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Before shoving both hands into his pockets, Jake pulled up the hood of his jacket to cover his ridiculous hair and glanced down at the others in the alley. As his gazed lingered a little, he ended up being a step behind Truebridge.
"Better than starting at the end," he commented, smiling wryly as he forced his exhausted legs to keep up. This looked promising to be a dead interesting story, and Jake was determined to keep his attention on it.
"... And that's why I want you to stay." Ethan finished as they entered the school. He stopped walking and turned to face Jake, completely expressionless.
It would be trite and a little ridiculous to add that Jake reminded him a little of himself, so Ethan did not, but his story made a few pretty stand out comparisons. It felt a little odd, telling a student all this but Jake needed to hear it, and Ethan did not expect the boy to go blabbing it everywhere.