Chapter Six

"How was school today?" Jacob said in a sing-songy voice.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a kid, you know."

"Well, duh," he said. "I just like checking up on you."

I nodded with widened eyes. "I can see that," I poked back.

Jacob and I met at the common area after school. Since it was Monday, our schedules aligned, meaning we get to hang out afterward. The common area was a place on campus where students eat, order coffee, and simply hang out. Jacob got himself a plate of anything and practically breathed it in as if it was the last meal on earth. After slurping up some noodles on his plate, he said, "So, I saw you with someone today."

"I was with a lot of people," I said, which was true. The very first classes of every semester were always the same: introduce your name, play a name game with a partner, get to know the course, go home with the designated syllabus. Students mingled with others, quickly forming cliques among themselves. I clicked with others too. Especially in my Biology II course.

"Was one in particular from our hockey team?" Jacob pressed. His lips pressed into a grin, tauntingly, and his eyes flickered with mischief. I knew where Jacob was poking. I wasn't sure if I should let him.

I shrugged, casually chewing a forkful of sauteed tofu. Then I answered, "Probably was Mason. Or Tyler."

Jacob just looked at me. "Neither of them are blondes with blue eyes."

"What are you implying?"

"I'm suspecting you have a new friend,"

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. I tossed my fork my plate and leaned back in my chair. "Hit me."

"Liam!"

I threw a napkin at Jacob, who flinched in defense.

"Hey!" he laugh-yelled.

"Shh!" I hissed. "You're too loud!"

"You're the one who's not using indoor voices," Jacob joked. Did I mention I rolled my eyes? "But seriously, Liam's a cool dude. I hear he's not from around here."

I decided to play dumb. At least, for the sake of getting the right information. "Where is he from?"

"California!" he said. "What? You two never got to that part?"

"We just met," I told, brushing Jacob off.

After our meals, Jacob had to split to meet Mason at the library. The two share the same statistics class, so Mason and Jacob decided to create their own calendar of study sessions. Tyler, Jacob, Mason, and I tended to do that if we share classes. Sometimes we added other students into our study session. Generally, it was just the four of us.

"You sure you don't want to come?" asked Jacob. "You will have to take statistics eventually."

I waved him away. "Just save the notes for me."

Jacob shrugged and mouthed an, "Okay."

As soon as Jacob turned in the direction of the path leading to the library, I decided to take a walk. It was only a little over ten degrees of a difference. I read this morning that the temperatures increased to 43 degrees. Enough to enjoy some time to myself. I loosened the scarf a bit from around my neck to breathe. I let the breeze tickle my skin as I inhaled deeply. The sky was pleasant, showcasing its iridescent blue shade, and the clouds were as white as the snow crunching under my boots. It wasn't long before I was lost in thought, walking to nowhere. I ended up by the river that coursed through campus grounds. It was solid from the cold and sugarcoated in snow. The bleeding roots from the trees were buried in the river and frozen with it. I stood at the foot of the bridge facing the direction leading back to the academic side of campus. I took a step back, ready to turn back around when a voice called my name.

"Kyle?"

I spun around. The voice piqued my curiosity and set off the butterflies flying in my stomach. My skin crawled because I knew that feeling too well.

"Kyle..." Hazel eyes gazed at me from beneath long lashes. His height slightly towered over me as he held a smug look on his face.

"What?" I hissed.

"Um, ouch!" he taunted. "I don't think that's how you react to an old buddy."

"We're not buddies," I said flatly.

"Well, why don't we work on that?"

"Because I hate you!" I snared.

Ethan made a face as if I burned him. "We should work on your anger too."

My hands flew up, rubbing my face hard as I heaved a long weary sigh. "Ethan, why do you show up in places I wish you hadn't the most?"

"Maybe because you still think of me," he said. I wished Ethan was messing with me. How he said that sentence almost sounded sincere.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Ethan shook his head as if getting rid of whatever he felt. Then his eyes found me again. Still, Ethan's tone was faraway and mixed. How Ethan could flip like a light switch with little effort is beyond me. "We should talk," he said. I opened my mouth to object, but he added, "I really want to."

"Ethan..." was all I could let out. It came out tight with caution and a feeling I couldn't point out.

"Please?" he pleaded. "I need to."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm standing right here," I said. "What is it you're dying to tell me?"

"I don't want us to talk here," Ethan said, gesturing around us. "Besides, I don't want you catching a cold. Especially not with... You know..." By that, Ethan indicated my condition. I was diagnosed with lupus at 11. Honestly, I've always struggled with my health since I was a toddler. However, symptoms and signs piled onto another as the years went by. Up until my mom, before she left, decided it was time to get me help. Three months after, the doctors finally realized that the symptoms were red flags of lupus. Ethan found out about my condition one night when he wasn't supposed to be around. He snuck into my room to visit me when my dad went away for a business trip one weekend. My sister went out with her friends to a party not too far from home. Mostly, because I insisted on her going. I wanted to be alone, but Ethan pushed his way in. The two of us were tense from a prior argument. Yet, he tried to make matters right. Before Ethan had the chance, he found himself rushing me to the hospital. I couldn't remember how it happened, accurately, but I recall the look on Ethan's face. He wanted to know everything and anything. I answered all of his questions.

Admittedly, that's how I picked up smoking. To scare Ethan into realizing he was simply another day short to losing me.

Ethan stepped closer to me, but I stepped back, careful not to lose my balance. "Be careful," I said. "Eyes are watching."

"If you mean Jacob or Tyler or Mason," he said, "I'm not scared."

"I didn't tell you to."

"Kyle..."

"Tell me where you want to go so we can talk."

Ethan shifted in his shoes as his eyes darted anywhere. He did that whenever I pushed a button he was too afraid to press. I stared at him without blinking.

Ethan subsequently sucked it up and said, "Let's go off campus."