For, Elliot

8

The ride to my place is also silent.
Elliot closes his eyes, and for a moment I think he dozed off. It's not until I park that he immediately jolts up, practically giving me a heart attack.
He skims my house quickly, and I notice that his eyes are a bit brighter.

"Nice house." He comments.

I don't answer. Just grab my duffle and get out of the car, Elliot doing the same quickly after me. I slam the door and lock the car, the lights flashing and fading quickly. This is it. Elliot is officially coming into my house. It feels weird.

We both walk up to the front porch, Elliot trailing behind me again. I get my keys out, put it into the lock. I turn around to face Elliot before I actually unlock the the door.

"My parents are..." I trail off. "Well, they're loud. Obnoxious in their own way. Just don't do anything or say anything and we can get past them without any hassle." I instruct.

Elliot nods quickly and I unlock the door before I change my mind about letting him stay over.

"Hey" I say brushing past the living room, Elliot quickly shuffling behind. My mother and father are on the couch watching TV. My father holds a beer can, my mother polishing her nails. "A friend of mine is coming to sleep over." I mutter as I direct Elliot up the stairs.

"Adam?" My mother asks reaching for a nail filer.

"No. Another guy." I say, trying to make Elliot go faster.

"Wait." My father barks. We both stop in our tracks. His gaze settles on Elliot quickly, then shoots over to me. "How'd the game go?"

"We won."

"Score?"

"3-2"

My father gives a 'tsk' sound. I know he isn't fond of the close game.

"We're going to states." I say quietly.

My father nods. Then pauses. Nods again.
"Alright. Well. Have fun." He says, then goes back to his beer can and television.

I shove Elliot again, harder, and he stumbles up quickly. We go up another flight of stairs, up to the attic. It's nearly soundproof up there, and it's spacey and clean after I remodeled it. There's a window up top, so the moonlight shines through...it's comforting.

Elliot drops his bag at the top of the stairs. He glances at me. "May I lie down?"

I glance at my bed. "Okay." I mutter.

Elliot quickly shuffled over and flops down, his face deep in the covers. I take the opportunity to sneak in my closet and change into my sweats.

I walk back, Elliot still in the same position when I last saw him.

"You can lay down too. It's your bed after all." Elliot mutters into the fabric.

I glare at him, but I hesitantly lay down next to him, far away as possible. There's a big gap in between us. I turn my face away from his body.
"Thanks." I say quietly.

"For what?" The muffled voice says back.

"For bringing us to states."