Chapter Eight
❝She was at once both,
the quiet and confusion of his heart.❞
It was getting dark.
Stars had appeared on the sky as sunset slowly waned to dusk. Theo knew that it wasn't long before the skies turned indigo. He had sat back next to her again, and he lost track of time of how long they'd been like that in silence. But he wasn't bothered by it. In fact, he kind of like it.
He looked at her, whose eyes were focused in front of them. Her eyes were anchored to every sight that it could touch — the ocean, the sky; the sand, the birds that flew by. And suddenly he wondered if she was merely an element of the beach as well. A force of nature herself.
He shook the thought out of his head.
"Why are you doing this?"
Lenny startled, turning to him. "What?"
"Helping us," he clarified, biting off the words helping me. "Not long ago, we were complete strangers to you. We still are."
She let out a light chuckle. His eyes flickered over her face, trying to get a sense of where she was at. "Honestly? I'm not sure. Can't people simply just care about one another for the sake of it? Can't we just look out for each other without expecting anything in return?"
"That's a hard concept to live by."
"I didn't say it was easy." She shrugged. "But it's worth a try."
He gave her the comfort of leaving it alone, but his thoughts were already in a whirlwind. In another life, that could be possible — offering kindness, out of kindness. But not in this one.
In a world where people could be as cruel and vain as they would be good and kind, where anger and ignorance could always win, he just found it too hard to believe. Too good to be true.
And that was the problem about her, he realised. People like her were the ones who could easily break; who couldn't survive in the real world because they only chose to see the good parts. People like her depended too much on humanity, and that hope was going to break them.
Life could be cruel.
It was the reason he came here. To a new place and start over.
And when she would come to the harsh realisation that the world and the people in it couldn't be fixed by smiles and sunshine... he hoped he wouldn't be there for the aftermath.
"It's getting late," Lenny whispered, her voice like a caress in the wind.
"Yeah." He stood up and wiped the sand off his clothes. "I better get back to, uh, your shack. My brother needs me. It was cowardly of me to run away."
"You're not a coward." She met his stance as she got up. "And your brother's already at your apartment by now. Zach took care of him."
His eyes widened. "Zach came?"
"Right after you left."
Great. Just like the old days. Things never changed, did they?
When Theo looked at her again, he was surprised to find that Lenny's eyes were on him. He cleared his throat. "That's great."
She only smiled. "Well, until we meet again, stranger."
Theo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out. He stared at her walking away for a few seconds before noticing which direction she was talking. It wasn't Anchor's.
"Wait, you're walking home?"
"Uh, yeah?" Her lips twitched in amusement. "It's right up the street."
Yeah, pass the entire road of the District. "I'll walk with you."
She let out a laugh. "It's fine, really, but thank you — "
"I'm heading that way as well." It was a half lie. Passing the District meant taking a few longer turns. But he didn't tell her that. He'd feel guilty if something happened to her.
Lenny cocked her head, looking up at him. He was taller than her, but even then, he felt like she was the one who had the upper hand.
"Okay," she caved in. "After you, then."
***
The District was slowly coming to life.
When he first arrived in the small town, he and Zach immediately went to the hotspot that everyone was talking about. It was a long street of endless rows of restaurants, bars and clubs, providing the town's visitors and locals all the entertainment they could ever wished for.
Late-night restos raged on; countless bars thrummed with music; neon signs from thrift shops and clubs flickered against the growing night. There were less cars on the streets and more people walking around, looking for their next escapade.
It was like the moment the sun went down, the streets came alive.
Theo glanced at the girl beside him.
She was completely at awe. Every time a group of people laughed nearby, or a random pantomime stopped in front of them, or a street musician serenaded, she would look there. She'd look everywhere. Completely entranced.
Lenny noticed him glancing at her.
He cleared his throat. "Not your first time here, is it?"
"Of course not," she teased. "But every time I pass these streets, it's always that same feeling, you know? Like I've stepped into a whole new world. Everywhere you go is an adventure and everyone you meet is a mystery. It's amazing."
He raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever heard the actual words that come out of your mouth?"
She laughed, throwing her head back. "It's true." Lenny turned around and began walking backwards, looking at him with a mischievous grin. "It's one of my favourite things about this town."
"You're going to trip and fall," he said flatly.
"No I'm — ah!"
She tripped over a pebble.
He rolled his eyes.
She huffed a piece of hair away from her face, then turned to him hesitantly. "Look," her tone serious as she fell into step beside him again. "I'm sorry that we got off on the wrong foot. I've stepped over a lot of lines, and you have every right to blame me for it. And whatever it is you're going through, you're not obliged to tell me. I'm sorry I made it that way sometimes." She met his gaze. "Truly."
There was such sincerity in her eyes that Theo could only stare at her in disbelief.
— or maybe in awe.
"No," he said roughly. "I should be the one apologising. I've been treating you like shit ever since we've met, admit it. And you didn't deserve that. You were just trying to help. So I'm sorry."
She looked at him like she couldn't believe him, searching for any feigned expression that would suggest falsehood in his words. A part of him hated that about himself — that she found it hard to believe that he'd do something... good.
He really was an asshole to her.
"You're forgiven," she said softly, offering him a smile he knew he didn't deserve.
The rest of the walk was quiet and calming. It came as a shock; a few days ago, if he was anywhere near this girl, his heart would beat erratically with panic. Always aware that she knew more of him than anyone else did.
But maybe, after all this time, being vulnerable wasn't necessarily a bad thing. How could it be, when he felt like a small weight was lifted off of his shoulders? Maybe it was because she was a stranger, so that meant she didn't have a pre-conceived idea of him. Maybe it was just her, the girl who wore her heart on her sleeve.
Either way, he felt like he could finally breathe without suffocating.
"You really own that shack?" He had to start talking before more absurd thoughts invaded his mind.
"Yeah."
"That's a big deal, running a business." Here he was, still lost and unsure of what to do in his future and what he could do, and then there were people like Lenny. "How long have you been boss?"
"A while," she replied. She turned away, then stopped in her tracks. "Oh, this is me."
It was a normal, standard house with faded white bricks and a small porch. He knew finding a decent area near the streets of the District was nearly impossible, so she and her family must've been living here longer than he thought.
"Your parents home?" he asked.
"My grandparents are asleep in this hour." She went up the steps, gaining some height over him. Now he had to look up to her. "You know, we haven't really properly introduced each other. I mean, we did through Zach, but I feel like we deserve our own."
He shrugged, but he was nervous. "Sure."
She grinned. Then, without warning, she outstretched her hand and gently grabbed his. An odd feeling shot through him — like their hands fitted as perfect as two puzzle pieces. Like it felt familiar.
She felt familiar.
"Eleanor," she smiled.
He swallowed. "Theo."
"Theo," she repeated. His heart raced a bit when she mentioned it now, though he couldn't figure out why. "It's been a pleasant night."
"As you say." He added with a frown, "I thought your name was Lenny?"
"Just a nickname. I know how Eleanor can be a mouthful." Her eyes brightened then, looking down at him with deep brown eyes full of light. "You can give me a new nickname if you want. Frankly, Lenny has become a bit too overrated. Plus, it'd be like... it'd be like becoming someone new." She tilted her head. "Don't you agree?"
He read the lines between her words, and the look that she was giving him.
What I love about this place is that I'm nobody here, he'd said before. And because of that, I can be somebody. Somebody new. And now she was giving him a taste of it.
His chest swelled with an indescribable feeling.
"What do you suggest?" he asked quietly.
"Be creative."
His eyes grazed her face — eyes, nose, lips, and any feature he found that could somehow be morphed into a combination of letters. Zach had been wrong; she wasn't easy in the eyes. No, she was... more.
More than her simple looks, more than the signature smile she paraded, more than people would think. She had these deep thoughts of life and how the world should be, yet there was an odd simplicity about her. A cloud of clarity in her mind.
When some people spoke of their opinion, most would shout them like thunder, wanting to be heard and wanting to be the loudest. But hers was quiet. More like a raindrop, falling and landing on your cheek. So small and innocent, yet the effect of it so great that her words stays with you.
She was simple, but in the best kind of way.
"El," he finally said.
"El," she tried it out as if foreign to her tongue. "I like it. Like Stranger Things' El. I could totally pull off the bald look and save the world with my telekinetic powers."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself."
She gave him a playful wink before turning around, heading towards the door. Then he remembered something else she said that bothered him.
"El," he called out.
She turned around.
"I don't think you're a fool." She blinked. "Before, you said that I thought you were a fool. I never have."
She smiled. "That's kind of you to say."
"It's not being kind; it's being honest."
She chuckled, like his words merely amused her. "Good night, Theo."
And when she finally walked through that door, shutting it behind her, he suddenly wasn't sure if being on good terms with her was a good idea. He wasn't sure what he was doing right now, standing in front of her house like a lost boy. But he was sure about one thing.
He liked hearing her say his name.
A/N:
I'm sorry if that overdramatic metaphor was too hard to understand. I had to re-read it several times, too.