Sean/Bennett's POV -- Setting: Jonah's House

Sean’s POV

My fingers were wedged between all the rings on two of Becky’s fingers. I looked down at them. “Can you try taking some of them off?” I asked. She looked down playing with her lip ring with her tongue.

“No,” She said rolling her eyes and she went back to talking to her friend Mandy. I sighed leaning my head back. I saw Bennett and normally that never concerned me. I usually didn’t give a shit about him- he gave me no reason to. I saw him on the ground in the corner talking to Rainie Joseph. She cut her hair or something but she was listening to him talk excitedly. I hadn’t seen him like that since he liked Rainie the first time. I sighed again. This was it. I was back to being his crutch again.

“What’s your problem Negative Nancy?” Mandy asked. I looked back at Becky and Mandy. They usually just talk about the most pointless things like Mandy liking this boy named Kevin and how he liked one of the girls Becky works with sometimes. I didn’t give a fuck about that shit but now I had to deal with another Rainie episode.

“Bennett’s talking to Rainie Joseph again,” I said. “He likes her… again.”

Becky looked over and she sighed too. “God,” She said. “Why the fuck does he do that to himself all the time?”

“What is he doing that’s so bad?” Mandy asked. No offense to Mandy and all- but she’s half retarded. I want to shoot her half of the time. All she does is mope and ask the most retarded questions. She’s worse than Jonah sometimes when he’s off his medication. I looked over at Bennett who was smiling and looking at Rainie as she was probably talking.

“Because,” Becky said. “She’s in love with that kid Paul Spinella and they just got back together a few weeks ago. Her and Bennett had a thing when they were broken up but Bennett dumped her and now he likes her again… it’s so fucking stupid. I mean I thought he’d learn by now…” I nodded in agreement. I looked up and saw Jonah. He jumped over the couch- I saw him midair and tumbled onto the ground lying on his side. Mandy screeched and almost everyone in the room looked over- except for Bennett and Rainie.

“What’s up?” Jonah said fixing himself upright. I crossed my legs and nodded over at Bennett drooling over that slut. Jonah whipped his head over and looked. “What’s the big deal?”

“It’s Joseph again,” Becky said. “It’s happening all over again.”

He leaned back and looked at Rainie from a different angle. “Why is she wearing a Sunday Drive shirt?” Jonah asked. It was obvious. Bennett was obsessed with them- he was bound to make her a mix-CD of all Sunday Drive songs and drag her out to a show. I didn’t answer and we all looked over. Bennett caught all of us he gripped his neck and kept talking.

Jonah started to get up but Becky grabbed his arm forcing him back onto the ground. “Don’t go over there,” She hissed. “Let him get fucked over if that’s what he wants.”

Mandy looked over. “Wait isn’t that Paul Spinella?” She asked. I looked over and there was Paul with Rainie all over him. She was kissing him as she sat on a card table. Then I looked over at the Rainie Joseph look-a-like. “Holy shit,” I said. “Who is that then?”

Becky looked over. “I have no idea…” She said.

Jonah looked over again. “He’s into her,” He said. “Whoa, he looks like a serial killer smiling like that. What the hell?” I looked over and he was laughing- not laughing like he does around us- serial killer real laughing. I shook my head. “I have no idea then.”

Miles went over to them. He started talking and Bennett just listened- I think Miles was just talking to the girl. “She’s a weed-head,” Jonah said. “She’s friends with Miles.”

Mandy shook her head. “No,” She said loudly like that was so stupid. Miles used to do drugs with Jeremy- obviously if he smoked with the girl if they were friends. “Miles got clean last summer.”

“Yeah,” Jonah said. “But he was only friends with weed-heads.”

Becky looked over. “I think he’s friends with this girl Cass now.” She said. “But I’ve never seen this girl before- she goes to Kerrington probably.” I looked over and saw Bennett stand up helping the girl up too. She took his hand hesitantly but she stood up and just made it to his chest. She was tiny.

“Cass?” Mandy asked. “As in Kevin’s Cass?”

“Yup,” Becky said. Then we saw her face. “Holy shit, I know her from somewhere…”

Bennett said goodbye to the girl and she walked away with Miles. She looked eleven but he watched her walk away before coming over to us. He looked down sighing and sat down readying himself for whatever we were going to throw at him.

Bennett’s POV

I had no idea she was going to come. I thought she just said she’d try, but there she was walking away. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I looked over and saw Sean who was just looking at me with a dead stare in his eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was get into Elisa. I walked over looking at them. Jonah was grinning up at me like an idiot. The last thing I wanted to do was tell them about Elisa.

I sat down and it was quiet except for Becky and her friend going on about “some bitch who was flirting with Kevin all the time now.” I looked at Sean and he didn’t sat anything.

Jonah dived in. “Whose the chick?” He asked. “That where you get your weed now?”

I looked at him confused. Elisa and drugs? “What?” I said quickly.

“Shut up,” Sean said to Jonah. I looked at Sean who shrugged. “She hangs out with Miles.” I shook my head – that was ridiculous. Elisa wasn’t like that. She said herself she never drank, that night a few weeks ago was rare. She was just upset.

“She doesn’t do drugs,” I said defensively. How could they even say that about her? She never looked like the kind of person who would ever do that crap.

“Who is she then?” Jonah asked grinning again. “You were all over her.”

My eyes widened, was I all over her? I didn’t touch her. I didn’t sit too close to her. I didn’t look at her in weird ways. We were just talking alone- that was the only time she was normal, or at least comfortable. “I wasn’t all over her,” I said.

“Dude,” Jonah said tipping his head forward. “You were practically undressing her with your serial killer eyes.”

I rolled my eyes leaning back. “Shut up,” I said.

Jonah leaned over elbowing me. “So how long have you been in love with this chick?” He asked, smiling still. I rolled my eyes again. I didn’t like Elisa. I wasn’t in love with her. Sure, she was pretty. That didn’t mean I wanted to date her, she had Nathan anyways.

“I don’t like her,” I said. “We’re friends.”

“I’ve never heard of her,” Jonah said.

“You don’t even know her name,” I said.

“What is it then?” Sean said.

Do I tell them? I already didn’t have a chance of hiding her anymore from them. Becky was leaning forward pressing her hands to her forehead. “She hangs out with Cass,” She said. “What’s her name… Lisa?”

“You like a Lisa?” Jonah said laughing.

I froze looking at him. “How did you know her name?” I asked.

“Becky just said it…” Jonah said laughing.

I felt stupid all of a sudden. “Eh-lisa” and “a Lisa” sounded so alike. “Elisa!” Becky said loudly. “That’s it!”

“Her name’s Elisa?” Sean asked.

“Yeah,” I said shrinking down. “But I don’t like her like that.”

“Where do you know her from?” Becky asked. “She’s like a mute.”

I shook my head. “No,” I said. “You guys are just going to go on saying I like her. I don’t.”

Sean rolled his eyes. “You might as well tell us,” He said. “I’m going to look for her now.”

I stared at him. “You better not,” I said. The last thing I wanted was Jonah or Sean following her around the school asking her if she liked me. She had Nathan and the last thing I wanted was for us to get awkward.

“She has a boyfriend,” I said. “I can’t like her if I wanted to.”

“Why?” Mandy said. “You liked Rainie Joseph when she had a boyfriend.”

I looked up at her. She shrunk back. I looked down. “That’s exactly why,” I said. I looked up and saw her walking downstairs again. I got up and left them. Jonah yelled after me- awkward things- but all I saw was her. I smiled and she smiled a little too tucking hair behind her ear. She was so insecure about her new hair- I could just tell.

“Sorry if you were talking to your friends,” She said softly.

“It’s okay,” I said. I pointed at the door up to the backyard. “I need some air, do you want to hang out outside?”

She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear again. “Okay,” She said softly. I walked in front of her outside. There were too many smokers on the deck so I brought her over to Jonah’s hammock- back behind the shed. I remembered the last time I was ever on this. I was with Rainie. Rainie had jumped on right away but Elisa hesitated. She looked at the space right across from me and got on sitting quietly as she always did when she was out of her element. I couldn’t help it. In the dark- in the shadow with the moon shining down- in the cold- I pulled my sweatshirt over my arms more and felt warm without it- on the hammock- she looked beautiful. She looked so lost but I knew that’s what it’s like sometimes. I blinked looking down.

I couldn’t like Elisa.

But all I wanted to do was understand her. She was a mystery to me in so many ways but everything was falling out. I don’t know why but she trusts me. In five minutes I had her smiling- and laughing.

I lay down looking up at the sky. “It’s so clear out tonight.” I said.

In a minute I felt the spot next to me on the hammock get heavier. I looked over and saw her leaning back not realizing how much you can sink on this hammock. She started a few inches away from me but sank so our shoulders pressed against one another. I looked up again and her voice rose up- the voice she only used when we were alone- “Yeah, it’s so beautiful.”

I knew the only reason she was here was because you can only see the sky from this side- the trees cut to frame out the stars like a picture. I smiled a little and felt her next to me. The last thing I wanted was for everything to shift back to where it was. Where she was back with Nathan and I was back alone trying to get over Rainie.

But as of right now, I’m over Rainie. I wonder what it’s going to be like when I went back to normal for me. I looked up at the sky.

I can’t like Elisa.