By the time we reached my house, my brain was still trying to recover from the near fall earlier.
I unlocked the door quickly and stepped inside, hoping the familiar comfort of home would calm my nerves. It didn't.
Ethan followed me in, looking around with quiet curiosity.
"Nice place," he said.
"Thanks."
My voice sounded smaller than usual.
I dropped my bag on the chair and walked toward the kitchen area, still avoiding eye contact.
"What… um… what would you like to have?" I asked.
My eyes stayed firmly on the floor.
"Water is fine," Ethan replied.
"Okay."
I poured him a glass and handed it over without lifting my gaze.
"Thank you."
"Welcome."
The silence that followed felt heavy. Not uncomfortable exactly… but charged with everything that had happened earlier—the trip, the catch, the closeness.
I quickly grabbed my laptop and notebook.
"Let's start the assignment."
That felt like safe territory. Schoolwork.
Ethan sat beside me at the small table.
"What part are we working on?" he asked.
"The written analysis," I said. "Mr. Matthews said every group has to submit a reflection explaining the themes of the performance."
"Right."
I opened my notebook.
"We should break down the characters," I continued. "Fear, Doubt, Hope, Courage, and the Student's Voice."
Ethan leaned slightly closer to look at the notes. Our shoulders brushed lightly.
A tiny spark of awareness shot through me.
I pretended not to notice.
"So," he said, pointing at the page, "Fear represents the natural hesitation people feel before trying something new."
"Exactly," I said quickly, typing it.
"And Doubt questions whether the effort is worth it."
Amanda's character.
"That leaves Hope and Courage," he continued.
He leaned in again to show something on my laptop screen. Our hands touched briefly. Just a quick brush of skin. But it was enough to send my thoughts spiraling again.
I cleared my throat and focused on the screen.The assignment slowly began taking shape.
We wrote about symbolism. Character dynamics. The message of inner conflict.
After a while, Ethan stood up to stretch.
"That was a lot of writing."
"Yeah."
He wandered casually toward my bookshelf. And that's when everything went wrong.
"Oh?" he said suddenly.
I looked up.
He had pulled out one of the books from the middle shelf. My eyes widened. No. No no no. He held it up. The cover alone was already bad enough. A dark romance novel. The kind that definitely wasn't meant to be discovered by visiting classmates.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"Well… this is interesting."
"Put that down," I said immediately.
But he had already opened it.
Then—clearly trying to lighten the mood—he began reading aloud dramatically.
"In the dim glow of the candlelight, his fingers traced the curve of her—"
"ETHAN!"
I lunged for the book. He laughed and lifted it higher above his head. He was taller. Much taller.
"Come on," he said teasingly. "It's literature."
"Give it back!"
I tried jumping slightly to grab it.
He stepped back.
"'Her breath trembled as his lips moved closer—'"
"STOP!"
I covered my face with both hands.
"Oh, my God."
Ethan burst out laughing.
I tried grabbing the book again but failed.
Eventually, I gave up completely and sank into the chair, hiding my face behind my palms.
"I can't believe this is happening."
After a moment, the reading stopped.
The room grew quiet again.
Then Ethan said softly, "Okay… I'm sorry."
I slowly peeked through my fingers.
He placed the book back on the shelf.
"I was just joking," he said.
I groaned softly.
"I know."
Then suddenly—He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me in a quick, warm hug.
It seemed completely impulsive.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
The air changed again. That same strange tension returned.
Then—My phone rang. The sound nearly made both of us jump.
I quickly pulled away and grabbed it from the table.
The caller ID made my stomach drop. Daniel.
I answered quickly.
"Hello?"
"Hey," Daniel said casually. "Just checking up on you."
"Oh… hi."
"What are you doing?"
My brain worked quickly.
"Just… reading a book online."
I glanced at Ethan, who was now sitting quietly across the table.
Trying very hard not to look amused.
"Nice," Daniel said. "Still thinking about today?"
"Yeah," I replied, forcing my voice to sound normal.
"We were amazing," he added.
"Definitely."
"Well, just wanted to check in," he said. "Talk tomorrow."
"Okay."
I ended the call.
The silence returned again.
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"Reading a book online?"
"Don't start."
He chuckled softly.
The afternoon passed surprisingly quickly after that. The tension never completely disappeared, but it softened.
We finished most of the Assignments. And somewhere between writing paragraphs and discussing ideas, our conversation began drifting to other topics. Random things. Music. School. Childhood memories.
Then Ethan leaned back slightly.
"You know… this is the longest normal conversation I've had since moving here."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
He looked thoughtful for a moment.
"My last home was pretty different."
"Where?"
"A small town in Abuja, Nigeria."
"What happened?"
He shrugged slightly.
"My dad got transferred for work. New job, new city."
"That must have been hard."
"It was," he admitted. "I had friends there. A whole routine."
He paused.
"Then suddenly everything changed."
"Do you still talk to them?"
"A few," he said. "But it's not the same."
He smiled faintly.
"I guess I'm still figuring things out here."
I nodded.
"I think you're doing fine."
"Thanks."
Eventually he checked the time.
"I should probably head back."
"Yeah."
We walked to the door.
"Thanks for the... assignment help," I said.
"And the book reading," he added jokingly.
"Don't remind me."
He laughed and waved before leaving.
About ten minutes later, Mum came home.
As soon as she stepped inside, she looked at me curiously.
"Sharon."
"Yes?"
"I just saw a young boy walking away from this house."
My heart jumped.
"Oh."
She folded her arms playfully.
"Care to explain?"
"He's just a classmate," I said quickly. "From our group… the Quintet of Echoes."
Mum's smile widened.
"Oho."
"Mum…"
She laughed.
"Relax, I'm only teasing."
Then her tone softened slightly.
"But still… be careful."
"I will."
We had dinner together, talking about small things.
Eventually the house grew quiet again as night settled in.
I went upstairs and lay in bed. But sleep refused to come.
My mind kept replaying everything. The hug. The book incident. Daniel's call. Ethan's stories. And the terrifying thought of facing everyone at school the next day.
I turned over in bed. Then again. Still awake. The night slowly stretched on as my thoughts refused to rest.