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Iris huffed as she laid down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The house was dark and quiet as it was already midnight. Her parents were asleep and she was sure that Adam was in his room playing some video game or watching an anime. Iris enjoyed the peace and quiet for the first time in the last week. She had just gotten home and taken a shower, washing the dirt off her body. Thursdays were game days for Iris and to say the least, this game day sucked. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about everything that had happened.
It had been four days since Iris broke up with Delcan. It had also been four days since she had seen Eli, or even heard from him. He had gotten suspended on Monday after an incident between fourth and fifth periods. Iris wasn't there to witness it but she saw a video that someone had posted on Instagram. The video was hectic and it was hard to focus with the shakiness of the recorder's hand but Iris could see all she needed to. Eli was once again on top of Declan, connecting his fist with his face. She didn't know the story behind the video but she didn't feel like she needed to. Eli was proving himself to be more and more like Declan; violent.
Declan had tried to speak to Iris a few times in the hallway between classes but Iris never gave him the time of day. She would just continue walking and acted like she didn't hear his strained pleas. Iris tried to stop thinking about Eli but it was useless. Their moment together, along with the image of him on top of Declan, kept replaying through her mind and it made it hard for her to focus on anything. Iris couldn't concentrate in class, couldn't hold a conversation, and couldn't even stop herself from tripping over the ball during her game.
Stop stalking. It's weird. Iris told herself as she stared at Eli's Instagram profile. There wasn't much on his page, only four pictures, each of them coated in a black and white filter, and none of them were from less than a year ago. Iris scrolled through them; a picture of an open book on a table, a picture of three roses held in what she assumed to be his hand against a wall, a picture of the sun setting over a lake, and, the first post on his page, a picture of him leaning up against a hearse.
Iris clicked on the picture of him with the hearse and read the caption.
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elig: morty makes a killer road trip partner
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A fucking hearse? No way that's actually his car. Iris thought, smiling a bit at the joke in his caption. She found herself looking at every detail of the photo. It seemed like the picture was taken on a sunny day, although Iris couldn't be entirely sure due to the filter. Eli was wearing a gray shirt with a black vest over it, a pair of somewhat fitted black jeans hanging onto his legs. He had his arms crossed as he leaned against the side of the car and a smile on his face that seemed to be caused by the fact that he was laughing. Iris couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of Eli's laugh. She had never really heard it herself, only catching a small chuckle or two, but she could already tell that it was contagious.
Iris quickly locked her phone and threw it on the couch by her feet. She was exhausted, simply by waiting around for Eli to talk to her again. She knew that he was suspended but there was always the ability to text her. Maybe he could explain why he was being so cold towards her all of a sudden. And yet, Iris was stuck with nothing but the comparison of the look on his face the last time he talked to her and the one that he had in the photo as she drifted off the sleep.
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Iris couldn't remember when she fell asleep or why exactly she was sleeping on the couch, but she was more confused by the sound of a faint knocking on the front door. Looking around in the darkness, Iris found her phone and the bright screen lit up her face.
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1:32am
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Who the fuck is knocking on the door at 1:30 in the morning? Maybe I was just imagining it? Iris wondered as she sat quietly in the dark room, straining her ears to see if she heard the sound again. For a moment, all she could hear was the sound of heavy rain hitting the windows but sure enough, the sound returned. It wasn't a loud or urgent knocking. It was quiet and calm, like the person on the other side didn't really know if they wanted to be knocking or not.
Iris rubbed her eyes and stood from her spot on the couch. The moonlight flooding into the room from the windows was just enough for her to make her way to the front door. She looked through the peephole, hesitant about the person on the other side. Iris's heart skipped a beat when she saw Eli standing on her front step. His hair was matted down from the water that soaked it and his clothes hung to his body.
When Iris opened the door, Eli's head snapped up, a look of fear across his face like he hadn't expected her to actually answer. "What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice somewhere between anger and concern. After shutting me out, he has the nerve to just show up here like this? Iris tried to convince herself to give him the benefit of the doubt, at least hear him out. The rain had picked up and began to hit the pavement with more force. "I- I don't know." Eli stuttered, trying to talk over the rain. Iris met his eyes for a moment. The world seemed to disappear around them. It was just them, standing in front of each other without a word. Iris focused on the look in his eyes. She couldn't tell if it was fear or nervousness or somewhere in between. She focused on the water droplets that hit the top of his forehead before continuing to run down his face, meeting his slightly open mouth. Iris snapped herself out of her thoughts. She still didn't know what his angle was but she figured it must be important if he had shown up like this.
"Come in." Iris stated simply, turning and walking back inside the house. She didn't bother to turn around and see if Eli followed her in, she just went straight to the hall closet to get him a towel. She walked back into the entryway to see him standing there awkwardly like he didn't know what to do with his hands or his words. Iris reached her hand out to hand Eli the towel. He took it with a small, "thanks," before giving her a shy smile and beginning to dry his hair. "I can get my brother to let you borrow some clothes. I know I wouldn't want to be wearing those any longer than I had to." Iris offered, looking at his drenched state. "You really don't have to. I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have come here." Eli responded, already turning towards the door. "Eli, stop. It's fine. Just give me a minute." She rolled her eyes and started for Adam's room. "And you better still be here when I get back." She spoke again, looking back at him. Eli held up his hands innocently and continued to dry his hair.
YOU ARE READING
tragedy
Fanfiction- the version of romeo and juliet that doesn't end in them both killing themselves this story will include characters from degrassi but it doesn't follow the storyline. this is my own universe that includes my own scenarios, relationships, and chara...
