Chapter 2

*<i>on the ride home with Andre</i>*

"So, who should I drop home first?", Andre asked, breaking the awkward silence in the car.

"My house is closer compared to Ethan's," I answered him because I don't think Ethan was paying any attention to Andre.

"Sure, lead the way." Andre replied while glancing and smiling at me through the rearview mirror.

I most definitely felt butterflies in my stomach, "Just keep going straight until you reach a T-junction, make a right turn. After three blocks down the street, make another right turn and my house is the sixth one on the right."

"Wow, Aria, Aria Schbeck! You're very thorough with directions, huh?" He asks what I'm assuming to be a rhetorical question with a half grin plastered on his face.

"Just Aria would do." I said to him while trying to playing it cool as if him calling me by my full name didn't just make my heart flutter.

After some time, he pulled up in front of my house. I got off his jeep and saw Ethan getting off as well. Confused, I asked "do you not want him to drop you home?"

"I don't mind dropping you home either, Ethan." Andre said to him.

He coldly looked at Andre with the 'as if I'd want you to drop me home' before turning to me and said but also loud enough for Andre to hear, "My bike's parked in your garage."

I furrowed my brows in confusion. He saw my expression and probably understood I was confused because then he said, "I rode my bike in the morning, parked my bike in your garage and then I ran to school." He answered.

"Well, okay then. I'll take your leave first. Catch ya later." Andre said before driving off.

I was lost in my own thoughts when Ethan interrupted me, "He left, now can we go?"

I looked at him and said, "Go where? You're going home," before walking towards the door.

"Um, nope, not happening. I'm staying for dinner."

"I don't remember inviting you."

"Oh honey, I don't need your invitation. Auntie's going to invite me herself." He said it with a smirk on his face.

Mum opened the door before I even had the chance to ring the doorbell. "Well if it isn't my favourite boy," she said as she spread her arms to hug Ethan.

"Auntie, I'm not a boy anymore. I'm a man now." Ethan whined.

"Oh your whine certainly does proof that you're a man." She said with a hint of sarcasm before continuing, "Well Ethan, it doesn't matter if you're a man now because I'll always remember you as the boy who runs to me for cookies."

Ethan chuckled, "Well I hope you have some because I've been craving it."

"You know where they are, help yourself." Mum answered and he was already on the way after removing his shoes.

"Hey, don't you dare! Those are mine." I shouted before I dashed to get the last few cookies I had saved for myself.

"Let him have it, Aria. I'll bake you a fresh batch."

"Mum, it's not fair. I had save those for myself. Wha— you'll bake me a fresh batch? Deal! Ethan you can have those, Mum's baking me a fresh batch." I was mocking him with my tongue stuck out.

"Half of which, I'll come collect. Auntie, please call me once you're done baking it." He looked at mum and she chuckled and nodded at him. My jaw dropped and I looked at them in disbelief. Sometimes I feel that mum treats him more like her child. I don't particularly have a problem with it because I know Ethan gets lonely at home and which is why he seeks attention from outsiders. We aren't even outsiders at this point.

Ethan's parents are divorced and he lives with his mother. His mom works as a chief neurosurgeon at a reputable hospital so she's always on duty. When Ethan was a kid, his mom used to leave him at our place since we were neighbours and thats how Ethan and I became best friends.

*

I took a quick shower, I changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt before heading to the dining table where the dinner was being served. Ethan and I were helping mum to set up the table when the front door opened and it revealed dad's exhausted face.

"Hello loves, oh hello Ethan." Dad greets mum and I with a peck on our foreheads and shakes Ethan's hands.

"Dinner's being served, quickly wash up." Mum said to dad and he goes up to wash himself.

Dad shows up after a couple of moments and we all sit down to enjoy the dinner prepared by mum. She prepared lasagna, roasted corn and buffalo wings, suited to my taste. And for dessert, she baked caramel pudding since its Ethan's favourite.

Suddenly, mum broke the silence at the dinner-table saying, "So who was the one who dropped you guys home?"

"Oh I thought you were gonna walk home with Ethan?" Dad asked.

I almost choked on my food before saying, "He is um…", and Ethan interrupted me, "Who? Oh thats Andre, Mrs Williams' son. He's the one Aria's crushing on for the past god knows how many years." A smirk plastered on his face.

I was caught off-guard with his response. I kicked his legs under the table and he groaned out of pain.

"Ah that boy, yes I remember him. Wow, that was sweet of him." Mum said before continuing her 'not so obvious' interrogation, "Are you guys in the same class?"

"Yes mum, we're in the same class." I answered her.

"They are, I am not. Oh and they're working on an assignment together." Ethan continued.

"Oh is that so, hon?" Mum asked and they were looking at me to answer to their curiosity.

"Yes we are. Now before you ask anything else, he asked me to be his partner for the assignment because we're desk mates," I said and they nodded their head in unison.

"In other words, we don't know whats his real motive," he shrugged.

I scoffed in disbelief at Ethan before saying, "What do you mean? He has no motive. In fact, we've never spoken before this assignment. Seriously Ethan, what IS your problem with Andre?"

"Exactly my point," he said while pointing his finger at me, he continued, "you guys have never interacted before this and now all of a sudden he wants to be partner with you, out of all the girls he could've partnered with in the class?" He said it as if its a mistake to be partnered up with me and it sort of hurt my feelings. "And to answer your question, my problem with him is my personal matter, you don't need to know."

"What did you say?? Personal matter?? Oh I'm sorry, Mr Ethan Anderson. I thought we were best friends and that best friends share everything with each other. Clearly I was wrong."

At this point my eyes were tearing up but not because he did not want to share his personal matter with me. I was more upset at the fact that he thinks I'm not worthy to partner up with Andre. Maybe its because I'm aware of the fact that he's out of my league and that truth hurts.

"Ari, why are you getting so upset? I was just saying that not every secret is to be shared with friends and sometimes some things are just better left the way it is."

"No you're absolutely right, of course it is Mr Ethan Anderson, of course IT IS," I said getting more agitated at him.

"Then why are you upset?" Ethan asked

"I AM NOT UPSET, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE FOR GOD'S SAKE!!" I shouted and got up from the dining table, clearing my dishes. Before dashing up to my room I said, "I'm sorry but I'm going to my room to finish my homework. Enjoy your dinner."

*

Knock knock knock

"Come in," I said, knowing who it was.

"Are you okay Aria?" She asked, concerned.

I just stared at my laptop, not saying anything.

"He most probably didn't mean for it to come out the way it did," she said, almost as if trying to back him up.

"I am not upset and honestly I don't really care about it anymore. I don't even understand why I got so worked up over something he said without giving it much of a thought. I apologise for storming off like that." I said, wanting to just bury the whole incident but thats when he walked in.

"Apology wasn't needed but it is accepted." I rolled my eyes the moment I heard his voice.

"I wasn't apologising to you." I gave him a cold smile.

"I'll leave you kids to sort this out on your own while I prepare some snacks for you. You didn't even finish your dinner, you must be hungry." Mum tapped my shoulders and walked out of the room, leaving Ethan and I alone in my room.

"I don't know what made you so upset but I'll apologise for upsetting you." He broke the silence.

I scoffed. "If you don't know what made me so upset then why are you apologising? How about for once, you ask me what did you do wrong? Is it too hard or are you just apologising so you can avoid it?"

"Ari I seriously don't know what has gotten into you and what do you mean by I'm avoiding? You want me to ask? Fine, I'll ask! What was it that I did wrong, hmm?" He shouted back.

I scoffed and looked at him with eyes filled with hurt. But why was I so hurt? I know he didn't mean it… maybe because… I didn't expect it coming from Ethan, my best friend. "Am I not worthy enough, even for you?" I'm so close to crying.

"What?... What are you talking about?" He looks at me, bewildered.

"When you said Andre picked me out of all the other girls he could've picked, do you also think I'm not worthy? I know I'm not some beauty with brain but I. Am. Smart! It's literally the only thing I'm proud of myself." It was too hard to hold back my tears at this point. I could feel my tears falling. I covered my face, not wanting him to see me cry.

"Oh no no no Ari that is not at all what I meant. It came out the other way, oh my god Aria please believe me. You are a beauty with brain and like you're so beautiful in fact I think you're gorgeous even if you just woke up from your sleep and and and… come on, do I even need to tell you how smart you are? You're literally the smartest kid in school. Please Ari stop crying, I'm begging you. I'll do anything please just stop crying." He got down on his knees, comforting me. He looks so scared and nervous. He is contemplating whether or not to give me a hug.

I look up at him with tear-soaked puppy eyes. He looks straight into my eyes and he wipes off the tears on my face as if looking at it breaks his heart. "You'll do anything?"

"Yes, absolutely anything," he said before pulling me into a hug.

I broke the hug, looked at him with a serious face and said, "well then I want you to leave me the next batch of cookies that mum's gonna bake." And I broke into a laughter.

"Ha ha ha Ari, that was so lame but if thats what you want then that is what you shall get. I, Ethan Anderson, vows not to touch the next batch of aunty's fresh baked cookies." He chuckled.

*time skip, the next day in school*

Ethan came over with his bike in the morning, parked it in my garage… again, and we walked to school together.

"Y'know, if you want, you can hang with us when we're completing the assignment," I broke the silence between us.

"Ya sure? Cause I don't want to be third-wheeling," he joked.

"I mean why not? It's an ice breaking task of some kind where you have to get to know each other. And I hate to admit but I did find it suspicious, with him approaching me." I confessed. "Tsk, besides, weren't you the one who wanted to come along?" I pouted.

"If you're insisting then how could I deny your request," he had a smirk on his face and it made me want to punch him.

"I'm not at all insisting, I don't care if you come or not," gave him a stink eye.