Aurora, Elliot and Dawn were headed somewhere in the car, Aurora was driving, and Elliot was in the passenger seat, while Dawn was in the back seats.
Outside the window was a bunch of stores and houses surrounded by snow and Christmas decorations.
Dawn's mood was the worst one out of them all, she was crossing her arms while glaring out the window.
"Sweetie, turn that frown upside down," Aurora comforted her, "it's just a family gathering."
"I don't like grandma!" She grumbled, "she always tells me to focus on my studies, and never let's me have fun!"
Aurora stared out for a bit, thinking of anything that would help in convincing her to not be mad.
"We aren't going to that grandma," Elliot chimed in, "we are going to the other one, the fun one."
As soon as Elliot mentioned her, Dawn's eyes sparkled with excitement as her glare disappeared from her face, and a large smile appearing.
"Really?!" She squealed.
Aurora looked at Elliot with a confused face, then she shrugged, knowing he didn't actually lie nor did he tell the truth.
After a 15 minute drive, they have reached their destination, a house surrounded by Christmas decorations, even the garden had some snowmen.
They all walked out of the car, Dawn raced towards the front door as Elliot and Aurora walked calmly towards it.
"C'mon! Dad, Mom!" She called, "We need to hurry!"
"Okay, sweetie, just wait." Aurora responded.
"She's excited," Elliot chuckled, "seems like she doesn't even like your mom."
"No, she doesn't," Aurora commented, "I don't either, even after 8 years."
"Agreed, she's a bit too… harsh" Elliot sighed.
"No, the correct word is toxic," She corrected.
Elliot nodded and Aurora walked beside him. Dawn began getting impatient and turned to the doorbell and pressed it.
Elliot and Aurora had reached the front door and began waiting for the door to open, so he rang the bell once again.
A faint "I'm coming!" can be heard from inside as footsteps rush to the door, then unlocking the door.
The door swung open to reveal an old woman with glasses and short, grey hair. She smiled and immediately hugged Elliot.
"Welcome!" She giggled, "Come in!"
She then stepped back into the house and opened the door wide open for them to get in.
"Natalie's already here." She said.
"Aunt Natalie?!" Dawn asked excitedly.
Dawn ran towards the living room, disappearing into it.
"So, Aurora!" Elliot's mom turned her attention to Aurora "When's your mom coming?"
"I don't know," Aurora shrugged, "and I wouldn't care less."
"Same with me." Elliot said, walking towards the living room before disappearing into the room with Dawn.
It was just Aurora and Elliot's mom in the hallway.
"Why do you hate your mom so much?" Elliot's mom wondered.
"She abused me…" Aurora rolled her eyes, "and that's an oversimplification"
Elliot's mom's smile almost faltered as she looked down, and turned around towards the living room.
"Well… Uh, you can sit in the living room" Elliot's mom awkwardly said.
Aurora walked into the familiar living room, it actually didn't change throughout these years.
She began to remember her, and Elliot's first date after they confessed to each other, it was in this exact home and room.
——————
I stare at the message he sent me, "hey, I'm free rn! Wanna come over?"
I start typing a response before I'm cut off by him sending another message. It was a funny sticker of a dog smiling.
A smile escaped my face, that charming little idiot.
Putting my phone down, I look around, my room is really tidy, only problem is that how can I explain to my parents about us…
Man, I think I bonded too much with him… now, what am I gonna wear?
I get up from bed to walk to the wardrobe. But, as soon as I did, my dad burst in, I can practically see the flowers around him.
"Honey! Guess what!" My dad sang, waiting for me to respond.
That smile again…
"What is it." I say, sighing and sitting down on the bed again.
"We are going to the park!" my dad chuckled, "You know why?"
"Why." I answer in very monotone voice.
"Because you finally went back to being number one!" My mom barged in, handing me my report card.
I quickly scanned it, nothing interesting, just all As and A+s, my eye drifted towards the corner of the card.
My school rank is number 1, global rank is… a dash? Of course it's empty, it always was. Why don't they remove it if they don't even use it.
But wait, wasn't Elliot number 1? Did our confession with each other make his grades drop?
I guess that's probable, he was spacy as-is. Back to the subject, on one hand, my parents want me to go on a day out with them to motivate me to keep the grades.
On the other hand, Elliot…
Not really a tough choice actually, Elliot!
"Sorry, mom" I shake my head, "I already have a plans with a study group."
"Aww." My mom puts her hands together and put them on top of her heart. "Okay then! We won't pry, finish studying, my little angel!"
They walk out my room and close the door behind them, the room is finally empty.
I barely hold back a smile, it feels good to escape their grip, I really wanna call them a slur but I'm pretty sure that they'll commit murder if I do.
"The plan's working, she's getting motivated already!" I heard my parents murmur behind the door.
Called it, knew they were being unctuous.
Idiots…
I get up once again, this time I'm not interrupted by anyone, so I open my wardrobe.
I think of what my best outfits are. However, every time I wear anything, I discover that it's getting small.
I need to go shopping sometime.
I grab the most oversized hoodie I find and the first Jeans I see in front of me.
Heading out, I grab my stuff, it wasn't much, just my wallet, keys, lip balm, and a pencil-just in case.
After some time I reach his house, I knock on the front door, expecting a commotion like last time.
I stand there for a few seconds before I decide to knock again, this time with a bit more strength.
Still nothing… I ring the bell, and finally the door opens, this time it's dark inside, no light at all except the ominous faint light coming from the living room.
"Hey!" Elliot smiled, his eyes had dark circles around his eyes.
"Up all night gaming?" I ask with half understanding and concerned tone.
"No!" He shook his head quickly before pulling me into the home and closing the door, "Come check this out!"
He then continues pulling me into the living room where the light is actually coming from the TV.
The scent of an air refresher permeates around the room.
I can feel my heart become fuzzy and warm up to this cozy place, there's even a blanket on the couch, a big one at that.
So I sit on top of the couch, looking Elliot straight in the eyes, he doesn't hesitate and sits next to me, pretty close too.
"So," I break the silence with a question, "where are your parents?"
"Oh, they went out." He answered after a short time of thinking, "No idea where though, but they did say that they are coming home late."
He then took the remote and pressed a button, and the TV began to make loud noises, a loud bass that you can probably hear from outside.
"Hey!" I yell, trying to hear myself, "Turn the volume down!"
"Oops, sorry!" He exclaimed as he held down the volume down button.
We watch the movie until the credits rolled, I looked beside me to talk to Elliot, only to see him sleeping.
So cute… I gently push him while quietly telling him to get up, and he does, barely.
I then pull his head onto my lap, letting him lay on it. Staring into his sleeping head, I stroke his hair, letting him fully rest.
"Next time, don't stay up all night," I lean towards his ear and whisper, "even if you do your bare minimum, I'd appreciate it."
After a few minutes of looking around, I get bored so I take the remote from his hand and open a different movie for me to watch-I lowered the volume of course.
And that's literally how I spent the rest of the date, I got numb after an hour but I was able to get my mind off of it by watching.
He woke up after probably 3 hours I think, and when he did, I felt the blood flood into my legs.
"Wakey wakey!" I giggle while I stroke his head.
He got up and stretched before I saw him blush-suddenly realizing that he slept in our date, on my lap too!
"Hope you enjoyed it!" I tease him with a smirk.
After that, we continued watching movies and shows, until his parents arrived home.
Good thing he wasn't a blushing mess throughout all of this. A girl and a boy alone in the dark? Worst date option.
It was fun regardless, I hope all our dates are like this…