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Elijah Theron Fleming
ILVERMORNY ALUM MWRC APPRENTICE RESEARCHER
509 posts
Infatuated with Cordie Smith
played by Chanel
in too much space we hide.
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last online May 1, 2024 15:23:25 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 8, 2018 11:42:48 GMT -7
Post by Elijah Theron Fleming on Aug 8, 2018 11:42:48 GMT -7
SEEING ASHLEY AGAIN WAS INFURIATING FOR Eli. On the one hand he was so angry at her, seeing her again only reminded him of that. On the other, he hadn't forgotten about how pretty she was. The kind of pretty that didn't befriend dirt smudged boy's like Eli. Which he'd known beforehand, but there he was. Mooning and scowling at the same time.
"Well..." Eli said, stumped by the nip in Ashley's reply. Like she was the one with the moral high ground. "It's not like I'm wrong." He snapped back, his lips quirking in a humourless smile as he tucked the book under one arm. Eye contact was worse, he decided, so much worse. "It's not like I know you, Ashley," Eli said, with the ghost of what could be a sneer if he had it in him. "At least, I thought I did- except, and then-" He couldn't find the words amongst his jumbled emotions.
"You're the one that acted like I didn't exist, remember?!" He accused, pointing a finger at her angrily, his cheeks and nose turning red. "You and- and your little minions all laughing at me like we're- like we're 12 again!" He squatted down and snatched the dragonhide gloves from the ground at his feet, at a loss as to what to do with them but needing something to occupy his hands, which had begun to gently shake. "Didn't feel all that direct then..." He muttered, jaw flexing as he tugged at the supple fabric.
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last online May 2, 2024 21:34:41 GMT -7
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Aug 8, 2018 12:12:15 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2018 12:12:15 GMT -7
Ashley felt as though she'd been punched in the gut by Eli's reply. Her teeth clenched as she tried to think of something- anything- to say back to him. Over the past few months, she never saw Eli like this. Angry and sarcastic and bitter. She hated it. This wasn't the boy she cared so much for, the boy she wanted to explain everything to. This boy had the same face but everything else about him was different, which made it easier for her to be angry with him. "I thought you did too," she muttered so quietly she doubted he'd be able to hear, which was probably a good thing. He didn't need to know that he knew more of her secrets than anyone else, that he'd unearthed a part of her Ashley didn't even know existed. This uptight, self-assured Eli didn't deserve to know anything about her. Then again, she wasn't going to stand around saying nothing as he blamed everything on her. As he started accusing her, Ashley shook her head vehemently, her voice rising as she began to argue with him. "Oh, so it's all my fault, is it? Who stood me up at the dance? Who didn't try to say a word to me until I was with all the people that hate him and want to make his life miserable?! Who has avoided me ever since?" she demanded furiously. Ash bit her bottom lip hard, drawing blood as she tried to reign herself in, but it was no use. Moments later, she was shouting at him, throwing her arms up as she looked around the meadow, at the trees and flowers and sky, anywhere but at him. "You really think I wanted to say that to you? I only said what I did to make them leave you alone. You don't know them like I do. What I did was a mercy." She finally looked back up to his face, ready to meet his eyes if he was looking at hers. "And I didn't laugh at you." Her tone wasn't as loud as a few moments before, but it was still full of all the pent-up fury from the last week. She wasn't asking for his forgiveness, she was telling him the facts. Rather, yelling them at him, but whatever. That was his fault. A part of her wanted to tell him the rest, about how she searched for him afterward, trying to tell him the truth and ask him to forgive her, but it was too late for that and she had no intention of saying anything to make him pity her. He wanted their friendship over, obviously, so it was about to end. She just wanted him to have his facts straight before it did. Elijah Theron Fleming
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Elijah Theron Fleming
ILVERMORNY ALUM MWRC APPRENTICE RESEARCHER
509 posts
Infatuated with Cordie Smith
played by Chanel
in too much space we hide.
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last online May 1, 2024 15:23:25 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 8, 2018 13:10:33 GMT -7
Post by Elijah Theron Fleming on Aug 8, 2018 13:10:33 GMT -7
THOUGH ELI WAS SO SURE OF HIS STANCE HE stumbled when Ashley fired back at him. He'd never been a great fan of confrontation. It curdled in his gut. But, that didn't mean he was immune to anger and it simmered beneath his skin. They were two warring flames of fury and though Eli was unsure of himself for a second, it was quickly consumed by his righteous position.
"I didn't stand you up..." Eli said in baffled confusion, his brows wrinkled in the middle. "That's what I was trying to tell you!" He stressed, taking two involuntary steps forward as he jabbed a finger into his chest. "I got detention..." He enunciated, head leaning forward as if his whole body strained to be seen and heard. "I'm not allowed in the girls dorms, so I picked the next best thing, which was breakfast."
Eli's mouth had gone dry and his head was starting to hurt, mostly he just felt sick. "I didn't know there's specific times I can't talk to you, Ashley." Eli spat, a look of disgust on his face. "Talking to you..." Eli shook his head, looking out at the trees as he stopped. Continuing was dangerous, it meant being vulnerable and he didn't want to be vulnerable with her right now. "I wanted to explain more than I wanted to avoid them."
And as quickly as the softness overcame him he quashed it, screwing his face up in to a scowl. They were so different and before, that used to make it interesting. Now, it just made them clash more than ever. He thought she couldn't be more wrong, she thought the same about him. It was infuriating. Drawing in a deep breath, it stuttered half way through as Eli snapped his head back toward Ashley.
"For me?" He echoed, dangerously slow. "No- no, Ashley." Eli shook his head, a coldness overcoming him for the first time. "You did that for you." And he'd never been more sure. "You made me fee- look like nothing in front of them." And it still hurt, his pride and something else that ran deeper. "That was a choice you made." He was close enough to her now that he could see her features in great detail. The same expanse of smooth skin and rose petal lips.
"That's why I avoided you," He muttered, stopping to purse his lips and gather his thoughts as he looked down at his feet. "That's why we can't be friends any more, Ashley." He offered the book and the gloves back to her, a period to their broken connection. "You chose them when you didn't have to choose at all." With a scoff he pushed the gifts at her.
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last online May 2, 2024 21:34:41 GMT -7
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Aug 8, 2018 13:45:39 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2018 13:45:39 GMT -7
Ashley's stomach was rolling with anger and frustration. She didn't want to even listen to what Eli had to say, planned on tuning him out as he spoke, but she couldn't. Not when his first words were that he didn't stand her up. She stared at him, eyes narrowed as he started to explain himself, moving towards her. Ash wanted to step away, but that was weak. No, she would stay where she was. "Detention? For what?" she couldn't help asking, her tone still hard, but there was a sincerity to it. She believed him. Whatever Eli might be, she didn't think he was a liar. As his words continued to register, Ash grew cold. Almost as if all the heat was being pulled out of her by magic. She knew her face was pale as the realization came on her. This really was her fault. She wanted to leave, to run away but she couldn't force herself to take a step away. Her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth opened ever so slightly. He wanted to explain. His tone was soft and she couldn't keep herself from whispering. "I didn't know. I thought ..." it was all a game. She thought he hadn't meant anything he said to her, that he'd been playing her the whole time. She looked away from him. She didn't want him to be vulnerable, didn't want to feel guilty for what happened. She'd been so convinced it was his fault, but was it? He grew angry again and Ashley could feel everything changing as she looked at . She forced the guilt back, determined to try and make him see her point of view as he told her he did it for herself. "No! You don't know them. If I left with you, spoke with you somewhere else or even there in front of them, they would have searched you out when I wasn't there, just because they knew we talked. I wasn't thinking of me, I swear." At least, she hadn't thought she did that for herself. She bit her lip again, looking away from him as his words continued to come, though more softly now. She felt empty and cold, as though she was inhabiting a body that was not her own. She had no idea that tears were coursing down her cheeks. She had nothing else to say. She came here today expecting Eli to not come. Instead, he came and argued with her, making her realize that it was all her. Everything was her fault and she already lost her best friend. His words rang in her head repeatedly. She took a step back from him as he pushed the gifts back at her, staring at the book and gloves for a moment. "Keep them. I don't want them. If you don't either, leave them here to rot. I ... I wouldn't blame you." She paused and glanced up at him before looking away. "I'll leave you alone now. I'm ... so, so sorry. For everything" She reached forward and touched his hand for just a moment, unable to stop herself. "Bye," she said, turning and leaving the clearing without glancing back. Once she got back to the castle, Ash went to the tallest tower. No one was there, and she curled up into a ball, now allowing the guilt and self recrimination to begin. It wasn't Eli's fault at all. Her losing her best friend was entirely her doing and the fact of that tore her up inside. (END ASHLEY)
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Elijah Theron Fleming
ILVERMORNY ALUM MWRC APPRENTICE RESEARCHER
509 posts
Infatuated with Cordie Smith
played by Chanel
in too much space we hide.
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last online May 1, 2024 15:23:25 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 8, 2018 14:01:49 GMT -7
Post by Elijah Theron Fleming on Aug 8, 2018 14:01:49 GMT -7
HE WAS SURE HE IMAGINED THE SOFTNESS IN Ashley's tone. Wishful thinking, his mind said. Connecting the dots depending on his mood, which was decidedly certain for Eli in that moment. "Doesn't matter now," Eli shrugged, averting his gaze. "For something dumb that happened like- like months ago." And in that brief second he could almost pretend things were normal. But, they weren't. And it showed rather quickly. Shaking his head harshly, Eli scowled.
"I didn't need your protection!" He corrected her. Because, no matter if that were true, it didn't change things. And in the end, she had thought about herself. "I handled them just fine before you." That was only half true, half the time he simply avoided them. "And even if that was true, you were protecting yourself, too." An ugly look crossed Eli's face. "If you ignore me you don't have to explain right?" He snorted, shaking his head. "You don't have to tell anybody that you kissed a loser." And that was exactly how he saw it, when everything was laid out plain.
And when he finally offered her gifts back, he looked up to find her crying and a lump formed in his throat. It was his fault, there was no denying that. "Don't- please don't cry..." Eli muttered and his fingers twitched with the overwhelming desire to comfort her. But, he couldn't. She wasn't the only one that was sad. He gripped the book instead, tightening a fist around the gloves until his knuckles turned white on both hands. It was for the best, Eli told himself.
As he stood frozen, her apology carving a hole in his chest. It didn't feel right, even though that was all he wanted. It didn't feel like a new beginning. Only like a true ending. "Ash..." He mumbled, a half breath on the tip of his dry, chapped lips. But, she was already gone. "Bye." He said, to nobody but himself. She didn't look back.
Before he left the meadow, he laid the gifts on the rock and turned. Almost out of the clearing before he turned and jogged back. He snatched the gifts up and pressed them to his chest all the way back to his dorm. Like precious artefacts.
[END ELI]
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