though lennon’s known to have a particularly good poker face, she’s never really been able to keep a straight face when it comes to elliot. the second she feels his arm snake around her waist, she can already feel her heart beat a little faster under the fabric of her dress. but it’s not until he begins to whisper directly into her ear that his effect on her becomes obvious. her hand reaches up to meet the one holding onto her waist, holding on tighter with each word, her eyes fluttering shut as she attempts to calm herself down, the thoughts of them together in the hallway flooding back into her mind. thankfully, she’s forced back into reality with indigo and jagger’s arrival, and inhales sharply as elliot’s face moves away from her ear. she offers an amused smile as her eyes move to the ground, fingers subconsciously ghosting against the skin of her neck and shoulder where the marks elliot’s just left have started to darken at jagger’s remarks. her eyes lift back up to meet her boyfriend’s as he pulls her closer, her hand reaching for his as they walk over to one of the hotel’s elevators. their ride up is rather quiet, each couple holding onto each other as their silence is punctuated with a chime indicating each of the floors they’re passing. they finally make it to their floor, and follow indigo to the door, which opens to reveal a large suite. lennon immediately feels the urge to explore, tugging elliot lightly through each room. their tour leads them back into the common area of the suite, where they let go of each other, elliot reaching for his camera, while lennon moves over to the corner of the large bed’s mattress. she watches intently as elliot bends his back and legs to position himself at just the right height to take a picture of his friends, her focus suddenly shifts from her boyfriend to the happy couple. her head subconsciously cocks to the side as she watches them pose, adjust each other’s hair, laugh, and get lost in each other at each chance they get to make eye contact. for a fleeting second, she finds herself wondering if she and elliot will make it through to a similar milestone. after all, from what she’s heard, jagger and indigo have actually been together for a while. two years, almost. an eternity when you’ve only lived for a mere two decades. meanwhile, it’s taken her about the same amount of time to even be able to fathom feeling any emotions besides lust towards her significant other. though, to be fair, the recent developments in their relationship have most definitely made up for lost time. after a few minutes, the lens of elliot’s camera pans over, landing on her, in a fashion which is endearingly familiar to their first morning together on the beach in york. contrastingly though, back then, she never would’ve paused to let him take a picture, especially one where she was gracefully gazing into the objective instead of attempting to hide her face with her hands.
more pictures are taken, and jokes are exchanged, but it isn’t long before indigo tires out. she and jagger eventually slip out of the door, feeling the urge to sleep in their own bed. as the girl closes the door behind them, she flashes a very obvious wink at her best friend, her free hand leaving the keys to the room in elliot’s hands. the door shuts for good, and suddenly the room is truly just filled the two of them, prompting him to return back to lennon who, for the millionth time that evening, feels a slight shortness of breath at the sheer sight of the boy she’s so desperately in love with in a suit jacket. she slowly descends from the corner of the bed and moves over to him, each step in his direction seeming to take longer than the one before it. when she’s finally close enough, both of her hands pause against the lapels of his jacket, before removing it from his frame completely, her arm extending to place it on the chair behind him. her fingers then open his shirt, button by button, while his expertly find their way to the back of her dress, pulling the zipper down. they maintain a slow pace for a few seconds, the whole situation foreign to both, given the usual insatiable hunger they have for each other. their traditional brisk pace returns once they lock lips, their nails digging into each other between laboured breaths as he blindly — yet expertly — guides her, her back crashing against the mattress instants later. “ wait, ” she breathes out, just as she can feel his hands pull her wrists up. his grip instantly loosens and he looks down at her, a faint trace of confusion in his eyes. “ i — ” she whispers, releasing her wrists from his grip fully and bringing one of her hands down to the nape of his neck, while the other rests against his shoulder, “ i love you. ” as the words escape her lips, she can’t help but mentally note just how vulnerable and how bare she is — both physically and emotionally — in that very instant. she’s said the words before, but they seem to have taken on a whole different meaning after all of the events of that night. their first night around others as a couple, their first night openly being affectionate around one other, their first night mixing friend groups. it’s terrifying and thrilling all at once and lennon can’t help but welcome the odd dichotomy. she barely gives the other time to echo her sentiment or herself time to really think about why she even expressed what she did in that very moment, covering the bizarre rollercoaster her feelings are taking her on by kissing elliot instead. seconds in, she breaks away and moves from his mouth to his neck, slowly pressing a tender kiss again his skin. her lips then curl back to reveal her teeth, which nip at his neck lightly for a moment, the girl basking in the sounds she’s able to extract from the boy’s lips. her face moves back up to face his, and she pauses to admire him for a short second. soon enough though, the softness in her face melts away, revealing the more traditional lustful smile elliot’s come to know so well. “ anyway, ” she breathes out, forehead pressed to his, “ weren’t we in the middle of something? ”
as much as elliot loves photographing his friends, capturing their candid moments for his private photo albums, the whole time, he’s itching for another second alone with lennon. indigo had been kind enough to request that the suite be a smoking room, claiming that it was to keep elliot inside and warm ( she’d also booked it far before the accident, probably intending to smoke a joint with all of them ). there isn’t much for the four of them to do, and it’s not long that his two best friends disappear for the night, leaving the room to the two of them. he’s kind of expected this to happen, and the second that they’ve left the suite, elliot’s ready to pounce. he abandons his camera by the untouched bar, eyeing lennon from across the room. their movements are like some sort of dance, practiced and perfected from the way they undress each other, to the way he tosses her down onto the mattress and finds his typical place on top of her, a knee resting between her thighs. however, it’s moving a bit slower than usual, like they’re testing the waters for something different. instinctively, his hands reach for hers, pulling them up above her head -- until she’s gotten him to pause, and elliot drops what he was about to do instantly, looking to her for direction. there’s a glimmer of distress in his eyes, trying to figure out what is prompting lennon to want to hold off. the look in her eyes, full of adoration calms his nerves, along with the caresses of her fingers against his cheek and collar bones. she whispers sweet sentiments, not giving him enough time to relay them back to her unfortunately, catching him up in another passionate kiss, which moves to kiss him in other places as well. he’s buzzing in his mind, thinking about how much he loves hearing those words now, in comparison to how at one point he’d begged her to not restate it. lennon bites his neck once again, and he audibly whines, turning to grin seductively at her. “anyway?” he repeats, raising an eyebrow. “we were, but it can wait... because you need to know: i love you too, lennon. je t’aime, je t'aime de tout mon coeur.” her eyes are sparkling in the dimly lit bedroom, and elliot’s heart is beating three times faster than he’s usual. his lips are spread wide across his face, clearly over the moon about telling her how much he loves her. he kisses her softly, sweetly -- different than their usual dance, but one that they seem to pick up on very quickly, and elliot cups her cheek, pulling her in deeper for him.
unfortunately, their romantic moment post i love you’s is promptly interrupted by the sudden sound of pounding on the door echoing through the suite. at first thought, it’s indigo or jag returning for something they’ve forgotten, but neither of them would’ve knocked like that, and instantly, a pang of worry spreads throughout elliot’s body. it’s absolutely jarring, and he pulls back, waiting to see what will happen next. the banging continues, followed by the moaning of a voice outside of the door. he moves off of her, his knee sliding out from between her legs and both of his feet finding solid ground. the voice is unfamiliar -- in the sense that he knows it’s not jagger or indigo, anyone that he’d care about, but he’s curious to know who could be trying to disturb them so actively. he’s still wearing his suit pants, so he reaches for the red sweater he’d brought along with them to cover up his top half for warmth before he goes to investigate, feeling lennon at his heel as he goes towards the doors. the door came with a peephole, and elliot squints, leaning closely to peer through. his heart sinks when he realizes who it is. “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” elliot says under his breath, grumbling as he moves to undo the latch and open the door, not mentioning to lennon who’s been howling outside their room. “you’re becoming a real problem tonight, liam. i’m not exactly sure what i need to do to get you to give us some space, but i’d love to find out. we’re trying to have a nice night after the hell semester i’ve had. aren’t you trying to do the same, liam? or are you seriously that obsessed with my girlfriend?” lennon has joined beside him, her hands working to tie the robe she must have quickly grabbed securely around her waist. “understandably obsessed, i suppose. lennon is incredible... and intelligent, extraordinarily talented -- oh, and taken, too. which i think we’ve made clear to you by now, liam.” left hand extended and holding the door, elliot wraps the other around lennon’s waist defensively. elliot is not amused, rolling his eyes at every belligerent comment liam seems to throw back at him. finally, elliot can’t help but go on, clicking his tongue and speaking louder than the other boy. “it didn’t take me very long to figure out the reason why you can’t seem to stay away from her. and it’s not some vast and intricate reason, like you probably tell yourself when you think about lennon every night. no, liam, you aren’t as complex as you think you are. you simply want what you can’t have.” elliot nearly laughs at him, but stops himself at a judgmental smirk. he can feel the overprotective, almost possessive side of himself starting to come out, and he doesn’t want to ruin their night by acting some way that could upset lennon. so, he exhales slowly and lifts his hand from her waist, resting it at the small of her back. he turns to her, biting his lip. “i... think i’ll go too far if i go on,” he smiles at lennon, relishing in how easily just gazing at her seems to calm him down. “i’ll leave you to say what you’d like to say.” he kisses the side of her head, releasing his hands from the door and from lennon and then he’s moving back throughout the suite, sitting himself down on one of the larger couches, but within the distance so that he’s still able to watch liam at the doorframe. he quickly lights up a cigarette, and then turns his body away, deciding to completely trust lennon to diffuse the situation.
the lack of alcohol in her system means she’s up early, her eyes fluttering open and almost confused at the lack of light. she groans a little once she realises how early she’s up, but gets out of bed shortly after, desperately craving something to eat. as expected, the kitchen is quiet when she gets to it, the jar of cherries still out on the counter where she and elliot left it the night before. she puts it away with a smile, and finds the brioche she made sure josephine stocked their pantry with, spreading some raspberry jam onto a few slices. once she’s satisfied with the amount of breakfast she’s made herself, she steps out onto the house’s front porch, and looks out towards the beach. though there’s barely any light out, it’s not hard to spot the dark-haired boy from where she’s standing, clutching his camera and pointing it at the horizon. she watches him snap away at the waves in front of him for a few minutes, taking a few bites of brioche here and there. even from the back, there’s something attractive about him. after a while, she’s forced to admit that her covert observation is a little bizarre, and she puts her plate and the few stray pieces of brioche left down, her hand grasping the wooden handrail instead as she makes her way out of the home’s front porch and onto the beach. though she purposefully averts her gaze from him once her feet have made it onto the cold sand, she can tell his lens are pointed straight at her, attempting to look as natural as she can despite the sudden awareness. thankfully, the closer she gets, the less he seems to be taking pictures, eventually turning back to his original position. “ you really weren’t kidding about being up early. i don’t think i’ve ever heard of anyone at pike being up before noon after a party, ” she notes, as she reaches his side, standing beside the blanket he’s laid out, “ not unless they’re throwing up a lung and yelling they’ll never touch a single drop of alcohol ever again. ”
she stands at his side staring out at the budding sunrise for a few minutes, taking it all in and mentally applauding herself for getting up early enough to witness it. finally, her limbs grow tired — she blames the activities of the night before — and she makes her way down onto the blanket, lying down onto her stomach to face the ocean, head resting against one of her hands. she shakes her head as he brings the thermos out of his bag, satiated enough by the small breakfast she ate a few moments prior. besides, funnily enough, she feels well-rested enough to go without caffeine for the time being. the sound of elliot’s camera capturing a few more frames pleasantly echoes in her ears while she watches a colourful palette of reds, oranges, pinks and blues develop across the few clouds in the sky. “ i’m sore, and getting out of bed was a little difficult earlier, ” she admits as a smile grows across her features, gazing out at the sun’s reflection, “ but i was still able to walk down a flight of stairs and over to you, so maybe next time turn down the vanilla all the way down. ” she cranes her neck just enough to stare directly at him as he pulls away from his camera, teeth sinking into her bottom lip, which is curled into a devilish smile. she’s fully aware that he wasn’t really vanilla at all the night before but, last time she gave him an order, she got to see a much rougher version of him almost instantly. a side of him she’d happily see again, right then and there. it’s a change from her usual routine, which she welcomes with open arms. “ with all of the impending hangovers, no one from prince is going to be up for hours, so we’ve truly got the beach to ourselves for a while, ” she hints, looking back towards the waves, inhaling deeply as a slight maritime breeze washes over her.
“well, as i’d mentioned last night, i don’t really fit in with the rest of them. i don’t drink, so, it makes it a little hard to find something in common with a lot of them, and i guess, most of greek life.” elliot elaborates. he carefully unscrews the cap of his thermos, bringing the drink up to his lips and taking a long, hearty gulp of the stuff, until suddenly elliot’s eyebrows furrow almost instantly at her comment. “vanilla?” he repeats incredulously, tightening the cap back onto the thermos and returning it to his bag. he turns from looking down at her, smirking up at him to his camera bag, storing his camera carefully before placing it into his messenger bag. he moves, sitting in front of her on his knees, just staring down at her for a moment, trying to decide exactly how he was going to respond. elliot rests his hand against her back, his fingers toying with the ends of her blond hair hanging carelessly from her ponytail. elliot laughs softly, shaking his head. “gee, lennon -- sorry for not going full dom on you the first night we meet. it’s not really my style. now that i know, though,” the delicate playfulness elliot had with the wisps of her hair vanishes as elliot grips her ponytail completely and starts to pull her up to face him. “i can guarantee, you won’t be seeing anything vanilla from me in the future.” once she’s up to his level, kneeling in front of him, elliot is paying close attention to her expression in case anything seemed to change, alerting him of whether or not he should continue. luckily, her eager eyes urge him to progress. “besides, how was i supposed to know that the confident woman who kissed me first would end up tied to her bedposts with scarves? and now, she tells me that it was too vanilla?” elliot laughs, the hand that isn’t still holding tightly to her ponytail lifts to cup her face, his thumb brushing over her bottom lip, pulling it down and watching it bounce back into place. “just wait until we get back to prince, and i get you back to my dorm in marston. tie you up with some real ropes, the kind that tend to leave marks if i make them too tight... and something about you gives me the impression that i’m really going to need to restrain you, lennon.” chuckling once again, elliot brings his lips close to her ear, a husky breath leaving his mouth before he whispers: “but i’m sure that’s secretly what you want, isn’t it?” there’s a moment of silence, where elliot just wants to listen to her breathing, and wait for a reaction from her, but there’s a part of him that really can’t wait any longer. “by the way,” he starts, clicking his tongue, “i’m a big fan of this ponytail. thought i’d mention that, anyway,” he shifts slightly, his hand dropping from cupping her face to her shoulder, pushing her back against the blanket, the hand holding her ponytail pulling her down at the same time. once lennon’s flat against the blanket, elliot releases her, spreading her legs apart and finding a space in-between them, and for the first time since seeing her a few hours ago, elliot finds himself kissing her uncontrollably. this, of course, escalates into wild sex on the beach that elliot just can’t seem to get out of his head for months afterwards.
elliot had heard in the past that sex on the beach wasn’t that exciting of an experience, but he felt differently, the two of them having to stretch afterwards before heading back up to the pike airbnb after elliot’s suggestion of a hot shower. it’s still early, and they aren’t surprised to find several of the pike boys passed out on the couch, and the house reeking of different types of alcohol, but the two tip-toe up the staircase and move quietly into elliot’s shared room with jagger. they make it about halfway into the room, just after the door is completely shut before elliot notices jag stirring in the bed. “eli... is that you?” jag’s voice sounds strained, coming from underneath his blankets. elliot cringes slightly at the thought of lennon possibly hearing jag use his nickname. jagger doesn’t actually make any effort to see who has entered the room, so elliot takes the opportunity to say: “no, dude... you’re still asleep. this is a dream.” he’s pretty sure that this is going to backfire, knowing that if it had been happening to him there’s no way he could actually take this is a dream seriously. luckily, a hungover jagger stays hidden underneath the blankets, and very softly, as elliot is gently pushing open the door to the attached bathroom, the two of them hear the boy whisper: “oh.. cool.” elliot shuts the door behind them quietly, turning to face her, watching as she immediately starts undressing. “eli, huh?” lennon smiles at him, already turning on the shower and testing the temperature of the water. a frown makes its way onto elliot’s face, shaking his head. “yeah, no. only jag calls me that. don’t let it catch on.” there are no more comments made about elliot’s nickname, which the boy is extremely grateful for, following lennon into the shower and finding that the water is the perfect level of hot. pleasantly surprised, elliot hums appreciatively, letting the hot water soak his features. they know that they need to be quiet, given that jagger is asleep in the next room, but elliot is not going to turn her down when lennon suddenly offers to go down on him in the shower. they spend longer underneath the running water than elliot would usually prefer, but they come out feeling extremely refreshed and smelling delightfully of lemongrass and bergamot. it’s there, in the steamy bathroom, hair dripping water onto the ceramic tile that elliot realizes that lennon isn’t someone he wants to disappear from his life after this erotic spring break -- but after just getting out of a relationship, he really isn’t ready to admit that to himself, let alone out loud to lennon. besides, she just exudes a vibe of i don’t date, and he’d left danielle so that he didn’t have to date. at least he’d placed the thought in both of their heads that the two of them would be hooking up again after returning back to prince, hinting at what lied in his dorm room, waiting for her. after getting dressed again, elliot scrolls through his cell phone, feeling his stomach starting to growl. “all right, so, there’s a diner down the block that just opened a few minutes ago for breakfast, which just so happens to be my favorite kind of food. i don’t really feel like waiting for jag to wake up, or for him to turn me down when he tells me he’s too hungover, so are you up for joining me?” elliot proposes, hoping it’s not too bold of a suggestion.
“get up, birthday boy!” a pleasant voice disturbs a young elliot cameron from his slumber, his eyes flickering open to see his mother and younger sister crowding up his small bedroom. he shifts uncomfortably under the covers, sliding down underneath them so that he’s able to return to being alone. “ten years old today! when is my baby boy going to stop growing?” mrs. cameron thinks out loud, heading out of her sons room once she realizes he’s finally waking up. beatie remains, however, climbing onto his bed and sitting on his middle.
“daddy says we’re going someplace fun today.” beatie says, eyes wide with excitement. “he said he’s even going to let me pick out a stuffed animal!”
“great, beatie. now get off of me.” elliot groans, shuffling his legs underneath his several blankets so his sister will move. he’s about to shove her off of the bed when he hears his mother and father begin shouting in the other room, which causes elliot to freeze and listen. the dislike between his parents had been growing again for some time. it had seemed like over the past couple of years things had started to get better between the two of them, but they always had their days when they weren’t able to keep their voices down. of course, they had to begin going at it again on elliot’s birthday. he eyes beatie, still sitting on him, wondering if she’s trying to figure out what they’re so upset about too. elliot sits up, pulling his sister down onto the bed beside him, hopefully to distract her from their parents fighting. “do you know where he said we’re going?” he asks, getting out of bed and heading to his closet to start getting dressed.
“no!” beaite says, giggling. “he just said that--”
the door to his parents room slams shut, the pounding sounds of his fathers footsteps echoing as he heads towards the kitchen, creating a ripple effect of silence throughout the tiny cameron home. there’s a noticeable look of discomfort in beatrice’s eyes, which sends elliot into a bit of a panic, worried that his sister may be about to have an epic meltdown over their parents arguing. it wouldn’t be the first time, and definitely not the first time it was about to come at the most inopportune time. he’s right, as tears brim in his younger sisters eyes, and she jumps off of the bed, sprinting to her bedroom, burying her head into her pillow, elliot’s mother chasing after her.
this prompts the uneasy birthday boy to finish getting ready, pulling on a cushy red sweatshirt and his jean jacket, shivering a little as he still feels a little chilly underneath all his layers. after getting dressed, he peeks into beatie’s room, watching for a moment as their mother is sitting on the bed, attempting to comfort a nearly hysterical beatrice. this is the norm whenever mr. and mrs. cameron have their fights: elliot’s little sister will burst into a panic, certain that their father will react in ways he had previously when he’d been so angry at one of them. it had only happened once, elliot’s father actually hitting him, but it was engrained in his younger sisters memory, from what it seemed. ever since the incident three years ago, the fighting between his parents started to come to an end, little quarrels popping up less and less. it was the unfortunate action that had prompted mr. cameron to change, though it would most likely never change the opinion his son and daughter would have of him.
elliot passes through the living room, quickly arriving in the kitchen, as their home was one that some would say was cozy. “dad, can i bring jag?” elliot asks, elbows on the kitchen counter as he watches his father packing lunch for the four of them.
“no, eli. i can barely afford to take you and your sister out today.” mr. cameron grumbles, reaching for a mason jar to fill up with elliot’s favorite drink: cherry lemonade. elliot shifts back and forth on his feet, trying to figure out how to convince his father to let him bring his one and only friend. zipping up the lunch bag, mr. cameron throws it over his shoulder and heads out to the front yard to pop it into the car.
“i bet jag’s parents can pay for him.” elliot offers, following his father out front to the truck. “i mean, it is my birthday. i bet they would even pay for me if i asked.” elliot mentions, which earns a glare from his father.
“drop it, eli. you can’t bring jagger.”
the boy scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. “what do you mean i can’t bring jagger? isn’t this my birthday we’re celebrating? i can’t even bring my best friend?” the boy pleas, brows knitted together as he tries to understand his fathers reasoning. there’s no explanation, as elliot’s father growls at him to grab his sister and get settled into the truck. hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, elliot sulks back into his house to grab his younger sister, who he isn’t surprised to find she’s still having a temper tantrum in her bedroom, shouting at their mother that she doesn’t want to go to the aquarium, and that she doesn’t care that it’s her older brothers birthday.
it only takes a couple of seconds for elliot to realize that he’s not in the mood for this anymore. it didn’t matter that it was his birthday -- it had been ruined by his parents actions, and there wasn’t going to be anything that was going to shake beatie from the headspace she was now in. all that could be done was to let it all go, and the young boy decided the best option was to go hide under the covers in his bedroom. he marches down the short hallway, heading into his room and shutting his door far harder than he’d intended to, the door shutting with a loud SLAM, earning a screech from his little sister in her bedroom across the hallway and a shout from his father. quickly, elliot’s fingers twist the lock, giving himself the impression of safety as he’s now frozen in fear as he can hear mr. cameron’s roaring footsteps make their way down towards the end of the hall, to elliot’s door. the boy stands a few feet away from it, hands balled into fists at his sides as he hears his father knock forcefully against the wooden door.
“the fuck is wrong with you, elliot?” mr. cameron’s voice echoes, knocking again. “i go out of my way and arrange a trip out for your tenth birthday and you’re going to go against what i tell you to do, and fucking slam my doors? you ungrateful little shit. sometimes i wonder why i bother with the two of you.”
“what’s the point? i can’t bring jagger, beatie is freaking out -- thanks to you, by the way -- and you and mom don’t actually give a shit about the fact that it’s my birthday -- you feel obligated to do this !!” he shouts through the door, his eyes immediately darting to the doorknob as his father frantically attempts to open it, demanding elliot open the door before he breaks it down. it only takes a couple of seconds for the now ten year old to unlock the door and take two steps backwards as his father comes bounding into the bedroom, followed behind by his mother who appears extremely concerned.
red in the face, mr. cameron is staring his son down, giving him the look that elliot has grown to recognize as you really think you have a choice? and while usually it would cause elliot to snap out of whatever it was that was causing him to want to disobey his father, this time, he’d been desperate to handle things differently. the boy backs up slightly, his legs hitting his bed frame -- falling backwards until he’s sitting, crossing his arms over his chest.
“what, dad? are you going to hit me? on my birthday? i thought we were past all this.” his tone starts off sarcastic at first, but as the thought of his father actually choosing to punish him physically today crept up in his head, his haughty tone sinks into one of worry. the comment is enough to soften his father’s irritated expression. there’s an uncomfortable silence between the two of them, a pause from his father who is usually so eager to throw back a pissed off retort. elliot blinks, wondering if his father actually is going to take a step towards him and do something, but what he does instead surprises elliot even more.
“okay, eli. you don’t want to go out on your birthday? fine. you can stay here. be disengaged from this family. the rest of us are going out.” mr. cameron turns away from his son, grabbing the doorknob and pulling the door shut on his son as he exits without another word. the voice of his sister wailing down the hallway can be heard as elliot just stares his bedroom door down. the house shakes for just a second as the front door is slammed, and soon after his father’s truck rumbles down his street, and elliot is left alone, uncomfortable, and disappointed on his birthday, and unfortunately... this is not the first time this has happened.
october 27th, 2008 12:30PM
it’s bad enough that his family has insisted on making his birthday a big deal, though they’re aware elliot is not a big fan of it in the first place, but add in the fact that his only friend has moved away, leaving him surrounded at a party full of friends he doesn’t really like, and awakening to the voices of his mother and father shouting at each other ( which had unfortunately become an often occurance once again ). maybe it’s because he’s turning thirteen and there’s something exceptionally moody about becoming a teenager after years of wanting to grow up and get out, but he especially doesn’t want to get out of bed today. it’s another milestone. ten years old, that birthday ( and the whole year, really, aside from the camping trip he’d taken with jagger that summer ) had been a disaster; he’d been expecting something to go wrong, but boy, had elliot underestimated what would truly happen.
he’s hiding under his bedsheets until beatie comes strolling into his bedroom like she always has. she’s older now, and so is he, which is what prompts him to say: “you know, according to the social construct that says i’m a teenager, i deserve some form of privacy, and i’d really like it if you could knock in the future, beatie.” elliot says grumpily, rolling over in his bed to face the wall. in moments he can feel her sitting cross legged at the edge of his bed. “you know we’re too big to both sit on this thing now.”
“you are being such a downer. it’s your birthday, eli! you know it’s your birthday, right? you’re supposed to be happy.” beatrice huffs, her hands gripping his legs and moving them back and forth, trying to get his attention.
“says who? i can feel however i want to feel.” elliot says, giving in and moving to sit up -- mostly because beatrice has made the bed rather uncomfortable by sitting on it with him. “and i feel like you’re being pretty fucking annoying, as per usual.” he regrets saying it instantly once he sees the disappointed frown on his younger sisters face. she knows that he doesn’t like his birthday though, and he really hates that she’s playing along with the little facade his parents are attempting to put up, pretending like this day is some huge, extravagant event. he didn’t understand -- it was only his thirteenth birthday. it wasn’t like it was supposed to have some huge impact on his life.
“you’re only a teenager now, eli. you know dad says you can’t use the f word until you’re a grown up. don’t think i’m going to just ignore that because we’re in private!” she says in a sing song voice, irritably getting off of elliot’s bed and hurrying back to the door. “your party starts in an hour, so like, get dressed.”
he hasn’t realized that he’s been able to sleep in until he looks over at the clock and comes to find it’s already past noon. groaning, the boy makes his way to the closet, picking out a yellow sweater, black jeans and his denim jacket, laying them out on his bed before being lucky enough to get in the shower before the rest of his family had used up all of the hot water that day. it’s there, in his steamy, relaxing shower that elliot really has to think about his actions for the day. he gets that it’s his birthday, but does he really want to give in to what his parents want and be their happy teenage boy, when in reality their family is starting to crumble? mr. and mrs. cameron couldn’t even go half of his birthday without getting into some kind of disagreement that led to shouting, so how could he go on acting as though everything were fine? when he finishes up his shower and dresses in the outfit he’s picked out for himself, he steps out into the gloomy cameron house, wondering how on earth they’re supposed to be having a party here. he looks out the window, a deep, long, annoyed sigh slips from elliot’s lips as he sees their front yard decked out in streamers and balloons, blowing around in the october breeze. a hand suddenly slaps elliot’s back from behind, his father gripping his shoulder roughly and pulling him in for a hug.
“what’s that pissed off sigh for, kid? not grateful for what your mom’s doing for you?” mr. cameron says, and elliot attempts to forgo a reaction, squirming in his fathers grasp.
“not really into the idea of the whole neighborhood watching my birthday party. especially since i don’t want a party in the first place, which i’m pretty sure i made clear many, many times.” elliot grumbles, finally getting loose of his father and crossing his arms over his chest defensively. “you’re always complaining that we don’t have enough money, why do you want to waste your money on this?” elliot should’ve known it was the wrong question to ask, because the dark expression that took his father’s face made elliot’s backbone shiver.
“enough of this shit, elliot. i’m tired of you not appreciating what your mother and i are doing for you. no more doom n’ fuckin’ gloom, okay? go find you mom and see if she needs any help setting up.” mr. cameron orders, pointing out to the front yard where mrs. cameron was rushing around trying to catch streamers that had blown onto the ground. elliot’s eyes flicker between the scene out the window, and his father looking serious. it takes a lot in elliot to not roll his eyes before walking out the front door to assist his mother.
she’s relieved to see he’s woken up and is ready to celebrate, despite the negative look on his face that he just can’t seem to try to hide. he loves his mother, but he just can’t fake the happiness for her when he knows that this whole thing is some kind of act, maybe for the neighbors, maybe for elliot and beatie, and maybe even for herself. mrs. cameron has elliot take care of some of the snack preparations: setting up the table with cups and plates, and carrying out the jug of cherry lemonade -- elliot’s favorite. if there was one thing he was looking forward to at this party he was forced to be the guest of honor at, it was the cherry lemonade, and the cherries jubilee ice cream cake he had been promised. it isn’t long after elliot has chips and brownies and other birthday treats set up on the table before some of elliot’s classmates begin arriving. they seem unimpressed almost immediately, the simple fact that the cameron family was poor was now very much on display for those who knew elliot ( he would use that word very loosely, knowing that deep down he wouldn’t consider any of these people actual friends. that word was reserved for those who really mattered ). of course, everyone was aware of the fact that elliot came from a bad neighborhood and that his house was cramped and his clothes were always thrifted, and while he and beatie were often picked on for this, there was a certain crowd that seemed to just kind of ignore the fact that he wasn’t as wealthy as the rest of them. that group consisted mostly of the kids at elliot’s thirteenth birthday party, however after the party, the same crowd just felt like it was too difficult to be around him.
the party didn’t consist of much, and it really didn’t last very long. it was forty past one when all of the guests had finished arriving, and after thirty minutes of listening to current hits on the radio and everyone making forced small talk, elliot’s mother bursts into a panic, realizing that due to the fight between herself and mr. cameron that morning, she had forgotten to pick up elliot’s cake. in hopes of the lack of cake being a reason for the party to end earlier than scheduled, and because he wasn’t surprised to find that something was going wrong, elliot attempts to persuade his mother that she can just forget about it, that it’s really not that big of a deal.
“it is, eli. it’s your favorite. it’s your thirteenth birthday. i’m going to get your cake.” mrs. cameron says confidently, and she’s already got her purse slung over her shoulders and car keys in hand. she turns to her husband, giving him a dirty look before grabbing beatrice’s hand and tugging her in the direction of the car. “c’mon, beatie, you can come get it with me.”
“mom, honestly, i really don’t want it. please just stay here.” elliot says desperately, knowing that his father is going to protest elliot’s words. he does, stepping beside elliot and placing his grip on his shoulder again. “stop --” he mutters, struggling to get out of his dad’s grasp again. “it’s not a big deal. it’s cold out anyway, c’mon i-i don’t want you and beatie to go, okay?”
“nonsense, leila. go get the cake. elliot needs to blow out the candles and make a wish.” mr. cameron forcefully moves elliot out of the direction of his mother and sister piling into the old camry and quickly driving down the street. “you’re going to wish you had a better attitude, elliot.” his father grumbles, “didn’t i tell you to cut this crap? stop disrespecting your mother and let her treat you.”
thirty minutes pass, and at first nobody seems to care. maybe there’s traffic, a fuckup with the cake, or something like that, but once it hits an hour, elliot starts to panic. he’s barely even focused on this party, hardly involved at all aside from a few brief conversations with his classmates, but other than that, all he can give his attention to is the fact that it has been an hour since his mother and sister have left the party, and there is no sign of their return anytime soon. an answer comes eight minutes later, the phone inside the house ringing loudly next to the window, mr. cameron taking a quick break from surveying the party to answer it, and it’s there that the real birthday disappointment kicks in.
“eli, party’s over. there’s been an accident.” mr. cameron says, eyeing the guests. “tell everyone they have to leave.” for the most part, given mr. cameron’s loud voice, a majority of the party-goers had heard, but of course, elliot had to be the one to tell everyone they had to leave and make everything awkward.
elliot huffs, not thinking much of it at first. “seriously? why do i have to do it? what happened, what kind of accident?” mr. cameron’s expression had reached a new level of grim. he looked hopeless, knowing that if he hadn’t encouraged mrs. cameron to go out to get the cake, just to spite elliot’s bad attitude towards the party, there wouldn’t have been an accident in the first place. the first thing that hits the man’s mind is how desperately he’s in need of a drink, and honestly, elliot can see that in his eyes.
“beatie’s in a coma. i... i don’t know about your mother. the car skidded off the road and that’s all i know. we need to get the fuck down there, so yes, seriously, you do have to do it. and do it now, tell all your little friends to get a ride home. this is an emergency.” mr. cameron says finally, his tone exasperated as he looks over to the guests, and then turns immediately back into the house to gather his keys and a few other essential paperwork.
it’s then that elliot is forced to do one of the most humiliating tasks he’d experienced so far: explaining to everyone that the party was now cut short, and while it was because of the lack of cake, it was lacking a little bit more, now. he can’t really focus on telling everyone, though. all that’s on his mind is how terrible of a brother he feels like now. did beatie know how much he loved her? he’d left it on a note that at the time had seemed just like playful sibling banter, but now... felt like a weight sitting on top of his heart, hindering it from beating properly. what if those were the last words he ever spoke to her? no -- NO, he couldn’t believe that. he had to think positively. he couldn’t think negatively, no, to the point where he felt as though to go to the hospital was to accept the negative outcome. if elliot stayed behind, there was probably a better chance of things being okay, anyway. if it hadn’t been his birthday, there wouldn’t have been any need for cake, or celebrating, or any of this shit. once he’s told everyone to get the fuck out, even though nearly everyone had heard mr. cameron’s explanation of what was going on with mrs. cameron and elliot’s sister, he heads back inside of the house, finally able to let tears out once he’s alone.
he’s not alone for very long, mr. cameron bursting into the living room from his bedroom and staring at elliot who looks as though he’s about to collapse on the area rug.
“get yourself together, we’ve got to go to the hospital.”
“no... i... i want to stay here. i’m only going to make things worse.” the boy throws himself down onto the couch, putting his head into his hands. “this is my fault, my stupid birthday... i begged them not to go...” elliot can’t see it with his face covered, but mr. cameron is scowling, feeling as though his son is trying to make a point that he had in fact egged them on in going. this isn’t elliot’s point at all, but because of it, mr. cameron grunts and makes his way across the house towards the front door, swinging it open. he doesn’t want to listen to his son make him feel any worse about what he already thinks is his own fault, so he’s going to give him just what he thinks he wants for his birthday: loneliness.
“this shit isn’t your fault, elliot, but you are going to make things worse, so fuck it. stay here. i hope your sister wakes up tonight and you aren’t by her side. i’m sure she’ll be thrilled about that.” his words are almost enough to make elliot reconsider, get to his feet and follow miserably behind his dad, but it feels like his shoes have been glued to the floor, and in a flash the front door is shut and locked behind him, and elliot is left to drown alone in another terrible birthday.
october 27th, 2013 7:20PM
elliot had been correct in assuming he wasn’t going to get any sleep the night before, finding himself staring at the ceiling for the most part. there had been a couple of times where he’d blinked, and thought maybe he’d knocked out for a few minutes, but he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure. when the sun started peaking through his blinds, he felt glad knowing he’d made it through the night without self destructing. it was probably six a.m, only another eighteen hours to survive. this year, the twenty-seventh fell on a friday, and elliot had no intentions of heading to school, not wanting to risk his teachers knowing of his birthday and announcing it to the class. he was also sure that their school counselor, ms larsen would call him into her office, wanting to make sure that he had support on such a hard day for him. he’d skipped the last four years, and he wasn’t about to switch things up just because his life was starting to shift in a more positive direction. elliot was sure he was going to get a text message from his new ( and very first ) girlfriend, curious as to where he was. it was unlike him now, after the two had been spending so much time together over the past week, to disconnect from her without much word. he’d heard his phone buzz on his nightstand a couple times, not wanting to get out from underneath his covers to check to see if it was adisyn or not. besides, even if it was her, he didn’t know what to say. oh, sorry, it’s just my birthday and i can’t leave my bed today. yeah, right, like that wouldn’t worry her more.
elliot found himself leaving his bed only once, after hearing the front door shut and his fathers truck zooming off down the road. he needed silence, the comfort of being alone on his birthday, and there was no way he was going to step outside of his bedroom if his father was at home. he’d gone to the bathroom, and in the kitchen to get a glass of water and take his meds, glancing at the clock on the stove and noticing that another six hours had passed. only twelve more hours of his least favorite day to go. although he knew that checking his phone would cause him to want to reach out to adisyn, he did so anyways, his heart felt a twinge of guilt, knowing from her messages that he was definitely causing concern when it came to ignoring her. deciding that he could explain himself tomorrow, elliot turned his phone off and stuffed it into his nightstand drawer, hiding back underneath the covers once again. time continued to pass rapidly, and inside his head, his thoughts were whispering it’s all your fault, this was all your fault. however, he managed to keep his cool by forcing himself to imagine adisyn curled up beside him in a booth at lenny’s, or the two of them enjoying their bookclub by the pond. she helped combat the dark memories, and elliot started to wonder if maybe he had the wrong idea shutting her out on this day. his stomach growling, elliot decided to turn his phone back on to see how many more hours he had to endure of his gloomy holiday. school was long over, now, and he’d received several more worrisome text messages from his girl, and even a phone call with a voicemail attached. elliot wished he could bring himself to listen to her voice, distressed over him, but he decided not to torture himself further.
the sunlight that had been shining through the cracks in his blinds was starting to dim, the day fading into the evening, and elliot was pleasantly surprised to find that he’d made it through almost the entire day without going through his old journals, antagonizing himself with terrible memories, like he’d done in years past. continuing to keep his thoughts on his beautiful girlfriend, imagining her strawberry blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, the way her eyes lit up when he said her name, to the delicious scent that she gave off. he was sure his imagination was getting the better of him, though, because for a second he thought he’d heard her voice calling his name from outside his window. elliot attempted to ignore it, sure that it had been a hallucination, though he recalled that he had taken his meds earlier that day. the voice continued to call out to him, so he decided to investigate, getting out from underneath the covers and peaking out his blinds. to his surprise, and dismay, there adisyn gray stood, a relieved look in her eyes to see him all right. elliot threw a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to the front door where he would let her in. part of him was extremely glad to see her, knowing that in his stupid sorrow, there adisyn would be to bring light into his dreadful day. even though he felt embarrassed, knowing he probably looked terrible, having not gotten any sleep, and from spending the whole day hiding underneath his covers, he went straight to the door, pulling adisyn into a tight embrace once he’d opened it. “are you psychic, adisyn gray?” elliot asks wearily, a small smile on his lips. “you knew i needed you here, and i didn’t even have to say anything.” sighing, the pessimistic boy takes adisyn’s hand, tugging her into his house and shutting the door behind them.
“i know sorry won’t be enough. ignoring you all day was an extremely shitty thing of me to do, but…” he drifts off, letting out a deep sigh. “today is, um…” he starts, lifting his free hand that wasn’t holding onto adisyn’s to rub the back of his neck. “today is my eighteenth birthday.” elliot admits, swallowing hard. adisyn was now one of the few people in his life who knew of the date, and she was definitely the only person he knew he trusted when it came to telling her about it. he avoids her gaze, looking at her maroon doc martens and biting his bottom lip. “please don’t make a big deal of it, okay? it’s not something to celebrate.” elliot tells her, knowing that the concerned look he gauged from her big, brown eyes.
there isn’t much of a response from her at first. she looks concerned, and eager for answers, but elliot can tell that she’s biting her tongue, trying not to ask him too many questions all at once. it seems as though she finally settles on one, squeezing his hand and taking a step closer to him. “eli, are you okay?” she asks, and he’s really unsure of how he wants to answer. he is definitely not okay, but with her around, he feels somehow better -- which, consequently, makes him feel absolutely worse, knowing that this isn’t a day where he should ever feel anything good. elliot shakes his head, feeling adisyn squeeze his hand once again. “here, let’s go to your room.”
she’s only been inside his home once before, but she takes him down the hallway like she’s been there a million times in the past, closing the door to his very small bedroom and making herself comfortable on his bed, patting the space next to her.
“did you want to talk about it?” she asks finally as he sits beside her, her voice very quiet, knowing the perfect way to treat him when he’s not feeling his happiest. “you don’t have to, but i’m here, and i care.”
elliot is quiet and fidgety at first, knowing that the only people he’s ever shared this story with are his school counselor and his therapist ( and jagger, though it had been in written form, making it far easier ), never someone who really cared for him, and could possibly leave the second he finished speaking of it. adisyn didn’t seem like someone who would do that, though -- they’d formed a bit of trust over the past week, the two bonding over the abuse they’d received growing up, and after elliot had rescued her outside of the diner it was like the two were mean’t to protect each other. elliot swallows, letting out a very shaky breath. all the signs of his anxiety were present: the anxious foot tapping that she’d become accustomed to, the picking at his fingernails ( she snatches his hands in hers to stop it, though ), and the doomed look in his eyes were telling her more than he’d hoped. “god, it’s really hard to tell anyone this... i... know i’ve mentioned beatie to you, my sister. that room? across the hall? with the lock -- that was beatie’s room... nobody has been inside of it in five years. five years ago... today, on my fucking stupid birthday... she...she...” elliot’s voice croaks, and tears immediately start to pour down his cheeks, unable to get the words out. adisyn’s grip on his hands stays, moving slightly closer to him in case he’d needed a shoulder to lean on. “my mom and dad had been fighting that morning, and she’d forgotten to go pick up the birthday cake... i insisted.. no, i begged her to forget about it, leave it at baskin robbins but she wouldn’t listen... she took beatie with her, and i never saw them ever again... except for beatie, in a coma, three days later... and then she passed away on halloween. i lost my mother and my sister because they went to go and do something nice for me... i’m... cursed, addie.” elliot says darkly, looking up to her with sad, red, tear strained eyes. he feels as though he’s dropped a pretty big bombshell on her, and really, at this point, she knows almost everything about him. the majority of his past is now in the palm of her hand, given that he felt he had to explain the violent days he’d spent in middle school and his bipolar disorder diagnosis when they’d first made things official, the night elliot saved her at lenny’s. elliot shifts his gaze back down to their hands, shaking his head lowly. “and, you know, every day this week when i think of you driving home down these streets in bumblebee, i get this anxious, overwhelming feeling that something bad is going to happen to you... i can’t help it... it’s just... i’m certain i’m cursed, and those who care about me are goners... i’m petrified that you could be next.”
there’s a silence between them for a minute, one that is nearly eating elliot alive as he thinks that she could just get off of her spot on his bed, walk out the door and remove him from her life forever, believing in the curse that elliot was so terrified of. his heart was thudding in his chest, nearly about to beg her to say something and break the lull that had started. he stays silent, and instead, adisyn licks her lips, looks down at their hands touching, and shakes her head very slowly.
“eli... i don’t think you’re cursed.” adisyn says sweetly, uncrossing her legs on the edge of the bed and swinging them back and forth slightly. “i hope one day you don’t think you’re cursed. i hope one day you can celebrate your birthday and feel good about yourself when you do it... i’ve only been talking to you for a week, and even i know that you really are something worth celebrating.” she tries to prove to him, holding both of his hands tightly in her own. their eyes are locked, and for the first time in his life, there’s this warm, gooey feeling in his heart. he thinks she’s done speaking, but to his surprise, she goes on: “curse or no curse, i am not going anywhere, elliot cameron. i’m sticking around, risking the odds -- and, i’m going to prove to you that you are in no way cursed, okay?”
it’s enough to make him believe her, which even surprises himself. adisyn releases her grip on his hands and extends her own out, inviting him in for a much needed embrace. it lasts for what feels like a lifetime, the boy holding onto her like she’s a lifeline, because at the moment, it feels like she really is. her shoulder is nearly covered in his tears, but she really doesn’t mind, feeling like their relationship is going in an incredibly honest direction, though it would mean that soon enough she too would have to open up about the dark things that happened within the gray manor. when the embrace finally comes to an end between the two of them, and when they’re apart, elliot instantly misses the feeling of being close to her. swallowing hard, the boys eyes flicker between hers and her lips, wondering if this is really the right moment to be having his very first kiss.
“i’m really, really glad you’re here, addie.” elliot says honestly, biting on his bottom lip. “i... really do loathe today, and... i’m not someone that likes presents -- at all, on any occasion... but there is something i would like from you for my birthday...” he’s fighting a smile, wondering if she’s thinking the same thing he is, noticing her own eyes on his lips.
“what’s that, eli?” adisyn says innocently, batting her long eyelashes and cocking her head to the side, her ponytail bouncing as she does.
“maybe... i could kiss you?” he suggests, and adisyn gray’s face lights up like he’s never seen before, though she instantly tries to hide it, a red blush appearing on her cheeks. elliot is grinning as well at her reaction, clicking his tongue. “i’m taking that as a yes?”
“yes, yes! very much yes.” she agrees, grinning in his direction.
a moment like this, on a day like today was not when elliot had expected to have his first kiss, but everything that came with adisyn gray seemed to surprise him. leaning in slowly, watching as she shuts her eyes before he closes his own, elliot finally seals the gap between the two of them, and after a week and a half of dreaming of the moment, and years of wondering if it would ever happen, elliot cameron has finally kissed someone.
“ mesdames et messieurs, nous venons d'atterrir à l'aéroport de paris charles de gaulle. il est huit heures heure locale, le temps est couvert, et la température au sol est de sept degrés. nous vous remercions d'avoir choisi notre compagnie pour votre voyage et nous vous souhaitons un agréable séjour en france.”
the flight attendant’s voice echoes through the cabin of the plane, and slowly but surely lennon wakes up, her eyes taking a second to acclimate to the sudden brightness. she’s almost tempted to stay pressed up against elliot’s chest and keep her eyes shut up until she absolutely has to get off the plane, but hearing more words being spoken in french over the p.a. system is enough to fully wake her and motivate her to exit the plane. she cranes her neck to look up, and smiles as she realises elliot’s still very much asleep. “ eli, ” she whispers, bringing her hand up to the side of his face, “ we landed. ” though she’s half expecting him to stay asleep, the cold of her hand seems to be just enough to wake the other as his eyes begin to open his eyes gradually. he also slowly lets go of her shoulder, letting her sit back upright to admire the familiar tarmac of paris’ charles de gaulle airport. the more she stares at it, the more she realises she hasn’t seen it in a while. sure, she and liam came to paris two summers ago, but neither of them actually flew to paris. instead, both preferred to fly to london and subsequently take the eurostar. so, the view of the bustling airport buildings with their giant glass roofs, the hundreds of aircrafts lined up by carrier and the long stretches of grass on the outskirts of the airport all suddenly seem foreign. it takes a few minutes for elliot and lennon to make it out of the plane, leaving them plenty of time to stare into each other’s eyes, communicating their fatigue through pained looks, before finally making their way to baggage claim hand-in-hand. their physical affection continues as they wait for their suitcases, their arms encasing one another, almost falling asleep standing up.
finally, both of their suitcases make it out onto the carousel, and lennon can feel excitement bubble up in her chest as her hands clasp around the handle of her luggage. this is it, the moment she’s been waiting for, for weeks: her father and elliot meeting. she’s never labelled herself as a ‘ daddy’s girl ’ or a ‘ mommy’s girl ’ because both labels fit her equally, but a part of her’s always been a little more concerned about the approval of her father. with that slight pressure in mind, lennon takes her boyfriend’s free hand in her own, leading him out towards the exit of their terminal. she instantly recognises the dark green land rover parked out front, and smiles as a familiar figures steps out of the driver’s seat. her father reciprocates the smile, and in that instant, the family resemblance is more than undeniable. “ ma fille, ” he beams, opening both of his arms out wide. letting go of the handle of her suitcase, lennon mirrors his actions, both of them ending up in a tight hug. she lets go of his a few seconds later, taking a step back to grab her luggage. “ and you’re obviously elliot, ” christian adds, opening his arms up once again. he notices elliot’s hand, extended out towards him, and shakes his head with a smile, “ you’ll come to find, we’re a hugging family. especially on lennon’s french side. ” lennon’s initially tempted to make a comment about how he shouldn’t make sly, subtle jabs at her mother’s side of the family, but as she sees her father and boyfriend come together in a friendly hug, the thought slips away. she turns towards the car, opening the back and loading in both of the suitcases as the two men meet, before shutting the trunk of the car again. the sound seems to pull both christian and elliot back to reality, and as they notice the car’s been loaded, both offer a few remarks about how she should’ve waited and let them handle it. “ if i’d waited for you, we’d be here for another two hours, so stop complaining! and let’s go! i want to get to mamie’s house before everyone wakes up, ” she responds, before getting into the backseat of the car. elliot gets in seconds later, and she instinctively grabs both of his hands in hers, making sure she’s able to warm both up as fast as she can. christian slides into the driver’s seat seconds later, after a quick check of the positioning of the suitcases in the back of the car, “ actually, we’ll probably get there after a few of them have woken up, len. i was thinking of doing breakfast at angelina with you and elliot before we go home. that way he gets to see a bit of paris before we go to mamie’s. plus, i’m sure the airplane breakfast was underwhelming. ”
it’s the cold shock of her fingers that brings him back from a deep, drug induced sleep. the last thing he really remembered was snuggling up against lennon immediately after the plane had made it into the air, glancing out the window for just a second before shutting the blind, feeling a little sick to his stomach when he stared out at the flickering lights of boston below them. he really hadn’t wanted to take anything before flying ( given his addictive personality, and the fact that he still craved a drink anytime an uncomfortable situation started to arise ), but his anxieties towards traveling started to creep back up the morning before they’d left, and he decided he’d bring something to help him sleep through the flight. it really had helped, keeping him sound asleep the entire flight, even when lennon had to get up to use the restroom. now, as his eyes flicker open an adjust to the light of the airplane, elliot feels relieved to have slept through almost all of it, letting out a deep sigh, he looks to the girl who has just helped him overcome one of his biggest fears, and a smile takes over his expression. “good morning. it’s morning, right? it’s morning for me.” he laughs, his voice scratchy after just waking up. elliot shifts awkwardly in his seat, realizing he can unbuckle the seatbelt and stand up to stretch if he wants to. maybe it was because of the drugs -- or maybe, it was because of lennon, but the flight wasn’t as bad as he had originally anticipated, and he wasn’t dreading the trip home as much anymore; but he was glad it was still a couple weeks away. he takes her hand while they wait to exit the plane, tracing circles on her soft skin, feeling as though he’d missed out on her while he’d been asleep, though this feeling was an often occurrence anytime he had to spend a moment away from her. he felt he was wasting away his time when he wasn’t giving every and all of his attention to her, as silly as it sounded. luckily they’d be inseparable this trip ( aside from a few moments ), and he couldn’t be happier about it. the couple is soon able to exit the plane, and the closer they get to baggage, the more his heart starts to race when he knows what’s coming next: elliot cameron is about to meet her father. out of the three other girls elliot had dated, he’d never come close to meeting the parents, so this was brand new territory to the boy. he wants to go into this with full, total confidence, knowing that all that really mattered was that he loved lennon whole heartedly -- and he does, more than anything in his life. so as elliot grabs his large backpack stuffed full of clothes and slings it around his shoulder and pulls lennon’s suitcase with one hand, the other one is holding tightly onto lennon’s knowing that a very important moment in their relationship was about to take place.
it’s wonderful and heartwarming to see lennon and her father embrace, but it does come with a pang of jealousy in the boys chest, knowing that something as simple as this was one he wouldn’t be able to experience again. the feeling is familiar though, when lennon’s father ignores elliot’s handshake and requests a hug instead. elliot’s eyebrows rise almost instantly at the comment of lennon’s family being a hugging one, as elliot hadn’t really been accustomed to lennon being touchy up until halloween, but after hearing the whole sentence he figures it must just be her mother in her, which seems to make the smile that’s grown on elliot face due to lennon’s father’s hug grow even more, knowing how much he already loved lennon’s mother. “it’s amazing to meet you, mr. tremblay. thank you for having me, i’m really, really excited to be here.” elliot beams as the two leave their embrace and, after finding that lennon has already loaded up the car for them, the three of them are piling in as well and heading to their next destination. elliot had been assuming she’d take the front seat and sit beside her father, but elliot is pleasantly surprised to find her sliding in beside him and warming up his hands, just as she knew he’d needed. he still feels a little bit drowsy after the trip, and the jet lag, and the drugs, but he perks up immediately at the sound of going to breakfast. “well, if they have œufs bénédicte, i am most definitely up for it.” elliot says positively, finally feeling like his appetite has returned for the first time in a few weeks. the car ride to the restaurant consisted mostly of elliot listening quietly as lennon and her father talked briefly about their family, making a few jokes about lennon’s cousin adiren, and the topic taking a bit of darker turn as he mentions lennon’s aunt. luckily, the mood changes almost instantly as they arrive at the restaurant. despite feeling like he’s almost desperate for a shower, he’s more excited to have an authentic french breakfast with the girl he loved and her father, getting a moment alone before diving into the rest of lennon’s family.
