New Girl in Town

Chapter twelve

Elijah (Wed, Sep 10)

  The first day of school had finally come. Junior year. How great...it meant that it was just this year and one more until I'd graduate from school. And then...no idea. I had no idea what I'd do with my life after graduating. But I had to find a solution to this issue, one way or another. 

  I drove to school together with Elisabeth. There were indeed many new faces, and one of them was Elisabeth - for the rest, at least -, but when my classmates saw her being around me, they all came towards us and started asking questions. They honestly wouldn't stop...it had gotten kind of annoying, and I hadn't even greeted my friends yet. 

  "I think it's time for us to go", I whispered to Elisabeth's ear, and she nodded in agreement. I could sense that she was annoyed by the situation, too. 

  My friends were waiting for me, together with Patrick. They'd already met Elisabeth so it wasn't that big of a shock for them to see us together. It wasn't long before the bell rang, though. We'd already wasted most of our time getting asked questions by everyone as if we were some celebrities. 

  Elisa hugged me and waved to me before going to class. I left together with Patrick and our friends towards our class. As it was the first day, we didn't do much, except for getting to know our new teachers, and meet some new students that would study in our school for this year. It was weird how the day went on that quickly because I'd expect for it to go way, way slower, just like it did every year. But the excitement to go for lunch with Elisabeth after school is what cheered me up the most. We'd planned it since yesterday, and she seemed to be really excited about it, too. 

  As I was getting out of school to find Elisabeth, I noticed a familiar face close to her. One of the school divas had decided to...talk to her? It seemed weird because she didn't really do such things, especially with other girls. I walked up to them to get Elisa, but only then did I manage to hear what was happening.

  "I saw the way you held his hand, dork. I've known him for way longer than you have, so you better be careful with your actions", she was about to slap her, but I immediately grabbed her hand.

  "What do you think you're doing?", I asked, knowing exactly what she was about to do.

  "Oh my!! Eli babyyyy! I've missed you sooo much! How long has it been since we last saw each other? Three months? It felt like an eternity! How's your brother doing??", she started talking as if nothing had happened.

  "My brother is doing extremely great. And so am I. So I'd suggest you keep your distance from Elisa. We already have enough to deal with. We don't want another person to bother us with their shit", I told her, looking the most serious I had in a while. She looked at me in shock, not knowing what to say.

  "But- you- the whole school knows that you and I are meant for each other! We are like each other's halves. How can you just tell me not to 'bother' you?", she tried to come closer to me, but I pushed her back, so she'd be far enough from me. I offered my hand to Elisa, and she grabbed it hesitantly. She seemed to be scared at that moment, so I squeezed my hand a little, to show her that it would all be okay. "Ugh! You know what? Forget it! I guess I will see you tomorrow, and you better not have this scumbag with you, or else", but I had already walked away with Elisabeth.

  "Who was this girl?", she asked, still scarred from the incident. 

  "Totally not someone you should worry about. It's just a dumb girl from my grade. If she does anything to you, please text me. I'll come to help you immediately", I said and smiled at her. "I'm here for you!"

  "You know I can handle things myself, too, don't you?", she said, trying to act cool and hide her fear. Of course, she could handle things herself. She didn't need anyone to help her. Not even me. But I chose to help her. To give her a helping hand.

  "Wow! This is so good", Kate said while eating her lunch. "How did you manage to find such a great restaurant to take me to?", she continued and smiled. I smiled back, knowing she was satisfied with what she was eating.

  "I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. You've been such a huge help in my life, and you've cheered me up like no one ever had before", I replied and she just looked at me in shock. I mean, didn't she already know that? She then suddenly reached out and squeezed my hand. It was a sympathetic squeeze.

  "I hope you know how much I hold you dear to my heart", oh, how I did in fact know how dear she held me to her heart. It wasn't the first time she'd told me that, and I hope it wouldn't be the last one, either.

  That evening all I did was watch Netflix. I didn't really text with Elisabeth or hung out with Patrick. I felt like being alone. I wanted to figure some things out...I wanted to figure out what I was going to do about my relationship with Elisabeth. It had been a while since I'd started feeling differently about her, but I didn't know if it was the right time to make it official yet. It felt...too soon.