Good lord, it's been a couple of months since I last updated. Sorry guys! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, especially Ashy143 who even went as far as to pm me (sorry it took so long!). Hope this chapter was worth the wait!
"Hey there" – speech
Hey there – thoughts
-GIYOS-
Chapter 3: Chess Sensuality and Friendship
Lorraine helped Nora get out of the rocking chair and walked down to meet the male newcomer. He and Sarah were still giggling about how they apparently spend too much time in their English lessons while Kate looked on with an expression that was half confused and half exasperated.
As the two sisters neared, Tommy trailing behind them, Nora stuck out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Nora. Sarah's eldest sister."
Elliot smiled and took her hand before proceeding to kiss it. It didn't take long for a blush to creep up to the young woman's cheeks and she was thankful that neither her husband, father or brothers were around to witness it.
"A pleasure to meet you, though I've already heard a lot about the both of you." He replied, smiling at Lorraine as well before turning back to Nora, "Congratulations on your second child by the way."
Nora's eyebrows rose slightly while she quietly thanked him, her words soon being drowned out Lorraine.
"So you've heard a lot about us have you?" She questioned, her eyes burning with obvious curiosity.
Elliot smirked and sent her a wink, "Oh but of course."
At this all three of the elder women raised their eyebrows. A flirty gentlemen? The cheeky bugger.
FLOP!
The three burst out into laughter as a tea towel hit the boy squarely in the middle of his tanned face.
"Dude, you are completely outrageous." Sarah told him, smirking.
"Sorry. I just couldn't resist it. It was far too good an opportunity." Elliot replied, throwing the tea towel back at her.
Sarah rolled her eyes, "You definitely need to get out more."
By this time Tommy had gradually edged his way forwards to get a colder look at this new teenager. The only older males that were almost constantly in his life, apart from his father, was his grandfather and uncles. Tommy wasn't quite sure what to make of Elliot yet but Sarah seemed to like him. He even made her laugh! Several times!
Elliot's eyes drifted down to the small boy with sandy blond hair and wide blue eyes.
So this is Tommy. Cute kid. He thought as he knelt down in front of the boy.
"Hey there, little man. I'm Elliot. What's your name?" He said with a smile, sticking out his hand for the young boy to shake.
Tommy stared at it for a moment as if his scrutiny of the older boy could reveal any and all of Elliot's faults. Slowly he reached out to take his hand and proceeded to gently and timidly shake it while sending Elliot a small smile. Sarah's eyes softened as she watched the scene.
Nora couldn't help but notice the ease with which Elliot got Tommy to trust him. It almost seemed practised; like he'd done it before. Usually Tommy was very shy, particularly towards strangers who were much taller than himself.
"So, Elliot", Lorraine began again, curiosity continuing to burn like a bonfire in her eyes, "Apparently you know a lot about us but we don't seem to know a lot about you. You mind filling us in on what Butch has so conveniently forgotten?"
The boy in question turned to Sarah in mock outrage.
"You haven't mentioned me? Not even once? And here I was, thinking we were friends! I am appalled!"
"Don't be so dramatic." Sarah replied without batting an eyelash.
"Yes, dear."
Turning around, Elliot sent a lopsided grin at the three women watching them.
"Well Mrs Baker, Mrs McNulty and Miss Baker. As you already know, my name is Elliot Murtaugh and I'm seventeen years old. As for how I know Sarah…" He paused, holding up his hand, allowing the silver gleam of his matching school ring to be visible, "We both go to Royal Trinity Boarding School."
Lorraine furrowed her eyebrows slightly, "But you're seventeen so…"
"I'm in the year above Sarah but we're in the same house. Think Harry Potter, just without the moving staircases and talking paintings."
At this information, Lorraine's mind kicked into high gear. An older boy? Houses that aren't gender specific? Charlie would be ready to strangle the poor boy if he were here. Lorraine's mouth curved into a miniscule smirk.
Time to do some more digging. I'm behind on blackmail material for Butch anyway.
"So if you two are in different years, how did you meet?"
Sarah's eyes trailed over to her sister's, fully aware of what Lorraine was up to but wondering if she had possibly considered that Elliot would already be used to this manner of questioning considering he had older siblings himself. Granted, having as many siblings as the Baker Brood was rare in this modern economy but the Murtaugh Clan certainly didn't need to worry about wealth issues…
Elliot just smiled, having already clocked onto Lorraine's train of thought and determined not to let her embarrass Sarah or himself as much as many of his siblings had, "Well, I always thought it was a bit unfair that the Years 7s got a lot of help when first entering the school but any new older students just got left to fend for themselves while being surrounded by people who already knew each other. It's just so awkward. I couldn't even imagine being in that position so when I saw Sarah sitting on her own in the common room on the first night, I went over and enchanted her with my alluring charms –"
Sarah rolled her eyes before interrupting him, "He asked me if I wanted to play chess with him."
"Dude! You're ruining my sense of sensuality!"
"El. There's nothing sensual about playing a game of chess in a room full of hyperactive, prepubescent children."
Elliot nodded his head in agreement, "Especially when the other person has no idea how to play."
"Har fucking har."
"Sarah!"
"Sorry, Mum!"
"Anyway," Elliot drew out the word, "after that, I invited Sarah to hang out with me and my friends and, to cut a not so long story short, never have we ever parted since."
The older women stared at his grinning face for a moment. Really and truthfully, it probably shouldn't have surprised them that Sarah's first friend at her new school was a guy but the fact that he was older, ridiculously cute and obviously close with her, did throw for a loop. It just wasn't really something that they were expecting.
"Besides, we both like skateboarding."
Now, that made more sense.
A yawn from little Tommy reminded the Baker matriarch that it was indeed getting late and that her family still needed to be fed.
"Well, Elliot, it's getting dark. Do you want to stay for dinner? I'm sure we could squeeze you in somewhere."
The teenager smiled gratefully at the older woman, "Thanks Mrs Baker but I'm going to have to head back before my Dad sends out a search party."
At this, he made a face while Sarah grinned in amusement, knowing full well what Jimmy Murtaugh could be like when he started to worry about his children.
"I really just came by to say hi to Sarah and to give her this." Elliot pulled out a black and red memory-stick from the pocket of his board short and handed it to Sarah with a wink, "Courtesy of our resident photographer, Darryl Moriates."
Sarah grinned at the small object in her hands, "Good old Daz."
"Anyway, it's awesome to finally meet you guys. Especially you, little man." Elliot said cheerfully, kneeling down to shake Tommy's tired hand again, drawing a smile from the boy, "No doubt we'll be seeing more of each other while we're both here."
Lorraine raised her eyebrows at his assumption while watching him turn towards her little sister. Apparently the boy knew something they didn't.
Elliot stepped closer to Sarah before enclosing her in a hug and turning his head ever so slightly to whisper in her ear without drawing the suspicions of their audience.
"I'll be seeing you later, kárdia mou. Feel like jet skiing tomorrow?"
Sarah valiantly tried to force down the heat that had crawled up her to her cheeks and nodded her head against his shoulder while moving her own arms around his waist to hug him back before pulling away.
"Awesome! I'll see you later then." Elliot grinned and waved at them before jogging back down the dirt part that had led him to the cabin.
Sarah watched his shadowed figure get gradually smaller before looking back down at the memory-stick in her hands. She didn't bring her laptop. That meant she was going to have to borrow one of her siblings' laptops. That sibling was probably going to be one of her sisters. Sarah noticed Lorraine's smirking face from the corner of her eyes.
Fuck. This is probably going to get really awkward… for me.
"Come on girls! The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can eat and the sooner I can go to bed!"
Sarah quickly slipped the memory-stick into her pocket while turning to help finish setting the table and bringing the food out, all the while avoiding the eyes of both her sisters and her mother.
Definitely going to get awkward.
-GIYOS-
Well, there you go! I hope it was up to your standards. I know it wasn't all that exciting but it's all needed for the coming chapters. Don't forget to review and comment on what you would like to see happen in future chapters!
Peace out, people
~Sentarstage