Nine
Eli
"A re you drunk?" Easton asked blandly.
Ah, this is a trick question.
"Are you drunk?" I whisper-giggled as I rolled over in bed.
As I attempted to study on my bed, Easton had just come out of the bathroom having just taken a shower, and Emerson was already fast asleep on the other side of the room.
My brother mumbled something under his breath that I didn't catch because he spoke too fast. That made it sound like a different language.
Or maybe I was just drunk. Probably the latter.
I watched as Easton walked over to his drawers and pulled out a white box. He came to me, almost tripping on a pile of clothes in the middle of the floor in the process.
He handed me the box with a dry sigh. "Since I’m the reason that your phone broke."
I inspected the box and recognized the smartphone box. I grinned as I threw my arms around my brother and squeezed him tightly. Hugging was not something that we ever did, but I was so inebriated that I had forgotten such. The hug didn't last long because he quickly pushed me off.
"It's just a damn phone, no need to hug me. I still don't like you," Easton grumbled as he folded his arms. "And your breath smells like the inside of a bar."
"You don't love me?" I asked quietly with a pout. I laid my head on my bed and pulled my comforter over my head. This wasn’t my finest moment. If I was in the right state of mind I would have died from embarrassment for acting the way I was, especially with Easton.
I heard Easton sigh as I shut my eyes and waited for the lights to go off. He eventually did turn them off, and I listened to the sound of creaking as he climbed onto the top bunk of his bed. It was silent for about a minute until he spoke.
"I said that I don't like you," he stated. "Not that I don't love you."
I fell asleep with a smile on my face that night.
***
Bella and I were at the local park, mostly because we were both broke teenagers who had nothing better to do with their free time. Ricky and Kailey were out doing whatever it is that couples do, so Bella and I decided to spend some time of our own together.
Bella bought herself and I ice cream with the little bit of cash that she had. We were strolling through the park as we ate it.
"So," Bella said in between scoops, "how’s the petty feud with our class prez?"
I rolled my eyes. It was not a petty feud, it was a competition of proving who was smarter. A competition that I was determined to win at some point in time.
"There is still time to beat him for the spot of valedictorian. All I have to do is keep my grades as high as possible," I told Bella.
"Sounds stressful," Bella mumbled.
"Elias?" called a slightly unfamiliar voice. When I looked up, I quickly remembered who that voice belonged to.
A grin spread across my face. "Alex, hey!"
Alex made his way toward me, Killian following close behind. He held his arms out wide and wrapped me into a tight hug while I stood awkwardly in his embrace. He patted my back twice before letting go.
Bella sat on the bench next to her, her demeanor welcoming. "Eli, you have other friends?"
I let out a quick, breathy laugh at her unoriginal joke. Alex laughed too, and even Killian let out a chuckle. Bella, Alex, and Killian looked between each other, and I figured that I should probably introduce them to one another.
"Alex, Killian, this is one of my closest friends, Bella," I introduced her while Bella gave a short wave. "Bell, this is Alex and Killian. I met them last week."
Both of them waved at Bella, Alex more friendly than Killian.
Killian was a tad off putting, and I believed Bella thought so too because she had smiled at him oddly.
He kept checking his watch as if he had somewhere to be, and he did not seem too keen on interacting with us.
But again, maybe that was just his personality.
I noticed that a certain someone was not at the park with them. "Where's Millie?"
"With her mom," Alex answered. "She lost one of her toys, so we came here to see if she accidentally left it here. We couldn’t find it."
"It was her favorite teddy bear," Killian said, the sound of his voice catching me off guard. "I'll buy her a new one—or maybe ten new ones. Whatever she wants.”
Alex smiled warmly at his friend before giving him a quick side hug. “Are you guys just chilling here?”
I nodded. “Pretty much. We’re kinda bored, if you couldn’t tell.”
The roommates shared a look for a moment. Then, Alex looked at us and asked, “Did y’all want to come by our place? I mean, I know that we could totally be axe murderers or something like that because you don’t really know us at all but…yeah.”
My eyes met Bella’s and we shared similar expressions. There was silence between us as they awaited our answer. Not liking the silence, Killian added, “We have Mario Kart.”
I wanted to go play Mario Kart.
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you two live together?"
"Yep, roommates," Killian said sharply.
I wanted to go. The opportunity for new friends was always something I was down for, considering I never had that opportunity at school because everyone already knew exactly who I was.
I just wanted to be sure Bella was alright with it.
They were complete strangers to her—hell, they were still strangers to me.
I did not want to put her in any uncomfortable situations.
"Okay, we'll join you!" Bella agreed.
It was safe to say that I did not have to worry about her being uncomfortable.
Their place was not too far from the park. It was not a walkable distance, but Alex and Killian had driven so it was not a problem. I worried the car ride may be a bit awkward, but Bella wasted no time working her sociable charm on them. It was like we had all been friends for years.
Once we made it to their apartment, they gave a quick tour.
It was a decently sized place. Just a standard apartment, the perfect size for two college students.
I hoped that one day soon I would be able to have a place like theirs.
A place far away from my aunt, a place where I had my own space and could live in peace.
They turned on the game and put on Mario Kart.
In the process, I saw that they had tons of other games to choose from.
It was clear that they gamed often. That was evident in not only the number of games they had, but also by how good they were at them.
I quickly realized that I was going to have trouble beating them at it.
"Fuck, fuck, no!" Killian yelled, slamming his free hand on the coffee table in fury.
I laughed obnoxiously at my victory against Killian. It was an incredibly close game, but I came out on top for the second time. “Ha, I won again! All the free time you have to play this and you still couldn’t beat me. You just don’t have the skill that I have!”
"Eli," Bella warned, her eyes telling me all I needed to know.
Sometimes, I would go a little overboard when it came to competitions. I constantly felt the need to win at literally everything, because it proved that I was good at something. And, honestly, who didn't like to win?
Bella was usually the one to tell me when I was being annoying about it. I wasn’t trying to brag, it just felt nice to win. Those wins felt rare, at times.
I chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, I overdid it."
Alex snorted and Killian huffed, he found my competitiveness less funny than Alex. Alex put a hand on my shoulder. "Listen, Killian is just bad at the game. I promise I'd beat you ten times over."
I made a ' pfft ' noise. "Is that a challenge?"
"God, please no more challenges with Eli," Bella facepalmed. "He does not need any more rivalries."
"Anymore?" Killian asked, his mouth full of chips that I didn't see him grab. "You don't seem like the type to have rivals, Eli."
Bella scoffed and then let out a knowing laugh, earning confused looks from Alex and Killian. I merely rolled my eyes, not wanting to talk about the bane of my existence.
Bella spoke for me, "He and this guy in our class have been competing with each other for years. Eli is constantly trying to be better than him at literally everything they do. It’s exhausting."
Alex was about to respond when the doorbell rang.
"Who is that?" Alex asked.
"He’s coming to drop off the shirt, remember?" Killian explained as he got up to go answer his front door. I did not know the ‘he’ Killian was speaking about, but Alex understood.
As Killian went toward the door, I took the opportunity to rant about my rival. "You two don't understand how insufferable this guy is, he makes me want to jump off of a bridge. He's super smart without even trying. It pisses me off. He's cocky, annoying, hot, and just all around a bad person."
Both Bella and Alex raised an eyebrow at me, it was as if I had grown two heads. My head tilted. "What?"
"Hot?" Alex asked me, stifling a smile.
Thankfully, Killian opened the door before I had the chance to respond. I let out a breath of relief because that was going to be awkward to explain. Why on God's green earth did I call Javier hot?
"Hey, man. Come inside," Killian said to the person on the opposite side of the door.
I hadn't looked at the person that had entered the apartment, I was too busy still trying to figure out why I would call Javier hot. Don’t get me wrong—I knew he had good looks.
He was lean, but still had some muscle, his tanned-caramel skin would glow in the sunlight, and he had a white smile that could blind you if you stared for too long.
My confusion was as to how I let that slip in front of people. What was wrong with me?