"I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light"
-Helen Keller

Alice

I woke up to an obnoxious light shining through my eyelids. Somebody seriously needs to turn off the sun; it's too damn bright, and I guess this was the downside to having a massive window in your bedroom. I rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep, only to fail in my quest.

Letting out a lovely groan, I threw the covers aside and let my feet touch the cold wooden floors. With goosebumps climbing up my legs I stumbled over to the suitcase and pulled on a loose cream sweater, and took a minute to awkwardly shimmy into my favorite pair of red tribal print leggings.

Pressing the home button on my phone informed that of the time; 6:48am.
Kill me. I could already feel the beginnings of a headache coming on.

I've been getting chronic headaches for a few years now, it's insanely irritating. The harsh light of the sun was still burning my eyes. I walked over to the window and pulled shut the gray curtains that covers the entire wall from sight, casting the room into a dim gray atmosphere. Better.

I stumbled into the kitchen expecting my mother to be there with her usual cup of tea. But she wasn't. In her place was nothing but a piece of paper.

Big meeting in Atlanta. Came up unexpectedly. Should take a few days. Be back by Tuesday.
-Mom

This was it. My mother had just dropped me into a new city, into a new house, and then left. And she couldn't think to leave anything more than a hastily scribbled note on the back of a receipt. The woman couldn't even leave me with full sentences. I wish I could say that this was a first.

Crumpling up the note and tossing it in the garbage I climbed the stairs back to my room. There was no food in this house and I was starving. So eating out it is.

Grabbing my wallet, phone, and new house keys I made my way out the front door. No car. My mother never thought that I needed a car, so I guess I'm stuck walking to town. I sigh at the thought.

Only two miles to the nearest town.

~~~

Worth it.

A two mile trek to town was worth it because this coffee was insanely good.

I sat in a corner booth of a bright little diner, the word "Marleen's" printed on the sign outside. This coffee was the stuff of legends and the omelette I finished a minute earlier was just as good.

I've decided that this town was alright. It was nothing compared to New York but it had a homey feeling to it.

The town itself was nice but something about the people felt off. As I walked through town many of them stared at me like I was from Mars. I understood it, I've grown used to distasteful looks being thrown my way.

Sliding out of the booth, I left a generous tip on the table; the food was great and my waitress was very friendly. I made my way out of the diner, my coffee cup clutched between my hands in an attempt to keep them warm.

Washington gets cold in October, who'd have thought!

It's only 10:00am, I have plenty of time for all the nothing I plan to get done so I decide to just walk around town, hopefully find a grocery store.

Church. School. Gas station. Grocery store. Bingo!

I made my way into the little store, a bell chimed as I opened the door. I gather up essential foods like pasta, bread, and an unhealthy amount of tortilla chips. I have a problem okay?

I payed for my food with the black credit card that my mother had given a couple years ago, all the while receiving looks from the employees as well as other customers.

'Gee, way to make a girl feel welcome,' my thoughts are extra sassy today.

Maybe it's the headache that's still pounding at the back of my skull. My headaches always irritate me to high heaven. I leave the store as quickly as possible, not wanting to be under the scrutinizing glare of my red-headed cashier, Cindy. Who names their kid Cindy anyway?

Okay brain, stop being so cynical, it's only Thursday after all, leave some sarcasm for the other days of the week.

With several bags of groceries I prepare myself for the two mile hike back to my house.

But as I begin to trudge homeward I somehow manage to walk into a wall. A strangely warm wall. Why does this wall have feet. I scanned my eyes from the boots all the way to the light brown mop of curls that belonged to the wall; and a rather attractive wall at that.

The man I had just ran into let out a chuckle and picked up the bag that I had dropped in my haze of stupidity, but strangely, he didn't hand it back to me.

"You look like you could use some help," his voice came out warm and friendly. "Hi, I'm Elijah, but people call me Eli."

There was a moment of silence between us before I realized that it was my turn to say something.

"Oh! Sorry, I'm Alice. And yes, I could use some help, if it's not too much trouble," I didn't stutter. An accomplishment considering my crippling social anxiety. It made meeting people difficult, which is the reason I never had many friends.

"Not a problem at all, let's put your bags in my car, I'll give you a lift home."

I tailed behind him as he unlocked a shiny black car and helped me put my groceries into the trunk.
It wasn't until I was buckled into the passenger seat did I stop to think about the fact that this man was a complete stranger. He could've been a murderer for all I knew.

He must have noticed my suddenly panicked expression because he let out a chuckle, "Don't worry, I'm not kidnapping you or anything. What's your address?"

I relaxed in my seat, "890 Smoke River Road." I don't know why but I felt like I could trust him.
"Woah, is that the old place up in the woods, nobody's lived there in a while."

I don't know how to respond so I just shrugged and stared out the window while he drove down the road. After a couple seconds I looked up at Eli and really took a look at him. Brown hair, T-shirt and jeans, young face. He couldn't be more than nineteen.

He must have noticed me staring because his next words made me jump in my seat, "Take a picture, it lasts longer."

My face flushed red at this. I've known the man for two minutes and I've already embarrassed myself.

"So you must be new in town. We don't get many new people and you stick out like a sore thumb. Hey, how old are you anyway?"
"Seventeen, why?"
"Awesome, that means you'll be going to school right? I should see you there then. I'm eighteen, senior. I hope we have some classes together," the smile never left his face as he talked. And the strangest part of it? He sounded sincere. As if he actually wanted to have classes with me.
"Yeah, it would be nice to know someone on my first day."

At first I didn't understand the wide, goofy grin that broke out on his face. But as soon as he broke out in a chorus of "You've Got A Friend In Me" from Toy Story, I broke down laughing.

I bent over in my seat until my head was rested on my knees, my shoulders still shaking from laughter, unflattering squeaks coming out of my mouth.

"You've got a nice laugh, you know that?" He said as he laughed along with me, pulling up in front of my house. I thanked him for the compliment as a blush began to creep up my neck. I got out of the car and he followed suit. I took half my bags from the trunk before he grabbed the rest and turned to me, "Lead the way madam."

Making our way into the sparsely furnished house, we set the bags down on the kitchen counter just as his stomach made a noise akin to that of a dying walrus. I burst out laughing as he made a pouty face at me.

"I helped you in your time of need and you mock me. Not cool Alice, not cool." He grumbles.
"Okay, okay. How about I make you something to eat to make it up to you?" He immediately broke out in a smile, pleased with my statement.

An hour later and we were sitting on the living room couch stuffing our faces with chicken alfredo.
"Holy shit! This is freaking fantastic," Eli mumbled past his mouthful of pasta. His face turned serious all of a sudden as he turned to face me. "Will you marry me?"

I inhaled sharply, causing me to choke on a piece of pasta, sending me into a massive coughing fit. He slapped me on the back as he continued to laugh at my misfortune.
"That wasn't funny!" I pouted.
"Yeah, it kinda was!"

We must have sat there for hours, just talking and laughing. He told me about his family; mom, dad, three younger siblings. He told me about the small town and about school. He asked me lots of questions. He thankfully avoided the topic of family, and he didn't seem bothered by my appearance, even though I did catch him staring at my hair from time to time. But he never asked, and for that  I was grateful.

All of a sudden Eli's eyes glazed over and his eyebrows scrunched together.
"Oh um, it's getting kind of late. I should get going, don't want to worry the pa- family.  Don't want to worry the family"

I couldn't help but notice his slip up and I was curious. But he had avoided topics of discomfort or me all afternoon, so I didn't say anything.
"Okay, I'll walk you out."

Outside the sun had already set, I didn't realize it had gotten so late.
"Bye Eli, thanks for keeping me company."
"Anytime Alice. I'll see you at school Monday, yeah?"
"Yeah, see you then."

He drove off, his black car blending into the night as I leaned against the door and smiled.

Today I made a friend.

Authors Note: Quick shoutout to @Alittlebitdifferent9 and @giddygidri for being the first ones to read. Thank you both so much! ❤️