Unintended [closed RP]

Ethan barely heard what Greg said. His voice seemed jumbled to him, the words coming out in an odd order.


Then Greg put his hand on Ethan's shoulder, his palm against his exposed skin, and the world ignited.


A shiver assaulted Ethan's back and neck so violently it felt like a seizure for a second, but it passed just as quickly and when Ethan "came to" he had Greg's wrist clasped tightly in one of his hands, his other hand grasping onto Greg's shoulder and keeping the two of them rooted firmly in place. The contact was doing something to Ethan--what, he didn't know--but he figured it must be that he needed something to hold on to to right whatever was going wrong in his body.


"Don't move," he rasped out to Greg. "I'm dizzy. Apparently." He closed his eyes and took a few deep, steadying breaths, not sure what the giddy rush of energized sensitivity was that was currently assaulting his central nervous system. He opened his eyes to look at Greg again, his brows furrowed, but stopped dead in his tracks once again.


Maybe one of the side-effects of this monstrous chemical was sensory overload in general. Ethan could not think of any other reason he would be sitting here, frozen, clutching Greg probably too tight, simply arrested by the sunlight in his eyes which looked so much greener today.


((Hey, what do ya know, it is! We're doing pretty good so far xD ))
 
Greg did as Ethan demanded and stared at Ethan intently, his eyebrows furrowed in obvious worry. He wondered why he would possibly feel so bad about Ethan but it must have been because in a case like this he was Greg's responsibility. Ethan's father would not think any better of Greg and Greg's mom would be gravely disappointed in him for not being worried. Greg quickly realized he was only worried about his parents and not Ethan's health. He sucked his teeth and sighed, feeling extremely guilty even though he knew that inside he really didn't like Ethan. He involuntarily rubbed his thumb against Ethan's shoulder twice and stopped himself, shaking his head and looking down as he snapped out of it.


"Here, do you want me to call someone?" He asked and slipped his phone out of his pocket. He held it ready in front of him and looked up at Ethan expectantly.
 
Ethan, once again, was having a hard time understanding Greg. He blinked once, very slowly, then gradually realized he’d been staring like a freak for the last minute straight. Snapping out of it, Ethan pushed himself away from Greg with what felt like a Herculean effort.


“I’m sure I’m just… overreacting. Hypochondria. Something.” He let out a slow breath, but then reconsidered. Maybe he was part of a minority that was horribly allergic to whatever this was. Staring at the empty glass vial on the table, apparently clean of all traces of the chemical, Ethan stood up shakily. “I’m gonna go home,” he grunted, even that sentence taking effort to make it from his addled brain to his mouth. He almost wanted to leave his shirt where it was, laying crumpled on the grass, but on second though he snagged it up. He wanted to see that design on it, just to prove that this otherworldly experience had really happened. When he lifted it up to lay it flat on the table, he paused.


“What the hell?” he asked, flipping it to the back, then the front, then the back again. He showed both sides to Greg, his brows set and his eyes wide. The stain was utterly gone. “You saw it too, right? The… the weird—” he gestured wildly, making tree-like movements with his hand.
 
Greg slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood up. They might get a bad mark on their very first assignment for the school year for not having their chemical but it obviously couldn't be helped. Greg honestly wanted to go home as well and fall asleep. Maybe as soon as his head hit the pillow this would all have been a dream and he would be waking up to do the project with Ethan for real this time. He picked his notebook up and cradled it in his arm, ready to pack up and leave when Ethan held his shirt up.


"Yeah I did see that..." Greg narrowed his eyes at the shirt and straightened up again after closely inspecting it. There definitely had been the pattern that Ethan was wildly gesturing but he had no idea how it happened or why it was gone, which was probably obvious enough. He shook his head at Ethan and shrugged. "Maybe this chemical reacts strangely to the kind of cloth on your shirt?"
 
"I don't know," Ethan said, stuffing the shirt in his backpack, determined to not touch it regardless. He slung his bag on and wobbled a bit on his feet, the straps feeling scratchy and abrasive against his skin. "I have a serious bone to pick with our instructor."


He turned to Greg to say goodbye and found himself rooted to the spot once more, not wanting to leave. These warring impulses were such a staunch irritant he could feel his jaw clench shut out of sheer frustration. Of course he wanted to go home. He wanted to go straight home, scrub all his skin off in a hot shower, lay on his bed and sleep until Monday. That was all he wanted to do in the world. The last thing he should want would be to stand here with a boy who disliked him, shirtless in the sun, feeling dizzy and nauseous.


Ethan grunted at Greg by way of farewell and made a beeline across the park in a direction he sincerely hoped contained his home. Each step he took seemed heavy, and to require supreme effort. Ethan yanked out his cell to call his parents, intending to brief them on his condition, but both devices went straight to voicemail. Letting out a sound of frustration, Ethan paused in his near-jog across the grass and sat down heavily, letting the world spin. This would be a very undignified way to die.
 
Greg had nodded to Ethan and decided it would be best to let Ethan go home. He would go home himself and do the whole project, and maybe even give Ethan note cards to read in class and make it seem like he hadn't almost died during the whole thing. It would be a great way to distract himself for the week and he packed up in silence. He slipped on his book bag and turned around just in time to see Ethan sit down on the grass. Greg looked around the park and noticed that the entrance they had come through before was in the opposite direction Ethan stumbled in. He's like a drunk, Greg thought and as he took his time walking over to Ethan. I really don't want to do this right now but it can't be helped.


Greg was far away from Ethan and he jogged the last couple of feet before letting his feet stop next to Ethan. "You do know the school is over there right?" Greg said pointing away from them. "I don't think you're going the right way." Ethan did look a little dizzy and he crouched down, speaking to Ethan softly and slowly in case the nausea only got worse when someone spoke. He knew he sure felt like that in cars sometimes.


"I really don't want to do this right now but I'll walk you as far as the school and then you're on your own buddy." He tried to catch Ethan's eyes and crossed his arms over his knees. "Alright?" He wondered what people would start to think if he got run over by a car on the way home.
 
Ethan groaned in misery as Greg found his little patch of grass. He glanced up at him, feeling wretched, and nodded. Normally his pride would stop him in his tracks from accepting help from Greg like this, but the sad truth was that he didn't actually know if he could make it as far as the school alone.


Struggling to his feet, Ethan shivered once and turned around to face the school, Greg at his side. While they walked (very slowly as Ethan was setting the pace) he found he couldn't help occasionally glancing over at his lab partner. Once again Greg was surprising him.


"You don't have to help me," Ethan said, then immediately added, "I'm not saying to leave. I'm just saying not many would, in your shoes." He paused, mulling that over. "You must have some logical reason for doing so, but nevertheless... thank you." The words almost hurt to say. Just like apologies, Ethan was not used to giving anyone the sort of power over him that gratitude came with. Steeling himself and picking up the speed a little, Ethan called his mother again just so he wouldn't have to hear whatever Greg had to say to that just yet.


This time she picked up. "Honey? What's the matter?" They were largely a texting family so phone calls tended to mean bad news.


"I don't feel well and need to be collected from school." He kept it short and nondescript, not wanting her to pry just yet.


Thankfully she got the hint. "Okay, honey. I'll come right by."


Ethan hung up and groaned. "My ride will be waiting for me when we get to the campus. You won't have to worry about being found beside my corpse," he grumbled in an attempt at a weak joke. He felt so jittery and out of sorts, and it almost seemed like Greg's companionship was making it simultaneously better and worse.
 
Greg stuffed his hands in his jeans and tried to keep Ethan's pace. He usually walked very fast and he had a feeling Ethan was a lot worse off than he tried to make it seem. He understood that Ethan was too proud to let Greg worry about him or make it seem like Ethan was disabled or something. The thanks coming from Ethan surprised him and Greg smiled down at his feet when Ethan pulled out his phone. "You're welcome." He muttered as Ethan began talking to his mom.


When they reached the entrance to the park Greg laughed openly. It did feel a bit strange to laugh the way he did with someone like Ethan, but Greg was also laughing nervously. Apparently Ethan's death wasn't only on Greg's mind. "It's funny you say that, Ethan, I was just thinking about that." He let a strange silence pass between them until they reached the front of the school.


Greg looked down at the sidewalk, unsure if he would be able to stomach a confrontation from Ethan's parents or even watch one of their probably many cars come speeding down the street. "Y-your dad isn't coming to get you, is he?" Greg asked the floor softly.
 
Ethan chuckled slightly at Greg's question. He didn't blame him for not wanting to come face-to-face with Mr. McArthur. Sometimes Ethan himself felt that way.


"No, my mother," he clarified, spotting the school in the distance and letting out a sigh of relief. He didn't think he could walk much farther with the on and off dizzy spells. He found a bench and sat down on it heavily, rubbing his head. "If I have any long term health consequences from this class I will personally sue the Chemistry department. Or perhaps just our instructor, if I'm feeling merciful and don't feel like making the whole faculty suffer." His deadpan humor was sometimes lost on people so he looked up, squinting in the too-bright light, and gave Greg a half-hearted smirk to show he was joking. Mostly.


Looking at Greg directly had that effect on him again and Ethan swallowed hard. "It seems to be worse when I look at people," he theorized, unable to think of why that should be the case. "My heart starts pounding harder. Maybe this is some kind of anxiety attack triggered by social interaction…" he theorized, though he somehow doubted it. He checked his watch, seeing that his mother would be there in a minute or so.
 
Greg bit his lip and sat down on the bench next to Ethan. Besides wondering what kind of woman Ethan's mother would be he was also trying to think of ailments that matched what Ethan was describing. Maybe he was having some kind of a psychological attack that got worse when he faced another person. Greg inspected Ethan, trying to see if he could spot some other symptoms. This began to interest Greg a little and he sighed deeply. "I know you probably want to get home right now but I think it would be best for you to drop by the doctors. If its serious you need help right away."


Unable to control himself and pretty unsure of how Ethan would respond to this Greg leaned in as if he was going to tell Ethan a secret. "Besides I really want to know what's going on with you myself." He flashed Ethan the same smirk he had given Greg and moved back to the position he was sitting in before, still keeping an eye on Ethan.
 
Ethan did not comprehend a single word Greg said as he leaned closer to him. All he was aware of in that moment was a searing, almost painful heat coursing through his body and a prickly, uncomfortable sensation erupting to life all across his skin. Without thinking he grabbed Greg by the shoulders and pivoted his body so they were facing each other. He was a hair's breadth away from him when his brain kicked back in.


He had never been this close to another boy before, and indeed had only ever been in such close quarters with the handful of girls he'd dated in the past. Realizing just how much he'd broken social protocol and shattered both of their personal bubbles, Ethan released him with creaky-feeling fingers and turned away, breathing hard.


"There is something seriously wrong," he groaned, mostly to himself, his face heating up with mortified humiliation. Just then his mother's car pulled up.


Putting the car into park but leaving the engine running, his mother climbed out of the driver's seat and made her way over to the bench, frowning. "Ethan? Honey, you look terrible. Here, go sit in the car." She turned to Greg and smiled, putting out her hand. "I'm Mrs. McArthur. You must be Greg, Ethan's Chemistry partner? Thank you for waiting with him." Her eyes told that she was surprised to see that he hadn't just left her son there, and was deeply grateful for it.
 
Greg briefly thought he was being attacked and wanted to brace himself, but froze in shock. He inhaled sharply and the air got caught in his throat. Once the realization that Ethan meant no harm passed he began to believe that Ethan might need to puke. He prayed silently to a god he had never acknowledged until now that he wouldn't and just as quickly as he had been snatched up Greg was let go. As he slid away from Ethan a couple of inches he glanced towards the sky in shock.


"I'll say!" Greg exclaimed, still very confused. "What the hell was that Ethan?"


Greg had been trying to sort things out and was giving Ethan a bewildered look when another voice popped up. At first it sounded like a stranger that was asking if Ethan was okay, but then the kind voice said Greg's name. He tore his eyes away from Ethan and looked up at a pretty blonde woman who was holding her hand out to Greg. What she said finally registered in Greg's mind and he stood up hurriedly. "Y-yeah sure it's no problem. Nice to meet you." He gave her a quick but firm handshake and turned to her son.


"He seems really bad." Greg said, pointing out the obvious. She had been extremely kind to Greg and he was sure that if this were Mr. McArthur that would not be the case. She was confusing to Greg and he smiled at her as he tried to figure her out. This must be how Ethan feels with me sometimes. He thought.


((You're alive!))
 
Glad beyond words that his mother had come to interrupt this awkward moment, Ethan did as he was told and stood up to beeline to the car. He hesitated though, turning back to face Greg one more time. Though the last thing in the world he wanted to do was look at Greg after such a creeper moment, apparently some part of his body and mind disagreed.


What is wrong with me? Ethan wondered miserably, climbing into the passenger seat while his mom wrapped up her pleasant small talk.


“He certainly doesn’t look healthy at the moment,” his mother said, frowning in concern at the pale face of her son through the slightly tinted car windows. “I’ll make sure he’s back in tip top shape soon, though. You’ll still have your lab partner… whether you want him or not,” she joked, winking at Greg. She knew her son could take on traits of his father sometimes, which made him difficult to get along with. “Thank you again, Greg. I hope I’ll be seeing you again.”


((After this I’m gonna fast-forward through some appointments for Ethan. Then they go to school again on Monday, yes? Was that the day of the parent conference?))
 
Greg would have waved goodbye to Ethan but didn't even want to look at him at the moment. He was still a bit shocked after how close he had come to Ethan and could feel his shoulders tense as he looked at Greg. He would have a whole lot to tell his mothers when he got home and he could only imagine how one of them would react. Ethan's mother's kind voice calmed Greg down a little and he was able to keep the thoughts racing in his head down momentarily. He laughed as he received a wink and decided he liked Ethan's mom a whole lot more than Ethan himself.


"Thanks, I have a feeling we're going to meet again pretty soon." Greg said, referring to the parent meeting they would need to attend. When was that? In two days already? So far the McArthurs have taken up Greg's schedule and it was becoming tedious. If Ethan's mother hasn't been so nice he would've believed the feeling was mutual. "Goodbye Mrs. McArthur." Greg said cheerily and was ready to walk home as soon as their car drove away.


((Yup.))
 
Ethan gave his mother the bare-bones rundown about what had happened to him, and when they got home and he could not explain how the purplish-pink stain had disappeared from his shirt, she became much more concerned. Ethan felt strangely better the farther away from the park they got, but he was still on edge and more than willing to see a doctor about the mystery substance that had made him feel so terrible earlier.


Being a well-to-do family with multiple connections, Ethan and his mother didn't have to wait the usual day or two to get an appointment. Dr. Sagan, their family physician, was able to call them in for an appointment that afternoon. That was where the good news ended, though, as Ethan as apparently completely fine.


"Your blood pressure is a little high," Dr. Sagan pointed out, frowning. "But that's likely due to stress. I'll let you know if the throat culture comes back as viral or bacterial, but you don't seem to have any other symptoms."


"I assure you, you'll find something," Ethan grumped, but his mother seemed relieved. They thanked Dr. Sagan and loaded back into the car to head home.


"So, that was Greg," his mother commented, and since this wasn't a question Ethan saw no reason to reply. Undaunted, she continued. "I may not know much about him, but he seemed like a polite young man so far."


"Hmm," Ethan hummed noncommittally. He tried not to think about the way he had lurched forward and grabbed Greg, bringing them within millimeters of each other. He hoped Greg would have forgotten about the whole thing by Monday. He could chalk it up to his momentary insanity, or whatever this was.


Ethan slept for most of the weekend and earned himself another lecture about being unproductive from his father, but he could hardly bring himself to care. When Monday rolled around Ethan felt like a zombie. He barely remembered getting up, getting dressed, or the ride to school. When he entered Chemistry class he felt a feeble lurch in his stomach at seeing Greg--probably leftover mortification at how crazy he'd behaved that weekend--but shoved it aside as he took his seat.


"So apparently I'm not dead or contagious," he said in a monotone. "Doctor couldn't find anything wrong with me. I suspect aliens will be bursting out of my chest at any moment, so I hope you aren't too attached to that shirt. It might get spattered with debris."
 
Upon returning home Greg had bombarded his poor, unsuspecting mothers with all that had happened and how confused he was at the moment about... pretty much everything. They listened at first in shock, then interest, and for one woman it turned to something else. She was just as curios as Greg was in that strange, angry way that neither of them could explain. Almost all weekend they had ranted and raved over how Greg was going to march into that classroom, hike up his pants (a detail not added by him of course) and refuse to move until Ethan told him everything from the second he took his first breath in that car. That was actually something that Greg was willing to carry out as well, his confidence when around Ethan still there but his ability to forgive faltering a bit. Sure the guy was probably sick, but on the other hand Greg was the unlucky one who had almost been violated. He repeated his mother's speech in his head as he sat at his side of the table and was just about ready to come out with it...


But that alien thing was kind of funny.


Greg snorted, trying to keep a straight face but finally letting his lips curl up slowly. He wasn't angry at Ethan at all! He was just extremely curious is all (and apparently very naive for dropping what Ethan had done over the weekend), and ended up insisting on questions of a different kind. "Did the stain come back? How did the doctor even know what to check? Was it just an all-around, physical kind of examination? Jeez, how did you explain that to him in the first place?" Greg could almost feel his eyes twinkle with curiosity and he hoped that Ethan had some time to answer his burning questions before the teacher came and wanted to hear their reports and tell them what kind of chemical they had.


Oh, the chemical. Greg glanced at his desk. He had the same set up he did on the first day, the organized mountain of books and a pen at its side. The only thing new about this was the empty vial sitting at the edge of their desk. Explaining that would be quite interesting.
 
Ethan groaned at the sight of the little vial. That thing was the subject of his worst nightmares and the bane of his existence now. Greg's line of questioning, oddly, did not annoy Ethan today, though by all means he should be completely on edge and unreasonable. He certainly was in a terrible mood, and was exhausted to boot, but perhaps he wanted someone to talk to about this whole mess and was actually looking forward to brainstorming what the heck had happened to him.


"The stain never returned. My mother thinks I imagined it, but I told her you saw it, too. She didn't know what to think after that. The doctor took blood, my vitals, a throat culture and stuck some very uncomfortable metal q-tip up my nose into my sinuses." His eyes watered at the mere memory; that had been deeply uncomfortable and rather violating. "I peed in a cup and did a reflex exam… though I'm not sure what he was testing for. As for what I told the man… I said I'd come into contact with a substance from school. When he found out it was from a chemistry class he seemed…" Ethan struggled to find the words. "Less… impressed with the fact that I was there. I suppose he feels if a chemical was given to students by a teacher it must be safe. Shows how wrong he is."


Ethan sighed and turned to Greg to ask if he'd experienced anything odd, having been nearby the chemical during the time of the spill, but once again words seemed to abandon him as he looked at his lab partner head-on. Ethan swallowed slowly, his tired, worn down expression slowly turning into a more tense, focused one. He breathed slowly and deeply to keep himself from freaking out at this strange feeling that had decided to return once again, but luckily the teacher came by before he could further mortify himself by assaulting Greg some more.


"As for you two--goodness, what happened to your chemical?!" she asked, looking at the empty vial. Ethan tore his eyes away from Greg with great difficulty and cleared his suddenly dry throat.


"There was an accident. I knocked it over and it spilled. What is this, ma'am? I've been having a very negative reaction to it ever since it came into contact with my skin. My doctor is very curious to know."


The teacher seemed baffled on all possible levels. "You… which one did you pick?" she finally asked, and Ethan shrugged.


"The little purple-pink one," he said, motioning to the empty vial. "Cleanest looking one up there."


The teacher repeated what he said, frowning, but seemed baffled by the sight of the bottle. She picked it up, held it to the light, then checked the bottom of it, Ethan assumed for some kind of manufacturer's seal or label. It occurred to him he hadn't seen one on it. "This kind hasn't ever been used in our class… the others have much larger flasks, look."


Ethan did so, frowning at the assorted large, stereotypical flasks with large bases and tapered tops. "Ethan, you're sure you got this chemical from our class?"


"Positive!" Ethan said, sounding affronted but actually bordering on nervous. "Greg was here to see it, right?" he asked, casting Greg a nervous look as he questioned his own memories.
 
Greg had thought that, as Ethan stared at him and his expression changed, Ethan had tried to build up some suspense before telling him if any results came back. It would probably be physically impossible for that to happen but Greg had no clue what went on in the life of a "rich" kid. Even the fact that he was able to get to the doctors so quickly was baffling to him. Everything in his house was cured with Advil. Sadly the teacher interrupted their little staring contest and Greg pursed his lips in disappointment as the teacher spoke to Ethan.


The whole exchange only made Greg more excited and he nodded towards Ethan, looking at the teacher. "I was standing right over there Ms. I swear it." Greg said, his words rushed as he was sitting on the edge of his seat. "Are you sure it wasn't a part of your big set of chemicals?" He asked, not letting himself get disappointed just yet


The teacher brought her eyebrows together and stared down at the black desk top. Worry lines on her forehead were visible like this and Greg wondered if she really cared about them or if she always had those when she thought because of her hectic life. She slowly shook her head but moaned unsurely and wagged a finger at Greg. "I think I've got a list somewhere. Be right back."


Greg flashed her a grateful smile as she hurried off to her desk and moved around her pile of papers. Greg turned his smile to Ethan and laughed softly. "This might take a while." He said, the teacher obviously making no progress in swimming through her notes for the key part of these presentations today. Greg remembered how nervous Ethan looked earlier and he let his smile fade. "I'm sure you'll be fine after a while, Ethan. Maybe you should take some days off of school, you know, rest up and drink a lot of water. Being your Chemistry partner in all this makes me a bit worried about my health, so we can go crazy and do weird things together once I get sick as well. I mean I would rather do those things with someone else but once I'm delusional it won't matter who you are." Greg had referred to what happened in front of the school over the weekend when he said "do crazy things together." He knew only after he said it that if he were sick he would not want to spend time with Ethan and it was probably the same for Ethan, but it was the best he could do with his excitement racing like this. He began to feel like a nerd for getting excited over a possibly life threatening chemical.
 
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