Connected To Him (ManxMan) ✔️

Part 1: Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Honeymoon Faze

Ethan held up his phone, staring at his last few messages with Chris. As Ethan walked down the hall, he looked over conversations and exchanges that had finished hours ago, laughing at jokes he’d already read.

It seemed like a pretty pathetic practice, but Ethan knew that he wouldn’t be speaking to Chris until late in the evening, so he tried to enjoy what he had until then. This was also a good way to avoid speaking to people that he wasn’t close with. Ethan was amazing at making ‘friendly acquaintances’ and they often wanted to wave or stop and chat in the mornings. Ethan, however, just wasn’t feeling like being stopped and forced to smile when he didn’t care.

He did usually care when he spoke to people, he just didn’t care right now.

Ethan got to Aiden’s locker and found him rushing to put some books in his bag and zip the heavy thing up. Ethan slipped his phone into his back pocket, frowning in confusion.

“What’s going on?” Ethan asked hesitantly. Aiden jumped, turning to Ethan with a quick, flustered smile.

“Hey, Ethan!” Aiden said before turning back to his work. He finally got his bag zipped up and slung it over his shoulder. Then, he looked at Ethan again. “I just came to get my things before I met up with Aaron.”

“Aaron.” Ethan repeated, the name more of a sigh than anything else. As if he hadn’t just said the name himself, Aiden lit up like a Christmas tree when Ethan said it.

“Yeah, he wanted to see me before class and I wanted to see him too because it sucks to wait until 4th to talk to him, you know?”

Ethan didn’t know. Chris didn’t talk to him at all. Still, Ethan nodded, making Aiden’s smile widen as he spoke.

“Okay, well, I’ll see you later, alright?”

Aiden turned and left before Ethan could respond.

Ethan’s shoulders dropped and he fell back against the lockers. He could have done this earlier, make his annoyance and feelings on the matter obvious, but he decided to let Aiden feel better about his decision to leave. Ethan was a supportive friend and supportive friends congratulated their friends on new relationships. Supportive friends didn’t complain that their friend (who they were trying to support) was not spending as much time with them.

Ethan would not be that person who complained.

But, he would be that person who sulked a little. He couldn’t help it. In the past couple of weeks, he and Aiden went from the Sprouse twins to the Cyrus sisters. They went both working in the business, taking in the world and fame together, to having Miley, famous and successful, leave Noah—the one no one knew existed—at home.

Ethan frowned as the comparison came to mind, but he could not deny that it was true. He and Aiden used to talk all day and make plans to hang out on Saturday, Sunday, and at least three times during the week.

Last Saturday, Aiden had a date with Aaron and slept over at his place so the entirety of Sunday was spent with the two of them in the Tyler mansion. He and Ethan didn’t meet up at all during the week, but Ethan did see a couple of posts on both of their accounts about trips to coffee shops and Bubble Tea places.

“I’ll see you later, alright?”

Ethan wasn’t sure exactly when he would. Aiden had started going out for lunch or eating at Aaron’s table. So, the only time that Ethan and Aiden could speak to one another during the week had been before school and Aiden just decided to spend that time with Aaron as well.