Eli leaned against the counter, and watched as the young man with dread locks ducked behind a door at the back, to get the equipment Eli had asked for.
The man with dreadlocks (his name was Kevin) was an old friend of Eli's- they met in high school and he was one of the few people Eli had kept in touch with.
Kevin's uncle owned a small high tech store in the city, and Eli could always rely on him for music equipment- only to loan it to him though (without his uncle knowing).
"Just a minute man!" Kevin called from the back, and Eli heard a small crash from behind the door Kevin had ducked into to.
Eli sighed and let out a small laugh- Kevin was the clumsiest guy Eli had ever met, his uncle was seriously deranged to allow him to work in his shop, with so much expensive equipment!
Eli busied himself by flipping through a pamphlet for the latest DVD player on the market, and didn't even notice a devious looking raven-haired girl side up next to him at the counter.
Elle made a side glance at the person standing next to her, and almost choked on her own astonishment.
ELLE I guess it's a small world after all
Elle stared at him, practically burning a hole into the side of his face!
Eli glanced up to see if Kevin had emerged yet, and noticed a black haired girl glaring at him, he turned his head to look back at her- and she almost fell over in shock.
"Hey" Eli said warily, and all colour from the girl's face drained- but she kept on staring at him.
"Do you want something?" Eli asked, a little tentatively now- this girl was really creeping him out.
"No" Elle managed at a whimper, but continued to stare at him.
Eli turned away from her- but she kept on gazing at him- he began to feel increasingly uncomfortable.
Did he even know this girl? What the hell is her problem? Man, where is Kevin?
Eli rubbed his neck uncomfortably, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the girl STILL staring at him.
"What the hell?" Eli said, a little coldly, and turned his body to look at her.
Elle took a step back, but didn't take her eyes away from him. –He is incredibly good looking, she thought to herself, but totally perverted!
Eli glared at her, furrowing his brow as she continued to stare at him.
Do I have something on my goddam face? Eli thought to himself.
"Hi" Elle squeaked, and stuck her hand out "I work at Mr. Manning's restaurant".
Eli looked down at her outstretched hand, and then back at her. Not making any attempts to shake her hand.
Elle retrieved her hand and stood uncomfortably.
Eli got a sudden head rush; he was only two blocks away from Jake's restaurant- and though he tried hard not to, he couldn't help but wonder if Grace was working tonight.
Eli glanced down at his watch, it was 4:15, and it was a Tuesday night- she would have school tomorrow- but what was the harm in checking?
"Oh" Eli suddenly answered her, realizing he had left a sea of silence between them.
"Eli" he said, stuffing his hands into his pocket to let her know he wasn't about shake hands.
"Elle" she replied, not knowing what to do with herself.
"Man! Here's the stuff"
Eli and Elle both snapped their heads to the side to watch as Kevin fumbled out of the doorway holding a medium sized box in his hands.
"Thankyou so much" Eli said, leaning over the counter to take it from him.
"No problem. Dude, you have like an entire recording studio in here!" Kevin smiled as Eli lifted the heavy box from his hands.
"I owe you big time," Eli said happily.
"Don't worry about it. Just DON'T break anything and bring it back in like four days, tops!" Kevin replied, and noticed he had another customer.
"What do you want?" Kevin asked Elle rudely.
Eli laughed; he had the eloquence of a baboon, but he was a pretty good guy.
Eli walked towards the door, and pushed it open with his foot as he headed towards his car.
Balancing the heavy box with his left hand, he fumbled in his pocket for his keys with his right.
Getting a hold of them he pushed them into the lock of his trunk, hearing it click he opened it and slid the box carefully in.
As he closed the trunk he saw Elle standing before him, her jet-black hair the first thing his eyes veered to.
Eli didn't bother acknowledging her; he simply put his arm out and opened the car door, got in and began to start the engine.
When he looked up Elle had bounced off down the street, and he sighed with relief as he backed the car out of the parking space.
Eli gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the giant glass panel window's of the restaurant; soft light poured out and onto the pavement, it was only 8:00 but the place was pretty well filled up.
Every time he saw the black and white outfit of a waitress or waiter, his body would tense up and he'd squint his eyes; trying to see their faces as they passed quickly by the windows.
Eli shook his head, and sighed.
After leaving Kevin's store he'd gone straight home, it took him 2 hours to set up the equipment Kevin had loaned him; and by the time it was ready to go, his creative juices had gone and he was left with an empty, growling stomach and the nagging in the back of his head that kept asking about Grace.
He'd decided to concentrate on his first problem; and had gone across the street to a small diner, ordered himself a burger and fries and ate it quietly, and alone, staring out the window looking at the passers by.
But even though he now had a full stomach, and had conjured up a few more lyrics for the music he'd created yesterday; the nagging in the back of his head continued, louder this time.
And an hour later Eli found himself sitting in his car, outside Jake's restaurant, watching intensely as people walked by the windows; waiting to see her face.
Elle had walked by a few times, her distinctive black hair hard to miss; and the first time Eli saw her walk past he'd sat up straight, but then realized that her face wasn't the one he was waiting to recognise.
Eli sighed- I feel like a goddam stalked! He thought to himself.
ELI Love makes you do stupid things--- actually, come to think of it; I did stupid things before I was in love aswell.
Eli rubbed the back of his neck, it was now 8:15; he'd been sitting in his car for just over half an hour, with no sign of Grace.
She was back at Rick and Lily's house now, and probably wouldn't work in her dad's restaurant until the next time she stayed with him.
Eli let out a small, aggressive grunt. Why the HELL was he here anyway? So he could see her from afar, go to sleep thinking of her…..thinking about how he couldn't have her?
Or was he planning on jumping out of the car the moment her face appeared? Running into the restaurant as though he was the heartthrob in some cheesy romance movie, scooping her up in his arms and declaring his love for her!
Eli punched one of his hands on the steering wheel; and instantly felt his fist throb from the sharp pain he'd brought upon himself.
He hated feeling this way! The feeling of his body and emotions being torn apart, pulled in two different directions.
He couldn't ignore the longing he had for Grace. He still loved her, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise.
But another part of him was beginning to make sense of Lily and Rick's words. It WAS strange, and wrong that he and Grace- STEPSIBLINGS- could even consider dating!
And lately, his mind had been trying to silence his heart- trying to make the thoughts of Grace disappear- or at least stuff them into a draw at the back of his mind.
Eli turned a deaf ear to what his heart was screaming at him to do.
Instead, he turned the engine on, gripped the steering wheel; and reversed out of the restaurant's parking lot…..and began to drive back to his empty, dingy apartment.
IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE:
Oh – My – God!
A few days ago I went to log into and there was this notice posted up on the site, saying there had been a hard drive failure on the 7th, but everything would be up and running by the 8th!
So the 8th came around- I had received 2 reviews, so I went to log in – and – the notice was still there!
I seriously, no matter what I tried, could not get into the site!
So I am really sorry if my chapters took AGES to get up, but I was totally stuck!
Panicked big time, chucked a hissy fit at my computer, brooded for a few more days eating ice cream!
And then- I was back in!
Yeah, I just didn't want you guys to hate me for not posting for a while- miss me?
He he he, probably all shouting 'NO!' at the same time. But oh well, you are stuck with me now! MWHAHAHA!
Check back for HEAPS more chapters that I wrote during my time of exile!
