TSFS: The Other Side's Sacrifice

How To Tie A Tie

February 7th, 2018

7:15 am

Bianca awoke that early morning with a piercing headache. It clung to her head like a parasite. Lifting her head up, the pain only increased, causing a groan to escape from her mouth.

Her boyfriend, Jackson slept on the other side of her bed. She covered her mouth instantly, trying her best not to wake him up as well.

Bianca stared intently at him. She admired the way he looked with his eyes closed, falling into another reality without the clear knowledge of it. The light snoring that escaped his mouth, perfectly in harmony with the white noise in the back of the room.

The room was dark. The only light that was brought upon the surface was the light of the one and only sun, peeking out from outside of the blinds. It formed different patterns of light splattered on the walls.

As much as Bianca wanted to stay and admire her boyfriend, she needed to get up and take something for her pounding headache that was bound to tear off her head.

So she made her way into the dark kitchen, which lights were off. She flipped them on, only to get blasted a mile away by Eli sitting in the dark.

It felt like Bianca's skin rolled out of her body, as she jumped back, screeching in despair. The pain in her head stumbled back, striking another ache of pain that Bianca wanted to cry about.

"JESUS, Eli." she had her hands on her chest, trying to settle herself.

Eli laughs amusingly, stirring around a liquid substance that was sat in his mug. He stared at her before saying, "what are you doing up this early?" Bianca was both confused, and now on the urge of ripping someone's head off as she stumbled to the medicine cabinet.

"Me--why don't you ask yourself that?" The words came out a little more harsh then Bianca intended, though it was early in the morning, give her a break. Eli takes a sip of his drink, before eyeing her down.

He watched as Bianca slowly poured some fresh clear water in a clean glass. She rattled around in the cabinets, before she managed to find the right prescription to her problem. The sound of the pill shaking together inched the right place in his head.

The settle noise of the white plastic hitting against the series of pills coated in the bottle was a good babble.

Bianca popped the cap off, and sprinkled one in her hand before grabbing the glass of water in her hand and placed the pill in her mouth with some water to finish it down. Eli staring at her, so quietly made him relax in a way.

She sighed, gazing back at him in a crazy way. "You gonna answer my question?" Eli jumped, rushing back to reality. "I--uh--Zen." was all he managed to get out. His complicated, stuttersome rumble of words only caused Bianca to raise at him.

Eli covered his face with his hands, letting out another load of nervous laughs. "Not like that. He and I were gonna head out early today to help him find a job--since you know--he moved to Indiana about a month ago--and he lost his job in Ohio--"

"I get it." Bianca says softly, drinking the rest of the water in the glass.

"Though, it seems like only one agreed to the plan." she laughs, tilting her head at Eli. Eli narrows his eyes at her, opening his mouth to say something only for his thoughts to get interrupted by Zen standing in the doorway with a tie in his hand, all dolled up.

Eli almost chokes on his drink, staring directly at Zen, only for him to catch his breath before stealing a smile at Bianca. "You sure about that?" Bianca turns around, eyes widening at Zen. "Wow, nice Zen. Very professional." she raises her glass towards him.

A large smile is splastered on Zen's face, as he thanks Bianca. Eli puts his mug down, walking closer to Zen to look at his outfit better.

Zen stood there, lightly, wearing a bright white shirt, tucked into a pair of black jeans with a brown belt. His shirt was buttoned all the way to the last slot, and it was folded over a couple times due to its big filter. The shirt was Eli's, and it was a couple sizes over too big. But Eli didn't care, as he thought it was adorable.

"Jesus, Zen--look at you." Eli blurted out, admiring the way Zen's hair smoothed out towards the side of his head. His bleached hair was starting to grow up, revealing his natural black hair. He managed to make the look good.

Zen laughs, a light shade of pink appearing on his face as he pushes some of the loose strands of hair out of his face. "Thank you." he whispers.

"I couldn't get the tie on though. Surprisingly I never learned how to tie a tie." he awkwardly laughs. Bianca raises her eyebrows at the two boys as she lifts her hands up. "Alright, I think I've overstayed my welcome. I'm gonna hit the showers before Ashley finds them." and before Eli could manage to get a sound out, she was already out of the room.

Eli peeled his eyes back to Zen. "You need help getting that tie on?" He asks him slyly, taking hold of the tie that was once placed in the boys hand. Zen hesitates, before nodding slowly. He seemed slightly embarrassed for not knowing how to tie a simple knot in a piece of cloth. But Eli didn't seem to mind, as he began to wrap the tie around Zen's neck.

Zen stared intently into Eli's determined eyes, examining every facial expression the man gave off as he twisted and turned on the different edges of the tie. His jawline was clenched, and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed as the raven boy carried on with the process.

His fingers thumbled along the fabric spread across his body, the slight touch from the boy was enough to send butterflies in his stomach. Zen's body seemed to tingle with each touch. It was something he felt rather guilty for, due to the fact that the two of them were just friends, and he felt bad for catching feelings for him this early in the friendship.

Finally, Eli finished. Giving the black business suit tie one last tug before stepping slightly back. A smile smeared on his face. "That, my friend, is how you tie a tie."

Friend.

That word makes him and breaks him.

Though, he tried his best to push his disappointment down the drain with a large smile. He looked at his reflection of the metal fridge, smiling at what stood back at him. Eli looked towards him not too far away. "Thanks."

Eli nods, smiling back at Zen. "Of course,"