Now you could say it didn't really work.
I awoke with a jolt the next day, my annoying alarm clock beeping, signaling that it was time for me to get ready to go to hell.
Elli bolted up next to me, covering his ears.
"What's happening?", He screamed over the sound, "Is there a fire?"
I rolled my eyes at him, how many times had i told him that he needed to sleep on the other side of the room.
"No you idiot, it's my alarm clock."
"What's an alarm clock?"
"You honestly don't know what an alarm clock is?"
"No"
"It's basically a really annoying thing that wakes people up way too early."
"Oh... So if it's too early we can go back to bed right?"
"No, I have to go to school." I replied, pulling the covers off my and standing up.
Elli followed in suite. "What's school?" He asked, saying the word school as if it was from a foreign language.
I turned back to look at him with an annoyed glare. "It's a place that kids really really hate because its full of mean teachers and kids who think they're better than everyone else because they are dating a really attractive person or play sports." I replied, moving to the bathroom.
"Then why do you still go?" Elli asked, still following me.
"Because I have to." I said, brushing my hair.
"Why?" He asked as I walked back to my room.
"If you'll excuse me, stay out here I need to change."
And with that I closed the door in his face, only to turn around and see him standing behind me.
"You never answered my question." He said, still persistent.
I sighed, picking out a blue t shirt and black skinny jeans before turning back to look at him.
"Because the government says so okay? Now go before I throw my baseball bat at you"
And with that he vanished and I hope he actually left.
~
I was halfway to school when he showed up again.
And I had thought I had lost him I thought to myself as he appeared next to me.
"You have a nice ass." He said with a smirk.
"You watched me didn't you?"
He nodded with a giggle. My face turned bright red.
"You little-"
And before I could finish Max and his friends appeared across the corner.
"Who's that?" Elli asked.
"Shhhh"
"W-"
"I don't want them to think I'm crazy talking to nothing."
"But I'm real"
I turned to look at him up and down.
"No you're not."
His face scrunched up as if he was about to cry and he gave me a sad look before looking down.
"You really think you're real?"
That was when I knew I had pushed it too far.
That was my problem, I didn't know when to stop.
He turned to stare at me straight in the eyes, a single tear running down his pale cheek as he slowly nodded his head.
Bad was an underestimate, I felt awful but soon I realized that Max and his friends were still standing in front of me, watching me with a weird look on their faces.
One problem before the other.
~
Elli didn't talk to me for the rest of the way until I reached the school.
"Look, you might want to.. y'know... disappear now."
He gave me that same look as he did earlier and I immediately felt bad.
"It's not about you, I just don't want people to think I'm insa-"
"Because I'm not here" He interjected.
"No that's not- okay fine yeah but I'll make a deal with you, if you go away for the remainder of the day I'll let you sleep in my bed tonight."
"Tonight and tomorrow night." He bargained, glaring at me.
"Fine tonight and tomorrow night." I agreed sighing.
He erased his frown with a smile and quickly disappeared.
I continued my way down the hallway only to hear a familiar whisper in my ear.
"Oooh, who's he, he's cute" He asked pointing to a boy with short black hair and dark hazelnut eyes.
"Elli I thought I told you to do away."
"Okay just answer my question." He persisted.
"That's Marcus, head of the baseball team. Good looking but a complete asshole." I whispered in what I could only assume was Elli's direction.
He seemed to think for a moment before deciding that my answer was satisfactory and kept quiet for most of the day.
That was until I stepped into the bathroom as I usually did during lunch, when he finally spoke.
"Wow all of the guys at your school are super attractive, how are you still single?" He asked.
I looked down the isle, making sure no one else could hear our conversation before I replied in a small whisper, "Who says I am single?" I gave Elli a small smirk.
"I know everything about you River we already went over this, I know for a fact that you have never dated anyone in your life except for that girl back in first grade but you were just 'experimenting'."
I gave him an annoyed glance before looking down at the sketchbook I had pulled out of my backpack.
"What's that?" He asked scooting closer to me to get a better look.
I scooted away from him.
He once again scooted towards me.
I scooted away.
This soon became a game until I was squished up against the far bathroom wall.
"Can you... not?" I muttered meeting Elli's bright green eyes.
Elli just smirked and continued to scoot closer to me until he was physically straddling me.
"Show me your sketchbook." He insisted.
"No, get off me"
Then at the worst possible moment, Max and his friends walked in.
I'm sure I looked pretty suspicious, with a frustrated look on my face, crumpled against the back wall, sitting like someone was literally straddling me and I was not enjoying it.
Max just looked me up and down whispered something to his friend to his left, them laughing the whole way.
I knew what they were going to do if I wasn't there. Of course they didn't know I knew this, they would smoke in the bathroom when they thought no one was in it but really I would be huddled in the stall drawing or something when I'd smell the foul smoke coming from whatever they were smoking.
So I sat there, watching them leave, knowing somewhere concealed in their jean pockets was a cigarette or forty.
