❝ slow down, you crazy child
you're so ambitious for a juvenile
but then if you're so smart, then tell me
why are you still so afraid? ❞
in which the smart-ass with mommy issues sparks the interest of a short-tempered werewolf.
ELISE STUTFIELD STAND...
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SEVEN. ROSALIE'S GIFT
Almost a month had passed since Eli had started working at Newton's Olympic Outfitters. It was easy work, and she'd picked up enough hours to please her bank account and leave her without much spare time. That was how she liked it; to be kept busy. It also meant she was able to talk to Mike a whole lot more, as well as Bella. It was strange, befriending a girl who she had so many ties to, yet didn't know. Bella had felt the same, and they had bonded over the weird concept of their parents once having been a couple.
Bella, however, hadn't shown up at work that day. Her birthday had been the day before, so Eli had expected as much, though Mike had turned up and said she hadn't been at school either. So, Eli stood at the counter, fixing the pricing gun when the front bell rang. The dark haired girl glanced up to see the one and only Rosalie Hale step inside, appearing completely out of place in her designer clothing. Her lips were downturned and her golden eyes were cold, before they caught sight of the employee. She then cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Eli."
"Hey, Rosalie," Eli smiled politely, a little confused at her sudden appearance. She'd only seen the girl twice since their roadside encounter, and they had been fleeting, though memorable. The first, when Eli had picked Mike up from school one afternoon and they'd waved to each other, and the second was when they'd been in the same bookstore, though Eli had been in a rush and Rosalie had been with a gigantic dude-bro who had grinned in her direction and made light conversation until he was ushered away. "What brings you here?"
"You, actually," Rosalie smiled a little awkwardly. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a little box with a white ribbon tied on the top. "My family is leaving Forks for a while...and since I've got a lot of stuff I don't need, I thought I'd pass it along. Less baggage for the move, you know?"
Eli furrowed her eyebrows. "...Sure."
Rosalie cleared her throat, before reaching over and patting Eli on the shoulder. "Bye, Eli."
"Um, bye?" Eli didn't really know what to say, so she only lifted her hand in a wave. Rosalie nodded once, before backing out of the store once more and disappearing. Eli frowned, before picking up the box and opening it. She didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't the keys to a Mustang with the note "No givebacks. That truck of yours is garbage anyway." attached to it. Her jaw dropped, and she practically dove over the counter to run outside, naturally to return the gift. She couldn't accept a car.
But Rosalie was nowhere in sight. And, to make matters worse, the front tires on her brother's truck had been flattened. Eli spluttered a little, looking around, before her gaze fell on a navy blue Mustang with a license plate that read ELISTUT1. "Oh my God."
"Shit, Eli," Mike blurted from behind her, clearly having seen her rush out of the shop. She couldn't get any words out in response. "Where'd you get this?"
