Chasing the storm

16

Scarlett dropped her brown, leather messenger back just by the door as she stepped through. She ran her fingers through her fringe, brushing it back as she stepped to the side and allowed Elijah in.

The silence was most definitely the awkwardest they had both experienced. Elijah looked around the room to try and find something to get the ball rolling with.

I see you are still interested in college? He played the line through in his mind as his eyes laid on the catalogues on the desk once more. But he scrapped that.

"I'm just going to come out and say it, I'm not going to beat around the bush" she broke the silence, her heart skipped a beat and she knew there was no going back now. There was no going back ever.

Elijah slightly lifted his chin, allowing himself to stay stationary and calm enough for her to speak.

"I'm sorry" she said, she meant it, the pain in her voice was obvious "I shouldn't have let you kiss me, I shouldn't have kissed you back" she admitted, resting her head on her hands.

Elijah sat there and took it, he felt somewhat bad that his actions and behaviours had lead Scarlett to so much pain, he didn't want to make her say all of this. But most of him wanted her to say that she is going to leave Alex for him. But that was never going to happen.

"You don't have to say it" Elijah gave her that escape, he understood her.

She sat down on the sofa and shuffled towards him, taking one of his large hands into both of hers. His skin was warm against her freezing skin, it ignited so many feelings, making her heart race, her breathing deepen and her legs feel like jelly. "I don't want to lose you" she said

"I'm not going to leave, no matter what you want" Elijah re-assured her

"You know I have those feelings for you, but I can't do anything right now, and if I can't have you in that way, I want you as a friend. Because you're a really good friend to me" she pleaded with him, thinking that he is going to just get up and leave her, and never come back again.

"You know I won't leave" Elijah smiled to her and eased her nerves "you mean a lot to Alex, and now you're practically family now"

Scarlett looked down and smiled at the floor "you and Alex have overcome your differences then?" She asked, knowing that the friction between the two friends had increased when Scarlett was brought in to it.

"I'd say we have overcame our similarities" Elijah corrected "but yes, we are back to normal"

"Okay" she smiled, biting her lip and trying to keep something in "okay, I just need to get this off my chest before we forget all about this"

Elijah raised his eyebrow.

"When Alex asked me for another change, I immediately said no, I played it off as a joke at the beginning, but I meant it, I meant no, because I was going to go back to you, I was going to choose you" she explained "but the look on his face was just so shocked and upset, I couldn't go through with it"

Elijah fell silent for a moment, running his words through his head, making sure to say the right thing, not the things he wanted, but the right things. "As long as it makes you happy"

Scarlett stopped speaking about the subject when she realised Elijah was getting his sentences from generic quotes, he was only a few steps away from becoming a walking, talking greeting card. "But yeah, let's just forget about the whole thing" she said, not wanting to make any eye contact with him.

Elijah heard his heart crack when the room went silent. It's what she wanted, it's not what he wanted. But he was the earths oldest vampire, he couldn't be seen kicking and screaming over his best friends girl.

The silence was interrupted by the sound of the letter box opening and closing.

Scarlett immediately stood up and collected the small, pink envelope labelled with her name.

"Another one" she tapped it against the ball of her hand before throwing it in the bin again

"What is it?" It peaked Elijah's curiosity by Scarlett's uninterested reaction.

"It's a birthday card" she admitted

"It's your birthday?" Elijah asked

"No" Scarlett laughed in response "it's in three days, as I'm having the worst feeling that Alex is planning something... I shouldn't have told him"

Elijah felt confusion, why should she hate birthdays? He could speak from experience, birthdays to him had become tedious and unfulfilling, a whole day spent with celebrations just like the others. Elijah has had many. Scarlett has had none compared to him.

"Why? Don't you like them?" Elijah asked

"Not really, I've worked through every birthday I've had in the past few years, it's just another day to mark how old I'm getting, and how I'm getting nowhere" she pointed to the college catalogues "I don't care for them"

The time went by as they spoke, the hardly realised the constant knocking on the door.

"Scarlett, it's me" Alex shouted "are you in?"

Scarlett jumped from her chair, pulling Elijah up with her "you know he gets jealous" she whispered "please... There's a fire escape through the kitchen"

Elijah sighed, quickly nodding his head and making sure he was out of sight before he used his super human speed to completely disappear.

Scarlett straightened out her shirt and wiped anything off her jeans before taking a breath and walking to opening the door.