#since they have such a hold on me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

casuallivi · 2 years

Photo

I. The Delusional Focused Boy

At the cusp of eighteen, Elain Archeron was going on her first date. It wasn’t like boys haven’t asked her out yet, Elain simple wasn’t interested in dating. Being poor with two sister and an alcoholic father meant Elain had to work part time, the rest of her daily hours being used to maintain her academy scores. Nesta would kill her if she flunked out.

If Elain wanted to brag, she could flaunt her math awards in anyone’s face, but her aptitude for calculus was not what gave her fame Velaris High, that honor was reserved to her looks and ability to reject boys. They called her the Ice Princess, because when Nesta attended the same high school two year ago, she was crowned the Ice Queen. Talk about family legacy.

Elain huffs in annoyance. The bangs Nuala gave her are making keeping the hair away from her face nearly impossible, the strands keep finding their way out of the hair clips, stressing her out. Her sisters were not helping either.

“You have to dress sexy! Use my miniskirt,” says Feyre swaying the teeny skirt in the air. To which Nesta quickly opposes with, “you’ll look like a hooker. Put the sun dress, is more modest.”

She rolls her eyes. If he calls her names because of a skirt, that would be their first and last date! Not that she could imagine him saying anything similar, he had always treated her with gentleness. Elain watches her sisters sprawled on the bed, fighting about what she should or not wear, the mini skirt being tugged back and forth. The image makes her smile. Who would have thought that Elain would miss their daily fights? Now that Nesta had gone to college and Feyre was admitted in a fancy boarding school, the queen-size bed they shared for most of their lives felt a lot bigger. Elain ducked down abruptly, the pillow her little sister threw at Nesta hitting the wood-carved ornaments on top of their old dresser.

With a shake of the head, Elain put them back in place, ignoring their heated argument by pulling her favorite pair of jeans adorned with a cute floral pattern, a comfortable brown knitted jumper and her lucky socks, which she hides inside the safety of her boots in the speed of light, taking a peek at Nesta to guarantee she didn’t noticed the choice.

Nesta hated her colorful socks. Elain loved them. If Stevie Nicks could cast spells with her voice, Elain Archeron could perform magic with her sock. She had worn a pair of colorful socks every time Nesta won a spelling bee, later moving on to debate club contests, she also worn them every time Feyre won a painting competition, her latest contest guaranteeing her a full scholarship in the best arts high school of the state. Needless to say, Elain’s positive vibrations were doing wonders during her cheering gigs, so why not be her own cheerleader during her first date?

Elain moved their mirror around, trying to look at her complete outfit, the small cracked thing marred with black spots proving to be an unreliable tool as ever. With a sigh she placed it back on top of the dresser, planning to check herself in a car outside. Taking one last look at her hair, Elain added the lip gloss little sister received as gift from her new roommate. She always came home with gifts these days. Elain would not comment until Feyre decided to share, but she suspected her sister was being courted.

Someone knocked on the door. Elain looked at the girls, two mischievous grins greeting her back.

Shit.

They ran at the same time, the space of the tiny two-bedroom apartment being covered in seconds. Outside, a loud shriek startled the visitor. Inside, the sisters pulled each other by the arms, the waist, the hair, each one trying to slow the other during their maniac sprint to see who would get to the door first. Feyre won.

“Hi Az!” she greeted excitedly.

“Hi Fey.” He said to her smirking sister, his sparkling hazel eyes glued to Elain, who was rearranging her jumper. He smiled at her, a dimple getting visible in each cheek. She smiled back. “Hello Elain.”

Was it embarrassing that her first crush was younger than her?

“Hello.”

Azriel Shadowbrook was a sophomore attending the same arts school as Feyre, their love for modernist painters and French music uniting them. Elain was introduced to Azriel during one the school many festivals to display the student’s talents. Feyre couldn’t stop talking about her new best friend, and Elain found herself smiling during the whole time she spent around the polite boy with a sharp sense of humor. When it was time to leave, he offered to drive her back, claiming he had recently taken his license and need every chance to practice.

Elain knew nothing about cars, her family never even had one, but she knew that fancy red machine had no business being in her sketchy neighborhood at night. Once they got to her place, Azriel walked her to the door and asked her out. Elain laughed and laughed. She laughed so hard her belly hurt, thinking is was another one (of the many jokes) he played that night. It wasn’t. Elain had liked the kid, and he being Feyre’s best friend meant she was bound to see him a lot in the future, so she canalized her best conciliatory tone to shot him down, explaining she had no time for dates or boyfriends, plus, he was too young for her. At that, he blown an exasperated breath.

“I won’t stay sixteen forever, Elain.”

“But you are sixteen now.”

“So that’s your main reason? My age?” he asked after listening to her list of reasons. By then they have sat on the curb, Azriel replacing every reason not to go out with him, for a reason to go out with him.

“I won’t have time for you.”

“My school keeps me busy too.”

“I’ll be going to college soon.”

“So will I.”

Underneath the boy with cute dimples trying to woo her lived a fierce negotiator. That night they parted ways with her agreeing that if he still wanted to go on a date when he was older, he could ask her again, and she would answer him without prejudice against his age. They shook on it.

Over the course of the next six months Elain saw Azriel frequently, weather her little sister was around or not. At friday nights, he would call her house religiously to ask about her week, on the weekends he was free he’d drive her to her shifts at Cerridwen’s Dinner, other times to babysit Helion’s kid. Every time Azriel saw Elain, he brought her a rose, his newfound way to subtly express his crush.

On the day of her eighteenth birthday, Elain and her sister, plus an overly excited Azriel, met for their annual birthday donuts. The girls never had money enough to pay for birthday parties, but they did make sure to eat donuts together. She told him "no gifts!" Azriel, the sly boy that he is, said gifts were only gifts when given forever, and he was only "lending it" to her. She opened the bright blue package to find a handmade calendar containing the days from the next four and a half years, ending unexpectedly in May 8, lots of tiny heart drawn around the date, the rest of the page occupied by the painting of a very hunky, very naked man lying on his side, flexing his giant muscles, his lower bits censured with ivy.

She cocked a brow at him.

Azriel placed both hands behind his neck, a display of pure smugness. "That's when I'm officially legal."

She pointed at the painting. “And this fella?”

He flexed his skinny arms. “Yours truly.”

Elain couldn’t hold back anymore, she busted out laughing.

“Az, in four years you’ll be in a new phase of your life, this crush long gone.”

“Pretty sure I’ll be “crushing” you,” he made quotation marks with his fingers, “even more once we are in college together.”

“Where are you going?” she asked sliding the calendar carefully into her backpack.

“Where are you going?” he repeated her questions wiggling his brows. Elain ignored his playful insinuation. She was pretty sure his rich folks would not send their precious boy to community college when they had others options ahead.

“You’re delusional.”

“I rather the term “focused”.”

“Shh, I'm trying to enjoy my milkshake.”

“Admit it Elain, you won’t go out with me because you are afraid of my charms. Young me has old you shaking her knee-ee-ees.” he sing-songed using a spoon as a microphone.

“You are spending too much time with your brother.”

“I’m kidding, you’re not old, you’re young and smoking hot!” Azriel placed another donut in her empty plate, licking the bit of frosting that clung to his thumb. “I’m telling you, one date with me and you’d want to be my girlfriend like this,” he snapped his fingers in her face. She slapped his hand. “You know is true.”

Elain swallowed the rest of her donut between angry bites, cleaning herself with a napkin to snarl.

“Let’s go.”

Azriel blinked at her. “What?”

“Let’s go on a freaking date!”

It was a whim. She intended to give him the worst date in the history of bad dates, make him eat his smug words, then move on with her life. Elain just didn’t count that while getting ready for their date, she would start to feel nervous. Now, watching Azriel sporting a fancy leather jacket with his hair slicked back and a bouquet in his hands, her heart was beating out of control, her hands clammy, her resolution to be nasty nowhere to be found.

“You look beautiful,” he breathed with a smile, extending the flowers to her.

“You do too.” She had never received a full bouquet before, in fact, she had never received flowers until Azriel started to give them to her all the time. Maybe his parents owned a flower shop? She needed to ask him more stuff.

“You ready?”

Good lord, was she really going a date with this kid? Elain open her mouth to say “yes”, only to be interrupted by Nesta.

“Where are you taking my sister?” Elain glared at her. Azriel did not budge, used to the meddlesome ways of the older Archeron.

“That’s between me and my date.”

Nesta gave him a lazy grin.

“Did you grow some balls to ask my sister out?”

“I always had them. Do you want to see?” he jerked his hips, moving his hand to his pants.

Beside him, Feyre laughed like a maniac but Elain jumped to action, bumping Nesta to the side, beating his hand away to avoid a disaster. “No one’s showing anyone anything. We’re going, now.” Saying a quick goodbye to Nesta and Feyre, she grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

Good lord, she was going on a date with this kid.

41 notes · View notes