Skin and Bones
"Hey," Ellie said cheerfully coming up behind Craig the next morning.
"Hey," Craig said, smiling widely, "Here, have some pictures." Craig continued, handing her the photos he'd developed the night before.
"Wow Craig, these are brilliant!" Ellie grinned, "You have an eye for art."
"Nah, they would have been nothing without you," Craig replied nervously. Ellie looked up at him and held his glance examining him until Craig had to look away, the intensity of her eyes was burning him. "Heh," He laughed to himself, "Can you imagine Spinner in these pictures?" Ellie laughed and Craig walked her to class.
After school that day they went to Ellie's house again together. Craig noticed that Ellie's mom was home today and that she was asleep, surrounded by lots of empty beers. "Are you sure your mom won't mind us being here?" He asked as Ellie was rummaging through her closet. Craig heard her take a deep breath and sigh. "She can't mind," Ellie said emotionlessly, "She's passed out, again." Ellie sighed as she turned around throwing her outfit on the bed and crossing the room towards her desk. Craig walked over to her.
"At least your mom is still here," Craig said comfortingly.
"Only in the physical sense, Ellie said bitterly, her voice beginning to crack with tears.
"Does she hurt you?" He whispered, kneeling down beside Ellie. Ellie looked at him with tears brimming.
After a moments hesitation she said, "No, she just doesn't do anything, she doesn't talk to me, doesn't notice me. She's always here yet never here. She just leaves me alone." Craig looked at her and tried to feel the same abandonment she must have felt.
"I'm not allowed to see my step-dad or my sister and my father well… he's not a nice guy," Craig searched for a comparison to her life in there. "I feel like my stepfather abandoned me. If he only knew what my father does," He whispered.
Ellie looked at him feeling like he had something worse than she did in his life and she wanted to know if she was right. "What does he do?" Ellie asked. She leaned closer to him waiting for his answer.
Craig was embarrassed, gushing like this to her, yet even though their situations weren't exactly the same he felt they had a connection. "He hits me," Craig said nonchalantly. Ellie's eyes widened. Out of the grief Craig felt he leaned up and kissed her, a hard short peck.
Ellie began to cry then and though Craig wasn't sure why she was crying, he held her, he gently led her to her bed and sat her down, and he held her. After a few minutes Ellie began to break into short sniffles and the sobs stopped. She looked up at him and whispered, "Thanks." Craig looked down at her and kissed her again, longer this time and this time, she pulled away.
"So," she said, getting up quickly "This is the outfit I picked out. Don't you think it's a good idea?" She asked enthusiastically. "I'll go change." With that Ellie walked to the bathroom and shut the door tight behind her.
Craig sat there alone and wondered if he had pushed too much. He knew he wanted to be with her and he had thought she felt the same. Now he wasn't sure. He only wanted to be with her. That's when he saw her notebook. He knew he probably shouldn't look but he couldn't resist. He opened it to the last page with writing on it. He saw his name and read the entry all through. She had called him gorgeous and charming. So he hadn't been wrong to think there was an attraction, now he didn't understand why she had pulled away. He pushed the book back onto the desk and closed it.
"Tada," Ellie squealed as she came out in her new outfit. It was a baggy black "Don't Label Me" tee over a white mesh top, blue jeans, and combat boots.
"Great!" Craig said enthusiastically, picking up his camera, "This will be the cover shot," Craig reasoned. Ellie stood with her legs shoulder length apart and pointed to the shirt with a wacky look on her face. Craig laughed as he took the picture. "You're wonderful," He said, smiling at her. She returned it with her usual shy smile and she flopped down on her bed. Craig snapped another quick picture and sat on the bed beside her.
"Why did you kiss me?" Ellie asked suddenly.
"I'm sorry," Craig stammered, Ellie put up her hands to stop him.
"It's okay," She said smiling, "Just tell me why."
"Because I really like you." Craig choked out, "But I guess you don't like me," He finished looking down at his hands. Ellie smiled to herself and kissed Craig on the cheek. He gave her a hopeful look.
"I really like you too," She said seriously, "But right now I really just need a friend… and you're a great friend."
Craig smiled at her and took her hand in his. "I can be a good friend and I can be a lover at the same time." He said.
"Ok," She said, after thinking for a few moments. Her heart was pounding, "Just please take it slow."
Craig smiled widely. "We'll take it as slow as you want," He insisted.
Ellie smiled and kissed him softly on the lips, and he returned the kiss gladly.