer Club on Wednesday. You could meet Alice and Maddy. I told them about you and they're excited to meet you."

Ethan smiled. "That sounds like a lot of fun, but I promised my parents I would check out the Christian Club. Maybe next week I'll go."

A dull thud sounded over the line and Mikey cursed his stubbed toe. "Don't do it! Most of those kids are horrible people! Tyler? He's the preacher's nephew, and his uncle comes in every week to preach to the kids, and a lot of his teachings are really homophobic. I wouldn't go if I were you."

Mikey began to wheeze and Ethan let out a stressed sigh. "I'm sorry man. Trust me, is much rather be hanging out with a group of kids called the Queer Club. You guys sound amazing."

"Thanks," Mikey squeaked. "It used to be the gay-straight alliance, but no straight people ever hang out there, so the three of us got together to rename it last year."

Ethan chuckled. "Honestly, I would have done the same. But my parents and I made a deal, and I have to go."

Mikey let out a distressed sigh. "I-I guess if you made a deal. But, oh gosh Ethan just be careful. Some of those kids will follow Tyler to the end of the Earth to be friends with him, and if they realize you're not straight... You know what? It-its probably best if you don't come to the club. If word gets out, and you get picked on because I brought you there-"

Mikey was wheezing again. Ethan sat up in a panic. "Mikey? Mikey please just calm down! It'll all be okay! I won't go if it's making you freak out, I'll be super careful. Just please calm down."

Mikey's wheezes turned into soft whimpers. "I-I'm okay. I-I think I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in first hour tomorrow, alright?"

"That's fine but-" Ethan got cut off as the line went dead. Marissa took the phone from his hands.

"Get to bed, now," she said, walking away and hanging the phone up.

Ethan trudged up to bed, feeling sick to his stomach about Mikey's panic attack.

•••••

Ugh, so school's back in session, and it actually starts today, I'm actually posting this in my second hour. Which is partially why I didn't update last week. I spent the week at my friend's trailer on the lake, and we wanted to hang out with no distractions before school started since we only have one class together. That, and the trailer didn't have any wifi, so I couldn't get on any social media until I got home late Monday night even if I wanted to. Anyways, there'll be another chapter posted later today, and same with my prompt book. Remember to vote and comment if you enjoyed it. Cheers!