The Troubles

Reaching Season

Snow blanketed the floor of the village, and as Elliot stood outside, letting it accumulate on his hands, his head span at the thought that this could be ash. Much to his relief, when he took off his glove he could feel the ice melt on his hand, reassuring him. Usually when it snowed, the sun glinted across it, melting it within a day or two, but recently the sky had been greyer, clouded with mist. It almost echoed the events, co-ordinating perfectly. School had finally finished last week, leaving Elliot with more time than ever to play his guitar, whilst everyone else kept themselves to studying. 

'You'll regret it when you're unemployed,'  his dad had warned him, but that was all he cared about the matter. It was as if he felt compelled to say it at least once so that he could prove he had said it. He was adamant anyway that Elliot would pick up the family business of radio engineering along with Fred. Regularly playing at the pub, Elliot had earned himself a name there, so much so that Frank would serve him a beer every now and then. Standing now in the pathway leading up to the church, he debated whether or not to go in; the last time he'd visited the grounds, he'd felt so out of place. In all honesty, he was only really a Catholic by family name - his real beliefs were somewhere even he couldn't find. He tended to visit before each Christmas, but recently he'd worked so hard on putting all of that part of his past behind him. Before he could make up his mind, a vaguely familiar voice came from behind him. 

"Elliot?"

He was surprised to see when he turned around that Daisy Richards was standing there, in a yellow duffel coat, her hands buried in her pockets. 

"Hey," he half-smiled, not sure whether to acknowledge her as a passing acquaintance or stop and converse with her, although she made that decision herself, coming to join him on the wall.

"Billy's not here is he?" Elliot jested, feigning fear as he looked around, although there was a genuine glance around just in case. 

"No," she laughed. "I want t' apologise," she admitted, breathing out cold mist, into the watery air. "For Billy punching you." The corner of her mouth turned up slightly in amusement at the thought. Elliot saw her, and laughed himself.

"Don't sweat," he said with a laugh. Ice laced her coat, and her cheeks were rosy from the glacial air. "Once the black eye went away I found it quite funny tae." 

His previous attraction to her had slightly drifted away after he'd visited her house, and his once awe was now a wave of awkwardness, as he struggled for something to say. 

"Look," she said, pulling off a light grey glove with one hand and reaching into her pocket, before pulling out a small box. With her still gloved hand, she brushed the settled ice off of the black words printed on the front, to reveal 'Marlboro'. 

"I stole these from my sister," she said with a small smile, passing the box to Elliot, who brushed his finger down it. "I see her usin' them all the time, and came down here to try meself. There's two left in there luckily, I don't mind if you have one as well." 

Elliot pushed the box through the cover, and pulled out one of the cigarettes, turning it over in his fingers. He'd guessed what it was before she'd even cleared away the crunched ice from the top. 

"Me brother smokes about two packs a day," he said. "So you often have to squint to identify objects in our house, through the haze."

The exaggeration provoked another laugh from Daisy, as she took one too, and pulled out a lighter. As she conjured up the flame, Elliot watched as it illuminated her face with a flickering, orange glow. Once she'd lit her own, she bent across to light his, and he watched the embers curl at the end. Taking a mockingly langourous drag, Daisy burst into a cough, and Elliot laughed in amusement at her attempt.