PART THREE

✨✨✨

It’s been two weeks since the best day of Ethan’s life, maybe?! 😍 Two weeks that Ethan and Jace have been swapping stuff every day on the bus—Jace got his jersey back with a can of ultra sugar rush pure energy 🥤 as a thank you, then Jace borrowed a phone charger because Ethan was “like, the only guy I know on this bus, sorry”, and brought it back the next day with a keyring shaped like the pink limited edition Stanley Cup they both use (Ethan is NEVER giving that back to his sister now!!). They’ve given each other stickers and chapsticks and they even have in-jokes now, and Ethan thinks it’s totally dope how he has a Real Life Friend who could beat a BEAR 🐻 in an arm wrestling contest, but still gives him a super warm squishy hug every morning, in a maybe more than friendly way... 😳

He is sort of worried that he’s too much of a dork for this to be real though?? This guy is totally cool, and cute, and what if he thinks hanging out with Ethan on the bus is basically like… community service? 😬 Like he’s volunteering with “Support the Dorks” or something 🥺. He probably helps grannies across the street 👵 and rescues cats from trees 🐈. Jace really just likes to be helpful, and likes it when people smile at him, and hates being bored, so maybe this is just a way for him to feel good about himself, and it’s not the secret friends-to-boyfriends flirt sesh that Ethan thinks (hopes) it is? Still, Ethan likes to think he’s making Jace feel good about himself no matter what, not in a weird way! In a really normal way!! He’s definitely not letting it get to his head or anything.

Okay, well, maybe a little bit. Yesterday Ethan gave him a copy of his favorite video game, a rare boxed edition he usually won’t even let someone look at for too long. But he let Jace take it home?! 😱 Alone?! Overnight?! And he was excited about it! Jace played it RIGHT AWAY, and he’s been talking non-stop about his theories on the deep lore since he got on the bus. It’s really really cute 🥹, and Ethan could listen to him maybe… forever…. He’s pretty sure his eyes have glazed and he’s got a huuuuuge grin on his face, and he knows he looks like a big time dork 🤓, but just… this guy!!

There’s not long until he leaves again though, and Ethan finds himself leaning forward in anticipation 😳 as Jace stops his infodump to start searching his pockets for something.
“I have something to give you, for letting me borrow your cool video game!!” Ethan thinks that he really doesn’t mind what it is. Even like… a stick of gum, or whatever. He just likes it when they give each other stuff. But then Jace looks up with a smile, but his hands look empty, and the bus stop he always leaves at is almost here!? What’s going on?! “Here, bro, take these”.

Jace leans in super close, and in a totally not casual way he sweeps Ethan’s emo fringe out of his eyes with one strong finger… then he’s leaning in?? 😵 Ethan feels a soft, warm kiss on his forehead 💋, and there’s a little piece of paper being pushed into his suddenly hot, swampy hand. The paper has numbers on it and they probably mean something and oh em gee 😱 is that Jace’s PHONE NUMBER?! Next to a drawing of a little Stanley Cup?!
“You can give me yours tomorrow maybe, yeah? Okay, see you later dude”.

The bus doors hiss closed, and Ethan smiles a big dopey grin. Their cups are gonna hang out again tomorrow! 😍

THE END