CHAPTER 7 - DISTANCE
1324 Words
The first few days after Emily and Joshua became a couple felt strangely different to Ethan.
At first, he tried to convince himself that nothing had changed.
Emily was still Emily.
She still smiled when she saw him in the morning. She still waved at him across the classroom. She still asked about his football practice and reminded him whenever there was an assignment due.
But something had definitely changed.
Emily no longer waited for him after the final bell.
She no longer sat beneath the tree with him every lunch break.
She no longer spent every free period discussing schoolwork, movies and the ridiculous things Ethan did in class.
Joshua had quietly taken up the space Ethan had always assumed belonged to him.
And Ethan didn't know how to handle it.
On Monday morning, Ethan arrived at school with his history book under his arm.
He walked into the classroom expecting to see Emily at her usual desk.
She wasn't there.
He checked the clock.
Five minutes before the first lesson.
Emily was usually early.
A few minutes later, she walked in with Joshua.
They were laughing about something.
Emily noticed Ethan.
“Good morning, Ethan.”
“Morning.”
She smiled.
“Did you finish the history assignment?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
Joshua touched her shoulder.
“Come on. We need to talk to Mr. Adams about the science project.”
“Okay.”
Emily looked back at Ethan.
“I'll see you later.”
“Sure.”
She followed Joshua.
Ethan watched them leave.
He sat down slowly.
Ryan dropped into the chair beside him.
“Don't say it.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Say what?”
Ryan shook his head.
“You're already doing the face.”
“What face?”
“The face of a man whose best friend has a boyfriend.”
Ethan sighed.
“Can you stop?”
Ryan smiled.
“I could. But where would be the fun in that?”
Ethan opened his history book.
“I'm studying.”
“You've been staring at the same page for five minutes.”
Ethan looked down.
He had not read a single word.
He closed the book.
“She's just busy.”
Ryan nodded.
“Of course.”
“That's all.”
“Of course.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why do you keep saying it like that?”
“Because you're trying very hard to convince yourself.”
Ethan didn't answer.
He knew Ryan was right.
During lunch, Ethan automatically carried two bottles of juice toward the tree.
He stopped halfway.
Emily wasn't coming.
For years, he had never needed to ask.
She simply appeared.
Sometimes she arrived with her lunch.
Sometimes she brought extra food for him.
Sometimes she complained that he had stolen something from her lunchbox.
Today, the bench beneath the tree was empty.
Ethan sat down alone.
He placed the second bottle of juice beside him.
Then he stared at it.
He had bought it for Emily without thinking.
A few minutes later, he saw her across the courtyard.
She was sitting with Joshua.
Joshua was telling her something, and Emily was laughing.
Ethan looked away.
He took the second bottle of juice and placed it back in his bag.
For some reason, the empty seat beside him felt louder than the entire school.
He remembered the first time they had sat beneath that tree.
Emily had been nervous because she had just transferred into his class.
She had accidentally dropped her books.
Ethan had helped her pick them up.
“You're new here, right?”
“Yes.”
“I'm Ethan.”
“Emily.”
He smiled.
“Do you want to sit with us at lunch?”
She had smiled shyly.
“Okay.”
That simple conversation had been the beginning of everything.
Ethan smiled faintly at the memory.
Then another memory came.
Emily helping him study for mathematics.
“You're going to pass,” she had told him.
“I don't think so.”
“You will.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because I believe in you.”
Ethan's chest tightened.
He remembered another afternoon.
He had lost an important football match and felt like everyone was disappointed in him.
Emily had found him sitting alone.
“You played well.”
“We lost.”
“That doesn't mean you didn't play well.”
“I could have done better.”
“You'll get another chance.”
He had looked at her.
“You always know how to make me feel better.”
She had smiled.
“That's what best friends are for.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
The memories kept coming.
The jokes.
The arguments.
The late afternoon walks home.
The days Emily waited for him after football practice.
The countless times she had asked him whether he had eaten.
The little messages she sent before examinations.
Don't panic. You've studied.
The birthday message she had written for him.
I hope this year gives you everything you deserve.
She had always been there.
And Ethan had never stopped to wonder what it would feel like if she wasn't.
Now he knew.
It hurt.
“Ethan?”
He opened his eyes.
Emily stood in front of him.
“Are you okay?”
He quickly smiled.
“Yeah.”
She looked at the empty seat beside him.
“You're alone?”
“Apparently.”
She laughed softly.
“I'm sorry I've been busy.”
“It's fine.”
“I've been spending a lot of time with Joshua.”
“I noticed.”
She looked at him carefully.
“Are you upset?”
“No.”
“Really?”
Ethan nodded.
“I'm happy for you.”
Emily smiled.
“Thank you.”
She stood there for a moment.
“I'll see you after school.”
“Okay.”
Joshua called her from across the courtyard.
“Emily!”
She turned.
“Coming!”
She looked back at Ethan.
“See you later.”
“See you.”
She walked away.
Ethan watched her until she disappeared.
Ryan came and sat beside him.
“You're missing her.”
Ethan sighed.
“Yeah.”
Ryan didn't tease him this time.
He simply looked at his friend.
“You've gotten used to having her around.”
Ethan nodded.
“I didn't realize how much.”
Ryan smiled slightly.
“Maybe that's the problem.”
Ethan looked toward the tree.
He remembered Emily's voice.
I'm always here.
He wondered whether she would always be there.
Then he realized something that frightened him.
He didn't just miss his best friend.
He missed Emily.
The girl who laughed at his jokes.
The girl who knew when he was pretending to be okay.
The girl who sat beside him beneath the tree.
The girl who had been there through everything.
And for the first time, Ethan wondered whether what he was feeling had a name.
Maybe Ryan had been right.
Maybe it wasn't simply friendship.
Maybe it was jealousy.
Maybe it was something much deeper.
Something Ethan wasn't ready to admit yet.
That evening, he opened his phone and scrolled through their old messages.
One message from Emily caught his attention.
Emily: Don't forget your history test tomorrow. You can do it!
Ethan smiled.
He typed a reply.
I miss you.
He stared at the words.
Then he deleted them.
He typed again.
Thanks.
He sent it.
A few seconds later, Emily replied.
Emily: You're welcome. Goodnight, Ethan.
He looked at the message for a long time.
Then he whispered to himself,
“Goodnight, Emily.”
For the first time, Ethan understood that having someone beside you every day was easy to take for granted.
Missing them was how you discovered just how much they meant.
And Ethan was beginning to discover that Emily meant far more to him than he had ever allowed himself to believe.
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