(Thank you for sticking with me even though I haven't updated in so long! I'm not sure when this story will come to a close, but I do know that it won't be anytime soon, haha. Anyway, let me stop my babbling and enjoy!)
When they were sure that they were out of earshot, Elizabeta began to pace as Bella went into the kitchen to go make some tea.
"God, I hope they don't come by again- that was absolutely nerve racking." Elizabeta sat on the couch and crossed her legs, her green eyes glittering from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Every look, every shift of their bodies were silently being judged by those two, and she didn't like it one bit. It was bad enough that Gilbert didn't know them that well; now his friends would definitely influence him even more.
"We have to move quicker. We can't take our time anymore because they know something." Bella's voice was solemn. Gone was her playful and lilting tone, and now appeared the calculating girl that Elizabeta knew so well.
"Yes yes, but how?" We still have a long way to go before he can trust us entirely." The brunette clasped her hands in front of her face, trying to smooth away the stress lines that were on her face.
"It'll be suspicious if we're both sweet on him. I'm sorry Liz, but you'll have to take it from here. I don't if you've picked up on it, but Gilbert has always shown a preference towards you since we first met. You'll have to do what we did the first time." Bella came out of the kitchen with two small mugs with steam rising out of them. She sat down next to her friend and passed her one of the mugs. The way the light was shining from the window made her hair almost golden, and her emerald eyes look even brighter-almost like jewels.
"Like the first time. Huh. Who would've expected that we'd have to end just like we started?" In that instant, Elizabeta looked twice her age, the wearies that a person like her should never have now weighing down upon her.
"We can do this- you can do this, Liz. Always together, right?" Bella held out her pinky, a small smile gracing her face. She decided to pull out the one thing they hadn't done since they were kids.
"Always together." Elizabeta smiled hopefully as she took her pinkie with her own.
"Hey Gilbert, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?" Lissa's voice rang from the doorway into Gilbert's room, but he didn't look up from the magazine he was reading on his bed.
"Um, yeah, I guess. What is it?" He sounded completely disinterested.
"Be honest-how does this look on me?"
"How does what-" Gilbert turned from his magazine to see what she was talking about and froze mid-sentence. Standing there in his door, she was wearing one of his dress shirts that reached her to about mid-thigh. Her creamy, creamy thighs that seemed to stretch for miles. . .
Whoa there nelly.
"Well?" Lissa walked over to where he was laying, mouth agape and eyes wide. Ever so slowly, she crawled on top of him and straddled him, her legs on either side of his torso.
"H-h-h-h-how does my shirt look on you?" Woahwoahwoahwoah Gilbert was not ready to have his cousin-his hot cousin-ready to lock and load! Okay, okay, he couldn't screw this up, he had to be cool; stay cool, act cool.
"No, you silly idiot, my underwear." She leaned in extremely close and murmured into his ear.
Wait her what.
Lissa tossed her hair to the side as she began to unbutton the shirt, her lips pursed and her eyes trained on his own.
Ma-n, fuck staying cool! When she started talking about her underwear, Cool went off and took a hike to the mountains to find itself.
Lissa paused mid-button, and her pursed lips turned into a grimace. "Too bad you're sick pervert that wants to fuck your cousin."
Wait what.
Her hand balled into a fist and pulled her arm as far she could, letting it go and punching the ever living daylights out of him.
Gilbert then woke up covered in a pool of his own sweat
I don't wanna screw my cousin, I don't wanna screw my cousin, I don't wanna screw my cousin, Gilbert chanted to himself, rubbing his eyes fiercely and shaking his head. The sad thing was, he had dreams like that nearly every night, so in actuality, he did want to screw his cousin. He had to remind himself every morning that he was gross and sick and wrong to want to get with someone who was related to him.
But he didn't find out 'till just recently that they were related, his conscious offered. It would somewhat kinda sorta maybe be a little to fantasize about her . . . just a little, right?
No! No, no, no, no, no! No ifs, ands, or buts. She was his family, he was her family, and no amount of rationalizing could change that. Even if she was a smokin' as bacon.
Okay, that was literally the cheesiest thing he had ever thought. God, no wonder no one wants to hook up with him; who could blame them.
Gilbert's doorbell rang, making him jump in the middle of his self-loathing.
"I'm coming!" He shouted, scrambling out of bed to go and see who was knocking at- a glance at his alarm clock told him it was ten thirty-eight a. m. - at almost ten forty.
Gilbert opened the door in such a rush that it scared the person who was behind the door. Which happened to be the woman of the hour, Lissa herself.
Before Gilbert said anything, Lissa looked down quickly and her eyes widened. She turned her head just as fast as covered her face with her hand, trying not to snicker.
"What? Is there something on me?" Gilbert looked at her in confusion.
"Oh yeah, you're definitely coming all right." Her face had become a cherry red, her laughter becoming even harder to hold in.
"Wha-?" Gilbert finally looked down to see his best friend looking back at him waving hello. He flushed an even brighter red than Lissa if that was even possible.
"Goddamnit!" He shouted, closing the door in her face.
"I didn't know you had company pop up so unexpectedly! I would have come later!" Lissa was losing her shit right now on the other side of the door, throwing penis puns left to right.
"Oh, oh, I have another one! I bet your friends are really stand up guys, am I right? Oh God, I'm weak!" Lissa's laughter could now definitely be heard throughout the whole complex. Gilbert was so embarrassed, but he didn't dare tell her that he had gotten a bit excited over a dream about her. She would definitely murder him, and that didn't sound very funny.
After Gilbert spent a good while thinking about his dead grandmother while getting dressed. Eventually he had let Lissa in after he made her promise to stop telling penis jokes. Knowing her, she would probably go on all day if she could.
"So what brings you here on this Saturday morning?" Gilbert ran his fingers through his hair, since the strands weren't as messy to his liking.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go out. I mean, we've only showed you what's in the city, but what about what's outside of it?" Lissa fiddled with the hem of her blouse with one hand, and gestured to the opposite side of town with the other.
"What, do you mean like going camping or something?" Gilbert cocked his head to the side questioningly like a puppy.
"Ah, not camping, but that was a pretty good guess. I was thinking more of like the park." Lissa's eyes glowed expectantly, two forests fringed behind lashes. Her lips quirked into a small smile and it reminded Gilbert of one of those happy foxes he saw in a picture long ago.
"I don't know, I mean I'm pretty swamped with work-"
"It's just one afternoon! I don't think spending one afternoon at the park would kill you. And besides, we'd have a picnic. What do you say?" Lissa leaned in close, her mouth still curved into a smile as she bit her bottom lip. Almost like a child expecting their mother to give them the lollipop that they already said no to before.
After a brief pause of hesitation, Gilbert replied with an enthusiastic yes. Lissa didn't even wait two minutes before she quickly stood up and grabbed Gilbert's hand, dragging him out the door along with her.
Elizabeta had decided on the picnic idea last minute, so they had to go grocery shopping and try to make something; maybe cold-cut sandwiches.
Before the highway to the park (both had somewhat agreed to go to the national park since it was a much more open setting) began, there was a small grocery store on the right side. Gilbert had gotten a cart while Elizabeta began to fill it up with juice, chips, breads, cheeses, and a long stick of salami.
"Hey, hey Gilbert. What does this remind you of." Elizabeta wagged her brows as he stuck his tongue out at her.
"You promised me you wouldn't make dick jokes again," Gilbert replied through clenched teeth. A few people passing by shot them odd looks.
"Yeah, well, that was the apartment and this is the store. Two different things by the way." She dropped the salami into the cart and picked up a box of fruit snacks.
"Wait, what are we, ten? Get the dinosaur fruit snacks we're at least five." Gilbert chucked the fruit-shaped fruit snacks out of the cart in favor of the blue box with little dinosaurs on it.
After a whole debacle as to get either vanilla or chocolate pudding ( Of course Elizabeta won with chocolate; a few more jokes and Gilbert's head almost popped off, what with him nodding so fast), they bought their foods and stuffed them into the back of the car. Elizabeta of course was the one to drive, and Gilbert had to set aside his pride.
The first few minutes were awfully quiet, she noticed. She wasn't sure what to talk about as her eyes quickly flitted between Gilbert and the road. He actually looked really pensive, his mouth set into a straight line and his eyes as hard as granite.
As Elizabeta took in a small breath to ask him what the matter was, he startled her by suddenly asking her a question.
"So, what do you guys do when those machines and stuff show up? How does it work?" His eyes darted to Elizabeta's driving figure before he quickly turned to face forward.
She didn't respond immediately, but instead turned the radio on to some chippy pop song and turned the volume down so it was almost a faint thud. Yeah, they order the gadgets, but it was actually much cheaper than forty-five grand. Like, thirty-five grand less. The rest of the money was to go to the person they were trying to pay back for the past six years. Elizabeta could feel her hands grip the steering wheel in frustration. So much money and so little time. . .
"They actually just came in yesterday. There's an electroencemphenograph that tracks radio signals, another device like it but it records satellite signals. There's also a few others that can definitely narrow down the search, but I can't remember them off the top of my head." Elizabeta let out a huge breath and tapped her fingers on the wheel. They actually just bought the first two, and both Bella and Liz weren't sure if they were going to actually track his parents down.
But that didn't mean they were completely clueless as to where they were.
"So when do you think we'll be able to go out and find them?" His tone had turned so soft that she almost didn't catch his words.
"Well I can tell you that it's not as simple as you think. They're really private people, Gilbert. We couldn't find them in a phone book or on one of those people-finding websites," She replied easily since that much was true. The Jamesons were as conservative as they come, and that's really saying something.
Gilbert had now turned in his seat so that he was facing her. "But with those machines, I'll be able to finally meet them. You guys are amazing." There was an almost dream-like quality to his voice.
Elizabeta's heart stuttered a beat.
"It's not that big of a deal," She muttered, taking a right turn on the road. Stay focused, she thought. Eyes on the road, mind on the prize.
"It is! I usually wouldn't say this aloud, but thank you. Thank you for finding me and helping me find my parents. I. . . really appreciate it." A big dorky smile was plastered on his face, but his words sounded forced, somehow. Not forced like he was giving out false compliments; forced in the sense that it was really hard to say. He didn't usually give out compliments, so it was rare.
Elizabeta's lips were set into a line, but her eyes told a different story.
She could feel the way hands would soften on the steering wheel whenever he made a snide remark. How her body would him with contentment when he would smile. The way her shoulders would roll with the breeze from the window when she said his name. And the only time she would feel like that was when she was with Bella and Roderich.