Alps ✰ Ethma

TWELVE

Emma Pov.

It was the next morning & I took a long sip of my iced almond milk latte I had made this morning. I was currently sitting in my car in the school parking lot, not wanting to go outside & into the cold air. I was a little early anyway. I snuggle further into the faded pink hoodie I was wearing & sigh, putting my now empty drink into the cup holder of the car.

I looked up from my phone, stopping my scrolling through my Instagram feed to look out the windows of my car as students passed by. I watched as this one slender looking guy walked by with his hood up, his posture seeming oddly familiar. I sat up in the seat & tried to get a better look at the mysterious guy. Then he turned his head in my direction for a moment & my stomach lurched. It was Jack Dail....but you could barely tell that by his bludgeoned face. What the fuck?! Who would have-Ethan. He didn't.

My eyes widened in realization & I yanked the keys out of the ignition, grabbing my backpack off of the passenger's seat & opening the car door to step out in the frosty air. It was getting colder each day as the beautiful autumn season neared the harsh winter. I shoved my hands along with my keys in the pocket of my hoodie & walked quickly into the school, shoving the main doors open.

I glanced around the hallway, scanning around for that inky-haired feisty kid. My eyes then landed on him, leaning against his locker wearing a thick grey hoodie as he ruffled through his backpack looking for something. I lowered my eyes & jogged over to him. Once I reached him I smacked his shoulder with mild lower & he turned to look at me.

"Ethan! What the hell did you do?" I whisper yelled & Ethan looked as if he was thinking for a moment, before opening his mouth. "He deserved it." Was all he said & I scoffed. "Still, Ethan, you could get suspended now if Jack tells the principal and I told you it's nothing." I explained, causing Ethan to turn his head sharply towards me & move closer. "It is not. Nothing. He had no fucking right to do anything of the sort to you." He stated, poking a finger at me lightly right above my chest. His jaw was clenched & that hard look was back in his eyes, staring to breathe heavy with anger. If I really looked at his cold eyes, I could tell that he was indeed wearing contacts. I guess I just never gave a shit before so I never noticed. I sighed in defeat, reaching up my hand to gently stroke the side of his face. "Okay, calm down, E." I said softly & rubbed the skin on his cheek until his features softened completely, weak at the affection.

"Just say sorry to him, please?" I asked & Ethan pursed his lips together tightly, before rolling his eyes & sighing. "Fine." He muttered, slamming his locker shut after grabbing his folder for Spanish. I dropped my hand from his face & was about to walk to Spanish when I felt Ethan tug on the sleeve of my hoodie. I turned to him with a confused expression, wondering what he wanted. He just pulled my arm back over to him gently & pushed the sleeve of my hoodie up suddenly, examining my arm that had extremely faint red prints from yesterday.

"Do they hurt?" Ethan asked quietly, running his finger over the tainted skin on my arm. I gently grabbed his wrist & pulled him off of my arm, pushing my sleeve back down into place. "No Ethan, they don't. I told you it's fine, it was my decision to let you use me as a pain reliever. Not yours." I stated & he just shook his head slowly, still staring at my sleeve that was by my side. "Okay, to Spanish we go." I announced, hearing the bell ring. He nodded & walked by my side in a comfortable silence to our first hour.

Having Spanish for first hour really drags on, especially when the teacher is all snobby & Hispanic. But I got through it, now walking towards my locker to trade out my Spanish folder with my notebook for social studies instead.

I turned my lock code smoothly on the cold-metaled door, opening it as it creaked. I tossed my Spanish folder in my backpack & grabbed my notebook for my next class, slamming the rusty door shut to head towards the classroom that was full of history.