The nocturne of a lonely heart

Chapter 4: What is the stuff

"Oh hey, Ethan, here" Ashley waived at him trying to catch boy's attention. She was sitting with her friend at lunch, as Ethan passed right by.

"Oh right, hi" The brown-haired boy responded almost immediately after he found where his name was being called from. "Wassup?"

"Hello yes, tell us how was your first day?" Sincerely interested the girl started. "Oh right sorry I was a bit busy at the lunch time yesterday, couldn't come, had to do some... eh other stuff" She added almost confidently. "But yeah, tell us"

Cosily Ethan chitchatted with the new girls. The other girl's name was Olivia, her hair was naturally unbelievably dark and straight, she played the flute and as it turns out her father used to be a headmaster here. These also dipped him into some local gossips, like how two poor girls that don't know each other got pregnant from the very same guy, or that the last year fire was a planned arson, committed by a girl, which local guy cheated on, and the girl was semi-conveniently from the rivalling school.

As it seemed, it wasn't that boring here at all. He just wished to be kept away from all these gossips then everything should be fi-

"Eh hey Ashley" a familiar face came up to them. "Would you have a spare minute?" He tried, his eyes not leaving her face, looking at her expectantly. It was one of the guys that were on the football field the other day, he was the one trying to solve the argument between others or whatever that was. The semi-stranger guy looked not so stern and intimidating as he appeared to be on the field. Well maybe it was because the guy tried to get something from Ashley.

"Erm no" Her mood changing immediately to 'fed up'. "There's nothing I'd like or need to discuss with you" she halted, questioning why would he even talk to her when suddenly it hit her. "nor Aiden" She finished rolling her eyes, not even looking at him. "Would you leave?" She spared him a deadly glance and opened her mouth. "Mind enlightening me with your absence?" Ashley suggested offensively, the harsh tone was pretty easy to read, but seemingly it pissed her even more so on impulse she continued. "And you know if he ever felt bad and was sorry about that, then he and not you would be here. Though it wouldn't change any outcome of the case" She hinted, the whole table and a few others were silenced by the unrevealed drama. Stares followed by whispers kept the atmosphere absolutely electric, no word dared to cut the instantly built up tension.

Thankfully the guy took the cue and left with an awkward lips-drawn-together face as his gaze darkened with disappointment. 'He gave up really easily' suspected Ethan, not understanding what just happened.

'Who's this guy? Who is Aiden? And why are they not getting along?' A logical queue of questions, that tortured his nosy self, arose in his head. Apparently the guy had some unfinished stuff with Ashley and if Ethan was Aiden or whoever Ashley had stress with, he would really like that stuff to stay unfinished – that girl could be terrifying.

"I can't believe he's still onto it, and the audacity to send Aaron to get me to talk to him!" Her eyebrows high up with a disgusted wry smirk, that vividly described how she felt about it. That expression was more than enough to understand that no further questions on the case should follow. And none followed, or more like none dared.

"Sorry" she apologised suddenly. "Didn't mean to appear like that" her cheeks reddened as Olivia understood the hint and swiftly changed the topic to the upcoming party celebrating the beginning of the school year.

'What was the deal between these two' he wondered even further somehow trying to figure it out.

"Ethan, oh my god, you must come to the party" 'Liv started trying to convince the guy to come with them. "The whole school is going to be there, lots of booze in the house that has even a pool!" She named all possible reasons for him to come: girls, guys, music, pool, jacuzzi, and even hotdogs. And although he hesitated at first, in the end it was really hard to reject the possibility to have a nice evening with girls and maybe get to know some other locals. Plus he wanted to try the jacuzzi but that was not the main reason of course. "I'll come, but y'all have to guide me a bit in the beginning but after we could disperse if you say."

"Perfect" Olivia and Ashley cheered together, happy to get away from this drama crap accumulated over the previous week. The school year has hardly begun but it was already not the nicest 'white sheet' for the girl to start from.

"Who's organising the party, do you know?" Ethan questioned. Eyes scanning faces of the girls, that were sitting opposite to him.

"Hun, there's no one in this school, who we don't know" Ashley finally regained her former mood of the day and 'Liv continued. "It's at Henry's. He is one of the footballers – his plays the guard position or whatever they call it and his parents have a penthousing penthouse but on the ground, if you know what I mean".

Oh wow, so this school has their own rich kids that for some reason go to public school and not private. Furthermore they throw parties, that according to 'feedbacks' are the wildest one. It was no small northern England town party anymore, it was like a whole school festival without the daylight part.