Becoming Flynn - Noah's Story

Part Five - Resolutions.

When Sunday came, I had made up my mind. I was going to do her bidding and leave her alone, even though I could not stay away forever. I had to make an occasional appearance at school to graduate. So I went home but made sure to arrive when my parents and Lee were out to their Sunday lunch with the Evans'. It felt nice to have the house to myself, in particular the fully stocked fridge, my large shower and a closet full of clean clothes. Then I sat down at my desk and thought how I was going to go about it with my parents. My mom would be thrilled to have me back home (I hoped) but dad would be pissed because I had missed several days of school. The easiest way to appease him wouldbe to excel in the test next week. A loud sigh escaped my mouth when I switch on my laptop and started to study. It kept my mind off things and accomplishing a clearly defined tasked was relaxing. It reminded me of all the times I was punished for fighting and found my peace in simple tasks like doing my homework or repairing my bike.

Their car pulled up in the driveway and heard the excitement rise in their muffled voices. They must have noticed my bike in the garage. Then the front door opened and almost immediately opened and closed again. Next I heard Lee start his car, he was probably off to Rachel's. Relief washed over me, I was not ready to deal with more than one problem at a time. Slowly I made my way down to the living room to get my share of parenting for this month.

As expected, I got a tight hug from my mom who kept quiet while my dad started ranting about paying the exorbitantly high fees for an ivy league education when I did not even bother to show up for school. I promised him my little 'ego trip' as he liked to call my trip to our beach house would not reflect in my grades.

I kept my promise and caught up on all my class work, prepared thoroughly for my tests and showed up to take them. General attendance however was not part of our deal as far as I was concerned. Sometimes, I could not bear to see all the places in school my mind automatically connected with Elle. Or even worse, seeing her in the hallways and around school. She looked so miserable but not once did she try to approach me. Her eyes seemed to be glued to my brother who ignored her. I wished only half of her desperate looks were aimed at me. It stung. Hiding in the library to study sometimes did not do it and then I just had to leave. Thank goodness, the teacher's were more relaxed with Seniors, especially those who were not in danger of failing classes. I got reprimanded a lot but nothing really happened.

I was waiting for time to heal my wounds and also for Lee to come around but neither happened. Lee avoided my like the plague and I kept constantly thinking about Elle. A couple of weeks had gone by when I saw Elle waiting by Lee's locker from across the courtyard. She was fidgeting awkwardly and had obviously used her lunch break to buy ice cream off campus. I remembered their weird little ritual of ending every fight they had when they were little with ice cream. The measure seemed a bit desperate to me but I was also jealous because I was not on the receiving end. Then Lee came and I stayed in position to see what happened. If Lee forgave her, maybe he could also forgive me and it could be my time to get back in Elle's good graces again, too. But my usually sweet little brother just stared at Elle hard before accepting the ice cream. I saw the hope register on Elle's face which he cruelly crushed when he dumped the ice cream in the next trash can. My heart sank – for her sake and for mine. That was when I knew I had to do something to get her back in a relationship with me.

The next time, if there was to be a next time, we needed to do it right. No sneaking around, no lies, no omissions, just a regular old relationship – this meant involving family and friends. Assuming my mom would readily support us and my dad follow her suit, my biggest problems would be Lee and Elle's dad. Lee was stubborn like a mule but maybe he would come around if everything else had worked out. I was pretty sure he would not want to be the last thing standing between Elle and her happiness. And as far as I remembered, Elle and I had been happy to that dreadful day. So, all I had to do was convince Mr. Evans that I was the right boyfriend for his daughter. Maybe that was a little too optimistic and I could be grateful if he did not deem me completely and utterly wrong for her. I needed to let him know that my feelings for her were sincere and I never meant to hurt her. And I needed to apologize for the way I had handled our relationship in the past. This was going to be a tough talk, especially since my chivalry from the beginning of the school year was likely to bite me in the ass.

At the time, if felt likea good idea not to tell him the real reason why I had beaten up Tuppen. Seeing Elle's pleading eyes had gotten me to change my story and leave her out of it. The story as he remembered it however made me look like a mindless thug. But I could not come up with a better one for the life of it at that moment and neither my parents nor Lee had bothered to correct it. Well hell, no good deed ever went unpunished and I just had to man up. I decided to skip my last class and talk to him right this very afternoon, so I would be done with my first step to get Elle back.