The Skeletøn Bøy

EIGHTEEN

Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for. -- Bob Marley

++ C H A P T E R | E I G H T E E N ++

"You look flustered," Was the first thing Wes said to Elliott when he entered the store.

Elliott couldn't stop blushing since he had caught Natasha in his arms. It wasn't that he liked Natasha - no, he was almost too into Wes for it to be sane - but something about seeing Natasha stare up at him with complete adoration made Elliott flustered beyond belief.

Then, Elliott couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if Wes looked at him that way. It only made him so much more flustered.

"You're here early, by the way. Did the rain chase you away from the field?" Wes cracked a smile as he cleaned down the counter in the back room. Elliott felt useless, so he grabbed a towel and helped.

"Yeah. Coach ended practice, and Brent gave me a ride home."

"Brent?" Wes asked, not recognizing the name. Wes wasn't sure how many friends Elliott actually had. He assumed Elliott didn't have many, due to the way he acted in social situations, but that didn't mean it was true.

"Yeah, a guy I know. He's on the team. He's really strange, like he used to bully me but now he wants to be friends. I don't really get it."

Wes paused, leaning against the counter. "Well, it's hard not to be friends with you. There's something about you, Elliott. Something magnetic."

Elliott blushed again, ducking his head. Wes thinks there's something magnetic about me! He likes me!

The oven behind them went off, and Wes clicked it off. "We have some wrapping to do."

Elliott's face brightened. He loved wrapping the baked goods. The lack of a childhood had made him dessert deprived. Never once did he bake cookies with mother. Never once did they eat cake on his birthday, or had pie during thanksgiving. Dessert just wasn't a thing.

It made Elliott excited when it came to baking and wrapping at work. He loved it. And Wes got a certain sense of happiness when he saw the delight on Elliott's face.

"Did you already make all of the cookies for the day?"

"Cookies, yes. But, we still have pies."

"Sweet," Elliott moved to grab the wrapping items. His smile was permanent as he stood beside Wes, inhaling the smell of cookies. Elliott had been worried all day after Brent told him about the phone call from mother, but now he was feeling better. Almost invincible, like mother could never get to him.

"So tell me more about your brothers." Wes asked as he grabbed a cookie and wrapped it up.

Elliott felt a string of fear run down his spine at Wes's words. He knew Wes was just curious, but he still felt like he was being watched. That mother was listening in on his every word.

"Well, there's Adrian, but you know him. And then I have a little brother named Mat."

"Oh, really? There's a third Elliott?" Wes smiled playfully, but Elliott didn't think it was funny.

"He's nothing like me! He's still innocent. Not tainted. I hope he never becomes like me. Never."

Wes noticed right away how freaked out Elliott had gotten from his previous statement. Wes wanted to know what was so wrong with being Elliott, but he had his suspicions. Anna wasn't their real mother, so he knew something had happened to them. Maybe a freak accident had happened to his parents or something.