Soloist #Wattys2015

Chapter Fifteen

"That was amazing!" I breathed as we exited the shooting range.

Eli smiles. "You and a gun make a pretty dangerous combination."

"And I suppose you like danger?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Passionately." He leans in, pressing his lips to mine briefly. I giggle.

"Come on, I want ice cream." I pull him along, towards the vendor's cart.

"What about Madame Carolyn?" He teases.

"Who cares about Madame Carolyn?"

Eli pays for my ice cream, taking a huge bite of the honey-flavoured goodness before passing it to me. I grumbled but took my sweet treat. I held his hand as we strolled around the lake in the park, making small talk and watching the people around us.

"Do you ever wish that we could be normal kids? No ballet at all?" I started.

"Well, it would be nice to have a little more time to myself and to experience the real school system, but no, I wouldn't give up ballet for the world."

"Why not?" I frowned.

He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight as he replied, "Because that means giving you up."

Then the world shifted on its axis as Aellius listed before falling flat on the ground. The air was knocked out of me when I hit the ground.

Boosting himself up on an elbow, Eli kisses my forehead as an apology. I relaxed into the soft grass, soaking up the sun's heat. I should do this more often.

ϗ

Honestly, the washing machine scared me.

"What are you doing?" Eli chuckled, his elbow resting on the breakfast bar as he watched from a distance like the Cheshire Cat.

I shuddered, not wanting to take another step.

"It's making a weird noise..." I remarked, watching the machine shake.

His warm hands find my waist and he pulls me into his chest. I twist around, not wanting to look at that dreaded item anymore.

"Andy," He cups both hands around my chin, lifting up my head.

"Yes?" I squeaked, flinching slightly as the whirring changed.

"When we get married, no housework for you."

I snorted, "Of course, I'll be dancing."

"You better be." He wraps his arms around me, pressing his lips to my head before resting his head in my hair.

He leads me away from the washing machine and into the small backyard where Sarah watched over Eli's younger cousins while their parents were at work.

George and Lucas ran over, their hands covered in mud, I hid behind Aellius, not wanting to get dirty.

"What's up, squirts?" He smiled, forcing me to stand beside him.

"Who's this?" Lucas points to me.

Eli kneels pulling me down with him. I sank to my knees on the slightly damp grass.

"This is Andy." He kisses my cheek. "She's afraid of washing machines."

Turns out, George and Lucas were not fond of that particular piece of machinery either. I giggled as they speculated about the monster that was inside.

Then Lucas turns to me and asks in his adorable voice, "Are you going to marry Eli?"

Um...

I turned to look at Aellius who was currently chasing after a squealing George as they sprayed each other with water guns. He grinned at me and George fires, catching him unaware.

"I probably will."

ϗ

The week we had at Eli's parent's house passed quickly, like the days at my own home. As soon as we knew it, we were packing our bags and getting ready to leave.

"Is that all the stuff you brought?" Eli glanced over at my open bags.

I shrugged, "Mother offered to send some of my clothes back to the academy so that I would not have to bring them all here."

"That's nice. Come on, we need to leave." He rushed me out of his room and through the hall before Sarah could catch us.

James was waiting outside with a cab for us. Embracing his son and shaking my hand, he bids us farewell. Also, he hands me a bar of chocolate that I shared with Eli on the way to the airport.

It was almost the same as the previous time, we checked in, and I slept until the plane came, but this time, I wanted to play around with the in-flight entertainment system.

"Would you stop that?" Eli groaned as I changed the movie yet again.

His monitor had failed, so he was stuck sharing with me. I giggled, playing with his fingers as the movie's opening began to play.

"Why are your hands so small?" Eli splays my fingers, resting my palm against his own.

The space between the edges of our hands was huge. My hands were so tiny compared to his.

"Because I'm a kid."

Eli chuckled, resting his head on the crest of my shoulder. I sighed and leant further back into my seat.

His hand drops to my knee, massaging the joint.

"I can feel the bone." He remarked.

I scoffed, "Of course, I'm a dancer."

"You're skeletal, it's scary."

"And I suppose that I should be worried." I cocked an eyebrow, employing my sarcasm skills.

"You should be."

I rolled my eyes, resting my chin on the arm that rested on the divider in-between our seats. If this trip was going to be this boring, I was going to take a nap.  

ϗ

We had to take a cab to the academy since the bus service was done for the night. The cab was warm, making me even sleepier. I yawned and snuggled into Eli's side, falling asleep almost immediately.

The ride was relatively short, meaning that I only got a good half hour of snoozing in before Aellius woke me up. At least he handled the luggage.

Despite trying my best to remain alert, I failed terribly, tripping twice. Thankfully, I did not break anything. Somehow, I got to my room in one piece. Then Eli tried to leave for his room.

"Stay, please?" I begged.

Aellius tried to wrench his arm free without hurting me, but I was as good as drunk when I was tired.

Eventually, he gave in and followed me to my room. He relaxed in my bed, pulling back the sheets for me.

I crept into the comfortable bed that I had missed during the holidays. Eli wrapped his warm arms around me, pulling me into his side.

"I love you, you know that?" His voice was disturbingly loud against the calm silence of my room.

I sighed, burying my face into his chest.

"I love you too."

I was not sure if Eli actually heart that, since my reply was muffled by his cotton shirt. Shame.