lemonade | ethan

thirty

ethan's pov

that weekend in the mountains, with all the north siders, would be a changing point for all of us. i could already tell.

not only were we way out of our comfort zone and totally on guard for the two whole days we were there, i might've just lost the best thing that's ever happened to me.

ever since that day, devon hasn't spoken to me once. i had some opportunities to talk to her myself, but i couldn't muster the courage to say anything. i didn't want to defend myself to her because in my eyes, i did nothing wrong.

i have a special place for her in my heart and somehow i feel like talking to her about the situation would ruin everything. i just want things to be like they were before. i don't want anything to change.

but at the same time i feel obligated to apologize. the silent treatment tells me she was feeling off about everything.

"hey ethan!" from the corner of my eye, i spot the locks of bright red hair hurrying down the hallway of the school. our peers move out of her way in a hurry.

ever since the cabin, this girl has not left me alone. before devon and melanie changed the norm, ruby brooks would've gagged at the mention of my name. it surprises me how much she would not leave me alone.

but now, she wants everything to do with me. almost as if she was doing it because it was the new cool thing to get involved with south siders.

"hey ruby..." i unenthusiastically say as i slowly shut the door to my locker.

ruby looks around, spotting devon just a couple lockers down. devon pretends to be occupied while listening close. my eyes were glued to her.

with a smile, she looks back to me. "last night, i talked to my dad about you and he really wants to meet you."

i'm caught off guard thinking the mayor wants to meet with me. "really?" suddenly, all my attention is on ruby now.

ruby looks back at devon and i notice she's gone now. "yep! how's tonight sound? i heard he has some news to share!"

"i—"

"okay, great! it's settled, i'll meet you there! dress nice!" she orders as she points a finger at me before walking down the hallway back to where she first came from.

i spent the rest of my day pondering my thoughts. because even though i, a poor south sider, is meeting with the mayor of brooklyn bay tonight, i was more concerned about what devon was doing. how she was feeling.

as my peers begin to leave the building just as the last bell has rung, i spot sonny and raymond outside, bundled up as the cold air surrounds them.

between sonny's two fingers is a cigarette. he looks into the distance, unbothered by what surrounds him.

"hey, sonny." i say, bringing him back from his thoughts. "ray."

sonny nods toward me. "oh hey, eth. want a hit?" he asks, motioning his cigar toward me.

i shake me head. "no thanks." i replied. "but hey, i got some news. ruby invited me to meet mayor brooks tonight. she said he's got news to share with me."