TRAINING ━━

ETHAN WAS PACKING HIS BAG TO HEAD OVER TO TRAIN AGAIN but to be honest he wasn't really looking forward to it. He was to be fair, exhausted. The entire week had been cramped up with essays, he enjoyed the small break he had with Anthony. Maybe he was delusional but he swore he would catch the boy stare at him every once in a while, it wasn't a stare rooted with disgust, more like admiration. Ethan blushed at the thought of it alone. Who was he kidding? Anthony was as straight as a line, there was no way on earth that that boy would ever be into him.

"Ethan are you ready?" His mother called from down the stairs. "Yeah- Coming!" He yelled back. Ethan tripped over his converses, landing with a soft thump on the ground.

"What was that?" His mother yelled from downstairs.

"Nothing!" Ethan quickly replied. He scowled at himself for being so clumsy. He reckoned a toddler fell less than he did during his average week. Suddenly he remembered how he magically kept falling against Anthony's he remembered how his fingers softly grazed over his toned stomach which made his entire body go fizzy.

He clutched his bag to his side and ran down the stairs. His mother eyed him confused, "Darling you've got paint-.." She stopped mid her sentence and merely exhaled, she had gotten used to this type of look on her son after such a long time. "Never mind, let's go." She exhaled.

Ethan tilted his head slightly in confusion, looking at his hands which were slightly tainted in paint but not more than average. He shrugged it off and just followed his mom into the car. The drive there he was debating the courage to message Anthony and ask if he wanted to be his sparring partner for today. He had quite literally had no one who had wanted to spar with him, they knew he was new so none of them were honestly benefiting or gaining muscle from doing so. He knew they didn't have a certain dislike towards him, but if they would he honest towards him Ethan knew they say he was quite a burden this close to a tournament he knew nothing of but others apparently found so important.

He decided against the idea, realising he might come over as desperate. Ethan clearly didn't know Anthony that well yet, Anthony would do practically anything if it meant getting in physical contact with Ethan. Something about the way he grazed over his skin made his stomach swirl.

Ethan waved his mom goodbye and was heading over to the changing rooms when he suddenly bumped into someone again.

He looked up and was honestly surprised it wasn't Anthony for once. It was a boy he didn't recognise.

"Oh- I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going." Ethan profusely apologised, his cheeks blushing pink out of embarrassment. Kenny stared at him, his brows slightly furrowed. The gaze alone made Ethan want to puke, was his first impression this bad?

"You're new right?" He asked, Kenny was honestly surprised that either dojo's still got brand new members. The drama that had went down the past year should honestly be a karate ban in most house holds. Ethan his demeanour fell, he suddenly felt as if the world could swallow him whole. He cowered underneath the taller dude and felt like sinking through his skin.

"I- Yeah- Yeah I am!" Ethan explained, his face turning red. Kenny nodded, giving the boy a weak smile to ease his anxiety. He headed inside and soon Ethan followed, his stomach turning in anxiety. Maybe he shouldn't be this confident.

Meanwhile Anthony was staring at Kenny, who he had greeted just a second before. He stared at the boy who followed Kenny, why on earth would Ethan and Kenny be friends? Anthony wasn't sure if Ethan and Kenny knew each other, he had never seen them interact at school before. Not that he was stalking him of course! His eyes just coincidentally wandered to the same places Ethan was walking.

His stomach irked in annoyance.

Anthony dropped his punching bag, leaving Bert confused behind. He walked past Kenny, straight to Ethan. He didn't even have an idea what he was going to ask Ethan, he just had to make sure Ethan's attention was on him and not on stupid Kenny. Ethan his eyes widened, his skin turning slightly red once again.

"Hi Anthony!" Ethan nervously spoke, Anthony his angered gaze quickly softened when he realised he was stood in front of the boy he loved gazing at so much. He didn't realise how much time he spent eyeing Ethan, letting his eyes linger on Ethan seemed like a daily occurrence he occupied himself with way too often.

"I- Umh-" Anthony stammered out nervously as he realised the close proximity he and Ethan shared. Oblivious to the onlookers he decided to ask Ethan to be his sparring partner. "D'you wanna spar with me?!" The boy asked, his wording so incredibly fast he almost stumbled over his words.

Ethan his entire face filled with heat, "Eh-" He didn't even know how to react. It was quite sudden. He wanted to, of course! He liked Anthony's company in a different way he liked Erin's, his presence created this forever going heat pool in his stomach.

"O-okay! Sure- Funny cause I was actually going to ask you." Ethan admitted shyly, Anthony was somehow stunned at this confession. His face turning red. Anthony stared at Ethan his rosy lips before realising his cheek had a slight bit of paint covering his skin.

Anthony reached out and tried to wipe away the paint with his thumb, "You've got paint.." He stated, Ethan his entire body heated up. He felt his knees go numb at the skin that gently kissed his cheek. Anthony had a focused look on his cheek before he recoiled and started apologising.

"Sorry- I should have asked!" He quickly exclaimed pulling back his hand.

In the background you could hear the older teenagers talking about the strange way Anthony was behaving towards Ethan.

"I can't be the only one seeing Anthony blush, right?" Demetri asked his head leaning closer to Hawk who nodded. Sam exhaled weakly, "I've never seen him act like this to anyone before, it's both cute and really odd." She explained.

"They're basically pining over each other in plain sight." Tory commented, her words directed at Robby who smiled amused.

"They're oblivious, I guess we should let them figure it out on their own." He explained.