"We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all." -Andrew, The Breakfast Club
Elizabeth had spent a good portion of the morning helping her parents and Eddy move their belongings, along with hers, into the moving van and whatever could fit into the back of the family car. In a way, moving all the boxes and luggage into the vehicles did distract Elizabeth from the previous night's events, but it also made her even more hyperaware of what was going on.
She was leaving Empire City.
Elizabeth would be leaving her friends, her school, everything she was familiar with. The only time she had ever been outside the city was during a family reunion when she was eight, other than that, she hadn't gone anywhere else. She became aware of the emptiness, how big the house seemed without everything in it. But if Will was being honest, maybe Elizabeth would be given an opportunity to visit her friends one day.
"Liz, c'mon." Eddy's gruff voice snapped Elizabeth out of her thoughts.
Mumbling an apology, Elizabeth grabbed the last of her belongings before loading it away and stuffing herself into the car.
*тεεηαgεяs*
Seeing the change of scenery was fascinating. Elizabeth watched as Will drove from freeways to highways to dirt roads; taking shortcuts or finding a road that could lead to a scenic route. In Empire, there hadn't really been much nature—it was a big city, there wasn't much room for much greenery when new skyscrapers were being built every month. But Elizabeth took in what she could get from the drive to Amity Park. She noticed the trees and the bushes, the grass and the dirt.
Part of her had to wonder if Amity Park would be more eco-friendly than Empire City was.
Turning away from the window, Elizabeth looked over at Eddy, who was practically laying on the door from where he was sitting. Eddy had his headphones in, listening to his music at full volume. Will and Jeanne had warned Elizabeth at a young age that Eddy was a little difficult to get along with, mostly because he tended to lash out unexpectedly. It wasn't that he was a bad person, there was just something in him that made him do it. Elizabeth had been scared of her adoptive brother for the first couple months she lived in their old home; she thought the slightest thing she did would send him in a rage. But when she finally got the nerve to interact with him, she was pleasantly surprised when he didn't get mad at her. Eddy had been a little hesitant, but he made an effort. After a while, Eddy and Elizabeth became acquaintances, not really working to go beyond that. They were both content with where their relationship lied.
Needless to say, though, as the two got older, their relationship did become a little strained. Eddy became a little more withdrawn, wanting to spend more time with himself than with others. Elizabeth made sure to go out of her way to interact with him when she could, but she knew that he wasn't the same person she knew when they were little. Eddy found something he was comfortable doing, and she'd respect it.
When Elizabeth's gaze went over to Will and Jeanne, she noticed Jeanne had fallen asleep, her head resting against the window of the passenger's side. Will's attention was on the road.
The overall drive was quiet, minus Eddy's music making a somewhat soundtrack.
Settling down more into her seat, Elizabeth decided to keep looking at the scenery.
It's not like anything exciting is going to happen, she thought solemnly. Might as well figure out something to pass the time.
*тεεηαgεяs*
As it would turn out, Elizabeth ended up falling asleep on the way to Amity Park. She wouldn't have had a problem talking to Will, but he was so focused on driving she didn't want to bother him. Eddy was still blasting his music, so he was out of the question; and Jeanne was still sleeping. Elizabeth did enjoy seeing the scenery for a little while longer, but the exhaustion of little sleep from the night before ended up catching up to her.
Will had given a guess as to how long it'd take to get to Amity Park, and from what he said, it would be at least a three hour drive. Elizabeth wasn't too sure how long the drive had been when she finally allowed herself some sleep, but after what felt like just a few minutes later, Elizabeth was awoken by Eddy shaking her shoulder.
"We're here," he grumbled.
Rubbing the remaining exhaustion out of her eyes, Elizabeth quickly stretched before climbing out of the car. Going to the back of the car, Elizabeth took a moment to look at the house her family would be living in. It looked a little like Will described it as. It wasn't too big—probably as big as a two-story house should be—and it didn't seem too over-the-top in its design. The outside was well kept, it had a small front yard and driveway, but Elizabeth took that in for the neighborhood being a tad closer together.
"Whaddya think?" Jeanne stood next to Elizabeth, nudging her a little. "Not bad?"
Elizabeth didn't answer at first, she was trying to figure out what to say. Maybe the house was nice enough to live in, maybe Amity Park wouldn't be a bad place, but that didn't really change the fact that Elizabeth was a little hesitant of her new home. Part of her still wanted to go back to Empire City, and she knew that she'd have to push that desire away. Empire City wasn't her home anymore, and the more she could convince herself of that, the easier it'd be.
"I guess," she responded.
Jeanne accepted the answer without question.
(A/N):
I know it took a while to post this chapter, but hopefully it was OK. Let me know what you think of the story so far.
Nothing in DP is mine.
Anyway, I'll leave the rest up to you guys. Let me know if there's anything to improve on.
Thank you,
Scarlet Tchaikovsky
