Chapter 2 – I Miss You
Honestly, I think I slept like crap. Between waking up every few hours, and sitting there wide awake, I probably got 5 hours of sleep the most and I am used to much more than that. After I literally kill my alarm that was sitting beside my bed on the nightstand, and now is laying on the floor, surprisingly still plugged in, I groan and stretch my arms before getting the energy to get out of bed. My phone beeps and I pick it up to see that Jackson replied to my text from last night.
Hey. Sure whenever is fine with me dude...just you better not wake me up if it's late there.
I roll my eyes at his lame warning and head on over to my computer to boot it up. While it was loading, I glance at the time and see that it is 7:00 am. Seeing that I had a few moments to spare, I decided to grab my towel off the back of my door, and head into the bathroom to grab a quick shower.
Ten minutes later, I emerge from the bathroom and head back into my room in just my towel. I quickly change into a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I pull a black sweater over my head before logging on and seeing that Jackson was online. I request a video chat and while I'm waiting for him to accept, I glance at the time and see that it should be a little after 3:00 pm there.
"Hey dude."
I look back to my screen to see that Jackson's face has popped onto my screen.
"Hey,"I reply back to him.
"How long do you have before you have to leave for school?"
"About an hour. Mom is driving me today so I don't have to walk."
"Missing my porsche yet?" he teases.
"Yeah... and my car. But actually believe it or not, I'm missing you more,"I mock right back.
"Course you are, it's me we're talking about. Who wouldn't miss me?"
"Well, probably McCall or Stilinski. But anyways, what's been going on there in London?"
"Nothing really. My parents were trying to keep me from playing sports because of last year, but that didn't stop me. You should have seen their faces when I first got hurt just doing cross country here. They freaked. But whatever, how about you? Finstock working your asses there for cross country?"
"Yeah. We've had quite the time so far. Between dead bodies showing up and meets getting cancelled after being forced to spend creepy nights in spooky motels off the side of the road, it has been a blast every freaking morning and after school mandatory practice," I tell him sarcastically.
"Sounds fun," Jackson replies. I could have sworn I saw his face fall at the mention of the events here, but I can't be too sure, it's still early.
"So," Jackson says, "Everything okay with you?"
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Really?" Jackson says while raising his brow at me, "I'm your best friend, I know when something's bothering you. Is it about Lydia?"
"What? No, it's not Lydia. She's fine, I think. It's just that... um... okay yesterday I spotted Isaac before I went inside the school in the morning. I had heard growling beforehand and I turned to look towards the trees and I spotted him talking to an older man and then they both walked off in opposite directions."
"So? Maybe he knows him. Maybe Lahey has a long lost family member or something that has come back," Jackson suggests, but something about the tone of his voice suggests that he knows more than he is saying.
"Well, maybe. But then Isaac turned and saw me watching and then he ran away from me and avoided me all day. When he got to the table at lunch, he sat as far away as possible from me and to top it off, Ethan and his brother Aiden are acting weird as well. As well, as Lydia. Ethan won't tell me anything and assists that all of our dates should be spent doubling with Lydia and Aiden," I explain and then immediately feel a bit uncomfortable. I try to avoid mentioning Lydia when I talk to Jackson and especially mentioning Aiden and Lydia in the same sentence together.
"Danny," Jackson says, I guess choosing to ignore the Lydia and Aiden mention, "you're paranoid. Lahey's weird, and probably has gotten weirder since hanging out with McCall and Stilinski. And as for your boyfriend or whatever he is, don't bug him. If there's something going on let him tell you. You always get like this when you get in a new relationship with some new guy. Chill out."
"Geez, when did you get so wise?" I tease Jackson.
"Just listen to me. I'm right," Jackson retorts.
"I guess so..." I'm interrupted by my mom shouting at me from downstairs, "Danny! I'm leaving in 5 minutes!"
"Okay, be down in a sec!" I yell back.
"Bye dude. Remember calm down and relax. Oh, and make sure you keep on kicking McCall's ass in cross country," Jackson says.
I laugh, "Will do. Bye Jacks."
"Later," he says before stopping our chat session. I shut down my computer and grab my backpack before heading down the stairs and meeting my mom in the car.
The school day went by pretty fast per say. The cross country team is in the locker room now, after a long, sweaty practice. I notice Coach off yelling at Greenburg about something and everyone else is coming back from the showers that I was just at and grumpily getting dressed before leaving the locker room.
"Hey, Danny Boy."
I turn my head to my right to see that Stiles has opened up his locker which is a few down from mine. I look behind me and notice Scott head into the showers and turn to see Isaac leave out the locker room doors.
"Hey..." I reply. I turn back and continue placing my clothes in my bag while Stiles begins doing the same.
"So, could I ask you for a favour perhaps?" Stiles asks casually.
"Nope," I automatically reply to him.
"What...why not?" Stiles exclaims.
"For one, Stilinski, the last time I did a favour for you I ended up sitting in your bedroom while your cousin Miguel was in there and I had you try and set me up with him! And second of all, it was only months ago that you were shouting, in that very spot might I add, about how you were a virgin and you wanted someone to, I quote "sex me right now."
"Hey, that was a life or death situation!" Stiles defends.
I roll my eyes, "Mhm... and why do you think you would have died if you didn't have sex?"
"Uh..." Stiles stammers, "Now that you mention it, you're actually right. Not important. Nope not at all."
Stiles shoves his track shoes into his bag, zips it close and shuts his locker before practically darting out of the locker room with a shout to Scott who was just coming out of the showers that he would see him later.
I don't think much about Stiles' odd behaviour, because he's...well Stiles. But I do find it weird how he changed the subject that quickly. He probably just got embarrassed or something. To be perfectly honest, I was only joking when I had made that offer months ago to help Stiles out with his virginity problem. It's not that he's ugly or unattractive, because he's actually not, especially now that he's grown his hair out and all, it's just that he's too close to me now in a way. We're sort of friends now, and it would just be weird if it hadn't worked out. And plus, the amount of stuff that Jackson would say to me about it would just give me a headache.
The short lived conversation I had with Stiles leaves my head as I get home and spend the next few hours getting ready for my date with Ethan. I'm in the middle of choosing between my black v-neck shirt or my blue shirt when I hear a knock on my bedroom door.
"Hey bud."
I glance up to see my dad enter my room and sit on my bed. I place my black shirt down and take a seat across from him in my computer chair.
"What's up, dad?" I ask.
My dad glances at the shirt for a moment before turning his attention back to me.
"I'm just checking to see how you're doing. Your mom just left to head over to the store quickly and I've been wondering how you've been holding up. You know with Jackson leaving and all."
"I'm doing fine," I reply.
"Oh, I see that," he smirks a bit, "I just wasn't sure."
I see my dad is looking for me to say more. I take a few breaths and admit something about how I've been feeling for the past few months. I see that he's trying and that doesn't always happen as he works a lot.
"Well...actually, I've been good recently. You know, Jackson leaving was hard and still is," my dad nods his head in understanding. "He was the first person I came out to about being gay and he's been there for me through everything, including all the teasing I got at first. I didn't really have any other really good friends; I had a few, but Jackson was the one person I'm truly comfortable around because he's my best friend. You know... I actually sat alone at lunch a few times at the beginning of the year because it was just odd sitting where we used to sit. I even felt weird talking to Lydia. I still do sometimes."
"Why?," my dad questions confused, "She's your friend."
"Yeah, she is," I agree, "But, seeing her with Aiden is just a constant reminder that my best friend is in London of all places and that he probably won't be coming back, unless his parents change their minds. It's weird not seeing her with Jackson constantly, making out, hell even fighting with him. I miss it."
"And now what?" my dad asks me.
"Now," I continue, " I have a boyfriend and I'm actually confident that this one will work out with no complications attached. I'm really happy with him. He makes school bearable and easy to deal with, and he helps me get through another day there without my best friend. He takes away the constant reminder that everything has changed so fast within the past few months."
"That's good you found Ethan, Danny. We actually really like him. But, keep talking to Lydia, it will get easier as the months go by and you get used to not having Jackson there. Keep busy bud, and keep talking to Jackson...despite that stupid dare he made you do and got you arrested, he's a good kid and has been through a lot, just like you have."
"Thanks, " I say. I glance at the time and then look at my phone when it beeps.
I'm leaving in about 5 minutes... see you soon :)
I reply back to him.
Great! Can't wait! :)
My dad must have sensed that Ethan was almost there because he stands up and before walking out of my room, tosses the blue shirt to me.
"Have fun tonight!" he calls from his room.
"Thanks!"
I finish getting ready, and head outside when I hear Ethan pull up outside.
It was about 20 minutes later when we arrived at the restaurant that Ethan chose for us to eat at. As soon as we walked in, I could tell that it was an Italian restaurant, which is my favourite. Ethan squeezes my hand gently and leads me over to the hostess, who smiles when she sees us approaching.
"Hello. Is it just you two tonight?" she asks us happily.
"Yes, it is," Ethan tells her politely.
"Okay," she says while picking up two menus, "Follow me then."
She leads us through the restaurant that is beginning to grow busier by the moment as more people are coming in after us. She leads us to a booth located in the only quiet part of the restaurant and we thank her before sitting down.
"Someone will be here soon to take your drink orders," she replies before placing the menus down in front of us and heading back towards the crowd of people at the front of the restaurant.
"This place is nice. You didn't have to do this," I tell him.
"Oh, it's fine. I've been wanting to take you here for a while now. I just hope it makes up for all the times we haven't got to spend together recently," Ethan replies.
"Hmm... I don't know about that..." I tease him. Ethan smiles at me and a laugh escapes my mouth.
"Yeah, I guess it does," I tell him as a waitress appears at our table to take our orders.
"Hi, I'm Bethany. I'll be your server for tonight. Have you both thought of what you want to drink yet?"
"Actually, I'll just have a Spirit please." Ethan tells her.
Bethany nods, writes down his order, and turns to look at me.
"I'll have a Pepsi, please."
She writes it down on her pad of paper.
"I'll be back in a few minutes with your drinks."
After she walks off, I turn to look at the menu.
"So, any recommendations?" I ask Ethan and glance up at him from the menu.
"Hm, yeah. I was thinking we both order the Alfredo pasta. It's what I always like to get when I go to restaurants."
"Okay then," I say as Bethany returns with our drinks.
"Here your Spirit,"she places it in front of Ethan.
"And, here's your Pepsi," she says as she places it in front of me.
"Thanks," Ethan and I both end up saying at the same time. We both blush and Bethany laughs at us politely.
"No, problem. Have you both thought of what you would like to order yet?"
"Actually, yes. We both would like the Alfredo pasta, please." Ethan tells her.
"Mhm, good choice there. It's tastes amazing," she tells us while writing it down.
"Anything else?" she asks once she finishes.
Ethan glances at me, but I shake my head, "No, that will be it," he tells her.
She nods before heading off to place our orders into the kitchen.
"So, that was a killer practice today wasn't it?" I say to Ethan.
"Ugh, yeah I know. Is the coach always like that?"
I laugh, "Yeah basically. You should see him when lacrosse season comes around."
"I can't wait," Ethan replies and I laugh at the facial expression that he is making.
"So are you coming out for the team when it starts up again?" I ask.
"Aiden and I were both thinking about it, but we weren't sure yet."
"You totally should. We won the championships last year," I tell him.
"Really?" Ethan replies
"Yeah, actually Stiles was the one who won us the game. We were totally going to lose that game. We were down about like 10 points and Finstock put him on the field and at first it was a disaster, but he got better and scored us over 10 points. Including the one that won us the game."
"Wow," Ethan replies, "Sounds like that was quite a game."
"Oh, it was," I laugh remembering how many of us got hurt and how crazy Finstock was getting when he thought we were going to lose.
"Coach is probably going to put Stiles on the field for now on. Which he should, he proved that he doesn't totally suck and can play," I tell him.
"Who's the captain?" Ethan asks.
I laugh at that, "Well, it was Jackson for the most part and then coach decided that he wanted co-captains so he made Scott captain as well as Jackson. Jackson was pissed off."
Ethan laughs.
"So, I guess now that Jackson's moved, Scott will be the captain in replace of Jackson," I continue.
"And that's a good thing, right?"
"Oh, yeah," I say a bit caught off guard by Ethan's question.
I continue, "Scott was a good co-captain. He and Jackson didn't totally kill each other. And he's a good player. So yeah, I'm totally fine with Scott being captain."
"I can't wait to see you play," Ethan says to me while grabbing my hand from across the table and holds it gently.
"Thanks," I smile at him, "But, I'm the goalie. So you'll get to see me blocking those shots that everyone makes at me."
"Oh, I can't wait."
Bethany returns then with our dishes. She places the plates in front of us and warns us that they are hot and offers cheese. Once we get cheese, she walks off to take another tables order. Ethan and I fall into casual conversation about how both of our days went and I laugh at a story he tells me about how he caught Aiden and Lydia making out in one of the empty classrooms. We fall into a comfortable silence as we finish off the remainder of our meals. Soon after, Bethany returns and we decline dessert while Ethan pays for the meal before I can even reach for my wallet.
"Thanks for dinner," I say as we head outside.
"No, problem. Anything for you."
We walk until we reach his motorcycle and I stand there waiting for him to get on first so that I can get on behind him. Instead of getting on the bike, he turns towards me and pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around him as I return his hug and a few moments past before he looks at me and leans towards me. I close my eyes as I feel Ethan's lips on mine and he's kissing me softly. I don't know how it is possible, but I pull him closer and find myself moaning into the kissing. We were probably standing there for a while, before I had to stop because we were still in the parking lot.
"So, do you wanna see a movie?" Ethan asks me quietly as we move apart and get onto his motorcycle.
"I would love too," I tell him before he turns on the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot.
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