"Hey, El!" Ashley greeted her, "Where did you go?" *She doesn't look very happy, but then again, she hardly ever looks happy.*
Ellie slowly sunk into the couch, "I just went for a walk," she shrugged.
Ashley smiled as she turned and sat in a chair across from Ellie, "You didn't do anything interesting?" Ashley shrugged.
"Nothing worth talking about," Ellie answered as she thought Sean's strange behavior.
Ashley became even more intrigued. *What happened? * She waited for Ellie to elaborate, but after an awkward moment of silence, she had to ask, "Did you go to Sean's?"
Ellie shrugged, "Yeah, for a little bit."
Ashley frowned. *What happened?!* She realized that no matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to get any information from Ellie. *That's another big difference between Paige and Ellie. If Paige does anything, she immediately has to tell somebody. Ellie, on the other hand, will make you pry for days before she gives in.*
"What are you doing tonight?" Ellie asked casually.
"I dunno. Craig wants to go to the movies, or something, but I think it sounds too much like a date. What do you think?"
Ellie plastered a fake smile on, "I think it's great that you and Craig are friends again," *. Has she forgotten what he did to her? Or has she just completely lost her mind? * Ellie decided on the latter, and awaited Ashley's decision. *I don't want to go home. Chances are that she'll be there. On the couch, passed out . . .* Ellie shuddered at the thought of seeing her mother that way. Even though she should have been used to it, Ellie figured there was no way of growing accustomed to seeing your mom in that state.
"You're right Ellie. He said he wants to be friends. I go to the movies with Jimmy, just as friends, so why shouldn't I be able to go with Craig?" *Because I think I still have feelings for him.* Ashley answered her own question.
"What time does the movie start?" Ellie asked casually. *Please don't let it be till late.*
"I don't know. I'll go call Craig now and see," Ashley hopped out of her chair, and picked up the phone receiver.
Ellie let out a long sigh. *Well, this is just great. I'm gonna have to go home.*
A few minutes later, Ashley came back into the livingroom, smiling brightly, "It starts in two hours, but Craig asked me out to an early dinner! I need to hurry and get ready!"
Ashley quickly took off to her room, then stopped dead in her tracks when she remembered Ellie. *I shouldn't just leave her. I mean, Craig and I are just going as friends.* She turned around, and saw Ellie opening the door, "Where are you going?"
"I figured that I should be getting home, so you could get ready," Ellie shrugged.
Ashley pulled her back in, and shut the door, "Why don't you come with us?"
Ellie shook her head, "Ash, I don't want to be the third wheel," she started to reach for the doorknob again.
Ashley stopped her, "Fist of all, Craig and I are just friends. You wouldn't be intruding or anything. Second of all, I could call Craig and ask him to invite somebody."
Ellie hesitated, but she figured it had to be better than going home. *Anything is better than that place right now.* She finally agreed, and Ashley and she went to call Craig again.
*Stop ringing, dammit!* Sean was lying on the couch, trying to sleep, but the awful sound of the phone would not stop. Finally, Sean gave in, and slowly rose to get the phone, "Hello?" He grunted.
"Sean? This is Craig," Sean groaned at the excitement in Craig's voice, "Do you have any plans tonight?"
"That all depends," Sean answered, choosing his words carefully. *Why is he trying to be friends again? *
"Well, Ashley and I are going to the movies," Craig paused for a dramatic effect, "And since things went so well between you and Ellie last night, I thought you would like to come . . ."
"Uh-uh. Not a good idea Craig," Sean protested, "Ellie and I, we're . . .we're just not alike."
Craig scoffed, "Come on! You two are perfect for each other! You both listen to the same music, you got the same 'I don't give a damn' attitude, and . . . you wanna help me out."
Sean hesitated, "She came over this morning."
"That just proves my point! She likes you Sean! Just go to the movies with us," Craig pleaded. *I want to make sure everything is still fine between Ash and me.*
"Actually, I might have been kind of rude to her," Sean admitted.
"Kind of rude?" Craig questioned.
"Okay, really rude," Sean sighed, "I was just so tired, I was out with Jay and Towerz all night, so I hadn't slept."
*Figures. I knew those guys were having a bad effect on Sean. They don't understand him like he thinks they do. They're just making him believe that he's like them. I wish Sean knew he was better than that. His self-esteem is too low.*
"Well, I told Ash, and Ellie that I'd have a friend come, so you have to," Craig pushed.
"Ellie probably doesn't even want me there," Sean reasoned, "Has she already agreed to this?"
"Yeah," Craig half-lied. *Well, she did agree to come, just not exactly with him.*
Craig could tell that Sean was thinking it over, "I still don't know man. You weren't there today, you don't know the things I said to her. I think I hurt her feelings."
"Sean, you didn't hurt Ellie's feelings, okay? So, just get over it, and come with us," Craig began to wonder what Sean had said to Ellie. *Nobody has ever hurt her feelings, right? At least she's never shown it. What did Sean say that made her react in a way that he knew he had gone to far? *
Sean ran a hand through his short dirty blonde hair, deciding wether or not to go. *Why was I so mean to her? I don't want to be hanging around if there's a lot of awkward silence.* He remembered how last night, he was concerned for Ellie, and yet, he still had a good time. Then, a little later, he went to a party with Jay and Towerz, and for the first time, they actually irritated him. He tried to leave their party earlier, but he didn't want to be rude. They finally took him out to the garage, and had him work on the car, and he started to feel better. The only time Sean felt that everything was going to be fine, that his future was bright, was when he was working on cars. He eventually lost track of time, and didn't manage to leave till morning. He wasn't sure if his uncouthly behavior was because of lack of sleep, or too much time with Jay and Towerz.
Sean sighed in defeat, "What time should I be at your house?"
"What's he doing here?" Ellie whispered to Ashley as they were getting their coats.
Ashley handed Ellie a coat to borrow, "All we asked was for Craig to bring a friend, we didn't exactly request anyone!"
They walked outside where the guys were waiting, and Craig smiled as he saw Ashley. Sean looked at his feet as he saw the disappointed look on Ellie's face. *Well, why should I be surprised? I should be used to that look by now.*
"Okay," Craig said, sensing the tension between Ellie and Sean, "We should get going."
They walked down the sidewalk in silence. Sean was embarrassed about the things he had said to Ellie. *She saw Tracker in his pajamas too! This is just great! The awkward silence is worse than I thought it would be.*
Ellie was angry, and every now and then, would roll her eyes. *Why would he come? He isn't even friends with us.* She sighed. *I should've went home to at least check on Mom.*
Soon they reached The Dot, and they filed inside. The table they had sat at the previous night was open, so they chose to sit there. Ashley would occasionally look up, and smile at Craig. *This is a good thing, right? She hasn't yelled, or brought up Manny. Oh, and she's smiling again.*
Craig returned Ashley's smile as Spinner approached their table. He had a quizzical expression on his face as he recognized the four people at the table. He smirked to himself, "Hey you guys! Can I get you anything?"
They all ordered, and Spinner had to ask, "So . . . is this like the double date from hell? Or what?"
Everybody looked up at him, "What's that supposed to mean?" Sean asked.
"Well, you got the two social outcasts who think that everyone is so superficial. And the girl who vowed never to speak to her ex-boyfriend again after he cheated on her with a younger girl, all out on a date." Spinner shrugged, "Just interesting, that's all."
The four stared at him. *What happened to him?* Craig didn't understand why Spinner was being such a jerk.
"Ellie, how's that arm of yours?" Spinner asked with a devilish look.
Ellie's eyes widened, and Sean stood up. He looked back at the table, and saw anger on Ashley's face, and Craig looking very confused. *Ash knows.* He figured. *Who told Spinner?*
"Spinner, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Sean asked. *Don't hit him. Don't hit him. . .* Sean kept himself in line.
As soon as they were outside, Sean spun around, and slammed Spinner against the building, "What the hell was that about?"
Sean could see the fear in Spinner's eyes. Soon as it had appeared, it was gone, and he croaked, "Did I tell you the interesting news Paige informed me about?"
Sean stared intently at Spinner, "Paige told you?"
"That's not what this is about," Spinner managed to get out before Sean slammed him against the wall again.
"Who told you?" Sean demanded, loosening his grip a little.
"Well, last night, Paige told me she didn't think we were working out," Spinner went on, his fear of Sean not perceptible.
Sean let him drop to the ground, "Did she tell you something about Ellie?" Sean was growing impatient.
"She might have," Spinner smirked.
"Are you doing this in some sick, twisted way to get back at Paige?" Sean raised one eyebrow.
He took Spinner's silence as a 'yes'. He groaned, and ran a hand through his hair, "Have you told anyone else?"
Spinner shook his head, and his phobia of Sean was returning with a vengeance.
"Okay, but if I hear anybody talking about it, then I'll hunt you down and . . ."
Craig opened the door and looked around, "Hey, Sean. What's going on?" Sean and Spinner both turned to look at Craig.
Sean assured, "Everything's fine, we're done," he gave one last threatening look at Spinner, before following Craig inside.
"Hey, the movie's about to start, so let's forget about dinner," Ashley said as she met the guys at the door.
Sean and Ellie fell behind Craig and Ashley as they walked. Ellie still had the same shocked expression on her face that she had when Spinner first opened his big mouth.
"Ellie, are you okay?" Sean asked. He was really concerned for her. He hardly even knew her, but she didn't seem like the kind of person who liked to have her life in the spotlight.
"Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Sean could tell by her tone, that she wanted him to tell her how Spinner found out.
"I guess Paige told Spinner some stuff," Sean turned to see how Ellie reacted. Her eyes narrowed, and she clenched her jaw, "And, they broke up last night, so I guess this is his form of revenge."
Ellie nodded her head. They walked in silence for a while, and once and while they'd hear Ashley laugh at one of Craig's jokes in front of them.
Finally, Sean broke the silence, "Hey Ellie?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," Sean apologized.
"For what?"
"Everything. Assuming things before I really got to know you. My behavior this morning. You having to see Tracker in his pajamas."
Ellie smiled at his last comment. She thought about the first thing he listed, "Hey Sean?"
"Yeah?"
"You weren't wrong about everything."
Ellie slowly sunk into the couch, "I just went for a walk," she shrugged.
Ashley smiled as she turned and sat in a chair across from Ellie, "You didn't do anything interesting?" Ashley shrugged.
"Nothing worth talking about," Ellie answered as she thought Sean's strange behavior.
Ashley became even more intrigued. *What happened? * She waited for Ellie to elaborate, but after an awkward moment of silence, she had to ask, "Did you go to Sean's?"
Ellie shrugged, "Yeah, for a little bit."
Ashley frowned. *What happened?!* She realized that no matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to get any information from Ellie. *That's another big difference between Paige and Ellie. If Paige does anything, she immediately has to tell somebody. Ellie, on the other hand, will make you pry for days before she gives in.*
"What are you doing tonight?" Ellie asked casually.
"I dunno. Craig wants to go to the movies, or something, but I think it sounds too much like a date. What do you think?"
Ellie plastered a fake smile on, "I think it's great that you and Craig are friends again," *. Has she forgotten what he did to her? Or has she just completely lost her mind? * Ellie decided on the latter, and awaited Ashley's decision. *I don't want to go home. Chances are that she'll be there. On the couch, passed out . . .* Ellie shuddered at the thought of seeing her mother that way. Even though she should have been used to it, Ellie figured there was no way of growing accustomed to seeing your mom in that state.
"You're right Ellie. He said he wants to be friends. I go to the movies with Jimmy, just as friends, so why shouldn't I be able to go with Craig?" *Because I think I still have feelings for him.* Ashley answered her own question.
"What time does the movie start?" Ellie asked casually. *Please don't let it be till late.*
"I don't know. I'll go call Craig now and see," Ashley hopped out of her chair, and picked up the phone receiver.
Ellie let out a long sigh. *Well, this is just great. I'm gonna have to go home.*
A few minutes later, Ashley came back into the livingroom, smiling brightly, "It starts in two hours, but Craig asked me out to an early dinner! I need to hurry and get ready!"
Ashley quickly took off to her room, then stopped dead in her tracks when she remembered Ellie. *I shouldn't just leave her. I mean, Craig and I are just going as friends.* She turned around, and saw Ellie opening the door, "Where are you going?"
"I figured that I should be getting home, so you could get ready," Ellie shrugged.
Ashley pulled her back in, and shut the door, "Why don't you come with us?"
Ellie shook her head, "Ash, I don't want to be the third wheel," she started to reach for the doorknob again.
Ashley stopped her, "Fist of all, Craig and I are just friends. You wouldn't be intruding or anything. Second of all, I could call Craig and ask him to invite somebody."
Ellie hesitated, but she figured it had to be better than going home. *Anything is better than that place right now.* She finally agreed, and Ashley and she went to call Craig again.
*Stop ringing, dammit!* Sean was lying on the couch, trying to sleep, but the awful sound of the phone would not stop. Finally, Sean gave in, and slowly rose to get the phone, "Hello?" He grunted.
"Sean? This is Craig," Sean groaned at the excitement in Craig's voice, "Do you have any plans tonight?"
"That all depends," Sean answered, choosing his words carefully. *Why is he trying to be friends again? *
"Well, Ashley and I are going to the movies," Craig paused for a dramatic effect, "And since things went so well between you and Ellie last night, I thought you would like to come . . ."
"Uh-uh. Not a good idea Craig," Sean protested, "Ellie and I, we're . . .we're just not alike."
Craig scoffed, "Come on! You two are perfect for each other! You both listen to the same music, you got the same 'I don't give a damn' attitude, and . . . you wanna help me out."
Sean hesitated, "She came over this morning."
"That just proves my point! She likes you Sean! Just go to the movies with us," Craig pleaded. *I want to make sure everything is still fine between Ash and me.*
"Actually, I might have been kind of rude to her," Sean admitted.
"Kind of rude?" Craig questioned.
"Okay, really rude," Sean sighed, "I was just so tired, I was out with Jay and Towerz all night, so I hadn't slept."
*Figures. I knew those guys were having a bad effect on Sean. They don't understand him like he thinks they do. They're just making him believe that he's like them. I wish Sean knew he was better than that. His self-esteem is too low.*
"Well, I told Ash, and Ellie that I'd have a friend come, so you have to," Craig pushed.
"Ellie probably doesn't even want me there," Sean reasoned, "Has she already agreed to this?"
"Yeah," Craig half-lied. *Well, she did agree to come, just not exactly with him.*
Craig could tell that Sean was thinking it over, "I still don't know man. You weren't there today, you don't know the things I said to her. I think I hurt her feelings."
"Sean, you didn't hurt Ellie's feelings, okay? So, just get over it, and come with us," Craig began to wonder what Sean had said to Ellie. *Nobody has ever hurt her feelings, right? At least she's never shown it. What did Sean say that made her react in a way that he knew he had gone to far? *
Sean ran a hand through his short dirty blonde hair, deciding wether or not to go. *Why was I so mean to her? I don't want to be hanging around if there's a lot of awkward silence.* He remembered how last night, he was concerned for Ellie, and yet, he still had a good time. Then, a little later, he went to a party with Jay and Towerz, and for the first time, they actually irritated him. He tried to leave their party earlier, but he didn't want to be rude. They finally took him out to the garage, and had him work on the car, and he started to feel better. The only time Sean felt that everything was going to be fine, that his future was bright, was when he was working on cars. He eventually lost track of time, and didn't manage to leave till morning. He wasn't sure if his uncouthly behavior was because of lack of sleep, or too much time with Jay and Towerz.
Sean sighed in defeat, "What time should I be at your house?"
"What's he doing here?" Ellie whispered to Ashley as they were getting their coats.
Ashley handed Ellie a coat to borrow, "All we asked was for Craig to bring a friend, we didn't exactly request anyone!"
They walked outside where the guys were waiting, and Craig smiled as he saw Ashley. Sean looked at his feet as he saw the disappointed look on Ellie's face. *Well, why should I be surprised? I should be used to that look by now.*
"Okay," Craig said, sensing the tension between Ellie and Sean, "We should get going."
They walked down the sidewalk in silence. Sean was embarrassed about the things he had said to Ellie. *She saw Tracker in his pajamas too! This is just great! The awkward silence is worse than I thought it would be.*
Ellie was angry, and every now and then, would roll her eyes. *Why would he come? He isn't even friends with us.* She sighed. *I should've went home to at least check on Mom.*
Soon they reached The Dot, and they filed inside. The table they had sat at the previous night was open, so they chose to sit there. Ashley would occasionally look up, and smile at Craig. *This is a good thing, right? She hasn't yelled, or brought up Manny. Oh, and she's smiling again.*
Craig returned Ashley's smile as Spinner approached their table. He had a quizzical expression on his face as he recognized the four people at the table. He smirked to himself, "Hey you guys! Can I get you anything?"
They all ordered, and Spinner had to ask, "So . . . is this like the double date from hell? Or what?"
Everybody looked up at him, "What's that supposed to mean?" Sean asked.
"Well, you got the two social outcasts who think that everyone is so superficial. And the girl who vowed never to speak to her ex-boyfriend again after he cheated on her with a younger girl, all out on a date." Spinner shrugged, "Just interesting, that's all."
The four stared at him. *What happened to him?* Craig didn't understand why Spinner was being such a jerk.
"Ellie, how's that arm of yours?" Spinner asked with a devilish look.
Ellie's eyes widened, and Sean stood up. He looked back at the table, and saw anger on Ashley's face, and Craig looking very confused. *Ash knows.* He figured. *Who told Spinner?*
"Spinner, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Sean asked. *Don't hit him. Don't hit him. . .* Sean kept himself in line.
As soon as they were outside, Sean spun around, and slammed Spinner against the building, "What the hell was that about?"
Sean could see the fear in Spinner's eyes. Soon as it had appeared, it was gone, and he croaked, "Did I tell you the interesting news Paige informed me about?"
Sean stared intently at Spinner, "Paige told you?"
"That's not what this is about," Spinner managed to get out before Sean slammed him against the wall again.
"Who told you?" Sean demanded, loosening his grip a little.
"Well, last night, Paige told me she didn't think we were working out," Spinner went on, his fear of Sean not perceptible.
Sean let him drop to the ground, "Did she tell you something about Ellie?" Sean was growing impatient.
"She might have," Spinner smirked.
"Are you doing this in some sick, twisted way to get back at Paige?" Sean raised one eyebrow.
He took Spinner's silence as a 'yes'. He groaned, and ran a hand through his hair, "Have you told anyone else?"
Spinner shook his head, and his phobia of Sean was returning with a vengeance.
"Okay, but if I hear anybody talking about it, then I'll hunt you down and . . ."
Craig opened the door and looked around, "Hey, Sean. What's going on?" Sean and Spinner both turned to look at Craig.
Sean assured, "Everything's fine, we're done," he gave one last threatening look at Spinner, before following Craig inside.
"Hey, the movie's about to start, so let's forget about dinner," Ashley said as she met the guys at the door.
Sean and Ellie fell behind Craig and Ashley as they walked. Ellie still had the same shocked expression on her face that she had when Spinner first opened his big mouth.
"Ellie, are you okay?" Sean asked. He was really concerned for her. He hardly even knew her, but she didn't seem like the kind of person who liked to have her life in the spotlight.
"Yeah, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Sean could tell by her tone, that she wanted him to tell her how Spinner found out.
"I guess Paige told Spinner some stuff," Sean turned to see how Ellie reacted. Her eyes narrowed, and she clenched her jaw, "And, they broke up last night, so I guess this is his form of revenge."
Ellie nodded her head. They walked in silence for a while, and once and while they'd hear Ashley laugh at one of Craig's jokes in front of them.
Finally, Sean broke the silence, "Hey Ellie?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," Sean apologized.
"For what?"
"Everything. Assuming things before I really got to know you. My behavior this morning. You having to see Tracker in his pajamas."
Ellie smiled at his last comment. She thought about the first thing he listed, "Hey Sean?"
"Yeah?"
"You weren't wrong about everything."