Only while he was swapping his seats with his quite reserved classmate did he notice her coat exhibited a lightsaber. Not to say he was astonished by it or something like that, considering most, if all, of the clothes she wore displayed the symbol of a fandom. While most people would find that off-putting, Ethan, who himself was part of many fandoms, learned to appreciate it. He actually made a guessing game off her back, trying to ascertain if he can guess the origin of every symbol her fashion choices expressed. So far, he has guessed each one of them. He had the impression that the shared knowledge on pop culture would make a good conversation starter, but in Stephanie's case, switching places would mean she would get accommodated and eventually lose herself in her own world. It was hard to blame her, considering how hard life was being on both of them. Birds of the same feather do flock together, but that wasn't the case this time, so Ethan was left with nothing to do but hold himself back and let the girl be. Her genuine expression towards his unrehearsed act of kindness made him simper, before she cast her sight at the window.

A black smudge on his dark blue slim fit jeans captivated the boy's attention, as he reached to remove it with a grubby tissue he kept in his jacket's pocket. He wasn't buried on firmato clothes, to be precise, but ever since he reached puberty, he would always take good care of the ones he had, refusing to let anyone else but him wash and/or iron them. His fashion preferences often tended to cause turmoil in his house, as both his parents continuously disagreed with his selection of skinny jeans over average ones for the main reason that they made him appear way too slim, but all of their complaints fell flat. Ethan himself also had issues with his ectomorphic build in the past due to it being the center of many teasings, but once he got over middle school, he decided to embrace it and stopped giving a damn, well, at least to a certain extent. Not to say that the comments he gets about his appearance don't cause him distress, but due to his new mindset, the mental pain is somewhat subverted. Ethan also likes to believe that his newfound ability to Disconnect helped him overcome the stress, but while it may have been true, he uses it more as an excuse to shelter himself from real life.

After he was done wiping the smudge, the boy crept the tissue into his jacket's pocket. He moved his hands at a leisurely pace, almost like he was exhausted, up to the top button of his beige shirt before undoing it. Ethan didn't expect anyone to even consider sitting next to him, so it goes without saying he had to keep himself cozy. Now that Steph had transmitted some of her warm, however, he needed to loosen up a bit. Suddenly, the boy's ears caught a voice. It was Stephanie herself, asking him whether he had done his art work. Ethan felt a light sense of pleasure, pride even, that he made the shy wallflower stick a thumb out of her safety bubble, even though it was about something as tedious as homework. While rubbing the back of his neck, sort of ashamed, Ethan responded, "Yeah, I made a sketchy drawing, but..", he paused for a second, looking for ways to phrase what he was about to speak. "Let's just say my baby sister was holding the sheets hostage and wanted to know the location of her favorite stuffed toy. I didn't comply, and she shredded them to pieces.", he finished, as a half-assed smile crept into his face.

"I'd ask you the same, but I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that", Ethan's last remark was followed with a candid grin, a persisting feeling of pride still lurking on his insides.