Stephanie's hostile response left everyone stunned, including Ethan himself, the boy who was being roasted up until then. In one hand, he felt responsible for severing Steph's friendship with the Spice Girls, not because he believed they were decent company to have around, but because he feared they might dish out a bunch of lies as an act of retaliation. In the other, he was staggered to find out a good-natured and innocent girl like her had enough face muscles to snap like that, but he was also glad she did. It was about time those girls would get a taste of their own medicine.

Paige gave Ethan a confused look, as if he was the one responsible for Steph's sudden change in attitude. He shrugged at her, before approaching Stephanie who was obviously agitated by the girls' attitude. They both made their way towards the school entrance, walking side by side, trying their best to ignore the dirty looks they got from behind and up front. It was difficult for the boy to adjust to the attention he got, especially after figuring it was the negative kind. He sunk his teeth down on his lower lip, slightly nervous, as a light blush crept to his face before directing his sight at his new found companion. "Hey, er, are you sure you really want to hang out with me?", he asked, as his voice cracked a little. "You're going to be called a lot of names, labeled a lot of things, most of which you aren't. Are you really sure you are ready to deal with this kind of attention for the sake of someone you met on a bus?", his tone got more serious, completely obliterating traces of his radiant personality. For an obnoxious kid, he surely knew the gravity of the situation.