Bet My Life

She pulled away from their hug and got a god look at him. Was that really how he dressed going to that party? Tacky. She shook her head. “No, I didn’t go. I’m trying to not be that girl here….Wait, why did you go? You hate parties.”

Elliot did everything he could not to yell or groan or shove her away and walk off. Enough had happened tonight, and crazy shit at that. "I was just trying to get out of that godforsaken apartment, Heather!" He yelled, fixing his hood and looking away. "This is really too much right now, okay? Believe me, I won't go to any more anytime soon."

Seeing Elliot again made her feel weird. She couldn’t place it, but he was the last face she saw at that party. But she doesn’t even remember what they did at the party. She decided she didn’t want to see him right now. It felt like being questioned by the police all over again. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just trying to leave. I haven’t been home in a fucking week.”

Elliot nodded. He could walk and talk, no problem. He just wanted to check on her, check in with her, see how she was doing and feeling. "Well you weren't..." He took a deep breath. "You weren't okay until now," he shrugged. "They probably wanted to make sure you were stable. Which, uh. I suppose you are now. Are you... How are things?"

Ever since she released from the hospital, her head hurt. Bliss thought it was because of the questioning from the police, but that was wrong. It still hurt. She didn’t know why or what that meant, but she knew that she was fed up. She was fed up with people staring, she was fed up with the fact that she couldn’t remember a single thing from the party, an d she was fed up with Rosendale. It felt like everyone was watching her, pitying her.  She couldn’t even walk back to her apartment without someone practically running into her. “What?” Bliss said, voice louder than it had ever been with a person. “What is wrong with you? Can you walk right for once in your life? Walk on by now.”

Elliot didn’t even live here. He had been going out for some things for the house - Heather kept bitching about apples of all things - and should have been headed to Main to the grocer, but something happened. Something shifted, and he needed to turn around, needed to go back, weaving through trees and past the apartment he shared with his sister, down the road for blocks. He did a double take when he saw the girl - it couldn’t have been, could it? “Bliss?” he asked, jogging. “Bliss, I just - I didn’t know you were out. I didn’t know you were awake. Are you okay? Better?” Elliot wondered if this was why he felt so tempted, so drawn to make his way to her. The urge to do something, to hug her, to make sure she was okay, was nearly overwhelming.

“My parents. I didn’t spend enough time with them, didn’t listen as much as I should have or make the most of my time with them. And now they’re gone. So who knows.”

“I know. I know and I feel awful. I should have gotten her help immediately; she might not be in such a bad state if I’d gotten someone to her sooner, if I’d called an ambulance. I was selfish. I can admit that.”

I’ll love you if…

“… it’s worthwhile. If there’s a good enough reason, if it’s beneficial, if you understand that there are boundaries that can’t be crossed. Love is tricky, love takes work, and I have other work to do. If you can be the very best and still come second, if you can understand that you are my first person, I will love you.”

@elliotkxne

When Heather heard about the party and Elliot she immediately made her way to the police station. She knew they wouldn’t let her see him until they were finished, and she spent the whole time pacing back and forth, hoping Elliot was alright. He was an angel, a saint; there was no way he could be in trouble. All Heather could think about was how shocking it was when her parents were taken from them…she couldn’t lose Elliott too. She sat outside the police station, walking and waiting and running her hands through her hair as many times as she could without driving herself crazy. Eventually she saw the familiar face exiting the station and she ran over to him, hugging him tightly. “You scared me, E! Are you okay?”

Elliot sighed, arms wrapping around his sister. When she was a wreck she was a wreck, no two ways about it, so it was best just to appease her while he had the chance. "Heather, I'm fine," he answered into her hair, nose twitching as he inhaled the sickening peach scent she seemed to radiate, sweet and bright and cloying. "Honestly, everything's fine. I was just a little shaken up, that's all." He stood up straighter in their hug. "Did you go to the party at all?"

Lydia swallowed hard, not really knowing how to react. She had done a great job for three years hiding her abilities, in fact there were very few occasions in which one would fly accidentally but still, she considered it an accomplishment. But again, her heart wouldn’t ever allow her to ignore someone who probably could be going through the same she did when younger. “Oh ok um… would you like to talk about it over coffee or.. the park may be a bit less crowded than the shop?” 

Elliot pressed his lips together, using his big brown eyes and his thick pale lashes to their fullest extent, or so he hoped. He wasn't sure that the woman would be receptive, or that she wouldn't kick him or strike him with lightning for Christ's sake and run away. Coffee was good and all, but privacy was likely better. Elliot nodded, shrugging shakily. "Park sounds nice. Yeah." He pointed in that direction - they weren't all that far from the park. "Thank you for taking the time, I know it isn't... I know it's hard sometimes."

Heather rolled her eyes. Elliot loved tearing apart this apartment with his words. He did it whenever he had the chance to. “There is just enough room. What could you possibly be working on that requires huge spaces? You hardly did anything back home.”

Elliot felt himself about to snap. He glanced around the living room, as if anyone could live in a space like it, growing more angry by the second until his gaze once again rested on his dear sister. "I'm sure you wouldn't know. Mom never saw any need to include you in it. But it's something important and something they'll want done by the time they're home."

“Really? You know where I could find out what he did?” A smile crossed Jane’s lips, elated. Oh, this was so great, just perfect! “I would love to go with you! Is it far?”

Elliot offered a strange sort of smile, breathing in deep and exhaling through his nose. "It's not far at all. I will say, it's a little bit eerie up there. The place was ransacked when... When everything went down, if you catch my drift."

“Hey! Yeah you, could you point me in the direction of the nearest takeaway place?”

Elliot straightened up, looking over the man. A new face. Well, new for him, at least, though he wasn't too focused on making friends in town in the first place. "What kind of takeaway," he asked, friendly smile firmly in place. "There's a surprising variety."

“No, he didn’t really talk about it. I do know he studied genetics in school, I don’t know if that’s what he actually did. Like I said, I came here to find out.”

“We could...” Elliot paused for a moment to reconsider, but he knew already what he was going to do. “We could go up the hill and check it out sometime,” he said with a small pleasant smile. “If you’d like.” He hadn’t even invited his own sister to come with him, but who cared? He needed intel and dedication that Heather just wouldn’t bring.

“A little bit of both.” Jane shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about it “My father used to work at some lab here in town and I was curious to learn more about it, as he never talked to anyone about his work.”

Shit. Elliot’s eyes flashed, something dark awoken behind his irises. “At a lab? What did he do there?” He asked, feigning ignorance and belying interest. “His position, I mean. If he didn’t talk about it.”

“I suppose so. I mean, that’s why I came here, to look for answers, though in some ways I think that’s what people always do when they go someplace new. They want to find things out, whether it be about the place or themselves.” Jane looked back up at Elliot, interested to see that he was looking eager.

Well if that didn't draw Elliot's interest, nothing would. He raised an eyebrow, tried to look friendly still and not just particularly intrigued. "Well what answers are you looking for? Are you here to learn about yourself or the town itself?" His heart was beating fast. His little project up at the abandoned lab had been taking ages" but perhaps having the next bit in order would help with morale.

She stood up a little straighter and smoothed out her skirt. She had to look perfect when talking to her brother, or he zoomed in on her flaws. He was just like their parents in that way. “It’s just been a long time since you’ve been around long enough to talk to. I was worried something was wrong.”

Elliot sighed. She'd always been soft, but he didn't imagine that that would ever impede his own ability to get work done, and he'd been doing a bang up job of avoiding her. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just busy," he explained over his armful of files. "There's a lot to sort out, and there's hardly any space here," he reminded her haughtily, eyes roaming over the shoddy apartment.