EVERGREEN, elijah hewson

utter chaos

CHAPTER SIX
"utter chaos"

"ELI, PASS ME SOME MANGO. I need to savour it before we're all ruined. I don't think I'll be able to go out in public after this."

"Stop being dramatic." Eden ceased Robert's spiral of thoughts with a raised finger. She was having none of it. Any pictures that she was going to see of him would not at all diminish the embrassment she felt about that Halloween picture. Elijah had decided that was the perfect time to show Josh and Ryan the picture. They were pissing themselves with laughter. "We'll be nice," Eden continued, assuring Robert.

"You? Nice? Didn't think that was possible." Elijah kicked his foot up in Eden's direction, mismatched socks pointing at her. He was far too lazy to even raise a hand. He was tilted like the pale moon upon the grass, hair sprouting like a halo around his head. He passed a few pieces of his dried mango to Robert who found himself chewing on it for a very long time. Dried mango was a nightmare to eat - especially when Eden had braces on. Robert's entire face shifted with every bite.

"Do we have to be involved in this?" Ryan asked. He was gradually moving away from the circle they'd created.

"Yes. Now that you've seen that picture of Eden, you have no choice." Min-Hee put her hands together like a criminal mastermind. Ryan shared a look of horror with Josh. They decided to settle either side of Elijah who was still lying on the floor. All that Eden could see were his shorts and socks. That was it. One of his socks was black and the other was white. It wasn't really a look. She found herself staring at the opposite colours for a while. The four boys were going through their camera rolls to find the worst possible pictures of eachother.

The next hour passed in a blur. Eden felt as if the summer air was somehow making feel lightheaded or maybe it was because she'd been laughing so much. Her hands were clutching onto her stomach for dear life at the sight of the pictures that got progressively worse by the second. Her personal favourite was Robert's buzzcut. With his long, jagged hair now, it was a complete shock to the system to see him virtually bald. Belle shouted so loudly at the sight of it. Eden thought all the trees might suddenly crash down. Even Min-Hee was entertained, especially at Ryan's, who had been admiring her a little too much.

Elijah's baby pictures weren't even that embarassing. Each time Josh presented a photo to the circle, Elijah would hide his face with his hands. Eden glanced at the phone with intrigue-not too curious because Belle was eyeing her intently. She was still waiting for her to crack, any kind of evidence to prove her guilty of liking Elijah. Eden was not enjoying this ongoing game.

Conversation somehow turned to Daniel, Eden's ex, who was in the same group as Ryan. It sounded like he was creating a whole load of drama. He'd stolen some Vodka from a Sainsburys and had a continual joke that he was 'on the run'. Ryan was sick of him. Eden didn't mention the fact that they'd been together. Belle was resisting the urge to tell them but Eden shook her head when she was about to say a word.

"I think we should call it off for tonight," Ryan said. He had been squeezing Elijah's hair to make him look like one of the pictures. Eden wondered how each tuft would feel in her hands. Would it be soft or rough? Would he near her and-

"Yeah that was fun." Min-Hee jumped up and started to pack away the stove and gas canisters. Eden could barely even hear her words. The entire world was blurry. Does laughig too much make you delirious? She wished she had a phone to search it up.

Josh and Ryan disappeared in a matter of minutes after hugging the whole group goodbye. Eden realised just how much life they brought to the group because once they'd left, it was quiet. Scarily. Freakishly. It felt like they were all corpses just waiting for something. All Eden could hear was the distant wind blowing and leaves brushing against each other.