Connected To Him (ManxMan)

Part 1: Chapter 24

Ethan was arguably walking into the most boring conversation ever. He would have thought that he was saving Chris if the dark-skinned boy didn't seem so involved. At the sound of Ethan's heavy footsteps, the two 'adults' momentarily halted their conversation to look up.

"Took you long enough." Mrs. Sterling commented with narrowed eyes. "You made this poor boy wait an eternity for you."

As if sensing that Ethan was about to say some not so nice words in return, Chris spoke.

"It's fine, Ms. Loretta. I really enjoyed talking to you about the Company X purchase so it all worked out." Chris told her appeasingly, calming the situation. Ethan chuckled at how quickly his mother warmed up. Chris really had such a strong impact on this family, didn't he?

Ethan reached the bottom of the steps and went to stand next to Chris so that their shoulders nearly met. Even with the lack of distance, Ethan turned his head to look at Chris.

"Are you ready to go, or does the Company X drama still need more time?" Ethan asked him teasingly, eyes focused on Chris's. Chris forgot about the presence of Ethan's mother for a moment and considered closing the small amount of distance between. Ethan's lips were right there, quirked up into the most adorable smile.

Thank God Chris caught himself in time. While clearing his throat, Chris faced the front again and nodded firmly.

"Yup, let's go."

Ethan definitely noticed how tense Chris sounded but didn't comment on it. He had a slight inkling that he was the reason for it, so he wouldn't bring it up in front of his mom. With cheery waves, the boys left Ethan's place and went on their way.

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Ethan was quite obnoxious with how he marvelled at the restaurant. The entire place was decorated like a retro diner, red and orange being the most prominent colours along with a black and white checkered pattern. Deep red booths, one of which Chris and Ethan were seated in, lined the walls and cute circular tables filled the floor. The red tables were placed so closely together, the servers had to perform a dance every time they went to serve food, yet never seemed to mind. A long counter wrapped around the kitchen, creating a bar-like set-up behind which the servers moved to get all of the orders. The restaurant was like a dream and Ethan had no reservations about expressing this to Chris.

Despite already knowing what the place would look like, Chris was happy to listen as Ethan pointed out the different aspects to him. Ethan wore the largest of smiles as he spoke, eyes glittery and turning brighter with every word. Each new detail that Ethan noted was another thing to celebrate. His attention went from the floors to the posters to the jukebox in no time at all. Chris found his energy overwhelming in the best way possible. He watched silently as Ethan did this, content to just watch it all unfold.

Five minutes later, with Ethan sure that he had seen every last bit of the restaurant, he finally noticed Chris's intense stare. Chris wore the slightest of smiles and had his head placed on the palm of his hands as he stared. He was just incredibly still and focused. At this point, Ethan should be used to Chris's constant attention. Yet, it always managed to make Ethan feel so powerful and so small at the same time. He squirmed under the attention, no longer as excitable, and slipped down into his seat.

When Chris did not take this as a cue and continued to stare at Ethan, Ethan couldn't stop the words from pouring out.

"Have I ever told how much I love and hate it when you stare at me like that?" Ethan asked him suddenly, a conflicted expression on his flushed face. "I can never decide exactly how I feel about it in the moment."