Surf's Up?

Relationships... Whew

Ellis’ POV

I stood there for a good five minutes. The fact that he liked me was not as scary as the fact that I wanted

to kiss him. I did. I wanted to kiss Steele, my boyfriend’s brother. This cannot be happening. I heard Hill

call out my name and I walked back towards the kitchen. Hill looked at me concerned as I slowly

walked in. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What happened?” I shook my head. I tried to

form a sentence but it felt like there was sawdust in my mouth. “I,” I cleared my throat. “Um… nothing’s

wrong. I’m just gonna – I’m just gonna go. I have to… I need to leave.” Hill’s face became even more

concerned. “Ellis,” he said slowly, “what happened?” I shook my head. “Nothing. He – I mean, I just

need to go.” He stepped towards me. “He?” Shit. I tried to say no but I couldn’t. “Ellis, what did Brian

do? I’ll kill him.” He started to walk past me but I stepped in front of him. “No, Hill, stop. Brian didn’t do

anything, I swear.” He took a deep breath and looked deep into my eyes to see if I was lying. I took

steadying breaths when he finally nodded. “Then why did you say ‘he?’ You definitely said he.” I bit my

lip. What do I say, what do I not say? “Um… I just meant that he, Steele, was asking if they could get

some more pizza. And then I needed to go. So… yeah.” I ended awkwardly. I wasn’t any good at lying.

Luckily for me, Hill apparently isn’t very good at spotting terrible lies. That made feel bad; either he

trusted me too much or he didn't really know me.

Before I climbed into my jeep, a figure ran out of the house and stopped in front of me. I flinched,

thinking I was going to have to deal with Steele again but it was just Brian. I didn’t know how concerned

he looked until he asked, “Ellis, are you okay? Please, don’t lie. I saw Steele walk in, kind of troubled

looking. And now, you’re leaving. What happened?” I shook my head. “Nothing to be worried about,

promise. But you’re a good friend for caring.” I patted his shoulder. He had looked at me skeptically but

when I said ‘friend,’ his mouth curved into a small smile. I didn’t even really mean to call him that, but

recently, he’s definitely felt like my friend again. I missed hanging out with him, and I know it would kill

Hill, but I wanted to get back our friendship. After what just happened with Steele, I don’t think I will be

hanging around him any time soon. Maybe he was right, he just isn’t a great guy. Annnd… Hill and I

had to work out some issues. So I could use all the friends I got.

Brian shifted and I realized I had just been standing there, looking off. He had his eyebrows raised and

I smiled. “Sorry, just thinking. I’m going to go but I’ll see you on Monday. Suspension is over right?” He

nodded and I got into my jeep. I waved as I drove off. I saw him smile and walk back into the house.

The rest of the weekend passed quickly and Monday morning came. I sat in my bed, considering the