Always Been You- Eli Moskowitz

Chapter 3- Halloween

"You only know a part of me. I am a universe full of secrets. "

-via (Quotes 'nd Notes)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*SA TRIGGER WARNING*

A few weeks had passed since the twins began their karate training. They had been training the basics harder than ever, wanting to progress to the more complicated moves, or the badass moves as they liked to call them. Michelle could see and feel how physically strong she was becoming with every training session they had. She was impressed with the progress her and Miguel had been making. Somehow the twins have managed to keep their mom and grandma out of it by saying that they had to stay after school for debate club, which their mom believed because she raised the nerdiest kids.

It was lunch time and the twins sat at their usual table with Demetri and Eli. They had just finished discussing the English assignment that their teacher had given them to complete that night, when counselor Blatt began talking into the microphone. Michelle only half paid attention as she was zoned out staring at the table trying to decide what to talk about for her assignment.

"...the other day, a mother called me up because her son was crying after some kids online made fun of his facial deformity," the counselor continued.

Michelle finally looked up and saw Eli shyly look around at the cafeteria as everyone started to point at him and whisper about his lip again. Eli faced forward once more and made eye contact with Michelle for a few seconds before crossing his arms on the table and leaning his chin on them. Michelle, who noticed that the stares continued even after the counselor had started to speak about something else, resorted to death staring anyone who even looked in the direction of their table.

In all honesty, Michelle wasn't even sure if her and Eli were friends. She also wasn't sure if she even wanted to be at this point. Sure, they sat at the same table during lunch and next to each other in chemistry, but Michelle had a strange feeling that her presence bothered him. He refused to engage in conversation with her unless he had to in class and when she would talk at lunch he would look away from her and wouldn't respond. He would only react to Miguel or Demetri. At first, she tried to break through and get him to talk to her but she soon gave up, realizing she was just embarrassing herself. Even with the early Bella and Edward vibes, she still found herself sticking up for him whenever it was needed. Michelle just couldn't help it. She had a soft spot for him.

Michelle watched as Miguel tried to convince Eli and Demetri to join the dojo to defend themselves from the bullies. Eli actually looked interested in giving it a shot even before Miguel mentioned getting them discounts until Demetri, being the negative being that he was, decided to mock the idea instead.

"If you don't want to do it, that's fine. But don't shit on something you haven't even tried. Who knows? It might be good for the both of you and you might even end up liking it," Michelle said as she shrugged her shoulders and started to gather all of her stuff as she felt the counselors announcement coming to an end.

"...lets make sure our costumes are culturally sensitive. For example, instead of sexy nurse, maybe try gender neutral hospital employee," the counselor finished making Michelle and a lot of the other girls laugh loudly. The boys at the table all looked at her with a questioning look on their faces as they chuckled along.

"I look like this and they expect me to come dressed like a nun? Please!" Michelle giggled while standing up from the table and giving them a twirl. Michelle didn't fail to notice the shy smile on Eli's face as she grabbed her stuff and headed to the library to get them a table for their free period. She would never admit it out loud but it felt good to see Eli smiling at something she said or did. Even if it was just for a second.