Chapter Two

Morning

POV: Lucas

I woke up to the sound of pencil scratching across paper. My eyes opened slowly, and the first thing I saw was Ethan sitting at the desk on his side of the room. He had his back to me, earbuds in, head bent over a sketchbook. Sunlight came through the window and hit his hair, but I did not let myself think about that. Instead I grabbed the basketball from beside my bed and tossed it across the room. It bounced once on his mattress and rolled to the floor.

He jumped and pulled one earbud out. "What the hell?"

"Morning," I said, sitting up and stretching my arms over my head. My shirt rode up a bit. I did not bother fixing it. "You always up this early drawing?"

Ethan looked at the clock on the wall. It was barely past eight. "Could not sleep much."

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. My body still felt heavy from the late night. Yesterday had been weird enough with the move and the forced family dinner. Now we had to do breakfast together like we were actual brothers or something. Dad expected me to play nice. He had said it straight last week. "Lucas, make him feel welcome. This is important for your mom and me."

I headed to the bathroom first, splashed water on my face, and brushed my teeth. When I came back out, Ethan was still at the desk, but he had closed the sketchbook. He kept his eyes down like he did not want to look at me too long.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Dad and Ethan's mom had already started coffee and toast. They moved around each other like they had done this for years instead of weeks. Dad grinned when he saw us. "There they are. Sleep okay, boys?"

"Fine," I said, grabbing a plate.

Ethan mumbled the same and sat at the table. His mom put orange juice in front of him and ruffled his hair. He shifted away a little, cheeks turning pink. I tried not to stare. Instead I loaded my plate with eggs and bacon and sat across from him.

The parents talked the whole time about school starting next week. "You two will be in the same building now," Dad said. "Lucas, you can show Ethan around. Introduce him to some of your friends."

I almost choked on my toast. My friends would lose their minds if they knew the quiet art kid from the rival school was now my stepbrother. "Sure. Whatever."

Ethan kept his head down and ate small bites. He did not say much, but every time I glanced up, I caught him looking somewhere else fast. It bugged me. Not in a bad way exactly. Just made the room feel tighter than it should.

After breakfast, Dad pulled me aside in the hallway while the moms cleaned up. "I mean it, Lucas. Be a good brother here. Ethan has been through a lot with just him and his mom all these years. Make him feel part of the family."

"I got it," I said. But inside I felt the pressure settle on my chest. I was supposed to be the easy one, the athlete who kept things light. Now I had this new guy in my space, and Dad watching every move.

I went back upstairs and changed into practice clothes. Coach had called an optional morning session before school started. When I came out of the bathroom, Ethan was unpacking more clothes into his dresser. He had his back turned, but I saw the way his shoulders tensed when I walked closer.

"Heading to the gym," I said. "You need anything while I'm out?"

He shook his head. "I'm good."

I grabbed my bag and paused at the door. Part of me wanted to say something else, anything to break the weird quiet. But I just left.

Practice ran hard. I pushed through drills and shots until sweat soaked my shirt. The other guys joked around like always, but my mind kept drifting back to the house. To the new room. To Ethan sitting there with his pencils and that careful way he moved like he did not want to take up too much space.

When I got home a couple hours later, the house smelled like lunch cooking. I kicked off my shoes and went straight upstairs to drop my bag. Ethan was on his bed now, sketchbook open again. He looked up when I walked in.

I pulled my shirt off over my head because it stuck to me and tossed it toward my hamper. It missed and landed on the floor. I did not pick it up right away. Instead I grabbed a clean one from my drawer and turned around.

Ethan's eyes flicked to me for half a second before he looked back at his page. His face went red. He gripped the pencil tighter.

I pretended not to notice, but something twisted in my stomach. Not annoyance. Something else I did not want to name. I stepped closer to his side of the room and leaned against the desk. "You draw people or just random stuff?"

"Both," he said quietly. His voice sounded tighter than before.

I nodded. The air between us felt thick. I told myself it was just the heat from practice, or the newness of sharing everything. But I kept seeing that quick glance he had given me.

Our parents called us down for lunch soon after. They sat us together at the table and kept smiling like everything was perfect. "This is nice, right?" Ethan's mom said. "All of us under one roof."

I ate fast and tried to focus on the food. Ethan stayed quiet again, but I felt him next to me the whole time. The way his arm almost brushed mine when he reached for the salt. The soft sound of his breathing.

Back in the room after lunch, I flopped onto my bed and picked up my phone. Ethan went back to his desk. The silence stretched again, but it did not feel empty now. It felt loaded.

I watched him from the corner of my eye. He bit his lip when he concentrated. His fingers moved steady across the paper. I wondered what he was drawing. Wondered why it mattered to me at all.

He shifted in his chair and our eyes met for real this time. He looked away fast, but not before I saw the flush on his neck.

I sat up a little. My heart beat harder than it should after practice. This was stupid. He was my stepbrother. We had to live together. That was it.

Still, I could  not stop the words from coming out.

"Why? Does it bother you?"