"Thanks for dinner Oliver." Elijah thanks me as I turn the corner to exit the main road. Music was playing softly in the background and the smell of pizza filled the car.
         "Oh it's no problem, thanks again for helping me with my project, I really appreciate the help." He simply hummed in response. We had been texting earlier this day and I mentioned my project to him and he offered to help me with it. I told him I didn't want to bother him but he insisted and thankfully what I thought would take 5 hours only took 3 with his help. Once we finished Sandra insisted he stay the night since it was already getting late and gave us some pizza money. 
          So now here we are pulling into my driveway with a pepperoni pizza in hand. I wanted to add pineapples but Elijah claimed that was a crime against humanity and forbade it. He suggested adding mushrooms instead and I told him if I can't have pineapple then he can't add gross slimy mushrooms. We eventually came to a compromise because I wanted extra sauce on the pizza and he said only if we got the cheese filled crust.
         Getting out I locked Sandra's car and he followed behind with the pizza. It was silent between us for the most part but it was a comfortable silence. As we reached the front door I realized that Sandra must have locked the door thinking I brought the house keys with me but instead I grabbed the second pair of car keys without the house key. 
          "Looks like my mum locked up so we'll have to go through the back door." I sighed out, earning a simple nod from Elijah as he proceeded to follow me. Once we were at the back door I went over to a bush with my phone flashlight and looked at the wall behind it. Elijah gave me a confused look and I just smiled while holding up the back door keys.
          "That's a good hiding spot." He told me as I unlocked the door. 
         "Yeah we agreed that the mat and fake rocks were too cliche and predictable." I replied as I hung the keys back on the hook behind the bush before we went inside. As I locked the door behind us I decided to jest a bit and looked at him with a dead serious look which earned a simple head tilt from Mr. Quiet.
         "You must never share our family secret." I dramatically whispered and from the look in his eyes he caught on immediately making me smile. He gave me the same serious look I gave him and leaned down so we were looking at each other in the eyes. 
        "I'd say I'm good at keeping secrets, much like yourself. Oliver." He whispered my name.  I felt his breath on my face as I suddenly realized how close he was and I felt my face go red. Why was I blushing? This wasn't like me. Why did he always say weird stuff? While I'll admit we have grown close enough to call him a friend he was still weird. 
         "You always say weird stuff." I spoke out loud. He simply leaned back and tilted his head.
        "Do I?" He questioned and I turned and headed to my room. I no longer wished to be in the kitchen. I was tired and hungry and the pizza would be getting cold soon.
       "You speak in a way that I can't explain." I decided to answer him. "Almost formal in a way. I don't know, it's kinda how you phrase things." Once we reached my room I closed the door behind me and motioned him to join me on the floor with the pizza. He kept his attention on me, listening to everything I was saying but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. "It's not bad, I don't mind, it just throws me off a bit." I reassured him in case he took it the wrong way. I really didn't mind his weird habits. In fact, I kinda like them, they were unique. Once he sat across from and was comfortable he finally responded.
         "I see. It could be because I didn't get much social interaction growing up." I simply leaned back against my bed and waited for him to continue while grabbing a slice of pizza. 
          "My family is very private. All the children were homeschooled for the most part. We each had a role to play and they wanted to make sure no one was distracted from our duties." He explained. That would explain why he was the way he is though. "They had our lives planned out for us. They weren't thrilled when I came out as gay- " 
           "You're gay?" I accidentally interrupted him, immediately covering my mouth and mumbling an apology only for him to chuckle. I didn't expect him to be gay. I wasn't upset but he just didn't seem like he was. Guess you never know.
          "It's all good, I'm used to it. Jessica says I don't give off 'the vibe'. Whatever that means." He smiled before frowning. "Like I said for awhile they weren't happy about it. I had come out when I was young so they tried isolating me more until they changed their minds finally." I raised an eyebrow. 
         "What changed their minds? If you don't mind me asking." He stared up at me for a second before going to grab a slice of pizza. Like I say, weird behavior.
        "Plans changed." And he went on with eating. He seemed to be done with the subject and I respected that and changed the conversation to something lighter. He never questioned me about my past so I wouldn't pry into his. It was nice and as much as I love my friends they would always pry when they could tell I was upset. I would open up if I could but secrets had to be kept just that, secrets. 
         I could tell there was something more to his past, to be honest sounded culty. Though his sister did say they were religious, and well most religions, in my opinion, were culty. They ask you to dedicate everything to a being they can't prove and punish you if you don't fit their mold and only praise those who do. I hated it. I remember when everything happened one lady came up to me asking if I wanted to go to church with her and I screamed at her and had to be dragged away. I wanted nothing to do with 'god' or religion. After all what had he done for me, I lost everything and for what? For someone's idea of 'god' and what he wanted. I was really happy that Sandra never tried that with me. She was Christian but she never tried to 'convert' me and I was thankful for that. Though they may have also told her about the other lady. 
          Once we finished eating we decided on watching a movie and it seemed he had the same taste as his sister, horror. Though I don't mind horror I prefer thrillers and so we chose one with a mix of both.
          "Honestly happy go lucky films bore me." I admitted while I set up the film for us. 
        "I agree. Something always felt wrong when watching them." He agreed and I knew exactly what he meant. My therapist had explained it to me once before.
        "Apparently it has to do with your childhood." I started and he turned, giving me his full attention. I gave a small smile, he always gave me his full attention when I spoke. I appreciated knowing I wasn't just talking to the air. "Apparently it's something about your 'comfort zone' being a 'discomfort zone' . If you grew up feeling anxious or had anything happen to you that was very uncomfortable your brain kinda registered it as your comfort zone. When your personality is forming and all. So that becomes a 'comfort zone' for you. What most people consider comfortable is now uncomfortable to you." I explained and I could tell he was thinking hard until he raised his eyebrows in realization.
         "That explains too much." He breathed out in disbelief making me laugh a little. I had the same reaction. I never knew why I was drawn towards darker media, especially with my past. I thought I'd be uncomfortable with it all but psychology had different plans. Once I finished setting up for the film we got comfortable on my bed and started the film. 
          The film had started off strong but about mid way started to lose my focus. It was becoming predictable and while I'm as predictable as they come I did not like my films to be so. Also I think Sandra turned down the AC because it was getting cold and I reached over and grabbed my blanket frowning when I realized my other one was in my closet. I went to pause the film only for Elijah to gently grab my wrist and stop me. I furrowed my brows in confusion only for him to scoot closer and wrap the blanket around the both of us. He returned to casually watching the film but I was blushing hard. Why was I always blushing around him again? I'm just glad it's dark and he can't see me. 
        I decided to just focus on the film and pass it off as Elijah being Elijah. The film sadly didn't get any better and I was getting tired. I was struggling to keep my eyes open and pay attention. Giving into my weakness I found myself letting my head fall on his shoulder and slowly let myself fall into unconsciousness. 

         Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. I kept feeling my phone going off and groaned wanting to sleep more. Why was my sleep always being disturbed? I feel like I should have the right to sue people for that because then maybe they would stop. I pat my arm around blindly looking for it and not finding it. Also the buzzing had stopped now that I think about it. I peel open my eyes and look up to see a shirtless Elijah standing with his back to my bed. I frown. Why was he always taking off his shirt?
         "Do you know where my phone is? I think someone called me?" I mumble out and he turns to me with a serious look. It's too early for this. 
         "There is someone in the house." I roll my eyes until I realize that Sandra wouldn't be home, she had church this morning. Sitting up immediately I look towards my door and hear the sounds from the kitchen. I got up but Elijah gently but sternly pushed me back down on the bed. He really had the nerve. It's my house. I'm not just gonna sit here like some damsel. He moves towards my door and I see that he had found my old baseball bat. Funny thing is, I don't play baseball. I legit had it for this fear. Didn't think it would actually be useful. 
         I am brought back to focus once I hear footsteps approaching my door and I immediately jump up and go stand next to Elijah. I could feel my heart racing. Who was here? Was it them? Did they find me? Is Sandra okay? How many? So many questions were running through my head and I looked over at Elijah and my heart sunk. What if they hurt him? I didn't want him dragged into this. I don't want to lose another person. My chest felt tight and I was struggling to breathe. I was having a panic attack. Fuck. I'm worthless.
          I stopped breathing completely when I heard my door knob turn. Elijah raised my bat in the air ready to swing as the door opened. Once it opens far enough he goes to swing until he stops dead in his tracks.
          "WOAH DUDE WHAT THE HELL?!?" A shocked Shawn yells. I sigh in relief and trug my way back to bed. Of course it was him. Over these past few years we've grown close enough to just walk into each other's homes. 
        "Why didn't you warn me you were coming over?" I groan as I wrap myself in the comforter. I was still shaking, my panic attack wasn't done. I hated it so much.
        "I called you like 5 times, I just assumed you were asleep so I just came in." He answers and I groan. So he's the one who woke me up.
         "How did you get in?" Elijah asked him and I felt the bed drip next to me. 
         "Backdoor. By the way, why are you here?" He asks in a serious tone. It's too early to deal with this. Why of all times to show up now? I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see Elijah looking at me with concern. 
         "Hold this." He orders me while handing me a fidget cube thing. Why was he handing me this? "It'll help with the panic attack. Helps distract your mind while the signals are being sent." So he knows how a panic attack works and he could tell I was having one. I simply nod and focus on the little toy now in my hand while he turns back to Shawn.
       "So you have a key?" He asked instead of answering Shawn. Shawn was going to have a long talk with me after this. How many times has he told me to avoid him and how here he is in my house, in my bed, shirtless-. FUCK! He's shirtless! I groan and curl up more, oh Shawn is going to have even more questions when he gets me alone. 
       "No, now answer my question." Shawn demanded. I could feel my body shake less the more I played with the cube. It was actually a good distraction, I should get myself one. Maybe I could distract myself with it when Kim talks about her animes. 
        "The key on the hook?" Elijah questions, once again not answering him. I could feel the frustration radiating off Shawn.
      "Yes, it's what everyone does." He says through gritted teeth. "Now tell me wh-".
     "He helped me with a project then stayed the night. It's not that big of a deal Shawn." I interrupted him, I wasn't going to sit here all day and listen to them go back and forth. "Why are you here?" I now question. Was I forgetting plans? I don't believe I was. I remember being excited for Sunday, because I was going to sleep in. Elijah didn't even wake me up. Points for Elijah. Honestly I should start giving away points. Maybe everyone would try to get more and would listen to me. As much as I love my friends Elijah is in the lead.
        "Jackson wanted to go see a movie since he was done with his schoolwork and invited the both of us." He answers me. Great, social interaction. I mean yes, Elijah is here, but we both keep to ourselves so I didn't mind him hence why he is in the lead. I decided to finally sit up again and stare into space for a second to think bum. My stomach hurt, food, I needed food. Without speaking I got up and left my room both their eyes on me. 
        "So when did you two get close?" Shawn asks. So he wasn't going to wait. Why Shawn? I decided to ignore him and started to grab stuff to make waffles. Did I have a problem? Maybe. Doesn't matter because they are good. 
         "Waffles again?" I hear Elijah ask.
         "Again?" He has only seen me have waffles once, how would he know?
         "I saw your leftovers when I came over yesterday." He explains. That makes sense. I turn around to them and see an annoyed look on Shawn's face. I'd feel bad but he was the one who walked into my house and woke me up. I wasn't doing anything wrong and I didn't need to explain myself either. 
        "Who wants waffles?" I ask them, ignoring his slight glare. Elijah smiles. See he appreciates the offer. More points for Elijah! I could be selfish and keep them all for myself, Shawn should appreciate the offer. 
        "I'll have one please." I smile back and turn to Shawn waiting for a response. He rolls his eyes and walks away.
       "I ate before I came. I'll be in your room." He informs me and I simply nod before I get to work. 

       Elijah was finishing up cleaning the dishes as I sat on the stool and watched him. He insisted he clean since I cooked and I let him. I could tell he liked contributing. He didn't like just taking things, he gave in return. While we haven't known each other for long but I was starting to catch onto his personality pretty fast. We both were, it was nice. 
        Breakfast was good but that was to be expected. We had waffles after all. Shawn was still in my room probably planning out all the questions he had for me. I wasn't looking forward to it but I knew it was coming. Don't get me wrong, I love him like a brother but he really was protective like an older brother. And while I understood why he was like this I still didn't like being treated like a fragile doll. 
       "I should probably head home then." Elijah interrupts my dread. I internally frown knowing my fate once he leaves but I understood as well. 
         "Thanks for everything. It was nice spending time with you." I nod. It was nice spending time with Elijah. He may have creeper the hell out of me earlier but I'm really glad I got to know him.
        "Thanks for coming over. It was fun. You're really relaxing to be around." I let him know as we walked to the back door. I turned to him and he pulled me into a hug which threw me off for a second but I recovered quickly and hugged back. Why was he so nice?
         "I'll see you next time Oliver." He whispered in my ear making my heart skip a beat. I really need to find out why I react the way I do when I'm around him. Probably just because he is weird. Yeah that's probably it.
        "Til next time Elijah." I responded before he pulled away smiling. I wave goodbye as I watch him leave and lock the door. I turn around looking towards my room. Now to face an angry Shawn. Today was going to be a long day.