A/N Well hello there 20 or so readers. This is me writing my first Author's Note, because I accidentally forgot to write one when publishing the first chapter, and I was supposed to be studying and being productive, but instead I was doing this (in my defense writing in its own is a way of developing your intellect so its basically studying in a different way, atleast I think it is). Now that I've made myself feel better about my past decisions let me start with the real A/N.
First off,
Disclaimer: Copyright goes to She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, she must be named though, so, let's just call her Jo-Ro. I only take credit for my own characters.
Now let's move on.
Welcome to Meet Me In The Woods. A story about Ellianna Keller and Remus Lupin. Before you read any further and waste your time on this shitzel show, I would like to inform you on a couple things. First off, it's a love story between Ellianna Keller and Remus Lupin, this will be the main focus throughout the story. However, I feel that I have a lot of ideas for other characters as well, so expect there to be lots of parts in the story where Ellianna isn't present, because let's be honest, when reading Marauders Era fanfiction, we want to see some other characters as well. So yes, this means James and Lily and their relationship and how lily began to tolerate him in 6th and like in 7th year will be written as well. As well as many other storylines and characters. Now I must address this, and I know it will be hard to hear for some people. Here goes nothing: There will be no Wolfstar. There, I said it. I apologize, but there will be no Sirius liking Remus or Remus liking Sirius. I believe Sirius was never able to settle down or be committed to a relationship because of his past and his trauma. So, he will be a like a carefree butterfly, just fluttering from person to person. Also,
NO BLACKINNON
Much like you, I do not very much care for Blackinnon. Alright further warnings:
It will take some time before Ellianna gets to Hogwarts.
Ellianna is a human being, which means she will have her flaws and traits, she is not perfect.
Yes, I'm sorry, I gave in to the cliche of setting the backstory in America (though Ellianna is Canadian, she moved when 10 years old). But it is of significance to the story that she is from America, you will find out later why.
The Marauders are teenage boys. They are 16 when this story begins, and we all know how 16-year-old boys behave. They will not be acting like these perfect gentlemen. We must also not forget they did bully till their 5th year, only during 6th year they started to act more grown up. So, redemption arc is in prospect.
English is not my first language; I am Dutch so please excuse the horrific grammar and vocabulary.
I know from TikTok that there are very many popular cannons about the Marauders, but I mostly will follow my own ideas from the Marauders and how I think what they were like. So, it might not be like the most popular ideas from them.
I made the first chapter deliberately long, other chapters will be around 10 – 20 thousand words long.
I'm sure there's something else I should warn you about, but I honestly cannot remember for the life of me, so this is where I'll end my warnings.
Ye be warned...
Now enjoy and thank you for listening to this seemingly endless A/N.
(Just so you know, I was supposed to be studying now as well)
Chapter 2- Rooms and Unexpected Surprises
Or
"Me and Bobby Mcgee"
00:38 A.M 30-08-1975
As Ellianna pushed the door open, a smother of hot air filled with the aroma of sweat, alcohol and something sour she couldn't quite place surrounded her. She felt bad for Jacob for leaving so abruptly. Although she would see him in a few days since school would be beginning again, so she told herself he would be fine, which he most presumably was.
Now the only thing she had to do was find her sister, hope she wouldn't be too drunk, leave this party (finally) and get her home safe and sound.
Easy right?
Ellianna pushed past the dancing bodies once again, making her way to the staircase where she would have a clear view of the living room. Since the most people were here, she hoped Kinsley would be here as well and not roaming somewhere around the house. That would be really inconvenient for her, seeing as this place is abnormally large.
Ellianna was making calculations in her head. It had been around 00:40 when she left Jacob behind, the drive to the Keller household from here was approximately 17 minutes if every traffic light would be in their favour which it likely would, since it was already after midnight and the drive to their house wasn't a very busy one. If she found Kinsley in the next ten minutes, they could leave at 00:50 and be home at 01:07. Seven minutes too late. 'I'm sure they wouldn't mind seven minutes' Ellianna assured herself– with they referring to her parents.
She was almost at the staircase, however before she could reach it, she caught sight of a familiar brunet and blond dancing. Very intimate if she may add.
Ellianna stopped for a second to look at her best friend. He was about two inches taller than Lloyd, but that didn't seem to stop them from getting close. Their faces were mere centimetres apart, small smiles grazing their face, as their eyes only hold attention for one another. Lloyd's hands seemed to go everywhere as Anthony's hands mostly stayed on the blond his waist.
Ellianna looked at Anthony impressed; he had certainly gotten better at dancing over the last couple of hours. She suspected Lloyd's dancing had rubbed off on Anthony. He was an amazing dancer after all.
Not Anthony, Lloyd.
Their bodies started to move closer to one another as their movements became slower. Anthony slowly leaning down, their lips barely touched, before Lloyd closed the distance between them and pressed his lips onto Anthony's.
Ellianna's heart fluttered with happiness for her best friend. Anthony was showing affection, Romantic affection no less. Ellianna knew that this must be a big step for him, as it had always been a challenge for him in the past.
And as Ellianna stood there, stating at the couple, she felt immense gratitude towards the platinum blond. She could hug him for finally making Anthony feel comfortable with himself. She would really have hugged him... if she liked physical attention that is.
She had forgotten what she was doing in the process of admiring the couple in front of her, but quickly remembered when a shoulder bumped into hers. It shook her out of her daze, and she swiftly marched to her best friend, thinking that he might know anything about the whereabouts of Kinsley Keller. As he had been inside all evening, while Ellianna... well she hadn't.
She stood in front of the two kissing boys, not knowing exactly what to do now. Ellianna felt bad for interrupting their moment, but at the same time she had to find Kinsley and they would have enough time for kissing and God knows what else later. It still didn't stop her from feeling guilty though.
She loudly cleared her throat, hoping to get the attention of the boys in front of her. As expected, it didn't. How could it? The music was way too loud, and they were completely entranced by each other's presence to notice the distressed girl standing right beside them.
She put her index finger in the air, taking a deep breath, ready to poke Anthony's shoulder and interrupt their beautiful moment as peaceful as possible.
Before she thought the better of it and retracted her hand. She wasn't going to ruin the moment for him. It was too big of a milestone– for Ellianna at least, she had been waiting for years for this to happen– She turned around, taking one step forward when someone once again bumped into her, but a lot more harshly than the last one. The force sent her tumbling towards the kissing couple. She hit Anthony's back, making him and Lloyd bump foreheads.
'So much for a peaceful interruption' She thought to herself grumpily.
《》¤《》¤《》
(Approximately 15 minutes earlier)
Anthony needed another drink.
Ellianna had left the living room hours ago and he had already been considerably tipsy when she had arrived. It didn't seem to stop him from drinking more though, he had had quite a few more drinks since she left.
As he made his way over to the table with a large selection of different alcoholic drinks, his thoughts were littered with Lloyd.
Lloyd who he had met a few weeks prior at a different party. The boy who he had spent an entire night with at the beach, talking about things he normally only confided into a certain blonde.
Anthony remembered it clearly, even in this intoxicated state of mind.
《》¤《》¤《》
He had been invited to a bonfire at the beach. He remembered how he had just gotten into another big fight with his father. Yelling at his child, saying how he couldn't be a bigger disappointment and he would never grow up to be the man he and his mom had always wished for him to become.
Anthony was used to it by now.
His father– he wasn't one of the most emotional stable people to walk on this earth– had yelled and hurled a book at Anthony. He tried to dodge it, but he hadn't been quick enough.
It had hit the corner of his right eye, hard. It was sure to bruise. Quickly after that, he left the house and drove to the beach recklessly. During the drive his mind was swarming with thoughts about his family and how much he wanted to go to Ellianna and stay there for the night. For he knew he couldn't go home. But he also couldn't go to her. She was visiting her grandparents in Canada, and she wouldn't be home for another two weeks.
His foot pressed the gas pedal too roughly, causing the car to go way over the speed limit. But Anthony didn't care. Tears threatened to form in his eyes, but he blinked them away and instead focused his sadness into anger.
It was the first time in a long time his father had hurt him physically. Anthony knew he hadn't meant for the book to actually hit him... I mean, he couldn't have actually meant for it to hit him, right? His father hadn't hurt him in ages and their last real fight had been so many months ago.
So, he couldn't have meant for it to hit him. His grip on the steering wheel tightened...
Sometimes Anthony wished he wouldn't just be Anthony's father, but his dad. With that thought, a bitter feeling spread through his body.
When he arrived at his destination, he parked the car sloppily. He stepped out of the vehicle and slammed the door with as much force he could muster. He inhaled heavily, raking a hand through his hair and wiping at his eyes. He winced when his hand made contact with his right eye, Anthony had momentarily forgotten about his accident. He looked at his reflection in the car's window letting out a sardonic laugh.
He was a fucking mess.
He tried a smile, then another one and so on till he found one that seemed convincing enough.
As he walked the rest of the way to the bonfire, he made up a story for his black eye. He felt a warm summer breeze tousling his hair, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his denim pants. When he couldn't think of anything plausible to tell, he resigned to hoping it would be too dark to see.
Once arrived at the bonfire he put on his best Anthony-like smile, that was really more of a playful grin.
He thought that if Ellianna would be here, his smile surely wouldn't be faux anymore and he would be sincere. He really missed her... if she wouldn't come back soon, Anthony was confident he would go mental.
If he hadn't already...
The beach was really beautiful at night, Anthony thought. It wasn't a clear night, dark blue clouds, illuminated by the moonlight covered most of the night sky. Only few stars were seen through the gaps. As the moon was mostly behind the clouds, there was almost no light reflecting in the rippling water. Making it look like ink filled the ocean. The bon fire was about four feet high, lighting the sand and the three-dozen people or so that were present.
He said hello to his friends and conversed with them for the first part of the evening. He had had a couple of drinks and felt the painful throbbing in his eye becoming less with each sip he took.
He stood close to the bonfire with a couple of his friends, talking about something that he couldn't remember anymore. He had been happily talking and joking around with them– his father still in the back of his mind, but almost completely forgotten– when one of his friends spoke up and questioned Anthony about his eye.
The vision of his father throwing different items through the house blurred his sight.
"Dad please calm down!" Anthony pleaded.
Something heavy and hard came towards his direction. He tried to duck, but he was too slow. It hit just beneath his left eye. A sharp pain went through his head. It didn't go away for a long time; it went from a constant stinging to throbbing...
He had been at a loss for words for about three seconds. Then a lie started forming in his head and he stuttered an explanation to his friends that it was probably just the fire casting funny shadows against him. After that he lied about retrieving a new drink and swiftly walked away from his friends and the fire.
He walked further and further to the point where he almost couldn't hear the voices of the others anymore. He was still in sight of his friends, but no longer illuminated by the light. His trainers were full of sand, making Anthony groan and fall onto the ground. He laid down onto the soft cold material. Spreading his fingers and dragging them through the grains.
He heard a soft commotion come from beside him and turned his head to look at the fire. He noticed a couple of new arrivals, mostly seniors. Half he knew, the other half he only recognized by their faces.
He looked up at the sky. Some of the clouds had cleared up and there were now more stars visible. If Ellianna had been here, she would be pointing out constellations and stars. She would tell Anthony all sorts of facts about the universe that he didn't really care about. She would talk about the history of every single constellation she saw, and she would rename all the stars that hadn't ever really gotten a proper name.
It would go something like this:
"If you were a star and your name was HD 43197, wouldn't you want to have a pretty name too?"
Anthony would snort at this.
"They're stars Lee, they don't feel." Anthony would point out. Ellianna would draw her eyebrows together in disagreement.
"So? We're made of stardust Anthony; recent studies have proven that nearly all the human elements were made in a star. And we feel... so why wouldn't they?" She would say something completely idiotic like that, knowing herself that it was completely scientifically wrong what she would be saying, but at the same time knowing she would win Anthony over with it.
He would give in, and she would shudder from the cold. He would put an arm around her shoulder and pull her closer. She would lay her head on his shoulder, her frizzy blonde hair tickling the sides of his face.
"Fine, I relent... What shall we name her?"
"Her?" She would ask.
"If you believe the star has feelings, I believe the star is a woman." She would scowl and punch his chest, scolding him for calling an object 'her' and hereby contributing to the objectification of women that was so deeply weaved into today's society. He would remind her, she had just told him that stars 'feel'. She would punch him again, and tell him she was only saying that, so she could name the stars after her liking.
He would laugh it off and grab her fist that had punched him. She would name it something ridiculous like: Leonardo the Third or Bob.
...
But in reality, she had smiled, he hadn't seen of course for in the position they had been in. She had relived a memory from long ago and she had thought of the most perfect name. She had been quiet for multiple moments before speaking up in a low soft voice.
"What do we think about Hypnos?"
Anthony remembered that it wasn't a made-up scenario, but an actual memory from his mind. He inspected the few stars that were visible, trying to locate one of the constellations Ellianna had told him about. He wondered if Hypnos would be visible tonight. He searched for the star but found it hard to concentrate with his intoxicated mind. His thoughts travelling back to the girl he had met all those years ago.
"Mind if I join you?" An unfamiliar voice spoke. Anthony twisted his head in the sand to look at the source of the voice. He saw a silhouette looming above him. He turned his head back towards the sky, not in the mood to talk.
He shifted one of his hands to the back of his head, laying on it. He closed his eyes, ignoring the unknown silhouette.
When he didn't hear the shuffling of sand from someone walking away, Anthony peeked through one of his eyes. The person was still standing there, he had moved considerably closer, and Anthony could just make out the blond of his hair and that he stood with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
He sighed and sat up with a grunt. Ruffling his hair to get the sand out of it.
"Alright then... don't just stand there like a creep." Anthony said, massaging the back of his neck with his right arm.
The blond boy sat down quietly, without removing his hands from his pockets. There was a customary distance between the two boys, not that Anthony minded. There was a silence, a deafening, uncomfortable silence which made Anthony hope he had been left alone. He didn't think he could handle it any longer.
"I'm Anthony Hu–" Anthony began.
"Hutchins, I know." The boy finished for him.
Anthony cocked his head to the side and looked at the boy. It was dark, and they were too far away from the fire to allow them to see each other's faces.
"You know?"
The black blot that was his face made a movement of nodding "Yes... I know your friend...–" The blond boy said, Anthony wondered which friend he meant. He had a lot of friends.
One best friend, but none the less, a lot of friends. With the next sentence the boy spoke, Anthony knew immediately who he meant.
"She's in Debate with me." He clarified.
"You know Ellianna then?" Anthony asked. The boy nodded once more, before another silence settled among them.
"She talks a lot about you, you know." The boy said suddenly. Anthony wondered why he said that. Then he continued.
"How she talks about you... I thought, I must meet this guy in real life sometime... see what he's like for myself." Anthony was grateful for the dark, as the colour in his cheeks had risen furiously.
"Oh," Was all he could muster up at the moment. It wasn't something he had ever admitted to anyone, it wasn't something he thought he ever could admit to someone. He knew he was just friends with Ellianna, and he didn't want to be anything more than friends.
But there were some days– horrible, awful days– that he would look at her and feel something stir deep in the pit of his stomach, before everything would stop. Some days when she threw her head back in her neck, laughing at something Anthony had said, causing his heart to stop beating.
Some days where she would be sitting in class, tapping her feet to the rhythm of the latest Queen song she was obsessing over, while concentrating on her schoolwork beforehand, causing his lungs to stop breathing.
Some days where she would drag Anthony all the way through town to visit the little bookshop that she loved, causing his brain to stop thinking.
Most days Anthony was contempt with their being friends. Most days he requested nothing more of her. It was just... some days. Some days where he wondered what it would be like... And he knew he didn't like her– not like that anyway– but some days he couldn't help but wonder... What if he did?
He abandoned these thoughts and focused on the boy next to him. "Well, here I am... Anthony Hutchins, Real Life Edition." He said, showing his usual petulant grin.
"I can see that," Noted the blonde. One of his hands left his pockets. He extended his hand to Anthony, waiting for him to shake it. Not many teenagers in Los Angeles shook hands upon meeting new people. It was some unspoken rule between the lot of them. There wasn't a true reason for it, they just didn't. Although someone else Anthony knew, someone who didn't originate from Los Angeles– probably the reason why she did it– shook hands.
Anthony smiled at the gesture. Ellianna always did the same when meeting new people. He would often make fun of her, telling she presented herself as a seventy-year-old grandpa.
Anthony– who had been mindlessly playing with the sand underneath his touch– lifted his hand from the granules and shook the boy his hand. His touch was warm and soft, Anthony noted.
"I'm Lloyd... Lloyd Henderson." He introduced.
Anthony wrecked his brain for his face. Trying to remember if he had ever seen a Lloyd Henderson walk around school before. He didn't think he had.
When Lloyd pulled away from Anthony, his hand went back inside his jacket, only to retrieve something from it. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at it. Lloyd pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. He moved the lighter to his right hand.
"He is right-handed," Anthony thought "Ellianna is left-handed."
It was at this moment Anthony realized how deeply rooted Ellianna was inside of his brain. Almost everything reminded him of her, and it was horror... Maybe a few weeks away from her would be good for him. Just to get her out of his system. Anthony looked at Lloyd and when he ignited the lighter, the small flames lit up his pale face...
Then something completely unexpected happened...
Something inside of Anthony stopped. Maybe it was his heart, maybe it was his lungs, maybe it was his brain, maybe it was all of them. All he knew, was that he couldn't do anything but stare. And then when Lloyd had lit up his cigarette, taken a few drags and offered it to Anthony, then and only then was he shaken from his revery.
Anthony took the cigarette from his companion and brought it up to his lips. He ignored the voice in his head that suspiciously sounded a lot like Ellianna warning him about the dangers of smoking.
He hesitated slightly and the voice in his head became louder and clearer. He looked at the orange end of the cigarette, glowing in the dark of the night. Then a real voice, one not in his head spoke up.
"Is something wrong?" Lloyd asked, sounding a bit concerned, but not too much. Anthony didn't remove his eyes from the cigarette when he spoke.
"Ellianna wouldn't approve." He stated, lowering the cigarette from his face. He heard a bemused chuckle coming from Lloyd, "Well she's not here, is she?"
Anthony looked up to Lloyd, and now that he knew what his face looked like, he swore that he saw him smiling at Anthony (even though it was dark, and he couldn't see a thing). He looked back to the cigarette.
"No, she's not."
He took a long drag from the cigarette. Favouring the feeling of the smoke gliding down his throat, filling his lungs, before exhaling. The smoke came out of his mouth in white pillars, vanishing in the sky.
He remembered how he had talked with Anthony for hours and hours on end. He remembered how he had laughed with him the same way he did with Ellianna. He remembered how he felt safe talking with Lloyd, like he could trust him with anything, even though he had only met him a couple hours prior. He remembered his face in the scarce light of the lighter. But most of all, he remembered the feeling he felt when he first lay his eyes upon him.
A feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time. A feeling he had only felt with one person before, but now it was so much more intense. A feeling that made Anthony's body stop working and thoughts of Ellianna and his father had abandoned him for the rest of the night.
《》¤《》¤《》
(Approximately three weeks later)
Anthony shakily poured himself a cup with vodka of some cheap brand. He wondered how the host of the party lived in such an extravagant home but didn't have the money to provide his guests with some quality liquor.
He needed a drink.
Lloyd had been with Anthony almost all night. But his date didn't seem to notice the effect he had on Anthony. Everything became harder for him whenever he was near Lloyd.
Walking, breathing, talking,
Everything
He really, really needed that drink.
He hadn't even yet put the bottle down when he swallowed the vodka in one go. The liquid burned in his threat, but he didn't care. When he downed the drink, it felt as if he was regaining some control back of his body. He felt like he could breathe again, and his heart slowed down to a normal rate. He wallowed in the feeling of sensibility.
He took the blue tin cap that belonged to the bottle and readied it to twist it back on. He changed his mind the last second, taking a large sip straight from the bottle.
His mind buzzed with alcohol, and he found it hard to think straight. As he put the bottle down, he saw a bowl of chocolate candy. He smiled appreciatively and his mind wandered over to Ellianna.
《》¤《》¤《》
(Approximately when Ellianna stepped foot in Moore's residence)
He had noticed her presence as soon as she had walked through the door. She had a certain smile adorning her face. He thought that she must have done or said something stupid, that she found extremely humorous and was now proud of.
He had noticed how her shoulders tensed at the sight of the party and the people. It must be really overwhelming for her with her anxiety. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.
He counted the seconds in his head for how long it would be, before she was to be found at the table with the food. He hadn't even reached ten seconds when she started making her way towards it. He found that a great deal amusing.
She reached the snacks, Anthony stood at the other side of the table, momentarily having left Lloyd behind with the promise to fetch them some drinks but being distracted by his best friend showing up.
She was staring down at the food, probably trying to decide on what to eat. That could take a while though with her indecisiveness, it had become a bit of a problem lately.
She was too concentrated on choosing, to notice Anthony creeping up beside her, and only when he was close did he hear she was out of breath.
She wasn't choosing, she was resting.
He looked at the short distance she had walked and had to restrain a laugh. So instead of laughing out loud, a knowing smirk made its way upon his face. He leaned against the table with his drink in hand.
She was wearing a short black dress, very unlike Ellianna. But she had personalized it by wearing her mom's old jewellery and her combat boots. She had tried to tame her hair; her efforts had proven themselves deficient as her hair looked curlier than ever. She had put on mascara and painted on eyeliner, accentuating the colour and shape of her eyes. Right before he spoke up, he noticed one more thing... Ellianna really did look beautiful tonight.
And then he realized something else...
His heart didn't stop.
《》¤《》¤《》
The M&M's stared right back at him, judging him. He didn't blame them, he was judging himself too. His feelings had always been a bit messed up, but tonight they had been resembling scrambled eggs.
Anthony put both his hands on the table to support him (for he might lose his balance if he didn't), he let his head hang between his shoulders.
In the process of trying to win back his body from Lloyd, he hadn't noticed how much he had to drink. It was way too much Anthony decided. The low tingling he had experienced a few drinks back had now evolved to a full numbness. But with his ability to feel things gone, his anxiety had vanished too. That was a good thing, he reckoned. He would be able to be in Lloyd's presence without feeling like he might drop dead any second.
He thought back to the night the two of them met. It had been at the bonfire on the beach. The entire night had been an emotional rollercoaster for Anthony, and when he lay on the sand– alone – a distance away from the crowd, he thought he finally had gotten of the ride.
He had never been so wrong before in his life.
Once Lloyd showed up the safety bars lowered and secured Anthony tight. The cart hadn't sped off yet... until Lloyd's face had become visible for him, and the rollercoaster reached a speed Anthony hadn't experienced in... well, in never.
The feeling he had felt spreading through his body was easily remembered by Anthony. Mostly because it had already felt so familiar to him– all those "some days" with Ellianna– but also because he had never felt that feeling quite like he had on that night.
Sure, he had felt it with Ellianna, but there was something different about it with Lloyd. He didn't think he had ever had a feeling that strong, that intense. And he didn't think it would be possible to feel more than this.
Once more, he had been entirely wrong.
In the weeks to follow, he spent more and more days with Lloyd. With each passing minute spent in his presence, Anthony felt the feeling becoming stronger. He thought of how with Ellianna only part of him would stop, while with Lloyd– with Lloyd everything stopped at once. Making it impossible for him to breath, to stand or to think. Being with Lloyd made it feel impossible for Anthony to live...
But it wasn't nearly as awful a feeling as being away from him.
On that satisfying thought Anthony pushed himself of the tabletop, turning around and scanning the living room in search of Lloyd. It was hard to miss him with his platinum blonde hair. It didn't take him more than ten seconds.
He sauntered his way over to the dancing Lloyd. When he had only a short distance to go Lloyd turned around and spotted Anthony. His breath hitched in his throat, and he faltered slightly. He stood rooted to his place, and he couldn't focus on anything.
Then it became worse.
Lloyd smiled at him, a straight, white-toothed, perfect smile... and just like that, he had lost control again. He felt queasy, the good kind though. He didn't know whether it be from the alcohol or from the irresistible blond before him.
He tried to smile back, but the task proved itself harder than Anthony anticipated. So instead, he kept staring at Lloyd. He was coming closer, making his way towards Anthony. And when Anthony thought he couldn't possibly get any closer to him (he was wrong about that too) Lloyd halted.
He looked up at him– for Anthony was slightly taller– and leaned towards his ear, so that he would be heard over the loud music playing. Anthony was hyper aware of Lloyd's hand holding onto his bicep, he was so focused on it that he almost didn't comprehend what Lloyd told him.
"Where were you off to for so long?" Lloyd wanted to know. His breath felt cool against Anthony's overheated face.
"Er–"
Quick Anthony, think of something.
"I was just..." drowning my anxiety away with cheap liquor from the grocery store, so that I would stop feeling like an absolute bonehead that is at risk of fainting at any given second, because you make me feel everything at once. "I went– I... you know." Anthony stumbled over his words, he took a deep breath, regaining some of his focus. "I went outside for a moment to cool off, it's very hot in here you know."
Very believable, that.
Lloyd pulled away from him and arched a sceptical brow at his explanation. "Are you sure you don't mean you went drinking?" The boy quipped.
"Pfft no..." A wave of panic crippled through his body, "of course not..." he went on. Lloyd his expression turned even more dubious. Anthony realized he'd rather be truthful with him, not too truthful though.
"But don't drink the vodka with the blue cap." Anthony advised seriously. Lloyd laughed his harmonious, loud, perfect laugh at this. His laugh caused some of Anthony's tension to disappear and his customary grin spread across his face.
"You want to dance?" Anthony asked.
"I know for certain you had something to drink if you want to dance again."
Anthony looked offended and put both his hands on his hips. "Hey now, I wasn't that bad."
"Tell that to my six sore toes."
He grinned and bowed down his head, somewhat crouching, "I wasn't that bad..." then he whispered, "And you had it coming."
"I was talking in a figurative sense." Lloyd said as Anthony straightened up again.
"Well, how was I supposed to know that." He didn't give Lloyd any time to respond as he grabbed his hand and dragged him to the middle of the dancing crowd.
Anthony felt more at ease now. Whether it be from the casual conversation the two of them had just had or the alcohol coursing through his veins... he didn't know. But he knew he felt comfortable.
It continued for some time in that fashion until Anthony opened his eyes. He hadn't even been aware of closing them in the first place, but when he opened them to look at Lloyd, he found said boy already staring at him.
The both of them made heavy eye contact. If Anthony hadn't been completely entranced by the blond boy, he would have noticed how his eyes were almost a perfect resemblance of a certain other blonde her eyes.
They were a beautiful light blue colour. They looked like snow glistening in the moonlight. Anthony thought, that if they had been in different lighting, they could be interpreted as grey. It was easily to get lost in his eyes, as easy to get lost on the Antarctic.
Then something happened...
Lloyd stepped forward, putting his arms around Anthony's shoulders, then they moved down, letting his fingers slid along the length of Anthony's arms. They stopped at his wrists, only to grab them loosely and guide Anthony's hands to Lloyd his own waist.
He planted them there and let go, moving his arms back to Anthony's waist. Only they didn't stay there for long, the palms of Lloyd's hands moved along his torso, around his shoulders, to the back of his neck, and they seemed to stop there for some time, before moving along again.
Everywhere where Lloyd touched, his skin tingled with a burning sensation, making Anthony lose his grip on reality. The world around him seemed to go dull. The sound of the music became quieter, almost inaudible for him. The people around him went by in a blur. He tightened his grip on Lloyd, ears buzzing and tunnel vision forming. The only thing he could focus on, was Lloyd.
Lloyd who he had met only weeks ago... who had stayed with Anthony all night long, talking with him... who he had gotten to know over the past few weeks...who was standing right in front of him...moving closer...
Suddenly Anthony's eyes flickered to glance at Lloyd's lips. He quickly looked back up to look him in the eyes, but saw Lloyd was doing the same as Anthony. His stare was fixated upon Anthony's lips, and it made his queasiness come back. Only it wasn't really queasiness, it was anticipation.
Anticipation for Lloyd, for him to be closer, for him to kiss Anthony.
He realized one last thing...
Anthony really– and he meant really– wanted to kiss Lloyd.
That was his last thought before closing the remaining gap between the two of them and pressing his lips against Lloyd's. Anthony thought about how in the romance novels, when the main couple shared their first kiss everything always seemed to stop for them. For Anthony it was the complete opposite.
The moment Lloyd's lips touched his... everything began.
His heart that had stopped beating was now pacing faster than Anthony deemed healthy. His brain that had had so much trouble with cohering thoughts, was now filled with Lloyd. And his lungs that had been malfunctioning, were now gasping for air as the kiss with Lloyd deepened.
It wasn't quite like any kisses Anthony had had before. Those were dull and frigid and made him feel more uncomfortable than they did cheering him up. This kiss was different though. It ought to have made him uncomfortable, as they were in public. It had certainly been like that in his previous relationships.
But he couldn't find it in him to care, for it all just felt right. And quite suddenly... Anthony found himself falling. He found himself falling and falling and falling further away from reality and closer to Lloyd.
He was falling, falling, falling...
And he didn't think it would ever stop...
Until it did.
Suddenly he felt a hard body collide with his back. It– quite literally– knocked some sense into Anthony. His forehead collided with Lloyd's, causing the both of them to pull away.
Anthony immediately missed his touch and regretted pulling away. But soon his regret was replaced with something else.
《》¤《》¤《》
Anthony was pissed off. Sure, he knew that it was probably just some teenager that had too much to drink and was having some trouble with his balance. And normally he would help steady that person and let them be on their way.
But Anthony was pissed off.
He was ready to shout at the person and push them away as far as possible. He had been kissing Lloyd, in public no less. It was their first kiss, and it had been... good?
To be fair Anthony hadn't really figured out yet what it was. But it was close to being perfect.
At least, that was until some clumsy, inept, blundering kid had ruined it. He was angry, and all the alcohol he had consumed that night didn't help with his building rage.
He clenched his hands into fists, beginning to speak up. "Watch where you're fu–" he cut himself off when his eyes landed upon the person that had bumped into them. A familiar face with blonde frizzy hair was looking up at him with a mix of an apologetic and panicked look.
Not having seen Ellianna all night, Anthony had thought she had left hours ago. Seeing as parties weren't really her sort of thing, it was only logical that he had thought that.
He unclenched his fists as he shot his hands up to hold her shoulders, to keep her swaying body steady, making sure she wouldn't fall over.
Ellianna had hit Anthony's back pretty hard; she could feel a slight stinging on her forehead. She looked down, rubbing the painful part with her palm, in hopes to rub the stinging away.
"Lee?"
Ellianna looked up at Anthony with a sheepish smile on her face, trying to hide her panic for getting home on time and her guilt for breaking their kiss apart.
"I must say, you've certainly improved!" Ellianna yelled, trying to be heard over the music. Referring to his dancing.
Why did everyone keep mocking his dancing?
Anthony's head was befogged from the alcohol, from the music, from Lloyd. It didn't make sense to him that she was still here. Why was she still here? Her curfew is at one and he was pretty sure that it had just been 00:30, so she should have left by now. And when had she ever stayed past midnight at a party? This entire situation was confusing to him.
"Lee, what are you doing?" He decided to ask her, yelling like her in attempts to be heard.
"Bumping into teenage boys... you?"
"I mean– what are you doing here?"
The smile was immediately wiped off her face and replaced by something else, Anthony wasn't sure with what. His sight was slightly blurry, he definitely had had too much to drink. He blinked a few times trying to clear his vision. It was obvious now: stress.
Why was she stressed? It was only a curfew? And not to forget, if she left now she would only be a little late. It was as if he knew why it bothered her, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. It was like fog that clouded his vision, preventing him from seeing her, seeing why she was so upset.
And then at once, the fog cleared up.
Her parents...
Of course, how could he have been so daft? He knew what had happened all those years ago (not everything but more on that later), and Ellianna had told him about her parent's constant worry for their children since then. He thought that she was overexaggerating. But after that one time he was staying at Lee's place and Kinsley had gotten home too late... he knew she definitely wasn't.
"I can't find Kinsley! Have you seen her?" She shouted back at him.
Anthony had to think hard for a moment, trying to recollect when he had last seen her. Had he even seen her? He didn't think he had. He must have at some point. He knew that she had been dancing with Justin for the majority of the night. He remembered it, because of the constant touching on his end and the uncomfortable looks on Kinsley's face. She tried to cover it up with a smile, but Anthony noticed it anyway. From time to time, she had even had to push his hands away from certain places.
He had wanted to say something about it to Justin when a couple of Lloyd's friends gotten to the two of them and gave them shots... lots of shots.
After that he hadn't recalled seeing Kinsley again. Where had she gone too? The brunet wondered. Before he could give himself a headache from all this thinking while intoxicated, Lloyd spoke up.
"She went upstairs with Justin about thirty minutes ago!" Lloyd also having noticed the Justin-and-Kinsley-Situation, didn't leave out the concern on his face and voice. Though he had left out, that the two of them hadn't gone up alone, but with Justin's friends.
Although Ellianna had a hard time with picking up on someone's feelings, she immediately picked up on the concern edged to Lloyd's features.
The panic she had felt a few minutes ago had now grown ten times worse. An uneasy feeling made its way to her stomach. Like something bad was about to happen. She closed her eyes, trying to regain her focus and thinking of reasonable questions to ask, that would help her the most.
She soon regretted closing her eyes.
For just a split second, she saw a bright flash. And then there was fire, nothing but flames and a dark blurry figure standing amidst of all the smoke. She heard heart-wrenching screams. Two neon orange eyes glowing so brightly Ellianna was able to see them through the thick smoke staring right at her. She stared back in admiration when the sound of her name being whispered caught her attention.
"Ellianna..."
Her eyes shot open, the flames disappearing from her sight. The sounds of the screams echoing in her eardrums. The expression on her face showed a mixture of terror and confusion.
What the hell was that?
Anthony took upon the look of horror on Ellianna's face. He squeezed her shoulder softly, forcing her to look up at him. Her eyes still wide from what she just saw, her blue gaze looked straight into his brown one. Anthony was taken aback by the terror in her eyes. Something was wrong with her, he noticed it immediately by the way her body stiffened under his touch.
"You okay?" He asked softly, concern lacing his voice. And despite his volume being low, she could hear him perfectly, her senses on hyperactive after what just happened, what she just saw.
Wanting no more time to be wasted she quickly told him:
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to find Kinsley. See you Sunday, okay?"
Anthony knew she was lying, but he let it slide knowing that his friend just really needed to find her sister and get them home. Even though that meant he had to let her go upset, without him being able to help her.
So instead of pestering her into telling him what was going on he forced a gentle smile on his face and hold out his hand for her to take. Ellianna looked down to his pinkie and for a short moment a ghost of a smile appeared on her face.
Though they weren't promising on anything, Ellianna felt the gesture calming her nerves a bit. She hooked her pinkie with his. Keeping her gaze fixed on their intertwined fingers, not daring to look up at him. He didn't mind.
"See you then, Lee."
And that was all he said, before she unhooked her pinkie and ran off to the staircase, sending a little wave and an appreciative smile towards Lloyd.
《》¤《》¤《》
Ellianna had always hated stairs, for good reason to, but she didn't want to get into that now. Normally, she would take as long as possible to climb them, taking each step with reluctance. But not this time– this time she ran up the stairs with all the power and speed she could muster.
As she stood at the top of the stairs slightly out of breath, she looked straight ahead. Ellianna was met with the sight of a white hall. There was minimum to no decoration. About two or three abstract paintings hanging between the doors and a plant standing next to the banister of the staircase. Ellianna found the place to have no ambiance, there weren't even any pictures. Not to mention, the plant's location– What had gotten into them to place it there, underneath a painting would have looked much, much better.
There were at least half a dozen doors in the hall (she counted nine). There was a corridor attached to the hall, leading to even more doors and possible locations where Kinsley could be.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Ellianna cried out, miffed.
She didn't even keep her voice down, she didn't care. All she wanted was to find Kinsley– hoping she was fine– but by the sound of Lloyd earlier it didn't seem like she would be. She was already stressing about making it home on time, but now there was the impending Is Kinsley alright? Question, weighing her spirits down.
Ellianna's head started filling up with possible scenarios of where her sister could be or what she was doing. Maybe she had been kidnapped by thugs who had disguised themselves as teenagers to find a pretty girl and sell her on the black market as a prostitute?
It might seem unlikely, but if Ellianna had learned one thing about living in Los Angeles...it was that nearly nothing was impossible here.
More scenario's formed in her head. She didn't think she liked a single one of them. They made her fill with anxiety and concern for her sister's wellbeing. She blew out a big breath and shook her arms and shoulders in preparation.
Come on Ellianna, you can do this. All you have to do is find Kinsley– and maybe fight of some kidnappers. But you will do what you will have to do and you will do it within ten minutes!
She knew she was being too positive taking all those goddamn doors in consideration, but she had to try.
So, she took one last breath and took off.
Starting with the rooms in the hall. She opened door by door. Some rooms she had to walk in and search and yell for Kinsley. Others she would only have to open the door for her to know she wasn't there.
She had seen a room with a girl crying and her friends trying to consult her, a room where a couple was arguing, a room where a few partygoers were playing spin the bottle, multiple bathrooms. And unfortunately for Ellianna, quite a few rooms where people were having some quality time.
The first time she had seen one of those rooms, she stayed quiet and quickly closed the door. The second time she found it weird that it now had happened twice in the span of five minutes. And the third time... well the third time the blonde had yelled something along the lines of: "Lock your freaking doors people, I'm not here for free porn!"
Ellianna opened the last door of the hall, wishing Kinsley would be in there so she could stop running into people having sex.
But alas, Ellianna was met with the sight of another bathroom. What... this was bathroom number three now? How many bathrooms did a family need? Certainly not more than three, right?
She let out a disappointed sigh, closing the doors. She ignored the burning in her throat and the exhaustion she felt spreading through her body. Ellianna leaned against the light wood door. Hugging her waist as tightly as she could, hoping the stinging she felt in her side would disappear.
Ellianna had been searching for Kinsley for longer than ten minutes now, which meant her plan of leaving at 00:50 had already failed. She had to keep moving so she could find her sister as fast as possible and leave this cursed house with its cursed bathrooms.
Ellianna hoped her parents weren't already too worried, seeing as normally when the blonde went with her sister to a party, they would come back pretty early. She blamed inventors on not having yet invented a small portable device that she could use to send her parents a message, letting them know they were okay, just running a bit late.
She didn't dwell on it for much longer, for she took off in a sprint again. Ready to tackle the rooms in the corridor. Knowing that Kinsley would be somewhere in there gave her the motivation to keep going.
A few partygoers that were stood in the hallway turned their heads to look at the frantic girl running past them. But they didn't give it much thought and soon got caught up in their conversation again.
There were almost no windows upstairs, Ellianna noticed. Not like in the living room. There it felt free and open, while here it felt as if the corridor was suffocating her, closing around her.
All the while, while opening doors, Ellianna reassured herself that her sister was fine. Justin had probably just wanted to have a moment with her in private. Maybe to talk, maybe to make out or maybe...
Ellianna shook her head. No, that couldn't be it. At home– when Kinsley was helping Ellianna with her hair–she had asked her sister if he made the move, if she would be open for it.
At first Kinsley had laughed, but then she scolded her twin for directness. Telling her something about that you shouldn't ask these sorts of questions out of the blue, but with more subtlety.
Ellianna had rolled her eyes at this and in return demanded she answer the question. Kinsley squirted some sort of hair product for curly hair into her hands. She rubbed the substance in the palms of her hand in silence, pondering her answer.
After half a minute or so Kinsley answered with no. Then she took Ellianna's hair and forcefully put the product in. Aside from a couple profanities mumbled by Ellianna, she said nothing else. She didn't question her sister on it further.
So, as she ran through the hallway, opening doors, Ellianna decided it couldn't be that. Kinsley had specifically told her she wasn't ready for it. With the possibility of her sister and Justin having sex diminished, Ellianna felt herself becoming calmer.
It wasn't like Ellianna opposed to her sister having sex. It was that she opposed to her having sex with him.
Kinsley probably just wanted to be alone with Justin for a while and have a private talk with him. Although that seemed unlikely as the boy wasn't capable of having a conversation that required intellect.
The first few rooms were unsuccessful, there was no trace of Kinsley. Until she opened one door where a few teenagers were scattered around the room. They were just talking and laughing– it looked like they were having a good time. When she ruled out that Kinsley wasn't there, she gripped the doorhandle tight, ready to close the door on her way out.
However, she couldn't help but notice they looked familiar.
She wracked her brain, in search for answers of who they were and what their names were... Suddenly, the memories bubbled to the surface: These were Kinsley's friends, or the popular group as one may call them. Ellianna had no clue what their names were, all she knew was that they were her sister's friends and that they were popular. She never needed to know more than that.
The blonde noticed a couple sat in the far corner. She recognized them as soon as she laid her eyes on them. Those were the kids who had jumped into the pool in front of Jacob and Ellianna.
The two telling a story to the rest of the group, Ellianna was about to close the door when the boy which she remembered being called Tyler called out to her.
"Who are you?"
She stopped in the doorway, with her back facing the group. She really didn't have any time for this.
"Shit." She mumbled under her breath, closing her eyes in a moment of utmost frustration. One of the teenagers heard her as they chuckled softly at her response.
She breathed deeply and tried to put a friendly smile on her face, before facing the group of people sat in the room. As she stood there, all eyes were fixed on her. It were only about six teenagers, but it still made her feel highly uncomfortable. She swallowed her saliva with great effort. Trying to speak up, but she just wasn't able to. She felt incredibly ludicrous standing there mutely.
Blasted anxiety
"You can join us if you like?" The person who had chuckled at her suggested. It was as if he had felt her discomfort and decided to help her out. She was quite surprised by his suggestion. They were the popular group– it was like an unspoken rule amongst them to only associate with other popular people. Something Ellianna unquestionably was not.
Alcohol really does make people do crazy things
Her eyes darted up to look at the person who said it. It was a boy with messy jet-black hair, soft brown eyes and a defined jawline. He had a welcoming smile on his lips, she noticed that the smile was directed at her. And if she hadn't been in such a hurry, she would have thought of how attractive he was.
At first, she looked shocked, but Ellianna soon found herself smiling back at the boy shaking her head, still with her hand on the handle. "No, it's okay. I just have to find my sister. Her name's Kinsley Keller. Have you by any chance seen her?" For some reason she didn't find it hard to speak to him. The rest of the group had diverted their attentions again and were caught up in their previous conversation.
The boy didn't say anything, so she continued.
"Have you? Seen her, I mean." Still nothing, except for the look of worry settled upon his features. Which in turn, made her feel a bit worried too.
"Do you – Do you know where she is?" Ellianna reiterated. She was being unusually nice to the boy, but still she got no reaction out of him except for an incidental nod. He looked completely out of it.
What was this kid's problem?
"You have?" Ellianna smiled relieved, "could you possibly point me to her?"
Then he finally spoke, a light inside of him flickering, uncertainly: "To– to Kinsley?" The name echoed of the walls and the rest of the teenagers suddenly went quiet, looking at Ellianna in a strange way.
The room grew quieter as the seconds dragged on. A heavy silence laying upon them. Ellianna drew her eyebrows together in confusion and finally released her grip on the doorhandle. She didn't want to be the one to break the silence first, and she contemplated on leaving all together when a girl spoke up.
She sat on the floor and had short brown hair framing her freckled face. She looked as confused as Ellianna. "You're Kinsley's sister?" The brunette asked. The dread in her voice wasn't missed by the blonde.
"Twin sister, actually." Ellianna nodded, "I can't blame you for not making that connection though..." she rambled, "everyone always says we look more like nieces than sisters anyway." The garrulous teenager desperately tried to fill the silence with her fruitless yammering on the misconceptions of how she and Kinsley were related.
The teenagers shared glances with each other, communicating without having to speak. They definitely knew something that she didn't. And it troubled her, so even though it meant she had to talk to an entire new group of people at once, she was determined to find out what it was that they were hiding from her.
"What's going on? Do you know where she is?" She dared to ask. The teenagers once again stayed silent, the tension growing. It started to annoy Ellianna relentlessly. They definitely knew something about Kinsley and the fact that they wouldn't tell Ellianna, pissed her off.
She had been telling herself that her sister was fine, that she was alright. But that didn't seem an option anymore. The concern for her sister was increasing with the seconds. When none of them spoke up she tried once more to get information out of them.
"Do any of you know where she is?" The blonde kept her voice calm as she looked at the group of friends. Some of them squirmed, others stayed as still as possible not daring to look her in the eye.
Finally, someone spoke up. Though it was not meant to be heard by Ellianna.
"We have to tell her..." A pale girl with wavy ash blonde hair whispered to the boy next to her. The boy only looked at her with warning eyes, as if he told her to remain quiet. It didn't go missed by Ellianna though, she had heard her perfectly fine in the quiet of the room.
There was definitely something suspicious going on.
"You know where she is." She fixated her stare on the pretty blonde, "Tell me." The girl demanded loudly, her voice stern. It had wavered though; it formed a crack in the brave facade she had put on. It made her look weak, and she hated it. A lump formed in her throat. She wanted to pull at her hair and scream to the people in front of her to just tell her where her sister was. She resisted those urges though, not wanting to look any more pathetic in front of these people than she already did.
The teenagers in front of her avoided her gaze, keeping quiet. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the boy with the black hair stood up from his seat and crossed the room to her. She looked at him incredulously as he put his hand on her arm. The kindness in his eyes soothed Ellianna a bit.
"I'll take you to her, come on." He said, nodding his head to the door. Ellianna felt relieved that someone in this room had the decency to help her. She wanted to thank him, but before she could, the boy from before interrupted her.
"Con..." the boy warned with a low voice, but there was an undertone to it. As if by escorting Ellianna something terrible was bound to happen. 'Con' seemed to ignore his friend though, as he led Ellianna out of the room and into the hallway. Closing the door behind him.
What was that all about?
She tried not to think about it and just be relieved she'd be seeing her sister in a minute.
They were silent as he led them to Kinsley. Ellianna had about a hundred questions going through her mind, but she decided against asking them. He looked at the girl next to him to see a frown had made its way on her face, he felt the worry radiating off her, he felt sorry for her, so he tried to reassure her.
"Don't worry too much, Kins and Justin only left a few minutes before you came bursting in." He joked casually, in attempts to ease the nameless girl's worries a bit. Or maybe it was to ease his own? For after all, Justin and Conner had been best friends since the very start of Freshman Year, and even though Justin had never admitted or said anything to Conner (or anyone else for that matter) there were certain things that a best friend just knew.
She looked up at him, her big doe eyes looking straight into his own. When she stared at him it felt as if she could see right through him and read every thought swarming his mind. Blonde curls framed her small face, the black make-up smeared on her eyelids accentuated her grey blue eyes perfectly and the freckles on the bridge of her nose moved when she scoffed. He noticed how pretty she was, had they not been in this stressful situation right now, he would have mentioned something about it.
"I would hardly call opening a door quietly bursting into a room." She replied defensively, not breaking eye-contact.
He bemusedly smiled down at her, however she didn't return the gesture and diverted her gaze to her moving feet instead, the frown returning to her face as she looked deep in thought. His game must be off tonight... usually once he smiled at a girl, he had them desperate for his attention the rest of the evening.
He opened his mouth to speak, "When you walked in... why'd you swear?" Conner tried again to talk to the girl with the rosy cheeks and the wild blonde hair beside him in order to fill the silence. She shrugged, keeping her gaze firm on the ground. "In the vast realm of the English Language... I found 'Shit' the most adequate response to the situation." She explained, lifting her chin up, not to meet his eye, but to look down the corridor.
"Which is what exactly?" He retorted without a single trace of resentment is his voice. Even though she had just sort of insulted Conner and his friends. He studied her side-profile, noticing the confusion etched on her face to his response.
"What do you mean?" She asked, still not sparing a glance his way. Her arms swung by her side, the tips of her fingers just barely reaching the bottom of the fabric of her loose black dress. It was almost like she had noticed him looking down at her dress and legs, for she instinctively tucked on it. Had she caught him staring?
"The s–situation..." He elaborated, slightly flustered by the fact he had been caught checking her out. "What kind of situation would edge you to choose 'Shit' from all the words contained in the –I believe you said– vast realm of the English Language?" He went on, more composed.
"A terrible one, I reckon." Replied the blonde after a moment of thought.
"Terrible? But I was there..." Conner implied flirtatiously. The slight buzz he experienced at the moment made it easier for him to talk to girls and dazzle them with his charms. Not that it was in any way difficult for him to do so when sober. His dashing good looks and witty replies made sure of that.
"I suppose that must have contributed to the terribleness of it all." She countered flatly without missing a beat. To her great surprise, he laughed at that. When he calmed down and looked to his left, he could've sworn he saw a soft smile on her lips too.
They reached the end of the corridor, before Conner could give any other reply. Ellianna realized it was the very last door of the upstairs area and she was quite pleased that Conner had brought her here, otherwise she would have still been searching the rooms for Kinsley, running around like a maniac without any sense of direction.
"This is Justin's room." He informed Ellianna, sticking his thumb in the direction of the door. She looked at the aforementioned door, she had a bad gut feeling in the pit of her stomach of what was happening or was about to happen. She tried to tell her body off for being so dramatic, for she didn't even know what was actually happening, they could just be having an innocent conversation for all she knew.
She turned away from the door to face the black-haired boy next to her. Finally making eye contact with him.
"Thank-you." She said solemnly, he grinned at her, and the corners of her mouth went up to reciprocate, but before she could smile a full smile, she was cut off by a loud crash coming from somewhere behind the pair in the corridor. Ellianna jumped at the sudden sound, loosing balance and stumbling back. Conner grabbed her arm, preventing her from falling.
The loud noise was what brought her back to her senses and made her remember why she were there: to find Kinsley and head straight back home before curfew (sort of, it was already ten minutes past 01:00).
Ellianna hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do now. She didn't want to go in unannounced, but she also didn't want to risk the action of knocking and it going unnoticed by the two inside the room. So it was that she came to the resolution to listen in on the two teenagers, currently finding themselves privy to Justin's bedroom. She moved forward and pressed her ear against the smooth material of the door to try and listen to what was going on.
It didn't take long before she heard soft whimpers, it sounded as if someone was crying. She tried to muffle out the sounds of the party downstairs and focus on the voices in the room. It was then that she heard soft pleas.
"P-please... Justin– stop..."
It was barely audible for Ellianna to hear, but it was said none the less. It sounded like a girl, and it didn't take a genius to find out that that girl was Kinsley. Her hands flew to the doorknob. She was ready to storm in and break every single bone in Justin Moore's body. She couldn't think straight anymore.
Anger and fury clouded her vision, and all that Ellianna saw was red.
A/N: Even I felt bad for all the trauma I'm making my charachters go through. First Ellianna, then Anthony, now Kinsley. It is really not looking too well for them.
At least we got Anthony and Lloyd... yey. Sorry for bringing the cliche of boy best friend likes girl best friend. But if you read the story, you can actually notice that Anthony never really liked Ellianna that way, he was just curious about what it would be like to be with her, causing him to sometimes have these feelings and complicating/confusing the entire situation for himself. I promise he doesn't actually like her.
For the people who don't quite understand yet:
Anthony does not, and I repeat, does not like Ellianna.
Now about some of the topics in this chapter. Anthony has a abusive dad, and yes Ellianna does know about this. But Anthony made her pinkie swear to never tell a soul. I would like to say that my heart goes out to anyone who has experienced any form of domestic violence. I hope you all are in a better situation now.
Now moving on to Kinsley... yeah... she is getting raped. If you hadn't noticed that yet. Justin is a very big asshole, he is popular and attractive and rich and he let's it get to his head. Thinking he can get away with everything.
Fortunately, I have never experienced this before, but I know people who have. And I also know that a lot of other girls and boys have experienced this. So, I hope that you all are okay and never have to experience such a thing every again.
I sincerely and truly hope that all of you are okay.
Much love,
Your writer