The Outcasts | e.d

FOUR

E T H A N

Did I know it was rude to say those things? Sure. But were they the truth? Yes.

Sometimes people act like they want to hear the truth, like they're ready for it, but the second you give them a taste of the truth they dip. I'm not sure why I'm wasting five dollars for a bus ride to Elisa's house. Maybe I felt bad, who the hell knows, but I know that I need her for next Friday. If it wasn't her than it would be just me, and I wasn't about to break my pact with Grayson.

Her house was a sickly one story green house that looked like it could use a serious paint job. There were beer bottles scattered in the front yard with a large brown dog sleeping on the front porch. I kicked the fence to see if the dog was aggressive or not, but it just lifted its head and went back to sleep. I noticed there wasn't a car in the driveway so I contemplated knocking, but right when I was about to leave someone opened the scratched up door.

I shoved my hands into my black jacket when I saw a large purple mess standing on the front porch. I waved to her and said, "Hiya." She quickly closed the door behind her and was looking left and right as she walked towards me. The big brown dog followed behind her but Elisa swatted him away. "What are you doing here it's late-" I cut her off when I said, "I was a dick to you." She crossed her arms over her chest as she furrowed her eyebrows. "I was insensitive to your sense of style, and I'm sorry." She tried getting her messy hair out of her face but there was no point, it was like a freaking mane. I chuckled at how flustered she was, however I couldn't help but notice how much she was checking her surroundings. "Is my being here gonna get you in trouble?" She nodded her head and continued to look left and right at the road in front of us.

"Well than you better let me in." Her eyes slightly widened and her face became even more flustered. Her awkwardness was adorable and irritating at the same time. "What? No way! I don't even know you." I chuckled and said, "sure you do, I'm in your teen crisis class and I've known you since we were little."

"You're not gonna leave are you?" I shook my head and she let out an aggravated sigh. She nodded her head towards the door for me to follow.

The inside of the house was no better than the outside. What I'm guessing was the dining room looked like someone had started redoing it but didn't finish. The living room had two small couches with a litter box next to the biggest one. "You want something to drink?" I nodded my head and she scurried away to the kitchen. I began walking around, noticing how some of the pictures in the wall looked dated and were crooked or cracked. I wound up in a room, most likely hers, where there were posters and lights hanging from the walls. Her room looked cluttered but she made it in a way where you wanted to just sleep in bed all day.

"It's very rude to wander around other people's homes." I turned to see Elisa leaning against the door frame with a cup of water in her hands. "Sorry, I like your room."

"Thanks." We stood there in an awkward silence when she said, "why are you here?" I said, "because I need you to help me with this favor, I can't do it alone." Elisa watched me intensely, almost like she was trying to unfold the many walls I've put up. Except there were no walls. Just mush.

I patted for her to sit next to me but she just shook her head nervously. We fell into another awkward silence when I felt her staring at me, "why are you staring at me?" She shrugged and said, "why do you wear eyeliner?" If I had a quarter for every time I was asked that question I'd be fucking rich. I'm not quite sure why I wore eyeliner. At first I thought it was because I liked to rebel against the norm but after a while I liked the way it made me feel feminine. I still like girls, but I just like the feeling of having a bit of femininity in my appearance. I shrugged and said, "I don't know... I like the way it looks on me." She nodded in understanding. Elisa looked towards the clock on her wall and her eyes suddenly widened. "Uh you really need to leave, my family will be home soon." I nodded and stood up and walked towards Elisa until I was facing her. She looked down at her hands as she picked at her finger nails.

Raw and red.

Those were the only words that came to my mind when I saw her fingers. I grabbed her hands and brought them closer to my face so I could have a better look. She seemed to pick at them so much that she started developing calluses on the tips of her fingers. "That's not a very good habit to have." I kept her hand in mine and started drawing circles on the back of her hand with my thumb. They looked so much smaller and frailer in mine. "You should stop before you get worse." Her breathing was becoming shaky so I gently kissed her forehead and said, "I'll see you tomorrow Elisa. Remember, our last Friday as seniors. How do you want to spend it?"