The Rebel's Apprentice

The following afternoon I opened the door to the social studies room and met the angry, suspicious and even a little scared eyes of the debate team. I stood with the door open, eyes grazing over all of them in turn. They all seemed to take in my appearance. Cute white summer dress, Ethan's biker jacket, thin black lace tights and Ethan's beat up old combat boots. Combined with my new messed up hair look and darker make-up, they barely recognised me.

Chloe folded her arms. "What are you doing here? she quizzed.
I shrugged, my casual stance suggesting her hostile stance didn't bother me in the slightest.

"I'm here for the meeting," I stated, shutting the door behind me and clomping my way over them. I pulled out a chair and dropped into it. No one seemed willing to tell me to leave so they just gradually began talking again. The meeting was so boring. I couldn't believe I used to be like this. I couldn't believe I was content with being that way.

I'd told Ethan I was attending the meeting rather than asking his permission and, after his near losing me the day before, agreed I could go, just to keep me happy. I liked the idea of having this new found power over Ethan. I was getting a bit of gumption about me which I'd never gained from years of being on the debate team. Somehow Ethan had given me this gumption after only two weeks of his friendship.
Now I realised, if I didn't want to do something, I'd just say no. If Ethan kicked up a fuss I'd just say 'okay, bye,' and make to walk away. He didn't want to lose me, I knew that much, and I cruelly used it to my advantage. After that, he'd let me get away with all sorts.

The debate team was trying to think of pathetic ways of intimidating the opposing team at the competition next week. One guy, Luke, suggested war paint like soldiers or the football team. I rolled my eyes. A girl, Tilly, suggested we just all work on our mean faces. I smirked. Wow, I thought. Did I really used to be like this? Another suggested matching team shirts. And this was intimidating how?
Then Chloe spoke up, a timid look on her face.

"How about . . ." everyone quietened and looked at her. Chloe's eyes raised to meet mine.
". . . we just send in Alice first?'" I frowned and everyone looked at me. "No offence Alice," Chloe said carefully. "But you're scary now. I mean, you scared half your own team just by walking through the door. Imagine what fear you'd strike in the other team."

I mulled it over before nodding. "Yeah, you're right. Send me out first and and I wont take any prisoners. I'll show no mercy and scare the living tar outta all of them." the people around me seemed to wear weak smiles, still a little unsure of me themselves.
The room was quiet and I could hear the sound of heavy boots down the corridor. I smiled to myself and stood. "Don't worry," I assured everyone as the door opened. Ethan stood there, unlit cigarette perched between his lips. "We're going to beat them without even breaking a sweat." I winked at Chloe and she smiled lightly, seeing that the old, caring me was still in me somewhere. And I left the group to join Ethan at the door. I could feel their awe and respect for me slowly returning.

The rest of that week went by smoothly. Uneventful. So far no one had yet noticed a difference in Ethan. The change wasn't that immense. Though, like me, if watching him closely all day, little things would be picked up on. It was the little things he did, or in some cases didn't do, that really showed me what effect I was having on him.
He didn't want this. He didn't want to change, but he couldn't give up being friends with me. He made that clear the other morning. I was slowly and painfully working my way under his skin and he strangely and sickly let me.
Soon enough the others would see a different Ethan. An Ethan they don't want to see.



It was about quarter past 12 when I heard screeching tiers on the estate. My eyes opened but I didn't move. I could hear the car getting closer until I could hear it right outside my house.
Then it went quiet. I frowned and slowly sat up in bed. I looked towards my window. I don't know what I expected to see from here. Certainly not the car. I laid back down again and shut my eyes. Trying to get at least some sleep tonight.

Tap
Tap
Tap

I knew that tap anywhere.
My eyes snapped open and darted to the window.
Sure enough was Ethan, clinging to the outside frame. I threw my covers back and padded over to the window to open it. What could he possibly want at twenty past 12 at night?
Once the window was open Ethan hoisted a leg over the sill and sat there, glaring at nothing in particular. Half his face was illuminated by the moonlight outside. In this light I saw something on his face. Something that didn't deserve to take up residence on his wonderful face.
My eyes widen and I gasped as I reached for his face. I gently rubbed a thumb over the black bruise surrounding his left eye and his eyes darted up to meet mine, still glaring.

"What happened?" I gasped. He thought for a moment.

"Lets just say I walked into a door, shall we?" I gasped again. Everyone knows what that's code for. Somebody had hit him. The thought sickened me.

"Who?" I whispered. He glared into my room, harder than he was before if possible.

"Mom's guy," he said. I sighed and shook my head. "Don't worry though, that douche walked into double doors," he assured me, holding up two fists.
He scared me sometimes, when he got in fights. It was a very scary thing indeed. I glanced out the window and saw Ethan's car out front. He was so pleased with that thing when he got it for his birthday.

Maybe he was only pretending to be changing so he could get that thing. I mean, that was always the plan, to pretend, but he told me he was for real. But now he's getting into physical fights with his mom's boyfriend. He appeared to be going backwards. I sighed, feeling like all my hard work to try and make him a better person was wasted.
I didn't bother ask him what happened. It was probably over something petty anyway.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked instead with a yawn. My lack of sleep was finally catching up with me. Ethan shrugged as he glanced out the window. He was still sat on the window sill, a leg either side of it.

"I was kinda hoping you'd let me stay here the night." my eyes widened in panic.

"What?" I gasped. "I cant do that. You know I cant. My parents will freak. I'm still grounded remember? Cant you stay with Zach?"

Ethan shrugged. "Zach's got some chick round his tonight. Don't ask me." A chick huh? This intrigued me. I wondered if it was the ginger cheerleader, what did he say her name was? . . . . . Pam! That was it. Maybe he finally asked her out.

"What about Scott?" I tried desperately.

"Scott's got this weird fucking dog that I'm allergic to for some reason, even though I'm not allergic to dogs. It's fucking crazy dude."

"Cookie?" This was my last hope and for some reason I instantly regretted saying it. Ethan looked at his lap, losing his frown.

"I could," he mumbled. "I'd just rather stay with you." That was all the convincing I needed. I stepped back a bit and nodded for him to come into my room properly. He smiled lightly at me and climbed off the window sill. He shut my window and stepped forward, wrapping me in his arms like a welcome, warm blanket on a cold day. I melted against him and shut my eyes in content.

"Thank you," he whispered into my hair, sending shivers up and down my spine. He released me and looked around my room. I sighed dreamily before shaking myself back to reality.
I walked over to my wardrobe and pulled out a thick blanket from the top shelf. I kept it in there ready for the colder winter nights.

"I guess you can take the couch," I shrugged, indicating to the small pink couch in the corner of my room. I handed him the blanket and he held it, watching me. I watched him back. The silence was hurting my ears.
He leant forward and planted a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"I owe you one, muffin." he turned around and sat down on the couch, unfolding the blanket. I quickly turned away and crawled back into my own bed and pulled the covers back across. I glanced across at Ethan on the couch, who appeared to be asleep already, and sighed. There was no way in hell I'd be getting any sleep now.



The birds chirped a happy song the next morning. I hadn't gotten much sleep. Just knowing Ethan was there, sleeping soundly, under a blanket I would surely never wash again, was torture. I kept turning on my side, watching him. Sitting up in bed, preventing myself from approaching him.
I'd woken up before to Ethan sat on my bed staring at me, now it was his turn.
I'd heard my parents leave early that morning to go to the mall. We had the house to ourselves and I was utterly grateful neither of my parents came in to check on me this morning. I wondered then if they had taken my younger sister, Beth, with them or whether I'd have to babysit.
I got up quietly and crept out to check if Beth was home. She wasn't. I was officially home alone with Ethan Kowalski asleep on my couch.
I bit the smile on my lips and stepped back into my room. Ethan was sat up, yawning and running a hand through his tussled brown hair. It still looked perfect, despite being slept on. What I would give to have such agreeable hair.
He noticed me in the doorway and looked up. I smiled at him.

"Breakfast?" I offered. Ethan smiled back and that was all the answer I needed. He followed me down to the kitchen and sat at the island counter. Our kitchen was open plan so as I riffled through cupboards, Ethan gazed around the room.

"How about some bacon and eggs?" Ethan's eyes darted back to mine and he looked almost apologetic.

"Sorry, cupcake, no can do," he answered.

"Why?" I frowned.

"I'm a vegetarian," he shrugged.

My frown deepened. "Really?" I questioned.

"Really," Ethan nodded. "I may be a total dick capable of doing anything, but I can't eat animals. Think it's cruel." a silence fell over us where I just could not think of anything to say. My eyes stayed glued to his.

"Wow," I breathed eventually. "Never really pegged you as . . ." I wrestled for the right word. ". . . compassionate." A small smile tugged at the corners of Ethan's mouth.

"No, no one ever does."

"Um, are you okay with egg, or are you vegan?"

Ethan laughed, "Nah, I'm not that nuts. Egg would be great." I quickly got to work on some scrambled egg on toast while Ethan went back to staring around the living room. Every time he looked at my house it was like he'd never seen it before.

"Oh, shit," he muttered then. I looked up quickly. He was smiling. He looked back at me. "You have a piano. Who plays it?"

"I do, occasionally. Haven't played in a while though. Wasn't sure if there would be room for piano in my new lifestyle."

Ethan scoffed, "Kid, please. You're musical. Musicians are cooler than normal people by default. It's the way it is. See? You didn't need me after all. You were cool all along."
Something inside me filled with warmth. Maybe it was my final acceptance as being cool, or the fact that Ethan thought I was cool all along, but after that moment, I certainly felt brighter than I ever had.

"I always wanted piano lessons," Ethan mused quietly to himself, gazing at the shiny black piano.

"I'll teach you one day," I told him. His eyes darted back to mine, a cute look of innocence in them.

"Really?" he asked.

I shrugged. "If you want." Ethan looked back at the piano and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I want." I smiled to myself as he watched the piano with a distant look about him. The toast popped up and I spread the scrambled egg onto it. I put one plate in front of Ethan and the other at the spare seat next to him. I got us some knives and forks and then claimed the seat next to him. We hungrily tucked into breakfast. I felt Ethan's eyes on me and I looked up at him.

"Nice pyjamas," he commented. He seemed sincere. I looked down at my plain white vest and bright red bottoms which were doted with white music notes.

"Um, thanks," I squeaked, dying inside at the fact that Ethan had seen me in my pyjamas. I hadn't even thought to get dressed this morning.

"You're a good cook, y'know? This is great." he held up his fork, toast on the end, just to indicate he was talking about breakfast, in case I hadn't guessed already.

"Thanks," I repeated.

"Do you wanna go for a drive?" Ethan asked me then. He was almost finished eating. Must have been hungry.

"Um, sure," I accepted. "Are we meeting anyone?" Ethan looked down at his plate as he ate the last of the egg.

He shook his head. "No, I mean like, just us hang out. We haven't in a while. There's always someone there." A lump formed in my throat. Me and Ethan, alone, somewhere.

I nodded quickly. "That's cool," I said, collecting up our plates and putting them in the sink. "Let me just get dressed first."

"Why? You look fine like that," Ethan smirked. I raised my eyebrows at him as I made for the stairs.
I rummaged through my wardrobe and toyed with the idea of wearing my floral dress. I had already decided on Ethan's jacket and boots. I'd gotten so used to wearing them now that I couldn't imagine not. I didn't know what I'd do if he asked for them back. I pulled on some thick grey tights and then decided to go with a long grey and black stripped scoop neck jumper. Stepping into the combat boots, I tugged on the biker jacket and ran my hands through my hair. I normally tried to keep the fresh-out-of-bed look. I applied eye-liner and mascara and was good to go.
I clambered down the stairs in Ethan's heavy boots and he looked up at me. He was sat on the arm on the couch, playing with his car keys.

"I'm telling you, love. You're going to start a new trend. Give it another week and all the girls will wear cute dresses and leather jackets." I smiled at him and he smiled back. "You ready to go, sunshine?"

"Yep." Ethan stood and I followed, door keys in hand. I locked up the house and we walked to Ethan's car. The car he was proud of. It wasn't the best car in the world, but it certainly wasn't the worst. It got him out the house when he needed an escape, and that was all I cared about.

"So where are we going?" I asked as I put my seatbelt on. Ethan noticed me do this and then did the same. He must have never thought about seatbelts before. He shrugged as he started the engine.

"Lets see where we end up, shall we?" he smiled a proper smile at me and I returned it.

"Lets."



The car journey must have lasted 45 minutes. God knows where we ended up, but we pulled over by a field cause Ethan said he was tired of driving. We talked a lot of the way, laughing at silly things and I finally felt like I was living the life of a proper teenager. The whole time we listened to music. It was this British band called Biffy Clyro that Ethan raved were the best thing since sliced bread. I hadn't heard of them before but he had their CD and we listened to it. It was great stuff. I'd especially liked one of their slower ones, Many Of Horror. For some reason it reminded me of Ethan. The song really spoke to me and as it played, I'd found myself watching him.

Ethan was leant against his car hood, smoking, staring out across the field. I was stood at the gate of the field. It was a wheat field. It looked like a scene from a movie or a postcard of the countryside stating a better way of life. I would have believed it to. This golden field, in this warm breeze, with the sun on my back, this was the epitome of bliss.
I felt a set of arms fold around me from behind and sighed in content, allowing my eyes to involuntary shut. I leant back against Ethan's chest, breathing in the smell of his just smoked cigarette.

This really was perfect. Ethan gave me a squeeze and then let go of me. I opened my eyes and watched him volt over the gate. He looked back at me and squinted against the sunlight. He looked magnificent.

"Coming, cupcake?" I said nothing as I carefully stepped over the gate, not questioning whether or not we were trespassing. Ethan smiled lightly and took my hand. I was helpless to prevent him from leading me whether he was leading me. And I didn't want to prevent him either.

When we were a fair way into the field, Ethan dropped my hand and charged into the wheat, throwing himself against it and flattening it.

"What are you doing?" I laughed as he rolled around on the floor, covered in wheat.

"Making somewhere to sit," he confirmed, sitting up and brushing himself off. I shook my head and put my hands on my hips. I looked down at him and he smirked up at me.

"You're nuts, y'know that?" Suddenly Ethan leapt up and grabbed me, dragging me down on to the wheat covered ground. I laughed and tried to push him off me but he wouldn't let go.

"Still think I'm nuts?" he asked.

"More so," I informed him.

He laughed and let go of me. "Good. Wouldn't want you thinking I'm normal now, would I?" I sat up and looked at the shoulder high wheat surrounding us. No one would ever no we were there. Ethan was lying opposite me, propped up on his elbows. He seemed to be thinking as he watched me. I looked across at him and said nothing. He appeared to be considering something.

"I don't know why," he began with a light frown. "But I quite like seeing you in my clothes." I looked down at the jacket, sleeves ever so lightly too long for me. The boots, a size too big. "I like it," he added.

"Well, I like wearing them," I told him.

"Then keep them," he said.

My eyes widened. "I can't keep your jacket and boots. They must have cost a fortune."

Ethan shrugged. "The jacket doesn't really fit me anymore and I got new boots. I never wore those ones in the end. Besides," he leant back, hands behind his head as he watched the clouds. "They look better on you than they did on me." I smiled. Was that his secret way of him saying he liked the way I looked? That he thought I looked nice?

"C'mere," Ethan beckoned a hand at me, not sitting up. I scooted over to him.

"Yeah?" I asked. Ethan wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me down next to him. Ethan's eyes were shut, the sun on his face. I watched him as I laid next to him. I looked up at the sky and smiled. I placed my hands neatly across my stomach and shut my eyes also. The sun was warm on my face and the breeze couldn't seem to find us down there. I heard Ethan lightly humming a tune and recognised it as Many Of Horror. The song I'd heard only today and had already fallen in love with. I felt a warm hand cover mine on my stomach and smiled wider. Neither one of us opened our eyes.