A Little Bit of Chemistry

Chapter 6 - Aurora

A/N: Short chapter!

Aurora

Shouts of laughter ring in my ears as I exit the building. A few kids nearly run right into me, causing me to stop and almost trip. I roll my eyes and walk towards a lonely pillar. My gaze rises to the parking lot. I sigh and pull out a folded sheet of paper and my phone.

I copy the number from the paper into my phone and tap the call button.

"I knew it."

"Knew what?" I ask.

"I knew you'd call me," Elliot replies. I can practically hear his smile from the other end of the phone.

"Don't flatter yourself, I just need to know the address so I know where to go," I say in an irritated tone.

"You'll find out," he says. I'm done with these games he wants to play. I just want to get to his house, work, and leave.

"What?" I ask.

"Look to your right," he answers. Annoyed, I look to my right and there he is. He's leaning against his car like a bad boy from a 2000's teen movie—there is nothing "bad boy" about him—and is waving me over. I obey.

"What?" I ask.

"Hop in," he says. One hand grabs the handle and opens the car door while the other gestures for me to get in.

"I'm not getting in your car," I say. "I barely know you."

"Okay, follow me to my house then," he suggests. He shuts the door and looks at me for a response.

"I didn't drive today," I say. I would have, but Jason decided to use the car for a reason I guess only God knows.

"So, you were going to walk," he pauses. "to my house." He says it like a question rather than a statement so I nod. He grabs the handle and re-opens the car door.

"Get in," he orders.

"No."

"Come on," he insists. He places a gentle hand on my upper back and guides me into the car. I guess I gave in because I'm now sitting in the passenger seat of Elliot Bennett's car.

I look away from the window and glance at the open console in between us to see a dusty red Hot Wheels sports car.

"You collect Hot Wheels or something?" I tease. He takes his eyes off the road to look over at what I was talking about. I point ahead.

"Red light," I inform him. He quickly looks in front of him and hits the brakes. I pick up the little toy car and show him.

"Oh, that's my brother's," he answers. He looks back at the road and furrows his eyebrows. His fingers dance on the wheel. We start moving again.

"So, what?" I start. "Do you steal your brother's toy cars or something?" I jokingly ask. I place the toy back into the console. I look up at him and study his face. The way his light freckles go over his nose. I quickly look back at the road as if I were the one driving.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," he chuckles. His gaze falls down for a moment and back up again. Silence is the only thing I hear for the next few minutes until we come to a stop. He jingles his key.

A small one-story building painted in an almost-white paint stands in front of us. A large tree shades over half of the yard. A few plants are scattered about the lawn. I can't imagine how a family would fit in this tiny space, but I don't question it.

"Well, welcome to my house!"