S C O T T

I stared at Elle in utter disbelief, not exaclty comprehending what I was seeing. I couldn't believe that she had legitimately came to my apartment. Part of me wanted to slam the door shut and open it, just to see if my eyes were messing with me. And the other half of me wanted to just slam the door closed on Elle.

I leaned forward and quirked an eyebrow, waiting for her to say something - anything. I knew she had showed up because I refused to go to practice and that made my blood boil. Just because I wanted to skip one practice didn't give her the right to show up at my apartment.

It was times like those I really regretted ever meeting Elle Monroe.

"Well?" I snapped, my voice sounding way harsher than intended. I frowned and cleared my throat. Narrowing my eyes, I ruffled up my hair, "Are you gonna tell me why you're here, or just stand on the threshold?"

Elle crossed her arms over her chest, shooting me a glare right back that just made me scoff. She had absolutely no right to glare at me or act like she was annoyed with me. She was the one that showed up at my apartment during movie night, after I had clearly stated that the practice she wanted was a no-go.

I crossed my arms over my chest and rocked back and forth on my heels. I was about to slam the door shut; the only reason I didn't do it was because of how rude that was. So, instead, I settled for glaring at her and waiting for whatever excuse Elle would work up. (Probably saying she thought we were gonna have practice, even after I said no).

When Elle said nothing, I groaned and rolled my eyes, "Seriously, Elle. I swear to God if you came here because of practice - "

"Actually, asshole," Elle snapped, cutting me off. She pulled a familiar looking jersey from behind her back and tossed it at me. I coughed and pulled it off my face, "you left your jersey at practice, and I knew my dad would murder you if he saw it. So I figured I'd be nice."

Oh God, I thought, twisting the jersey around in my hand. Guilt gnawed at my stomach and I opened my mouth then closed it, having nothng to say. Elle hadn't showed up to be an ass and try to drag me to practice.  She had shown up with completely good intentions, to bring me my jersey and save my ass from her dad.

And I had just been an absolute dick to her.

Fumbling with the jersey, I struggled to push out a coherent apology. I had assumed the worst of Elle when she had shown up, but she had done something nice. She had saved me from the possible wrath of Coach Monroe for lazily losing my jersey, and I had snapped at her the second I opened the door.

What kind of apology would make up for that? I knew nothing I could possibly say would make up for me being so rude to her, and doubting that she had come for anything other than practice. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and cleared my throat; I had to say something to attempt and make it up to her.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly, cursing myself because - really? I'm sorry wasn't enough, "I'm really, really sorry, Elle. It was a - uh, bad night. But thank you so much for giving me my jersey. Seriously, it means a lot."

Before I could say anything - or see if Elle was going to accept my apology - Connor came over and bumped my hip. I cursed and stumbled to the side, my socks sliding against the wooden floor as I tried to gain my balance. I looked up and saw Connor standing in front of the door, a wide grin on his face.

I frowned and pushed my way back over. Elbowing Connor in the ribs, I attempted to step back where I was, though he held his ground. I glared but Connor didn't seem to notice; he just grinned at Elle and she smiled slightly back, though I could see she was still pissed off.

"Elle, innit?" Connor asked, and Elle nodded, shoving her hands in her sweats' pockets, "Great to see you again!"

Elle laughed, and for a second, I was glad that Connor had made her laugh. If she was laughing, that meant she wasn't focused on being furious with me. But on the other hand, I wondered why Connor had interrupted me from talking with her. Whenever Con got in the middle of things, they usually didn't end well for me.

"Good to see you again, too," Elle said, awkwardly rocking back and forth on her heels. I grimaced at how tense and awkward it was, "but I really should get going. I just came by to give Scott his jersey."

After she finished saying that, it thundered loudly. Storms weren't an uncommon thing in Canada, especially during winter when the weather usually took a turn for the worse. But Connor jumped and gasped, acting like the sudden noise had surprised him. (Which I knew it didn't - we had been hearing thunder half the night.)

Connor shook his head and pushed me aside, propping the door open wider, "It's storming and you could go out and die. So - before I have your death on my hands - you should just spend a few hours here. We're having a movie night!" Elle frowned and Con widened his eyes, "The couch is comfy, I promise."

I watched from behind Connor's shoulder as Elle bit her lip and contemplated his offer. Part of me expected her to deny it and turned and walk home. Clearly she was still annoyed and I couldn't fathom why she would even agree. But the other part of me couldn't help but wonder if she would agree.

"If it saves me from death, eh?"

Connor cheered and pulled Elle inside. She laughed and waved at Kelly, who shot me a confused look. I shrugged and followed Connor as he dropped onto the couch, pulling Elle down next to him in what was my seat. I coughed awkwardly and dropped down next to Elle, putting a pillow between us. (Partially for protection, in case Elle decided to hit me).

"We're watching The Other Woman now," Kelly said, slapping away Connor's hand as he tried to reach for the remote, "accept it, Con."

I groaned and fell back against the pillows, "No way, Kell." if there was anything I hated, it was chick-flicks. I didn't mind watching Jonah Hill moves three thousand times in a row, but cliche, cheesy chick-flicks were where I drew the line.

"Shut up, Scott," Kelly stuck her tongue out and went On Demand in search of her movie, "we'll have a vote, then. Connor, you don't get to vote since you already picked the first movie. So," Kelly turned, accidentally poking Connor's cheek with the remote, "Elle, what do you want to watch?"

I bit my lip and cocked my head at Elle. She seemed like the type of girl who would scoff at the idea of a chick-flick. Elle seemed too sarcastic and serious to be the type of girl to find amusement in those kinds of movies. I leaned forward, unable to be curious about which movie she would say. Though, I prayed it'd be anything but Kelly's movie.

Elle grinned, "The Other Woman, definitely."

"No!" I protested, slapping my head against the side of the couch dramatically, "no matter what I say, I lose. That's not fair! It's a chick-flick."

"Actually," Kelly stated, clicking on the movie before Connor or I could stop her from doing so, "it's a romantic comedy."

"Even worse," Connor groaned, falling back into the cushions, "it's a rom-com!"

Suddenly, the tv went off. I furrowed my eyebrows and turned to Kelly, who tried clicking the power button on the remote. Nothing happened. I sighed and leaned forward, only to see the lights from the kitchen flicker and then completely go out, leaving us in complete darkness. Connor screamed and I rolled my eyes; he was terrified of the dark.

"Shit," Elle said, and I could barely make out her out from in front of me, "your power went out," she pushed the curtains aside and I peeped over her shoulder to see the whole street was dark, "actually, everyone's power is out."

I heard Connor cursing, "Jesus Chris, this is awful."

"No," I scoffed, laying back down onto the couch, "it's a blessing. This means no watching that movie, man."

Someone else scoffed - Kelly, I figured, because she spoke up next, "You know what else it means?" she asked, and I could practically hear the amusement in her tone, "That you may not have to watch the movie, but you still have to pay for it."

"Witch," I muttered under my breath. Someone whacked me in the face with a pillow and I groaned, rubbing my cheek, "that wasn't very nice, Kello."

"I'm over here, idiot."

I turned and saw Elle wink at me, making me laugh. It was relieving that she winked, because that meant she wasn't angry at me, anymore. I didn't really care that she had whacked me with a pillow, because I was more concerned about her forgiving me. I didn't really like Elle when she was angry with me.

Connor breathed deeply, mumbling something about how it must have been Elle who hit me, since Kelly was next to him. Elle feigned innocence and assured Connor that it hadn't been here, and then I caught what she was doing.

I stood up a bit and crawled behind Elle until I was right behind Connor. I could practically feel him shaking as he took in deep breaths, arms wrapped tightly around his pillows. I loved Connor, I really did. He was my best friend since forever, but it was absolutely hilarious how scared he got whenever the power went off.

"Or maybe," I whispered, slamming my hands down onto his shoulders suddenly, "it was a ghost!"

Connor screamed and threw the blanket in the air, making me throw my head back in laughter. Connor yelled and lunged off the couch, landing on the floor in an awkward mess. I fell back onto the couch, unable to contain my laughter as Connor stood up, cursing up a storm and making me laugh even harder.

"You're a dick," Connor grumbled, sitting down on my legs, "if there ever is a ghost, and we have to make a sacrifice, I'm sacrificing you."

I pouted and put a hand to my heart, though I doubted Connor could see, "You would sacrifice your best friend? That hurts Connor, it truly, truly does."

Connor leaned back against my leg and I groaned, leaning backwards. I rested my head on Elle's leg and she laughed, grabbing a blanket and getting comfortable. Connor laid down, half his body on my legs and Kelly laid on his legs. We were all wrapped up in blankets and, despite how awkward it was, it was pretty comfortable.

"I'm not going to sacrifice myself, obviously," Connor mumbled and I yawned, "Elle's the guest, so we can't sacrifice her. And I'm pretty sure if I even attempted to sacrifice Kelly, she would punch me in the balls. So that leaves you, Scotty."

I laughed and ruffled Connor's hair, "Don't worry, Con. The ghost always comes after the one's who are scared."

"Fuck you."

I laughed and listened as Connor rambled about some ghost movie he saw; something about how character coincidentally named 'Scott' died. I rolled my eyes and lazily held onto my jersey, making a mental note to thank Elle again.

After only a few minutes, I could feel my eyes closing on me. I yawned and held onto my jersey, and mumbled a quiet 'goodnight' to Elle, before completely drifting out of conciousness.