get well soon

Chatper 4: 1945, part two

A/N: I have been the shittiest at updating this story. I apologize.

**

I ain't even think of leaving sometimes
I ain't even think of letting go
I ain't ever thought of goin' nowhere
I don't even see it down the road
'Cause we're collectin' moments
Tattoos on my mind
I ain't even think of leavin' sometimes
I ain't even think of letting go
Not even sometimes
— "Sometimes" by Ariana Grande

**

Ethel and Jean were up to no good, but what else was new?

Ethel had known that she and Jean would be good friends from the moment she arrived at Manhattanville College, mostly because Jean was far too straight laced, and Ethel was determined to break her.

She had been successful, earning more demerits with Jean than she had with anyone else. Inside this daughter of a strict, Catholic mother, was a rebel who had been waiting for the right person to help her escape.

Their families were oddly similar. Both were large, Catholic, and rowdy.

Unbeknownst to Ethel, Jean had ulterior motives to this particular ski holiday. She was determined that Ethel would meet and fall madly in love with Bobby, who had arrived today by train.

"Come on!" Jean grabs Ethel's arm and leads her inside the ski resort. "You should meet my brother."

"Jack?" Ethel asks.

Jean laughs. "No, Bobby!"

Ethel rolls her eyes and lets herself be lead inside by Jean, who is all starry eyes.

She leads Ethel inside a room of the lodge that is lit by a gorgeous fire. Ethel walks in to see a boy, bordering on manhood, standing in front of the fire, hands in his pockets.

Upon first inspection, Ethel finds his hair floppy, his clothes all over the place, and the impression that he has something to prove. Jean had mentioned Bobby wanted to join the Navy, but had been held back by age and then family.

He turns around and Ethel's breath catches. She had never seen a more handsome man in her entire life.

"Hey Jean!" Ethel realizes she must look like a staring schoolgirl to Bobby, and gathers herself again. "And this must be the infamous Ethel."

Ethel laughs, and then quickly reprimands herself for laughing too much. "In the flesh."

They shake hands. A spark. Or is she simply imagining it? She shakes it off.

"Bobby's at Harvard." Jean says, a proud smile on her face. "And going into the Navy next year."

Bobby blushes, he's modest and hates to be bragged on. Unless, of course, the person bragging is his father. "Yeah, but I don't think I'll see active duty. Not now that it's all over."

"Thank god." Jean says.

Ethel was aware that they had lost a brother in the fight, and not just any brother, the prize brother. She was also aware that Jack had some pretty big shoes to fill and had just taken the first step by deciding to run for Congress. This was a politically-oriented family, and she intends to play the game.