Elle and the Mysterious Beast (One Direction)

Chapter 3 - Wrong Turn

I awake the next morning feeling odd and antsy. I don’t want to get up, I know I’m going to have to face my mother and all she’s going to want to talk about is Phillip and the wedding she thinks will be happening. Which it won’t, definitely not. If I didn’t have to pee so bad I wouldn’t get up.

“There you are sleepyhead,” mom says as I walk in.

“Hey, what time is it?”

“11:30, why are you so tired? You went to bed before me and Kevin did I thought,” she has a peculiar look on her face.

“Didn’t sleep well through the night, must’ve just been catching up this morning.” I’m not usually a very good liar, mostly because I lie so little, but she seems to believe me.

Her face changes, “Must be the nerves from Phillip, exciting isn’t it!”

“To what exactly are you referring?”

“That he likes you!”

“No not really.”

She looks frustrated now, “Don’t be selfish, Elle. I know there are other boys who like you but think about your future children.”

“Whoa! Mom! I’m not even close to thinking about children!”

“Well you need too, you have to have a plan on how you’re going to feed them.”

“What if I don’t want kids?”

She gasps and gives me a look I’ve never seen directed at me before. “Elle Marie! How could you say such a thing? Are you never going to give me grandchildren?”

“Now who’s being selfish?”

The look deepens and I spin on my heel and get the heck out of there.

It’s a typical cool March day and people are about. Men are working, women are cleaning and gathering supplies, children and animals are playing, and teenagers are walking about. There’s something about teenagers, the older ones like me, we always seem to look so lost, like we just don’t know what to do. That or they’re flirting, which is what Anna is doing right now with Phillip. Why can’t he like her instead of me?

Uh oh, she spots me. “Elle!” she yells as she waves her hands for me to go to her.

Phillip is leaning up against a post trying (and succeeding) to look laid back and sexy. Anna is bouncing around next to him waving her arms and chatting like crazy.

“You look nice Elle,” Phillip says as I approach them.

“Thanks,” I mumble.

“I was just telling Phillip here how excited we were when Thao announced you were his choice!” Anna shouts excitedly at me.

My mouth drops open as I gape at her. Liar! For one, she certainly wasn’t happy, she wanted it to be her. And for two, I was even less happy!

“But I wasn’t-“

“So Elle, I was thinking maybe we could go for an evening stroll later,” Phillip says. It sounds as if the words are just rolling off his tongue.

Before I can respond Anna does for me, “Of course she will! She was just talking about how she loves romantic walks in the moonlight yesterday.” Traitor! I never even said that!

I gape at her again, speechless after her horrid lies.

“Wonderful,” Phillip says with a smirk, though I’m not sure what at, “I’ll come by your place at nine.”

“But-“

“See you then.” He winks at me then walks away, giving no sort of goodbye to Anna at all.