The Creator: UNKNOWN

VI

Chanse

Approaching the end of the day makes my heart drop. I don't know why, I'm just so nervous to meet Eliza's parents. It's not like we're together. We're just friends. But I'm still nervous.

The plan is that Eliza will take me back to her place in her car. And she'll take me home after dinner. I'm nervous.

Biology, probably the most boring subject to have last period on a Wednesday.

The teacher finishes the lesson, and the bell rings, allowing us to pack up and leave this fucking place.

I walk to my locker to put my books back and when I had closed it, Eliza was there, beaming down at me.

"Hey! You ready?" she chirps.

"Yeah, let's go." I reply.

While walk through the halls, I feel her arm link with mine. I take a shaky breath as her other hand holds my upper arm.

"Is this okay? I just think it's less awkward than you just following me."

"Yeah. I'm fine with this." I nod.

I am more than fine with this.

She leads me to her car and it's a black Range Rover that I'll probably need climbing gear to get into.

She unlocks it and opens the passenger side for me, and mumble a small, "Thank you." and begin my climb into this mountain of a car. Eliza shut the door and got in herself. She backed out of the parking space and soon we were on the main road.

She must've noticed my bouncing leg and my fidgety hands because she looked over and placed her hand on my shoulder, "You okay?"

"I'm just so nervous."

"You have nothing to be nervous about." she shook her head with a soft smile, "Just don't call my Mom Kathryn."

"Noted." I nodded.

The drive was short. It wasn't long until we had arrived at the Rogerstone-Montgumery residence. Three other cars were in the driveway already.

"They're home early." Eliza mumbled to herself.

She lead me up the stairs and to the front door of her family home. Immediately after walking in, you could see the living room and kitchen.

Two women sat on the sofa looked up to the front door and got up to greet us.

"Hey, Eli. How was school?" one woman said. She had a thick accent, of what I don't know. When she stood, she was really fucking tall. I estimate six foot- two. She was blonde and had blue eyes, this was Christina.

"It was great! I'm so excited to have Chanse over." Eliza gushes.

"And you must be Chanse," Christina's eyes find me as Eliza's other Mom reaches her wife's side.

"That's right, ma'am." I nod. I hold my hand out to shake, but she just tuts and pulls me in for a hug.

"None of the formalities, please. Christina or Tina will do just fine."

"Don't worry, Mom. I warned her already." Eliza assured her mother, Kate. Eliza is the spitting image of her.

"That's aright, then." Kate replied, her accent thick with Irish.

"What're you two gonna get up to while we wait for dinner?" Christina asked.

"Wait? Have you ordered?"

"Not yet, we wanted to wait for Chanse."

"Okay, we'll probably just hang in my room."

Her parents nodded and took my order from Taco Bell. After that, Eliza leade to her room.

Quite the space it was. She had a dark blue rug that matches with her bed sheets and carpet. A desk right next to her bed, in front of the window, a massive bookshelf next to it and a drum kit next to a door on the left side of the room. I wonder where it leads?

"That door leads to Kath's room." Eliza explained as if she read my thoughts

"You play drums?" I question. She only shrugged in response. I watched as Eliza jumped on her bed with a huff, looking extremely adorable between the pillows and teddies.

"What do you wanna do?" Eliza wondered, I notice that her legs moved like a child's. They bounced up and down on the bed, almost like she's swimming.

"I don't know." I shrug, standing awkwardly in the middle of her room.

She got up and grabbed my arm, yanking me onto the bed with her. We're really close, our noses almost touching.

"Is this okay?"

"Yeah." I nod. "You have a lot of teddies."

"I know. My older sister buys them for me. She knows I love getting teddies from her so she buys me one everytime she comes to visit. This one is my favourite," she picks up her teddy from the bed showing it to me. It was a jumping spider plushie with the cutest eyes. "Her name is Tallulah. She's a jumping spider."

"She's very cute."

"Yeah, I know!"

"Do you have many sisters?" I wonder.

"Yeah. Eleven. Can you believe it?"

"Wow. What're all of their names and how old are they?"

"Well, there's Ruth and Zoey who are forty-seven, Bennie is thirty-six, Billie and Danny are thirty-one, Jordyn and Jaydyn are twenty-six, Hayley, Raphie and Apollo are twenty-one but they'll be twenty-two at the end of October and then that leaves Kath and I at seventeen." she explains.

"That's a lot. I bet Christmas is fun."

"Definitely," she chuckles. "What about your family?"

"My oldest brother is Shayne. He's twenty-five. Then there's Arasha, she's twenty-three. Damien, who is twenty-one. And my two younger sisters, Angela and Amanda, they're both fourteen."

"Perhaps not as many as mine, but I'm sure they're all great."

"Yeah, they are. Damien is like, a total badass. She's in military college and plans to join the forces. She's really protective of us. Being Latina makes us the minority so she's really paranoid about that stuff. I can understand why. But I feel I can handle myself. I got my super buff friend to keep my safe." I joke, poking st Eliza's arms.

"Stop it." she giggled.

After we calm down, we just stare at each other. She looks so relieved to have a friend. I'm so happy that I can give her that.

I hear what people say about her in the halls. They call her "weird" and "freak". I don't understand why people call her all sorts of things, she's probably the best human being I've ever met. She's so cute and funny, kind and soft. Gentle and sweet. Unbelievably sweet.

"I really like you." she confesses.

"I really like you, too." I reply.

"You're the first person to approach me with the promise of a good friendship. Well, the only person to approach me. I hear what they say about me. It does knock my self-esteem a little bit. Not that I had much to begin with.  I'm just so glad I have a friend. Finally. I'm so grateful for you, Chanse."

Her words pull at my heart strings and something in me brought my hand up to her soft brown hair and played with it, gently. Just lightly stroking my fingers through the strands and getting tangled on the side of her head. But not painfully.

"I'm grateful for you, too. It's nice to have a friend like you. Quiet, respects me, calm and so gentle. You are really special to me now. I will cherish you."

"Kids! Dinner is here!" I hear Christina call.