Hey guys, thanks for reading my story. I hope you enjoy it :)
In this fanfic I have used characters mainly from S4 but I've also included some characters from S1 and S5 as i thought they fitted well.
Please feel free to review and tell me what you think/ what should happen next. I'm trying to improve as a writer so your feedback is very welcome. This story is already partly written so updates shouldn't be too irregular but please don't hold me to that.
Ella Jones, or Eli Jones as he was now to be called was pacing up and down the hall outside his mother's room.
"Okay, alright Ella. I've nearly finished packing. Keep your socks on or I'll show you where to stick them."
"Mum… It's Eli now. You know that."
He looked at his hands, disappointment shone and his empty eyes.
"Whatever darling. "She couldn't have cared less. Eli shut his head in dismay – his parents haven't been particularly supportive of him lately. Surprisingly, it has been his brother that had made sure that he was himself and he barely ever saw him anyway so there wasn't much support there either.
Soon they had packed all their bags and boxes into the car and had driven off in the direction of Rochdale.
The sky was a deep shade of grey and it was pouring with rain. Despite this, Eli was oddly optimistic – this could be the changes family needed to get back on track.
He must have fallen asleep on the piles of boxes on the seat next to him because the next thing he remembers is the pathetic 'Welcome to Rochdale' sign. It seems to be raining even harder and the sky was just as, if not more gloomy.
Do you like caught sight of his parents faces in the wing mirror. There was that look again. Something was up…
"Something has come up with your brother in Nottingham we're going to have to sort it out. Is it alright if we leave you here to sort out the house et cetera? "
Eli didn't even really have to answer, they all knew that he was sick to death of his brothers problems and his parents problems for that matter.
His brother Ben, was 24 and he found him self in all sorts of various types of trouble each month, possibly each week. He always seem to ruin things for Eli.
Ben had once got arrested on Eli's birthday meaning that his parents went to the police station to bail him out rather than spend time with the 'birthday child'.
Eli never really felt begrudgingly towards this brother though because- 1: They were brothers. And 2: His brother had somehow convinced his opposed parents to allow him to start his transition, for that, Eli was eternally grateful to him.
"I can do that." Eli replied, looking out the window at his surroundings, Rochdale was not dissimilar to Bristol what with the terraced houses and dirty streets.
"Will you be back tonight?"
His parents often left him alone for varied periods of time. It was almost normal for Eli to live alone.
"I don't know, I'll call you later"
"Love you."
"Yeah." Eli's mum had been like that ever since he'd come out. Not quite sure what do you think, let alone what do you say to him. This upset Eli – he didn't want to be a disappointment, he just wanted to be himself.
Soon, he was stood in his new home, staring at the pile of boxes and bags should be putting away now? Where should he start?
A few hours later, he found himself staring at him self in the mirror in the bedroom. Sky blue eyes, floppy blue hair and rosy cheeks: all the features that the find his face – the one he was so proud of. It may be different, but he didn't care because he liked it that way.
It is now 5 pm on Sunday, and unpacked most of his stuff and unpacked most of the necessary items like pots and pans and toiletries. Eli was due to start at the local school the next morning and he wasn't particularly looking forward to it.
He decided to go for a run, when he was running he always felt so free – weightless. Eli didn't venture too far for fear of being lost but felt a lot more refreshed and more positive about starting a new school, he always struggled to fit in but he supposed he could always work around that.
After having a dinner of beans on toast Eli like headed up to bed for an early night, he checked his phone - no word from his parents.
...
The next morning, Eli I woke around 6 am. He rolled out of bed properly I'm from south into the shower – hoping to wake himself up a little bit.
He then put on a shirt, tie and school trousers.
He only had some toast for breakfast because the new school nerves.
Before leaving the house, Eli made sure to take his hormone pills – that was something in his life he always stay on top of. He quickly grabbed his school bag is the most out of the house no need to be late on his first day. Besides – he don't even know what the way to school was.
He needn't have worried as soon he came across a steady stream of school kids in Claret uniforms much like the one he had put on that morning.
Eli follow the hoards and soon found himself looking up at a big brick building - not particularly pretty, not particularly impressive.
It was decorated with a large claret sign that said 'Waterloo Road Comprehensive'. The sign was faded and almost sad looking. The site was completely contradicted by the bubbling rabble of schoolchildren outside its doors.
Eli sighed – new start, new school, new beginning. He just hoped that here he'd be accepted unlike at home.
...
Meanwhile, in the headteachers office. Rachel Mason was sat behind her desk looking down at a grey file, opposite her on the sofa sat her deputy, Eddie Lawson. He was sat arms crossed as he'd just learned that they were missing 3 members of staff, again!
"Oh! I almost forgot, "exclaimed Rachel opening the folder to one of the pages at the back. "We've also got a new year 10 starting today. "
"Really? On the second week of the Easter term – strange time to start isn't it? "Eddie crossed his arms and stood up, "cause some trouble did they? "
"Actually, there is no flags up problems except I suppose... he... he was a she." Rachel didn't know where to look, it wasn't that she was a posed to the LGBT plus community but just that she wasn't sure how the students would react.
"One more problem to sort out then… "How do you got up but noticed Rachel looking at him. "No, I don't mean, it's just going to be difficult for them, that's all ". He received a side eye from Rachel before leaving the office.
...
Back outside of the school, Eli took a deep breath – attempting to shake off a sudden case of the butterflies that seemed to be multiplying inside of his stomach.
Before he could talk himself out of it, Eli like walked up to the doors of the school which now has students flooding through them into the dingy corridors.
He managed to find the reception where he was directed to the headteachers office.
He walked into the study and the white haired secretary looked up and smiled at him "Jones?" To which Eli nodded. She gestured towards the office to her right. "Ms Mason is free – knock and go in."
Eli followed the secretaries instructions – he found himself in a fairly large room with white stacks of paper on shelves, it had a wooden brown desk in the centre of the room. Behind it such a brunette woman smile is that family had her face.
"You must be Eli Jones, welcome to Waterloo Road, do you have the forms I sent your parents to fill out?" She gestured for him to sit in the chair opposite her desk.
Eli nodded and handed over the forms.
They spoke briefly about his subjects and teachers before she got up and handed him his timetable. "Your first lesson is English with Mr Clarkson, he's a good teacher – I'm sure you like him. I'll take you down there seeing as I've got some spare time. Oh and Eli – please know that I'm here if you need anything. In fact all the teachers are – but I'm sure that you'll learn that soon enough anyway. "
"Thanks Miss," he followed Ms Mason down the corridor, through some doors and down the stairs. She knocked on the door on the right of the corridor, gestured for Eli to go in and click clocked off down the corridor in her high heels.
The brown haired man stood at the front of the classroom looked over at the door and saw a smallish lad stood there. He waved the boy in.
"Sorry sir, I'm new here – he like Jones. I believe this is my class? "
"That's right," The male teacher picked up some sheets and an exercise book from his desk and handed them to Eli with a smile.
"There is a spare seat over there I believe. "He gestured to an empty desk on the right of the classroom behind a desk where a brown haired girl sat with an older blonde haired woman who Eli presumed must be her support teacher.
In the class was also a ginger girl sat next to a girl with an Afro pulled into a pony tail and a brown haired boy who was sat looking at him. Eli gave him a quick smile before sitting down at his desk and getting on with his work. Here, Eli didn't want to see any attention to himself.
The brown haired boy who Eli had learnt was called Philip was talked with taking him to and from his classes for the rest of the day. Before long Eli reckoned he knew how the school worked: 1 corridor for each subject.
The rest of the week went by and Eli had fallen into the routine of Waterloo Road, he was quite liking it. It wasn't the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst.
There was one big thing playing on his mind however, there have been no word from his parents, and they hadn't returned home.
If he had been any other kid, he would've phoned the police or told the teacher. Not Eli, the police scared him and he didn't trust his teachers.
Besides, Eli didn't really want his parents home - he didn't ever feel accepted in their presence. That said, he was running out of food and people were bound to start asking questions when they never saw his parents. He'd phoned them a couple of times but it had gone straight to answer phone – he was growing increasingly worried.
On Sunday, Eli had agreed to make Philip in the park, he was glad to have a friend in such a big school.
They sat and chatted about teachers,
"Yeah, I've got Miss Redpath for drama she is nice, so are most of our teachers though. Mr made is great so is Mr Lawson and Mr Clarkson. Miss Haydock is pretty awful though." Said Eli to which Philip burst into laughter.
"Oh God, she's rubbish. Et ma derrière!" Philip mimicked Miss Haydock, smacking his bum.
The pair burst into laughter and were almost rolling on the floor as a car pulled up to the park and honked.
"Sorry Eli, my aunt's here to pick me up. I had a great time though."
Eli watched Phillip go sadly, he'd enjoyed the lads company.
It had started to rain, so Eli began the walk back home. It wasn't too far if he remembered the way but he found himself in a sort of alleyway after turning a corner and assumed he must've taken a wrong turn. On the cobbled path stood about six, 18 year old yobs hoods up - facing him. Eli began to back away hastily but the boys were quick and before long I found himself back up against the call, brick wall – he was scared and had never felt so alone. Slowly… They searched each and every one of his pockets one by one. They found his phone… And took it.
He didn't have anything else on him apart from a small bit of change.
They were done with him, apart from a good punch to the face – before Eli even had the chance to realise what they'd done, they were gone.
After what seemed like days, Eli managed to get home without any further inconveniences by this time it was pouring rain and it was nearly dark he reached into his pocket for his keys but to his horror they weren't there.
He had forgotten to pick them up when he'd walked out of the front door earlier that day!
What was he going to do?