"Thanks :) but it was nothing!". Ethan sent it back and looked at Alice, who had a shy smile on the corner of her face.
"Want to do something later? Have a coffee, maybe." Alice sent it to Ethan.
"I'd love to, but I need to go to the station with Jessica to talk about what happened. We can schedule for tomorrow after school, what do you think?". He texted back.
"I would love :)". Alice replied.
Ethan began to notice that Alice's family would sometimes look at him with a strange expression on their faces, as if they knew something wasn't right. Perhaps, due to the rumors, they suspected that he was a vampire with skills similar to Jane's, who controls people's sensations with just a word.
He just started to avoid looking towards the table, to avoid exchanging glances. If he really wanted something with Alice, he couldn't make a bad first impression.
Ethan continued talking to his colleagues, but he felt that Jessica was avoiding talking to him. It looked like she was ashamed of him, but instead of Ethan calling Jessica to talk, he preferred to wait until they left, so they could have more privacy.
After a few minutes, the break bell rang, telling everyone to go to class.
Arriving at class, Ethan would have physics with a teacher named Mrs. Jones. He just introduced himself to her and sat in one of the first chairs. Ethan wasn't one of the best physics students, as far as he could remember, but he managed to pass his tests without too much trouble.
Since none of his friends were in that class, Ethan just sat there the whole class, paying attention.
After a few hours, the bell rang again, and students began to leave the classroom to leave.
Ethan grabbed his things and walked to the school's exit door. He was leaning against the door, trying to see Jessica, so they could go together to the police station, but she didn't appear.
He took out his cell phone and texted her:
"Where are you?".
Then, Alice appeared beside him.
"Hey!". She said, almost jumping up and down with happiness.
"Hi Alice. Did something happen?". Ethan asked.
"You're welcome. I just came here to disturb you." She said, poking Ethan's belly, tickling it. "How was the class today? I saw you went into Miss Jones' class. I like her!". Alice said, striking up a conversation with Ethan.
"Oh, it was kind of boring. There was no one I knew, so I ended up being kind of alone. Can you believe Angela said I talk too much in class?" He said to Alice, indignant.
"Did it affect you that much?" She said, laughing.
"YES!". He said, ironically.
"But it's true, you talk too much." Alice said, laughing at Ethan indignantly.
"WHAT?". He shouted, mocking the situation.
"Hey, Ethan, let's go?" Jessica interrupted their conversation, not noticing Alice. "Oh hi! You're Alice, right?" she asked gently.
- Oh, damn…! - Ethan thought, biting his lip and getting more serious.
"Hi, I am. We take Spanish class together, but I don't think we've ever spoken!" Alice replied, holding her hand out to Jessica.
Jessica greeted her back and said, "Oh, why don't you join us in the cafeteria tomorrow? If you don't mind, of course."
- What? - He thought, confused. She barely knew Alice and wanted her to sit with them just because she was his friend.
"Oh, I would love to!". Alice replied, her voice sweet and lively. "You go to the police station, right? Well, I'll be on my way. I don't want to disturb you! See you tomorrow!". She completed.
"Bye Alice!". Jessica said smiling.
"See you tomorrow!". Ethan replied, pleased that they had hit it off on a first interaction. He was a little afraid of the two getting weird, even more so because he had feelings for both, but they shouldn't know that.
Ethan put a headset on just one ear and started walking with Jessica to the police station. They were a little quiet at first, then decided to bring it up:
"Do you want to listen with me?". Ethan asked, offering her an earpiece.
"No, thank you!". She replied, quiet and a little cold.
"Certainty? It's a really cool song." Ethan persisted, plastering a big smile to his face.
"No, I'm fine!". Jessica replied, not looking at him too much.
It looked like Jessica was embarrassed to talk to him about what had happened, which didn't seem to make sense to Ethan, since he hadn't been mad at her.
"Want to talk?". He asked, as he walked beside her.
"About what?". Jessica asked, looking down, quiet.
"You don't seem to get comfortable when I'm around you. I made you something?". Ethan asked, as he shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pocket.
"No, that's not it…". She said, her voice a bit worried. "Look, Ethan… I'm just feeling bad about what happened yet." Jessica completed, in a sad voice.
"But I already told you that I'm not mad or upset. I was just worried about you. Why are you still like this?". Ethan asked in frustration. "Was it because I called you an idiot? I'm sorry, you're not an idiot! I was just mad about it all and…" Jessica stopped in front of him, interrupting him, and said:
"ETHAN!" Jessica yelled, making him quiet. "It's not that! This is not about you! The problem is not you! She completed, her voice trembling.
Ethan stood there for a few seconds, staring at her, not knowing what to say. He was confused as to why she looked so bad.
"I just don't want to talk about it right now, okay? We'll just go to the police station and sort this out soon and leave… I promise I'll talk to you about it sometime". She said, lowering her head and holding back her tears.
Ethan continued to stare for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. He took one of the headphones he was holding and placed it gently on Jessica's ear, and she nodded. Then, the two walked towards the police station, while listening to 'Stay With Me - Miki Matsubara'.
Arriving at the police station, Ethan finds Enid right at the entrance. He seemed to be waiting for the boy to arrive.
"There you are! Took a while to arrive…". She said seriously. "Hi Jessica, are you feeling better honey?" Enid said, realizing that she was a bit down.
"Hi, Miss Coleman! I am yes. I just want to get this over with." Jessica said, pulling herself together.
"Well, wait sitting inside. I'll call Captain Charlie, and I'll be right back. If you want water or coffee, you can get it over there on the bench". Enid said, walking in from the precinct rooms.
Ethan walked over to the overstuffed chairs and sat down next to Jessica, still quiet.
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