lemonade | ethan

thirty one

i tap my fingers on the surface of the table, unable to concentrate while i study for my history test. the days go by longer without ethan always running around me. it suddenly seems like we don't even know each other anymore.

"psst." i look up from my papers, to see maya sitting a couple chairs down. she looks around before scooting closer to me. "is it true?"

i furrow my eyebrows, confused. "is what true?" i ask, setting my pen down aside my binder. suddenly, i'm so curious as to what she's going to say with the the intrigued look on her face.

"ethan got a full ride to brooklyn bay university. ruby's dad set up the whole thing." maya explains. "apparently, they're a thing now. what a shitty move to pull. especially since you two were the thing for a while."

i scoffed. "what?"

i was in disbelief. i know we haven't been on speaking terms, but ethan would never switch up so fast like that.

"maybe ethan's just using her because ruby is the mayor's daughter." maya shrugged. "it would explain the full ride."

"i didn't know you didn't know. otherwise i wouldn't have told you." she adds, wincing. "i'm really sorry. i know how much you actually liked him and it sucks seeing him use this popularity he's gained to his advantage by getting close to the mayors daughter."

"what a dick." she finally adds.

i shrugged. "i mean... we weren't even dating." i explain. "i liked him, a lot. but... i guess it's complicated, really."

"no, what's complicated is you're giving him an excuse. you two were basically dating. it's fucked up that he replaced you with a richer north sider." she exclaims. "no offense."

i shake my head. "none taken."

"i'll bet he'll try to speak to you again. but after all that shit he's been pulling with hanging out with ruby instead of you and having elegant dinners with her father, he can go fuck himself." she says. "do me a favor, and be careful. who knows what this south sider is trying to pull."

"thanks maya. why're you looking out for me?" i ask, curiously.

she chuckles, leaning against the table. "we're best friends. i know we fight sometimes and i know i've said some mean things throughout the school year, but you're my sister. i realized i probably shouldn't be mad at you for sympathizing with south siders."

i smile, feeling warm hearted. "thank you. it means a lot hearing you say that, you know." i sighed.

she sighs, satisfied. "so.. whatcha working on? history?"

"yep. totally gonna fail." i chuckle.

she chuckles along with me. "here. let me help you study." she says, smiling.

LEMONADE

it felt a little off that maya was suddenly being super understanding of me. maybe it's because she realized ruby finally had ethan in her grasp and she could have her bestfriend back.

i've got to admit, being with ethan constantly really left me no time to be with maya. but i didn't want to be with her anyway knowing how much i liked ethan and how mean she was being.

ethan. walking past him in the halls just hurts now. he actually looks like he's enjoying ruby's company. she was right, wasn't she? he likes her too.

sonny and raymond stick with ethan, so it sucks that i'm also never getting to talk with them. i just wish everything could go back to the way it was, you know? before the cabin trip, before the championship game, before it all.

i sit at a bench just outside of the school waiting for maya to come out so we could go out and hang for the first time in forever.

my head hangs low as i scroll through instagram, looking at the great times everyone had this weekend.

a pair of familiar shoes show at the top of my phone, letting me know someone was standing in front of me.

i look up, startled. "you scared me." i state, turning my phone off and setting it down into my lap.

he clears his throat, apologizing. "sorry, i didn't mean to." he sits himself next to me on the bench. it's comforting yet weird, because we haven't spoken for a while. i'm left staring at my shoes, waiting for him to say something.

"uh..." i look up at him, seeing he's already looking at me. "did you hear about the full ride to brooklyn bay."

oh. i'm super happy for him but i did not expect him to approach me just so he could share the news that everyone already knows.

but i smile anyway. "i did. congratulations. i'm really proud of you."

the straight look on his face slowly turns into a tug on his lips. he sighs, looking away. i could tell he was nervous. i could basically hear his heart beating out his chest from right here.

"devon..." he says, looking up at me.

i urge him to go on. "yeah?"

he breaths in, fiddling with his fingers. "i–"

"dev!" maya yells, running up to us. she notices ethan sitting beside me. "what're you doing here?"

he slowly gets up, sighing. "nothing. i was just leaving." he explains.

maya watches as he leaves before turning back over to me. "you need to watch for him. with ruby, he is bad news now."

"why's that?" i ask, getting up so we could walk to my car. she follows right next to me.

maya opens the passenger side of my car. "she's super manipulative. don't you see what she did with you, making you believe she was your best friend before stealing your man?"

"i'm telling you: ruby is eventually going to make her mark on ethan, and one day you won't even know who he is anymore."

END OF CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

merry christmas, everyone !!

i went on christmas break early since i was in florida, so i missed three days of school.

of course they had to be days where there were tests and presentations on so i guess i'm spending the rest of winter break studying and working on a presentation :(((

thank you guys for sticking around. i know i don't update as often as i used to. once winter break is over i probably won't be updating a total lot but i'll try not to disappoint !

bye !! see you next time :)