Chapter 4 - There Won't Be A Next Time

"Nolan, what the heck? Can you at least knock, dude? You almost scared the shit out of me," Ethan said in a panicky voice since he almost got caught, and Nolan could have seen him moving things.

However, since Nolan was like his best friend and neighbor for five years and has been there for him like a true brother, he wanted to reveal to him his newfound powers. Yet, he hesitated, wondering how he would react after knowing about it and if he would still remain his friend.

Nolan was the same age as Ethan, and the two studied in the same college but in different batches. He was a good-looking boy with brown hair and gray eyes and was slim, just like Ethan but slightly shorter than him. His hair was all roughed up like usual and seemed as if he was least bothered to tidy it up even a little bit.

Ethan had a cute boy look compared to Nolan, who seemed the carefree type, and he indeed was chill about everything and would even stand up for Ethan against Ken and his group, especially since he knew some martial arts by learning from his sister.

In fact, Ken was also coming from a family of martial artists, which was one of the main reasons why people didn't dare to pick a fight with him except Nolan, who would be able to defeat him if it was a solo fight. But Ken wasn't one to play fair and would simply use his friends to gang up on Ethan and Nolan. That was what happened the first time they exchanged fists, and Ethan and Nolan got overwhelmed by them. Still, they weren't willing to give up, and Ken was forced to take a few punches as well.

This was why Ken decided to deal with Ethan in a different way by targeting his main weakness.

Nolan was ready to beat the shit out of Ken and his lackeys as long as Ethan was up for it. But he was remaining silent as well for Ethan's sake since he didn't want anything bad to happen to Ethan's mother because of him.

Nolan had a strange look on his face as he asked while walking in, "Scared you? Come on! This is not the first time I barged into your room. Anyway, you still haven't taken a bath? You look like shit, dude. Better take a quick dip and come on. I was getting bored sitting all alone there, and my sister wouldn't just leave me alone. If she sees me working with you, she will cut me some slack. You know how she is, right?"

He then continued with a skeptical look, "I am surprised you were lazing around here. Usually, you would reach my place quite early, especially for a certain someone."

Ethan's face became a bit red as he said, "Come on, dude. Stop it. I don't have any such intentions."

Nolan still shot him a suspicious glance as he said, "Oh yeah? I see the way you look at my sister. You should ask her out again before someone else comes along. I heard she is extremely popular in her college and the hottest girl over there. The only reason most stay away from her is cause she is too cold and intimidating as we know. But you are the only who can remain cool before her and talk to her normally."

Ethan gulped as he said in an evasive tone, "Get the fuck outta here. You are just imagining things. I was just taking a nap to rest my—" Ethan suddenly stopped talking since he couldn't feel any soreness on his body. In fact, he wasn't even feeling any pain at all, even in the regions where he got hit.

"Dude? Did you seriously start dreaming about my sister again?" Nolan asked with a 'are you kidding me' look.

Ethan cleared his throat as he quickly said, "Yeah. I mean no! Fuck. I am gonna take a bath."

He quickly grabbed his clothes and rushed into the bathroom, making Nolan smile as he shook his head.

Ethan quickly came out within five minutes and dragged along Nolan as he came downstairs, "Mom. I am going over to Nolan's place. I will be back soon."

Lena subtly smiled as she nodded and said, "Be careful and try not to fall."

Ethan felt a tight feeling in his heart and said, "I will."

Nolan shot him a strange glance before greeting Lena, "See you later, auntie."

"You take care too, Nolan."

After coming out, Nolan immediately asked, "Bro, you again gave her that lame excuse of you falling down? Did those fuckers beat you up again?"

Ethan casually waved his hand, "It's no biggie. I can take care of it. I think things are not going to be the same anymore."

Nolan had a confused look, "Huh? What are you talking about? Anyways, tomorrow I will teach those fuckers a lesson for messing with my friend. You don't have to come with me. I can take full responsibility."

"Hey! Are you trying to make your sister get mad at us after taking a beating?" Ethan said as he fisted his arm.

"Bro! Anyway, I am the one who is going to get all the scolding, and she goes easy on you or…not. You get the weirdest punishments from her, hehe," Nolan laughed as he remembered certain funny moments whenever Ethan pissed off Sui.

"Oh, shut up, dude. She just likes teasing me even if she may not show it," Ethan casually said with a wave of his hand.

Nolan clasped his hands together and asked with a knowing smile, "And why do you think she likes to tease you? I feel like she has a real soft spot for you. I had never seen her giving her attention to anyone else like you. Maybe it's because you proposed to her with that silly flower four years ago, hehe. She was like seventeen at that time. Not bad," Nolan laughed with his teeth showing, making Ethan's face heat up in embarrassment as he grabbed his wrist, "Shhh! I told you not to talk about my embarrassing moments, especially that one. Oof! What was I thinking at that time?" Ethan facepalmed, thinking about that memory.

But he got distracted when he spotted a metal can lying on one of the garbage bins ahead on the side of the road and decided to try and see if he could lift it. Of course, he made sure nobody else was looking at him in this quiet narrow street.

He subtly pointed his palm towards it and pulled his fingers closer as it jerked slightly before it shot towards his palm!

'Whoa!' Ethan was astonished that he really had the ability to move metals. He then decided to see if he could bend it as well, just like how he had seen in comics.

*Clak!*

He again felt the strange pulling force emanating from his hand and directed it inwards. And to his astonishment, the metal can folded inwardly as if his hand crushed it and looked all mangled.

'Holy fuck!' Ethan gulped, realizing that he could bend metals as well!

"Ethan, are you even listening to me? What the hell was that sound? Hm…you have a soda can in your hands, and you didn't tell me?? Not fair, bro!" Nolan leaned his head forward as he looked at Ethan's left hand and saw a crushed can.

Ethan had a stiff expression as he didn't expect the metal to bend so fast enough to create such a loud sound.

"You crushed it?" Nolan quickly snatched the can from a distracted Ethan and inspected it, "When did you even take this? This seems like a beer can. Dude, you only turned 18 not long ago, but you need to be twenty to buy alcohol. How the heck were you able to buy this? Don't tell me…"

"It was for Ken! And I just forgot to throw it away after he drank it," Ethan put up his hands innocently.

"That nice and pretty lady deputy saved you from getting your ass busted in the police station, and that is only because you know her and she knows about your mother's condition, taking pity on you. I don't think you can escape next time if you get caught, and your mother will know," Nolan said in a tone of caution.

Ethan sighed, "I know. I know."

"Bro, we can't just let this go. We have to do something about Ken and his asshole friends. Letting him bully you means that you are only encouraging him. Or are you planning to endure till we graduate?" Nolan asked in a serious tone as he threw the can into the garbage bin.

Ethan felt a new sense of confidence and power flowing through his veins as he said in a determined tone, "You are right. Don't worry. There won't be a next time."

Nolan squinted his eyes as he suddenly stood frozen on the spot, wondering if this was the same Ethan who was very worried about fighting back the bullies, "Did I just hear you right?"

Ethan stopped walking and looked back at Nolan as he said with a wink, "Of course."