Clockwork Daisy

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Deacon

She was stoic. Centered. Deep in thought and untouchable. Her phone clutched in her fist with white knuckles. I was second guessing myself the entire way over to her, but this did not stall my feet. "Good morning, Ellie." My greeting was casual, my heart was nervous.

She was biting her lip like it was her job. "Deacon." She was running her fingers down the hardshell case of her phone now. Something was clearly on her mind.

I wanted to have some sort of sarcastic remark, but nothing came to mind. I couldn't muster it. Instead I mumbled a; "Are you okay?"

Ellie blinked a couple times before responding. "Yes, I've just...I've got something to deal with quick. Can I talk to you later?"

Ouch. That was a bit of a blow to the ego. "Uh, sure. Sure." I tried to seem smooth. "Later."

She gave me an appreciative nod and then backed away, fingertips already clicking away on her screen. It must have been important. That's what I kept telling myself as I walked down the hall, smoothing my hair as a distraction.  

"Dee!" Trevor had caught up with me. From which direction, I was unsure. All I knew was that he had way too much hair gel in, as per usual.

"Hey man." I high-fived him fast before adjusting my backpack strap. "Did you, by any chance, hear the homework assignment in Bow's class today? I totally spaced it." The true answer would be that I had indeed at one point known what the assignment was, but that memory slot had been replaced with thoughts of Ellie.

"Nah." Trevor fussed with the collar on his lime green polo. "But weren't you just talking to Ellie Wells? Couldn't she have given it to you?" The sexual innuendo was emphasized as he nudged my elbow. 

"We didn't really cover that topic in our conversation." I said, taking a side step to my locker as I reached it. "But guess what?"

Luckily, Trevor could transition in conversations easily. "What?"

"I made a successful apology to Madge last night." I grabbed a textbook and slammed my locker shut, satisfied. 

"The gang's back together!" Trevor cheered, tossing a fist pump into the air.

"Someone is chipper for a Monday morning." Beth grazed around the corner, hair following and nails sparkling. She always looked so put together, but I knew it wasn't so simple. Trevor always got awkward when Beth was around. He had developed a crush on her that sometimes resulted in hives. But from what I could gather, she thought it was cute. 

"Beth! Hey!" Trevor crossed his arms, probably to avoid spastic arm movements. 

Beth giggled softly. "Hi Trevor." She patted him on the shoulder, and it took him a second to recover so she turned to me. "How's it going? Seen Madge today?"

"I haven't, but, I actually tried calling you last night to share the good news." I said. "After you left, she came down and forgave me. Things aren't perfect, but I think they'll get better with time."

Beth's face lit up. "That's great!" She gave me a quick squeeze. "I'm happy for you." As she re-applied her lip balm, I realized she still hadn't told me why she didn't answer my calls. 

"What was up with you last night anyway?" A part of me knew it was about Ellie, but I didn't want her catching on. "You were gone so suddenly."

Beth slowly clicked the cap on to her lip balm, pursing her lips. "I told you, a friend needed me."

"Ellie." I elaborated. "Ellie needed you."

I could tell Beth saw no use in lying. "Correct." 

"I figured when I saw you heading to Wisteria Hill." I explained. "And I talked to her this morning."

Relief washed over Beth's face, which was something I wasn't expected. "I'm so glad she decided to tell you."

I had no idea what Beth was talking about. Tell me what? But I didn't want her to catch on. It was evil, but I played along. "Yeah, yeah. Me too."

"I told her it wasn't a big deal." Beth waved her hand. "It's not like you two are dating or anything. She can kiss anyone she wants, seeing as you haven't made a move." Beth playfully jabbed a finger into my chest judgmentally. But I don't think that was the reason I suddenly stumbled backwards. I was shocked. 

"Ellie kissed someone?" 

Beth's eyes grew wide. "You played me." She pressed her lips together. "Ellie didn't tell you about Jesse."

Trevor decided this was a good point to re-surface in the conversation, and he said the word we were all thinking:

"Shit."