Chapter 11: Taking Back What's Mine
Ellie's POV
I furiously started my walk home after my co-op. After what seemed
like the worst day ever, I was finally free to just lay around at home. The
teachers at school had miraculously given us no homework as some sort of
student appreciation thing. This meant I could look for a job all night
with no distractions. I especially wouldn't be distracted by Sean, since he
wouldn't even look at me at school. Not that I blamed him... I did go pretty
psycho last night. But it happens to everyone.
"Ellie!" I groaned as I slowed down my pace so Craig could catch up
with me. What did he want? "Hey, a bunch of us are getting together at
Jimmy's tonight for pizza and movies. You should come."
Pizza and movies at Jimmy's? When did I become such a social
butterfly? I'm sure Marco put them up to it. But I wouldn't go anyways, I
had too much to do... still, being carefree for one night couldn't hurt,
right? It's not like I didn't have an obscene amount of money in my savings
account. I could always use that until I found a decent job. "Sure. I'll
come."
Craig looked surprised at my answer. He must have figured I'd turn
them all down and stay a recluse in my home. "You can bring Sean if you
want."
I almost laughed. Almost. I doubted Sean wanted anything to do with
me at the moment. "It's okay. Sean has other plans."
We walked in silence towards Jimmy's until Craig broke it. "So when
did you want together to take those practice shots for the catalogue?"
Another groan almost passed my lips but I squelched it. "Whenever is
fine. You pick." I had seriously hoped that Craig had forgotten all about
that. As if he could.
"Well, I have to have them in by Monday so I was thinking maybe
tomorrow. Wednesday is your day off from your co-op isn't it?" I looked at
him in surprise. How did he know? "I asked Caitlin. Sorry. I'm not stalking
you or anything."
I smirked at him and then lifted a shoulder in response, "That's
okay. After school?"
"Yeah, I'll meet you at your locker and then we can walk over to the
studio together."
Yay. I ran my hand over the top of my hair and sighed. I do that a
lot- sighing, I mean. "So, should I bring anything?"
Craig shook his head, "No. We have all the clothes at the studio. I
have a feeling this project is going to turn out great. I really want to
impress my boss, you know?"
I nodded and gave him a real smile. "I bet you do. That's how I feel
with Caitlin. I can't stand making even a tiny mistake, but she's real cool
about everything. She always tells me I'm doing a great job."
"Yeah, Caitlin's a really nice person. I'm glad her and Joey are
together. They're good for each other. He kind of grounds her and she kind
of loosens him up a bit."
"That's always good." I didn't know what else to say. It was weird
talking about other people's relationships with Craig. Finally we reached
Jimmy's apartment. I let out a sigh of relief and made sure I didn't have
any eye contact with Craig the rest of the way up to the apartment. We
arrived just as the pizza guy was leaving and everyone immediately dug into
the pizza.
I stood back from the crowd until everyone was finished getting their
slices. I might as well grab one, I hadn't eaten anything all day. I picked
up a plate and put a small piece of cheese pizza on it. As I sprinkled some
crushed red peppers on it, Marco came to my side. "How are you doing, El?"
I looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. "Well, my mom's barely
ever home because she's working on some huge project, my dad is fighting in
a war, and Sean is mad at me."
"Sean's mad at you?" He took my hand and led me away from the others
so we could talk better.
I fiddled with the pizza on the plate, "Yeah... I got angry with him
yesterday, and I think I scared him off. Imagine that, huh?" I couldn't
help but add a dry laugh to the end of my sentence. I always find a way to
mess up anything good that comes my way.
Marco gave me a sympathetic look and was about to say something when
I heard the loudest belch right in my ear. I cringed and looked over my
shoulder to see Spinner standing there. "Are you girls done with your
little girl talk? We'd like to start the movie."
I gave Spinner a disgusted look and walked over to the couch with
Marco. Marco took a seat next to Dylan, and I was stuck sitting next to...
guess who... Craig. Craig looked up at me nervously as I sat next to him and
leaned back into the pillows. I saw Hazel and Paige give each other a look
before looking at me and Craig. Then they giggled. What they were giggling
about, I don't know. But it was real annoying.
I spent the entire night sitting as far away from Craig as possible
while he slowly inched his hand closer to mine. The poor boy was breathing
so heavy, I'm sure the doorman could hear him. He kept asking me weird
questions like "Are you okay?", "Are you enjoying the movie?", and "Are you
scared?". All I wanted, was to watch the movie without worrying about Craig
making moves on me. Good thing Ashley wasn't there or she'd go all psycho
on me.
After the movie ended (it sucked by the way), I decided I was going
to call it a night rather than stay for what Paige called "girl talk"
between the girls. Gross... As I headed out the door, I felt someone's hand
grab my shoulder. All I was thinking was "Please don't let it be Craig".
And guess who it was? Craig!
"Do you want someone to walk you home?" He asked me eagerly.
Didn't he get the message? Did he need me to spell it out for him
that I wasn't interested in him that way? I shook my head silently before
walking out. Maybe I'd go see Sean. Apologize for the way I acted- if he'd
even let me in the door.
By the time I reached Sean's, it was starting to get pretty late. He
had to be home. If he was even out with Jay or Amy I'd kill him. He had a
major science test coming up that he needed to ace. I gave his door a sharp
knock and ran my hands down my clothes to smooth any wrinkles that had
formed from my excursion from the "good" side of town to the "bad" side.
After a few seconds I could hear his footsteps nearing and a huge smile
just broke across my face. He was home. He wasn't out getting in trouble. I
had been so worked up I hadn't even noticed the other cars in the driveway
or how loud the music from his stereo was playing. Was he having a party?!
Sean threw open the door, beer in hand, and a grin on his face. My
own smile fell from my face, "Sean?"
He rolled his eyes and walked out onto the porch with me. "What do
you want, Ellie?"
My eyes glanced between his face and the beer. "What's going on?
You're having a party now?"
"What? Am I not allowed to have fun without you? Or at all, since you
were never much fun in the first place. Listen Ellie, the whole world
doesn't revolve around you, and I can do whatever I want. So don't lecture
me about anything."
I clenched my fists until my fingernails tore into my palm, "I
wasn't! I just asked you if-"
I was cut off by the door opening and Amy tumbling out, grabbing onto
Sean's neck to keep herself out. "Seannie-poo! Come back in, we were just
getting started!"
I looked with disgust at her arms snaked around Sean's neck. They
were massaging the tense muscles in his neck. That was my job. HER hands
were touching my man. I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't. I had
had enough of her trying to come in between me and Sean. Then I watched as
she actually leaned in and kissed Sean. Before I could even blink, I had
that bitch down on the floor of the porch. "What were you just starting?
Huh? Answer me!" I backhanded her across the face- tame, but effective.
"Get off of me!" She sputtered, clawing at my hair.
I wrenched her arms out of my hair and pinned them to the ground
while I screamed in her face- calling her anything I could think of, asking
her what the hell she was doing with my boyfriend, everything that I ever
had wanted to say to her, I said. She wrestled her hands free from mine and
scratched me across the face. "You stupid vampire!" She spat at me.
That was it. That broke the straw. I brought my right arm back and
punched her across the face. I hoped that I had broken that perfect nose of
hers. Then I just grabbed the sides of her hair and shook her head around
while tears spilled from my eyes. I didn't even realize I was crying until
I saw them drop onto her. Every time I hit her or pulled her hair, I
thought of a time when someone had ignored me, or lied to me, or abandoned
me, or made fun of me. Most of all, I remembered every time someone
whispered "vampire" as I walked into a room. I was crying so hard by then I
couldn't even breathe.
Finally, one of the spectators made a grab for me. It took Jay,
Towerz, and Sean to wrench me off of Amy. She just looked up at me, blood
streaming from her nose and a black eye already starting to form. I could
feel the scratch marks from her nails on my cheek, but I knew they weren't
as bad as the ones I had left on her face. I sobbed and tried to run away,
but Sean pulled me towards him. "Leave me alone, Sean! Let me go!" I tried
to push away from him, I hit against his chest, but finally I just gave up
and collapsed in even more tears. He enveloped me in a hug and just stroked
my hair. "Party's over," I heard him mutter and pretty soon everyone was
gone except for me and him.
Sean sat me down on the porch stairs and examined my face. I couldn't
even look him in the eye until I remembered how Amy had been throwing
herself at him in front of me. I met his glance. "Did you want her
tonight?"
"What?" He asked incredulously.
I drug a fist across my eye, "Did you want her? Amy? Did you want her
tonight?"
Sean grabbed my hands and squeezed them, "No! No, of course not. That
was all her, not me."
I looked away, "Good. Because if you had... I've been hurt before,
Sean. Seriously hurt. I don't like cheaters."
Sean took my face and turned it towards his, "I would never hurt you.
You don't understand how much I care about you."
I just looked at him. He seemed to be telling the truth. We both
needed each other in our lives. We had connected that Saturday morning and
now we were just helping each other survive life. I broke out into a teary
smile. "I am so stupid. I should have known..."
"No. What you did. That was good. You need to stand up for yourself
like that more often."
"If I ever hear anyone say vampi-"
Sean hushed me and pulled me towards him. His lips brushed against
mine and I smiled against his mouth. There was no way I could ever let this
feeling go. So what if I was going to go to school tomorrow with red
scratches all down my face and bruises? If this is what it was over, it was
all worth it. Plus, Amy was going to look even shittier.
Marco's POV
So the rumors are true. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I stood by
the entrance to school and waited for Ellie and Sean to catch up. For
someone who was in a fight, Ellie sure looked happy. Of course, she must
have won. I cleared my throat and she looked over at me. "So, Ellie. I hear
you got pretty wild last night?"
She rolled her eyes- her trademark move- and shrugged it off. Which
only meant that it was true. Sean raised her arm in a victory movie, "Yeah,
and she kicked some ass."
I laughed and shook my head in disbelief. Here I thought Ellie was
some sweet girl, and here she was getting in fights. "So that's why you
left Jimmy's so early. Everyone was wondering what had happened. Now I can
tell them something more interesting."
Ellie rolled her eyes –again! -, "Please. Nobody cared that I left.
Least of all, you! You were too busy flirting with Dylan!"
I noticed that for a split-second she looked hurt and her tone was
almost accusatory. But I decided to just let it go. It wasn't easy for her
to see me with Dylan, I was sure. I wiggled my eyebrows, "Yeah, well, Craig
sure cared." With that I ran off laughing to myself. Leave Ellie alone to
fill Sean in on all the details.
Oh and what a coincidence! There was Craig now, shooting down the
hallway like a man on a mission. He stopped when he saw me and waved.
"Marco! Have you seen Ellie?"
I smirked slightly, but then put an innocent look on my face. "Oh,
she's with Sean."
"Sean?"
"Yeah, they're kind of going out. Steady."
"Having hot, steamy sex!" Spinner added in as he walked up behind
Craig.
I glared at him, "That's personal."
"Eh, everyone already knows. It's no secret."
I noticed that Craig's face had gotten a little green since that last
comment by Spinner. Man, this guy was seriously crushing. I waited until
Spinner finished his small talk and left before asking Craig about it. "So,
what's with you and Ellie?"
Craig looked surprised, "Nothing! Nothing's going on. I'm just
photographing her."
"And why her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she's gorgeous, but it's not like you guys are really good
friends or anything. I just figured you'd pick Ashley before anyone else."
Craig shook his head as he opened his locker, "Ashley's not different
enough... Plus, I don' t know..."
"Plus, you have a crush on a certain girl named Ellie?"
"Yeah..." Man, this kid looked totally helpless. I had to stop myself
from laughing.
"Okay, Craig. I'm just going to lay it out. Ellie's found herself
someone who really makes her happy. Don't mess that up."
"I never said I was going to mess it up," he snapped back at me.
I looked towards the ceiling than back at him, "I know. But listen.
I've never seen her like this before. Sean's good for her. Just don't
confuse her. She has enough crap going on in her life."
Craig bit his lip and then nodded in agreement. "You're right. I
won't tell her."
"Thank you!" I was relieved. I did not need Ellie calling me at three
in the morning over some boy troubles. Our 1:00 AM-Ellie's-bored-out-of-her-
mind-conversations were bad enough. Then I thought of something, "Hey
Craig? Also, if you do anything about this little crush- Ashley will get
pissed off. And she will take it out on Ellie. Keep that in mind."
Craig didn't meet my eye but he nodded again. I figured that would
keep him quiet. If he liked Ellie he wouldn't want to get her in trouble
with her friends. Ellie may not think I pay attention to her anymore, but I
do a lot of work behind the scenes to try and make her life as simple as I
can. I quickly jotted down in my planner a reminder to call her later. We
really needed to have a quality telephone conversation. I closed my locker
and sighed. Hopefully at a decent time.
Ellie's POV
I furiously started my walk home after my co-op. After what seemed
like the worst day ever, I was finally free to just lay around at home. The
teachers at school had miraculously given us no homework as some sort of
student appreciation thing. This meant I could look for a job all night
with no distractions. I especially wouldn't be distracted by Sean, since he
wouldn't even look at me at school. Not that I blamed him... I did go pretty
psycho last night. But it happens to everyone.
"Ellie!" I groaned as I slowed down my pace so Craig could catch up
with me. What did he want? "Hey, a bunch of us are getting together at
Jimmy's tonight for pizza and movies. You should come."
Pizza and movies at Jimmy's? When did I become such a social
butterfly? I'm sure Marco put them up to it. But I wouldn't go anyways, I
had too much to do... still, being carefree for one night couldn't hurt,
right? It's not like I didn't have an obscene amount of money in my savings
account. I could always use that until I found a decent job. "Sure. I'll
come."
Craig looked surprised at my answer. He must have figured I'd turn
them all down and stay a recluse in my home. "You can bring Sean if you
want."
I almost laughed. Almost. I doubted Sean wanted anything to do with
me at the moment. "It's okay. Sean has other plans."
We walked in silence towards Jimmy's until Craig broke it. "So when
did you want together to take those practice shots for the catalogue?"
Another groan almost passed my lips but I squelched it. "Whenever is
fine. You pick." I had seriously hoped that Craig had forgotten all about
that. As if he could.
"Well, I have to have them in by Monday so I was thinking maybe
tomorrow. Wednesday is your day off from your co-op isn't it?" I looked at
him in surprise. How did he know? "I asked Caitlin. Sorry. I'm not stalking
you or anything."
I smirked at him and then lifted a shoulder in response, "That's
okay. After school?"
"Yeah, I'll meet you at your locker and then we can walk over to the
studio together."
Yay. I ran my hand over the top of my hair and sighed. I do that a
lot- sighing, I mean. "So, should I bring anything?"
Craig shook his head, "No. We have all the clothes at the studio. I
have a feeling this project is going to turn out great. I really want to
impress my boss, you know?"
I nodded and gave him a real smile. "I bet you do. That's how I feel
with Caitlin. I can't stand making even a tiny mistake, but she's real cool
about everything. She always tells me I'm doing a great job."
"Yeah, Caitlin's a really nice person. I'm glad her and Joey are
together. They're good for each other. He kind of grounds her and she kind
of loosens him up a bit."
"That's always good." I didn't know what else to say. It was weird
talking about other people's relationships with Craig. Finally we reached
Jimmy's apartment. I let out a sigh of relief and made sure I didn't have
any eye contact with Craig the rest of the way up to the apartment. We
arrived just as the pizza guy was leaving and everyone immediately dug into
the pizza.
I stood back from the crowd until everyone was finished getting their
slices. I might as well grab one, I hadn't eaten anything all day. I picked
up a plate and put a small piece of cheese pizza on it. As I sprinkled some
crushed red peppers on it, Marco came to my side. "How are you doing, El?"
I looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. "Well, my mom's barely
ever home because she's working on some huge project, my dad is fighting in
a war, and Sean is mad at me."
"Sean's mad at you?" He took my hand and led me away from the others
so we could talk better.
I fiddled with the pizza on the plate, "Yeah... I got angry with him
yesterday, and I think I scared him off. Imagine that, huh?" I couldn't
help but add a dry laugh to the end of my sentence. I always find a way to
mess up anything good that comes my way.
Marco gave me a sympathetic look and was about to say something when
I heard the loudest belch right in my ear. I cringed and looked over my
shoulder to see Spinner standing there. "Are you girls done with your
little girl talk? We'd like to start the movie."
I gave Spinner a disgusted look and walked over to the couch with
Marco. Marco took a seat next to Dylan, and I was stuck sitting next to...
guess who... Craig. Craig looked up at me nervously as I sat next to him and
leaned back into the pillows. I saw Hazel and Paige give each other a look
before looking at me and Craig. Then they giggled. What they were giggling
about, I don't know. But it was real annoying.
I spent the entire night sitting as far away from Craig as possible
while he slowly inched his hand closer to mine. The poor boy was breathing
so heavy, I'm sure the doorman could hear him. He kept asking me weird
questions like "Are you okay?", "Are you enjoying the movie?", and "Are you
scared?". All I wanted, was to watch the movie without worrying about Craig
making moves on me. Good thing Ashley wasn't there or she'd go all psycho
on me.
After the movie ended (it sucked by the way), I decided I was going
to call it a night rather than stay for what Paige called "girl talk"
between the girls. Gross... As I headed out the door, I felt someone's hand
grab my shoulder. All I was thinking was "Please don't let it be Craig".
And guess who it was? Craig!
"Do you want someone to walk you home?" He asked me eagerly.
Didn't he get the message? Did he need me to spell it out for him
that I wasn't interested in him that way? I shook my head silently before
walking out. Maybe I'd go see Sean. Apologize for the way I acted- if he'd
even let me in the door.
By the time I reached Sean's, it was starting to get pretty late. He
had to be home. If he was even out with Jay or Amy I'd kill him. He had a
major science test coming up that he needed to ace. I gave his door a sharp
knock and ran my hands down my clothes to smooth any wrinkles that had
formed from my excursion from the "good" side of town to the "bad" side.
After a few seconds I could hear his footsteps nearing and a huge smile
just broke across my face. He was home. He wasn't out getting in trouble. I
had been so worked up I hadn't even noticed the other cars in the driveway
or how loud the music from his stereo was playing. Was he having a party?!
Sean threw open the door, beer in hand, and a grin on his face. My
own smile fell from my face, "Sean?"
He rolled his eyes and walked out onto the porch with me. "What do
you want, Ellie?"
My eyes glanced between his face and the beer. "What's going on?
You're having a party now?"
"What? Am I not allowed to have fun without you? Or at all, since you
were never much fun in the first place. Listen Ellie, the whole world
doesn't revolve around you, and I can do whatever I want. So don't lecture
me about anything."
I clenched my fists until my fingernails tore into my palm, "I
wasn't! I just asked you if-"
I was cut off by the door opening and Amy tumbling out, grabbing onto
Sean's neck to keep herself out. "Seannie-poo! Come back in, we were just
getting started!"
I looked with disgust at her arms snaked around Sean's neck. They
were massaging the tense muscles in his neck. That was my job. HER hands
were touching my man. I tried to calm myself down, but I couldn't. I had
had enough of her trying to come in between me and Sean. Then I watched as
she actually leaned in and kissed Sean. Before I could even blink, I had
that bitch down on the floor of the porch. "What were you just starting?
Huh? Answer me!" I backhanded her across the face- tame, but effective.
"Get off of me!" She sputtered, clawing at my hair.
I wrenched her arms out of my hair and pinned them to the ground
while I screamed in her face- calling her anything I could think of, asking
her what the hell she was doing with my boyfriend, everything that I ever
had wanted to say to her, I said. She wrestled her hands free from mine and
scratched me across the face. "You stupid vampire!" She spat at me.
That was it. That broke the straw. I brought my right arm back and
punched her across the face. I hoped that I had broken that perfect nose of
hers. Then I just grabbed the sides of her hair and shook her head around
while tears spilled from my eyes. I didn't even realize I was crying until
I saw them drop onto her. Every time I hit her or pulled her hair, I
thought of a time when someone had ignored me, or lied to me, or abandoned
me, or made fun of me. Most of all, I remembered every time someone
whispered "vampire" as I walked into a room. I was crying so hard by then I
couldn't even breathe.
Finally, one of the spectators made a grab for me. It took Jay,
Towerz, and Sean to wrench me off of Amy. She just looked up at me, blood
streaming from her nose and a black eye already starting to form. I could
feel the scratch marks from her nails on my cheek, but I knew they weren't
as bad as the ones I had left on her face. I sobbed and tried to run away,
but Sean pulled me towards him. "Leave me alone, Sean! Let me go!" I tried
to push away from him, I hit against his chest, but finally I just gave up
and collapsed in even more tears. He enveloped me in a hug and just stroked
my hair. "Party's over," I heard him mutter and pretty soon everyone was
gone except for me and him.
Sean sat me down on the porch stairs and examined my face. I couldn't
even look him in the eye until I remembered how Amy had been throwing
herself at him in front of me. I met his glance. "Did you want her
tonight?"
"What?" He asked incredulously.
I drug a fist across my eye, "Did you want her? Amy? Did you want her
tonight?"
Sean grabbed my hands and squeezed them, "No! No, of course not. That
was all her, not me."
I looked away, "Good. Because if you had... I've been hurt before,
Sean. Seriously hurt. I don't like cheaters."
Sean took my face and turned it towards his, "I would never hurt you.
You don't understand how much I care about you."
I just looked at him. He seemed to be telling the truth. We both
needed each other in our lives. We had connected that Saturday morning and
now we were just helping each other survive life. I broke out into a teary
smile. "I am so stupid. I should have known..."
"No. What you did. That was good. You need to stand up for yourself
like that more often."
"If I ever hear anyone say vampi-"
Sean hushed me and pulled me towards him. His lips brushed against
mine and I smiled against his mouth. There was no way I could ever let this
feeling go. So what if I was going to go to school tomorrow with red
scratches all down my face and bruises? If this is what it was over, it was
all worth it. Plus, Amy was going to look even shittier.
Marco's POV
So the rumors are true. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I stood by
the entrance to school and waited for Ellie and Sean to catch up. For
someone who was in a fight, Ellie sure looked happy. Of course, she must
have won. I cleared my throat and she looked over at me. "So, Ellie. I hear
you got pretty wild last night?"
She rolled her eyes- her trademark move- and shrugged it off. Which
only meant that it was true. Sean raised her arm in a victory movie, "Yeah,
and she kicked some ass."
I laughed and shook my head in disbelief. Here I thought Ellie was
some sweet girl, and here she was getting in fights. "So that's why you
left Jimmy's so early. Everyone was wondering what had happened. Now I can
tell them something more interesting."
Ellie rolled her eyes –again! -, "Please. Nobody cared that I left.
Least of all, you! You were too busy flirting with Dylan!"
I noticed that for a split-second she looked hurt and her tone was
almost accusatory. But I decided to just let it go. It wasn't easy for her
to see me with Dylan, I was sure. I wiggled my eyebrows, "Yeah, well, Craig
sure cared." With that I ran off laughing to myself. Leave Ellie alone to
fill Sean in on all the details.
Oh and what a coincidence! There was Craig now, shooting down the
hallway like a man on a mission. He stopped when he saw me and waved.
"Marco! Have you seen Ellie?"
I smirked slightly, but then put an innocent look on my face. "Oh,
she's with Sean."
"Sean?"
"Yeah, they're kind of going out. Steady."
"Having hot, steamy sex!" Spinner added in as he walked up behind
Craig.
I glared at him, "That's personal."
"Eh, everyone already knows. It's no secret."
I noticed that Craig's face had gotten a little green since that last
comment by Spinner. Man, this guy was seriously crushing. I waited until
Spinner finished his small talk and left before asking Craig about it. "So,
what's with you and Ellie?"
Craig looked surprised, "Nothing! Nothing's going on. I'm just
photographing her."
"And why her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she's gorgeous, but it's not like you guys are really good
friends or anything. I just figured you'd pick Ashley before anyone else."
Craig shook his head as he opened his locker, "Ashley's not different
enough... Plus, I don' t know..."
"Plus, you have a crush on a certain girl named Ellie?"
"Yeah..." Man, this kid looked totally helpless. I had to stop myself
from laughing.
"Okay, Craig. I'm just going to lay it out. Ellie's found herself
someone who really makes her happy. Don't mess that up."
"I never said I was going to mess it up," he snapped back at me.
I looked towards the ceiling than back at him, "I know. But listen.
I've never seen her like this before. Sean's good for her. Just don't
confuse her. She has enough crap going on in her life."
Craig bit his lip and then nodded in agreement. "You're right. I
won't tell her."
"Thank you!" I was relieved. I did not need Ellie calling me at three
in the morning over some boy troubles. Our 1:00 AM-Ellie's-bored-out-of-her-
mind-conversations were bad enough. Then I thought of something, "Hey
Craig? Also, if you do anything about this little crush- Ashley will get
pissed off. And she will take it out on Ellie. Keep that in mind."
Craig didn't meet my eye but he nodded again. I figured that would
keep him quiet. If he liked Ellie he wouldn't want to get her in trouble
with her friends. Ellie may not think I pay attention to her anymore, but I
do a lot of work behind the scenes to try and make her life as simple as I
can. I quickly jotted down in my planner a reminder to call her later. We
really needed to have a quality telephone conversation. I closed my locker
and sighed. Hopefully at a decent time.