Eli shook his head stubbornly, and kept his smirk. “You can’t force me to listen to it.” He countered, paying for the other items and leaving the store. Eli nodded at her request to go back to his house, he enjoyed spending time with her, more than he enjoyed spending time with most, and any opportunity to be with her was one he’d gladly take. “The suffering, very nice choice. I love 33, Everything Evil, Blood Red Summer, it’s all good.” He listed, not in the least bit surprised that they enjoyed almost exactly the same music. “They won’t mind.” He answered subconsciously, not even thinking about whether or not his parents would care or not, he just didn’t want to be all alone in an empty house. “Morty’s perfectly capable of playing music VIA C.D!” He shot back, giving her a playful glare. Eli turned his attention back to the road as she answered her phone, although she seemed less than excited to be answering it. He shook off her cold response to the caller, figuring it was her aunt or an old friend she simply didn’t want to talk to. “Getting a little antsy to see my room, eh?” He teased her, raising his eyebrows being playfully suggestive. “Like five minutes, if that, we’re not too far.”
Bianca rolled her eyes and laughed. “You’ve caught me red handed yet again Goldsworthy. I can’t wait to get into your room. I’ve been dreaming about it for days.” she joked. “What is it like? I imagine it to be pink curtains, and pink walls with little hearts on them.” she joked then ended with a laugh. They finally pulled up into his driveway and Bianca grabbed her bag and got out of Morty, shutting the door behind her. They walked to the door, Eli unlocking it and taking her inside. “Off to your room now.” she smirked and walked upstairs to his door. She opened it slowly and then walked into it, eyeing his room carefully. “Hmm. Not at all like I imagined.” Bianca said and placed her bag onto his desk. She sat in the chair at his desk and crossed her legs. “Which ones are we listening too first?” she asked pulling her music out and holding them into her lap.
Eli shook his head a bit, laughing. “I knew it.” He added sarcastically, turning to give her a smug smile before they finally pulled into his driveway. “You forgot the stuffed animals.” When they finally made their way inside, he unlocked with door with a bit of hesitance, letting out a shaking breath as he worried whether or not his parents would be home. They didn’t know he’d been hanging out with Bianca, and he didn’t feel the need to tell them just yet. Not that they’d have anything to worry about, or be upset about, but considering his parent’s crude humor, he feared they’d scare off Bianca, especially if he hadn’t already. He led her up to his room, sighing a bit as they entered. It was still rather cluttered, but most of the mess had been cleaned up earlier from Clare and himself, the memories made his heart ache and he shook away the thought, turning to see Bianca sitting in his desk chair. He smiled at her “Expecting some type of dungeon?” He teased, looking at the options. He quickly avoided the Kanye West and covered his eyes, choosing an album blindly, happening to be Oceanship. “I guess we have a winner.”
Clare wasn’t sure how to answer the question. She wanted to confess how lonely she was and how she missed him but she knew that wouldn’t help anything. He was done, she could tell by looking at him. “I’ve been, okay.” Was the choice of words she used. “It’s easy to pretend to be happy, to fool everyone. ” she shrugged. “But who cares about that. How are you? You look great.” And he did, as always. Handsome was something Eli pulled off so well. “Hopefully you are feeling as well as you look.” She tried to tease.Things had been going decently well for Clare. Home life was back to normal, as normal as it could get. Her therapy had been going wonderful, it was really helping her get through things. For once in her life she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. Of course she missed what Eli and…Clare looked up when she heard his voice. It was a voice that was so familiar, a voice she missed. When her eyes met his, the ‘happiness ’ he thought she had was proven other wise. A broken look in her eyes she tried to hide. From the looks of him, this wasn’t going to be a good conversation. She lifted her hand to give him a small wave and pointed to the seat in front of her. “Please sit.” She said softly then letting het eyes broke from his to the water the waiter sat down. She let out a small sigh under her breath. “So..”Eli sat as she gestured toward to seat in front of her, although with much hesitance. He held his breath, hoping to himself that they wouldn’t make a scene, although knowing Clare, that could be terribly difficult, especially considering the circumstances. “How have you been?” The boy finally croaked out, his voice breaking a bit. It was so difficult to pretend to be okay, it hurt too much to try, and he wished he could run away, find someone who wouldn’t tear him down, someone who wouldn’t break his heart and just stay there by their side forever, never knowing how it felt to be hurt again.
He couldn’t help but fight a bitter laugh as she mentioned pretending to be happy. For she had no idea just how much it stung. She could have been happy, she could have been happy with him, in his arms, in his room, whispering sweet words to each other as they fell asleep, but not anymore. Now they were simply two broken teenagers falling apart at the seams. He wasn’t sure how to respond to her, he only nodded. His eyes darted to hers as she said he looked great, he narrowed his jade orbs, and gave her a quizzical glance before responding “Things haven’t been good, actually. I’m grounded for one thing…” He trailed off, lifting his bandaged hand and setting on the table, for he’d forgotten for a moment. He decided against continuing, he didn’t want to give her that stress. “-but I’m working on it, one horrifying day at a time.”
Things had been going decently well for Clare. Home life was back to normal, as normal as it could get. Her therapy had been going wonderful, it was really helping her get through things. For once in her life she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. Of course she missed what Eli and…Clare looked up when she heard his voice. It was a voice that was so familiar, a voice she missed. When her eyes met his, the ‘happiness ’ he thought she had was proven other wise. A broken look in her eyes she tried to hide. From the looks of him, this wasn’t going to be a good conversation. She lifted her hand to give him a small wave and pointed to the seat in front of her. “Please sit.” She said softly then letting het eyes broke from his to the water the waiter sat down. She let out a small sigh under her breath. “So..”
Eli sat as she gestured toward to seat in front of her, although with much hesitance. He held his breath, hoping to himself that they wouldn’t make a scene, although knowing Clare, that could be terribly difficult, especially considering the circumstances. “How have you been?” The boy finally croaked out, his voice breaking a bit. It was so difficult to pretend to be okay, it hurt too much to try, and he wished he could run away, find someone who wouldn’t tear him down, someone who wouldn’t break his heart and just stay there by their side forever, never knowing how it felt to be hurt again.
Things had been going decently well for Clare. Home life was back to normal, as normal as it could get. Her therapy had been going wonderful, it was really helping her get through things. For once in her life she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. Of course she missed what Eli and her had but Eli had moved on and Clare had to understand that, why would he wait for her. She couldn’t blame him. She was a little bit surprised when Eli suggested them to talk. Part of her was telling her don’t do it. She didn’t want to hear about how happy he was with his new friend Bianca, but the other part made her say yes. She tried to find the easiest place to meet him at. Her home wasn’t the best place and neither was his, she wasn’t ready for those memories to come back. So she picked the Dot, a perfect local place to meet up.Clare didn’t mind changing from the outfit she had on for the day. A simple pair of ripped dark wash jeans, a floral tank top and a pair of flats. Her hair was different though, straightened. It was a new hair style she had been wearing lately. She slipped on her sun glasses on and headed out the door towards the Dot. She arrived before he did, which made her worry that maybe he bailed out. Maybe the whole meeting up and speaking to each other was just a suggestion that was never going to be seen through. She shook the thought out of her head when the waiter walked up and asked for her order. “I’ll just take a water please ” She told the boy as he walked away, her eyes fixed on her hands laying on the table as she waited for Eli to arrive.
Eli’s eyes bored into his reflection, his hands shaking as he gripped the sink in order to keep himself up. He was making himself do this, he had to do this. His bandaged hand raised to his face, his fingertips lightly grazing over the dark circles that had formed under his eyes from a lack of sleep. He looked terrible to say the least, and he began to wonder if this is how he’s looked since she left. It was so much easier to take a pill and spend the day with Bianca, or Imogen or alone in his room with only a pen and paper. It shocked him to believe that he actually dreaded the idea of being with Clare, he wasn’t angry with her anymore, no, he was simply scared. Scared he’d see her and beg for her back, demand that she love him back and refuse to take no for an answer. But he wouldn’t- no, not anymore.
His trip to the Dot was short, he’d explained to Cece where he’d be going and why, to which she responded with a sad smile and soft words of encouragement. He slowly made his way into The Dot, noticing Clare Edwards in all her glory. Eli walked over to her table, unable to keep his tired eyes off of her, not being able to help but feel a bit of resentment at how happy she was, and how miserable he was. “Clare..” He greeted, moving his bandaged hand behind his back.
Eli shrugged his shoulders, for he didn’t know just how he’d be able to narrow down all of his musical interests. “You know, Coheed and Cambria, Zeppillin’s pretty good, Nirvana…” He trailed off, pointing to the able she had been looking at. “You have impeccable taste, Desousa.” He told her, a compliment that was not often used by Eli, for he hadn’t met anyone that shared most of the same interests as him. He raised a brow quizzically as Bianca disappeared behind the curtain that led into what seemed to be some kind of storage area. Eli chuckled a bit as the two emerged, switching glances between the two with an amused expression. “I can only wonder what you possibly said to him…” He trailed off, laughing along with her at the last selection. “All of which I very much enjoy, except for Kanye West, not sure I’ve even bothered with him, to be honest.” He admitted with another short laugh, looking around the store once and then back to Bianca. “I think this might be all the luck we’ll have, do you want to go listen to these?”
Bianca looked at Eli when he said that comment. She didn’t know if he was hinting towards something or not. She shrugged it off. “I just told him the bands I liked and he got them then gave them to me. Weird really.” she said shrugging a little. “Well you’re going to hear him today if it’s the last thing I do, Goldsworthy.” she smirked at him playfully. “Yea, we can leave and listen to them back at your place?” she asked and then went to the register. They purchased the CDs for Eli and got back into Morty. “I remember you saying something about Coheed and Cambria? I like that band too. What’s your favorite song by them? I like The Suffering. It’s…a good listen.” she smiled trying to find the right words to say. “Will your rents mind if I come back with you? If so, if this old thing has a CD player, which I doubt, we could listen to it in here.” Bianca said pushing her long chocolate locks out of her face. Her phone began to ring and she rummaged through her purse. She answered it and groaned trying not too be loud or to let Eli hear her. “I’ll call you later…I said later.” then hung up and put it back into her purse. “How much longer til your place?” she asked him getting a bit restless from being in the car for so long.
Eli shook his head stubbornly, and kept his smirk. “You can’t force me to listen to it.” He countered, paying for the other items and leaving the store. Eli nodded at her request to go back to his house, he enjoyed spending time with her, more than he enjoyed spending time with most, and any opportunity to be with her was one he’d gladly take. “The suffering, very nice choice. I love 33, Everything Evil, Blood Red Summer, it’s all good.” He listed, not in the least bit surprised that they enjoyed almost exactly the same music. “They won’t mind.” He answered subconsciously, not even thinking about whether or not his parents would care or not, he just didn’t want to be all alone in an empty house. “Morty’s perfectly capable of playing music VIA C.D!” He shot back, giving her a playful glare. Eli turned his attention back to the road as she answered her phone, although she seemed less than excited to be answering it. He shook off her cold response to the caller, figuring it was her aunt or an old friend she simply didn’t want to talk to. “Getting a little antsy to see my room, eh?” He teased her, raising his eyebrows being playfully suggestive. “Like five minutes, if that, we’re not too far.”
Eli’s expression faded to that of a sadder one as she questioned the name of his car. “Muerte means ‘death’ in Spanish, and muerte sounds like Morty.” Eli trailed off, not giving her the exact details, he didn’t want to bring up Julia, he didn’t want to burden her with his past, she’d listened to him so much already. Eli shook off the thoughts, wanting to have one day where he wasn’t upset about Clare, or thinking about Julia. The way her eyes darted up to meet his as he simply opened her door saddened him a bit, it becoming obvious that she wasn’t used to someone actually taking an initiative. He looked away as she did, not bringing it up again in fear that she’d become offended. Eli took in the image of the old store he hadn’t visited in so long. He laughed a bit at her question, for he’d never gone into the store with anything in particular in mind, he merely enjoyed the atmosphere, however it wasn’t rare that he did find something to spark his interest. “Not really, but if you find something you think you’d enjoy, let me know.” He offered, walking down an aisle, with his fingertips tracing over the cover of each album.
“Alright…” Bianca looked around, nothing really catching her eye. It was all boring. “Ohh.” she smiled when her eyes ran across a Nirvana cover. “Finally, good music.” she smirked and held up their album Nevermind and showed it to him. “I’m assuming you like them too?” she asked him knowing they had similar taste in music. “What other bands do you like besides Dead Hand anyways, Goldsworthy?” she asked him keeping the album in hand and continuing walking around the store to find something else she wanted to listen too, or look at. “Do you guys need any help?” A boy, well teenager, asked them walking over to the general area they were in. “Anything in particular?” “Actually, yes.” Bianca replied and walked to him. She told him a band she liked then they both walked off to the back of the stores behind some curtains. But before Bianca left with the guy, she told Eli that she’d be back. They were gone for a moment, and they emerged from the back with a few CDs in hand. “Thanks…” Bianca told him then walked over to Eli. “Guess who just got free CDs. He said that I could have them.” she smirked holding up about 6 albums. “The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Oceanship, Absofacto, John Lennon and Kanye West.” She laughed at the last one knowing it was the oddest one out of the bunch and placed them into her purse.
Eli shrugged his shoulders, for he didn’t know just how he’d be able to narrow down all of his musical interests. “You know, Coheed and Cambria, Zeppillin’s pretty good, Nirvana…” He trailed off, pointing to the able she had been looking at. “You have impeccable taste, Desousa.” He told her, a compliment that was not often used by Eli, for he hadn’t met anyone that shared most of the same interests as him. He raised a brow quizzically as Bianca disappeared behind the curtain that led into what seemed to be some kind of storage area. Eli chuckled a bit as the two emerged, switching glances between the two with an amused expression. “I can only wonder what you possibly said to him…” He trailed off, laughing along with her at the last selection. “All of which I very much enjoy, except for Kanye West, not sure I’ve even bothered with him, to be honest.” He admitted with another short laugh, looking around the store once and then back to Bianca. “I think this might be all the luck we’ll have, do you want to go listen to these?”
