tragedy

chapter fifteen

word count: 1138

Eli walked Iris to every class that day and Iris couldn't help but notice the amount of staring and whispering that was being done at her expense. She also couldn't figure out if it bothered her or not. She liked Eli a lot. So does it really matter what everyone else thinks? Iris wondered to herself as she walked to meet Eli and Adam at the car. Declan seemed to back off more with Eli around too. Whenever they passed him in the hall he kept his head down, not looking up once even if that meant running into some random kid.

Iris, Eli, and Adam rode home in comfortable silence. Iris felt natural around Eli, like she didn't have to try too hard to be anything but herself. It wasn't a feeling that she was used to. When Eli pulled into the driveway, Adam gathered his things to get out quickly. "Thanks for the ride," he called out as he climbed out of the car and shot Eli a quick nod. "No problem, dude," Eli nodded back with a small smile. Iris's heartbeat quickened as she was once again left alone with the boy.

"Thanks for the ride," Iris said, mentally slapping herself for stupidly repeating the same phrase that her brother just used. Eli chuckled at her. "It's really no problem. As I said, Morty likes you," he replied, motioning to their surroundings. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Iris awkwardly added, reaching for the door handle. "I'll pick you up at the same time," Eli nodded. Iris smiled, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. He actually wants to take her to school again. She had assumed that it was a one-time thing, just a nice offer to follow the night that they shared together. "Perfect," she replied, stepping out of the car. As she closed the door, she swore she heard Eli mumble, "Yes, you are."

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Iris spent the night on FaceTime with Fiona Coyne, the class president for the seniors and Delcna's twin sister, going over the plans for homecoming. Ever since she broke up with Declan, she had dreaded still having to plan the dance with Fiona. Iris really liked Fiona, she definitely wasn't anything like her brother, but she was nervous that Fiona would try to talk to her about the situation. She had no idea how much Declan had told her, but she was sure that Fiona didn't know the entire story. Working with Fiona was out of Iris's control though, they were both class presidents after all.

Homecoming was about a month away and they pretty much had all of the details sorted. The theme was Disney: A Royal Ball, a choice that was made after a school-wide poll was done. It was going to be held in the school's gym and Fiona had already gathered a team that was willing to decorate, Iris being a part of it. Iris had gotten the school's hit band, Studz, to agree to play music for the night. The only thing left to figure out was the catering and Fiona was doing more of the talking about all the places she had looked into and which one she thought was the best.

Iris's mind drifted off to other things. She had realized she didn't have a date anymore. Delcan had asked her, but that was out of the question at this point, not that she really wanted to go with him anymore. She wondered if Eli would ask her. Based on the conversation that they had had with Alli earlier that day, Iris didn't really think that homecoming was Eli's idea of fun. Maybe I should ask him? Iris thought about it but she knew that she would end up making a fool out of herself and that he would probably say no anyways.

"Iris!" Fiona yelled through the screen. "Uh, what? Sorry, what did you say?" Iris replied, breaking out of her thoughts. "I asked if Edith's Catering was okay with you. They have amazing salmon and their cupcakes are to die for," Fiona explained, but not before giving Iris a strange look. "Oh, yeah. Works with me," Iris nodded. "Okay, it's settled then. We have officially finished planning," Fiona says with a pleased smile on her face. She looks at Iris once more, noticing the thoughtful look on her face. "Are you okay? Is this about Declan?" Fiona asks. "What about Declan?" Iris tensed up. Fiona cringed as if she knew she shouldn't have brought it up. "Well, he kinda told me that you guys broke up," she said before continuing, "and you just seem lost in thought, that's all." "Yeah, we did," Iris sighed, "but it's really over. It's in the past now," she finished, trying to put on a strong front. 

Even after everything that Declan did and the relief that Iris felt after things were done, she couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over her as she looked at his sister. There were good things in their relationship, Declan's family being one of them. Although they were too rich for their own good, they were always welcoming to Iris and treated her as one of their own. She would miss the nights she spent cuddled up on the couch with Declan and Fiona, watching shitty movies. "Well, just so you know, just because you and Dec broke up, that doesn't mean that we can't hang out," Fiona offered. Iris gave her a soft smile. She knew that Fiona was just trying to be nice and not make things weird. "Thanks, Fi. You know, I should probably get going. I have a lot of homework to do still," Iris lied. She just couldn't face Fiona and talk about Declan right now when Fiona doesn't know how much of a monster her brother really is. "Oh, okay. If it's worth anything, he really misses you. Take care of yourself, Iris," Fiona said, giving Iris a pitied look before ending the call.

As Iris laid in her bed, trying to sleep, thoughts of Declan crept their way in. Declan was the last thing that she wanted to think about right now, especially with the perfect day that she had with Eli. He misses me? Yeah, I'm sure he does miss having a girl that obeyed his every order. Iris just couldn't get Fiona's words out of her head. Maybe he regrets everything that happened, she thought. She shook her head to try to rid the thought of that. Iris was not going to get stuck feeling sorry for the boy who made her life a living hell. Not when she already knows how it feels to be free of him. Not when she has the chance to actually be treated right by someone else.