Chapter Text
Connection
n.
"a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else."
Ethan
"Have you ever snuck out in the middle of the night?" Ethan asked, dropping his body onto the cold bed resulting in a creaking noise from the sudden weight that it was forced to hold.
Silence filled the call as Ruby from the other end was thinking of a response; reminiscing on her list of past misdeeds if she had already done it. All that could be heard were the faint chirping of the crickets and the sea breeze flooding into the teen's room from the window that was left slightly ajar.
"I think I haven't?" Ruby replied in an unsure tone which was followed by a shuffling noise, as if she was shifting her position into a more comfortable one.
Ethan scoffed jokingly, pushing his bangs away from his face to properly give the blonde a judging glare through his phone screen. "I thought you've already experienced the rebellious lifestyle, Rubes."
"Me? Rebellious?" a soft chuckle came from Ethan's phone soon after. "God no, for your information, the most indecent thing I've done is picking a fight with that one bully we had."
"Oh, Clarisse?" The boy laughed. "You almost got suspended for that one. If you didn't have such a clean record, they would've totally sent you home right then and there," Ethan stated as a yawn escaped him.
"A-H! don't even remind me of that! My chances of getting into a good college would've been RUINED if they didn't take pity on me," The girl complained in a whining manner.
Ethan snickered at Ruby's reaction. "As if one suspension would be able to do that," he replied while sitting up from his bed and walked towards his bedroom door; quietly opening it to peep outside if anyone was awake.
"OH IT WILL! Trust me, It will," Ruby's voice came from the phone before a pause. "Wait, why ask me about sneaking out so randomly?"
The boy made sure that the lights were turned off and no noise was coming from outside his room before shutting the door. "Oh hun, I'm pretty sure you already know why," he replied before walking up to the only window in his room. "Wanna come with?"
A surprised gasp came from Ethan's phone before the call ended. Soon after, the window directly parallel to his opened up. "Seriously? Again?" Ruby asked in a hushed manner.
"You haven't answered my question yet~" Ethan stated, dismissing the blonde's question before fully opening the windows. He also looked outside and down the window just to make sure that his parents didn't place some trap there or something to prevent him from sneaking out.
"I'm sorry, but no. I refuse to let you taint my good reputation, babe," Ruby replied as he watched his neighbor make his way out of a small window.
The moment Ethan had successfully made his way out of the confinement that is his room, he gently closed his window before looking at Ruby. "I'm going to our secret spot," he informed, to hopefully hook the young woman in.
"Tempting, but still no," Ruby replied sternly as she stared down the boy who was inviting her to go along with him and his antics.
"Oh come on now, is your goody two shoes reputation more important than me and our bonding time?" Ethan asked with an exaggerated frown on his features, kicking a pebble that was beside his feet in the process.
"Excuse me, I legit had gotten into a fight for you- well... Mostly for me, but like- I got into a fight and almost got suspended nonetheless," Ruby replied to Ethan while tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Ethan's eyes furrowed and slightly pouted his lips. "You're willing to step out of line after all! Or are you just scared to climb out of your window?" He teased with a playful smile on his face.
"Oh shut up, you dork," the blonde dismissed light-heartedly before finally giving in after a few seconds of silence. "Alright alright, I'll come with you. But you owe me a serving of your mom's famous dumplings."
"AHA!" Ethan exclaimed in victory, almost forgetting the fact that it was the middle of the night in a very VERY quiet neighborhood.
Ruby immediately reaches her hand out of the window and slaps it onto the brunet's mouth, "Bitch, are you trying to get us caught?!" She hushed before moving her hand away from the male's mouth.
Ethan grabbed Ruby's hand as it was moving away. "Do it again," he deadpanned before the blonde snapped her hand away from the grasp of the male.
"Stop being a creep, hun. It's not a good look on you," Ruby stated as she looked outside of the window to double check in case someone had already seen them and the airhead that was Ethan just hadn't noticed.
"Do you need help getting down, princess?" Ethan teased as Ruby climbed through her window, the sound of gravel making contact with one another could be heard as Ruby successfully made it to the other side.
Ruby jokingly rolled her eyes along with a smirk to accompany it. "Oh dear prince, if I needed help, I would've asked for it," she smugly replied while fixing her shirt.
Ethan chuckled it off before closing the window that the blonde had crawled out of. "Let's go, we don't want anyone noticing we're gone while we're still here," he stated before leading the way, looking back at his companion every severely seconds as if she didn't know the way.
"Yeah, I'm sure It's fine if they find out and we're gone and not here, but God forbid they catch us while we're still here," Ruby joked in a sarcastic manner while following Ethan. It seemed like the friendly bickering between the two never stops.
The duo went into the rather quiet city, the breeze from the sea alone was enough to send shivers down their spines. Not to mention the fact that there was no activity in the area due to almost everyone being asleep by that time so it had felt like they were traversing through a ghost town. Though, without a doubt, the two found it oddly calming; no lights, no people walking on the sidewalk, no cars passing by, no distant noise of chattering people.
Just the sound of the wind blowing, the vast and open sky, the thousands of stars above, and each other's presence. Well- and the occasional drunkie going home from a night of drinking with their drinking pals, but they don't talk about that in hopes of it happening less often.
"This place is so boring, isn't it?" Ethan said out of the blue as they walked through the silent town that they knew all too well. The high school they attended which was stationed by the beach, the one and only grocery store in the area being a couple of blocks away from their houses, and a few other things that a small community by the beach has.
Ruby tilted her head at her companion, "Huh? It's nice though, what do you mean?" replied the blonde as the sound of her sneakers scraping the cemented sidewalk rang throughout the place.
"Well, it's plain... Painstakingly so," Ethan answered with a sigh. The brunet had lived in an urban area several years ago in his home country before migrating to the place he currently calls home, so he would know what the opposite of "plain„ would be.
"Eh, I kinda like it here," Ruby replied without an ounce of hesitation before quickly getting cut off by the brunet.
"He-h? Why though?!" The male asked in disbelief with a loud, but hushed tone as if he was whisper-yelling.
Ruby shrugged, "Two words; the beach," she replied while glancing at the said beach in the distance. The beach had always been one of Ruby's comfort spots, especially at night when it was empty and quiet. Just her and the little thingies in the water that glowed if they're moved. Her younger self liked to call them "Sea Glitter„.
Ethan moved his hands to cover his mouth as he chuckled. "Knew that the beach was the only thing keeping you from saying goodbye to this place," he responded with a smile.
"Not necessarily," Ruby began as she scratched the back of her head with her right hand. "I like how it's really peaceful here and the crime rate is really low due to everyone practically knowing each other."
"You're no fun," Ethan joked while his companion was listing down the things she liked in their small beach side town. "Good thing you have me to keep your life just a tad bit more interesting."
The two laughed at that statement, slowly forgetting that they snuck out as they dived deeper and deeper into their conversation. "Oh please, babe. I think you mean "Just a tad bit more dangerous„" Ruby retorted light-heartedly before playfully punching Ethan's arm.
"So we're resorting to violence now, are we?" Voiced Ethan before stepping closer to the blonde to pinch her cheeks. Though before the assault could have a chance to take place, a light in a nearby house lit up. At first, Ethan didn't notice but Ruby did, so she did the most rational thing she could think of... Which was to pull Ethan by the hair all the way to the nearest wall that would hide them from the person or people that had just opened their lights in the middle of the night. That was a rare occasion and Ethan would know due to the amount of times he'd snuck out.
"Ouch ouch ouch ouch-," the male reacted as he tried to swat away Ruby's firm grasp on his- now tousled- locks. "I swear to all that is holy, Rubes. If you do not let go of my hai-,"
Before he could even finish his sentence, the blonde had already unhandled Ethan's hair. "Sorry, someone was there," Ruby apologized while peeping from behind the wall to keep an eye out when the coast was clear.
Ethan grumbled to himself in reply, "I'll forgive you this one time," he stated jokingly as he fixed his hair before resting his chin on the tip of Ruby's head to get a look at what the young woman was looking at. "Let me get this clear, you almost pulled out my roots just because of a light turning on?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Delinquent but I don't want to get caught sneaking out," Ruby whispered in response, eyeing down the house with the open light as if her life depended on it. But to be honest, it probably did. To her at least. She would rather die than disappoint her parents, though the thought of her parents understanding the situation because they're teenagers doing stupid teenager stuff probably hadn't crossed her mind.
"If it scares you so much, then let's take a different route. But you don't get to complain, Little Miss Perfect," Ethan said before grabbing the shorter's wrist and power walking it out of there and onto a longer- but more scenic route. Unlike the previous one where they were surrounded by buildings and whatnot, this one was way easier on the eyes.
Everything seemed like a blur as they booked their way to the shore of the beach. The only thing they could see were the buildings of the small town to their right, the large body of water to their left, the starry night sky above them, the yellowish white sand beneath them, and their destination which was In front of them. The destination being an abandoned lighthouse.
In that situation, a person would be able to notice that there was someone by in the beach, but the question they would never be able to answer is "who„ that person is unless they get out of their way just to either walk outside in the night or bust out a pair of binoculars. Both are very unlikely to happen, so they were considered as safe in Ethan's book.
"I swear, if someone took down our stuff again, I will not hesitate to set up traps next time," remarked the brunet as the two of them tried to catch their breath from the unannounced jogging- or rather sprinting- session they had.
"Oh calm down, hun. It'll be there... Probably," Ruby attempted to reassure, but she too was unsure if their precious items were still there. It's not like they put names on said items to claim them cause that'll be sure to get them caught.
"I can almost feel the uncertainty in your voice, Rubes," the male commented, followed by a soft chuckle as the sand crunched beneath their shoes. "I say we go inside before someone actually sees us."
Ruby nodded, "Definitely," she replied before following her companion into the abandoned, but sturdy structure. If they thought that the place would collapse the moment a person places one foot inside, they wouldn't have agreed to make it their hangout spot in the first place. Ethan's a risk taker, but not THAT much of one.
The brunet pushed open the rather large wooden doors that lead to the inside of the light house. He knew from experience that the doors' hinges would make a loud squeaking noise if it was opened by a certain degree, so he opened it just right for Ruby and himself to slide on through.
After the duo made their way through multiple flights of stairs, a sigh of relief escaped the both of them as they saw the fairy lights, fold-able table and chairs, a small portable speaker, Ethan's telescope, and some other things that the two kept hidden up there. Once the wave of relief had washed over them, the blonde gently closed the door behind them and celebrated their successful sneaking out plan. Well, the celebrating part was more on Ruby's part due to this being the first- and probably last time she'll go out without asking for permission.
"Finally, I'll have someone to listen to me talk about stars and shit non-stop," Ethan stated as he immediately got his telescope from the corner as he was already preparing for his mandatory stargazing episode.
Ruby let out an exaggerated sob, "Is it too late to go back now?" She joked before making her way to the pile of stuff to get the small Bluetooth speaker. If she was going to listen to endless ramblings from Ethan, she would at least need music to hopefully drown out the noise of the talkative male.
With his telescope in hand, Ethan was ready. All that they needed were the chairs. "Hey Rubes, can you bring the chairs?" He asked before lunging the rather heavy telescope set up the stairs.
"I'm sorry, are you asking me- a weak and fragile young woman to carry your shit for you?" The blonde began as she looked at Ethan and then the fold-able chairs near the pile. "Get them yourself, babe. Not because I'm weak and fragile- I'll have you know I'm that opposite of that, but instead because you're the one that brought me along, hence you should be the one doing the setting up."
A whine from above the stairs echoed throughout the light house as Ruby laughed while making her way up the stairs effortlessly, only carrying the small speaker. She even dangled it in front of her to taunt the brunet.
The moment Ruby had reached the catwalk of the lighthouse, her companion had already finished setting up the telescope.
Ethan's head snapped in the blonde's direction before standing up. "Hnghhh-" he groaned, pinching the shorter's cheeks before quickly making his way down the stairs in order for Ruby to not have a chance to strike back... For the mean time at least.
The male ran over to the two folded chairs that were leaning on the wall. The thought of not getting Ruby one crossed his mind but ultimately decided against it. He was a menace, but not that much of a menace. He lifted one up and was surprised at how light it was despite using the chairs almost every time he made his way up the lighthouse to look at stars. He grabbed a second chair for Ruby and made his way up the stairs for the second time.
"Here you go, Your Hoeness. Lay your lazy ass on this chair," Ethan said in a butler-esque tone before unfolding the chair and setting it on the ground near his companion.
Ruby chuckled at the male's actions before taking a seat. "Why thank you, peasant. It is duly appreciated," she replied as she played along with her neighbor's antics.
Right after that, Ethan sets down his own chair on the ground In front of his telescope before he heard music playing right beside him. It turns out, Ruby had already connected her phone to the Bluetooth speaker and was now playing some songs she's been listening to on repeat for the past few days. It was usual for the two of them to be so into a song to the point that they play it on repeat 24/7 but then get tired of it a week or two later.
"A-H!," Ethan exclaimed as he recognized the song the young woman was playing. "Oh God, that's one song that I'll never get tired of no matter how much I listen to it," commented the brunet before looking into the telescope to look around.
"I know right!" Ruby answered as she scrolled on her phone. With the light tower being reasonably high, the reception was really good- the best even. "I can't even understand this, but It's still a bop regardless," she added before crossing her legs.
Ethan chuckled while his eyes were still looking through the telescope, trying to locate constellations. "See? If I hadn't landed into your life unannounced, you wouldn't have been introduced to J-Music," he proudly stated.
Ruby scoffed at the male's remark before turning her phone off and laying it on her lap. "Yeah, it's one of the only positive things that you've brought to my life," she replied with a snicker as she looked up into the sky.
Ethan moved away from the telescope and basked in the silence as his head slowly turned his head in the direction of the young woman. "Oh wo-w, I am so offended on so many levels," he deadpanned with a sullen tone before the two of them burst out in laughter.
Both of their gaze landed on the night sky as their laughter faded into the night. "I don't see why you're so interested in these shits," Ruby started, as she leaned back on her chair. "Though, I gotta admit, it does look pretty."
"Aha! You started the star talk, now It shall Start!" Ethan exclaimed as he lifted his right hand to point at the stars and connected the dots. "See that one? That's the summer triangle," he began before shifting into a more comfortable position on his chair. "It's one of my favorites because it's actually a mix of three constellations. Which are; Deneb, Vega and u-h Altair I think? The brightest star of those three constellations made a triangle and I just thought that it was really cool," the brunet geeked out as he finally had someone to blabber to.
And this continued on for the entire night. Ethan pointed out practically all of the constellations he knew and could see and forced his companion to listen to the endless astrology facts. Even though Ruby barely took anything from the astrology lesson, she still found it cute how his neighbor- the typical sassy teen- was so interested and passionate about something that was so... simple. At that point, she didn't mind.
-Delusional Writer #2