Love Is Real | Sarah x Ethan

Chapter 14 Sarah's P.O.V

     I place my sling bag in my gym locker, surprised that I actually beat Kendall here for once. I take off the checker like shirt I'm currently wearing, placing it in the locker and taking out my shirt to change into. I slip my new shirt over my head just as Kendall enters the locker room. She opens her locker, which is next to mine and puts her bag inside.
     "Hey, Sarah. Sorry, I'm late. Mr. Salter had to talk to our class for a few minutes, so we weren't released until now," she explains.
     "It's fine. I was just wondering where you were," I shrug.
     She then begins to undress, changing into her extra clothes. After she's done we walk into the gymnasium and sit in our attendance lines.
     Kendall's line happens to be on the opposite side of the room from mine, so we don't really have a way to communicate until we get to the actual activity of the day. The coaches begin taking attendance, eventually getting to my name. I'm honestly not paying attention at all cause this part is actually really boring when you don't have anyone to talk to.
     "Sarah," the coach says as he continues to take attendance.
     I glance up at him for a moment, staring back at the ground after we make eye contact. He continues down the line, calling people's names that I either don't know or don't really care about.
     I look at the other lines, staring them up and down. When I get to the third line over, I see Ethan in the middle of the line. Their coach has already taken attendance, so Carson Howard and Tyler Bell had moved to talk to him. The three of them are honestly really attractive and it's kind of hard not to stare at how cute they all are. Ethan begins to smile at something Carson says, causing me to smile too.
     I break my gaze away from them, looking towards Kendall's direction. She's just sitting there, not talking to anyone which is strange for her. She's usually pretty talkative. I mean, maybe she just doesn't have anyone to talk to.
     One of the coaches then begins talking at the front of the gym, explaining that we're going to be playing volleyball. I feel like it should be pretty self-explanatory, but I guess not everyone knows the rules. After they finish explaining, they assign every line to a certain team and tell two lines to sit out. Ethan and I happen to be on the same team despite being in different lines.
     I stand up, heading to my team's side of the court. I stand in the back, closer to the left and just kinda watch everyone else play. If the ball were to come towards me I'd probably participate, but if I'm being honest I just find it boring. I mean, I'm athletic and all, but sometimes sports and gym just isn't any fun.
     Eventually, my team has to sit out so the other teams can play. I take a seat on the bleachers, my feet dangling just above the floor. I stare out at the court, watching people scramble to hit the ball.
     I feel that sometimes people take these games too seriously as if these games are the most important things to have ever existed, almost as if they're lives depended on winning this game. I mean, I get that sports can sometimes be a coping mechanism, a distraction, for people struggling, but that's really all it is. A distraction. And at the end of the day, it's still just a game. These struggles they're dealing with on the other hand is a continuous battle.
     Whether their battle is with Anorexia, Depression, Anxiety, or anything else, it's still a battle that will be extremely difficult to win. Maybe that's why people use these distractions, as a way to put off battling their struggles. Maybe that's why they act as if these games are life or death. Because while they're playing the game, the thoughts of life or death are still in the back of their mind, the battle waiting to be fought.
     "Hey, Sarah," a voice says.
     I jump a little, not expecting anyone to be there. I look to my left to see the source of the voice, Ethan Mack.
     "Oh, hey. You scared me a little," I reply.
     "Heh. I can tell. You jumped," he observes.
     "I know. I don't need to be told that, but thanks for the reminder," I remark.
     He just smiles, looking away from me and staring out at the court. I look away too, staring at the ground.
     "Hey," he places his hand on the small of my back. "You okay?" he asks, seeming genuinely concerned.
     I look up at him and his eyes meet mine almost instantly. His eyes are kind and warm, the kind that makes me feel comfortable.
     "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I respond.
     He shrugs, saying, "I don't know. I just wanna be sure you're okay."
     "Y-yeah. I, um, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," I smile at him as I say this.
     He smiles warmly, removing his hand from my back. We just sit there, in a comfortable silence, staring out at the court and watching everyone play.
     Eventually, the end of the day comes and I find myself sitting on the bleachers again. Car riders and first load have already left, so I'm sitting by myself, playing on my phone. I then hear second load being called and I make my way into the hallway, heading towards the buses.
     "Sarah!" a voice calls.
     I turn around and I see Cameron. I slow down so she can catch up to me, but I continue walking at a slower pace. She catches up and she looks extremely happy.
     "You seem happy. What's up?" I ask.
     "Well, um, Josh asked me to be his girlfriend!" she exclaims.
     "And you said?" I elaborate.
     "I said yes!" she's smiling so big it's almost overbearing.
     "Well, that's great! I'm happy for you guys," I reply.
     "Thanks. Well, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye," she says, heading over to her bus.
     I wave at her, getting on my bus and taking my seat next to Josh.
     "Hey," he says, smiling at me.
     "Hey, how was your day?" I ask.
     "Really good actually. How about you?" he replies.
     "It was fine," I say.
     The bus starts pulling out of the parking lot and I think of what to say. I debate whether to bring up what Cameron had told me just a couple of minutes prior. I decide to just go ahead and do it. I mean, there's no harm in it, right?
     "So, you asked her to be your girlfriend?" I ask.
     Josh looks at me, his face turning a little red.
     "Yeah, how'd you know?" he replies.
     "She told me. You made her really happy, you know?" I explain.
     "I love making her happy. I honestly hope I can do more for her," he says, his face brightening up.
     'Wow. She really makes him happy," I think to myself.
     "Well, I'm glad you feel so strongly about her, but I hope she makes you feel happy too. You deserve that," I say.
     "She does. She really, really does."