Encore
Ellie smiled weakly at Orion's sweet verbal gesture and curled up next to him on the couch. "I miss everyone" she confided to him, "everything was so much simpler there, I could love him and not second guess myself."
"I suppose that's my fault" Orion answered, "I'm sorry I pushed you into everything."
Ellie smiled, "don't worry about it, I think it was something we both needed, a little randiness never hurt anyone."
Orion laughed and kissed her cheek while hugging her tightly. And suddenly he stopped, and staring into her eyes he pressed his lips to hers and she straddled herself in his lap, wrapping her hands around his neck. Part of her felt like she was doing Sean an injustice, but what was she doing wrong? Nothing, just giving in to primal desires. Her and Orion may have had an emotional connection, but nothing, not anywhere near as strong as hers and Sean's, but what they did have as a fierce and passionate lust for one-another. Ellie bit his lip and tugged on it gently as his ran his hands up her thighs and to her clothed breasts. And then Marco coughed from the stairs, a blanket and pillow in hand.
"You know I think if Papa del Rossi came down these stairs to you two, he'd have a heart attack," Marco chuckled, "you two were supposed to behave!" Ellie blushed heavily and rolled off of Orion's lap and sheepishly crawled to the end of the couch, "how about you take my bed Ellie." She opened her mouth to protest but thought it was best considering the position Marco had just caught her in.
"I guess you're right" she agreed and trudged her way up to Marco's bedroom and crawled into his bed.
"I don't know what I'm gunna do with you two," Marco said slumping down onto the love seat, opening the blanket and finding himself comfortable on the two cushion piece of furniture.
Orion laughed, "don't worry my liege you won't need to worry tomorrow."
"I better not." Marco answered, "I dunno how I'd explain that to my Pop, if it had been him instead of me coming down those stairs." Marco laughed to himself, " I can here it now, Marco, you're friends shouldn't be doing that on our couch…Marco, why aren't you doing that with pretty girls?"
"So….dish" Orion said laying back on the couch, his legs dangling over the edge.
"Dish about what?'
"Dylan, your boyfriend what's he like?" Orion asked.
"Well, Dyl's in grade 12, varsity hockey all the way."
"Oh, so he's a jock," Orion mentioned.
"A hottie with a body" Marco laughed.
"Who's a hottie?" asked an over exaggerated Italian voice.
"No one Pop" Marco answered quickly.
"Why are you sleeping down here?" Mario del Rossi asked.
" Ellie's up in my bed, sleeping."
"I like that Ellie, very pretty girl, how come she doesn't come over for dinner anymore Marco?"
"She's a busy girl Pop."
"You tell her when she wakes up that your MaMa's making frittatas and she stays for breakfast."
"I will Papa, g'night" Marco said trying not to laugh at his father.
"Goodnight Marco" and with that Mario headed up the stairs.
"That was a quick cover" Orion mentioned.
" Lots of practice," Marco said looking down.
"So you haven't told him?"
Marco shook his head, "do you mind if we talk about this another time, I'm beat."
Orion shook his head, "not at all."
Marco watched as Orion rolled onto his side and set his glasses on the coffee table before pulling the blanket up to his neck. He watched as Orion brushed some of his blonde hair out of his face and closed his eyes gently before his breathing slowed and Marco could tell his was asleep. It was then that Marco tiptoed up the stairs and into his room where Ellie was still not so obviously asleep. The light was on, peeking out from under the closed door. He opened it and crept inside quietly and watched as Ellie lay on his bed, her feet kicking in the air as she flipped through the photo book of the past year or so. "Hey," he said softly and Ellie raised her head, and smiled brightly.
"Do you remember this?" Ellie asked as she pushed the album across the bed and showed him the picture Craig had snapped of them while they rehearsed for their commercial for Media Immersions. They were colorful shots against the staged backdrop. Marco in his bollywood styled costume and Ellie with a feather boa around her neck. The photograph captured that one moment where Ellie kissed a stunned Marco.
He laughed, "Yea, that was a good day."
"Until later on when you told me you were gay," Ellie said rolling on to her back and making room for Marco to lay down, "that was heartbreaking."
"I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean to…"
"Hurt me? I know…at least I got a soul mate out of the deal though right?" she smiled brightly.
"Best friends, always El," he said kissing her cheek and staring at the ceiling, as he laid on his back, sighing heavily.
"Can't sleep?" Ellie asked, Marco shook his head in response, "what's on your mind?" she asked and rolled on to her side and rested on her elbows.
" I was thinking about what happened earlier with Mark and Ashley, I mean she's finally happy right? And then something like what happened tonight just brings it all crashing back to…like what if something happens with Dylan and me? I mean I met this pretty awesome guy and I'm happy…"
"Marco, even if something happens, you're an amazing catch and if Dylan does anything to let you get away he's stupid."
Marco smiled, "thanks for the reassurance," he answered, not totally happy with her response. He saw him and Dylan going far, but unfortunately he wasn't even mature enough to come out to his father. It was painstaking to say the least that the one thing he wanted to do, he couldn't. He felt like Dylan was disappointed in him because he couldn't tell his father he's gay.
"That's not all is it?" Ellie asked.
"I haven't told my Dad yet."
Ellie chewed on her bottom lip, "that's a tough one Marco, I can't help you with that…you can come out to nearly everyone in school, to your closest friends, but you can't tell your father…there's something wrong there Marco."
"I just don't want to him to hate me…I mean you've heard his jokes, I don't want to be the butt end of one of the jokes he tells, it's uncomfortable enough as it is."
Ellie sighed, " I can't do it for you, I've already done too much—"
"I'm not asking you to do it for me, to help cover up again, you're right, I've put you through enough trying to help me pretend I wasn't gay, but I can't keep hiding from myself like this."
"You're not hiding from yourself Marco, you're hiding yourself from your father."
Marco groaned, "Why can't this be easier?"
"Some things just aren't meant to come easily," she answered and thought of her own current situation where she stood between two young men in her life that she had two different types of relationships with. Her relationship with Sean was one she wanted above and beyond, they were a mixed basket together bring so many things to the table and complimenting each other's faults and merits. And then there was her relationship with Orion, the one that made her feel like she was the only girl in the world, Orion was the young man who raised chivalry from the dead, but they were too alike in their faults. And it was at that moment that Ellie truly made her decision.
-X-
"Morning honey," Kate Kerwin said, drawing the blinds in Ashley's once again bedroom turned tomb. Ashley peeked out from under her dark covers and frowned at the light, and immediately pulled the covers back down over her head and fell back on her pillows, "Get up Ash, I hate it when you shut yourself away in here."
"just go away."
"I'm not gunna just, 'go away' Ashley, I'm your mother, I'll be breathing down your neck about everything and there to love you until the day I fall over dead," and she tugged on the blanket covering her daughter, "Now get up,"
Ashley groaned, "I don't want to, I just want to stay here."
"No, you're going to get up, you did the same thing with the whole Craig issue, and I'm not going to let you cry yourself sick over this."
Ashley sat up, "you don't understand Mom!"
"What don't I understand Ashley? That your boyfriend is in the hospital, because I completely understand," she said, "but you can't let yourself wallow around in pity like this," Kate sat down on the edge of the bed, "this is his time to wallow, not yours."
Ashley sighed, "I don't know how else to deal with his."
Kate paused for a moment, "do you remember back at the end of grade eight when I came home with Jeff and you had thrown a party and taken ecstasy?"
Ashley flushed red with embarrassment, "yes."
"Do you want to go back to seeing Dr. Pearson?" Kate asked, "because goodness knows it wasn't about the drugs, it was about the stress you let yourself struggle with."
"I don't know."
"Everything got easier that year Ashley, you made new friends, you started writing more, you handled situations just a bit better."
"Maybe, I thought everything was fine…"
"I've been wanting you to go back since the Craig issue Ashley, I just thought you'd come to me first."
"Mom…"
"No Ashley, I'm sick of having to worry about what's wrong with you, you're either depressed or just making your way through life, you're rarely ever happy anymore."
"It's called being a teenager mother," Ashley answered tugging back her blanket angrily.
"Then grow up, because you're acting very childish," and with that final line Kate left her daughter's room with a slam of the door, and Ashley pulled her recovered blanket over her head and returned to her stronghold in her bed. She closed her eyes and the next time she opened them it was because Ellie was jumping up and down on her bed.
"get up Ash!" she shouted and began tugging off the blankets.
Ashley groaned and played tug of war for her covers, "El, can you just do me a favor and leave me alone"
"No" Ellie said as she stopped jumping, "you do this every time something bad happens in your life, you throw yourself a pity party, I'm sorry Ash but no one feels sorry for you, you aren't the one in the hospital, you're fine, Mark's going to be okay, so stop being so damn selfish"
Ashley pouted, "I'm not selfish."
"No, you're not, you're only selfish when small insignificant things happen in your life that you have no control over and it ruins the picture perfect life you're trying to create."
"And you're the girl who cuts herself because her Mom drinks, gosh, didn't you pay attention to Amy the other night? You're just as bad as me," Ashley argued, immediately feeling guilty for her choice of words.
"no…what I do is completely different, what I did was a private matter, no one was to know, but you…you parade around like your world has ended, you have everyone at your beck and call, even Jimmy…"
" Don't bring Jimmy into this"
"Well I'm going to, and you're going to listen to me," Ellie said, collapsing on her knees at the end of Ashley's bed. "Everyone knows you have a habit of making little things the most stressful happenings in your life, you can't cope, and Jimmy has been worried sick because he's seen you go through so many changes caused by the smallest thing in your life changing, and yea, Mark in the hospital is a pretty damn stressful thing, and Jimmy was the first to jump to your aide because he knew you'd react so badly." Ashley opened her mouth to protest but said nothing and let Ellie continue, "You've always had music Ash, that could have been your way to cope, but you just choose not to cope and it builds up and you drastically change, and every time you do that you lose a bit of who you are."
Ashley wanted to cry, because she knew deep down that Ellie was right. Every time she was confronted with something she changed herself like a chameleon to cope, instead of being herself, she became a different person that was able to cope. Ashley wasn't Ashley anymore, in fact no one could remember who Ashley really was. Ashley crawled out of bed and walked to her dresser where she pulled on a pair of fitted ripped jeans and a t-shirt, taking a quick look in the mirror she fixed her hair and touched up her make up, slipped on her shoes and turned to Ellie, "you ready to go?"
Ellie slipped off the bed, "so you're gunna come hang out with me and Orion?"
Ashley nodded, "I've spent enough time in the dungeon of solitude."
Ellie laughed, "you know, you should think about remodeling the room, making it a bit happier?"
Ashley smiled and rolled her eyes, "maybe that's a project for another day."
Kate looked up going over the bills and from her conversation with Orion, who joined her at the kitchen table while Ellie attempted to drag 'Elvira' from her room. She slid her reading glasses to the tip of her nose as she saw Ashley out of her room, with Ellie in tow, "well it's nice to see you out and about," she said, as Ashley opened the pantry door and pulled out a granola bar.
"We're going to the mall Mom," Ashley said as she grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator.
"good, there's some money in the envelope on the fridge," Kate said, "it's from your dad."
Ashley smiled and grabbed the envelope and threw it in her messenger bag and the trio headed out the door and walked to the bus stop.
-X-
"Ellie," Judy Nash called out as her daughter walked through the door after saying good bye to Orion and sending him back out on a bus to his grandfather's. "Eleanor, where have you been?" she inquired as she stumbled in a drunken stupor towards the door.
"Out Mom," Ellie answered, trying to head to her room.
"I didn't say you could go out."
"well it's not like you were sober enough to answer," Ellie said under her breath.
"what did you say?"
" I said, you did, you were just too busy to remember," Ellie answered, and then quickly muttered quickly to herself, "Yea busy getting smashed."
"Oh, well, go clean up your mess in the kitchen." And stumbled back to the couch with her bottle of vodka and another bottle of cranberry juice.
Ellie rolled her eyes and sighed and made her way over to the kitchen where she cleaned the kitchen, finishing just in time to tuck her mom in on the couch for the night. She kissed her mother on the forehead and pried the alcohol bottles from her hand and put them away before climbing the stairs to her bedroom. Ellie looked around her room, it was really the first time she was able to spend a moment in it and really take it in after being gone for almost two months. And then her eyes fell upon a picture of her and Sean and she knew that she couldn't get a night's sleep without fixing what her confused teenage mind messed up. She changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top and threw on black long sleeved shirt and threw her hair up loosely before sneaking out the front door. She didn't stop walking until she stopped in front of a familiar home. She knocked gently on the door, hoping someone, mainly Tracker were awake to answer the door, and he was. Red eyed and sporting a five o'clock shadow he opened the door yawning, "Heya Red…he's in his room," Ellie looked at Tracker expectantly waiting for him to say something that would make this situation go easier. "I dunno what to tell you Red, he's pretty torn up, but he should be better to talk to right now, cooled down a bit."
Ellie smiled weakly, "do you think he'd be up to seeing me?"
Tracker shrugged and played with the scruff on his face, "depends, are you bringing good or bad news?"
"well what determines good or bad news?" Ellie asked smirking.
"Be my guest," Tracker said stepping aside and letting her through.
Ellie walked up to the closed door and knocked gently before opening the door slowly to see Sean laying on his back, eyes closed and headphones on, headphones on loud. She crept across the hardwood floor and listened carefully as she noticed the music he was listening, in particular to the song. "the only ugly thing about you is that you're not mine" he sang out loud and Ellie stifled a chuckle before crawling onto the bed. The movement of the mattress caused Sean to turn off his CD player and slid off his headphones, "hey," he said tensely, "what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Tracker let me in…listen…"
"Let me guess, you chose him?" Sean threw his CD player across the room, "you're gunna live happily ever after, and you just wanted to let me know so I could move on."
Ellie opened her mouth, "no…"
Sean stopped in the middle of getting ready to ask her to leave, "what did you say?" he asked.
" I said NO, I want you" she said.
A smile grew across his face and he practically threw himself on top of Ellie, kissing her face all over. And then suddenly planted a sweet, sensual kiss on her lips, his hands cupping her face. And as their lips were pressed together he smiled. Tracker watched from the doorway and laughed to himself.
"Keep it PG you two," he said laughing as he closed the door, "at least while the door is open."
Sean and Ellie turned to look at the door as it closed and the moment they heard the click of the door being closed they returned to focusing on each other.
That night they started over, not quite from the beginning but with a fresh perspective on everything. Ellie explained what went on at Lake View while she was away from him, and he explained what he'd gone through being apart from her. Ellie never made it home, she spent the night curled up in Sean's arms, and her mother never noticed that she'd gone.
A/N: Well anyways, I got right to work with this chapter right after I posted the last one. Sean and Ellie are back together, but remember, this is a new beginning for them, and things will most certainly change for them, there are good and bad things in store for them and everyone else. Also, looked it up, I'm not sure if I ever remember seeing/hearing Mr.del Rossi's name mentioned in the credits. But to keep a bit of humor going on, the name we prefer to use for him is Mario, and if you don't get the joke, then I'm sorry, you need to watch Degrassi more and have a sense of humor.
Also, Happy Birthday Arthur (1/14) I wish I could have been home for his annual birthday show
P.S. the lyric Sean is singing? it's from the Marvelous 3, the song Beauitful