❝young (pronounced jʌŋ or yung, noun)
having lived or existed for only a short time.❞
Phoenix was singing.
Elle was sitting on the couch, watching him in the living room, happily singing to himself songs from the 'Aladdin' soundtrack. "Mr Aladdin, sir, what will your pleasure be..."
"Nick?"
"Yeah?" he said, looking up from his notepad.
"Why are you singing?"
He shrugged, then went down to his paper. "Let me take your order, jot it down, you ain't never had a friend like me... Life is your restaurant, and I'm your maître d'..."
Ryan was suppressing a grin behind her knitting needles, and sat down beside Elle. "I think his meet-up with his 'friend' went well," she said.
"The girl he always talks about? Ebony?"
"You should've seen him when I picked him up last night. He looked like he'd been hit by lightning."
"You're the boss, the king, the shah! Say what you wish, it's yours, true dish! How 'bout a little more baklava?"
Nita was lying down beside him, tail wagging. It was like she felt the happiness that he was feeling, too.
And Phoenix was happy. He'd never been this happy before.
She was so beautiful.
Were they something more now, something more than friends? Did he have to ask her about it? Did she want something else? Well, with the way she was talking to him the night before, with her heart on her sleeve, maybe she did. He wanted to see her again. He wanted to kiss her again. What wouldn't he do to kiss her again?
"Ma, can I go to the park?"
"To see Ebony?"
He bit back a smile. "Maybe."
"It'll be good for you to get some fresh air," said Ryan. "Go with Elle?"
"No, I... I think I'll stay in today. Feeling tired."
"Do you want me to tell Drew to come over?"
She was quiet, then shook her head. "If he... if he comes over, can you tell him I'm sleeping?"
Ryan frowned. "You don't...? Okay. No, that's fine. I'll let him know."
"But... but tell him to come up. Tell him it's okay to stay with me. Just that I'm probably sleeping."
Elle didn't know what she was saying. She didn't know what she wanted. She wanted him to stay but another part of her was guilty for not allowing him to be too close, and then the other part told her that if he strayed too far, he'd give up, and another part told her that she was stupid for trusting him at all. She missed when her source of comfort was him. What was she to do if the only person who knew her better than she knew herself was one of her greatest fears?
Phoenix's happy look faded slightly. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," said Elle distantly. "I'm gonna go lie down."
"Call if you need anything," said Ryan, before looking back at Phoenix. "Are you okay to walk there yourself?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Nita!"
Nita trotted over, and Phoenix gave his mother a kiss. "I'll be back soon," he said, before leaving the house.
He walked through the streets of Nashville, getting to the park near their house where he had first met Ebony, and he sat down underneath, waiting for her. It took a little while, but soon, he saw her walking up the small hill to greet them beneath the trees. Nita started wagging her tail, and Phoenix murmured, "Stay," to make sure she didn't jump.
She was so pretty.
She was smiling as she came up the hill, and whistled to Nita, who went bounding. She jumped on her, knocking her down and making her laugh. "Hey, girl!"
"Nita, down!" said Phoenix, grabbing her collar and dragging her off her. Ebony was laughing, lying there with her hair around her like an aura of beauty. Her eyes were sparkling. She looked wonderful.
"Sorry, she gets excited quickly," he explained, letting her sit. "Nita, stay. Stay."
She tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing her scar once more. She smiled at him, standing up. "Hey."
"Hi," he said. He suddenly felt shy, his hand moving up to the back of his head. "You look... amazing."
And she did. She was wearing a loose shirt and leggings, and she looked beautiful in them. She smiled, thanking him, before sitting down. He sat down beside her.
"Well, wanna talk about last night?"
"Yeah. That'd be good."
She chuckled, then looked at him. "Well? What are you thinking?"
I'm thinking about kissing you again. "I dunno. It's your choice."
She took his hand, and they sat at the base of the tree. Phoenix gave Nita a toy, and she lay there beside them, chewing furiously. "Last night was really... amazing. I don't think I've been that happy before."
"Me neither." She looked at him. "I really like you, Nick."
"I really like you, too," said Phoenix. "As more than a friend, maybe."
She smiled, and he leaned down, kissing her. This felt new, but it also felt like he had done this a million times before. She was a good kisser. It was then that Phoenix decided he liked caramel, after all. "What do you think?" she asked again.
"I think we should go on a few more dates," said Phoenix. "But I really like the idea of being with you. I think you're... you're wonderful."
"I think that can be arranged," she said, a small smile on her face.
He smiled too, and kissed her cheek very softly. "I'd like that. Let's go out again. What should we do?"
"Well, they opened a new skate rink out toward the East, Callum was telling me about it."
"Callum's your foster dad, right?"
"Yeah," she said. "I can't believe you remembered something like that, that's amazing."
"I remember everything you've told me. You're so interesting to talk to."
She blushed, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, looking out at the park. He could remember still being here, back when Ryan was still in London. Being alone, watching Elle and Robin by himself. Now he had Ebony. She smiled up at him and leaned in, kissing him. "Thank you."
"For?"
"Helping me believe that the world isn't as bad as it seems."
<><><><><><><><>
Elle heard her door open behind her, and heard Drew whisper, "Ellie?"
She didn't respond, and he sighed. She felt the bed sink beside her under his weight, felt his fingers through her hair, and she couldn't help but jerk away. "Shit, did I wake you up?"
"No, I was... I dunno. Half awake, half not," she lied, sitting up. "Hey."
"Hi," he said gently. "How are you feeling?"
"I dunno. Tired. As usual."
He looked concerned, and she sighed. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry?"
"Because I'm like this."
"You don't have to apologise-"
"I know I don't have to, I want to." She bit her lip, trying to keep from crying, and Drew reached out to stroke her cheek, making her flinch once again. He sighed, moving his hand back, but she said, "No, love, stay. I'm sorry."
Drew sighed. "I hate seeing you like this."
"I know." She bit her lip. "I'm a mess."
"You're my mess," he responded easily. He kissed her softly. "Can I help?"
She didn't say anything, instead leaning up and kissing him determinedly. He sighed, pulling away. "Ellie, I told you. Not until you're ready."
"For f*ck's sake," she snapped at him. "So what, you're just gonna know or something? I'm me. You don't know-"
"I do know. You're being ridiculous, Elle," he said angrily. "You can't just expect that the one time we sleep together, everything's gonna be fixed, because-"
"How do you know it won't?" she said.
"Because you're being ridiculous, and that's not how any of this works, damn it!" he snapped, his voice raised.
"Don't you yell at me!" she said, though her voice was quivering. She sounded terrified.
"Ellie?"
"F*ck you," she spat, though her eyes had filled with tears and she was shaking. "I... I-I..." She shuddered, and her head dropped.
"Shit," whispered Drew.
Amber was about to scream, when Drew hushed her. "No, don't scream! Please, I'm not about to hurt you. I swear on it."
She stared at him, her lips pressed together, and he spoke softly and carefully. "My name is Drew."
"D-Drew?"
"That's it. I'm Drew. Do you want to be friends?
"Friends?"
"That's right."
"A-Are you s-seventeen?"
He blinked. "Uh, sure. Now, tell me. Do you trust me?"
She looked at him. He knew how he looked right now. His brown eyes were darkened from tiredness, his under-eyes and five o'clock shadow not making things any better. He was thin and probably looked gaunt. His hair was straight, flopping perfectly into the fringe Elle loved so much. "I... I..."
"You don't have to answer that," he said, using the same gentle tone. "But know this, Amber. I'm not about to hurt you. I could never hurt you."
Her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm gonna leave," he said gently. "You get some rest up here, okay?"
"R-R-Rest?"
"That's right."
She was curled up, away from him, and she peeked up at him from behind her hair. "Why are you trying to h-help me?"
"I'm trying to let you know how much I love you," he breathed. "I'm gonna go, okay?"
"O-Okay," she said. "Bye, Drew."
"Bye, Amber." He left the room, sighing as he closed the door behind him. She wouldn't be back for a while. He went downstairs, passing Ryan who was reading quietly with her head resting against Hunter's legs as he watched TV. He looked up. "Back so soon?"
"Amber," he muttered, sitting down on the couch across the room. Spencer clambered into his lap again, and reached for the remote, turning on a rerun of Spongebob episodes.
Hunter sighed, and Ryan put her book down. "Again? She didn't get scared this time."
"No, I... convinced her not to scream, told her I wouldn't hurt her. She asked me if I was seventeen, and I said yes. Does it... does it matter, lying to her like that? D'you think she'd panic if I told her I was older, since she thinks she's fifteen?"
"I don't know, but let's not confuse her," said Hunter quietly, rubbing his forehead. "When do you think she'll wake up?"
"No idea." He sighed. "She seemed sick again. Maybe we should take her to the hospital again."
"Maybe." Ryan stood, stretching. She had a silent conversation using her eyes with Hunter, then looked at Drew. "Stay for dinner, love. Do you mind helping out in the kitchen?"
"Of course, yeah. I'll text Shaun. Thank you."
"No problem. What should we make?"
"Anything's fine," said Drew.
"D'you need a hand?" asked Hunter.
"Should be fine, bluejay." She kissed him once, before straightening up and looking at Drew. "Shall we get started?"
"Sure."
Phoenix opened the door, looking happier than he had in years, his hair windswept and his eyes sparkling. "Hey, Drew."
"Hey, kid. You look cheerful."
"I am," he said. "What's for dinner, Ma?"
"Whatever you want."
"Burgers, then."
"I agree," said Hunter, not taking his eyes off the TV, and Ryan chuckled.
"Burgers it is. Help me to mince some meat."
"I wanna help!" said Spencer, jumping up and running into the kitchen. "Mama, where's my hat?"
"Top drawer to the left."
Drew followed Ryan into the kitchen, where she handed him some meat. "Start mincing that for me while I chop up a salad."
"Sure."
"Spence, could you peel this onion for me?"
"Yeah!" Spencer put on his hat, washed his hands, and started fiddling with the onion. Ryan kissed the top of his head. Drew was silent, feeding the beef into the mincer, and listened to Ryan's humming as she chopped up some lettuce and tomatoes. Spencer quickly finished peeling the onion, and Ryan thanked him, handing him a bunch of parsley and asking him to pick the leaves off for her.
This quiet ambience, of Spencer talking to himself and Ryan humming gently, this was the kind of family and atmosphere Drew wanted to have with Elle one day. In their (likely small) apartment, with their son or daughter, with quiet music in the background and rain falling softly outside. His eyes pricked with tears- he was constantly on the verge of tears these days. There was something so messed up about having Elle right there, and not being able to marry her, not being able to go back to what they had been back when everything was so much more simple.
Eventually, Spencer had left to watch TV with Hunter, and Ryan looked at Drew. "You know, Hunter usually helps me out, but I wanted to talk to you one-on-one today."
"I figured as much," he responded. "Why?"
"Because... oh, I don't know, Drew. What's going on with you and Elle?"
He didn't look at her when he responded. "I don't know."
"Do you love her?"
"Of course I do."
"I understand you're doing all you can, but I know-"
"I love her." He looked her in the eye, trying not to shake. "I can't do anything if she doesn't love me back."
*A/N: well it's been a week and hopefully i'm back for good, folks
nethii <3*