Dancing in the Rain | ✓

Chapter 10: Friends

Over the next two weeks dance practices were both unbearable and frustrating. Once again they couldn't agree on anything and Eli was slowly getting sick of everything. He couldn't even look at Avery without going on a rollercoaster of emotions. On one hand Eli was happy to have Avery back in his life at least in some way but the girl seemed so determined on keeping her distance that he felt hopeless.

"Maybe we could start jogging again?" Eli proposed after one of the practices hoping against all odds that the girl would agree.

Avery looked up at him, her eyes dark and unreadable. "I'm busy." She said passing Eli and heading for the door.

"Even early in the morning?" Eli questioned crossing his arms over his chest.

"Especially then." Avery said without even looking back at Eli and exited the room.

Eli sighed running his hands through his hair. He followed Avery outside and locked the door. Then he went into the changing room and took a long cold shower enjoying the water flowing down his back and soothing his tired muscles.

Once he was out of the shower Eli gathered his things and exited the school building silently hoping to come across Avery. Unfortunately the girl was nowhere to be seen and on top of that it turned out that it was beginning to rain while Eli didn't have his umbrella.

"Fun-fucking-tastic." Eli muttered to himself wrapping his jacket tighter around his body. The drizzle quickly turned into basically a flood which resulted in the water getting absolutely everywhere. Eli generally liked rain but he just wasn't in the mood to deal with it in that moment.

He didn't even bother hurrying to the subway station knowing that his body couldn't get any more wet. He just walked slowly listening to the raindrops bombarding the streets and his shoes splashing against the sidewalk.

When Eli got home he was more than ready to just collapse on the sofa and ignore the world for the rest of the day. He left his soaked clothes in the bathtub, dried off his hair and pulled on warm and comfortable sweater along with a pair of jeans. He walked into the living room, made himself comfortable on the couch and turned on the TV.

Just as his eyelids were beginning to drop the door to Sophia's bedroom opened and the girl walked out all dressed up. "You're going somewhere?" Eli asked from his spot on the sofa.

The blonde smoothed down the fabric of her black skirt and brushed her wavy hair with her fingers. "We are going somewhere." She corrected him with a board smile.

Eli raised his eyebrows. "We?" He questioned.

"Yes, we." The girl said looking at her best friend expectantly while occasionally glancing at her painted nails.

"Oh, shit." Eli muttered when he realized what it was all about. "I totally forgot."

"I've noticed." Sophia said calmly. "So now go change quickly and we're leaving."

"Can't you just go without me?" Eli asked not feeling like doing anything at all.

"No, I can't." Sophia said sitting down next to him and attempting to put on her black high heels. "I don't know Finn at all and I need you to be there so that it doesn't become awkward."

Eli rolled his eyes. "You're not a stranger to going out with guys you don't know."

"Oh, stop trying to talk your way out of it." Sophia scolded him, making a pained face as she struggled to put on the shoes. "You promised both me and Finn that you'd be there so now there is no going back."

Eli looked out of the window at the clouded sky and the seemingly endless stream of water coming onto earth. The prospect of going out there again was giving him chills but despite that Eli knew that Sophia was way too stubborn to let him stay home. "Ugh, fine."