A New Chapter

Chapter 24

I step into home economics with a smile on my face. I catch Ethan's gaze and watch as his face lights up. Sebby, who's sitting beside him follows his line of sight and spots me making my way over.

"Hey beautiful." Ethan's smiles and quickly kisses my cheek, making my face warm up.

"What was that for?" I question shyly.

"I wanted to." He playfully smirks before kissing my nose.

"Stop." I chuckle as I swat him away from me.

"Aren't you two adorable." Sebastian coos.

"Shut up." I mutter, my cheeks a deep red.

"Since today is a short class, I'm handing out worksheets for you to work on." Ms Miller announces to the class.

As I'm working on the sheet I see Sebby repeatedly running his hand through his hair and nibbling on the end of his pencil.

I slide my chair beside him and nudge him with my elbow; "What's up?"

"Nothing." He snaps before sighing and apologising.

"Riley's birthday is tomorrow and I've no idea what to get her. I'm just stressed about it 'cause I want it to be perfect you know?" He huffs.

"Are you free after school?" I ask him.

He furrows his brows; "Yeah, why?"

"We're going shopping." I state before scooting my chair back into its rightful place, not waiting for a response.

~~

"Okay so what about jewellery?" I ask Sebastian as we exit our third store, weaving our way between people.

"Yeah I guess. It has to be pretty though." A crease forms on his forehead, and I can't help but find it adorable that he wants the perfect gift for Riley.

"Does she wear bracelets? Or necklaces maybe." I ponder.

"No. She doesn't like all that dangly shit. She loves rings though! Her hands are usually covered." He smiles and I pull him towards a jewellery shop.

"Do you want something simple or sparkly?" The store assistant questions Sebby with a practiced smile.

"Uhh.." He mumbles as he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck.

"Do you guys have promise rings?" I ask the woman who nods enthusiastically before leading us to a different part of the glass cabinet.

"Woah." Sebby exclaims as his eyes trail along the rows of rings.

"What's the difference between those rings." He points to the previous cabinet. "And these." He points to the promise rings below us.

"A promise ring is a sign of commitment between two people. You promise to be there for that person or to love them." The saleswoman explains while smiling.

"Do you think that's too much. We've only been together since homecoming." His worried gaze meets mine and I can't help but smile. He must really like her.

"Well I think that if you're serious about her, that it wouldn't matter how long you've been together, just how much you care about her." I give him an encouraging smile and he seems satisfied as he averts his gaze back to the array of rings, a small smile playing on his lips.

"That one." He points after a moment. I follow the line of his finger to see a delicate looking silver ring with a beautiful diamond heart.

"It's incredible." I say in awe as the saleswoman gently takes it from the cabinet for Sebby to closer inspect.