DISCLAIMER: All characters and places, unless not mentioned in the original work, belong to Rainbow Rowell and the charming-slash-tragic realm in which the characters live.
Park
He heard a soft snore; he didn't remember taking anyone home from prom last night.
He dozed off for a few minutes, Eleanor filling his subconscious. She was snoring softly, he thought it was adorable. He could smell the vanilla, and his heart swelled. He rolled to drape his arm over her hips. She was here, in his arms. He sighed in relief, "Eleanor…"
"What... Huh?" A voice mumbled, he cringed and opened his eyes. His date... Crap, did he sleep with her last night? He started to hyperventilate until he saw that he was still in his rented tux.
"Who is Eleanor?" She asked with a grimace on her face, he really hoped that she didn't think that they were getting into a relationship. He couldn't do that to Eleanor.
He rolled back over and tried to go back to sleep, to get away from this crazy chick, and back to his Eleanor. After a few minutes, he heard his date curse and fumble around his room and his door opening. She was gone.
Park couldn't get back to Eleanor and it made him depressed.
After a couple minutes of wallowing in his own pity, he decided to change out of the uncomfortable tux. He still had his boutonniere, and the pin was digging a small hole in his chest. But that hardly hurt, compared to the daily agony when thinking of his Eleanor. Walking down stairs he could smell that his mother was cooking.
He sat down at the table and rested his head on his forearms; he could hear the sizzling of bacon in the background.
"Rough night?" His mother spoke over the various noises flowing through their kitchen.
He nodded against his arms. Prom had actually been fun, when he got distracted he could lose himself in the music.
Music.
That was the only thing keeping him somewhat sane since Eleanor and quitting Tae Kwan do.
"The more you get out honey, the easier it will be to get over her."
"You can say her name Mom." He groaned softly.
"Just wait 'til college, Park." His father walked into the room, demanding everyone's attention. "Loads of babes. You can just-" he glanced at Park's mother, "test the waters... Until you get over her."
"You're talking about sex aren't you!?" His mother gasped and hit his father playfully.
"Park, bring home a nice girl, one that wears dresses. I can do her hair!" His mom got excited, it made him chuckle a little just from the silliness.
"We'll see." He said, sitting up fully. College. He couldn't wait to leave.
Eleanor
First things first:
Who the hell was pulling on her hair?
Her eyes shot open, and she tried to gain her bearings before yelling at a possible date from the night before.
Okay: light brown velvet curtains, pulled open just the slightest bit, letting the light in and providing a spotlight for the particles of dust in the room.
It hadn't been cleaned in forever.
The comforter over her legs was striped in red and green, a Christmas catastrophe. Bells hung off of the sides. An ash tray shaped like Smokey the Bear on the chipped blue nightstand. The ever-lingering odor of unwashed socks.
Okay, okay…
Ax.
He hadn't been her date the entire night, just one that had kind of claimed her around midnight. He had long blond hair, usually unwashed. His eyes resembled mascara, too dark for his eyebrows. His eyes were a smoothed over blue, not very bright, just glazed.
It was nice to have met someone as dirty as she was.
She focused again on the fingers wrapped around her hair. Did she give him permission to touch the flames? Jesus.
She yanked away from his meant-to-be soft grip, and turned to face him. She was in a ratty t-shirt and a pair of cutoff pajama pants, him in Oscar the Grouch green boxers. He had a scar above the elastic of his boxers, and she couldn't help but stare. She wondered if he'd ever had his own toothbrush.
She always had to share one.
"Had my appendix out when I was nine," he answered her unasked question. She nodded.
What had they done? How had they gotten here? Who had she become? God. Maybe she left herself in Omaha…
Ax pulled on her hair again and she tried to smile. She looked at the dusty clock next to the ashtray and saw the time. Shit.
She got up briskly, and grabbed her navy dress off of the floor. It was outdated, but looked okay on her all the same.
"Your name starts with an E, right?" He was an asshole, but he would be her asshole. She knew it.
She thought of the Asian boy's green eyes and inevitable change as she responded, "Just E."