- Chapter 4 -
She was shaking. From her fingertips to her very core, every bone, every muscle, every part of her was shaking. Without another word, Elexis spun around, walking briskly in the opposite direction- away from Kai and the others. She wasn't sure if her poor frame could take much more of this emotional abuse. It was the first time in a while she felt as though she needed support, right then and there. The teen had spent most of her high school career drilling into her own head the idea that she could get past anything and anyone alone… but since the arrival of Steffie, Max, Ray, and even Kai, being alone seemed horrible all of a sudden. Who was there in the world that she could turn to? Her parents were busy fighting, and didn't give a damn about her teenage problems. She didn't exactly feel comfortable running to Max or Ray, seeing that she'd only known them for about a week and a bit.
For some reason, Steffie was the kind of person you could talk to no matter who you were, or where you came from. It didn't matter if you had known her for ten minutes or for a lifetime- there was just something about her that made you feel safe and at home. Without a second thought, Elexis bolted towards Steffie's home. She had remembered the bouncy brunette once telling her that if she ever needed her she could just come right over. Elexis never thought for a moment she'd wind up running to someone she had just met- but at this point in time it all seemed so necessary. She used to dream about calling Tala on the phone every time something went wrong in her home. She imagined how he'd soothe and comfort her as she cried out all her problems to him, and then tell her "I'll be right there," before hanging up and driving over to wherever she was. She'd hoped that he'd hold her, caress her, and stroke her matted black hair while wiping away the tears from her delicate face.
That was all a dream. And that's exactly why it would never happen – because it was a dream, nothing more.
Elexis barely managed to hold herself up as she leaned against the large wooden doors of Steffie's house after ringing the doorbell. The place could be described as a mansion- the girl was definitely well off.
Soon after the door was answered by a small plump woman, with chestnut coloured hair and big brown eyes, similar to those of Steffie.
Elexis felt at a loss of words. "Umm," she managed intelligibly, "Is Steffie home… today?"
The middle-aged woman blinked momentarily before a smile spread across her face. "Why yes of course dear," she replied, stepping aside to give Elexis room to enter. "Come right in! We absolutely love visitors!"
Elexis cast her gaze to the ground as a blush or embarrassment flushed across her pale cheeks. "T-Thank you."
"Ooo, Steffie's right upstairs… third door to your left. Make yourself at home dear, I just need to go get the pie out of the oven!" said Steffie's presumed mother before rushing off into the kitchen.
Elexis stood grounded for a moment, nearly taken aback by the woman's warm welcoming. Sighing, she made her way up the staircase towards Steffie's bedroom. She could hear loud music coming from inside the room, accompanied with the teen's high-pitched voice singing along to the lyrics. The door was already slightly open, and Elexis could see a shadow moving wildly around the room- presumably Steffie dancing like a maniac.
Gently pushing the door open, the raven-haired teen peered into the room where her suspicions were quickly confirmed. Indeed, there was Steffie, singing and dancing wildly in a pair of short pink boxers and a white tank top. It was difficult not to smile as Elexis watched the oblivious girl as she happily pranced around her room, waving her hands in the air as she sang fearlessly at the top of her lungs. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be trapped in her own little world – probably imagining herself to be a celebrity. Or maybe there was something about those lyrics?
I need a miracleI wanna be your girl
Give me a chance to see
That you were made for me
I need a miracle
Please let me be your girl
One day you'll see it could happen to meElexis gulped before taking a step into the bright room. She knocked on the door, efficiently scaring the smaller girl out of her shorts. Steffie jumped at least ten feet at the sound of the knocking before crashing beside her bed. She looked up, her large eyes wide as she stared at Elexis in slight confusion. After blinking several times, that same grin she shared with her mother spread across her features.
"LEXIE!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs. "IT'S YOU!" The small girl jumped up before lunging at Elexis, rapping her arms around her in a deadly squeeze.
"It's good to see you too…" the raven-haired teen barely managed as she inhaled sharply.
Steffie stepped back momentarily, feeling something glum about her newfound friend. Frowning, she took in the girl's serious appearance, her intuition instantly telling her something was wrong.
"Is something wrong, Lexie? You don't look too happy…" Steffie trailed off as she noticed the sudden glossy look in Elexis' eyes.
"Umm…" Elexis began. "It's… It's just that…." She cut herself off as tears began to run freely. The girl choked on her own words, covering her mouth with her hand as she began to sob and shake uncontrollably.
"I just threatened one of Tala's friends!"
"WHAT!" Steffie shrieked as she stared wide-eyed at her friend. "WHO!"
Elexis cringed as she visualized the teen in her head. "That annoying Scottish loud-mouth, Johnny."
Steffie seemed to pale suddenly; as the colour drained from her face and her eyes became wide with awe.
"….What is it?" Elexis asked, now afraid she might have offended someone worse than Tala. "Is this Johnny guy violent or something? Should I get help? WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP LOOKED AT ME AS THOUGH I JUST SIGNED MY DEATH WARRANT!"
Steffie jumped at this last comment, snapping out of her thoughts. "Ok ok! Relax… it's not THAT bad. It's just that… well… it's Johnny!"
"Sooo? Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
"Well… normally no, but… it's kind of personal I guess…" Steffie said quietly, suddenly finding her socks very interesting.
Elexis blinked. Something was up, and she knew it. "Alright Steff.. what's going on? You know you can trust me, right?"
The short brunette sighed as she looked up at Elexis, seemingly defeated. "Let's sit down… this is kind of long.." Steffie ushered the taller girl into her room.
Elexis was somewhat confused as she sat down on Steffie's bed, her eyebrows furrowed as she waited patiently for the usually ecstatic girl to begin her story.
"Well… you see Lexie... things weren't always the way you see them now… I mean a lot of people think that Tala has always been Tala with his friends and then me Ray and Max have always stuck together as well. But the truth is… a while ago Johnny used to be friends with us… never got into any trouble or even had any interest in being friends with jerks like Tala. That is… until his dad walked out. Ever since then, things have been different."
"So… Johnny's dad leaving really had a bad effect on him?" Elexis asked, her eyes focused on Steffie as she examined the girl's expression.
"Yeah… the two of them were really close – Johnny and his dad that is. They were like best friends. I still remember when we were younger, his dad would always throw these barbeques and we'd all go over. We thought he was the coolest dad in the world, and so did Johnny obviously. But after he walked out on him and his mom, Johnny felt really betrayed and guilty – especially having to see his mom so heartbroken."
"Wow…. That's gotta be tough… having your reputation ruined and the image of your father shattered like that…"
"That's not the worst of it though." Steffie paused before continuing. "At first Johnny was just really depressed, and didn't really want to talk about it with anyone, but he was generally still a good kid… he just didn't laugh or smile as much, or have as much fun. Then after two years, on Johnny's fifteenth birthday, his mom remarried. Johnny couldn't accept this, and he began to get bitter and rebel. Him and Ray started to fight a lot. Johnny would want to do something stupid and Ray would try and stop him. It always ended badly… Finally he just stopped talking to us, and started hanging out with Tala, who also does stupid shit all the time."
"You… sound pretty upset about all this... even though it was a while ago."
"Yeah… I am," Steffie said, barely above a whisper. "Johnny was important to me… he meant a lot. Sometimes that kind of bugged Ray, especially after Johnny started to get into some bad habbits…" she trailed off.
For a moment Elexis could have sworn she saw a tear in the smaller girl's left eye – but as quickly as it had appeared, Steffie shook her head, clearing the sad expression, and looking up at Elexis with a bright smile.
"But it's ok now," she chirped. "I guess things just turned out they way they were supposed to."
Elexis was speechless. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Steffie had strong feelings for Johnny even now, seeing how the mere mention of his name affected her. It saddened her in a way, that it had to turn out so badly, but it shocked her at the same time. She never would have thought any kind of mixing or intermingling between Tala's friends and her friends would ever have occurred.
"Um… I should get going… now," Elexis said slowly, averting her gaze awkwardly.
Steffie just nodded, not arguing with her as she usually would. It seemed as though the solemn conversation had really ruined her mood.
"I'll um, see you around," she said quietly, lifting her hand lazily in a half-wave kind of motion.
"Right, you take care then."
Elexis had no become extremely curious about this entire situation. Where had she been all this time? There was no helping the nagging feeling of exclusion that was creeping up on her. She'd lived in the same neighbourhood as these people her entire life, and yet she had no idea what went on in their lives even the slightest bit. The teen sighed to herself as she continued walking home.
"Looks like me and the new guy are best suited for each other… since neither of us know what goes on around here either way," she said to herself, before realizing what she had just implied.
Stopping in her tracks, Elexis re-winded the words in her own brain before mentally slapping herself. 'Me and Kai! I must be on drugs or something… there's no way!"
Yet for whatever reason, she couldn't help but feel like she belonged with him the most. Sure, Steffie, Ray and Max were really nice – but she didn't feel like she belonged with them. They had history, and had been friends since their early childhood. There's no way she could compete with that kind of closeness and friendship. And then there was this whole Johnny mess too… Johnny... one of Tala's best friends… Tala… the guy she had liked for eons. This just made her feel even more excluded.
But Kai… Kai was new. With him, she felt as though she had a fresh start. He didn't know her… well no body did really… but everyone else in this town had an impression that was based on nothing concrete. Everyone was phony, and didn't really have a clue. But Kai was smart… he didn't let other people dictate his opinions to him – and if anything, he had helped her. Why was completely beyond her, but it comforted her, and for this reason she felt closer to him… more so than to anyone else.
It was strange, but the reality was finally beginning to hit her. Every time she felt lonely, or misunderstood… she began to think of Kai, and the reason in her mind was simple;
They were both the same.