Chapter 5 Ethan sees me

LIA

So here's the thing no one warns you about when your crush starts noticing you.

It's terrifying.

Not in the "oh no, I might embarrass myself" way - that ship already sank. This is deeper. Existential. Life-altering.

He greeted me.

Ethan. Greeted. Me.

Like we were friends.

Like it was normal.

"Hey, Lia," he'd said this morning, casual as a cloud, walking past my locker like my whole life wasn't a movie about him.

And I? I responded with the elegance of a scared pigeon.

"Hhhhi," I choked.

Not "hi."

Not "hey."

Hhhhi.

The sound a steam kettle makes before it explodes.

Now I was hiding behind a column near the gym, breathing into a half-empty juice box.

Maya found me two minutes later.

"Why are you crouched like a raccoon in a hoodie?"

"He greeted me."

"Who?"

"Ethan."

She blinked. "And this caused you to... juice box hyperventilate?"

"He said my name, Maya. He has unlocked a new level of noticing."

She looked at me like I'd lost it. Probably because I had.

I grabbed her shoulders. "He sees me. Like, with his eyes and intentions and voice."

"That's usually how greetings work."

"No. This was meaningful. This was 'you're not just the girl who face-planted into a mop, you're someone I now acknowledge on a regular basis' energy."

"...You need therapy."

"I need an exorcism."

---

ETHAN

I don't know when I started looking for her in the halls.

Maybe it was after the spaghetti incident.

Or the mop incident.

Or when she tripped and caught herself using the vending machine like a dance partner.

All I know is, my eyes find her now. Instinctively.

She moves through the world like she's five steps behind her thoughts. Always thinking, always reacting. A little clumsy, a little too honest, but never boring.

I like that.

So yeah, I said hi.

"Hey, Lia."

She blinked, startled, like I'd spoken in Latin.

"Hhhhi," she said.

It was weirdly adorable.

Lucas nudged me as we passed. "Bro, you're smiling again. What'd she do this time, ride a skateboard into traffic?"

"She said hi," I replied.

"She said what?"

"She said hi."

Lucas groaned. "You are so far gone."

I didn't disagree.

---

LIA

By lunchtime, the rumors had started.

First came the whisper in the hallway: "Did Ethan smile at her?"

Then the bathroom intel: "I heard he invited her to sit with them again."

By fifth period, Jenny cornered me at my locker.

"Are you dating Ethan?"

"WHAT?"

She raised a brow. "So that's a no?"

"I-no-I don't-I mean-what even is dating, really?"

Jenny nodded slowly, like she was evaluating me for battle readiness. "If you break his heart, I will report you to the principal and also the UN."

And then she walked away like she hadn't just threatened me with diplomatic consequences.

Maya was waiting with popcorn-level energy.

"You've hit stage five."

"What's that?"

"Social speculation. You're now officially maybe a thing."

"No. No, no, no. I wanted to uncrush."

"Instead, you soft-launched a relationship. Congrats!"

I groaned. "How do I make it stop?"

"You could stop being cute."

"HELPFUL, MAYA."

---

ETHAN

I didn't mean to start a rumor.

I really didn't.

I just... liked saying hi to her.

And sitting near her.

And catching her eye during class when she mouthed "save me" across the room while Mr. Lawson went on a Shakespeare rant.

I liked her reactions. The way she flailed through social interaction like she was fighting ghosts.

And okay, yeah. Maybe I talked about her too much.

"Lia said this hilarious thing today..."

"Did you see Lia's shirt? It had a dog wearing sunglasses."

"Lia tripped over her backpack and blamed gravity."

Lucas finally snapped. "If you say her name one more time, I'm telling your grandma."

But it was too late.

People were already whispering.

And honestly?

I didn't hate it.

---

LIA

By the time school ended, I'd gotten:

Two "omg are you and Ethan like... a thing?" texts.

One aggressive wink from Olivia.

A Post-it note on my locker that said GET IT GIRL with glitter hearts.

I was unraveling.

I stomped into the bathroom where Maya was applying lip gloss like she wasn't emotionally responsible for my descent into madness.

"I'm dying."

"You're thriving."

"People think we're a thing."

"Good. Maybe he'll ask you out."

"I was trying to get over him!"

"Well, plot twist."

"I hate plot twists!"

Maya looked me dead in the eye. "Lia. Be honest. Do you actually want this to stop?"

I paused.

Because no matter how panicked I felt...

A tiny, annoying part of me whispered: no.

No, I didn't want him to stop saying hi.

No, I didn't want him to stop laughing at my chaos.

No, I didn't want to be invisible to him again.

"...I don't know what I want."

"Then let's just enjoy the spiral."

"That's the worst advice ever."

"It's also the most fun."

---

ETHAN

That night, I texted her.

Ethan: Hope you survived Jenny. She looked like she wanted to interrogate you with flashcards.

Lia: I think I aged six years.

Ethan: You looked cool under pressure.

Lia: I tripped over a recycling bin.

Ethan: Very eco-friendly of you.

She sent the laughing emoji.

I smiled.

I stared at the screen for a full minute.

Then typed:

Ethan: Wanna walk to class together tomorrow?

She didn't answer right away.

But when she did?

Lia: Sure. As long as you're okay with me running into like three people and a doorframe.

Ethan: Deal.

And I slept peacefully later with a smile on my face.

My life just got shiny.