Connected To Him (ManxMan)

Part 1: Chapter 23

"What's the rest of your schedule like?" Chris asked eagerly, leaning into Ethan. Ethan quickly noted how his buzz cut had grown out, the 4C curls now almost an inch away from his scalp. Chris' eyes caught his, confused as to why Ethan hadn't moved yet, which spurred Ethan into action. Ethan went and pulled his phone out since he still hadn't memorized the order. Chris followed suit, hoping to compare.

They read out class after class, repeatedly disappointed that they wouldn't be paired together until they got to seventh.

"And then I got English Language and Composition with Crawford." Ethan stated dispassionately, already expecting for Chris to name a different class. Chris perked up, eyes brightening further.

"You're also taking English 7th period?" He asked brightly, warm eyes intently focused on Ethan. Although it wasn't needed, Ethan nodded in confirmation. He wanted to appear calm but he had nodded too frantically, betraying his excitement. Ethan and Chris were giddy about the news. Realistically, they probably will be too busy learning and doing assignments to notice much of a difference. Yet, they still celebrated quietly together, coming up with all kinds of dream scenarios.

"Imagine." Chris began quietly, an excited gleam in his eye. "They'll be teaching about Romeo and Juliet and I'll pretend to be bored. But, really, I just keep looking at you."

Ethan bit on his lip to try to subdue his grin.

"Why?"

Chris did not miss a beat.

"Because you're my Romeo."

Ethan laughed in surprise, somehow not expecting that from Chris. Ethan pushed his mouth into his palm, but continued to look over at Chris with a warm expression.

"And you're my Juliet?" Ethan asked teasingly, pointedly staring at Chris as if to emphasize his large frame.

"Exactly." Chris said, a large smile on his face. "If we're going off of archaic gender norms regarding personality, I would definitely be the girl."

"Oh really?" Ethan asked curiously. "How so?"

Ethan was pleasantly surprised to hear this. He didn't agree, but he did want to hear Chris' reasoning.

"Well, a woman was thought to be submissive and quiet." Chris explained, staring with an unfocused look at his desk. "Just silent and boring compared to her husband."

"You are not boring." Ethan stated firmly, practically gasping in shock at the mere thought.

"But compared to you," Chris continued, discreetly taking Ethan's hand in his own. "It's hard to imagine my tiny candle being visible next to such a bright light like yours."

It was hard for Ethan to continue to look at Chris. He so desperately wanted to hide his face out of view and ignore Chris' generous compliments.

"I will not accept any more compliments if they are meant to insinuate that I am better than you." Ethan finally told Chris. He pushed his embarrassment aside to look Chris dead in the eye. He was being totally serious. "We're just different, and I personally prefer you that way."

Now Chris was the one having trouble meeting Ethan's eyes. Ethan revelled in his reaction. It was nice to be reminded that Chris was as affected as Ethan.

Then, Chris began tapping his fingers on his desk. Ethan wasn't really bothered by the sound, but more curious as to why Chris was doing it. Chris' lips were pursed and his eyes unfocused as if he had something to say.

"Hey, do you want to get dinner tonight?" Chris finally asked, a hesitant smile on his lips. "My mom was telling me about this cool restaurant she and my dad went to. I think you'll like it."