lemonade | ethan

eight

devon's pov

"wouldn't it be ironic to do a project on something lemon related?" i say, to which ethan shrugged. we were currently sitting at my dining room table which was unset. my parents were out like they usually were when i came back from school.

the party was a while ago, and ethan and i were serious on fixing up this project since we've been procrastinating for the longest time. we've been meeting up at my house almost everyday after school. mr kim gave us a long time to complete it, but if we couldn't even come up with what to do yet, i knew we were gonna need all the time in the world.

"what if we blow something up?" ethan suggests. "it'll be cool."

i raise an eyebrow, "and possibly get suspended? no."

he chuckled, "no biggie." he shrugged.

"getting suspended would be put on my record. i'm supposed to maintain this perfect image. you know, for the parents."

he shook his head, "why don't you ever do anything you want to do?" he asks out of curiosity, his head tilted. "i mean, you bullied people because you felt obligated to. you be prefect just so your parents will feel satisfied. why?"

i stared at him for a while, looking into his questioning eyes. "well, i went to your party didn't i?"

"because i dragged you to it." he said. "you aren't helping your case here, wu."

i sighed, "melanie fell in love with a south sider..."

"oh that melanie chick? yeah, she's cool. what about her?" he asks.

"she did the impossible. it's like a typical fairy tale story in which the princess falls for the poor boy living in the village. i admire her because i could never do that for i'd be so scared to face everything." i explain. "there's no different in our north side community. they've never heard of it. if there is just an ounce of different in your family, you're out. that's just how it is."

"why'd you stand up for south siders then? hang out with them." ethan asks, a sincere look on his face.

"south siders aren't so bad. it just sucks that it took me three years to realize it. if change is considered different, then we have got to fix our community." i chuckled.

"you know... i've never met anyone like you." he says. "standing up for what you believe in. cutting out everyone who stands in your way."

i nod, a smile rising to my face. "it's the right thing to do."

"you're strong. i admire that." he simply says.

"thank you." i replied. "hey, why don't we ever go to your house? i'm always hosting." i joke, changing the subject.

his mood kind of drops, and i notice it. ethan and i have known eachother since the beginning of the school year and it's getting to become so close to the middle. we've become such good friends and yet i don't know a single thing about him other than the fact that sonny is his best friend and that he likes lemonade.

"what's not to like about this place?" he jokes back, clearly avoiding my question.

i give him the look, letting him know that i was serious. eventually he sighs, dropping his pencil on the paper listed with ideas for our chem project. "trust me, wu. you don't wanna go there."

"why? i'm sure it's great." i crossed my arms.

he shook his head, looking annoyed with how badly i wanted to go to his house instead of mine. "i don't know you like that yet. i'm not bringing you to my house, okay?" he said, trying to be as un unaggressive as possible, but i could spot it in his tone.  

"okay." i simply replied. maybe i pushed it. maybe he's sensitive in having a north side girl see his house, knowing it isn't nearly as good as all the houses on my block.

the rest of the time, i never questioned his personal life again. instead, we just focused on working on the project. as much as i wanted to know more about him, it seemed like he didn't want me knowing anything.

LEMONADE

the time read 9:46PM. i laid on my bed as i pondered my thoughts. i had just finished a long conversation with my parents at the dinner table as they told me the consequences of having a south side boy over. they told me all about melanie and her family. all about the history of this town. everything i already knew.

right before ethan was about to head out for the night, my parents found us sitting at the dining table as he casually packed up his things. they smiled, and acted as if everything was alright while they gave me the nastiest look behind his back when all he did was smile and greet them. my parents were all over this hating south siders phase.

my phone dings, a text message popping up on my screen.

maya: omg girl what were you doing at a south sider party ?!?!?
[photo attachment]
maya: they didn't kidnap you, did they ?!
maya: omg reply if ur okay !!! love uuu

"she's not serious, is she." i mumbled to myself, shooting her a quick text of the thumbs up emoji.

my senior year is off to a great start.

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT

short chapter but it's 3am and i got shit to do tomorrow so peace :))