Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Tempting ❯ I've Got a Feeling ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Kita-chan 
Eric and Ella get closer
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.18.2010 | Updated On: 06.18.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 135 | Status: Work In Progress
Eric and Ella get closer
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Angst / Romance / Hentai | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.18.2010 | Updated On: 06.18.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 135 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 3
I've Got a Feeling
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
"Okay is it just me or is Mr. Chadrick as sexy as super fine Brad Pitt avant-Angelina?" Michelle asked peering at herself in the restroom mirror. She ran her fingers through her auburn hair and then added a coat of her new peach Lancôme lip gloss.
"That's a given," Romie replied gathering her black hair up into a ponytail, "besides he looks like he has a big package...if you know what I mean." she giggled. Michelle laughed.
"I mean people may call me a slut, but I don't care, he could deliver my mail any day." She said, securing her ponytail with a cute pink scrunchie.
"What do you think Ells?" Romie asked peering at her friend in the mirror.
Ella blushed and looked away. "He's good looking I guess, for a teacher, but I'm not going to discuss his....er assets with you guys!" she said shaking her head.
The other two girls laughed. "Admit it, you totally had a sex dream about him last night!" Romie exclaimed and the two girls collapsed in giggles once more.
Ella shook her head but smiled warmly at her friends antics, Michelle and Romie might be a bit...well crazy but they were girls that really cared for their friends, genuine people, which was hard to find in a school, were people made friends by how big of a limit they had on their platinum edition American Express's. Ella ran her hands over her knee length gray cotton Ella Moss skirt, rubbing the material between her thumb and index finger. She had always had an odd obsession with wearing at least one Ella Moss item each week, mainly out of some weird geeky fascination with the fact that both of their names were Ella. It was just somehow awesome to think that she was wearing something by "Ella" it gave her a sense of...empowerment.
Michelle and Romie, like always, had dragged Ella into the upperclassmen girls restroom for their morning makeup routines. Ella never understood, nor did she bother to, why the girls wasted time in putting on make up in the morning if they were going to come to school and repeat the process all over.
"By the way, I thought I saw him watching you a lot yesterday." Michelle said her MAC mascara wand poised against her top lashes as she peered at Ella through the mirror.
Ella blushed and shrugged. "I doubt it, he was glancing at everyone, he's just a friendly teacher." She said breezily. Michelle smirked and rolled her eyes.
"Wish he would get friendly with me alright." Romie said as she rubbed in her concealer, causing both girls to erupt into giggles.
"Damn it! Romie don't joke when I'm putting on mascara, shit, you want me to lose an eye?" Michelle moaned as she dropped her mascara back into her purse and grabbed her eye.
Ella shook her head and walked into the stall to grab some toilet tissue, she smirked as she saw the roll of black toilet paper with the small golden R etched on to the left corner, honestly who put thought in designing toilet paper.
"Here blot don't scrub, unless you want raccoon eyes." Ella said handing her friend the soft tissues.
"Thanks Ells," Michelle moaned helplessly.
The door to the bathroom bang open. "Oh hi, I didn't know you guys were in here!" Sophia Richmond, a tall slender, mousy looking senior girl, said. She smiled at them briefly before entering the first stall. Ella smiled back, honestly Sophia wasn't that bad, she was actually quite nice, and she was talented at art as well.
"Yeah well we didn't feel like doing advisory today," Michelle called out.
Michelle waited until she had caught both of her friends attention before she stuck out her tongue and stuck her finger in her mouth as if she was vomiting. Ella sighed as Romie giggled. The toilet flushed and Sophia walked out of the stall, and up to the sinks, she smiled at Michelle and Romie and then turned to Ella.
"Hey Ella you look pretty today as usual," she said giggling. Ella smiled warmly.
"Thanks Sophia so do you."
Sophia blushed and shrugged. "I don't know," she said turning off the faucet and then swiping her hands down her blue target Mossimo vest.
"Of course you do, I'll see you in art, second period." Ella said as Sophia exited the bathroom, ignoring her friends disapproving looks.
"Sophia Richmond is so disgusting, I heard she normally doesn't wash her hands, she probably only did because we were in here." Michelle said, leaning up against the pearly white sinks.
Romie nodded, "Yeah and her family is so poor they're living out of the Beaumont's guest house. Talk about pathetic, she doesn't even belong to this school."
Ella frowned, "Sophia is a really nice person, and her father's company went bankrupt, its so nice of the Beaumont's to give them a place to stay, and besides her father is using all of the money they have left over to keep sending Sophia and her brother to this school, which is cool because I mean who else's parents would do that? I know my mom would probably blow it on one last shopping spree at Saks."
Romie snorted. "Yeah whatever Mother Theresa, its just not cool okay, besides why are you getting all worked up about it, its not like Sophia is your best friend or something, hello the positions already filled." She said playfully.
Ella relaxed and nodded.
"Come on lets go, we've already missed advisory, but we can't skip Creative Arts, I mean why would we?" Michelle giggled as she lead the girls to their Creative Arts class.
Mr. Chadrick had arranged the desks into one big circle, and as soon as they had gotten into the classroom, Michelle and Romie each took the seat next to him. Romie on his right, and Michelle on his left. Ella shook her head as her friends attempted to flirt with the new teacher, and took a seat next to the strange boy from yesterday.
"Hi I'm Ella Bennett." She said smiling as she took the seat beside him. He turned to look at her.
"Yeah I know," he drawled flicking his white tipped black hair out of his blue and gold colored eyes. "I'm-
"Eric Bingley I know," Ella interrupted, with a teasing tone. The boy grinned.
"So those have to be contacts right?" she asked peering into his oddly colored eyes. Eric smirked.
"Odd I know, but nope their mine. I have heterochromia," he said with a shrug.
Ella nodded. "Ah I see," she said in a "that explains everything" voice.
Eric laughed. "You have no clue what that means do you?" He asked. Ella shook her head with a grin. "Nope not a clue." she giggled.
Eric then went on to explain to her what he meant, as she attempted to keep up.
It was odd, but throughout her talk with Eric, she could feel Mr. Chadrick watching her, but of course that wasn't the case, was it?
"Okay everyone pay attention," Mr. Chadrick announced as the bell rang signaling the beginning of the period. He picked up a deck of cards on his desk. "So as you know this is the Creative Arts class, which encompasses everything from Creative literature to interpretive dance, which we will not do in this class...unless you want me to embarrass myself with my dancing. Since we are not bound to one certain art form, today I have decided to do a little acting exercise. I will deal out one card to everyone, do not read it until it is your turn to go, you will then act out what it says on the card, with the correct mood or emotion that is written on the card, I will go first." He said as he passed out the cards. "If the rest of the class can effectively guess the correct mood or emotion, you get a passing grade for this assignment and for just participating you get a daily participation grade which could add up to be 10% of your total grade throughout the year."
When everyone had gotten their cards Mr. Chadrick flipped his over. He chuckled and then placed the card face down on his desk. He rolls his shoulders and then leans forward over his desk. Ella's eyes were glued to his form, she couldn't explain but it was like he had adopted a whole new air about him, as if he were a tiger on the prowl. He looked into each of the girls eyes intently and when he met Ella's eyes he licked his lips. Slowly he stood up from his seat, and with his eyes on her he made his way to her. Ella blushed fiercely as he slowly bent down in front of her and placed his finger under her chin, her traced his thumb over her jaw before leaning in slowly. Still staring into her eyes he reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Would you," he paused dramatically, "like fries with that?"
The class erupted into laughter. And Mr. Chadrick stood and bowed at the waist.
"Wow you are really good!"
Mr. Chadrick shrugged as he made his way back to his seat. "I went to college for this stuff." he answered. "Now can anyone tell me the emotion or mood that I was portraying?"
"Like you were in love!"
"Like you liked someone!"
"As if you wanted to get busy between the sheets!" Romie yelled out.
"Oh my god Romie you can't say that to a teacher!" Michelle said giggling.
Ella blushed even deeper as she watched as Mr. Chadrick turned and caught her eye. "No," she said at last, "as if you were seducing someone."
Mr. Chadrick looked surprise and then nodded. "Yes that is correct Ms. Bennett and since you answered correct how about you go next?" He suggested.
Ella tore her eyes away from his and nodded. She picked up her card and read it silently.
Statement: Do you want to know a Secret.
Mood: As if you were in love
Ella blushed and looked up. She cleared her throat. Well If she was going to do something she wasn't going to half ass it.
With that in mind she crouched in front of Eric and placed her hands on his desk and leant forward until their foreheads were touching. The class had quieted as they watched. Ella slowly moved her arms around his neck and hugged him and then pulled back, she smiled softly, "Do you want to know a secret?" she asked sweetly and then took her seat. She could feel her friends' shocked gazes on her and fought down a blush.
"Um was it like you had a crush?"
"You were friends?"
"Like you wanted to get down and dirty!?" Romie yelled out.
"Omg Romie just shut up!" Michelle gasped.
Mr. Chadrick frowned. "I believe it was 'as if you were in love' am I correct Ms. Bennett?" he asked. Ella nodded.
"I see that's what I thought, however to your audience you only portrayed feelings of friendship, nothing nearly as intense as the feelings of love, however as your teacher that's what I'm here for...to teach you about these things." Mr. Chadrick said intently.
And at that moment Ella was unsure if he just meant acting.
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"Oh my god Ella did you hear Romie being....well herself in class today?" Michelle giggled as the three girls took a seat at one of the tables outside on lawn with their lunches.
Ella nodded as she picked up her apple. "Of course I'm sure the people in the room next door heard as well."
Romie stuck out her tongue and popped one of her grapes into her mouth, "Yeah whatever, I just like to kept it Au Naturel and speaking of Au Naturel what was that soft porno between you and Mr. Chadrick and you and that freak Eric in class today?" she asked.
Ella blushed. "You know what Romie I honestly have no idea what you are talking about," She said sticking her nose in the air.
Michelle giggled. "Yeah right even I noticed it."
Ella shrugged thoughtfully. "Well I don't know I mean it was an acting exercise."
Romie frowned and pointed her finger at her friend, "Yeah well why you? Me and Michelle were sitting on either side of him!" she exclaimed.
Ella smirked and reached over to steal one of Romie's grapes. "Looks like someone's grapes are sour," she said and then popped it into her mouth, laughing as Romie pelted her with the rest of the grapes.
"Hey don't look now, but speaking of freaks," Michelle whispered and pointed over her shoulder. Romie paused and looked where Michelle pointed. Ella looked and saw Eric sitting under a tree strumming on his guitar as his lunch tray sat nearly forgotten beside him.
"Well guitar is hot, too bad he's such a loser." Romie said dismissively and then turned back to her food.
Ella shook her head. "I'm going to say hi to him," she said grabbing her tray.
Michelle groaned, "Oh my god must you? What is it with you Bennett's I mean I heard your mom is the one heading the Cancer Benefit Marathon as well, are you guys like addicted to charity?"
Ella stood up. "Its not charity Michelle, I just want to go say hi." She said and before they could protest she was already walking away.
He didn't look up as she sat beside him with her tray, she simply sat back against the tree, closed her eyes, and listened. He didn't seem to mind.
"Wow that was beautiful did you write it?" She asked as the song ended. She turned to him as he took a bite of his sandwich and shrugged.
"Yeah it was inspired by my mom, I don't really have any words to it yet though," he answered. Ella nodded.
To be truthful, there really was no other student like Eric at Roosevelt, with his long black hair that was dyed white at the tips, that often fell across his eyes. He had beautiful eyes bright blue with large reflective flecks of gold, and a large gold band around the pupil. His skin was a light olive tone, and he was tall an thin. While most guys at Roosevelt wore cardigan's and khaki, Eric wore a tight fitting black Rolling Stones T-shirt, and distressed gray skinny jeans that had holes in the knee. He wore a pair of old checkered converse and half the white squares on one shoe had been colored in by red sharpie. He was so different and yet for some strange reason Ella was driven by a need to be around, to befriend him. Michelle and Romie, and probably the rest of the student body, thought he was a loser, but to Ella he was really the only actual cool kid at Roosevelt, because he didn't care to be different.
"Wow cool shoes," Ella found herself saying, teasing him yet again.
He shrugged. "When your bored, your bound to do anything...you think this is bad, you should see my walls at home...at one point I think they used to be white."
Ella surprisingly found herself laughing at his sarcastic and dry humor, unlike normal guys who normally only joked when it came to sex.
"You colored your walls?" She asked.
He nodded and tipped his head to the side lazily to study her. "Yep the walls, I've started on the ceiling too, my mom hates when I bring the ladder up from the basement though, so now I just keep it in my room."
"My room at home is mostly pink but my walls are white. Every fourth month my mom hires people to wash and repaint the walls. I think if I ever tried to do anything like what you were talking about, I'd get sent to a psychiatric hospital, and she'd pay the doctor to keep me there, and accuse me of having the mental disease of 'abstract thinking'". Ella said, wondering why she was telling him all she was, but not stopping.
He chuckled. "That doesn't surprise me, people here, their parents...they think they're sane. But spending 10,000 dollars a year on designer clothes, random trips to Europe, and spoiling their children with bottomless pockets...there's nothing sane but insane."
Ella could only nod and watch him as he once more picked up his guitar and strummed another song, his sandwich now lay between them, another thing abandoned in favor of something else.
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Ella managed to avoid her friends for the rest of the day, for the first time she was actually glad she didn't have her last two classes with them. But as the bell rang she realized she could no longer avoid them. She packed up her bag.
"Have a nice day Mrs. Peters," she called as she left the classroom. She walked through the halls plagued by a weird mood. Something important had occurred, but she couldn't figure out what. She groaned to herself as she saw Romie and Michelle standing next to her locker talking a group of football players. One of whom was her boyfriend, Alex.
"We thought you had ditched us," Michelle pouted.
Ella smiled. "Yeah right, How could I ever abandon you guys?" She asked opening her locker and unloading her bag.
"Romie and Michelle were just telling us how you ate lunch with Mr. Starving Artist during lunch today," Alex whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Y-yeah," Ella responded as she pulled out her gym bag, "I just wanted to say hi, he's not that bad once you talk to him."
Romie wiggled her eyebrows. "Looked like a little more than hi to me," she teased.
Ella groaned as she shut her locker and turned in Alex's arms. "Ignore Romie please, she has the ability to turn everything into something either bad, wrong, or naughty."
Alex nodded and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Alright besides he knows better than to miss with my girl."
At one point Ella had somehow found Alex possessiveness cute, even endearing. But it had begun to bug her. It seemed that over time when it came to Alex, Ella had lost her name, she was no longer 'Ella' she was now "my girl" or "my baby". She was beginning to wonder if he even remembered her full name.
"Aww save it love birds, you're going to make me sick, besides we gotta go. Miss Diaz gets mad when we're late to cheer practice. So bye boys!" Romie said and grabbed her friends arms and dragged them away.
"Wait for us after practice we'll catch up then!" Michelle called over her shoulder.
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After practice, the guys had taken them out to eat and then they had went back to Alex's house and watched a movie, well Michelle, her boyfriend Ethan, Ella, and Alex had watched a movie. Five minutes into the movie, the newest Jason flick, Romie and her boyfriend of the month Michael, had excused themselves and disappeared into one of Alex's many guest rooms. They didn't reappear until it was time to go. Ella didn't ever disapprove of anything her friends did or lecture them because she knew she didn't have a right to judge them on the way they lived their lives, but it was starting to bother her that whenever they all went out together one of them (Michelle and Romie) couldn't seem to just have fun without doing....other stuff. Especially since Alex saw all his friends doing stuff with their girlfriends, and Ella had never allowed him past the point of making out.
Ella got back home to an empty house around midnight. There was a sticky note stuck to the refrigerator: Dad working overtime at the office, gone out for drinks, be home soon love mom....p.s. don't wait up.
Ella shook her head and crumbled up the note. She poured her a glass of milk, and then curled up in her large bed, in her large empty house and willed herself to fall asleep
I've Got a Feeling
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
"Okay is it just me or is Mr. Chadrick as sexy as super fine Brad Pitt avant-Angelina?" Michelle asked peering at herself in the restroom mirror. She ran her fingers through her auburn hair and then added a coat of her new peach Lancôme lip gloss.
"That's a given," Romie replied gathering her black hair up into a ponytail, "besides he looks like he has a big package...if you know what I mean." she giggled. Michelle laughed.
"I mean people may call me a slut, but I don't care, he could deliver my mail any day." She said, securing her ponytail with a cute pink scrunchie.
"What do you think Ells?" Romie asked peering at her friend in the mirror.
Ella blushed and looked away. "He's good looking I guess, for a teacher, but I'm not going to discuss his....er assets with you guys!" she said shaking her head.
The other two girls laughed. "Admit it, you totally had a sex dream about him last night!" Romie exclaimed and the two girls collapsed in giggles once more.
Ella shook her head but smiled warmly at her friends antics, Michelle and Romie might be a bit...well crazy but they were girls that really cared for their friends, genuine people, which was hard to find in a school, were people made friends by how big of a limit they had on their platinum edition American Express's. Ella ran her hands over her knee length gray cotton Ella Moss skirt, rubbing the material between her thumb and index finger. She had always had an odd obsession with wearing at least one Ella Moss item each week, mainly out of some weird geeky fascination with the fact that both of their names were Ella. It was just somehow awesome to think that she was wearing something by "Ella" it gave her a sense of...empowerment.
Michelle and Romie, like always, had dragged Ella into the upperclassmen girls restroom for their morning makeup routines. Ella never understood, nor did she bother to, why the girls wasted time in putting on make up in the morning if they were going to come to school and repeat the process all over.
"By the way, I thought I saw him watching you a lot yesterday." Michelle said her MAC mascara wand poised against her top lashes as she peered at Ella through the mirror.
Ella blushed and shrugged. "I doubt it, he was glancing at everyone, he's just a friendly teacher." She said breezily. Michelle smirked and rolled her eyes.
"Wish he would get friendly with me alright." Romie said as she rubbed in her concealer, causing both girls to erupt into giggles.
"Damn it! Romie don't joke when I'm putting on mascara, shit, you want me to lose an eye?" Michelle moaned as she dropped her mascara back into her purse and grabbed her eye.
Ella shook her head and walked into the stall to grab some toilet tissue, she smirked as she saw the roll of black toilet paper with the small golden R etched on to the left corner, honestly who put thought in designing toilet paper.
"Here blot don't scrub, unless you want raccoon eyes." Ella said handing her friend the soft tissues.
"Thanks Ells," Michelle moaned helplessly.
The door to the bathroom bang open. "Oh hi, I didn't know you guys were in here!" Sophia Richmond, a tall slender, mousy looking senior girl, said. She smiled at them briefly before entering the first stall. Ella smiled back, honestly Sophia wasn't that bad, she was actually quite nice, and she was talented at art as well.
"Yeah well we didn't feel like doing advisory today," Michelle called out.
Michelle waited until she had caught both of her friends attention before she stuck out her tongue and stuck her finger in her mouth as if she was vomiting. Ella sighed as Romie giggled. The toilet flushed and Sophia walked out of the stall, and up to the sinks, she smiled at Michelle and Romie and then turned to Ella.
"Hey Ella you look pretty today as usual," she said giggling. Ella smiled warmly.
"Thanks Sophia so do you."
Sophia blushed and shrugged. "I don't know," she said turning off the faucet and then swiping her hands down her blue target Mossimo vest.
"Of course you do, I'll see you in art, second period." Ella said as Sophia exited the bathroom, ignoring her friends disapproving looks.
"Sophia Richmond is so disgusting, I heard she normally doesn't wash her hands, she probably only did because we were in here." Michelle said, leaning up against the pearly white sinks.
Romie nodded, "Yeah and her family is so poor they're living out of the Beaumont's guest house. Talk about pathetic, she doesn't even belong to this school."
Ella frowned, "Sophia is a really nice person, and her father's company went bankrupt, its so nice of the Beaumont's to give them a place to stay, and besides her father is using all of the money they have left over to keep sending Sophia and her brother to this school, which is cool because I mean who else's parents would do that? I know my mom would probably blow it on one last shopping spree at Saks."
Romie snorted. "Yeah whatever Mother Theresa, its just not cool okay, besides why are you getting all worked up about it, its not like Sophia is your best friend or something, hello the positions already filled." She said playfully.
Ella relaxed and nodded.
"Come on lets go, we've already missed advisory, but we can't skip Creative Arts, I mean why would we?" Michelle giggled as she lead the girls to their Creative Arts class.
Mr. Chadrick had arranged the desks into one big circle, and as soon as they had gotten into the classroom, Michelle and Romie each took the seat next to him. Romie on his right, and Michelle on his left. Ella shook her head as her friends attempted to flirt with the new teacher, and took a seat next to the strange boy from yesterday.
"Hi I'm Ella Bennett." She said smiling as she took the seat beside him. He turned to look at her.
"Yeah I know," he drawled flicking his white tipped black hair out of his blue and gold colored eyes. "I'm-
"Eric Bingley I know," Ella interrupted, with a teasing tone. The boy grinned.
"So those have to be contacts right?" she asked peering into his oddly colored eyes. Eric smirked.
"Odd I know, but nope their mine. I have heterochromia," he said with a shrug.
Ella nodded. "Ah I see," she said in a "that explains everything" voice.
Eric laughed. "You have no clue what that means do you?" He asked. Ella shook her head with a grin. "Nope not a clue." she giggled.
Eric then went on to explain to her what he meant, as she attempted to keep up.
It was odd, but throughout her talk with Eric, she could feel Mr. Chadrick watching her, but of course that wasn't the case, was it?
"Okay everyone pay attention," Mr. Chadrick announced as the bell rang signaling the beginning of the period. He picked up a deck of cards on his desk. "So as you know this is the Creative Arts class, which encompasses everything from Creative literature to interpretive dance, which we will not do in this class...unless you want me to embarrass myself with my dancing. Since we are not bound to one certain art form, today I have decided to do a little acting exercise. I will deal out one card to everyone, do not read it until it is your turn to go, you will then act out what it says on the card, with the correct mood or emotion that is written on the card, I will go first." He said as he passed out the cards. "If the rest of the class can effectively guess the correct mood or emotion, you get a passing grade for this assignment and for just participating you get a daily participation grade which could add up to be 10% of your total grade throughout the year."
When everyone had gotten their cards Mr. Chadrick flipped his over. He chuckled and then placed the card face down on his desk. He rolls his shoulders and then leans forward over his desk. Ella's eyes were glued to his form, she couldn't explain but it was like he had adopted a whole new air about him, as if he were a tiger on the prowl. He looked into each of the girls eyes intently and when he met Ella's eyes he licked his lips. Slowly he stood up from his seat, and with his eyes on her he made his way to her. Ella blushed fiercely as he slowly bent down in front of her and placed his finger under her chin, her traced his thumb over her jaw before leaning in slowly. Still staring into her eyes he reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Would you," he paused dramatically, "like fries with that?"
The class erupted into laughter. And Mr. Chadrick stood and bowed at the waist.
"Wow you are really good!"
Mr. Chadrick shrugged as he made his way back to his seat. "I went to college for this stuff." he answered. "Now can anyone tell me the emotion or mood that I was portraying?"
"Like you were in love!"
"Like you liked someone!"
"As if you wanted to get busy between the sheets!" Romie yelled out.
"Oh my god Romie you can't say that to a teacher!" Michelle said giggling.
Ella blushed even deeper as she watched as Mr. Chadrick turned and caught her eye. "No," she said at last, "as if you were seducing someone."
Mr. Chadrick looked surprise and then nodded. "Yes that is correct Ms. Bennett and since you answered correct how about you go next?" He suggested.
Ella tore her eyes away from his and nodded. She picked up her card and read it silently.
Statement: Do you want to know a Secret.
Mood: As if you were in love
Ella blushed and looked up. She cleared her throat. Well If she was going to do something she wasn't going to half ass it.
With that in mind she crouched in front of Eric and placed her hands on his desk and leant forward until their foreheads were touching. The class had quieted as they watched. Ella slowly moved her arms around his neck and hugged him and then pulled back, she smiled softly, "Do you want to know a secret?" she asked sweetly and then took her seat. She could feel her friends' shocked gazes on her and fought down a blush.
"Um was it like you had a crush?"
"You were friends?"
"Like you wanted to get down and dirty!?" Romie yelled out.
"Omg Romie just shut up!" Michelle gasped.
Mr. Chadrick frowned. "I believe it was 'as if you were in love' am I correct Ms. Bennett?" he asked. Ella nodded.
"I see that's what I thought, however to your audience you only portrayed feelings of friendship, nothing nearly as intense as the feelings of love, however as your teacher that's what I'm here for...to teach you about these things." Mr. Chadrick said intently.
And at that moment Ella was unsure if he just meant acting.
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"Oh my god Ella did you hear Romie being....well herself in class today?" Michelle giggled as the three girls took a seat at one of the tables outside on lawn with their lunches.
Ella nodded as she picked up her apple. "Of course I'm sure the people in the room next door heard as well."
Romie stuck out her tongue and popped one of her grapes into her mouth, "Yeah whatever, I just like to kept it Au Naturel and speaking of Au Naturel what was that soft porno between you and Mr. Chadrick and you and that freak Eric in class today?" she asked.
Ella blushed. "You know what Romie I honestly have no idea what you are talking about," She said sticking her nose in the air.
Michelle giggled. "Yeah right even I noticed it."
Ella shrugged thoughtfully. "Well I don't know I mean it was an acting exercise."
Romie frowned and pointed her finger at her friend, "Yeah well why you? Me and Michelle were sitting on either side of him!" she exclaimed.
Ella smirked and reached over to steal one of Romie's grapes. "Looks like someone's grapes are sour," she said and then popped it into her mouth, laughing as Romie pelted her with the rest of the grapes.
"Hey don't look now, but speaking of freaks," Michelle whispered and pointed over her shoulder. Romie paused and looked where Michelle pointed. Ella looked and saw Eric sitting under a tree strumming on his guitar as his lunch tray sat nearly forgotten beside him.
"Well guitar is hot, too bad he's such a loser." Romie said dismissively and then turned back to her food.
Ella shook her head. "I'm going to say hi to him," she said grabbing her tray.
Michelle groaned, "Oh my god must you? What is it with you Bennett's I mean I heard your mom is the one heading the Cancer Benefit Marathon as well, are you guys like addicted to charity?"
Ella stood up. "Its not charity Michelle, I just want to go say hi." She said and before they could protest she was already walking away.
He didn't look up as she sat beside him with her tray, she simply sat back against the tree, closed her eyes, and listened. He didn't seem to mind.
"Wow that was beautiful did you write it?" She asked as the song ended. She turned to him as he took a bite of his sandwich and shrugged.
"Yeah it was inspired by my mom, I don't really have any words to it yet though," he answered. Ella nodded.
To be truthful, there really was no other student like Eric at Roosevelt, with his long black hair that was dyed white at the tips, that often fell across his eyes. He had beautiful eyes bright blue with large reflective flecks of gold, and a large gold band around the pupil. His skin was a light olive tone, and he was tall an thin. While most guys at Roosevelt wore cardigan's and khaki, Eric wore a tight fitting black Rolling Stones T-shirt, and distressed gray skinny jeans that had holes in the knee. He wore a pair of old checkered converse and half the white squares on one shoe had been colored in by red sharpie. He was so different and yet for some strange reason Ella was driven by a need to be around, to befriend him. Michelle and Romie, and probably the rest of the student body, thought he was a loser, but to Ella he was really the only actual cool kid at Roosevelt, because he didn't care to be different.
"Wow cool shoes," Ella found herself saying, teasing him yet again.
He shrugged. "When your bored, your bound to do anything...you think this is bad, you should see my walls at home...at one point I think they used to be white."
Ella surprisingly found herself laughing at his sarcastic and dry humor, unlike normal guys who normally only joked when it came to sex.
"You colored your walls?" She asked.
He nodded and tipped his head to the side lazily to study her. "Yep the walls, I've started on the ceiling too, my mom hates when I bring the ladder up from the basement though, so now I just keep it in my room."
"My room at home is mostly pink but my walls are white. Every fourth month my mom hires people to wash and repaint the walls. I think if I ever tried to do anything like what you were talking about, I'd get sent to a psychiatric hospital, and she'd pay the doctor to keep me there, and accuse me of having the mental disease of 'abstract thinking'". Ella said, wondering why she was telling him all she was, but not stopping.
He chuckled. "That doesn't surprise me, people here, their parents...they think they're sane. But spending 10,000 dollars a year on designer clothes, random trips to Europe, and spoiling their children with bottomless pockets...there's nothing sane but insane."
Ella could only nod and watch him as he once more picked up his guitar and strummed another song, his sandwich now lay between them, another thing abandoned in favor of something else.
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Ella managed to avoid her friends for the rest of the day, for the first time she was actually glad she didn't have her last two classes with them. But as the bell rang she realized she could no longer avoid them. She packed up her bag.
"Have a nice day Mrs. Peters," she called as she left the classroom. She walked through the halls plagued by a weird mood. Something important had occurred, but she couldn't figure out what. She groaned to herself as she saw Romie and Michelle standing next to her locker talking a group of football players. One of whom was her boyfriend, Alex.
"We thought you had ditched us," Michelle pouted.
Ella smiled. "Yeah right, How could I ever abandon you guys?" She asked opening her locker and unloading her bag.
"Romie and Michelle were just telling us how you ate lunch with Mr. Starving Artist during lunch today," Alex whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Y-yeah," Ella responded as she pulled out her gym bag, "I just wanted to say hi, he's not that bad once you talk to him."
Romie wiggled her eyebrows. "Looked like a little more than hi to me," she teased.
Ella groaned as she shut her locker and turned in Alex's arms. "Ignore Romie please, she has the ability to turn everything into something either bad, wrong, or naughty."
Alex nodded and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Alright besides he knows better than to miss with my girl."
At one point Ella had somehow found Alex possessiveness cute, even endearing. But it had begun to bug her. It seemed that over time when it came to Alex, Ella had lost her name, she was no longer 'Ella' she was now "my girl" or "my baby". She was beginning to wonder if he even remembered her full name.
"Aww save it love birds, you're going to make me sick, besides we gotta go. Miss Diaz gets mad when we're late to cheer practice. So bye boys!" Romie said and grabbed her friends arms and dragged them away.
"Wait for us after practice we'll catch up then!" Michelle called over her shoulder.
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After practice, the guys had taken them out to eat and then they had went back to Alex's house and watched a movie, well Michelle, her boyfriend Ethan, Ella, and Alex had watched a movie. Five minutes into the movie, the newest Jason flick, Romie and her boyfriend of the month Michael, had excused themselves and disappeared into one of Alex's many guest rooms. They didn't reappear until it was time to go. Ella didn't ever disapprove of anything her friends did or lecture them because she knew she didn't have a right to judge them on the way they lived their lives, but it was starting to bother her that whenever they all went out together one of them (Michelle and Romie) couldn't seem to just have fun without doing....other stuff. Especially since Alex saw all his friends doing stuff with their girlfriends, and Ella had never allowed him past the point of making out.
Ella got back home to an empty house around midnight. There was a sticky note stuck to the refrigerator: Dad working overtime at the office, gone out for drinks, be home soon love mom....p.s. don't wait up.
Ella shook her head and crumbled up the note. She poured her a glass of milk, and then curled up in her large bed, in her large empty house and willed herself to fall asleep