Grey Street // H.S.

Chapter 7: Trespassing

I'm sure this is a huge reason I act out. When I do something that makes them mad it seems to be one of the few times I get their full attention. I wish I could say I didn't need that from them, but who doesn't want a little attention from their parents? I think that's reasonable enough.

"What about you?" I turn to the side, skipping forward. "What is your family like? Besides Matt, I already know about him."

He turns his head forward again, thinking. I watch him as bites his lip softly and notice his eyes squint.

"My parents divorced when I was a kid," he begins. I was one of the few kids that I grew up with that was fortunate enough to avoid that whole scenario. My parents have always seemed happy with each other but I also think it has something to do with the fact that they aren't around each other much. "I've lived with my mum and sister since then. My mum is a really do it yourself kind of woman. I don't think we once hired a repair man for anything because she always insisted on doing it herself. She also had loads of friends. I swear every time I came home from school there would be someone new sitting at the table, drinking tea with her."

I can tell by the way Harry talks and the smile that's on his face that he has a much better relationship with his mom than I've ever had with mine. I feel slightly jealous, but I also feel happy for him that he has that.

"The first half of my life I think my only goal was to see how badly I could annoy my sister, I was quite successful at it too," he laughs. "She's a few years older than me and she is so clever. She's a uni now and I don't think I've seen her since Christmas."

I find myself thinking about how weird it will be when I eventually leave this place and won't see Ethan daily, like I'm used to. He would be one of the few things I'd miss about this shithole town.

"I wasn't around my dad too much growing up, but enough for him to make me fall in love with the Rolling Stones. He even took me to a concert when I was twelve."

"Rolling Stones?" I look up at him, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes, Ellison," he smiles. "You aren't the only one who likes old music."

"I'm impressed," I smile slightly. It's refreshing to hear him talk about something I can relate to. I don't think I've ever had a conversation about music with anyone in high school that made it past the shallowness of current pop music. Not that it's all bad.

He smiles again looking proud of himself for saying the right thing. It's sort of look I'd imagine he'd make if he got an A on a test or beat some high score on a video game.

"Hey, follow me," I turn suddenly, walking through some random person's lawn.

"Ellison," Harry looks at me seriously. "I'm not following you until you promise me it doesn't involve breaking into that person's house and stealing stuff. You seem really good at putting me in dodgy situations."

"Harry," I raise my hands up, "I promise we will not attempt any breaking and entering, or robbing anyone. You have my word."

He starts walking toward me satisfied with my answer, but I can tell he's still hesitant, unsure if I'm telling the truth.

"But I can't promise anything about trespassing," I say quickly, spitting the words out and cringing. He raises his eyebrows at me as he suddenly stops walking, unsure of what he wants to do next. "C'mon, I promise I won't get you in trouble," I add, trying my best to give him some comforting words.

I've always enjoyed being in somewhat risky situations. Not to the point where I could seriously get hurt or arrested but there's something fun about doing something you really aren't supposed to. Plus I'm really good at running if I need to get away, so that isn't a problem.