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the young teenagers were sat at the dinner table, side by side, awkwardly staring at the older man who sat at one end of the table. his eyes would be burning into stanley's skull if possible, they could all feel the air that was thick and tense.
"so how did you meet my daughter?" he asked before spooning more mashed potato into his mouth. eleanor buried her head into her hands as her face flushed. "we met in school sir, she was in my math class," the curly haired boy answered politely and eleanor cursed him for replying.
"do you think you deserve to be friends with my daughter?" the man asked as he glanced at the young boy. "i don't know, probably not, but it's an honour to be friends with her," stanley answered with a nod before slipping one hand under the table to rest on his bouncing knee.
"you won't hurt her, will you?" paul asked with genuine concern, something the two females hadn't seen since the youngest had died. "no sir." eleanor had also snuck her hand under the table, grabbing his sweaty hand and intertwining their fingers. the dark haired girl gave stan a small smile before squeezing his hand softly and trying to ease his anxiety.
"okay, i trust you, but if you hurt my daughter i won't hesitate," the brown haired man threatened with a glare. stanley nodded nervously and eleanor huffed before pushing her empty plate away from her. she sat silently at the table as her friend ate and she gave a small smile to her mother every once in a while.
"dad?" she hummed softly causing him to look up and she nodded at him, "thank you for letting my friend stay over." stanley watched as her father looked down at his plate sadly before giving the same smile back. so that's where she got her smile from, he thought.
"no problem el."
with that the young boy collected their plates and took them to the sink before meeting eleanor up in her room. "wanna help me pump up the air mattress?" the dark haired girl asked and he nodded, remaining silent.
he could feel the pain and weakness in her voice that was usually louder than a thunder storm, but now it was quiet and soft and he couldn't figure out what had really happened to her.
she could feel his eyes on her as he analysed her every move, choosing not to say anything because she was afraid that if she did he wouldn't be her friend anymore. she was confused why her dad had suddenly changed, why he had been given a breath of sadness and used it to be the gentle and protective father he once was.
"there's a hole in it," stanley said as they spread the mattress out and her train of thought had gone of track. "oh, you can take my bed if you want?" she suggested and he shook his head in response. "that's not fair for you, i'll just stay on the floor."
"we could share, head to toe if you want?" her dark hair fell in front of her face as she looked down at the tear in the air mattress. she could remember how it happened. it was the week before they moved and she and her sister had been sleeping on the small air filled mattress as they waited to leave the old town.
eleanor didn't leave that mattress once since the incident, her head filled with thoughts that only those who had been hurt enough could have. it worried her little sister immensely and all the two could do was lay in silence as the wind outside made the house shake. it didn't take long for it to bust as the younger girl tried to jump on it that night, attempting to cheer her older sister up.
it did, their matching blue eyes had filled with shock before a sudden happiness filled their lungs and suffocated them. the bubbly laughter could be heard throughout the entire house and the happy couple downstairs packing stuff in boxes smiled to eachother for the first time since the attack.
"are you okay?" the tall, lanky boy asked and she shook her head. "not really," it was a small voice and as soon as those words fell from her mouth he embraced her like she was the only thing that mattered.
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wrote this at 12:30 am so don't judge if it's crap like me :) i'm shook lol, been having trouble with the publishing of chapters, but i hope it's fixed. btw this is like the first time i've published in ages so hooray for you guys because you've got something to read now! this isn't edited or reviewed or anything, so sorry for any errors :) -trashytacos
