Bring Me Back To Life || Gavin Lux

sixteen

Ella's POV- Thanksgiving 2019

"Knock, knock"

"Hey" I greeted Chris who was leaning against the doorway.

"Why aren't you downstairs?"

I gestured at my laptop.

"Finishing up homework" I answered.

"Is it due tonight?"

"Tomorrow night actually" I responded.

He nodded and watched as I made sure that both the answers on my notebook and on the fill in the section on the screen were the same.

"Are you almost done?"

"Yeah, it's just this problem," I said.

The red X changed into a green check mark as I resubmitted the response.

"Your mom asked me to come to get you"

It was family picture time.

"Okay, let me put on my booties," I told him.

He nodded and turned his attention to my phone when Gavin (who I was Facetiming with) spoke up.

"I'm back"

"Gavin's at the airport" I explained.

Chris nodded and took the phone as I handed it to him.

"Nice to see you too, Luxie"

Gavin chuckled.

"Sorry man, it's just you were not who I expected to see"

Chris smiled and glanced at me as I slipped on my chunky heel boots.

"I'm far less hairy" I noted.

They both laughed.

"It was nice talking to you, I'll see you tomorrow. Text me your flight info. Here's Ella"

I followed Chris out after he handed me back my phone.

"Will do, bro. See you tomorrow"

"How long till you board?" I wondered.

Gavin squinted a bit as he looked up.

"Uh, about 45 minutes"

"That's not too long," I said.

He nodded.

"How much Turkey did you eat?" I asked.

"A lot"

I stuffed my phone into the pocket of my dress in order to hold the stair rail.

"Oh, Ella! You got flowers"

On the coffee table was a beautiful flower arrangement.

"You're making me look bad, dude"

The doorbell rang just as Gavin said,

"I didn't get Ella a flower arrangement"

I set the phone on the coffee table and reached for the envelope.

"Ella, it's for you"

Much to my surprise, I found myself looking at Claudia's older brother, TK.

"Hey, Teeks," I greeted.

He smiled.

"Hey, Els. Can we talk?"

"Uh, sure" I answered.

"Okay, good you got the flower arrangement"

"Let's go to the study room," I told him.

I reached for my phone and got a good look at Gavin's unamused face.

"Can I call you back?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course"

I looked up and smiled at TK as he made his way over.

"You look good"

"Thank you" I replied to TK's compliment.

"Little bird told me you might get the cast removed tomorrow"

The little bird was his sister.

"Yes, fingers crossed," I said.

We stepped into the study room.

"So what's up?" I wondered.

He plopped down on the small couch.

"I'm just going to get straight to the point since you still need to take your family photo"

"What is it?" I asked.

He looked at me.

"What's up with you and Theo?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I may be a bit older, but we do have some friends in common"

He was two years older than us.

"A lot of our bickering came from the fact that he missed practice" I disclosed.

He scrunched up his nose.

"That explains that hiccup you had during that program in September"

Yup...

"My roommate, he's actually looking for a partner. I could link you two up if you'd like"

Uhhhh.

"You have a figure skating roommate?" was what I asked instead of asking him why he thought my partnership was in the bust.

He chuckled.

"Yeah, his partner kinda did what Theo is doing to you. She started not showing up to practice, skipping class, and just spending all her time with her boo thang. Then out of nowhere, she just announced her retirement. He found out through the announcement"

Oh, wow.

"Don't let him hold you back, Els"

I nodded.

"I'll think about it," I said.

He smiled.

"It's all I ask"

And just like that, he stood up.

"So I'll let you get to that family picture"

He spread his arms.

"Give me a hug, and I'll get out of your way"

I accepted his hug.

"When do you head back?" I asked.

"Bright and early tomorrow"

"I would say good luck, but you're playing my school's team" I noted.

TK played Division I hockey for the Boston Eagles.

"Answer my texts because I'm relying on you to tell me where to eat"

I nodded.

"Take care of yourself, I'll see you during the break"

He gave me a squeeze.

"Even if you decide not to partner up with my roomie, I still want you to meet Enzo"

He smiled.

"Walk me out?"

Since he was there, my mom asked him to take the family picture. Many photographs later, he went home and dad went to carve the turkey. Then, Josie's boyfriend arrived, and....it wasn't until dinner was over and we were seated in the living room that I realized that I forgot to call Gavin back.

"Fuck" I mumbled.

The text read,

About to board. See you tomorrow