Two Worlds Collided (Ace Merrill)

Ace and Eyeball

Two days later, Elizabeth bursts into my room.

"Come with me!"

"Where?" I ask.

She tugs my arm, effectively making me lose my place in my book. I shut it entirely and look at her in irritation.

My sister looks a lot like me. We have the same light blue eyes and dark brown hair. The only difference is she tries a bit harder on her appearance. I just put on a tiny bit of makeup and brush my hair usually.

"Shopping! I'm going a few different places!" She says.

I sigh, getting up. I change into jeans and a plain black hoodie, and brush through my hair.

Elizabeth taps her foot impatiently while I put shoes on. I grab my wallet and we leave.

"How are you liking Castle Rock so far?" I ask her, trying to make conversation.

"It's great! There's so many cute guys here. I've started taking an interest in this boy named Noah. He's really cute and he's so nice," she tells me. We turn out of the neighborhood. "He's a year older than me, but that's okay. Mom and dad want to meet him, but I told them they had to wait."

I listen, not really offering any response. When she finishes talking about this new boy she likes, she asks me what I think of our new town.

"It's alright, I guess. I miss Dallas," I say.

"I do too, sometimes. It would help if you would go out and make friends or something, you know," she teases.

I shrug.

"I'm not good at the whole friend thing. You know that."

She nods, sighing as she looks at the ground. "Yeah, I know. Weirdo."

I chuckle at her.

The first shop we visit is a small one that sells hair accessories. She chooses several things, but I just get a new pack of hair ties. Almost all of mine have managed to disappear.

Next, we go to a store that sells toys. When I give Elizabeth a questioning look, considering I'm seventeen and she's fourteen, she smiles.

"For the little boy we're adopting. I want him to feel welcome."

I nod and follow her inside. She wanders the aisles, choosing a few different things as she goes. I choose a stuffed dinosaur to put in the kid's room. I don't really know anything about him, but everyone loves dinosaurs.

As we're leaving, she looks around.

"There's a certain place I'm looking for. They have all kinds of stuff that sounds interesting," she informs me.

"Like what?" I wonder.

She smiles. "Some clothes, perfumes, books, d-"

I interrupt her, feeling excited again.

"They have books!?" I exclaim.

As we go around the corner, I see two of the four teenagers that were picking on the younger boys the other day. I roll my eyes.

"Hey, it's Castle Rock's new superhero," one of them says.

The blonde one smiles at me.

"Who's this?" Elizabeth asks me.

I'm about to answer, but the blonde cuts me off.

"I'm Ace, and this is Eyeball. Pleased to meet you."

I narrow my eyes at the blonde. I hate to admit it, but he's actually attractive. Too bad he's an asshole.

"Well, I'm Elizabeth," my sister says. She looks at me.

I sigh, not wanting to be rude. "I'm Eleanor. It's nice to meet you, too."