~A Once and Again Series~
The Way We Were
Chapter 15//Contemplating Niceness
"Eli!"
Eli turned quickly at the sound of a female voice calling out to him. And his face fell in disappointment as he saw it was just Cassidy. He had been hoping... well, he had been wishing it was Grace. But, no such luck. Ever since that small silent encounter earlier in the week, he hadn't seen Grace at all. And Eli didn't know whether to call her or not, because he just didn't know what to say.
"Eli! You weren't at the party at Joe's last Friday!" Cassidy said loudly, reminding Eli she was still there.
Eli broke out of his daze and looked at the pretty blond. "I had other plans," Eli said quietly. A brief flash of him brushing his lips against Grace's flashed in his head. Eli's thoughts began to drift back to Grace.
"Eli!" Cassidy said again, breaking insistently into his thoughts. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Tonight?" Eli repeated, giving himself time to think. This morning he had woke up, thinking that today was the day he'd clear the air with Grace. Grace was a strong girl, she could take the truth... the kiss had just meant nothing. Eli just had to tell her that. It sounded so easy, this morning, but now Eli once again felt like it was too hard. He felt that once again, he should put it off for another day.
[[Eli - Maybe she'll forget... if I just don't say anything about it. Maybe....... uh, maybe not.]]
"Yeah, I'm having a little get-together, OKAY, a party at my house, and I want you to come!" Cassidy grabbed onto his shirt sleeve. "You HAVE to come, Eli! I need you to come! It would mean SO much to me!"
Eli felt himself craving in. He couldn't resist Cassidy's overwhelming energy. In fact, it had only been last year, before he got with Jen, that Eli had had a crush on Cassidy. She was really cute. "Okay," Eli found himself agreeing.
"Great! It's starts seven! But, you could come early. I could use some help with the food and stuff," Cassidy gave Eli a lingering look with her big blue eyes.
"Yeah, okay," Eli gave in again.
"Great!" Cassidy gave Eli one of her winning smiles. "I'll see you later then!"
"Bye," Eli said, his voice thoughtful.
[[Eli - Cassidy is cute. She's always so happy. I don't think she's ever mad at ANYONE.... I don't think she could ever hate a person. It's nice.]]
"Bye!" Cassidy walked slowly away from him, glancing back over her shoulder, making sure he was watching her walk away.
* * *
"I HATE HIM!" Grace said, slamming her gym locker shut.
"Who?" Julie asked. She caught Grace's look of annoyance. "Oh, you mean Eli."
"Of course him!" Grace said. She had confided in her friend about her and Eli's kiss... and of Eli's failure to say anything about it to her... or to even talk to her for the past week.
[[Grace - I'm I stupid to expect more of Eli? I mean, I've only known him for a little while... but I thought I KNEW him, you know? I didn't think he's just kiss me like that, and pretend it never happened!]]
"Grace, he's ELI! He's popular, and everything. I don't think the kiss meant anything. I mean, your parents are dating and everything, and it would be WEIRD for you and him to date." Julie said as gently as she could.
Grace groaned. She sank to the bench in front of the lockers with a sigh. "I just thought Eli..." Grace cut off her words as she noticed a girl who had just entered the locker room looking over at them.
The girl smiled nicely at her, and Grace tried to place her as the girl walked over.
"Hi, I'm Cassidy!" The girl announced.
[[Grace - *looks confused* Cassidy?]]
Grace and Julie stared at the girl, Cassidy, in surprise. They both could tell the girl must be either a sophomore or a junior, and yet she was talking to them, two unknown freshman. Julie, always eager to find her way into popularity, spoke up first, "Hi, I'm Julie."
"I'm Grace," Grace told Cassidy. Grace couldn't stop herself from asking, "Did you want something?"
Cassidy laughed cheerfully, throwing back her blond hair, "Oh, sorry! I just heard you say Eli's name, and there's only one Eli in this school... so are you two friends with him?"
"I'm not... but Grace is," Julie announced, and Grace glared at her friend.
"I wouldn't call it 'friends'," Grace said angrily. She nudged Julie with her elbow. Julie just rolled her eyes at her friend. Grace noticed Cassidy still watching them, and said quickly, "His dad is dating my mom, that's it."
"Oh!" Cassidy smiled sweetly. "Right! There was that rumor about you and Eli, but it was actually about your parents, right! And there were those other rumors, too. That's why the name was so familiar!"
[[Grace - Oh... I can't believe she brought up the rumors! Ugh!]]
Grace shifted uneasily as Cassidy talked. The mention of 'rumors' still made her feel nervous and sick to her stomach. It wasn't so long ago that the rumors had been ruining her life. She looked to Julie, hoping her friend would want to leave this Cassidy as much as she did, but Julie's eyes were filled with ambitions of popularity.
"I really like your shirt," Julie said to Cassidy.
"Oh, thanks!" Cassidy looked down at her pink shirt and smiled at Julie. "That's so nice! I like your shirt!"
"Thanks!" Julie said, her voice becoming just as energetic as Cassidy's.
"Hey, did you two want to come to my party tonight?" Cassidy asked generously.
"Yeah!" Julie said with a huge smile. "That'd be cool!"
"Great!" Cassidy said, clapping her hands together. She looked at Grace, who was silent. "You're coming too, right?"
"Uh.." Grace did want to spend her night at some pretty popular girl's house.
[[Grace - Cassidy? What kind of name is that? It's like... weird. She's like... weird. I mean, how can someone be THAT happy? It's just NOT possible.]]
"I'm sure Eli would be glad if his friend came!" Cassidy said, encouraging Grace.
Grace felt even less like going if Eli was going to be there, but Julie stepped in for her. "Of course, Grace is going!" Julie announced.
"Oh, goodie! Here's my address. I'll see you girls tonight!" Cassidy handed them a small pink square of paper that said:
PARTY at Cassidy's!!!!
Be there after 7!!!
Lots of fun, bring a friend!!!!
317 N. Crestfield Dr.
[[Grace - *is holding the party invitation, looks at it with a frown* Even her invitation is overly cheerful. *makes a noise of disgust*]]
"Bye, Cass!" Julie called after the girl.
Grace turned on her friend, "Cass?"
Julie shrugged. "She seems nice."
"She seems fake... no one can be THAT nice," Grace said.
"So are you going?" Julie asked, looking over the invitation.
"I don't know." Grace answered with a sigh.
* * *
"Here, how about we just move this here, and put this over here..." Eli said as he rearranged a few items on the kitchen table.
"Perfect!" Cassidy said. She moved closer to him, and Eli could smell the faint scent of strawberry. Cassidy put a hand on Eli's upper arm. "Thanks so much for helping!"
"Oh, it's nothing," Eli said, looking up from the food table into Cassidy's eyes. "Anything for a friend."
Cassidy frowned for a quick second, or maybe Eli only imagined it, because her smile was back just as quick and just as strong. She moved to the kitchen counter and picked up a stack of paper plates. "Do we have room for these too?"
"Uh, sure," Eli said, sifting some bowls and plates, and cleared a spot. "There you go."
Cassidy set down the plates. She looked up over at Eli, carefully studying his profile as he was busy opening a bag of chips. She paused, her smile fading for a moment, but as Eli looked over at her, it was back on. "Did I tell you? I invited your friend, Grace Manning?"
Eli was silent. He poured the bag of chips into a bowl and threw the empty bag into a trashcan.
[[Eli - *is silent, looks at camera, then off to the side, and then down at the floor*]]
"She is your friend, right? Oh, I thought she was!" Cassidy said, getting upset, "I heard her talking about you in the locker room. Oh, I'm sorry, Eli! She said she was friends with you, but I guess girls like her tend to lie."
"Girls like her?" Eli asked, finding his voice.
"Oh, you know! Girls who are desperate for attention! I mean, look at the rumors she was spreading about herself. The girl wants to be popular so bad, so I felt bad for her. So, I invited her... oh, Eli, I can have someone tell her she's uninvited when she arrives, if you want." Cassidy said.
"No, don't do that," Eli said. "I am friends with her, sort of..."
"Oh, good!" Cassidy said, her smile coming back with full force. "I should have never invited her in the first place though... she just doesn't belong with OUR crowd. But I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl."
"Yeah..." Eli said, just to get off the topic of Grace. He headed into the living room with a bowl of chips, feeling Cassidy's eyes following his every movement.
[[Eli - Grace... desperate for attention? Wanting to be popular? *shakes head* No, that's not Grace. She's different.... she's separate from these other high school girls. She's just not like them. It's... it's a good thing.]]
* * *
The Way We Were
Chapter 15//Contemplating Niceness
"Eli!"
Eli turned quickly at the sound of a female voice calling out to him. And his face fell in disappointment as he saw it was just Cassidy. He had been hoping... well, he had been wishing it was Grace. But, no such luck. Ever since that small silent encounter earlier in the week, he hadn't seen Grace at all. And Eli didn't know whether to call her or not, because he just didn't know what to say.
"Eli! You weren't at the party at Joe's last Friday!" Cassidy said loudly, reminding Eli she was still there.
Eli broke out of his daze and looked at the pretty blond. "I had other plans," Eli said quietly. A brief flash of him brushing his lips against Grace's flashed in his head. Eli's thoughts began to drift back to Grace.
"Eli!" Cassidy said again, breaking insistently into his thoughts. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Tonight?" Eli repeated, giving himself time to think. This morning he had woke up, thinking that today was the day he'd clear the air with Grace. Grace was a strong girl, she could take the truth... the kiss had just meant nothing. Eli just had to tell her that. It sounded so easy, this morning, but now Eli once again felt like it was too hard. He felt that once again, he should put it off for another day.
[[Eli - Maybe she'll forget... if I just don't say anything about it. Maybe....... uh, maybe not.]]
"Yeah, I'm having a little get-together, OKAY, a party at my house, and I want you to come!" Cassidy grabbed onto his shirt sleeve. "You HAVE to come, Eli! I need you to come! It would mean SO much to me!"
Eli felt himself craving in. He couldn't resist Cassidy's overwhelming energy. In fact, it had only been last year, before he got with Jen, that Eli had had a crush on Cassidy. She was really cute. "Okay," Eli found himself agreeing.
"Great! It's starts seven! But, you could come early. I could use some help with the food and stuff," Cassidy gave Eli a lingering look with her big blue eyes.
"Yeah, okay," Eli gave in again.
"Great!" Cassidy gave Eli one of her winning smiles. "I'll see you later then!"
"Bye," Eli said, his voice thoughtful.
[[Eli - Cassidy is cute. She's always so happy. I don't think she's ever mad at ANYONE.... I don't think she could ever hate a person. It's nice.]]
"Bye!" Cassidy walked slowly away from him, glancing back over her shoulder, making sure he was watching her walk away.
* * *
"I HATE HIM!" Grace said, slamming her gym locker shut.
"Who?" Julie asked. She caught Grace's look of annoyance. "Oh, you mean Eli."
"Of course him!" Grace said. She had confided in her friend about her and Eli's kiss... and of Eli's failure to say anything about it to her... or to even talk to her for the past week.
[[Grace - I'm I stupid to expect more of Eli? I mean, I've only known him for a little while... but I thought I KNEW him, you know? I didn't think he's just kiss me like that, and pretend it never happened!]]
"Grace, he's ELI! He's popular, and everything. I don't think the kiss meant anything. I mean, your parents are dating and everything, and it would be WEIRD for you and him to date." Julie said as gently as she could.
Grace groaned. She sank to the bench in front of the lockers with a sigh. "I just thought Eli..." Grace cut off her words as she noticed a girl who had just entered the locker room looking over at them.
The girl smiled nicely at her, and Grace tried to place her as the girl walked over.
"Hi, I'm Cassidy!" The girl announced.
[[Grace - *looks confused* Cassidy?]]
Grace and Julie stared at the girl, Cassidy, in surprise. They both could tell the girl must be either a sophomore or a junior, and yet she was talking to them, two unknown freshman. Julie, always eager to find her way into popularity, spoke up first, "Hi, I'm Julie."
"I'm Grace," Grace told Cassidy. Grace couldn't stop herself from asking, "Did you want something?"
Cassidy laughed cheerfully, throwing back her blond hair, "Oh, sorry! I just heard you say Eli's name, and there's only one Eli in this school... so are you two friends with him?"
"I'm not... but Grace is," Julie announced, and Grace glared at her friend.
"I wouldn't call it 'friends'," Grace said angrily. She nudged Julie with her elbow. Julie just rolled her eyes at her friend. Grace noticed Cassidy still watching them, and said quickly, "His dad is dating my mom, that's it."
"Oh!" Cassidy smiled sweetly. "Right! There was that rumor about you and Eli, but it was actually about your parents, right! And there were those other rumors, too. That's why the name was so familiar!"
[[Grace - Oh... I can't believe she brought up the rumors! Ugh!]]
Grace shifted uneasily as Cassidy talked. The mention of 'rumors' still made her feel nervous and sick to her stomach. It wasn't so long ago that the rumors had been ruining her life. She looked to Julie, hoping her friend would want to leave this Cassidy as much as she did, but Julie's eyes were filled with ambitions of popularity.
"I really like your shirt," Julie said to Cassidy.
"Oh, thanks!" Cassidy looked down at her pink shirt and smiled at Julie. "That's so nice! I like your shirt!"
"Thanks!" Julie said, her voice becoming just as energetic as Cassidy's.
"Hey, did you two want to come to my party tonight?" Cassidy asked generously.
"Yeah!" Julie said with a huge smile. "That'd be cool!"
"Great!" Cassidy said, clapping her hands together. She looked at Grace, who was silent. "You're coming too, right?"
"Uh.." Grace did want to spend her night at some pretty popular girl's house.
[[Grace - Cassidy? What kind of name is that? It's like... weird. She's like... weird. I mean, how can someone be THAT happy? It's just NOT possible.]]
"I'm sure Eli would be glad if his friend came!" Cassidy said, encouraging Grace.
Grace felt even less like going if Eli was going to be there, but Julie stepped in for her. "Of course, Grace is going!" Julie announced.
"Oh, goodie! Here's my address. I'll see you girls tonight!" Cassidy handed them a small pink square of paper that said:
PARTY at Cassidy's!!!!
Be there after 7!!!
Lots of fun, bring a friend!!!!
317 N. Crestfield Dr.
[[Grace - *is holding the party invitation, looks at it with a frown* Even her invitation is overly cheerful. *makes a noise of disgust*]]
"Bye, Cass!" Julie called after the girl.
Grace turned on her friend, "Cass?"
Julie shrugged. "She seems nice."
"She seems fake... no one can be THAT nice," Grace said.
"So are you going?" Julie asked, looking over the invitation.
"I don't know." Grace answered with a sigh.
* * *
"Here, how about we just move this here, and put this over here..." Eli said as he rearranged a few items on the kitchen table.
"Perfect!" Cassidy said. She moved closer to him, and Eli could smell the faint scent of strawberry. Cassidy put a hand on Eli's upper arm. "Thanks so much for helping!"
"Oh, it's nothing," Eli said, looking up from the food table into Cassidy's eyes. "Anything for a friend."
Cassidy frowned for a quick second, or maybe Eli only imagined it, because her smile was back just as quick and just as strong. She moved to the kitchen counter and picked up a stack of paper plates. "Do we have room for these too?"
"Uh, sure," Eli said, sifting some bowls and plates, and cleared a spot. "There you go."
Cassidy set down the plates. She looked up over at Eli, carefully studying his profile as he was busy opening a bag of chips. She paused, her smile fading for a moment, but as Eli looked over at her, it was back on. "Did I tell you? I invited your friend, Grace Manning?"
Eli was silent. He poured the bag of chips into a bowl and threw the empty bag into a trashcan.
[[Eli - *is silent, looks at camera, then off to the side, and then down at the floor*]]
"She is your friend, right? Oh, I thought she was!" Cassidy said, getting upset, "I heard her talking about you in the locker room. Oh, I'm sorry, Eli! She said she was friends with you, but I guess girls like her tend to lie."
"Girls like her?" Eli asked, finding his voice.
"Oh, you know! Girls who are desperate for attention! I mean, look at the rumors she was spreading about herself. The girl wants to be popular so bad, so I felt bad for her. So, I invited her... oh, Eli, I can have someone tell her she's uninvited when she arrives, if you want." Cassidy said.
"No, don't do that," Eli said. "I am friends with her, sort of..."
"Oh, good!" Cassidy said, her smile coming back with full force. "I should have never invited her in the first place though... she just doesn't belong with OUR crowd. But I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl."
"Yeah..." Eli said, just to get off the topic of Grace. He headed into the living room with a bowl of chips, feeling Cassidy's eyes following his every movement.
[[Eli - Grace... desperate for attention? Wanting to be popular? *shakes head* No, that's not Grace. She's different.... she's separate from these other high school girls. She's just not like them. It's... it's a good thing.]]
* * *
