For his soul was woven of ink and obscure stars - Elliott x OC

Chapter Four

Jennifer had never once believed that she would find someone who so distinctly resembled herself. Looking into Elliott's eyes, green like summer fields and river secrets was both as easy and as hard as the writing process itself. On some days, she could read him like an open book, despite him being a member of the mysterious male sex, without him speaking; on other days, he was shut off, boxed up, locked up, the keys which only he had and didn't give unless he wanted to.

Despite all this, they became very good friends. They would go on walks with Leah, who provided enough talking material for all of them put together, though it was Elliott who acted upon it and talked the most, often the most animated, walking in long strides in his tall, leather boots, laughing so hard that he sometimes had to double over when his humour got the better of him. She watched him with a smile and never got sick of the sight. His laughter was music that not even her violin was capable of producing.

But as she watched him, she noticed things. The way he sometimes bit certain things back - he would look as though he wanted to say something, his eyes not as hard and cloudy as he thought they were, sad enough for her to pause and stop smiling, then upon hearing his name he would look up and it would be gone like a passing breeze.

She daren't ask about what plagued him, and instead watched and sought for whatever it was that troubled him. And when she did, on a certain day whilst they were taking a walk in the outer forest, she refused to believe that it was the sole reason.

"Oh, I'm starving," he breathed suddenly, when Leah was telling them very loudly of what she saw Haley and Alex doing in the woods together one time, something which they were all far too interested in to admit. "Hungry, hungry... so hungry."

"Didn't you eat this morning?"

He started, his hand shooting from his middle as though he had been caught doing something inappropriate by keeping it there.

"What? I mean, sorry?"

"You just said you were hungry," she said pointedly. "I asked you if you ate."

"I did eat," he said slowly, averting his eyes and the truth. "It just... wasn't to my liking."

Jennifer waited until Leah finished her story, until they walked her back home so that she could keep at her work, then until it was just the two of them making their way down to the centre of town. Jenny kept her eyes on the cobbles and the flower pots placed aside the roads, then on the birds singing in the trees, feeling a very specific sort of happiness which only came from spring's arrival and very good company. Elliott obviously felt it too.

"A beautiful day today, isn't it, Jenny."

"Quite," she replied, smiling, then turned and watched him instead; sunbeams lit up his hair he obviously spent too much time working on each morning than he would like to admit. His profile was a handsome one - too handsome for anybody to deserve looking at in such close proximity, with his defined jaw, shape, his dark, thick brows and lashes. And then she caught it again - a sadness, a glimmer of the sort of song the sea wailed out on a stormy night, when it was alone and no stars nor moon was out, as he continued talking about breezes and weather.

She interrupted him. "What ails you?"

He did it again - he started as though he'd seen a spider. She stopped herself from narrowing her eyes at him and simply looked right back as he watched her.

Elliott shook his head slowly. "You really are an uncanny creature."

"I believe that has already been established," she replied, the corners of her mouth turned upwards. "And so are you."

"I am not as uncanny as you," he said gently, but then he stopped mid-path, as though he wanted to say something important but wasn't quite able to do so. "I am almost convinced that you know how to read minds."