Four clover fuckers - Ethan

”Oi nuffin gay ’bout some second hand saliva sharing between two chavs,” Ethan said, pointing at her with a raised eyebrow, but couldn’t help but chuckle. Him and Darren were much alike in many ways, yet so different in others. ”I feel so knackered,” he said with a tired grin as Vanessa messed up his hair. He made a small shocked expression, as if he had pulled his hair back in the greatest hairstyle ever. He grinned at Darren’s comment, pressing some banana out through his teeth to get a reaction. ”Jealous?” he said moving his eyebrows up and down a few times in teasing. Ethan didn’t mind what people thought about the things he did, but he also knew that Vanessa could often get a bit embarrassed by that side of herself. He didn’t mind though, he knew he had skills in making pillow forts. He was a bit grateful for Darren not snitching on him, it made him feel better. He wasn’t asking for his friend to pick a side, because he wouldn’t be able to when it came to his two mates. Sure, he was angry about what had happened between him and Cetas last night, but wouldn’t they be able to pull through? Maybe not, he reminded himself, seeing the hurt that had been lurking behind the souldemons grey eyes. He knew that the mint part would get a reaction out of Vanessa, because she had once mentioned how much she hated chocolate with mint in it. ”I know I’m safe ’ere,” Ethan said as he jumped off the counter to stand at her. He shook his head, knowing that Cetas couldn’t touch him here. ”It’s more ya old man I’m thinkin’ ’bout, ya know,” he said still holding on to some smoke. Standing between her legs, slowly exhaling the smoke he just looked at her, the way she looked at him made him grin with his goofy smile. ”I mean, I dunno if he ’eard me last night or not,” he said, shrugging a bit. He didn’t know what was going on inside the minds of the Prideux at times, but that was why he liked Cetas so much. He liked a bit of spontineity.

Vanessa’s hands touching his hand made him look back at her eyes. It was as if when she was in her other state of mind he kept an eye out for her and when she was in this state she kept an eye out for him. He chuckled at her words and shook his head. It wasn’t really a proposal. Ethan didn’t believe in marriage, at least not in the whole white dress and church kind of way. ”Well it would be cheap, yeah? Wedding in the morning, funeral in the evening; only need to invite the guests one time,” he said with a grin. He could feel the movement of Darren’s shaddow all of a sudden, turning his head and catching the egg he had flung at them. ”Ya see how ready I was bruv!” he yelled throwing his arms up in the air as if it was a victory. He looked at Vanessa again as he chewed on the egg, making his eyebrows twitch quickly. ”Ya wanna watch us snog?” Ethan asked in teasing, feeling a bit of color appearing in his cheeks, but it was only because he realised all the things that Ethan was thinking about Vanessa right now was maybe being yelled a bit too loud in his mind. He scratched his scalp, moving around his still wet locks. His eyes widened as he watched Darren scoop down the food, reaching over to his own plate and grabbing a piece of egg that he popped in his mouth. ”Better than Gordon Ramsay,” he said with a grin, nodding as Darren said he was going to leave. ”Take care bruv,” he yelled after him as he heard the door close. He turned his eyes Vanessa again as she touched his face, smiling the goofy smile he was known for.

”Lucky for me I know where to get a crowbar,” he mumbled, taking her hand as she let it fall to her side. He stuck out his tongue slightly, wetting his lips, but not really thinking about it. He felt his heart race, more now than ever, because he was so close to her. He stepped even closer, his free hand running along her thigh. His breathing got heavy, just by looking at her he knew he was done for. Her lips could seal his fate, but that was a thing he wouldn’t mind. He just had to know how she tasted. The hand holding hers let go, moving up her arm until it reached her neck, placing his palm over her pulse, letting his thumb run along her jaw. It was like his body couldn’t wait any longer, and he pushed himself closer to her, letting their lips meet each other for the first time. His heart felt like it could explode, bursting with all the feelings that had suddenly been allowed to be released from it’s cages. Ethan was not usually rough or anything, but with her it was almost like a craving that he had to hold at bay. Breathing through his notrils helped, and feeling the air supply run freely made him know his nose wasn’t broken, just sore. A bit reluctantly he broke the kiss, but his lips were still close to her, his warm breath hitting her upperlip for every exhale. It was crazy, and he opened his eyes carefully, looking at her, feeling some weird spark under his skin. He had to kiss her again and leaned in, this time with a bit more confidence, pulling her closer, his hand having moved from her thigh to her lower back. He couldn’t deny what she was doing to his body, but one step at a time was maybe safest. She tasted a bit of the cigarette she had been smoking, but not bad like an ashtray. He thought that she could’ve eaten the worst smelling meal and he would still want to taste her lips. Not wanting to pull away from her was a problem, lips locked as he gently keps moving against her soft full lips.

He didn’t want this to stop. Couldn’t they just do this for a while longer? He took a deep breath, inhaling her sent as he pulled away again, but still holding her close. ”I think you’ll be the one to break my heart,” he whispered, chuckling a bit at his own words, but he did believe that. Just the thought of her lips had for so long been a thing in his dreams and now it was a reality. If she was to deny him that feeling again he was certain it would break him. ”I’ll need to eat those eggs,” he mumbled, touching his nose to hers, a grin on his lips before he moved from her. He didn’t want to, but cold eggs just tasted weird to him. He grabbed the fork, taking big chuncks of the egg into his mouth and sighed slightly. It had been a while since he had bought eggs to eat, but it was good. He emptied his plate rather quickly, placing the dishes into the sink when he had scooped it clean. Looking to her, he smiled. It seemed rather unrealistic to him still and he bit at some loose skin next to his thumbs’ nail. ”I’ll try and see if I can go find ma stuff – probably tossed in a bin somewhere, but worth a shot,” he said with a shrug. ”Ya wanna come wiv?” he suggested, knowing it would probably just be him dumpster diving to save whatever small items that had been tossed from his apartment. His landlord had given him more chances to grab his stuff, but he had kept up the hope to get some money. No luck, sadly.

"Yeah, me too," she said with a small shrug though she smiled. She wasnt really showing her tired she really felt, but it was always like this with her. It was easier to hide when she wasnt doing anything, it would show a bit more clear if she was actually doing something, her brain would act like she needed some extra time to think to even do the simplest things. It was partly why she wasnt even smoking most of the cigarette, forgetting to take the drags or letting the smoke sit for longer than usual. Darren looked to Ethan as he pressed out the banana through his teeth, Darren laughing in a choked up grin as he found it hilarious, "Jealous of what bruv? You some next man reppin a party sausage a swear down, innit" he said, still laughing as he spoke, clicking his teeth as he shook his head, "Manz tryna flex 2 inches bladd," he said like it was the craziest thing he had ever experienced. Vanessa just shook her head and lightly placed her palm to her forehead like she was giving up on the both of them, chuckling.
Vanessa smiled at his words but frowned a bit at the mention of her father. Frankly she wasnt sure what would happen if her dad found out, he didnt seem like he would care much of what would be good for her. She had seen guys that she had been with suddenly disappear to not be seen again, but she didnt want to think that it could happen to Ethan. "Let's hope he didnt. We might be lucky that he's all pent up on finding that little girl," she said with a worried expression. She knew she could trust Eilish not to tell Samuel, but she wasnt sure if it would stay so if Samuel went to ask her about it. Would she lie for her sake?

His talk of two ceremonies at the same day made her laugh as she shook her head, "If we're anything like Romeo and Juliet, it would be a conjoined funeral. Quite depressing," she said but she couldnt stop laughing at it. She did find most things funny, especially those revolving jokes about serious matters. She wasnt worried about herself in any way, she was more worried about Ethan if anything. Darren's expression went from proud to defeated in the matter of a second as Ethan caught the eggs, but he still smiled widely as he clapped his hands, "Wicked, innit" he said as he returned to making the eggs. Vanessa smiled at him as he turned back, noticing how his cheeks had gotten a bit of colour after Darren's remark. "Blud, you're mental," Darren said not looking away from the pan as he shook his head. He didnt want to see it, but he had just gotten enough of hearing their wild thoughts bounce all around him like they were schoolkids about to have their very first kiss ever.
"Gordon Ramsay aint making eggs like Darren, yeah? Alie, man's eggs so gud, next man gonna give me lips, but Darren dont roll that way, yah?" he said before he left them, making it seem like he was making his last words as he backed out the door and lifted his hand at Ethan's farewell.

"Crowbars dont work from the inside," she said in a low tone with a small smile on her lips. She placed her fingers around his thumb as he grabbed her hand, feeling her own heart beating like crazy as she watched him wet his lips. His hand moving along her thigh felt like fire, warming her body as her cheeks started to warm up, getting a soft pink colour underneath the pale skin.
She looked at him with mesmerized eyes as her own heavy breath synced with his as he let go of her hand, feeling his hand move up her arm, drawing her closer and closer. The silence was filled with tension as she felt the need to just push herself to him, connect their lips finally. His thumb against her jaw, made her curl her toes under her socks as her lips separated slightly, making her exhale softly through them as she shifted between his eyes. He was the one to connect their lips, her eyes fell shut as she felt her core spin at the feel of his soft lips against hers. Her hands shakingly found their way to his shirt where she gripped on tight on the fabric as she just indulged herself in this moment. When he broke the kiss, she felt cheated, opening her eyes slightly as she looked into his eyes, feeling his breath on her lips was like a tease, a reminder of what she had just felt. She felt the craving as well, like a shared feeling they both had acquainted at the same moment. As he leaned forward, she mustered the courage to tug at his shirt, letting him know she wanted this too. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his hips as she pressed herself closer to him as he did the same to her. One hand freed from his shirt but was quick to wrap around his neck while her lips moved softly against his, the intoxication making her feel dizzy and disoriented for a moment.

When he pulled away, she took a few deep inhales, chuckling softly as she looked at him with sore eyes. His whisper made her shake her head as she pushed her forehead against his, slowly catching up to the breath she had seemed to have lost during the second kiss. "Maybe. But I would be breaking my own as well," she finally whispered in a trembling tone as she moved her head away from his, moving her arm away from his neck to place her hand on his cheek. She watched him for a bit before he spoke of the eggs Darren had made, their noses touching made her smile softly, as she released her legs from their grip around him, letting him move away. She leaned her side to the frame, feeling that if she jumped down from it now, her legs would be too wobbly to function. She hadnt ever felt a kiss have this much power over her and a part of her found it quite scary. She knew that he was a skirt chaser and even though the kiss felt nothing like that, a paranoid part of her thought that it might just be that.
She closed her eyes for a bit, lifting her hand to touch the frame lightly as she thought back on the kiss, a soft grin on her lips as she felt butterflies in her stomach at the fresh memory that was now implanted in her mind. She opened her eyes as he spoke, getting pulled out of her thoughts that made her sigh quietly yet just as dreamy. She didnt want to be away from him, so even before he suggested her coming with him, she had set her mind to it. She nodded and jumped down from the frame, feeling her legs wanting to give into being wobbly, yet she managed not to show that she was having the struggle at all. She moved over to him and placed her hand in his, entangling their fingers as she smiled up at him, "Let's go dumpster diving," she said with a small laugh following, already imagining how it would be. It was a sad thing, having to go through dumpsters, but she rather wanted to see it as something fun. No need to get moody over something that couldnt have been prevented, because he was too stubborn to take handouts.  

She moved out to the door were she picked up her coat from yesterday, placing it on the hanger before she grabbed her keys from the counter next to it, after she had locked the door, she'd place the key in her backpocket as she always did whenever she wasnt wearing a jacket. She attached the chain from it onto her overalls, so she wouldnt drop it - Oddly enough she had tried that too many times to not use a chain nowadays. They got out on the street and she inhaled the fresh air, "Mnnhh, loving the  polluted air of England," she said with a chuckle as she looked to him and pressed herself a bit closer to him. "It's clearer in Africa, if you stay out of the cities. Despite the heat and my father's company, I do like it there," she said, but it wasnt that she spoke of her time in Africa often as it wasnt really something pleasant to remember. But she felt safe enough to just think about the things from there that made her feel happy.

Explaining what her lips felt like was not possible for him, maybe he could better describe the feeling it gave his body. Fireworks. It felt like a thousand fireworks going off under his skin, making it feel like something was burning. Everything she did just made her crave her more, the way he tugged at his shirt and wrapped her legs around him. Had it been any other gal doing that he had started stripping her down, but this was Vanessa. A young woman that he had been wanting to be close to for so long, so ruining it because he couldn’t handle himself. Just the way she looked at him sent sparks running under his skin. He just stood there for a while, looking at her after their second kiss and feeling a bit lost in her eyes. He was probably smiling all boyish, his teeth showing in his grin. Moving away was the wisest thing to do, even if his body screamed to touch her more. He practically scooped the eggs into his mouth, barely chewing before swallowing the food. He was glad to hear she actually wanted to come with him, even if it might be a strange thing to do. His heart fluttered when he looked down at their entangled fingers, giving her hand a small squeeze. Looking back up at her, he felt a bit more timid, wanting to tell her that this wasn’t what he did with other girls. This wasn’t something he was doing just because he wanted her. He frowned slightly at his thoughts because he had never felt like this before. Those two kisses had just confirmed that things were different with Vanessa, but could he change his ways? Ethan wanted to, because it meant that Vanessa would be happy – or atleast he hoped she would. He kept holding on to her hand, letting the sensation of their skin touching, even if it was just this tiny bit, simmer in him. He jumped into his worn out shoes rather easily, not wanting to let go of her hand for even a second. It was like if he let go of her, he would risk losing her.

He couldn’t hold back a chuckle at her comment, taking a deep breath himself, but still feeling like his body was aching after yesterday. Whatever Samuel had given him had helped him immensely, but he just felt like he could sleep for the rest of the week. ”It’s not so bad – the smoke in Manchester is worse,” he said with a chuckle as he shook his head. He hadn’t grown up in the best family, meaning he had often ran away from home when he was still in Doncaster. ”Tellin’ ya – Machester smells like mornin’ pisses and smoke in the morning,” he said, nodding to himself as he retrieved the memory, chuckling a bit at himself. He wanted to see the world, but being a broke guy without even a passport meant that it would have to wait. If it even ended up happening, he didn’t know, but he wasn’t the type to worry about that. He pulled her closer, feeling the strange need to just let people know who’s hand she was holding. Not like she was a trophy, but because he liked the thought of them starting something. Whatever it was, he liked it right now. The walk to his old apartment didn’t take long but he stopped as he saw someone banging on the door to where he had used to live. ”Shite,” he mumbled, scratching his scalp as he gave a small scoff from his lips as he looked apologetic to Vanessa.

”ETHAN SPENCER YA FOOKER! OPEN THIS DOOR OR I SWEAR!” the young girl yelled, banging harder on the door, even kicking it. Her accent was just as strong as Ethan’s, if not stronger. She ran her fingers through her brown hair in frustration before she turned around, spotting him and pointing at him with a warning finger. ”Ya fecking looney!” she yelled, tossing her bag after him, Ethan needing to move both him and Vanessa to not get hit by the rather heavy backpack, landing on the ground with a loud thump. She came running down the stairs, almost falling over her own legs as she came charging at Ethan. Ethan let go of Vanessa’s hand, making a strained voice as the girl collided with Ethan, sending them both to the ground, she started hitting him, but from the looks of it it wasn’t too hard. ”What’ya want Ems?” he said trying to regain his airsupply that she had just knocked out of him. The girl stopped hitting him, realizing that someone else was there, she got to her feet, brushing off the dirt of her dress. A droplet of blood escaping her scraped knees. ”I came to check on ya, and ya not even home? Ya fookin’ hermit ass always in there, wanking or some shite,” she said in a frustrated voice shaking her head in anger. Ethan got to his feet, brushing off the worst of the dirt with a sigh, looking to Vanessa with a small grin.

”What’ya smiling at?” the girl said in an angry voice, her blue eyes darting to Vanessa. ”Vane, this it ma lil sis – Emma,” Ethan said, pulling a face that said she shouldn’t worry. He rubbed his elbows, sighing and shaking his head. The girl stomped her foot, her temper almost worse than Ethan’s when it came to anger, however she was looking far younger than she actually was.

"Guess I'll just have to strike that off my list of places to go then," she said with a chuckle, shaking her head as she didnt really have a list. She wanted to see many parts of the world herself, but with a father like hers, it was probably never likely that she would get a privilege of such kind. She was just to be where he needed her to be and do his will like some puppet. She hated it, hated it so much. Maybe she just needed to run off to the deepest corner of the earth and finally live the life she wanted, even though it wasnt all that bad here. She thought it could get worse if she was ever caught running off. She liked walking with him, feeling how he pulled her closer, knowing that people could see them together. Even though it was a risk, having someone who knew her uncle see them, would probably have the person run off to set Cetas on his warpath. "We should go somewhere some time. And dont give me shit about money problems," she then said as she looked at him. "All we'll need is a car and the hope that the border police will let the white privilege speak for us," she then said with a chuckle, trying to think of that instead of her uncle.
Seeing some girl standing at his door yelling his name didnt come all that surprising, but it did rub her wrong. It was just like a visual confirmation on what she was fearing, and as much as she didnt want to believe it, it was right here in front of her. She gulped and looked at Ethan, seeing the apologetic smile just felt more like salt in the wound, she quickly turned her eyes back to the girl. She wasnt sure what to feel in the moment, a part of her urging to step forward and tell the girl to shut up, or just at least something to assert the position she felt she had now. But it was complicated with her tired mind, it made her less prone to do whatever the hell she wanted. She decided to stay back and watch the scene unfold itself.
Vanessa looked at the bag that went past them, quickly turning her eyes back to the girl. She looked too much alike him to be some angry girl, Vanessa knew that, or more like hoped it. Frankly her slow processing was making it quite confusing - Was she supposed to feel threatened or laugh because it was his sister having a fit? She narrowed her eyes and couldnt really figure out what her deal was anyway. She looked the girl as she came running, raising her eyebrows before Ethan let go of her hand to let her collide with him. She stepped a bit back, feeling quite confused by this, but it was mostly because she didnt have siblings of her own, so she couldnt understand what this meant. Well, she had seen how Samuel and Cetas was, as mean as they were to one another, there was still never anything physical going on between the two.
“Little sister. Alright," she said as she looked at Ethan to then look at his sister. "Hi Emma,” Vanessa said with a small smile, sending Emma a nod before she pulled out her phone as she had an odd feeling. She just stood for a while staring at her screen with a blank expression before she slipped her phone back in her pocket, sighing shortly before she scratched her elbow and glanced at Ethan, "Something's up," she said in a low tone, not really elaborating as his sister was there. She was open about most things, but not about her father or Cetas for that matter. "I can stay for a little longer but then I have to go," she said, trying not to sound too doleful at the fact that it meant they had to be apart.

”Running away wiv me sounds dangerous,” he said with a chuckle as he looked at her with a teasing grin. He just wanted to pull her closer, maybe stealing another kiss to make the distance seem less so. As soon as he heard the banging on his door, he knew what it might look like. Him and his sister had always had a rather unusual relationship, seeing as both of them had inherited their father’s crude temper. He opened his mouth to assure Vanessa that nothing was wrong, everything was fine, but then Emma slammed her body into his, making him fall backwards. Getting to their feet Ethan gave Emma a warning stare, before he looked at Vanessa, walking over to her. ”Ya link says hi, yet ya don’t even greet me?” Emma said, a bit flabberghasted at the whole situation, however Ethan could just sense something was off with the demon. Her words made him swallow, looking away shortly. Fuck he hated this even more now than before. ”Ems, smack ya gobber or Imma get real miffed at ya,” he said in a warning tone before he stepped a bit away with Vanessa. Emma wouldn’t be able to hear them, unless she stepped closer, but she seemed more preoccupied with gathering her backpack. ”I don’t like this gut feeling I’m gettin’ – tell me whut’s going on?” he asked, frowning as he looked to Vanessa, briefly letting his gaze wander to check on his sister. Of all places she had to choose now to visit him, when his life was at risk? Maybe it was a good idea to get a hold of Darren, maybe he could keep an eye on Emma? On the other hand, would he really want his mate to hang out with his little sister like this. He sighed, rubbing his temples to get out some of his frustrations. Normally he would have had a fit by now, but Emma had knocked a lot of energy out of him.

”Vane, I’m fucking scared,” he admitted, holding up his hand that was shaking. He was afraid that Vanessa was going to be taken away again, just as he had gotten the chance to be with her. Life wasn’t fair, he had learned that from an early age, but couldn’t he just get a little more time? He knew it would never be enough time, but he just felt robbed. He closed his eyes, placing his shaky hand over his forehead. It was hard to focus, but he just didn’t know what he could do with all of this. He sighed before he pulled out his phone – texting Darren first asking for a massive favor and then sending a text to Cetas, letting him know he was ready to talk things out – even if it meant getting his head smashed in. He put away his phone, biting his lower lip in the hopes that Vanessa wouldn’t get hurt by this. He just needed Cetas to understand his side of it all. Ethan placed a hand on her cheek before pulling her into a safe embrace. He wanted to kiss her more, but comfort was what both of them seemed to need the most right now. ”You can trust Ems to keep a secret – to be honest she might’ve already figured out what is going on,” he said with a sad chuckle. His sister had this weird thing about her, like she could pick up on small signs and place them all into a massive puzzle that showed her a bigger picture. It was amazing really, but he didn’t understand it very much.

”When ya done, I’d like to go inside,” she said, moving her shoulders a bit up and down. Her dress was still rather short for this time of year, but Emma had never really been one to care about that. Although it often resulted in her getting sick. ”We can’t go inside – I got kicked out,” Ethan said in a sigh. It felt like giving up saying it out loud, but it was a reality by now. ”Kicked out? Ya living on the streets again?” Emma said, her jaw falling to the floor at the realisation. He had lived on the streets before, but she was conviced he was doing better than he was right now. Apparently, she was wrong. One thing she couldn’t quite understand was how affectionate he was with this female. She had never seen him touch anyone like that.

"We're an awful combo then, a dead man walking with a corperation's property" she said with a grin, squeezing his hand lightly. Him with his big mouthed temper and her with her family issues. There sure would be some bumps on their road if they did go.
Being called a link made Vanessa raise her eyebrow as her face turned awfully Prideux-like, the kind of look that her father could use to make any man tremble with fear of what would happen. Sure she was broad with her anger, but this was putting her awfully close to her edge. She didnt want to be a link, not in any way, just having someone call her it, made her feel like it was so. She scoffed and decided that she wasnt going to be like her father, looking to Ethan as he warned his sister.
As he pulled her aside, asking what was up, she looked away like she didnt really want to tell him. She tapped her heels rather fast into the ground as she looked down, "Samuel called," she said, rarely used the word father when she spoke about him, it was just like she didnt need to be reminded that this was the person who gave her life. He hadnt done anything to make her feel loved like other kids, no he had always been a stranger, a walking scolding of expectations she didnt want to live up to. She picked up her phone and showed him a message, it wasnt anything but a location, but messages like these were never something good. She blinked a few times and placed her phone back in her pocket as she looked at him. When he said he was scared, holding up his shaking hand, she placed her own hand around the back of his, closing her fingers around it as she looked at him, "Me too. But being scared isnt going to change this," she said in a sad tone, wanting to show just how scared she was as well, but it was harder for her in this state of mind. Samuel's fault mostly, being taught that showing fear in any sense was weakness and weakness meant punishment.

She looked at Emma as he said she could trust her and nodded. It was odd for her to trust this easily, so she would need some time to adjust to it. Another thing Samuel taught her, that trust had to be earned and not granted. She still remembered how long it took her to trust Ethan and Darren back when they first met, how she would rarely show or tell them anything.
She sighed as they had their exchange about him getting kicked out. She was quite worried about the missed call from her father, even more so that he had just messaged her with a location. It was never clear what this would mean, would it be bad, would it be the worst of all? She listened with half a ear as she freed the chain from her overalls, pulling the keys up before she threw them to Ethan, "You'll need these," she said as she looked around for a bit, like she was expecting something. She shook her head and ran her hand through her hair as she sighed, "Let's get your stuff," she said as she then scrunched her face as she realized something, "We forgot to bring a bag," she mumbled, like it was the only thing she wanted to worry about now. She walked over to the dumpsters, inhaling deeply as her phone buzzed again. She closed her eyes.

An awful combo indeed, but one he found strangely fitting. ”You’re the gunpowder to ma bullet,” he chuckled shaking his head. He wasn’t good with words, he just liked saying stuff that could be interpreted as philosofical. The way that Emma spoke of Vanessa made his blood boil, cluching his hand into a fist. Him and his sister had never been completely violent with each other, but they had been in fights before. Sad to say, Emma had won a few, and the state he was in was not good for fighting. Emma seemed to keep quiet as she saw her brother struggling with his anger, choosing to focus on her back pack that was mostly empty except for some clothes and a worn out book.

Samuel. The name send a cold shiver down his back, but he didn’t let it show, however he was visibly shaking. He knew it meant she would be gone. It usually meant that, but he didn’t want that. Not now. He gritted his teeth taking her hand and holding it to his chest, shaking his head as if he wasn’t going to allow it. Knowing that his opinion would go unheard he looked down with defeat. ”How long can you hold him back?” he whispered, knowing that she would have to meet up with him. Ethan had finally gathered the courage, finally found whatever power in him to tell her how he felt and of course she was getting pulled away from him. He wasn’t scared about her being alright, because she was tougher than she looked. He swallowed, biting his lower lip as he tried figuring something out, but his brain was like it was having a malfunction. It was clear they all were frustrated with something and Ethan took the keys as she handed them to him. Feeling the metal that was slightly warm from being in her pocket made him frown, but moved over to the dumpster outside the apartment. He opened the lid, looking in he got a small grin on his face. He took a firm grip of the sides, pulling himself up, but the balance he had was shit, making him fall face first into the dumpster. ”FOOKIN’ MANKY SHITE!” he yelled from inside the dumpster before he scrambled and got to his feet. He wrinkled his nose and as he did Emma bursted out laughing. ”Fun, yeah? How’s ’bout this ya little bugger!” he yelled, tossing a bag of who knows what at Emma making her scream and run to hide behind Vanessa. ”Oi! Dirty trick ya pull,” he said in a grunt as he couldn’t get himself to throw something this nasty at Vanessa.

At Vanessa’s mention of a bag Emma moved to stand beside the demon, lifting up her back pack with a wink. ”Got ya fellas sorted,” she said with a chuckle. Her mood seemed to change like the wind, but she had always been like this. Hot headed and easy to laughter. Ethan rolled his eyes and found some of his clothes that had been tossed into the dumpster. What had his life become? Dumpster diving for his own things in front of his sister and his … well whatever Vanessa was to him. The thought alone gave him a headache. He was normally not one to put a label on a relationship, especially one that had only involved some hidden feelings and two kisses so far. ”Score,” he mumbled to himself as he pulled out his leather jacket, smeared in some fruit juice. He didn’t care, he could clean it, but it was rather shittily done by his landlord. But then again, this wasn’t a high end neighborhood. Having found some of his stuff, he tossed them over the side of the dumpster, letting it gather in a small pile. He didn’t have a lot of stuff. Most of the clothes he wore was either used until it was so broken down, that it was mostly re-sewn string. Furniture he had not really had any off. A chair and a mattress was all he had, both probably sent off to some shelter. When he had found his most valuable items, atleast valuable to him, he got out of the dumpster. This time his landing was better, landing on his feet but falling forward and bending down on both his knees with a small thump.

"Alright, pocket poet," she said with a teasing smile as she looked at him. It was odd how he could sometimes say things that sounded so poetically when the rest was just... whatever it was, that she had taken so long to adjust to.
"Like thirty minutes, tops," she said as she scratched her neck, looking at her hand that softly fiddled with the fabric of his shirt. She hated this just as much as he did, looking at him with sad eyes as she lifted her other hand to place on his cheek and gave it a short caress with her thumb before she let it fall down again. She just had to keep her chin high, see if this was just another test from her father to see how her loyalty was holding up, or if he actually had something planned for her.
Letting them stay at her apartment was what she saw as best. It meant that she knew where they would be when she could leave. Also a part of her was dreading the thought of Ethan staying out on the streets without her to be there for him. No, the apartment had to do. She watched him crawl into the dumpster and scrunched her face as she watched him swoop and fall into it, just imagining what the smell alone would be like. "Should have waited with the shower," she said as Emma seemed to burst out in laughter. She smiled a bit as he got to his feet, widening her eyes as he threw a bag of trash at Emma who was quick to dodge and go hiding where she wouldnt get hit. She turned her head back at her and chuckled, "That was a cheap shot," she teased her before she looked back at Ethan and frowned a bit, "How do you know it's this one?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked at the other dumpsters.
She went over to one and opened it, wrinkling her nose as the stench hit her right in the face, making her wave her hand in front of her face, "Whev. Now that's disgusting," she mumbled as she looked around. Everything was bagged, so it was easy to move it around, but she gasped as she picked a bag up that started leaking, "Yikes," she said, right as Ethan had collected his stuff, letting the bag fall back in before she turned to him. "Got everything?" she asked before she looked into the one she had opened. She wasnt going to spend a minute longer in the stench if there wasnt any point to it. Something caught her eye and she twitched her eyebrows as she reached down the side, sticking out her tongue as she felt the side of the dumpster's crinkling whatever it was. She didnt want to know. She caught onto what she had seen and pulled it out, dropping it to the ground as it was covered in yuck. She crouched down and picked it up before she smiled, "It's a locket," she said as she pulled of the tape that had once secured it, wiping the surface of the locket off with her thumb, "Silver," she mumbled as she looked back at the dumpster, "Odd place to hide jewelry," she mumbled to herself before she looked at Ethan, "Look," she said as she held the locket up by it's chain, a small smile over her lips. She went over to him and placed the yuck covered silver treasure in his hand as she looked at him, "This'll be your trinket," she said with a sweet smile, but she found it a bit sad.

Thirty minutes he reminded himself. ”I didn’t,” he said with a grin. He had taken a wild guess, gotten lucky for once. Too bad it was ’finding your own belongings in a dumpster’ kind of lucky. Chuckling to himself as he saw Emma and Vanessa interact a bit. His sister had always had a harder time finding friends, mostly because she was so far ahead of those around her. As he got out of the dumpster he got to his feet with a small jump, holding his arms out to find his balance. ”I think I got what was worth the most,” he said, shaking his hands to get the dirty feeling off of him, but it didn’t really work. He had found some of his clothes, a couple of bracelets and belt with a chain attached to it. He sighed, looking at the sad pile that was supposed to represent his life. Fuck it was actually depressing, but he chose to look at Vanessa as she seemed to be digging. He frowned, looking at her as she came closer, his expression becoming more suprised as he saw it was jewelry she had found. She placed it in his hand, his lips seperating as he felt a bit overwhelmed all of a sudden. His trinket? He felt his heart beat a little faster, smiling a bit goofily at her. She mostly kept stuff like this for her own collection. To the outside it would look like a weird gesture, but to Ethan this meant something more than just a locket. ”Thank you,” he said with a small smile on his lips, feeling the butterflies act up. However melancholy would soon set in. Reality felt like it was going to hit like a tonne of bricks and he took a deep breath, gathering his stuff in his arms, handing some of it to Emma to put in her back pack. Emma swung the back pack over her shoulder and nodded that she was ready to follow.

”Oh fuck,” Emma mumbled looking at her phone. ”I gotta bounce for a bit, yeah? Text me the adress, eh?” she said with a smile, tossing the back pack to Ethan. He caught it, but just barely, watching his sister run off putting her phone to her ear. Ethan gritted his teeth slightly. He might be stupid, but he wasn’t blind. He could recognize that behaviour anywhere, but he wanted to stay with Vanessa until she had to leave. He moved his hand with the locket wrapped around his fingers, down to take hers. He pressed the locket between their palms, looking ahead with a far off gaze. Ethan was normaly rather happy-go-lucky. Of course he had a temper, but he was more often smiling and laughing than being serious. ”You’ll come back to me, right?” he asked, breaking the silence that had been between them as they walked. He knew it wasn’t her choice, but he wanted to know that she would come back if she could. It was like he needed her with him in some way. Letting out a chuckle under his breath he shook his head. No, he owed it to her to be happy these few minutes they had left together. ”Would it be aight if Ems stayed at your house too?” he asked, not wanting to sound desperate, but he kind off was. Like hell he was going to let his sister stay on the streets or with someone, shaking his head at his last thought. ”You might’ve been right ’bout that shower,” he chuckled, looking down himself, his clothes dirty as well as his hand. He would have to wash all of his clothes, but walking around in his birthday suit, he didn’t really mind.

Seeing him smile as she gave him the locket made her sigh with content as she looked at him with dreamy eyes. The goofy smile was to die for, she thought to herself as she chuckled shyly at his gratitude. "It's going to be a good memory to hold onto," she said with the shyness of her chuckle lingering in a smile. She wasnt usually this soft and lovey, but it just seemed that he brought it out in her. She liked feeling this way, it was new and exciting. She couldnt wait to feel more like this.
When Emma swore, she turned her head with a curious expression as the girl looked at her phone. She blinked a few times at her words before Emma ran off in a hurry. Vanessa looked back at Ethan with confusion as she shook her head like she needed an explanation - Or more, was it alright? She turned her head back to Emma's direction and sighed. She surely had a way to be all over the place, and that was a big thing to make Vanessa think that of someone.
When he placed the locket inside their entangled hands, she felt her heart beat a little faster. She looked up at him with a warm smile as she moved closer for just a second, hopping up on her toes to place a soft kiss on his cheek. She scrunched her face at the filth she felt, but instead of commenting on it, she just chuckled and shook her head. She wouldnt start minding filth now or ever. It was just the smell that she minded if she had to be honest, but it wasnt going to stop her from staying close to him.
She didnt quite like the silence as much as she would have, hadnt they been on such a timecrunch. It was like every second mattered and letting them pass in silence was a waste. She turned her head to him at his question and squeezed his hand a bit tight as she looked into his eyes, raising only the inner parts of her eyebrows to a sad expression, "Of course I'm coming back to you," she said as she shifted between his eyes. "I'm not risking your life like this just to run away on my own. I'd take you with me, like we said we'd do," she said quite seriously. There was no way that they had just gone through last night's roller-coaster ride of emotions just to let it slip away like this.
"Yeah, yeah," she said with a nod as she rubbed gently at the back of his hand with her indexfinger, "I'd like to get to know her," she added shortly after as she looked at him with a little smile yet her words were quite serious. She was quite curious, mostly because she hadnt seen a healthy sibling bond yet. Her demon friend Baal had told her a bit about his siblings, but it turned out that he only liked a selected few of the many that he had, yet she had never really seen him interact with them. Seeing how Ethan and Emma spoke to each other was heartwarming in a way she couldnt explain.
She chuckled with him, waving her hand at him like she was trying to drive the smell away, "I can smell you from here, Stinky McStink," she said with a teasing smile as she looked ahead. She was trying not to think of how the clock was ticking, hoping they could get home faster, but walking in a fast pace would just make her feel less like they were trying to enjoy the time they had together. She suddenly smiled a bit for herself as she wandered in her thoughts, "You're lucky I am rich," she then said as she pulled him closer to make her shoulder lightly bump against his upperarm, "Imagine if I had had a one-room apartment. You'd be crammed up in there with your sister and Darren," she then said as she chuckled. When they got to the apartment, she looked at him as he now had the keys.
Inside she was quick to get to the kitchen to wash her hands, but before she had gone, she had snatched the locket from him to wash it as well. She didnt want it to stay covered in filth a moment longer. When she cleaned it, she opened it on accident, scrunching her face as the water splashed down, cleaning it from what she assumed to be a shot of cocaine. She exhaled deeply and felt her jaw tremble slightly at the memory, yet she just pressed her finger into the locket, making sure it would be completely clean. She dried it off in a paper towel before she noticed how empty it was. She smiled a bit to herself as she broke a bit of a dry towel off, grabbing a pen as she drew a little black heart on it and placed it in the locket before she closed it again, her smiling growing a bit as she thought of it as a nice surprise. She had tried her best to make it look like the heart he had on his finger.

A good memory she had said, but why did it feel so bitter sweet. It would be linked to the uncertainty, the unknown, but maybe that was better than knowing something for sure. Emma and Ethan was on many ways rather similar, both with tendensies to follow their gut, but his sister had a better understanding of when to do what. It was hard for Ethan to explain, and he sighed as Vanessa looked at him with a confused look. ”I think she be seeing a guy, sum bloke,” he muttered furrowing his brows. His sister was still too young in his mind, but on the other hand he had been rather young when he started going out with girls. ”I know she’ll be safe, but she ain’t the best at picking partners,” he said with a shrug. In the end it wasn’t something he could control, but it did make his blood boil at times. Especially seeing as she was constantly surrounded byt older guys at her university. Her small kiss made a pale pink color appear over his cheeks as he smiled a bit goofy, biting the side of his lower lip.

Usually Ethan hated silence, more so right now when he knew she had to leave him for a while. The worst part was he didn’t know for how long. He looked at her, watching her expression turn sad and he pulled a sad smile. He didn’t mean to upset her, but he just had to ask. He chuckled a bit at the thought of running away, like that would solve anything. Ethan had tried running for so long that at this point he was just tired. He wanted to be with her, wether it was turning romantic or just be platonic, he didn’t care. His need to be there for her was big, larger than he had ever imagined. For so many years he had wondered why people got together and stayed together. People liked to romanasize a partnership, but in the end it was not just something that happened over night. It had taken time for him and Vanessa to be able to trust each other enough to open up, and even more for Vanessa to show her other side. Her mention at getting to know Emma made him smile, scrathing his neck a bit as he looked down. ”She’s a right bugger, but she’s good too, y’know?” he said with a chuckle, shaking his head at himself for saying something so sappy. Him and Emma had been close, mostly because they had relied on each other to survive their childhood. He was proud of her, making her way out of their parent’s house and making something of herself, while he was basically slacking off. ”Believe it or not, her stubborness is worse than mine, I tell ya,” he said with a smile.

As she gestured that he smelled he chuckled, pulling her closer. ”Get a good sniff, will ya – Ya gon’ miss ma stank,” he laughed a bit lighthearted. Her comment about her being rich made him frown. It was like it always surprised him that she had money. If he thought about it, it made sense, but she just didn’t act snobby like most rich people he had met. The mental image of four people in a one room apartment made him smile, frowning slightly. ”You’re right – just being in a room for a couple of hours with Emma can feel like forever,” he chuckled, only kidding. He unlocked the door to the apartment and walked to the bathroom to clean off his face and hands, as well as cleaning off the most of his dirty clothes. He came back to her, wathing her smile as she held the locket. Walking over, he bent down his head so she could place it around his neck, straightening back up when it had been placed. He reached out, taking her hand and felt the butterflies once more. Why where they filling him with hope and dread all at once? His other hand, the one with the heart on the middle finger, made it’s way to her cheeck, cupping it as he looked at her. What he was going to do to handle her not being there was a mystery. The feeling of being robbed was still lingering in him, but he wanted to just enjoy what little time they had. He pushed her a bit back, lifting her to the kitchen counter with relative ease as he looked at her.

His blue eyes had a certain tenderness to them in this moment, furrowing his brows he leaned closer to her face. A small grin came upon his face as his expression loosened up before he kissed her gently, yet oddly longingly. He was a bit afraid of never getting to taste her lips again after today, and he just wanted to remember them. How they felt pressed against him and how it made his heart flutter to the most amazing beat. He prolonged the kiss, moving his lips carefully against hers as his hand moved from her cheek and down to her waist, pulling her a bit closer. He was basically tugging at her clothes, feeling like the emotions were overwhelming him in this moment. It was scary. Much more scary than the overdose or living on the streets. This was him opening up his heart and hoping it could handle whatever was thrown at it. Maybe love was too strong to say right now, but saying that he liked her would be an understatement. He bit her lowerlip carefully and rather teasingly as he pulled out of the kiss, his boyish grin dawning his face as he opened his eyes to look at her.