Teenage Dream

June 6

Chapter 2,

   The next morning I headed over to Erin's house. Erin is my best friend, has been since third grade. She's really sympathetic and a great listener, so I figured I could share my troubles with her.

"He finally did it last night," I told her emotionlessly.

"Who did what?" She asked in confusion.

"Danny asked out Valerie," I said, my eyes welling with tears.

"Aw babe. I'm so sorry," She said sympathetically. "Honestly, I don't even know what you saw in him."

I sniffled, "It's just, he was the only guy who wasn't always drooling over my sister. I guess paired with his cuteness, I thought maybe he could be the one."

"You'll find the right guy someday. It's just not the time," Erin said, patting my back reassuringly.

"I know. All my old insecurities are coming back even stronger now. What if I'm not pretty enough or funny enough? What if I never find someone who loves me?" I said desperately.

"You are pretty enough," Erin said, forcing me to look her in the eye. "You will find someone. Don't worry about it okay?"

I nodded. "Thanks," I said, hugging her.

She smiled. "You know, there's a lot of people our age who feel the way you do. Wouldn't it be great if we could all help each other?" She sighed.

"Why can't we?" I said.

"You mean like make a club or something?" She asked confusedly.

"Or a support group but yeah. It's the same basic idea." I smiled.

"We could meet in the Rock!" She said excitedly.

   The rock is a cave near Erin's house that her parents made into a play house for her when she was little. We usually use it for sleepovers and stuff now.

"It could work." I nodded.

"I'll spread the word. Maybe we can meet on Monday nights?" She looked to me for assurance.

"Works for me." I nodded.

"Great!" She grinned broadly.

I glanced at the time. "I gotta go. Thanks again for everything," I said hugging her tightly.

"Your welcome." She smiled hugging me back. With that I left and began walking home.
                          ~~~

   Upon reaching home, the sound of yelling filled my ears. Sounds like my parents were in the middle of a nasty argument. I sighed. It had become a common occurrence lately, and I hated every minute of it. All the good that had come from visiting Erin's house went down the drains as I stood frozen in the entryway. Every single one of my fears came crashing down on me and I raced upstairs.

"Ellie." A little voice said.

I turned around to see Anthony. "What is it?" I asked squatting down in front if him.

"Mommy and daddy are yelling and it makes me feel sad." He said coming to rest his head on my shoulder. It was one of those rare times when he didn't act like a spoiled brat.

"It makes me sad too." I said kissing his head and picking him up. I carried him to my room and sat on the bed with him. "I know something that will make us feel better." I smiled.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"Making up a story. I'll say a part and then you say one, okay?" He nodded in response. "Okay. It was a bright and sunny day at the race track." I began.

"My turn!" Anthony shouted. "The fastest race car driver was about to start the race!" He said excitedly.

I smiled. "Everyone in the stands cheered as he set off around the track."

"He drove really fast around and around in circles." Anthony continued.

"Until he got a flat tire!" I exclaimed.

"Oh no!" Anthony gasped. "Then the fixer people had to fix his tire!"

I laughed and continued the game.
~~~~

   We continued the game for a long time, writing story after story. By the time we finished our game, it was dinner time. Our parents acted relatively civil but you could tell everyone wanted to finish as soon as possible and head back to their rooms before the next yelling match began.

"So, Eliana." Mom said. "Did you have a nice time at Erin's?"

I nodded. "Mmmhmm. Great time."

"That's nice dear." Mom said. "How's Erin's parents? I haven't spoken to Brenda in a while."

"They're great. Mr. Mike just got a promotion at work." I replied.

"Oh. That's wonderful. I'll have to call Brenda sometime for a chat." Mom smiled.

   I nodded. I was feeling really uncomfortable. You could practically see the storm clouds rumbling over my parents heads. I quickly ate my hamburger, hoping that no one else would talk to me.

   After dinner, I bathed Angie and played with her in the nursery. Before long, she grew tired and I put her in bed. I left her and went to my own room to listen to music. I chose my Luke Bryan playlist and listened to all my favorite songs of his. One of them, a song called Do I, almost made me cry. It was about a guy and girl having relationship problems and the guy just wanted to know if she still loved him and if they could fix it. I hummed along as I fell asleep.

The song is Do I by Luke Bryan :)