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"look at him eating alone again" your friend says rolling her eyes and laughing
you don't reply to her rude comment. instead you watch him. you watch him flip the page of his book with one hand and delicately take a bite of his sandwich with the other. he looks peaceful and content.
you see the captain of the football team, billy, and his friends gather around ethan. ethan looks up with a nervous expression. they spit words at him before pushing him to the ground. one guy kicks him in the stomach as another one punches his face.
you run over and push them away from ethan, giving a death glare to billy and the other football players.
"why are you helping him, y/n" billy asks
"yeah we were just teaching him a lesson" another says
"why don't you replace the i and add a u, billy. because that's what you are, a bully. now i suggest you leave before i tell coach about this" you spit
"no don't tell coach. if you do, i won't be able to play" he whines
"then go on and leave"
billy huffs and rolls his eyes before turning around and leaving with the others.
you look at ethan's vulnerable state.
you help him sit up, hearing hissing noises as you do so.
"can i call your brother to help?" you ask
"y-you can try, but he'll probably be too embarrassed of me to help" he says pushing his broken glasses further up his nose
you rip out your phone and click on grayson's contact
he answers on the first ring
g: y/n, why are you calling me?
y: i need your help
g: with what?
y: your brother
g: where are you?
y: cafeteria
g: be there in a second
he hangs up as you look at ethan "he didn't seem embarrassed"
ethan sighs "h-he always tells me that i'm too vulnerable and that's why i get beat up, b-but he says those things because he's embarrassed of me"
"he shouldn't be-" you get cut off as grayson walks towards the two of you, a blank expression on his face
"let's just go home" grayson says taking ethan's hand and jerking him towards the car
you follow them and hold ethan's other hand. ethan looks at your intertwined hands and smiles as a blush forms on his cheeks
~
you stand in front of ethan lightly pressing an ice pack on his cheek. he winces but relaxes after a few seconds
"hold that" you say
he nods and places his hand on top of the ice pack.
you grab another ice pack and gently lift up his shirt, revealing his bruised abs
you place the ice pack on it causing him to bite his lip
"does this one hurt the most?" you ask
he nods "okay then we'll keep ice on it"
~
"are you uncomfortable sitting in that chair?" you ask after ten minutes of holding the ice against his stomach
he nods
you take the ice pack off his stomach and take his hand, leading him to the couch. he sits down and you sit next to him, placing the ice pack back on his stomach.
"t-thank you, y/n" ethan says quietly
"your welcome ethan"
"n-no one has ever helped me like this before" he mumbles
"i'm sorry" you blurt out
"s-sorry for what?"
"i'm sorry for not helping you sooner. the moment keeps replaying in my head and i ask myself why haven't i helped him sooner. he's so sweet and caring and cute and-" you stop once you realize that you said he was cute out loud
"y-you think i'm cute?" he asks blushing
you blush "i didn't mean to say that out loud, but yes i do think you're cute"
"i-i think you're cute too"
you smile and kiss his cheek "good"
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