ON HOLD:Ethereal Elle

Chapter Five, Between The Chaos

A week had passed since Elle and Aces last encounter, yet they were never out of each others heads. Ace continuously questioned why he had truly opened up about his sad childhood to a stranger he had bumped into twice. While Elle struggled with her work for college, she'd take her brain off to the times when she and Ace awkwardly met and try to decode every movement and glance in the moment.

At this point I hadn't told Elle about the theatre girl that Aces friends were freaking out over. I was afraid it would crush her lovely fantasy, the one that was getting her through the rough days at college. I continued to attend my class after that day because I needed more information on Ace, it was all to protect Elle. I watched his every move like a stalker, realising how different he was from his friends and that he really did not fit in with them- or anyone.

Becoming a creeper was somewhat therapeutic for me, it took me away from my miserable brain. Instead of sitting on the windowsill of our dorm room, drinking vodka and giving into the traumatic flashbacks of my past, I was on a one woman mission to protect an angel.

One day during class as I watched Ace carefully across the table, there was a knock on the door. A beautifully dressed girl entered the room flipping her hair and trying to hide the smirk on her face.

"Yes? What is it?" Our irritated teacher asked her as she walked slowly towards the desk with her hands behind her back.

"I have a note from Mr Miller for Richard" She said before glancing at our table, still failing at hiding her devious smirk. Richard stared at her in confusion before she approached the table and set a pile of papers in front of him.

"Pass these out to whoever you want, party tonight at Christine's place!" She whispered excitedly to the boys, Richard nodded and thanked her before she giggled like a child and left the room. I continued to keep my head lowered as the boys discussed who they would invite, who was 'worthy' enough to attend.

"Ace, you gotta go tonight, I bet Imogen will be there looking pretty" Ross said while nudging an exhausted looking Ace. He looked at Ross before sighing quietly and nodding.

"Sure, why not. I'm not doing anything else with my life" He replied with force, as if it was a task to speak to them. This is when I knew I needed to get to that party, but the chances of me being picked to go were very slim.

Meanwhile, Elle was with her arty friends on the green. They had all got an invite to the party, including Elle. The smirking theatre girl began handing them out to Elles friend group, before coming to her and slowly backing away.

"Hey! Elle needs an invite, she's great at parties! Right El?" Robyn shouted, nudging an also exhausted looking Elle. She looked up at the theatre girl nervously and nodded as her other two 'friends' laughed quietly at her awkwardness. The theatre girl rolled her eyes and handed Robyn the invite for Elle before walking off.

"We are finally getting our first college party together!" Robyn shouted excitedly while grabbing Elle by the shoulders and shaking her. Elle smiled at Robyn while trying to keep a panic attack at bay. She hadn't slept for days due to her art teacher Mrs Smith giving her hell, which resulted in her having two all night art sessions in our dorm room. A party is not what she wanted or needed right now.

"You really need to start speaking out for yourself Elle, I can't do everything for you. You'll get nowhere in life being quiet" Robyn muttered with a sigh, Elle kept her head lowered and decided not to reply as it would result in anger exploding out of her. Something she refused to show.

Elle glanced down at her phone as her friends excitedly spoke about the party, she smiled and laughed quietly at my text message that I had sent secretly under the classroom table.