Page 11 of I've Walked Where You've Been
Ethan, too, seemed to soften. His looks weren’t as sharp and suspicious anymore, and he’d thank Matty softly whenever he’d bring him something, and return the favour frequently. He seemed to have learnt Matty’s timetable, too, and knew when to expect Matty to come back exhausted from basketball practice and when Matty would be thrumming with lack of activity, never complaining about either one.
They weren’t friends, but it was good enough.
By the end of the school year, the lack of tension in the room had lifted a noticeable weight from their shoulders. To Matty’s surprise, he ended up getting pretty good grades. He didn’t show them to Ethan—their old wounds hadn’t healed entirely just yet—but hecouldhave, maybe, and Ethan wouldn’t have made fun.
Returning home for summer was a little strange. Matty hadn’t realised how used to the routines of the boarding school he’d gotten, and was going to miss Josh and Jessica and Carly, although they were going to visit for a week or two in July.
Still, it was great to be with his family, in his own room, with his old friends. He even tried to include Ethan in what he did, sometimes, but it was admittedly half-hearted, and they soon fell into the old habit of seeing each other twice a week, touching but not really talking, Matty on his phone and Ethan reading something. It wasn’tbad, necessarily, lying side by side in Ethan’s yard and just chilling quietly for a while.
Matty even got to see Barb, although it was clear that there was no hope in rekindling their old relationship. They were seventeen, and Barb wasn’t the type of girl to just sit around and wait for a guy.
In the end, the summer sped by. Before he knew it, it was September, and he was saying goodbye to everybody again. There were no tears or rage this time, though, so he counted it as a marked improvement.
It was his last year until university, and he’d have to make the most of it—Ethan included.
**********
“Dude,” Jessica whispered loudly. “You’re staring again.”
“No, I’m not, shut up,” Matty grumbled, looking away from where Ethan was sitting with his new boyfriend. He ignored the amused looks his three friends were giving him.
“Didn’t you have a girlfriend like a year ago?” Josh asked.
“Yeah, so?”
“So, why are you obsessing? Dude, you’re staring again.”
Matty yanked his gaze back. “Shut up! I’m just curious, Jesus. Heismy bondmate.”
Jessica gasped theatrically. “What? Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Oh, shut up.”
Carly shoved Jessica away. “Youdoseem really preoccupied with Ethan lately. I thought you didn’t have a romantic bond?”
“Obviously I don’t have a romantic bond; I barely have a friend bond.”
“Okay. Well…maybe you wanna think about why you’re so fixated on Ethan’s boyfriend.”
“I’m notfixatedorobsessedor whatever the fuck. I’m just curious.”
“All right, sure. You’re curious. Go forth and stare curiously at him for three hours straight, then.”
“You guys are a nightmare. Why am I friends with you?”
Jessica grinned. “’Cause we keep it real, motherfucker.”
“Yeah, real annoying.”
Jessica threw a piece of salami at him.
“Ew! Dude, gross.”
“You’ve just been salamied. The salami of truth. You can’t escape. Salami of truth! Salami of truth!” Josh and Carly joined the chant until Matty was trying to protect himself from a three-way salami attack.
“Guys, fuck! Stop,” he laughed.
Okay, so his friends were kind of great, even if he had to take a shower afterwards to get rid of the smell of the salami of truth.
