Fly Like A Hawk

Chapter 27 - Pastries For Secrets

Chris dropped us off at Delplagio's Plaza and by then the rain had cleared, it had only taken ten minutes to get there but the rain didn't usually last very long in Reseda. I climbed out of the warmth of the car and stood with Hawk as it drove away. We didn't say anything to each other, instead heading off towards the shops that lined the road. Hawk stopped once we'd reached the opposite curb but I continued walking, hoping that he would just let me go but a hand caught the shoulder of my jumper and pulled me back gently.

"What happened?" He asked, staring at me more softly than he had in the car.

"I said I didn't wanna talk about it." I mumbled, looking up at him tearfully.

"It's just you and me now and I know Demetri can...." he thought about his words carefully, "overreact, just a little." I smiled at that, it was a bit of an understatement, "So go on, we've got all night."

"Please Eli, not yet, I don't want to talk about it." He frowned then turned to the neon light behind him, pointing up at it like an excited little child.

"Hey, do you think they're still open?" I shrugged and he smiled warmly, "Come on, I'll treat you...but then you've gotta explain why you were walking home in the rain." He looked oddly hopeful at the prospect of purchasing a pastry for a drenched old friend, so I nodded reluctantly and allowed him to hold the door open for me.

"Oh! Customers!" The old Italian man, who had run the place for as long as I could remember emerged from the back, "I'm sorry, we don't have much, it's almost closing time." He paused, squinting at us slightly as he did, "I know you. Where do I know you from?"

"We used to come here every weekend with another kid." Hawk responded, sliding up to the counter and looking down at the pastries. He turned back to me hopefully and waited until I'd joined him.

"Ah yes, Demeter. Good kid. Bit weird." I chuckled, there seemed to be a running theme of people getting Demetri's name wrong, "You know what, since you are so good customers, I will give you some on the house, no one will be coming after you and they will just go in the trash if not." I smiled at him gratefully as he started throwing random pastries into a bag. He filled one with about 4 pastries then grabbed another and loaded it with another three. He placed them on top of the counter then smiled warmly at us. "There, enough to last you. But you come back soon, it's always good to see the customers that have grown up in this shop." He turned to wipe his hands down on a floury cloth then held up a hand as Hawk grabbed the bags. "The small bag is for your friend, you know, the lanky one." I smiled awkwardly and took the bag from Hawk.

"I'll be sure to tell him that you sent them for him." I nodded politely then headed out of the shop, holding the door for Hawk as he exited. As soon as we were outside he turned to me, stepping down from the curb and sitting with his legs spread out into the car park. He patted the pavement beside him and I rolled my eyes, sitting as he had gestured and placing Demetri's bag of pastries on the curb beside.

"So, tell me, what happened with Demetri?" Hawk unrolled the top of the bag and rummaged round for the pastry he wanted, producing a croissant and munching the end hungrily.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it, Eli." I paused, realising that I'd referred back to his old name, "Sorry, I meant Hawk."

"It's fine, I don't mind you calling me Eli." He took another bite, staring out across the car park to avoid eye contact.

"Thanks, but like I said I don't wanna talk about it."

"Come on, it's just you and me," he paused, extending the bag of pasties to me so that I could take my pick, "I don't care what Demetri said, or what you said, I just wanna understand why he ditched you like that."

I swallowed hard in an attempt to hold back my tears and picked the first pastry I came to, holding it limply in my hands as I began. "Ok, but I'm not telling you everything, just why he's mad." I readjusted my position on the curb, sliding forwards a little.

"He told me to choose." I tore a piece of flakey pastry from the corner of the cinnamon roll that sat in my hands and crumbled it onto the floor.

"Choose what?" Hawk had now taken a break from his pastry, so that he could sit and look at me while I explained.

"Choose between the two of you....he was angry and hurt by my reaction to the fight in the mall." I looked up at him with sorrowful eyes, this time able to keep the tears at bay while I spoke. I touched the bruise that was flourishing on his cheek, drawing my hand back carefully as I continued. "I got upset, seeing you hurt, well, that hurt me too. I guess it hurt Demetri as well and he, ummm, asked me to choose between the two of you."

"So why is he angry, he should know by now that we're both important to you." I smiled at his innocent answer, although it was true Demetri had also been right, Eli was always that fraction above him, prioritised for reasons that didn't apply to Demetri.

"Eli..." I managed a slight laugh before taking a deep breath and continuing, "I told him he wouldn't like what I chose..." I opened my mouth to say more but nothing came out and I shut it again, looking away from Hawk's face and out into the parking lot.

"You...." he was trying to say something, trying to word it right, "You didn't pick Demetri?" I breathed a laugh, turning to look at his shocked eyes.

"No. No, I didn't."

"But...but you said had a problem with me."

"Not necessarily you." I took a bite of my pastry while he contemplated the revelations of the past few seconds.

"So this whole time, when I thought you hated me."

"I'm sorry, Eli. I..." I couldn't force anymore words to produce themselves.

"It's fine. I know things are hard sometimes." He nodded at me in acknowledgement, "But you know I'm kinda glad that Demetri ditched you. We never would've gotten to hang out if he hadn't, and I'm kinda glad for the distraction." He tore back into his pastry, chewing a bit off of the corner while I frowned.

"Wait...what?" He chuckled, swallowing his food and placing the bag of pastries down onto the curb just like I had done with Demetri's.

"Me and Moon..." I held my breath, trying not to show my discomfort on that subject, "We broke up." I let out the breath I was holding, feeling oddly relieved at the news.

"Oh. I'm sorry." I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"She said I was a bully." He nodded at his own words, seemingly agreeing with that as he tucked into the last bit of his croissant.

"Your not a bully..." I said it perhaps a little too fast, spotting his hand rest in the pavement and lightly placing mine over his, "Your just a little misguided, that's all." I gave his hand a squeeze then released it. Getting to my feet and brushing the pastry crumbs off of myself, I had finished my cinnamon roll during our conversation. "It's getting late, I should..." I gestured in the direction of my house and he scrambled to his feet, holding out the bag of pastries.

"Yeah, sure, ummm, you can have these." I took the bag from him and tucked it along side Demetri's.

"Thanks." I mumbled before heading towards my house and feeling Eli's safe feeling disappearing as he disappeared into the darkness of the night.