RUMOURS ! 

( chapter four )

             EVERYONE HAD ISSUED A RUMOUR that spread like wildfire around Sherman Oaks. That being, Sydney and Ethan were back together after a heated seven minutes in his closet.

However, nothing about arguing why you and your ex broke up is sexy.

This weekend was the worst she had in months. Years. Not only was he accused of hooking up with her ex, but her nerdy cousin was dating her best friend.

So today, while she would usually be walking through the double wooden doors with Teresa next to her, she was all alone. She'd have to face the murmurs and whispers of her dating Ethan.

And now, with the luck she has, Ethan was waiting for her at her locker.

     "What do you want?" Sydney grumbled, opening her locker.

     "Well, that wasn't a very warm welcome."

Sydney rolled her eyes, but didn't bother responding to him. 

      "Come on, you don't have one comment to make?" 

The girl continued to ignore him; she sincerely was not in the mood to speak with him after what he said to her on Friday night. She grabbed the last notebook from her locker and was on her way down the hallway and to her first class. 

Ethan, however, wasn't finished trying to get something out of her. He grabbed something from his back pocket and grabbed Sydney's hand. The feeling of Ethan's cold hand against hers sent a shiver down her spine and she had no choice but to look up at him. He placed a ring in the palm of her hand and sighed. 

It didn't take her long at all to realize just what he was doing. He placed the ring she'd given him for his birthday last year in her hand. "What are you doing?" 

He shrugged and a sadness flashed over his eyes. "You said you wanted it back." 

And they just looked at one another for a moment, analyzing each other. Two ex-lovers attempting to find even a hint of love hidden in the other's eyes. 

Ring. 

Saved by the bell again. Except, Sydney wasn't necessarily sure she wanted to be. She didn't want this moment to end; even if she was under a false impression. 

      "Look at you two being on time for once!" Mr. Shapiro grinned, breaking them both of their trance. 

Sydney sighed, tucking the ring in her back pocket. "Right." 

She wasted no time in walking right past Mr. Shapiro and Ethan--she just wanted one minute alone before the class flooded with teenagers and Ethan would be sat next to her. 

The corner of Sydney's eyes pricked with tears but honestly, she wasn't sure why. With the ring in her back pocket, she felt as though she'd just lost the last piece of Ethan she had. Like, as if now, he was a stranger. And it really fucking stung. 

SYDNEY HAD BEEN ZONED OUT THE entire class--and it appeared Ethan was too. In the corner of his notebook, he'd been doodling with his pencil. 

Sydney kept replaying Friday night in her mind; what Ethan said. What she said. 

 She hadn't stopped thinking about it since it happened, in fact. She had hardly even slept since Friday because of what happened. 

She'd found herself wondering whether or not she meant her words, and if Ethan meant his.

       "You all can choose your own partner!" Mr. Shapiro announced, bringing Sydney back into reality. "Except for you two." The teacher smiled, wrapping his arms around the two teens. "You've been extra tense today, and the air hasn't been cleared yet, so I want you two partnered for this upcoming project." 

Great. 

                SYDNEY HAD BEEN SITTING AT the edge of her bed when there was a knock on her window. To her surprise, Ethan was waiting on the balcony outside of her room. 

The sight brought back a strong feeling of deja vu, and for a second, she forgot she and Ethan were no longer dating. 

She rose from her bed, setting the pen down and walked over to slide open the window. "Why didn't you ring the doorbell?" 

He put his leg through the frame. "Are you crazy? Your dad hates me." 

       "He's not home, idiot." 

Ethan huffed. "Are you serious? So I just climbed up your three-story mansion for nothing?" 

Sydney almost chuckled. "Basically." 

Once he saw the faint smile on Sydney's face, one made it's way to his own. "So, uh, what are we supposed to be doing?" 

Sydney flipped through the pages of her History book. "World War II, I guess." 

        "You didn't pay attention either?"

She shook her head. She wanted to say she had something else on her mind, but that would give her away completely. 

Now, it was utter silence and she wished she had said something. Ethan sat on the edge of her bed and fiddled with the rings on his fingers as he waited for her to say something. 

She grabbed the book in her hands and moved so that she was sitting on the complete opposite side of the bed. "So, I think we're supposed to write an essay on how we think it affected the world." 

Ethan snorted. "That's stupid." 

Sydney didn't nod, or say anything in agreement, she just tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and continued to flip through the pages. "I think we have to get all of our information from the book and cite the lines. And I think line 14 would be good to start off with." 

He nodded, scooting closer so that he was looking over her shoulder. The familiar scent of cigarettes and musk filled Sydney's nostrils and hugged her. She could feel his breath brush against her bare shoulder and the contact made her suddenly cautious of how her breathing may change. 

Ethan pointed at one of the lines on the page and turned his head to face Sydney. However, neither of them realized just how close their faces were until he turned his. 

Sydney found herself holding her breath, unwanting him to pick up on the way he made her breathing change. And before she could help it, her eyes danced down his face and to his lips, which had now slightly parted. 

The girl watched as Ethan's eyes moved from her lips to her eyes and back to her lips. 

Then, he leaned in. 

Then, she heard the front door slam shut. 

     "Shit."