Ethan

It has been a long time since I had lunch with others. I usually sat alone or stayed in class, I preferred it that way. Now, with this new addition to our school I was never alone. No matter how many times I've said "NO", that word wasn't registered in her vocabulary.

One time I refused to go for lunch, no matter what she said -and she said a lot-, I just sat there and held my ground, refusing to be dragged again. She, -stupidly- refused to go too.

"You either come with or I stay!" She declared and perfectly ignored my annoyance.

"Then I guess you'll stay!" I bit at her.

I could have used 'Abby having lunch alone' as an excuse to get her off my back, but I knew that Abby had an extra credit class during that week.

By the fifth period there was a low grumble, "Was that your stomach?" I said with all the means of embarrassing her just for the mere fact that her stubbornness put her in this situation.

"Well, since your awfulness refused to move- you are stuck with the band," she bit back, but not as harsh as her words sounded, there was a smile in there.

I sighed and shook my head.

There was a twinge in my chest every time I heard the low rumble. It couldn't be guilt that I'm feeling. I didn't stop her from going. She chose to stay on her own-free-will. Then why do I have this awful feeling boring into my soul that I did something horrible?

God, I've never met anyone that stubborn in my life!

She was driving me crazy. Sort of. And because of her-I attended all lunch breaks after that.

UGH!

It was strange how those little things start to grow on you. Because of her stubbornness, I started to look forward to our lunch breaks. Even though we were classmates and she was my partner in most of them. Lunch, was something different and Skye never gave my pride a chance to surface. She always managed to 'burst my bubble'.

Lunch wasn't the only thing that was growing on me though. The chirp of her voice when she said, 'good morning', as she took her place next to me and the 'catch you later', when she left at the end of the day. The mellow tone of her voice when she talked. The sound of her laughs. The smell of her perfume that belonged to no one but her.

Even though I memorized our lunch spot like the back of my hand by now, I welcomed the soft touch of her hand on my arm every time we walked there or to one of our joined classes.

Skye talked a lot about her brother Matt- that I wanted to meet the little guy. I learned that she was allergic to all types of seafood, fish, shellfish, roe, basically anything that came out of water, except for salt. And strangely, she allergic to eggplants too.

The weirdest thing was that I stopped eating all those. Why? I haven't got a clue.

Abby wasn't bad either. She always brought us something with her from the cafeteria. Juices, sandwiches, awful pudding. Her funny stories never ended. She made Skye laugh and was a good friend to her, and me. Gradually. I started to warm up to the idea of being around her.

We've just finished biology class when Skye asked, "Do you mind if another person joined our lunch group?"

She caught me in one of my grumpy moods and I wasn't listening, "What?"

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"Here it goes. Abby has a huge crush on this guy who's in her extra-credit class. So, she asked me, to ask you, if it was okay with you if she asked him to join us during lunch. This is me asking you if Your Awfulness would... um... grant them your blessings in the matter", she heaved a breath.

I knew almost every guy in school. We hadn't had any recent new students, besides Skye. Most of the guys were either in my classes or I met in the hallway and none seemed -Abby material-.

"That was a lot of asking. Who?" I finally asked when I came up with nothing.

Her voice carried a smile, "Timothy."

"Timothy?" The surprise knocked the grumpiness right out of me.

There was a chirp in her words, "Yup!"

Then she continued slowly when I didn't comment on the matter, "Sooo, what do you think? Does those two love birds have your blessings, oh Mighty Lord of Evil and Despair?"

How could I say no to that? Especially when she used my full name.

I shrugged, "Whatever," and I had to add, "Drama queen." I was messing with her.

"Oh Your Awfulness, we thank you for granting them your blessings."

A light laugh colored her voice. I liked that.

"Abby is going to be so happy." Her excitement was clear. "Be nice to Timothy this time! He's shy."

I scoffed.

Abby was definitely happy. The shriek I heard was either an ecstatic one or she has just witnessed a murder. She ran off to invite Timothy and just like that, I went from one person, to two, then three, and now we became four.

Timothy first lunch experience was a complete disaster. He stuttered a lot. He was so nervous and nearly choked twice in one meal. Other than the actual time he chocked for real and needed a couple of smacks on his back from Skye.

That boy needed hell-a-lot of instructions on how to talk to girls. Or, for starter, a -How to talk to girls for dummies- book if there was one. Until the lunch bell rang, Timothy couldn't find his voice and ate in silence. The girls did a whole scene of everything was normal and just went from one subject to another while I lost myself in my own thoughts.

Skye

It felt like I was getting closer to Ethan. Or maybe he gave up trying to send me away. Either ways I'm fine with it. We held our casual small talks every once in a while. He didn't talk much about himself and I didn't push it. I hadn't told him or anyone in a matter of fact about my parents. I still couldn't talk about that and it broke my heart every time it came across my mind.

All I knew about Ethan was from what I've heard from others. Abby blabbed once that he was the quarter back of the schools' football team before losing his sight in an accident. No wonder that he was popular. Everybody knew him, and many girls still got the hots for him. I wouldn't blame them though; I got butterflies every time I saw him. Even though I haven't seen all of his face.

Abby pointed out his ex-girlfriend as we walked to gym class and she was... well, to be honest, perfect. Strands of shiny blond hair styled in high ponytail. Green eyes with symmetrically winged eyeliner and lashes with thickened a coat of black mascara. A cute nose, beautifully outlined playful lips, and soft jawline. She was in her cheerleader uniform, that tight tank top and short skirts on a well-shaped body. Everything about her screamed perfection.

That was Ethan's girlfriend?

I felt a tug in my chest that surprised me. I couldn't be jealous. I do like Ethan but not to the point of jealousy of his - flawless-perfect-ex-girlfriend.

But then, of course she would be Ethan's girlfriend. How could she not? She was perfect. He was perfect. They were a match.

Why am I over thinking this?

As Abby and I walked across the court ex-girlfriend eyed me from head to toe. That look told she didn't like me. For some reason, I didn't like her either, at all. I was curious to know why did they breakup, but it wasn't my place to ask such question.

Abby offered without me asking, "They say they broke up at a party just before Ethan had that accident where he lost his sight." She pulled the curls of her black hair in a high bun as she carried on, "Some heard that she was the reason that Ethan left the party."

My heart wrenched for Ethan. I never had the guts to ask him how he lost his sight and I don't think that I ever would. It was a sensitive subject that I couldn't approach as I saw fit.

Looking again at the Mona Lisa of a girlfriend, I found her staring me with a presumptuous expression on her face. She gave me another overall glance before she visibly scoffed and looked away.

"I would watch my back if I were you," Abby warned me, "Carmen is... Um... let's say, she's not the nicest person in school. The word around is that she wants Ethan back."

The question was, did Ethan want that too?

He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would hook up with a girl just for fun, the hit it and quit it kind. The tiny bit I knew about him told me that he was a serious-relationship person.

There was that tug nestling in my chest again. I hoped I was right about him.

I was on my way to my car when I heard someone yelling, "Hey! Hey you... new girl..."

I stopped mid pace and slowly turned around to see this guy in football gear jogging towards me. As far as I knew I was the only new girl in school. He stopped a couple of feet from me and took off his helmet. As he shook his head strands of sandy brown hair stuck in every direction. Light brown eyes looked down at me and he smiled.

"Sorry about that. I didn't know your name. Hi, I'm Kyle." He wiped off his hand on a -what once were white pants- before extending it to me.

"Skye..." I said after a moment of hesitation.

"Hi, Skye" he said in a friendly voice and a wider smile stretched his lip.

I bet confusion was written all over my face and my voice, "Hi."

Kyle raked his hand over his hair taming the strands a little. He looked away for a minute then looked back at me, "Um... listen, I know you don't know me or anything, but can I ask you a favor. Um... I need your help."

Was that some sort of the new-kid-prank others did to outsider?

Dumbfounded as I was I managed to ask, "With what?"

He looked away, "I saw that you were having lunch with Ethan and walking with him to classes."

Still waiting for the prank. I nodded, "We are friends." At least that was what I thought.

Kyle clasped his helmet between his hands and torso, "That's the thing. It's been a long time since Ethan let anyone close. You have no idea how big that change is."

I did a small shrug. That can't be my doing, I practically dragged the guy to lunch.

Kyle continued avoiding eye contact, "Ethan and I were best friends. Teammates. Closer than brothers," his voice changed to shameful and tight and so did his features, "Then I... I did something stupid, and... I betrayed his trust... Ethan never forgave me since."

He took an eager step closer looking intensely at me as if I held his salvation in my hands, "I was wondering if you could talk to him on my behalf. Get him to forgive me, or at least have him talk to me again."

My brain went on strike and stopped working for a moment. I wanted to ask him what happened between them but something told me that Kyle won't tell me. The way he spoke was weighed down with loads of shame and embarrassment that I couldn't bring myself to ask. I wasn't sure where I stood with Ethan. Or if we became that close of friends to speak to him about something he obviously decided to end. Plus, I have absolutely no idea what happened between them.

So, I asked, "Wouldn't it be better if you talked to him?"

Kyle shook his head, guilt clearly ate at him, "I tried many times but he wouldn't listen to me. He wouldn't even speak to me and I can't blame him."

Desperation broke through his handsome features, "Please, Skye. Two years is a long time to be angry at a person. We were friends since third grade, but one stupid drunken mistake..." his voice trailed off leaving the sentence unfinished.

That surprised me. They hadn't spoke for two years. Before I got the chance to answer Kyle picked up, "I'm not asking you to convince him, only talk to him. I would really, really appreciate it."

That was a hard to say 'no' to situation. Kyle seemed sincere with his request and it seemed like I got myself in too deep, so I said, "Okay, listen. I can't promise you, but I'll give it a try if I had the chance. I'm not sure if he will accept me meddling in his business, but I'll give it a try if I saw an opportunity."

Kyle's face brightened with a smile of appreciation, "That's all I'm asking! Thank you so much! See you around." He took a step back before turning around and left.

Something told me things were not going to be as easy as what I had in mind.

Ethan

When the final bell rang I was glad that another day has ended. The only thing that made the long days bearable was the girl who was constantly trying to kill me with her backpack. Sometimes when I walk in class I could hear the screech of a chair and a rustle. As if she forgot to move her bag out of my way.

We were always bickering. Skye called me a grumpy old man every time I grunt loudly when I stumble over her bag or chair. I bit back that she was an absolutely crazy person. Remarkably, I didn't mean it. During one of our old couple bickering I accused her out front that she was trying to kill me by keeping her bag in the way. To think that her reply would be an apology, but no, not this one.

"Well, apparently my plan hasn't worked yet," she snapped back at me. The smile was clear in her voice.

And just like that, the match that was lit to ignite my fuel was put out just as easy.

I knew that I could use a walking stick to make getting around easier and locate if there were any obstacles in front of me, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Stupid? I know!

I was making it harder on myself and the people around me. I know!

Still, would not use it. I was blind, that was a given, but using a stick somehow made me feel blind-er. I insisted on holding on to that last piece of what have been once an ordinary life.

I was waiting for my ride when someone whispered close to my ear, "Hi, Ethan."

Just hearing the sound of her voice and feeling her breath on my cheek repulsed me. A bad taste filled my mouth as my thoughts were invaded by a flash of disgusting memories making my stomach turn.

"What do you want, Carmen?"

She was standing close to me, too close that her body brushed against mine.

"You..." she cooed in her playful voice.

I felt her hand run over my arm to my neck as she fully pressed her body to mine. That move used to turn me on, but now it stirred only loathing and revulsion.

"Don't say you didn't miss what we had," she spoke in a slow impish tune.

I didn't speak or react. This wasn't the first time she approached me. Her breath grazed my skin as both her arms rounded my neck. She was probably waiting for me to kiss her as I used to. The heat from her body reached a sickening point that I almost pushed her away. Her body stiffened when I turned my head away instead and she pulled back when I she got no response out of me.

"Come on, Ethan! It has been over two years!" She yelled and I heard a low thwack, as if she stomped her foot on the pavement. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry until you forgive me?"

I kept quiet yet she didn't give up trying.

She ran her fingers up my arm slowly, "What do I have to do so you'd give your girlfriend another chance?"

I jerked away. A humorless laugh escaped me, "Girlfriend?"

The number of names that formed in my head none of them included that one in particular, "Do you even know what that word means?" My voice rose a little, "I'm certain that it doesn't mean you being half naked with your tongue down my best friend's throat".

"I was drunk, I didn't know what I was doing. And you said you'll be a little late, not a couple of hours." she defended.

There wasn't a single hint of regret in her voice. Not that it would have made any difference, but I blistered over it anyway.

"I remember very well that I've asked you to stay until I was done. You said you'll meet me there". I hated my stupidity back then. "In fact, your exact words were, I don't want to miss the party. I'll see you at Kyle's house. What you didn't mention was that you'll get busy with Kyle in his parents' bedroom", my voice sounded bitter even in my ears.

This wasn't our first fight. Carmen always flirted openly with other guys as they her. I never liked that. What can I do if they found me hot? Was her excuse. She visited me at the hospital after the accident once and while I was in a coma. My parents told me about her lone visit when I asked about her after came out of it. What they didn't tell me that she left the moment she knew I became blind. I heard that from the nurses when they spoke freely pitying me as they thought I was sleeping.

"Come on! You can't hold me responsible for something I did while I was drunk!" Carmen yelled losing her patience.

My head snapped her way as many words were forming on the tip of my tongue, but too vulgar to be said. My fists clenched as fire stirred inside my chest and my temper flared with ill sarcasm, "Was I supposed to look the other way every time you got drunk and fooled around, or was I supposed to act like everything was fine? Well tough luck. I can't do that. Nothing changed during the past two years and nothing will".

Carmen lost her temper too and recoiled her hand from my arm and hissed, "It's because of that new girl, right! Skye?"

At the mention of Skye's name my grip on my actions almost slipped and I almost blew in her face. Yet, at the same time, at mention of her name it strengthened keeping my centered.

"Keep her out of this," I warned. "She wasn't there when you cheated on me, or during the years that followed the accident. It was just us".

The memory of hearing the guys talking about Carmen and what she did the past years clawed my insides. She didn't change. She would never change.

"Now you want to get back together? Now you've decided that we should fix what was broken?"

"You didn't want to hear me then", she went back to pointing a finger at me.

I laughed humorlessly, "What made you believe that I would now?"

How could I've been more-blind when I had my sight than when blind?

Right then, Carmen decided to spew her poison. Her voice shrilled, "You think that that little miss sweetheart likes you? What are the odds of her picking your delightful friendship while you managed to keep everyone away? That girl could have any guy that she wanted, but she chose you instead. Maybe she's one of those people who liked broken things and think they could fix them. You should think about that."

I kept my features careless towards what she just said despite how deeply rattled I was. My brain refused to stop wondering how true her words were.

The echo of Carmen's steps on gravel started to fade as she walked away, but then she stopped. "And by the way, your precious girl is not that different." She chuckled, "Just a few days ago I saw her talking to Kyle. You don't have to imagine what they were talking about."

Only then she left.

After she poured her venom into my thoughts.