Safe || Scotty Sire

3

AN: Here's part three. Things are starting to heat up for our little Ellie! Feel free to comment and let me know what you think!

And that message seemed to be the end of it. I went back to my daily routine. The only change to it was that I now followed the Vlog Squad, and I learned that Heath and Mariah are absolute goals.

I was just going through the grocery store, on a regular old Friday night, when my name was called from behind me. I whipped my head around to find someone that I hadn't actually been introduced to in person. It was Zane.

"Ellie," he said with a smile. "Look, I don't know how to say this without sounding super weird, but everyone who you met really liked you, and I think a softer personality like yours would fit into our group really well."

"Okay," I drew out, super confused. "So here's what I'm thinking. We're going to hang out at David's place, and watch a movie tonight. It would be super awesome if you would maybe come too."

I was more than a little confused as to why a group of people I've never met want me to hang out with them. I spoke to Heath for less than 5 minutes, and I spent even less time with the rest of them.

Zane noticed my hesitance, "What's up, baby?" he asked.

"I'm just a little confused as to why you guys have taken a liking to me, I guess." I answer truthfully. I start to get a little anxious, so Rex presses his head into my leg.

"How about this," Zane suggests, "You come over tonight, and try it out. If you don't want to hang out with us, then you don't have to."

I reach down and thread my fingers in Rex's fur as I consider it. I don't really have friends, so having friends would be nice, but this feels like a trap, a set up. Why would a bunch of happy, wealthy people want to be friends with me? All I am is a broke, little girl with too many problems to count.

I sigh a little before answering "Okay." Zane gives me a wide smile. He starts off down the aisle, and when I don't follow him, he motions for me to do so. "So, did you drive here?" he asks.

"No, I don't really drive." I answer.

"Shit," he mutters, "you're legal right?" and I can't help but laugh at the look on his face. I always get confused for being younger than I am because I have such a baby face.

"Yeah, no. I'm twenty. You're good." I say with a small laugh. Zane dramatically pretends to wipe sweat off of his brow.

"Do you wanna just ride with me, we can leave from here and go to my place to drop off my food and your food, then we can go over to David's" he says while he peruses the beer selection.

"What about my dog?" I ask. Of course Rex came with me everywhere, but I had never really navigated a "friends" situation with him.

"He's a service dog, right," Zane asks. I nod. "Then if David has a problem, he can go fuck himself," Zane says, pretending to flip his hair over his shoulder.

Zane continues to shop, loading up his cart with unhealthy snacks and booze, while I pick and choose some staples for my basket. It doesn't take us too long to gather our groceries, and we pay before exiting the store.

As he leads me to his car, my jaw drops. "A lambo?" I question. "You drive a Lamborghini?"

He laughs a hearty laugh, "Yeah, I guess I do." he opens the trunk and we load our groceries in there, then I load Rex into the back seat, asking him to do a down-stay. He obliges.

"So," Zane says as he starts his car and backs out of his spot. "What do you think of the group."

"Well," I start. "I've only actually spoken to Heath for about 5 minutes, and have barely interacted with the rest of them. From what I've seen from you online, you all seem rich and loud to me." I shrugged.

"Well, most of us are well off, and we can be loud, but tonight will be low-key. We'll eat food, drink, and hang out." he makes a right turn.

"Can I be honest?" I ask, looking at him. He seems kind enough, like he would understand. "I'm kinda terrified to be doing this. Like, I don't really hang out with people, and I'm just jumping into the deep end with all of this."

Zane glances at me before returning his eyes to the road, "I'm telling you. I'll take you home, or call you an uber if i get drunk, whenever you want to. You don't have to introduce yourself to anyone you don't want to or anything."

"Thanks," I sigh. "I want to try, I really do."

We rode a short while longer, to an average sized home, which by LA standards, would be very expensive.

"Mi Casa," Zane says. "Hang tight, I'll take our stuff in and you can get yours back from me later."

I sit in the car, and try not to think of how badly this could go, but you know when you do that, you can only think of those bad things. The only comfort I had was that Zane would be there, and he seemed like a softie to me. He would look after me, right?