Look up Northern Downpour. Do it. Before you read this. God, that song can make me cry in a heartbeat.
So, that's the song that I listened to while I wrote this and just listen to it. It's beautiful.
This chapter is dedicated to Devin The Fabulous. Honestly, your reviews either make me giggle like a madman, or smile like a little kid on Christmas.
Eli
"Oh, baby boy!"
Oh. My. God.
This was a ritual with CeCe. She was very conservative about her emotions, but as soon as Eli came downstairs on every single first day of school, she cried. Especially now that Eli was starting a new school, her floodgates opened. And like always, Eli truly never knew what to do. He wasn't a parent, therefore, he could understand the pain of sending your kid to school.
Hell, even Bullfrog didn't understand. He just stood there, watching his wife watch their only son.
CeCe ran forward to the uncomfortable Eli and squeezed him tightly in her arms. Eli winced at her strength.
Must be from all the rock concerts, Eli thought and almost laughed, but couldn't due to the crying woman in his arms.
"Can I get in on this?" Bullfrog said from behind CeCe, his arms wide open. CeCe laughed and cried and choked on her tears all at the same time, making her sound like a hissing cat. Bullfrog pulled his wife and son in a painful embrace and squeezed them until they were red in the face.
"Now, son, what did we say 'bout making your mother cry?"
Eli flashed his father a grin and Bullfrog patted his shoulder fondly. "Especially now, Eli. Your mother is a tad bit emotional." Bullfrog whispered, loud enough for CeCe to hear. CeCe chuckled and smacked him.
"Says the man who cries while watching animal planet." CeCe replied snarkily, causing a snicker to pop out of Eli's lips.
"Fair enough."
.
.
.
"Is that a hearse?"
"No, it's actually a fire truck, can't you tell?"
"Why are you wearing all black?"
"Because I'm the fucking grim reaper, haven't you noticed?"
People stared at him, watching his every move. And that was odd for Eli. He was so used to being ignored that the attention was uncomfortable. And it wasn't normal stares. These kids were judging him. They would rake their eyes down his body and then would smirk, and then would turn around to their friend to talk about how stupid he looked. He hated being stared at, looked at. He just wanted to go in Morty and stay there. He wanted to lay in the backseat and close the curtains, just like he wanted to close the curtains to his heart.
'Curtains to my heart?', Eli thought, Maybe I really am emo...
Eli laughed bitterly and swung his bangs out of his face. He walked to his locker with haste and looked at the combination that he had written on his hand. Two of the numbers had smudged and Eli squinted at his writing with frustration, his patience wearing thin. Maybe the combination was 8-28-38? Eli tried the combination.
No luck.
He chewed on his lip in aggravation and a little drop of blood spread across his bottom lip quickly. His tongue swiped across the blood, just to have more blood spread. Eli dropped his book bag, the weight was putting too much pressure on his shoulders, and he ran his long fingers through his wild hair. His pulse was rapid and he felt his heart thump dramatically.
Everything seemed to be going wrong. He couldn't open his locker, class was about to start in less than five minutes, he couldn't find his schedule and was sure that it had fallen out of his pocket, people were staring at him and giving him looks that made him feel like a bug, and the blood from his lip that had traveled into his mouth was now leaving a metallic after-taste.
And all these small things made Eli want to just seep into the tiles. He wanted to become the floor and the walls.
He wanted to go home and hide under the covers. Though, he was sure that CeCe wouldn't really like that. Just a hunch that he had.
Irritation seeped into his pores and he tried his combination again, this time trying different numbers than the last time he tried. 12-38-18. He held his breath, this combination held the future of his mood. If it worked, he'd be happy. Hell, he'd do a fucking cartwheel if that's what it came down to. And if it didn't work, then he'd probably go into a corner, cry, and then hate the world. It was funny how a silly, small, metal lock could control his happiness.
That's what happens when you're crazy, he thought and put in 18, the last number of the combination. He held his breath, and slowly tried to open his locker.
Nope.
Eli growled in frustration and smacked his palm on his locker, taking all of his anger out on the locker. He saw the people around him jump and look at him, they were almost scared. He almost laughed at the looks. They never really knew when to look away...
Why don't you stare a bit longer?, He thought sarcastically.
Great. Fucking fantastic.
He wasn't even half-way through his day and people were judging him.
You're just being stupid and insecure, He scolded himself. And he threw his backpack over his shoulder again and squared his shoulders. So what? He'd carry his book bag around. He'd guess what classes that he had to go to and he'd make sure that he wouldn't give a damn. So after that thought, Eli put a smirk on his face and walked away with confidence.
But somehow, every step that he took, his insecurities found him.
.
.
.
Eli walked out of the office, with schedule and locker combination in hand. After the I-don't-give-a-fuck facade ended and he was just wandering the halls endlessly, he decided to just give up and go to the office.
First, he had Perino.
Perino?, Eli thought with a smirk, That sounds like a type of dog food.
At this time, Eli didn't care. He just wanted the day to be over.
Clare
"Where are you going now?"
Alli was almost jumping up and down from the excitement of being in school. She loved school, not for the learning, but for the drama that took place in every hallway. In fact, she went looking for drama. She walked the hallways, looking for a catfight, or even a small disagreement. Drama kept her alive. It kept her buzzing and sane.
And Clare mostly ran away from it.
Clare looked at her schedule and looked down to fifth period. "I have lunch." She said, looking up at Alli, silently asking what she had next.
Alli frowned and her excited body movements stopped for a few seconds, but then started back up again automatically. "Gah! I have a study block." Alli sighed and moaned with aggravation and Clare pretended to be irritated too, even though a part of her was glad to have a little bit of alone time.
The bell rang loudly and Alli looked up at it with impatience, and Clare giggled silently at the irony of it. Alli started to walk backwards, keeping her eyes on Clare. "Okay, Clare, I have to go but don't have too much fun without me."
Clare smiled just for her best friends sake and turned the other way to the cafeteria. She actually liked the silence as she walked. So many things have happened over the weekend and she just needed peace and quiet. I mean, she loved Alli, but sometimes she didn't want to know who-hooked-up-with-who. Drama was something that she found to be quite...rude. She didn't want nasty rumors going around the school about her, so why should she say anything about anyone else? Wasn't that the Golden Rule? Treat other how you would want to be treated?
She tugged on her cross necklace, the one that her father had given her when she was little, and also the one that had weighed her down ever since the weekend, and clenched it into her hand, making it engrave the shape into her soft flesh. She let go of the necklace and glanced at her hand, wondering how something that she believed in could be the reason for her families distress.
After the discussion with her parents, they pretty much ignored her. It was like she had never existed. They gave her dinner and then left to go to their separate corners, and left Clare to eat by herself. Now don't me wrong, she liked to be alone, loved is actually the right word, but she liked it when it was her choice. She liked it when she decided to be alone, not when people decided for her.
As she got closer to the cafeteria, part of her wanted to skip lunch and hide in the bathroom.
But the cafeteria had food...
I'm such a loser, Clare thought as she sat alone at a table. She was actually now wishing that Alli had lunch with her. Being in peace and quiet was one thing but sitting alone, with nothing to do, was another.
She stared around the room, trying to lose herself in nothing. But all she could hear was the screaming of the teenagers and the squeals of the girls and the loud, show-offy laughs from the guys. And a part of her wished that she could be apart of it. But the other part of her shut that thought down and told her that she was better than everyone in the school.
Too bad she didn't believe it.
She wasn't better than anyone.
She was nothing.
In fact, the dirt on the bottom of her shoe was better than her. Because didn't you hear? She was a thief.
And with that thought, she stood up quickly, through her lunch in the trash, and rushed out of the cafeteria.
.
.
.
Eli
He walked around the school, searching for room 258. He had English class this period and he had been running around the school for at least ten minutes. Sure, he had orientation, but that only lasted for like, five minutes. Not enough time for him to memorize where he was supposed to go.
Eli clenched his hands into fists and angrily sighed.
Today was not working out.
Not that he had high hopes but...this was just sad.
Room 227.
Room 238.
Room 250.
Room 259...
Eli stopped and grinned when he finally found the door. It was a small victory in a big day, but it was still a victory.
He pushed open the door and came into awkward silence as everyone stared at him, except one girl that had her head down on the desk.
"You're late." A brisk voice called out from the front of the room. Eli looked up to see a middle-aged woman sitting at the edge of her desk, obviously in the middle of a speech.
"And here I was thinking that I was early. Silly me, I guess." Eli gasped with mock-surprise. A few snickers were heard throughout the room, and even the teacher smiled. The teacher motioned to the empty seat in front a girl with curly hair. Eli nodded his head and slid into the seat.
.
.
.
Eli.
"Now, this project is due at the end of the semester, but I want you to get a heads up on it, okay?" Mrs. Dawes put little papers into a hat and shook it up. She started in the first row and pushed the hat to the first kid. "In this hat, there are little pieces of paper with a word on it. Whatever word or sentence you get, you have to write an essay on it. I don't want facts, I just want feelings." She was now on the second row. A small, feminine looking boy picked a white paper, looked at it, and then paled. The boy stuck the piece of paper in his pocket and crossed his arms.
"And trust me, I know that every teenager has feelings, so don't put those feelings away while writing. I want to see your every thought and every emotion. I want to see what lurks behind your stares and what is in the fiery depths of your soul." She was going on the third row now and Eli was having trouble not laughing.
Fiery souls?
Really?
Eli put his hand into the hat and pulled out a piece of paper.
Home.
He frowned and bit his lip, taking off the scab that had formed there ever since this morning.
But, what if I don't know what home is?, Eli thought, his heart sinking.
But he bit his lip, because admitting that you didn't have a home was looked down upon in his mind.
That's one step into letting people know how messed up you are.
God, I'm sorry that this is boring and horrible. The next few chapters are going to be more interesting. I'm just building up some situations.
Review?