Two: Minor Details
Elisabeth stood on the shore of the bay, the waves washing over her bare feet. The other girls had chosen to wait for the boys beneath the cliff, but Elisabeth had been drawn to the water.
Ever since she was a little girl, the water was always an escape from her mother. It was the one thing she didn't mind her grandmother making her do. The water was soothing to her often frazzled nerves. If she ever got too frustrated with life, she would find comfort in the pool.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Elisabeth glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Caleb, who was approaching her with her shoes in his hands. His white tank top hugged his muscular torso perfectly, the black jacket concealing the well-developed muscles she knew lay beneath the fabric.
"They aren't worth that much," she replied quietly as she looked back at the water. "I've never been too interested in parties; I like things quiet." Caleb stood next to her, his chest brushing against her arm.
"I can believe that," he said. "You seem like the kind of person who prefers an intimate setting rather than a room full of people." Elisabeth smiled and took her shoes from him. They began walking down the beach towards the bonfires, the others having started already.
"So, how did your boyfriend like your coming here?" he asked casually. Elisabeth rolled her eyes at the ridiculous question.
"I think that's the dumbest line I've ever heard," she told him honestly. "I don't have a boyfriend, and I'm sure you're aware of it." Caleb laughed and nudged her gently with his elbow.
"I like you, you're honest," he said. Elisabeth snorted.
"You like me because I'm honest? That's a first. My honesty normally ends up killing any relations with a guy."
"I like honest girls. They keep me on my toes," he said after a chuckle. "Besides, you've got a lot more qualities in your favor." Elisabeth raised an eyebrow.
"Beg pardon?"
"You're beautiful, smart, honest, and you're a witch—that's the best one. I don't have to worry about making up lies to cover up the 'strange' things that go on with me and my friends." Elisabeth looked at him evenly.
"Might want to be careful," she warned him. "You're beginning to talk like you want to date me—and that's not the smartest thing to do. You have to get the approval of my grandmother, and if you manage that, you won't survive my mother's existence." Caleb laughed.
"And you're funny." Elisabeth smiled but didn't get the chance to reply; at that precise moment, Sarah Wenham bounded up to Caleb and kissed him. Caleb, stunned and mortified at the incident, watched as Elisabeth walked on without another word, her eyes having taken on the quality of daggers. Her face was composed as she walked away, and as she did, a migraine exploded in his brain.
Elisabeth wanted to punch someone. She was tempted to search out Kira, but she wasn't fond of beating up people who were easy. Instead, she searched out her friends; she was going home.
But, like a suicidal moth to a furious flame, Kira swooped down on Elisabeth, her lips curled into a cold smile. Her boyfriend, Aaron, stood beside her, his eyes taking in her voluptuous body.
"I don't remember inviting you to the party," Kira sneered. Elisabeth paused in her trek towards her friends and gazed at her vicious house-mate evenly.
"You didn't invite us, but the Sons of Ipswich did, so fuck off," she replied, her voice calm. Kira choked on her words.
"How dare—" Elisabeth pushed past the girl. Aaron, not liking the way she had spoken to his girlfriend, grabbed onto Elisabeth's arm and stopped her.
"Don't talk to her like that, bitch," he spat. Elisabeth glared at his hand on her arm, shoving it away harshly.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she said icily. She walked away, her hips swaying tantalizingly. Her fury was only increased when she reached her friends, who were sitting around with the other boys. She glared at the Sons of Ipswich as she stood by Adeline.
"You might want to make sure they aren't withholding any minor details from you before you get too comfy, girls." Adeline looked at her with mild confusion.
"What are you talking about, Elle?" Elisabeth shot the boys another glare, which Pogue accurately read. She had met Caleb's long-time girlfriend. Luckily, Pogue had broken up with Kate last spring.
"Ask them," she hissed before she stormed off in the direction of her car. Adeline was about to go after her but Pogue had grabbed hold of her wrist.
"Let her go," he said wisely. "I think she wants some time to herself." Adeline sighed and agreed, sitting down again beside Pogue on the log they had claimed.
"What was she talking about, anyway?" she asked. Pogue nodded towards Caleb and Sarah, who had begun walking towards them. Adeline's eyes widened. She suddenly understood Elisabeth's fury. Caleb hadn't mentioned that he had a girlfriend.
"Oh, he's a dead man now," Adeline murmured. Pogue smiled wryly.
"No kidding." He nodded at Caleb in greeting. "Hey, dude." Caleb looked around the area, obviously looking for Elisabeth.
"Hey, have you seen Elisabeth?" he asked. Sarah looked at him curiously.
"Who's that?" she asked, her voice only aggravating his migraine. "Was that the girl you were walking with?" Caleb looked at her with only minor patience.
"Yes." Sarah inclined her head.
"I don't like her." Adeline smiled without mirth.
"Not many people do," she told Sarah. "And I'm sure the feeling is mutual," she added under her breath so only Pogue heard her. He suppressed a smile and glanced at Caleb, who was still craning his neck looking for the girl.
"She's not here, man," he told Caleb. Caleb's dark eyes met Pogue's. "She left a few minutes ago; most likely, she went home." Caleb sighed and looked down at Sarah, who was eyeing the other girls warily.
"Who are they?" she asked him. Caleb shot a quick glance at Adeline. He wasn't sure whether they wanted to be known as witches, and he'd already screwed up relations with Elisabeth; he wasn't eager to screw up anything else. Adeline caught his S.O.S. and smiled innocently.
"We're staying with Kira for the summer; Rosalie—the red-head—is her cousin," she replied for Caleb. Sarah seemed satisfied with the altered answer and looked up at Caleb with a sweet smile. If it weren't for the throbbing pain in his temples, he would have smiled back.
"Dance with me," she murmured. Caleb fought the urge to wince as the pain progressively got worse.
"Sorry, babe," he replied as he clenched his jaw, "but I think I'm going to head home. I left my migraine pills at the house and I'm getting this killer headache." Sarah's compassion overruled her disappointment and she let him go without a fight. Adeline and the others watched Caleb with questions in their heads.
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Elisabeth sat in her allotted room glaring at the mirror before her. All the thought she had put into her outfit for the party had been wasted on a lying bastard. What a pleasant start to three months of torture.
Her cell phone chirped next to her. She had a hunch as to who the caller was, but she glanced at the caller ID just in case. Her glare deepened as her hunch turned out to be correct: it was Caleb. She was tempted to throw the phone against the wall, but she had grown attached to the red Razr.
Instead, she flipped the phone open and immediately snapped it shut.
The silence was only momentary as her phone chirped again, as Caleb called her again.
Flip open, snap shut.
The process repeated itself three more times before Elisabeth lost her patience and answered the phone's irritating call.
"What do you want?" she snapped. She was sitting on the bed, her back to the French doors that led to her own personal balcony.
"For you to unlock your windows," Caleb replied. Elisabeth stood up slowly, her lips tugged down into a frown as she looked at the windows. Sure enough, Caleb was standing on the balcony, his phone pressed to his ear. He was clever, she had to admit.
Elisabeth, not wanting to lose the battle, moved closer to the windows slowly, her hips swaying. She kept the phone against her ear as she stood in front of Caleb, a slow, teasing smile gracing her face.
"And if I say no?" she asked. Caleb's dark eyes flashed mischievously.
"I'd find another way inside." Elisabeth smirked.
"Magic, you mean. Suppose I had put a spell on the room so that it couldn't be breached by magic?"
"I'd ask you nicely to let me in again."
"What if I told you that your girlfriend wouldn't like that?" she asked. Caleb's eyes darkened with an indecipherable emotion.
"I'd tell you that I didn't care." His answer was so blunt that it startled Elisabeth. She was used to boys doing anything to get her, and she was used to a majority of those boys being involved in another relationship. It had always been her policy to only tease those particular boys. Yet Caleb had been the only one of those boys that she had started to like. He was willing to throw his relationship with whoever that girl was to be with her; wasn't that reason enough to indulge?
Elisabeth pulled the phone from her ear and snapped it shut again. Her eyes slid to the lock on the windows, her mind torn between what she ought to do and what she wanted to do. She always seemed to find herself in those kinds of positions, choosing between what she knows is expected of her and what she wanted.
Silently, she turned around and walked towards the bed again. She closed her eyes as she tossed her phone on the pillows, opening them to reveal nothing but black. She waved her hand at the locks, which immediately unlocked, giving Caleb access to her bedroom and, she felt, much more.
"I thought you were going to leave me out there," he said as he pocketed his phone. Elisabeth didn't look at him as she stood at the foot of her bed.
"I should have." Caleb frowned.
"Why?" he asked. "I just came here to talk." Elisabeth shook her head.
"No, you came here to apologize for misleading me, for not telling me about your girlfriend. But, by apologizing, you are admitting—subconsciously—that you wish for more than just a friendship from me."
Caleb watched as Elisabeth sat down on the bed, her emerald eyes locked with his. He wasn't stupid enough to deny that he had wanted more from her; how could he not want more from her? But he had the moral decency to stop anything from forming beyond a friendship—didn't he?
Caleb sat beside her, putting a half a foot between them. She had given him a concealed ultimatum: move on and pretend that nothing happened, essentially telling her that he wasn't interested in her the way she had assumed or apologize and also admit that he wanted more from her than what she should give him.
"I'm sorry that I misled you and that I didn't tell you about Sarah." Elisabeth stared at her hands. A part of her wished that he hadn't apologized, but the stronger part of her was elated that he did. The only obstacle was his girlfriend.
What are you thinking? By fooling around with Caleb, you are becoming the other woman!
So? I'm tired of sacrificing what I want just because it's what's expected!
You're willing to lose the respect of those around you just for a boy?
Elisabeth bit her lip. Was she willing to lose their respect for Caleb? No, she wasn't. By giving into Caleb, she was labeling herself as easy and she was not easy.
"Apology accepted," she replied evenly. She glanced at him. "I think it's time that you leave."
She stood up and opened the window doors for him. Her emerald eyes watched as he stood up and crossed the room, stopping in front of her. The smell of his cologne was near intoxicating as they stood so close. She focused only on his chest until he raised her face so that she was looking into his dark eyes.
Nothing was said as his lips descended onto hers. The kiss was like fire, barely reigned in by Caleb's control. Elisabeth felt her lips parting to further the kiss while her brain was screaming for her to stop. She felt his strong hands pull her body against his, the warmth of his flesh melting her steel defenses. If she was going to stop this, she had to do it before they ended up doing something they regretted.
Elisabeth tore her lips away, stumbling back against a table. Her hands gripped the edge of the table as she caught her breath.
"We can't," she whispered. Caleb gazed at her, his eyes no longer concealing the want.
"Why not?" he asked her. "Don't tell me you don't want this just as much as I do." Elisabeth tipped her head back, her eyes searching the ceiling for an answer she already knew. Of course she wanted him.
"What about Sarah, hm?" she replied. "Kira already hates me and my friends, we don't need more enemies." Elisabeth looked at Caleb, her green eyes bright.
Caleb took a step towards her. "Elle—"
Elisabeth raised her hand to stop him. "Don't, now is not the time for this. You need to leave before the others come home and find your car in the driveway." Caleb's gazed hardened.
"We'll talk later," he told her. Elisabeth smiled wryly.
"Undoubtedly." Her green eyes followed his figure out onto the balcony and over the edge. She slowly detached herself from the table and closed the windows, locking them to prevent any more nighttime visits.
Elisabeth sighed as she collapsed on the bed. Tomorrow was going to be a bitch.