A/N Boredom and no plans = more writing. Lol. Enjoy! And reviews make my day!!!
Ernst barely made it through school the next day. He read the essay sitting underneath the tree and sat there til the sun began to set trying to absorb all of the information. When he got home he went straight to his room so he could avoid even looking at his mother. Just the thought of what his parents had done and how it all seemed to work sent his head spinning.
Ernst spent his entire night trying to block all of the information out and sleep, but it was impossible. He told himself that he would never do that to any of the girls. The thought of any of his friends in pain terrified him. Most of them have enough pain in their lives without … well, you know.
Ernst fled from his home like he did the morning before, hoping that school would be an escape from the confusion in his mind. Unfortunately, it only caused more questions to surface.
One glance around the schoolyard and Ernst saw how their lives would end up. Melchior would try to change the things he though wrong, Otto and Georg would do what was expected of them, and Hanschen would do whatever he decided to. Moritz was nowhere to be found, his night must have been as difficult as Ernst's had been.
"So Ernst, how was your reading last night?" Hanschen asked approaching him.
"F-f-fine," he replied, making the mistake of looking into Hanschen eyes. Ernst quickly looked down at his shoes. They would be the only safe place to look all day.
Hanschen chuckled. Poor Ernst was clearly distraught by all of this reality. "Do not fear. You will forget all about it soon enough. Or you will come to accept it."
"How would you know? You did not read the essay," Ernst said, looking up again as he gained courage from either being angered, annoyed, or sleep deprived.
"I was unfortunate enough to walk into my parents' bedroom without acknowledging my presence a few years ago. My father was forced to explain everything to me," Hanschen admitted, showing a faint hint of shame.
"Oh." Ernst blushed at the thought of Hanschen witnessing that act and then cringed at the possibility of his parents doing the same.
"We'd better get to class." Hanschen headed towards the door. Ernst watched him walk and then began to follow him.
Class became torture that day. Ernst's mind wandered from the information it gained the afternoon before to what might happen if it was not a man and a woman, but two men or two women. Ernst was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice when one class ended and the next began. He was beaten thrice for not knowing the answer to whatever question was asked of him. His mind just kept drifting to that sacred act between a man and his wife.
When the day finally ended, Ernst could not force himself to go home. Instead he went back to the vineyard and sat under the same tree as he had the previous afternoon. And as the afternoon before, Ernst was not left alone with his thoughts.
"Hello Ernst," Melchior said with Hanschen following closely behind.
"Hello," Ernst said meekly.
"How did you like the essay?" Melchior questioned.
"It was… very informative," Ernst said, blushing. "Thank you."
Melchior laughed at his meek reply. "I can answer any question you have," he offered.
"That's alright. I have learned enough already."
"Suit yourself. But you can always come to me if you would like to," Melchior offered as he headed towards his home.
Hanschen, however, sat himself beside Ernst like he did the day before. He did not say anything and Ernst appreciated it. He liked to think in silence.
Eventually Ernst's mind grew tired of thinking about the essay and he took out his homework. Hanschen did the same and they both finished their work before sunset when they headed their separate ways home.
Ernst forced himself to act normal around his parents that night and managed to pull through well enough. But that night Ernst though of the past two afternoons and how they were spent and who they were spent with. Ernst finally got some well deserved sleep, but not without his dreams being filled with a blue-eyed blonde and details from the essay.
A/N I know, kind of a dull chapter. But the next few should be good, so suffer through. I want to finish this story before I continue with the other and I'll probably update soon since I don't have many plans for this week.
Top 5 Musicals: Spring Awakening, Bare, Next to Normal, RENT , and Les Miserables. The sad thing is I've only actually seen 1 of them. Lol. But I have seen video versions of 3 others.