you're elvis's childhood best friend, and he's been in love with you for as long as he can remember. his mother and father keep trying to push him to finally make a move, what with you being the only girl that they would ever approve of their son go...
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"Mama, here you go again! Stop tryin' to stick your nose into other people's business." He called from his bedroom, his heart pounding against his chest. Elvis stared at himself in the small mirror he had in his cramped space, taking a few steps back so that he could make sure that his short sleeve button up didn't have any wrinkles. He had insisted that he do the ironing himself, not wanting his mother to be too overwhelmed with things to do. He wasn't very good when it came to housework, no matter how hard he tried.
"I'm not doin' anythin' a mother shouldn't do, baby! I ran into her daddy at the grocery store, and we just got to talkin' is all." Is that what she wanted to call it? Vernon had pulled Elvis aside just thirty minutes ago and had told him that Gladys had practically begged your father to get you to come over for dinner tonight. She'd been meddling in his relationship with you for years, but tonight was different. He could tell that she had something up her sleeve, ready to pull out once she got two of you cornered at the dinner table.
She had always been wildly overprotective of her son, and Elvis had never fought the hold that she had over his life. He didn't blame her one bit for it, rather he enjoyed feeling loved and cared for. He never spent a single night away from home until he was seventeen, for crying out loud. If Elvis lost a son the same way that she had, he was positive that he'd want nothing more than to keep him safe and healthy. That was exactly what Gladys was doing. She looked after him and made sure he never got himself into any sort of trouble. His old pals from high school used to say that she felt "threatened" by the girls that used to try their hand at flirting with him, but the blue eyed boy knew that it just wasn't the case. No, she wanted him to be with the right girl.
In Glady's and Vernon's eyes, you were the only girl for Elvis. He felt that way about you too.
When he reached puberty and moved to Memphis, girls started paying more and more attention to him. The one girl that he wanted to look in his direction never did though. His sultry voice, long eyelashes, and crooked smile never worked on you. Good lord, had he tried it time and time again, but you never acted interested. Despite the dull ache of rejection that Elvis always felt in your presence, he never could shake you. Not that he wanted to. You were just as much family to him as his own parents were, what with the fact that you two had always been connected at the hip. He couldn't go a single day without phoning you up, the two of you chatting excitedly about your latest Beale Street shenanigans.
His love and attraction for you never dimmed, and his eyes never strayed. Elvis was positive that you were the girl that he was supposed to marry... but he knew that you didn't feel the same way. He smoothed a few stray pieces of ebony hair back into place, chewing nervously at the inside of his cheek. "Sure, sure. You only did what you thought was right." He moved to stand in the doorway of his room, pressing his hip against the wooden frame. "But mama?" She was anxiously setting the table, and stopped what she was doing so that she could meet his gaze.
"You can't force her to feel somethin' that she doesn't, alright? I'm perfectly fine with just bein' her friend." That was a lie. The words burned his tongue the second that he said them, but he refused to take back the statement. He wasn't going to say anything to you that might potentially push you away. He'd rather not have you romantically than not have you at all. Elvis was sure that he might just keel over if you never spoke to him again. The remorseful look on his mother's face didn't escape him, but he made the decision to ignore it. He didn't want anybody's pity. Not right now, at least. You'd be here any second, and the last thing he needed was to start moping around. You would be sure to notice.
