Author's Note
Hey, welcome back!
Thanks for taking out the time to read this, and if the pace, characterisation or any other elements doesn't work for you, please let me know in the comments.
All comments, however positive and negative, are highly appreciated!
3 years ago:
Eve zipped up her hoodie, and was ready for her new day of school. She knew people wouldn't be kind. She was a sixth form student - she didn't expect them to be kind. However, she still didn't know if she was prepared for whatever might be hurled at her on her first day.
She took the bus, and saw another Moordale student, blonde hair, dressed flourishly sitting a few seats in front of her. She just didn't have the nerve to make small talk right then, so she sat still, taking out her sketchpad from her school bag, and flipped through some of her works.
Upon reaching school, she sat on the steps, observing the details of the rustic buildings, noticing every crack and discolouration and recording whatever she found into her sketchpad. She was still early, so she put in earphones, and put up the Doobie Brothers in an attempt to pass time.
By the time students started filing in, Eve's pencil was gliding feverishly against the sketchpad, the charcoal of her pencil embedding all sorts of shape on the now-thoroughly blighted paper. She was so absorbed in her sketching that she missed a certain dark-skinned boy backing up towards her.
The boy, in his intense exhilaration, had missed her sitting on the steps, and was in the middle of his sentence ("Sixth form. The best two years of hi-") when he clashed with her, her pencil flying out of her hand, and her sketchpad accelerating towards the ground. The boy tumbled, and put a hand on Eve's shoulder to hold himself steady.
When he realized what he had done, he bent down, muttering approximately a million sorries, and handed her the sketchpad back, while she retrieved her pencil.
Upon standing up and straightening out her pants and her oversized hoodie, she noticed that she didn't have her sketchpad.
She glanced down, and the boy who had bumped into her, and was helping her retrieve her sketchpad, was still. He was so still that Eve thought he might have been frozen, for all it was worth. The boy tore his eyes away from a particular page in the sketchpad and looked up at her, and then looked back at that page. He did this a couple of times, before finally getting up, closing the sketchbook, and handing it back to her.
"Never in my life, have I ever seen Moordale in such glory," he said, addressing her directly.
It was her first day and she had really hoped that she could spend the rest of the free time before school starts sketching and not making conversation. But here she was.
"Thank you," said Eve. "It was just something to pass the time."
"You are the best sketcher I have met in this school," he said, holding up his hand. "Hi, I'm Eric Effiong."
She took his hand and shook. "I am Eve McKinley."
"Are you new?" asked Eric.
She just nodded.
"Oh my god, we gotta show you the school." He almost jumped with excitement. "Otis. Otis, come here."
She had missed Eric's friend, who had been observing them patiently from a distance, probably waiting for Eric to finish up with her, so that they could walk to the lockers together.
He wore a brown jacket that had blue and red boxes down the middle. His eyes were a hot shade of turquoise, and his black hair was ruffled. He carried a long strewn backpack on his shoulders, only the straps of which were visible to Eve when he stood facing her.
Otis came forward and Eve shook his hand. "I am Otis," he said.
"So, as I was saying," said Eric, being the centre of attention, again. "Sixth Form, guys. Sixth Form. The best two years of high school! And we are already in the second year!"
Eric's enthusiasm intrigued Eve, so she accepted his request to tag along with them to the lockers and on to the assembly.
In art lesson, she found a seat next to Eric. The teacher gave them a group assignment, and she was working with him. Eric wanted inspiration for a new work, so she drew a portrait of him in his book, and told him to copy it.
After what felt like forever, living through an hour of English, an hour of math, and an hour of geography, she made it through to lunch. Carrying her tray around to where Otis was sitting, she plopped down on to the seat, and started eating.
"How has your first day been, so far?" Otis asked, hesitantly, not looking up from his food.
She abandoned her porridge, and looked at him, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"Well, geography was a spoof, I do not understand complex integration, and I already have an essay on 'The Crucible' due next week," said Eve.
Returning back to the slimy porridge the school canteen had given her, she put a spoonful of it in her mouth, got up, dumped the porridge into the dustbin, and returned back to her seat.
Otis was positively shocked at her reaction.
"That was some action, McKinley," said Otis, now fully looking at her, a smile taking over his features.
Otis gently shifted his plate towards her. "Since you threw your food."
"I cannot possibly have yours," said Eve, pushing the tray back to him, turning a deep shade of pink.
Otis shook his head, and moved closer to her. He gave her a reassuring glance, and slid the tray towards her.
She blushed slightly, accepting the tray, picking up the square fork, and poking a chicken nugget with it. The fork was plastic, and she wasn't able to break the nugget in half, when, suddenly, Otis grabbed her nugget, and brought it towards his side of the tray.
He shoved his fork into the middle of the nugget, and used a spoon to slice the first half. When there were two clear halves evident, he forcefully retracted the fork from the nugget.
He passed one half to Eve, and ate one half himself, both smiling in unison at this action.
From thereon, Otis kept slicing the nuggets into two halves and passing one half to Eve, who greedily shoveled that half into her mouth. Both of them enjoyed each other's company, looking at each other from the corner of their eyes, and smiling when the other looked away.
She heard a shrill laugh behind her, and she turned to see Eric walking, hand-in-hand, with a tall boy, who wore a denim hoodie, the hood of which hung from his head loosely.
Otis saw them too, and invited them over.
Otis tugged her sleeve, and pointed at the boy beside Eric, and said, "Eve, meet Adam."
"Adam, meet Eve. She is new," he continued.
He smiled in response, and Adam managed a weak wave.
She had almost finished her share of the nuggets, when Eric spoke, "Eve, I gotta show you the portrait."
He was almost squeaking with excitement. He reached down into his bag and pulled out his own sketchpad. He flipped through the pad aggressively and only stopped when he was sure that he had found the page.
He almost shoved the pad in her face. She smiled and accepted it, and looked at the drawing. It wasn't bad, he had almost nailed the dark strokes, but she felt that the lighter strokes still needed work. After telling him the same, she sat back and ate her last nuggets in silence.
The only sounds on the table were of Eric and Adam laughing, whenever they caught one of them staring at the other.
She was just going to put the last piece of nugget into her mouth, when she heard something vibrate, and saw Otis fishing for his phone in his pocket. Upon taking it out, he started typing something furiously, and then got up.
"I am sorry, I have to leave," he said, almost giggling. "I am meeting Ruby near the lockers."
Ruby? Eve thought to herself.
She raised an eyebrow at Eric in question, failing to keep the disappointment out of her expression.
Eric gave her a look that she couldn't decipher.
"Adam, how about I meet you after school?" said Eric.
Adam looked a bit disappointed but he eventually agreed.
Eric stood up, took Eve's hand, and almost dragged her away from the table. She was getting increasingly hot, so she took off her hoodie, revealing her Rolling Stones OG t-shirt. Eric looked at it, and dramatically put a hand on his heart, but didn't stop walking.
He led her to the lockers, but when she thought he was gonna stop, he didn't. After two more minutes, Eve found herself in a crack between two rows of lockers. Straight ahead, he could see Otis, who was now apparently wearing funky sunglasses, leaning against his locker, presumably waiting for that Ruby girl.
Eric leaned back to give Eve more space to stand so that she could peer at the scene before her easily.
Five minutes of waiting, and a beautiful girl with straight brown hair, wearing large gold earrings, clad in a swanky pink top that sat beneath a shrug that was a lighter shade of pink.
Her gait was like a maiden's, and she had her handbag hanging from her extended arm, that gave her the appearance of a beautiful mermaid.
Ruby approached Otis, and they kissed for a solid minute, before Ruby withdrew her mouth from Otis'. Poor Otis looked flustered after that very long and surely embarrassing kiss.
They talked for a while, and then, with an embrace, Ruby went her separate way. Otis was left alone, looking redder than a tomato.
Eve didn't know what to feel. She held her breath, steeled herself, and waited for the waves to pass. She looked at Otis, and kept looking at him. She knew she had been gazing for too long when Eric tapped her on the shoulder.
She didn't know why she was feeling whatever she was feeling. She didn't want Otis to go. Friends like that didn't come often. If she was more full of herself, tied her hair straight, and wore overbearing earrings, maybe then Otis would actually notice her. But she had to face it. Upon the results of a generous assessment, she was just an ordinary 17 year old. But she could never compete with a girl who used notes for toilet paper, starved herself, and put excess mascara in an attempt to looking fucking exotic.
Eric tapped her again.
"Are you okay?" she heard him say.
"Yes, let's go," Eve said, desperate to get away from the place they were hiding inside.
Eric nodded, and they slithered through the crack, until they were out. Eve said goodbye to Eric, and headed for her next lesson.
Along the route, when she was all alone, she came across the Untouchables, or whatever was left of them after the exit of Aimee and Ruby.
"I really hate your hoodie," she heard the boy named Anwar say.
Eve paused in her tracks, turned around, and eyed Anwar up and down.
"Your hair is irregular, your eyebrows are not level," Eve began. "And, overall, you look like a turd."
She turned around and walked off, right after seeing, through the corner of her eye, Olivia and Anwar's stupefied looks. She also heard Ruby murmur to herself, "I like her."
The next day, she met the boys near the bike stand. As soon as Eric saw her, he came forward and gave her a hug. She clutched his back, and buried her head in his shoulder.
"How are you doing Eve?" asked Otis.
"Guess I am fine," replied Eve.
They walked to the entrance together, before Eric dislodged from the group, and scurried off in Adam's direction. Meanwhile, Otis and Eve walked in silence.
They were approaching the steps, when she saw Otis look behind and mutter, "I like seeing him happy."
Eve nodded in agreement, and they walked in silence for a long time.
Approaching the locker, she saw a disgruntled boy running towards Otis. He stopped two feet before Otis, and said, "Sex kid, sex kid. I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Otis masked his face and his forehead with his hand, and dragged the boy into an isolated corner. She heard him whisper something to the boy, and a severe expression of disappointment came over the boy's face, and he hurried off.
Otis returned and looked in the direction of the boy. "That was just Tom Baker, a very lost individual."
Eve didn't want to give up and said, "But I heard him call you 'Sex kid'. What's up with that?"
"I'll tell you the full story, but only if you promise to not laugh."
"I promise."
"My mom's a sex therapist. She's kind of a shrink, but for sexual matters. She loves talking about sex, and she taught me stuff… about sex. So I kinda had a headstart in that area, and by the time I reached sixth form, I was an expert at genitalia."
Eve nodded, beckoning him to continue.
"One day, Adam had too much viagra, and this girl Maeve and I helped him, and since then, people started coming to us with all of their sex problems. Before we knew it, we had opened kind of a sex clinic. Maeve was in charge of finance and accounts, and I gave them advice."
Eve nodded, waves of understanding rocking her mind. "So Tom came to you because he has a sex issue. Real smooth, Otis, real smooth." Otis laughed and Eve smiled. She had learned to lose herself when she was with Otis. He gave her warmth.
"Hey, so, Eve?" said Otis, questioning her, with a hopeful smile on his face. "Would you like to hangout at my house today? Eric is going on his date with Adam, and I really don't want to be stuck doing advanced integration alone."
"So you want me over to help you with advanced integration?" asked Eve. "Well, you came to the wrong person. I am hopeless in that area of math."
"Maybe, we both can figure integration out together?" said Otis, peering into her eyes, his hands fidgeting with the corner of his jacket.
"Are you always this flustered around girls?" she asked.
Otis brought a hand to his head, and started styling his hair.
"So chivalrous," said Eve.
Otis smirked.
"I'll be there," said Eve, a hint of smile playing at the sides of her lips.
Eve knocked on Otis' door, and seconds later, the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman, with short blonde hair, wearing a long blue dress that suited her lean frame perfectly.
"You must be Otis' mum," said Eve, not meeting her eyes. "I am Eve, his friend. We are supposed to be doing our math homework together."
"Yes, please come in, Eve," Otis' mum said, with a wide grin on her beautiful face.
"I am Jean, Otis's mother," she began. "Otis will be in his room. Go up the stairs and the first door you see is his room."
"Thanks, Dr. Milburn," said Eve.
"Oh, it's just Jean," she said, keeping a hand on her heart, and the grin had returned.
Eve smiled back, and climbed the stairs and opened the door that she saw first.
Otis sat on the bed, legs crossed and a burly math textbook opened in front of him. He was supposedly practicing integration.
Eve just stood in the doorway, a wide smile on her lips, waiting for Otis to notice her and invite her inside.
When Otis did finally look at the doorway, he almost did a double take.
"Eve, hi," he finally said after a few minutes. "Please do not stand in the doorway. Please come in."
Eve stepped in his room, and plopped down onto his bed.
"So do you want to get on with integration, or do you want to get beaten in Smash Bros?" said Eve, chuckling.
"You're on," said Otis, starting towards his television console. He dug his hand deep down a cabinet, and brought out two remote controllers. He brought them to the bed, handed one to Eve and kept one for himself.
"I really think we should start with integration," said Eve.
"I second that," said Otis, before taking the controller from her hand, switching off the television, and putting the remotes back where he found them.
After getting up on to his bed, he gestured for Eve to join him. She took her boots off before getting onto the bed.
The air conditioner was taking effect - she was immensely cold. She tried her best but couldn't stop her body from shivering and her teeth from chattering slightly.
"Are you okay?" Otis asked her.
She nodded in response. She didn't trust her teeth to not chatter when she was speaking. So, she remained silent.
Otis suddenly got up from his bed and started towards his closet. "Just give me a second," he said.
Seconds later, he fished out a woollen jumper, and brought it over to Eve, who took it, exhibiting a smug, yet satisfied look.
"This should do the job. Thank you!" said Eve, putting it on.
"Now integration," she said, gesturing for him to return back to the bed.
"When do you need to leave?" he asked.
"Somewhere between 10 and 11, I would be fine," she replied.
"More time for integration then," he said, raising his hands in mock excitement. "Yay!"
Without further ado, they started with integration. They both didn't have enough knowledge to sufficiently complete the homework, so they watched several videos on integration, and tried many 'help with homework' websites.
Eve spent most of the time by staring at Otis' confused face whenever he encountered a problem. There was occasional banter, a few little slaps on arms here and there, but the prime focus was integration.
After about an hour and a half of frying her brain, Eve finally helped Otis finish his homework.
As soon as the homework was done, Eve collapsed back, her head bouncing on the mattress. Glancing to the side, she saw that Otis had done the same. Their heads were almost touching, and before Eve could enjoy the moment, Otis spoke.
"So, got your eyes on any boys, McKinley?" he said.
Eve rolled her eyes.
"I have been in Moordale for less than a week," Eve replied. "What makes you think I already fancy someone?"
Otis shrugged, but remained silent.
"It is kinda complicated, to be honest," said Eve. "I am surrounded by arseholes, but finding that one right boy among a mass of wrong ones seems pretty daunting."
"Even more than integration?" asked Otis, a smile playing at his lips.
"God, no!" Eve chuckled.
Thinking for a moment, Eve spoke again.
"I guess I have got eyes for Tom Baker," Eve continued, giggling.
"What do girls see in him?" asked Otis, clearly annoyed.
Eve just shrugged in response, and they sat in silence for a few long moments.
"What about you?" Eve said, playing dumb. "Any recent conquests?"
Otis looked in her direction.
"Ya, I got this thing with this girl called Ruby," Otis said.
"Hottest girl in all of Moordale," Eve said, a mock grin on her face, still playing dumb. "Milburn, what a player."
They both smiled, enjoying each other's company. Lying down next to him, their heads almost touching, Eve was tempted to take a step, but she wasn't sure of the effects and implications. She really wanted to extend her hand, so that Otis might get the hint. Heck, she could even settle for a hug right now.
"Otis…." Eve began, but trailed off, thinking the better off it.
"What?" he replied.
Silence.
"What?" he asked again.
Silence.
"Nothing," Eve began. "Have you ever been in love?"
This startled Otis. He hastily got up, and leaned his back against the wooden frame of the bed.
Eve got up too, and gripped his hand. Otis flinched, but she didn't let go.
"If it is an open wound, you don't need to share," Eve said. "I won't push you."
Otis was silent for a moment.
"I guess I will have to talk about it to someone, or else I might explode," said Otis.
Eve simply nodded and waited for him to begin.
He took a long whiff, and began.
"It was Maeve," said Otis.
Eve's face reeked of envy. Still, she understood. As much as it broke her heart, she understood.
She nodded in encouragement, beckoning him to continue.
"It was mutual. At first, it was unbelievable," said Otis.
"The looking at each other and smiling. The eventual brush of elbows. The clinic. The requited jealousy," he continued, looking at the ceiling, and sighing.
"I let her go, Eve. I didn't chase her," he continued. "I let miscommunication keep us apart. I am an idiot, Eve. I am an arsehole."
He buried his forehead in his lap. From his shrouded position, Eve couldn't see his face, but she could faintly make out tears.
"I walked away, Eve. I let my friendship with her ruin me utterly," Otis continued, tears leaking from his face.
Eve moved closer to him, entangling her arms with his, their bodies pressed together in a tight embrace.
"I wasn't able to save myself after that. I invested all my strength in picking back the shards of my broken heart, and rebuilt an exhausted man. If there was any other way, I would have taken it, would have brought softness and light." Otis' head was hung in shame.
"Hey, it's okay," Eve said, lifting his chin. "You came out a stronger and more confident man. And that's what matters, okay?"
Otis nodded and the tears stopped shortly after.
Otis had to use the bathroom, during which Eve took her phone out and messaged her mom that she would return late. She would not leave Otis like this.
They spent the rest of the time playing Smash Bros. By the end of her time at his house, Otis had calmed down and was in a much better mood.
She left, content.
Author's Note
This was my first attempt to write a hurt/comfort and angst story. Hope you liked it.
Every review, however long or short, is much appreciated.
If you want longer or shorter chapters please tell me...
See you when the next chapter drops.
Peace.