EIGHTEEN
Let The Wind Lead
It turned out Elias didn't have to go to Lily's parents, because they went to him instead.
More than likely because Mars spoke to Lily, who asked her parents to ask Mars' parent, and here they were. Was this how his mom and dad felt when his siblings would ask to see their friends when younger and make it all confusing?
If so, Elias understood now.
"Hello again," Riko sang, and distinctly, he heard Lily shouting and someone, probably Hina, trying to quiet her. Sounded like she was complaining about homework. He completely understood.
"Hi," Elias replied, trapping his phone between his shoulder and ear so he could use both hands to knead dough. "I'm guessing this is about the spring break thing? Mars won't stop talking about it."
"Don't tell Mars I told you, but she begged me to talk to you," Riko mused, whispering as if it was a secret. Maybe it was, for Mars. "Anyway, I just thought I'd let you in on the details of everything."
"As long as she's safe, then I think I'll be okay with it," Elias told her, recalling what Marco had said to him. "I've thought about it a lot."
"Oh, really? Mars said you were being, and I quote, a stubborn jerk."
Elias rolled his eyes. He could imagine her saying that so easily. "No, just concerned. As long as I get regular updates, I think it'll be okay."
"You think, you think," Riko mocked, but she didn't sound rude. She sounded amused, if anything. "You think or you know?"
Elias sighed. "I know." He felt like he was being scolded.
"Okay, well, if you have the time, we can talk about everything. Just let me know."
"Now is fine."
"You sure?"
Elias nodded. And then, realizing she couldn't see him, quickly added, "Yes, yeah, I'm sure. Sorry."
"All good! So..."
___
They spoke for an hour, and Elias was feeling the after effects from socializing with people he didn't know well already. It wasn't that he didn't like Riko â he just thought too hard when speaking to newer people.
He fell back onto the sofa and sunk into the throw pillows. He was more tired than usual that day. It happened sometimes.
He hated napping though. He felt like he had something to do â he just wasn't sure what.
Elias sighed and laid his hand over his eyes. Now he was being reminded of Marco always saying he needed to take a break or have fun. Every time Elias thought about working or being busy, Marco's words came to mind without fail.
Maybe... it wouldn't be bad to go with them. That is, if they did decide to go. It was only for a weekend, and he had weekends off. Mars would be gone, too â the house wouldn't need to be cleaned or anything.
It was a perfect opportunity.
So, why was he hesitating? Because he wasn't used to it? Because â
I feel like I don't deserve it. He hated to admit it, but that was most likely the reason. He wasn't sure where that thought even came from â the one that said he didn't deserve a break. He would try and find out, but he wasn't trying to think that much at that moment.
Instead, he just really wanted to close his eyes and â
"Dad!"
Shit.
He pushed himself up into a sitting position and glanced toward the stairs, Mars halfway down and leaning against the railing. "Lily told me you said yes! You talked to her moms! Right?"
Elias exhaled quietly. "Yeah, I said it's okay."
"Really?"
"Mhm."
"You're not gonna change your mind?"
Elias furrowed his brows. "No... why?"
She shrugged, then bounded down the last of the steps and hurried over, leaning over the back of the couch to hug him. Elias smiled to himself, patting her arms that were laying against his chest. "Thank you," she sang happily. "I'm really excited."
"I'm glad you are," Elias replied, his chest feeling much lighter than before. Seeing her pure happiness made him feel a lot better about the whole situation. He would've felt like shit seeing her mope around the house if he didn't let her go.
She halted her chanting of "thank you" after a couple more seconds and straightened up. "Is dinner ready yet? I smell something."
"Just finished a couple minutes ago," he told her. "Was gonna call you down after it cooled off a bit."
"No, it's better super hot!" she exclaimed, pushing away from the couch. "What is it? Is it breakfast tacos like I asked?"
He chuckled to himself. "Yeah. You're weird for wanting it for dinner."
"No, I'm not. Oh my God, I'm so hungry. I was craving eggs. You put cumin in right?"
"Cumin, garlic powder, paprika â all the stuff you like."
She grinned and wiggled her fingers as she hovered over the kitchen counter where everything was set out. "So much cheese, too, yes."
He watched her pile three onto her plate and devour every bite. He couldn't help but laugh, the sound only coming out louder when she glared at him, cheeks puffed up like a squirrel. "Stop laughing," she demanded through a mouthful of food.
Elias immediately sobered up. "Hey â don't talk with your mouth full."
"Don't laugh at me then!"
He brushed her off. "You want water?"
"Lemonade."
"You got it, Your Majesty."
She scowled. "Shush."
He laughed again.
___
Later that night, when he was finally in bed, he took out his phone and hovered over his messages with Roman.
He wasn't sure why texting him was his first instinct when Marco was the one who invited him. It didn't matter anyway.
It gave him an excuse to talk to him.
He tapped his thumbs against the screen, debating on what to say. How to start the conversation. He didn't want it to be short and end after a few texts. Was that a weird thought? To want to talk to him so much, even this late.
Elias startled when his phone buzzed in his hand. His eyes widened seeing a new text bubble pop up from Roman, and immediately it was shown as read â oh, God. He probably thought Elias was a freak after that.
The coincidence was simultaneously bad and good.
Roman -
Hey are you asleep?
It was barely ten. Roman had to know by now Elias went to bed by midnight almost every single day.
Elias debated on waiting a couple minutes, then gave up and decided to text back. He probably already saw the stupid check mark anyway. He really needed to turn the read receipts off. He never expected them to impact him until just then.
Elias -
I'm not, why??
Roman -
Can you call me and pretend something really bad and important happened
Elias -
????
Roman -
I'll tell you later. So can you??
Elias blinked. That was easily one of the most random things Roman had ever asked him.
He called anyway.
As soon as Roman picked up, Elias heard lots of talking and the sound of the wind blowing against the speaker. He was outside somewhere. At ten PM â what was he even doing?
"Am I on speaker?" Elias asked.
"No."
"Okay, so I don't actually have to act. You have to act."
"Yeah. Uh â " There was a pause, and someone's voice nearby filled the silence. It sounded like a guy. Elias couldn't make out what he was saying. "Um â yeah, babe, I can still hear you."
Elias furrowed his brows. Babe? What â Oh. He was getting hit on. Was that the issue?
"That sounded so awkward coming from your mouth."
"Shu â Shit, really? Don't worry, I'm coming home right now." Elias had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. It wasn't a humorous situation, it really wasn't, but Roman sounded so painfully awkward saying those things that Elias couldn't help but snicker.
Roman cleared his throat. "I have to go, man. Sorry. Family emergency. Uh, it was nice meeting you. Bye."
Roman let out a heavy sigh once he had gotten away from whoever he'd been talking to. "Thank you," he mumbled. "Sorry if that was weird."
"It wasn't, don't worry. What happened?"
"Just â some people are so pushy. I didn't wanna talk. It was super obvious I didn't â " There was a sound of a car door opening, then closing, followed by a sharp exhale from Roman dropping into a seat. " â I don't know how to reject people. I don't wanna risk making a scene or something."
"You could probably scare them away by glaring."
Elias could hear his frown. "But I don't like scaring people."
"Anyway, are you okay?" Elias asked, pushing his hand through his hair absently. "I know you don't like talking around strangers. Were you by yourself?"
"Um, a little shaky, but I'm okay. I, uh, I was with Marco first, but he had to go home early. I was getting ready to leave when that guy came up to me."
Elias hummed. "Was he, like, hitting on you or something? What was going on?"
"Yeah," Roman said with a sigh. Elias heard a light 'thump.' He imagined him dropping his forehead against the steering wheel. "I've never been hit on by a guy in public. First time it happened and it was a complete creep."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's whatever. Um, how was your day?"
Elias smiled a little. His voice became so small after asking. It was cute. "It was good. Mars had me make breakfast tacos for dinner. Weird, but it was good. How about you? Other than... well, that."
"Uneventful," Roman admitted. He sounded tired, but his voice perked up as he added, "But I did see this cat..."
Elias liked hearing him talk a lot. Especially about small things. His voice was nice, and he somehow made everything he said sound interesting. Was it weird to admit he could probably fall asleep to him talking?
"Hey," Elias mentioned just as Roman was beginning to say goodbye. "Before you go â I let Mars go on that trip. So... I think â no, I know â I want to go with you guys. If you're still going, that is. And if it's not too late."
"Really?" He sounded as if he was smiling. "I'll let Marco know. It's not too late. You're positive?"
"I am."
"Okay. I'll text you the details tomorrow."
"Sounds good," Elias replied, pressing his hand against his cheek when he felt them aching. "Night, Roman."
There was a quiet sigh on the other end. Then, "Goodnight, Elias."
Elias liked the way his name sounded coming from him.
___
A/N: 2 more chapters until,,,,,,
well. u will see ð will it be angst? a kiss? a confession? an argument? downhill? uphill? we shall see
if u know â keep ur mouth shut <3 i'm talking to u, patreon people and discord people
also bc i know someone is gonna ask ^^^ no i am not sharing the discord invite link. i don't feel like adding new people rn apologies
uhhhhh how are u guys bc i'm vibing i might ask a girl out on a date ðand i got a gaming laptop (it was on sale POG) so now i can waste my time on genshin in HD and no lag ð«ð«ð«