My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}

Noah’s Pov

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘⋆✼♡✽⋆∘∙⊱⋅•

I found my usual spot at the back of class, the kind of seat that lets me stay under the radar, and the empty chairs a couple of rows ahead hit me harder than I’d expected. Ethan’s desk wasn’t just empty, it felt like an intentional gap, like how your tongue keeps poking where a tooth used to be.

The desk was too neat, lacking the usual chaos of notes or random doodles about basketball plays, and when Mrs. Harlan called the roll, she hesitated just a bit too long after saying his name before moving on with a quiet, "absent due to family circumstances."

The word "tragedy" floated in whispers behind me, like a rumor everyone was itching to share.

"Did you hear about his uncle?"

"Yeah, it was suicide or some accident."

"Poor guy, he seemed so put together."

"I wonder how Ethan’s taking this, I heard Ethan and his uncle were really close."

Each mention twisted something sharp in my chest, a reminder that the golden boy who used to flash that easy smile my way was going through something I couldn’t help him with from a distance.

I kept checking my phone more than I’d like to admit, sneaking it out during independent reading and pretending to look up vocabulary. It wasn’t really obsessive...ok maybe it was, a little bit.

But just enough glances to show the concern that had settled in my stomach since the news hit. I’d type messages like,