The Other Side of Life

Chapter Thirteen

The Other Side of Life: Chapter Thirteen~

"Will you be quiet?" Willow whispered as Elliott knocked over the lamp on her bedside table. He cringed and shot her an apologetic smile, his ears forming little points like a small elf. "Our life is at stake here." She reminded him.

Elliott rolled his eyes as he straightened up the lamp and picked up the book he had knocked off the table, briefly noticing the cover was the one he had recommended to her. "Don't be so dramatic," he told her in amusement. "And you're the one that invited me in, you can't be that worried for our lives," he smiled over his shoulder at the girl that stood with her arms folded, his expression one of amusement.

Willow sighed. "I thought you'd be quieter than this," she uncrossed her arms and moved to sit on her bed, moving the huge bear that was perched on the other side and setting it gently on the floor. "Sit down and stop touching everything," she chastised softly, her voice barely rising above a whisper.

Elliott followed her command as he placed himself on the bed, the mattress soft beneath him. He stayed on top of the covers out of respect for his new friend as she settled herself under them and put the laptop between the two. As the young girl scrolled through the options on Netflix, Elliott took the time to study the side of her face, grinning as he watched the tip of her tongue snake passed her lips. "So..." he broke the silence as she read over the movie summary. "You sleep with the bear?"

Willow didn't give anything away as she continued to stare at the screen, her eyes scanning the words without taking in the information. She shrugged one shoulder, the one closest to Elliott, and licked her lip. "Sometimes."

That was a lie. Willow Saint had slept beside the bear  every night since coming home from the carnival. She wanted to believe it was because she had been so used to sharing a bed with Luca or Tammy that she disliked the vacant space that was now left open beside her.

But deep down— way down in her subconscious— she knew it was because it still smelled vaguely of Elliott's aftershave that had rubbed off on the stuffed toy from when he had been carrying it around with him for most of the night.

He smelled nice.

"Friends?" Willow turned her head and raised a questioning eyebrow at Elliott who had stayed quiet after her reply. Despite how many times she scoured the movie app for something new to watch, she always ended up binge watching her favourite series.

Elliott shook his head, his eyes re-focusing on her as he hummed. "What was that sorry?" He asked, clearly having zoned out.

Willow smiled gently, letting him know it was okay. "I asked if you wanted to watch Friends," she gestured towards the laptop where a short clip of the series was playing mutely.

"Oh," Elliott looked to where she was staring at. "Um... sure. I haven't seen it before, but I heard it's good."

Willow's eyes widened, surprised at his confession. "Sorry, what was that? Did you just say you've never seen Friends?" Elliott nodded causing Willow's mouth to form an O-shape. "Oh wow," she breathed.

Elliott found her reaction cute, but decided to keep the comment to himself as he asked, "What?"

Willow's eyes closed briefly as she shook her head. "Nothing, I just... —Never?" She interrupted herself just to clarify she had heard him correctly. Elliott once again nodded in confirmation. "How? Why?"

Leaning back against the headboard of her bed, Elliott shrugged both shoulders as he folded his arms, his hands tucked underneath his armpits. "I just always thought it was overrated and people talked about it too much," he admitted to the pretty girl truthfully. "I didn't want to watch it just because everybody else did."