Chapter 22 | Anything

"You know what, I may have hated on these before but... they're kind of starting to grow on me." Isabella, Abigail, and I giggle as Vinnie made his way into the basement from the bathroom as he admired the pink satin pajamas he was wearing. 

As soon as the girls and I saw the pajamas in the store window we knew we had to get them. The guys have button-down pink silk shirts and matching pants while the girls and I have the same button-down but with matching shorts and tank tops. The outfits even came with their own matching scrunchies and sleeping masks.

"Grant just texted and said he's gonna join us later on tonight, he had some things to do first." I say informing everyone.

"Alright, so that only leaves Elijah," says Bella, "where is he?"

"Oh um, he had to do some stuff first." commented Vinnie, sounding unsure of his answer.

"What stuff?" Asked Abby.

"Nothing interesting. He called right before I got here saying he got held up, he should be getting here any minute." 

Just as Abby was about to start interrogating Vinnie, the doorbell rings upstairs. 

"I'll get it," I say, going up the stairs two steps at a time. I see Elijah standing outside my door through the glass and open up the door for him.

"Hey gorgeous," he says as he enters my doorway. I can't help but blush a little. "How's the birthday girl feeling."

"She's feeling spectacular. Everyone is waiting downstairs, you'll be surprised to know Vinnie very much enjoys his pajamas. Grant is coming a bit later."

"Oh trust me, I'm not surprised at all. No one can turn down silk, and who doesn't look good in pink."

I nod my head as I head over to the kitchen to grab plates and bowls for downstairs. "I love pink, she does wonders. I think it suits me."

"You look amazing in pink."

"Thank you," I say with a smile. I turn to lead us towards the basement, "Everyone is just downstairs so..."

His hand touches my arm, pulling me to turn around. "Actually, I wanted to give you this before we went downstairs with everyone." He hands me a small white gift bag with pink decorative paper with gold specks on it. 

I look down at the bag as he hands it over to me, "Oh my god, thank you, Elijah. I didn't expect you to get me anything."

He shrugged, "How come? You're important to me, plus the birthday girl needs a birthday present."

I smile at him, our eyes meet for a moment before he shifts them away. I start to move the paper away before he stops me, "Don't open it now. Save it for later."

"Alright, but you have to be here when I do."

"Alright, deal." He shakes his head, "C'mon let's go join the rest of them."

I nod my head and make my way towards the basement to where Abigail is rolling a blunt. She calls it her 'craft' since it's a 'hard skill to master especially with acrylics on'. Honestly, she does roll them very well and quickly at that. The bottles are all lined up on the table and my parents and grandmother are all going to be out of the house at least for tonight since grandma wanted them all to go visit friends in the next state over. If you ask me, Nonna was just trying to get everyone out of the house so we could have the place to ourselves for a night.

"Okay, so who's ready for fun?" Asks Abby very excitedly. "I have blunts rolled and ready for passing and a long list of games to get through."

"Sounds perfect to me," says Bella, turning on the speaker and the LED lights in my basement. The room fills with color, changing with the music. She turns on her playlist and sits down with the rest of us. 

Elijah exits the bathroom now dressed in his satin pink pajamas. Wow, how does he manage to look that good even in pjs? 

"What're we playing?" asks Elijah sitting down next to me on the couch.

Abby stops mid exhale, "Never have I ever. Everyone takes a shot every time you don't put a finger down. If you refuse to tell the story, take a shot. Everybody ready? Ok good, let's get started."

-:-

A couple of shots and hits later everyone has most of their fingers down as the game is coming to en end.

"Never have I ever been arrested."

Elijah and Vinnie both put a finger down, leaving Vinnie with the least fingers in the group other than Abby. Surprisingly, Elijah doesn't have many down. "When did you guys get arrested?" I ask surprised.

"Spill the beans or take a shot." says Bella, slamming her now empty shot glass on the table.

Vinnie and Elijah exchange a look before both taking a shot. "Unfair!" whines Abby, I was really curious. We need to up the amp here, let's play something else."

Bella grabs Abby's arm and pulls her over to whisper something in her ear. The two giggle as they whisper into each other's ears. "Okay." She says giggling once more, "but bathroom first."

Bella nods her head, "I wanna go outside for a little bit for some fresh air anyways. Gotta pace myself if we're going to keep going." She grabs what's left of her blunt as she opens the screen door to go outside.

"Okay perfect. Vinnie, come with me to the bathroom? I don't wanna go alone." She flashes him puppy dog eyes convincing him to follow her to the upstairs bathroom. 

I chuckle at the sight of the two. "What's so funny?" says Elijah, who still has most of his composure intact. 

"She said she needed some fresh air and took her blunt, and I'm pretty sure those are going upstairs to hook up." 

Elijah joins me in my laughter filling the now empty room. I turn down the music then we sit and enjoy the emptiness, which is somewhat comforting. My head feels hot so I readjust myself so that my head is laying on the armrest of the couch, my body over Elijah's lap. I grab his hand and put it over my stomach as I start to trace patterns on his skin.

"Today's been nice, definitely one of my favorite birthdays so far."

He shifts his head from laying on the couch to overlooking my face, "It has been fun, I don't do this much."

"Do what?"

"Parties. I mean I attend but I haven't drank really or smoked in," his mind seems to go elsewhere for a bit, "such a long time. Seems like a whole world away."

He continues, "I used to be a very different person you know. Careless, reckless, putting a dent in the family name as my father used to say. He didn't approve. He sent me away a lot partly because of it, but all I did was rebel more." He sighs, continuing to let the words just pour out of his mouth as if they had been held back by a cracking wall. "He sent me here to get my act together, I don't have much time to mess around anymore. I have gotten my act together, I've changed. I'm not that person anymore. I know I can handle it now, even if he doesn't believe so. I'm just worried that it's not what I want."

I decide not to question anything he's said, this is the most he's ever shared to me. Honestly, I think it's the most I've seen him share ever. It's not my place to ask more questions. I nod my head, acknowledging I heard everything he shared with me as I started to play with the hem of his black-tee under his pajamas. 

"Alora."

"Yea Elijah?"

"Could I ask a favor of you?"

My attention draws back to his eyes, "Anything."

He looks down at my lips and then back to my eyes, I nod my head already answering his unasked question. He leans down and kisses me, at first I'm shocked by the feeling even though I had seen it coming. His lips taste sweet, soft like two pillows. Soon I start to kiss him back, deepening the kiss softly. He's gentle, sweet, it's pure even.

He pulls back, still looking into my face as he settles back into a sitting position.

"Thank you." Is all I can manage to say.

"I've wanted to do that for a while." He says back, his eyes glazed but his composure kept.

"I'm back!" Bella says walking back into the room. "Oh my god, did Abby take Vinnie with her into the bathroom?" She laughs as she sits back down. 

"What'd I miss ya'll, having fun without me?" Grant enters the room setting his bag down already dressed in his pajamas. 

"Grant!" Bella yells getting up to give him a hug, throwing her arms around him. 

"Oh, so you're definitely having a lot of fun." 

Abby and Vinnie re-enter the room, "Grant!" she says happily., "Now the party can really start."

Bella hands Grant a cup telling him to chug it as Abby turns up the volume on the speaker. "C'mon Alora," says Abby grabbing my hand "let's dance!"

I follow her onto the now proclaimed dance floor as I let the music take over control of my body. Slowly as the song continues the more I feel it. I take another drink handed to me and feel the liquid pour down my throat as I take gulps. Abby and I start to dance together and then Bella joins in, the three of us pressed up together swaying along to the music. I throw my head back feeling the vibrations through the floor. Grant and Bella start to dance together, moving perfectly as one.

I call Elijah over, he takes a swig of alcohol before coming over to join me. Abby has her hands on my hips as we move together, she grabs Elijah's hand and replaces her's. For a while, we dance the three of us together but her attention gets drawn back to Vinnie, leaving just Elijah and me.

Vinnie passes me his blunt before dancing with Abby. Before I can take a hit from it Elijah grabs it from my hands, turning me around to face him. Never breaking eye contact, he inhales the smoke into his mouth and blows it into mine, our lips centimeters away. I grab it back from him and put it into my mouth, throwing my head back again enjoying the music. I pull him towards me lightly so that our bodies are pressed up against each other and I start to feel kisses on my neck. My stomach starts to feel butterflies more intensely than they ever have before.

I look around at everyone around us, everyone is in their own little world enjoying themselves. Dancing to the beat of the music, taking another sip of a drink. My head feels clear and in my heart, I don't feel anything but happy. 

"Can we leave the room for a little." I ask Elijah. He nods in agreement, passing what's left of the blunt off to someone else before following me into one of the attaching rooms.

He closes the door behind him and comes up to me, "Are you okay? Are you feeling alright?" Tucking my hair behind my ear, I nod my head.

"Yea, I am. I'm really happy right now." I shlouch onto the couch. "I just wanted to sit with you for a while, is that okay?"

He sits down next to me, "Of course that's okay."

"Okay."

I turn my head over to look at him and I find him doing the same. I study the features on his face, his eyes are so beautiful, his skin is smooth and soft. I lift a hand to touch his face but his hands stop me, like a reflex he tenses up. Elijah studies my eyes and let's go, placing my hand on his cheek.

A feeling comes over me, and I decide not to fight it. I inch my head towards him and kiss him, except this time I don't hold back. I place one leg onto his other side, now sitting on top of him. He deepens the kiss, placing his hands onto my waist. He pulls me closer to him which I eagerly agree to, pushing up against him in any way I can. 

This is what I've been missing, our bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. I want him. I'm not going to deny that I've been having this feeling. 

I grab his hands and guide them up to my chest, he pulls back from my lips, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Our lips smash together. His hands move once again, this time one on my bottom and another tugging at the string of my shorts. I nodded my head with approval. 

-:-

We layed down together on the couch, my body laying on top of his. My head fitting perfectly on his chest.

"I'm a virgin." I tell him calmly, letting the thoughts out of my head.

"You are? Why didn't you say anything I would have been more gentle."

"No no, I mean, I've done that before. I've just never really had sex before."

"Oh, alright. There's no pressure to, I want you to know that."

"I know," I smiled, "I trust you." 

We sat in silence for a bit more before deciding to return back to the party. Everyone was still awake and enjoying themselves, but mostly calm and talking. I sat on one of the beanbag chairs and Elijah sat next to Vinnie back on the couch. 

Abby, Bella, and Grant all shot me a look, Elijah received the same from Vinnie. "Pass me the bottle." I replied. They all exchanged smiles between themselves and the conversation returned back to normal. 

"We're all telling each other something that the rest might not know about us. And if you have something that relates to it then piggyback off it," said Grant, updating both Elijah and me on what was going on. "It's Bella's turn."

"Um... I mean the girls know but I guess you guys don't. I'm pansexual." Bella says

Grant adds on, "I'm bisexual, I don't have a preference really but it leans towards men."

"I don't like to label my sexuality but I guess out of technicality it would be straight." Says Abby

I comment, "Romantically, I'm straight."

Elijah speaks next, "I'm bisexual, I have a preference for women."

"I'm straight." Vinnie says.

"Alright, now we do shots and do another round."

As Bella starts pouring drinks into glasses for everyone Elijah's phone starts to ring. He quickly looks at Vinnie then gets up to make the call outside. Distracted, I watch his body language as he speaks on the phone. His voice seems calm but his body is tense. His eyebrows furrowed and the smile I love on his face disappeared.

"Alora, c'mon drink!"

I take the shot glass an drink it, feeling it work it's way down my throat. "I think I'm going to stop after a couple more I dont want to completely overdo it."

"We probably all should, plus we still have tomorrow." Said Abby. Everyone nodded in agreement as we went back to the conversation.

Elijah enters back into the room after a while and crouches down next to me, "I'm so sorry."

I turn my head to him confused, "What? Sorry for what?"

"I have to go, right now. It's important or else I wouldn't, but I'll be back okay?" I nod my head, concerned but obviously it isn't the time to question him. He surprises me and kisses me out of nowhere.

"I'll be back everyone, just go on without me."

Vinnie tensed up in his seat as he sat up, "Everything alright?". He seemed like he was ready to be called into action.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. Stay here."

The look of concern on Vinnie's face never faded but his body language eased back up. Elijah went up the stairs and we heard the door close itself behind him. 

I wonder if he really is alright; when will he be back. He said not to worry about it so I'll continue on with my night.

"Okay but we're definitely gonna need to talk about that," Abby says pointing to me, concerning the kiss. 

"Nothing to talk about, I don't think." She rolled her eyes at me, "shut up." I teased, "Let's watch some tv I'm starting to get sleepy."

-:-

We all decided to sleep in the beds upstairs instead of the original plan to sleep downstairs. I stayed in my own room, Grant stayed in his, Vinnie and Abby shared a guest room, and Bella stayed in another. Although, if you ask me I think she might just end up staying in Grant's room. 

I can feel how tired my body is but the whole night I stirred in and out of sleep, a couple of hours after we settled into bed, right before the sun started to come up I felt a dip in my bed.

A warmth came up next to me, I recognized his warm comforting scent and knew it was Elijah. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in tighter to him.

His pressence was off, something didn't seem right.

"Is everything alright?"

Silence. 

Instead he wraps his arm tighter around me laying his head next to mine.

"I might have to go away for a while."

"What do you mean go away? Like leaving?"

"For a bit, only for a while. I don't plan on being gone any longer than I need to. There's some... business I need to attend to. I won't exactly be myself and it's best if I separate everything from it."

"Separate what?" I ask.

"My life that I enjoy from the one that I don't."

"Well, how long will you be gone?" 

"From school? Only a couple weeks or so max. I'll be around just not fully."

I stay silent, not wanting to ask any more of the questions running through my mind. What's going on with him, what's this all about, what does this mean? 

"It's not for a couple of days, I'd love to spend them with you. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

I nod my head, "I'd like that. Can we sleep now please?"

"Yeah, let's sleep." He kisses me on the forehead and doesnt let go. I hold onto his arm as I drift off into sleep.

-:-

Is that what you all were expecting? What are your thoughts on everything that went down? What's happening with Elijah?

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<3 anonopi