Earth to Eli

Chapter 7

~Charlotte~

The more I try to deescalate the situation, the more tension sparks between the two of them. The house goes silent, everyone sensing drama in the air.

"You don't speak for her. Charlotte, I just need to talk to you outside," Vance requests. He directs his full attention back on me, deciding to ignore Sam entirely.

This seems to enrage Sam even more, his freckled cheeks flushing pink with anger. I rest my hand on his arm, attempting to calm him down. My efforts are in vain.

He takes a defensive step towards Vance, inches from touching him.

"Leave. You're trash," Sam sneers quietly.

The lights around us resume their flickering, only this time accompanied by each electronic device in the house. Phone alarms begin ringing, TVs power on at full blast, I can even hear the blender from the kitchen.

I watch in horror as the other party- goers begin to panic.

"What the actual hell is happening?" Veronica shrieks.

A small bit of relief floods through me when I catch sight of Eli across the room, looking as astounded as everyone else.

The irony of the situation is that everyone here probably assumes Veronica's house is haunted, that this is a poltergeist and technically, it is.

Even in the midst of chaos, Sam is unwavering in his rage.

He takes this as his opportunity to lash out. I watch in slow motion as his palms connect with Vance's chest, his football player arms sending him stumbling backwards.

"Hey, we don't need to-" I'm cut off mid- sentence when I notice Vance's demeanor take a complete shift. His irises turn as black as buttons, and he seems to grow in height dramatically.

All I can do is watch in utter horror like everyone else in the room as Sam appears to levitate in the air before being flung at the wall, where he stays pinned in place.

He attempts to fight his constraints while the whole room erupts into yelling and commotion. Vance is alight with pure contentedness, soaking up the chaos to fuel his power.

His demeanor is cold and confident, his grin wicked yet radiant. If only he'd look this overjoyed when he did a good deed.

The more Sam squirms and panics, the less amused Vance becomes. A bored expression swiftly makes its way onto his face.

His eyes turn back to their usual chocolate brown and he drops him to the floor. I run to Sam's side, help him to his feet and lead him to the sofa to sit down.

I feel a pang of guilt in my chest when I notice how dizzy and frazzled he looks. My guilt turns to wrath, directed at Vance.

"I'm taking Eli and we are leaving. So there's no need to cause any more of a scene than you already have." I seethe loud enough for only us to hear.

"That won't be necessary, we drove here with Eli's car," He responds smugly. I fight the urge to throw him against the wall just as he had done to Sam.

"Well then, we are all leaving, now," I demand, gritting my teeth. An emotion I rarely see on him quickly passes across his face. Is that fear?

I drag him by his coat to the front door, doing the same to Eli along the way.

"We're leaving so soon?" Eli complains. It's only now that I notice that Eli had company.

"Yes, we're leaving before this night can get any more out of hand," I respond sternly. He looks deflated but doesn't argue.

The September breeze feels so crisp and delightful that it almost, just almost makes this hellish night somewhat better. Fall is one of the many things I've missed about Earth since the last time I visited. I try to soak up the frigid air and imprint the feeling in my mind forever.

When I look up at Vance, he's no longer beside me and Eli, but picking himself up off the curb, wiping carmine blood from his nose. He's turned to look behind us, and it's only now that my mind registers what has happened.

Sam stands behind us looking livid and indignant. This guy does not scare easily.

"You think you can just leave here with my girl and I'm going to be cool with that?" He snarls. Vance lets out a hearty chuckle at this and I send him a scorching look.

"No, no, we're not-" I start this time interrupted by Vance.

"And what are you going to do to stop me? Saw how that turned out for you in there," he addresses Sam, his voice still laced with humor.

Eli and I let out a groan in unison. Why must he always be taunting someone and stirring things up? Can't he just be normal?

"They're both with me, my friends, I'm taking them home. You're all very drunk and I'm the only one who is sober and I'm telling you that we all just need to calm down and go home," Eli rambles on, trying to put a band aid on the situation.

His words seem to fall on deaf ears as Sam lunges at Vance once again. He throws a punch aimed at Vance's neck and misses by a long shot.

"You must be an angry drunk." Vance taunts him. The amusement is wiped off his face when Sam finally lands a solid punch square to his jaw.

Before I can make a move to stop them, they're a tangle of arms and legs, kicking and jabbing at each other. A crowd has somehow formed around us, people taking out their phones to record.

Fear hijacks my emotions. My worry is not for Vance but for Sam. How much longer until Vance throws him even further this time, or worse?

An even better question is how long before it's on everyone's phone and social media for the whole world to see? My stomach turns at the thought of all of the attention that would bring to both of us. This night could completely demolish our cover.

I don't have time to dwell on this thought, as flashing red and blue lights flood the front yard and reflect on everyone's fearful faces. We're all busted.