Just Another High School Story!

Just like that, the first seed of misunderstanding between them was planted.

Who'd have known that a confident, seems-to-have-everything Ethan would compare himself with Shawn, and even if he thought that he was better than Shawn on premises like build, and height, he couldn't say about character, Shawn had a sweet, charming smile, and dimples, Ethan didn't. He'd felt Leah's crush on Shawn when he first came back. Were they really a thing?? If he'd just asked Leah, it wouldn't have come out all wrong later. Such a shame!

Leah was just returning from the music club when she walked into the gym, her soccer bros were back, finally, the guys whom she spent all her time with, or at least used to, they'd been away for games, competitions, outstate, but now they were back, Jared, Mustafa, Lian, Xin, Philip, all of them.

They ambushed her just as she walked in and picked her up, and started throwing her up and down. Just like that commotion was created in the gym. Ethan was enraged when he saw what they were doing to his girlfriend, was she a toy or what? So many guys, at that. He knew Leah was rumoured to have many guy-friends, but so many. "Oh my gosh!" Ethan was taken aback, he was terrified, he thought to himself, "What am I gonna do?" he didn't just have competition, he was alone in the battlefield, no wingman to support him, unlike Leah, Ethan didn't have any friends, no guy friends, nothing, he'd spent all his time trying to focus on getting her. So much so, he couldn't complain to anyone, about Leah's friends, obviously, he couldn't go up to her, and say, I don't want you hanging out with anyone. He wasn't such a person, but why did he feel like he was becoming one.

When the guys finished throwing Leah up, and down like a ball, she stepped down, and bam, a sharp spasm of pain hit her, as if someone had stabbed her with a knife, and were rubbing her oesophagus with something sharp. She grabbed her stomach in pain, but usual Leah, she didn't scream out loud, she kept a straight face. Ethan couldn't understand why they'd quieted down, he was intently listening to Leah's voice but she'd stopped. He understood what must have happened, and just as he'd imagined, another acid reflux; as Leah was suffering in silence, Ethan walked up to her with a water bottle, "It's gonna be okay!" he said, as he softly caressed her head, he was just a teenager after all, taking care of someone else wasn't easy. At times, he'd feel flustered and want to run away, but other times, he felt like he was the one holding her down. He didn't want her to spiral, but he was spiralling too.

Sometimes, when you're trying to help someone through things, you start feeling what they do, that is why being a therapist or a councillor is by no means easy. You have to listen to the other person and keep a clear head. Not let their prejudices and convictions influence you. Ethan was doing the job of therapist here, but he would sometimes feel like it's too much. For example, he really didn't want to do the morning run thing. But Leah did. And even though she hadn't asked him to accompany her. He wanted to, one moment and the other, he'd just want to be back in bed at home, sleeping.

As they were sitting there, Xin, Leah's Korean friend, walked over, and exclaimed, "Do Waigerai?" (What's wrong?) and E's insides flared up. So she already had a 'Korean' bond with someone. It wasn't something just they had but something she'd had with someone before him. How could she have borrowed this from one of her friendships? Leah was unbelievable, "Anya, amugoto anya, chaega kinchana, khanyang, bogtongi issoyo!" (Nothing, nothing at all, I'm fine, I just have a stomach ache!) "Chongmal? Hwaksherae?" (Really? Are you sure?) "Dae, chincha, konchongma!" (Yeah, really! Don't worry!" And they went back and forth for a while.

Ethan was at a loss for words, the guy could speak Korean, fluently and he didn't need to think too much before making sentences, or asking questions, he could even have a secret conversation with her, whenever he wanted since not many students in their school took Korean, everyone was rather into Spanish, or French, even German, he dreaded his decision of taking Spanish, he was thinking, Yo puedo hablo Español, pero el tiene que yo quiero... (I can speak Spanish but he has what I want...), Leah was fluent at both. But since she loved Korean songs, dramas, BTS, Blackpink, Exo, Korean-everything, E had always felt like she preferred Korean over Spanish, which wasn't true at all. She loved both. But Ethan was being unreasonable. He was acting like a kid in love. His emotions were exploding just like a teenager's would, he was jealous, he couldn't really tell the difference between himself and Leah's other friends, she didn't even introduce him as her boyfriend to them.

Just as he was about to leave, Leah grabbed his wrist, she seemed to sense what was happening, she'd known having so many guy friends, though not wrong, but wasn't exactly gonna prove helpful in improving their understanding, Leah tried to think from Ethan's perspective, they both watch Korean rom-coms, and so they had high expectations from their lovers, everyone who watches Korean dramas can attest to this, Leah wondered if they had to switch places, she'd be jealous, definitely, so even though in pain, she gripped her stomach and got up, "Guys," she began dragging Ethan with her, "this is my boyfriend, Ethan!" Everyone was equally shocked, "Ya, do chinshimhae, namjachingo, phorso?" (Hey, are you serious, boyfriend, already?) asked Xin. "Hey, tone it down!" Leah replied annoyed, she knew what them talking to each other in Korean meant, if Ethan couldn't understand something, it would be a disaster, so she told Xin to 'tone it down', in other words, cut it out. This was getting tiring, her stomach was in agony, "E, hold me, will you?" she asked, her face innocent, and delicate, Ethan felt proud all of a sudden, his mouth lifted up in a smile, the signs of annoyance disappearing with each second. He was satisfied, she'd introduced him, that was already enough, but now she wanted to lean on him, in front of everyone, that obviously meant she wasn't afraid or ashamed, a great sign. "I'll always hold you." Ethan muttered under his breath, hoping Leah had heard him, and she had, the only thing Leah hoped for was that E would honour his word.