Dear Elvis, I Love You

We Can Work It Out

Elvis let Lexie lead him through the door, feeling her tight grip around his hand. It felt almost as if she thought that he would disapear if she didn't hold onto him tight enough. Well, half of that is true at least. His thoughts were weighed down by one simple thing. How was he supposed to explain to Lexie about his agreement with God? How could she ever trust him after she knew? How could he ever live with himself if he went through with it?

"Mom," Lexie called out. There was a thud in another room and then Florine replied.
"I'm in the laundry room. Can you give me a hand folding this laundry?"
Lexie gestured for him to stay and then turned the corner to talk to Florine, still very visible to Elvis. He seized the opportunity to study her beautiful features for what felt like the millionth time since he'd woken up in her room that morning. He couldn't help but love every square inch of her, which made him feel even guiltier as thoughts of his deal with God once again weighed on his mind. He sighed as he watched Lexie nod at something Florine had said to her and then disappear into the laundry room.

It wasn't long after that, that he heard a knock at the door behind him. Without thinking, he opened the door wide to greet a girl around Lexie's age on the other side.

"Hello," he said with his signature grin.

The girl leaned one arm on the door frame, looking Elvis over with a knowing smirk. "So," she began, "I suppose you're the boy Lexie had in her room, then?"
Elvis looked over his shoulder to make sure Flourine hadn't heard them and then turned back to the girl.
Lowering his voice, he said, "That's right. My name's Elvis and you are....?"

The girl scoffed. "I thought it was bad enough that you looked like him, but, damn, you're even named after him. That must really suck. I guess you're perfect for our girl Lexie, though."

"Excuse me?" Elvis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh you don't see it? You look exactly like Elvis Presley.....or at least from what I can tell from the pictures of him that Lexie's been shoving down my throat since we became friends."

Growing irritated by the second, Elvis shifted his weight and clenched his jaw. "What did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't. It's Lizzy."

Elvis held out a hand. "Well, Lizzy," he said, silently cringing inside at having to be polite to her even though she had been nothing but rude, "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Is Lexie busy? I need to talk to her."

"Actually she's talking to her mom right no-"

Elvis was interrupted by Lizzy sighing loudly. He shut his mouth tightly and glared down at the girl. "Can you just tell her I'm here? I'm sure that whatever they're talking about isn't important," she said, inspecting her nails.

"No, I-"

Once again, she cut him off. "Paaah-lease," she whined in a high-pitched voice.

Elvis sighed. "Fine," he relented, "I'll go get her." He turned and followed the way Lexie had gone to the laundry room, peaking his head through the doorway. "Lexie," he whispered, trying to get her attention without attracting the attention of her mother. Unfortunately, Lexie didn't hear him. "Psssssst!" That time, he succeeded. Lexie whipped around while her mom continued to fold laundry, completely oblivious. Elvis motioned for her to follow him and she nodded before turning to tell her mom she wasn't feeling well to get out of laundry duty.

"That's fine, Lexie, but next time you'll have to do it all on your own," Florine warned her.

Lexie smiled. "Piece of cake! Thanks, Mom." She turned on her heels and followed Elvis to the front door. Seeing Lizzy standing there, she quickened her pace.

"What are you doing here?" She scolded. Lizzy smiled at Lexie's surprise.

"I told you I'd see you later," she answered as if that was a reasonable excuse.

"Come on," Lexie groaned, obviously frustrated, "To my room, the both of you!" She ushered both Elvis and Lizzy up the stairs and into her bedroom before anyone could continue the conversation. "Okay," she continued, shutting the door behind her, "Now we can talk."

"What do you mean 'now'?" Lizzy asked, "Doesn't your mom know, Lex?" Lexie shook her head and glanced over at Elvis. "Wow. You're in deep."

"Don't you think I know this, Lizzy? Besides, you don't even know the half of it."

"Well, then fill me in!"

Lexie sighed. "This is Elvis," she said, gesturing towards him.

"I know. He told me. Uncanny, right?" Lizzy said, studying his features.

"No, Lizzy. You don't get it. This is Elvis as in the Elvis Presley."

Lizzy looked from Lexie to Elvis and then back to Lexie. "Wait, you can't be serious. He's dead!"

"Trust me, I, of all people, know that, but he just showed up in my bedroom this morning! What else am I to believe but what he told me. All the doors and windows were locked. It's not like he could've broken in."

"I know it's hard to believe," Elvis added, "but it's the truth. I made a deal with God and he sent me here."

"Oh really?" Lizzy questioned him, "What kind of deal?"

"That's not important," he said, lying.

"And even if that were true," she continued, "why do you look so young then? I know for a fact that you were not in your twenties when you died."

"Honestly, I don't know. Maybe God thought it would be a bit more appropriate given Lexie's age."

"Oh my God! You're not seriously thinking about dating her or something, are you?"

"I don't know! Maybe!"

"Ahem," Lexie interjected, "Can you two relax for five seconds and lower the volume. Let's not forget that my mom is just downstairs. You can't be yelling at each other like that."

"Speaking of your mother," Lizzy said, turning her anger on Lexie, "What in God's name are you going to do about him without her finding out? You can't just keep locking him up in your room everyday. You have to figure something else out."

"Like what?"

Lizzy shrugged. "Why don't we just fill out some fake paperwork or something and get him into school with us?"

"Because it most definitely would not be that easy."

"You're right," Lizzy said with a slight smile, "It definitely wouldn't be. It's a real shame your best friend isn't an office worker or that her mom isn't in charge of transfers or something. It's not like that friend could just approve it for you with just one teensie weensie little stamp that says 'approved' in big red block letters..."

"I completely forgot," Lexie exclaimed, smiling, too, "Have I ever told you that I love the way your mind works?"

"Yes, yes you have," Lizzy said, laughing.

"There's just one problem," Elvis said, "How are we still going to keep me a secret from your mom while I'm here?"