lemonade | ethan

thirteen

"hey, devon?" as i put my books into my locker at the end of the school day, sonny comes up to me. he holds the straps of his backpack, looking anxious.

"hey sonny. what's up?" i close my locker, throwing my backpack onto my back.

he sighed, "i'm failing one of my classes and i was hoping maybe you'd tutor me? you're the only smart friend i know besides ethan but he's always hanging around raymond and them nowadays."

"of course. we can study in mr kim's room. he's very lenient. he'll let us stay after school." i explain. sonny smiled, nodding his head.

we walk together to mr kim's room while he talks about how he's failing his calculus class.

[i don't know anything about calculus because i'm not a senior nor am i smart. math is my worst subject]

south siders are cool. i don't really hang out with the people i once hung out with, although maya and a bunch of other girls still do talk to me.

recently i've been hanging around sonny. he's fun to be around and his personality is great. not only is he super funny, but he's also a great listener.

the north siders didn't say much to me anymore about hanging out with south siders. but i was sure they still talked behind my back.

i could tell with everyday passing by, ethan would neglect sonny. sonny claims it's because he's hanging around me and if that were the case, then i'd feel horrible. but as of now, i don't believe it. there's no way ethan would do that because of some girl.

when we came into mr kims room it was already empty, the lights off. sonny sat down at one of the tables in the front row and i took out a post it note and scribbled down that i used his room after school to study before sticking it onto his desk.

after a couple of hours, i had helped sonny solve multiple problems and help him get a better understanding of how it was done.

checking the time, it was 4:56pm. school got out at 2:40pm.

"so.. have you talked to ethan?" sonny asked as he put away his supplies back into his backpack.

i erased the white board, sighing. "nope. he went from being the person i spoke most to, to the person i never speak to anymore." i turned around, facing him and putting the eraser back down. "it's sad."

"can i tell you a secret?" sonny asks. "i wasn't sure if i could tell you, but i feel like you actually like him."

i nod, urging him to go on. "what is it?"

he sighed, resting his elbows on the table in front of him. "ethan and i went to hang out with some of our friends a while ago. you know, raymond, nick and them." he says. "the boys thought ethan and you were a thing and you know how they feel about north siders."

"they didn't really approve. so raymond came up with this wicked theory saying you were just using ethan as a rebound to get back at clayton knowing he hates south siders."

"at first, i might have believed it too. i see how you two used to look in public, almost like a happy couple." he explained. "but... ethan believed it more. being around you, always bringing up ethan, showing up to his house when no one goes there, it just proves to me that maybe you're talking to him not because you want to get back at clayton, but because you actually like the dude."

my mouth hangs open just the slightest, shocked at how much miscommunication can interfere with something so easily.

"it's a lot to take in, i get it. but with this information, maybe you can explain to him that this rumor isn't your intention." he shrugged, getting up from his chair, ready to leave the room. "thanks for the tutor lesson."

LEMONADE

"hey, we're gonna join clayton's parents for the charity event tonight. wanna join us?" my dad asks, entering the kitchen. i sat at the dining table, finishing up some homework.

"charity for what?" i asked.

"clayton's parents are hosting a charity event to save oceanic animals. all the proceeds go to them." my dad explains. "are you thinking about coming?"

"no thanks, i got a lot of homework to finish." the chemistry project was coming up soon, and we were no where finished. mostly because i've been doing it myself for a while.

"oh come on. you haven't seen clayton in forever! i bet he misses you." my mom pops in, urging me to go.

i chuckled. "i'm sure he can handle himself."

my mom shrugs. "okay. we won't be long."

as they leave through the garage door, i find myself contemplating on texting ethan. or maybe calling? i don't know.

before i could even open up to my messages, i receive a text from him anyway.

ethan: do you wanna talk

me: what about

ethan: meet me at the charity event

what? he's going to the charity event? held by north siders?

me: you so sure thats a good idea?

ethan: the millers invited the entire town. even south siders.

how generous of them. looks like i'm attending the event after all.

END OF CHAPTER THIRTEEN

hiiiiii been a while