Fear (TordTom)

Chapter 16: Truth

Ethan could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he continued on to the courtyard. He didn't have to be so wary of security guards and stray teachers now, but a good excuse as to why he was in the hallways would be useful.

After a bit of walking, Ethan reached the doors to the courtyard. He could hear birds twittering ominously outside, their low cries barely audible from inside the building. It looked windy from the way the trees swayed in the strong breeze, while some papers twirled and did loop-de-loops in the cloudy sky, promising rain.

Ethan didn't want to make himself known by opening the doors, which made a loud creaking noise every time they were opened. It was basically an alarm to class skippers in the outside that someone was coming through, so everyone would scatter. When they realized it was him, though, he'd be in serious trouble. Just imagining what would happen out there to him if he was caught sent shivers down his spine.

As he was figuring a way to get in the courtyard without being spotted or heard, a movement from the corner of his eye startled him. It was coming towards him in a rushed motion, as if it had just spotted him and was ready to deal with the threat. Purple hoodie...Matt!

Ethan jumped back, getting in a defensive pose, ready to fend off the tall ginger, but the boy jumped as well and whispered, "Hey, hey, chill out! I'm not gonna hurt you."

Ethan stood up, but still remained on guard. "Why should I trust you? You're one Edd's closest allies."

"Or so everyone thinks," The ginger muttered, but continued with, "I don't really hang out with them a lot."

Ethan sighed, then said in a sharper tone, "What is that you want, exactly?"

The ginger exhaled, then replied with, "I want to stop Edd from what he's about to do."

"So you know about their plans?!" This was perfect! He didn't have to go out there in unknown territory with dangerous people if he already had a reliable source of information on his side!

"Not...exactly." Ethan deflated.

"They never told me much," Matt continued. "Edd was afraid I'd betray him to you, Tord, or Tom, even though they're just as wary of me as they are of Edd."

"They have good reason to," Ethan retorted. "You used to follow him around like a puppy dog!"

"Used to." Matt shot back. "I...realized how wrong I was; how wrong Edd's actions are. He's just...bad at controlling his feelings and emotions. And I'm one of the only ones who knows pretty much all his secrets, so he keeps me around. He doesn't want me to leave, or else he fears himself getting exposed for who he really is."

"I see," Ethan responded. "You're basically a prisoner under him."

"But I don't want to be!" Matt suddenly cried out. "I just wanted us all to get along. But then he started to have feelings for Tom, even though he knew Tord liked him, and then it just...all escalated from there. And now that Tord's in a slump, he knows this is a perfect time to attack and make Tord pay for what he did."

"What exactly did he do?" Ethan inquired. "Tom just said that Edd called him, confessing his feelings for him, and Tom shot him down because he didn't think of Edd like that."

"That's what Tom think happened." Matt answered, then beckoned him over towards where he was beginning to walk away to. "I'll explain to you on the way. It's time I clean myself of all of this bottled up nonsense."

"On the way to where?" Ethan asked suspiciously, starting to follow him.

Matt chuckled. "On the way to where we'll be able to hear everything we want from Edd, and he won't even be able to see us!"