AN: So I may have realized that in rewriting this chapter over and over again that I forgot to add important plot details. I wanted to see if I could continue without it but I simply can't. So yes this is mainly the same chapter but there are some details changed but a lot is added. I'll be sure to get part 2 out soon though to make up.
   
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       I continue to play with the fidget cube that Elijah left as I let Shawn go on his rant. He's been going for the past few minutes now but I'm too invested in this little cube to really listen. I'll definitely have to get myself one of these after I return it to Elijah. 
       "Are you even listening to me?" Shawn finally asks and I look up to him. 
       "Sorta, you've just been repeating yourself so I've been letting you get it out of your system." I responded honestly. He really has been though. Saying the same thing, just in different ways. To say he wasn't appreciating the response was an understatement. He looked like he was about to blow a fuse. 
         "Look, I know you care and are worried but I really don't see anything wrong with him. Yeah he is a little weird but he honestly seems harmless." I try to reassure him. "I mean shouldn't you be happy, I'm finally making a friend. Like going out of my way." I've always had issues making friends, the only reason I have Kim and Jackson is because he brought them into the friend group.  I've never instigated anything. I was always afraid. He finally seems to be calming down as he sits in my chair across from me and groans while rubbing his face. 
       "I know and I am but I… I seriously have a bad feeling about this." His tone was full of worry. It hurt to see him like this but I was still standing my ground.
       "I mean how bad could he be? He's Jessica's sister aka Kim's new girlfriend, remember?" I tried to reason with him only for him to look up and meet my eyes.
      "That's just it." What is? I wanted to say something but I let him continue. "She just came out of nowhere and seems perfect. Too perfect for Kim. It's scary honestly." I went to speak but he stopped me before I could. "No one is that perfect. That in of itself is a red flag. The best comparison is like a 'nice guy'. " 
      I mean he wasn't wrong. They haven't fought ever or had a single issue. No matter what, Jessica was always able to make Kim happy.
       "I mean they are in the 'honeymoon' phase. And well Kim is happy." I tried but he wasn't done.
      "Jessica isn't from the area." I simply nod. If I remember they moved here recently and mostly were homeschooled. 
      "But I swear I've seen her before." He pauses for a second. "I know I recognize her. I can't remember where but I know it." I feel like he is stretching but I bite my tongue. He clearly has been stressing about this for awhile and as much as I hate to admit it, his memory is always spot on. 
      "It's just with everything and all the mystery with those two, it's just, I worry. I have a bad feeling like I've never had before." He tells me honestly and I clutch the cube. I didn't realize how much he was stressing over this. It probably didn't help with exams coming up as well. 
      "I can see where you're coming from." I began and I saw his head shoot up but I wasn't done. "How about I make an agreement with you?" I propose and he gestures for me to continue.
       "How about we give them the benefit of the doubt for now-" I could see him going to oppose immediately, " but, if we find anything truly suspicious we'll bring it to each other's attention." He didn't seem so sure. "And if it seems real concerning, I'll tell Mr. G."
       "Do you promise? You won't hide anything from me?" He asks in a serious tone and I nod.
      "I promise." 

      Eventually the days passed, the conversation not brought up again thankfully. He seemed more relaxed when I saw him at school as well which made me happy, now he could focus on his schoolwork. But eventually Thursday arrived. Shawn came over yesterday and stayed the night so he can be here with me today. He was dead set on being here no matter how much I questioned him if he was sure.
       I frown once I look over and see I was almost done with my homework. Usually I had more but this year there wasn't much since it's our senior year. I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to go back to sleep. I just wanted to get through today and sadly it was still only nine in the morning. 
       A groan catches my attention and I look over to see Shawn slowly waking up. 
       I returned the paper in front of me, I needed to keep myself distracted. I didn't want to think. Not today at least. 
       "How long have you been up?" He groggily asks me. I finish the equation and flip to the other side of the paper. 
       "Since four." I respond before reaching for my calculator only for it to not be there. I look up and see Shawn holding it. He smirks as he hands me the calculator and I look to see he typed out boobs and I give a quick laugh. Of course he'd do something silly like that. I clear the screen and return to the problem as I hear him leave the room. 
      After about fifteen minutes I finished all my homework and I now stared blankly at the wall. I didn't know what to do next. I needed to distract myself, that's all I knew. I heard my phone go off and look to see that Elijah had texted me and I responded immediately not thinking much into it. He simply asked what I was up to this weekend and I told him I was free. I smiled because it'd be nice to hang out again. I really liked being around him. 
       He responded just as fast asking why I responded so fast. Usually I'm at school at this time so I usually took my time responding so it made sense. I feel like he's always aware of the little things.
     I went to type out that I was sick but then stopped. That was my usual lie when people ask me what's up but I didn't want to lie to him. Not that I like lying to my friends but so far I haven't lied to him. I didn't want to lie to him. I frowned and curled up in my chair before pushing off my desk so I'd spin around. Why I cared so much, I wasn't sure, but I do. I want to be honest with him like he has been with me. I want us to continue to grow and lying would ruin that. I delete my response and tell him that I took a mental day off. I knew he wouldn't pry, I've gotten to the point where I could predict him. I wonder if he could predict me? 
        I stopped the chair from spinning once I realized there was a smell. Was Shawn cooking? I immediately jumped up and ran towards the kitchen, this wasn't good! Last time he tried cooking he almost burned his house down, he wasn't even allowed near the stove! 
      I turn the corner to see him pouring batter onto a pan. He was making pancakes, the bastard. He must have heard me because he went to wave to me but also sadly hit the handle of the frying pan and almost knocked it off the stove. He spastically catches it and gives me a small smile with a nervous chuckle.
      Rolling my eyes I walk over to him motioning for him to move. "Get out of the kitchen before you burn something you idiot." He laughed in response while backing away with his hand in the air of surrender. 
       "I just thought we should probably eat and you looked focused on your work." He explains but I was too busy analyzing the situation. I see that thankfully he hadn't made a mess but I frown at the sight of a stack full of pancakes. Burnt pancakes to be exact. Not only was he making pancakes but he burned them as well. 
      "You know I don't care for pancakes. " I reminded him while poking at the pancake. It wasn't quite ready to flip, there weren't many bubbles on top yet.
       "Also how did you manage to burn them all?" I question out loud. Not waiting for an answer I grab the plate of burnt pancakes and trash them. Realizing he hadn't responded with some smart remark I look up to see a nervous look on his face and I scrunch my brows in confusion. "Shawn?"
        "Um... I think your waffle maker is... broken." My eyes widened. 
       "What?" Did he break my waffle maker? How is that even possible? I could have sworn it has only been not even ten minutes. What could have happened in ten minutes to my precious waffle maker? 
       "I tried to turn it on but it won't. I think it's dead." He explained as fast as he could while pointing to where he placed it. I went over to inspect it and it looked fine. No outwardly damage besides the scrapes that were already there. 
       "Oliver." He tried but I ignored him and plugged it in. There was no way it couldn't be working. I've had it for years. This baby has been with me since I met Sandra six years ago. She gifted it to me once she found out my love for waffles.
      "Oliver." He tried again and once again I ignored him. The light isn't turning on. Strange. I looked over to switch on the wall and flip it down to see if that helped. If it was flipped wrong none of the outlets would work. It still wasn't turning on. Maybe there is a reset button? I started turning it over to look when Shawn proceeded to scream at me. 
       "OLIVER!!" I turned to yell back only to see smoke. The pancakes, FUCK! I run over and turn off the stove and move the pan off the burner. The smell was terrible so I I turned on the fan above the stove. There was a good amount of smoke coming from the now black pancakes so I ran it over to the sink running water over the pan. 
       "Open the back door!" I told him, I didn't want to set off the smoke alarm. Fucking pancakes I swear. 

      After about thirty minutes of panic and cleaning we decided to have cereal instead. There was no way either of us could mess up with that. As chaotic though I will say it made me smile. It reminded me of a time with my family.
      "I remembered a time with my sister. We had been wanting to surprise our parents so we tried to cook breakfast." Shawn stopped eating and looked over at me. I just kept my eyes on the bowl in front of me. I usually never shared this stuff but today was different. "God we made a mess in the kitchen, I'm surprised mum hadn't yelled at us." I give a dry laugh. Mum had always been so patient. 
      "Our mum had walked in on us throwing the flour at each other and instead of chastising us she grabbed some and hid behind the counter. She told us we had to be quiet but we couldn't contain our giggling. Once dad turned the corner we all threw flour at him." I laugh at the priceless face he made that day. He didn't have work so thankfully we didn't ruin ome of his nice suits.
       "That started a whole war and we kept throwing it back and forth laughing til we realized the waffles we had started were burning." Shawn chuckles a bit at the story. "It was a huge mess we had to clean but it was worth it. Even worth burning the waffles." I smiled more to myself. I really did miss them. Next thing I knew there was a piece of cereal thrown at my face and I turned to see Shawn with a smirk on his face.
        "So you can say that burning the pancakes was worth it?" The audacity of this man to compare the two.
       "Oh no, I'll let pancakes burn any day. They will never be as good as waffles." I stand my ground.
       "I worry about how much you like waffles." And I shrug, "What can I say? They are just that good." I ignore his insults to my love of waffles. 
       I really did miss them though. It wasn't fair that I lost them. But then again the world is never fair, never has been, never will be. My sister would have turned sixteen this year. She'd probably have a boyfriend that I wouldn't approve of and probably have a huge party. Or perhaps she'd keep it small and be really shy. I'll never know and that's what hurts the most. 
       I stare at the bowl stirring the milk around with my spoon as I am caught in my thoughts. I hated this. I hated today. Today was the grim reminder of everything I lost. 
      I suddenly hear the sound of Shawn's chair moving and look to see him reaching over to grab my bowl from me. 
        "Let's watch something." He suggests while going to clean the bowls. I try to think of something to watch. While I love thrillers and horror, today was not the day for that. 
       "We could watch some football." He suggested only to give him a look in response. Why people enjoyed watching sports I'll never understand. I prefer doing it myself than watching someone else do it. 
      "No." I reject the idea. "No sports." I elaborate. I didn't want him recommending any other sports to me.
      "How about some Harry Potter?" Okay, I could work with that. That could last us all day too! 

      I popped the popcorn and he set up for the first movie. I was excited to watch them. To be honest I had refused to watch them for a couple years. My parents loved the books so for a while I avoided them so I wouldn't miss them. Though eventually I finally decided to buckle down and actually watch them and read all the books as well. I could see why they liked them. It was actually what brought them together, so it was special for them. I felt like I got to know them more through reading them.
         It was going to be nice to rewatch them. And it was fun, we were on the third one and I was once again lost in my thoughts. I realized how much I could sympathize with Harry. We were both orphans, granted I got to know my parents before they were killed but I understood how he felt. It's not exactly like I have anyone who could understand how it feels to lose both parents at a young age. It's something I carry by myself so I can understand how he feels alone in that aspect. How great it feels to find a new 'family' and have people who really care about you. Now if only I could have some man show up and tell me I was a wizard but reality is sadly cruel. 
         The film ended and I felt my stomach growl and I looked to see a look of agreement in Shawns eyes. It was time to take a break and eat something before we continued. We agreed on sandwiches and he ran to the bathroom to shower right quick while I made the sandwiches. He wanted a ham sandwich and I stuck to pb&j. I was a simple man, what could I say. 
        I suddenly hear the doorbell ring stop what I'm doing. I froze in place, my stomach beginning to twist. I was never good with doorbells after what happened. Over the years though I've gotten better, I know nothing is going to happen and that I'm fine but it still gets me every time. A second ring draws me back to reality and I grab a paper towel to wipe the crumbs off my hand while heading to the door. Maybe Sandra ordered something?  I look through the side window and I'm shocked to see Elijah standing there. 
       "Elijah?" I question as I open the door. He didn't seem the type to show up without warning. 
       "Hey Oliver. How are you feeling?" He asks and I realize, he was just checking up on me. I told him I was taking a mental day, which isn't common for me, so he came to check up on me. I felt my cheeks burn and I had no idea why. Why was I reacting to his act of kindness? Remembering he asked me a question I pull myself back to reality and look up at him.
       "I'm doing pretty good. Shawn is here to keep me company so that's been good. Well besides when we burned the pancakes. That wasn't fun but then we were just watching the Harry Potter films. Well actually we stopped for lunch and I was making sandwiches." I ramble out. Why was I telling him a play by play of my day? I usually kept my response short and to the point. This wasn't like me. God why was I embarrassing myself around him.
        "That's good to hear. I was worried you might be alone. I know being alone can sometimes make it worse but I'm glad you have him. Even if you are burning pancakes." He chuckles out, making me smile. I liked his laugh, it always made me smile. My eyes move away from his smile so I don't stare and I see he is holding a blue bag. Like one that you would put a birthday gift in. I guess he noticed that I saw it because he then explains before I can ask.
        "I thought you might have been alone so I was bringing some stuff over but seeing as you're in good hands I'll just leave this with the two of you." He smiles while handing me the bag and without thinking I pull him in for a hug. Was this like me? No. But I didn't care. I really appreciated that he went out of his way to help me without even knowing the situation. Not only that but he wasn't prying as well. It made me happy. I quickly pull back once I hear a cough and turn to see Shawn with just a towel around his waist. 
         "Put on some clothes." I deadpan. Why wasn't the man dressed? 
       "I heard the doorbell and came to see what it was." He responded just as dead. I knew he didn't care for Elijah but he made an agreement with me. 
       "I was just seeing if Oliver here was wanting to go see the new horror movie with me this weekend, is all." Elijah speaks up and I turn to him smiling. Of course I would but before I can respond Shawn is by my side answering for me. 
        "Oh that sounds like a great idea, maybe we can also invite Jackson and Kim? Maybe also your sister?" He really was a bastard. Why did he invite everyone we know to join? Why did he invite himself? Does he not realize the agreement comes with trusting me? Probably but he's ignoring thAt detail. He's acting like the older brother I never asked for. 
        "If you would like to come, that is fine. Just, Olive and I will probably be getting some food before so we can meet with the rest of you all." Elijah smiles like he wasn't annoyed at all. How he is able to not be so easily annoyed I'll never know. He's so patient. Wait. Did he just call me Olive? Usually this would annoy me but for some reason it didn't. In fact I like it. What is wrong with me? 
           "Well I'm sure we can message later about all the details but we gotta eat lunch. It was nice talking to you." Shawn tried to end the conversation while going to close the door. I push myself in front of him and turn towards him.
        "Go ahead and get dressed and I'll have everything set up for the next film, alright?" He looked displeased but complied nonetheless, finally leaving me alone with Elijah. I turn and reach for the bag he had brought me. 
       "I'm sorry about him, he's just overprotective. Kinda like an older brother I guess." I try to explain and he just smiles and nods in understanding.
        "Thanks for everything." I say while holding up the bag. "I do really appreciate it. I'll message you later so we can plan for this weekend." He reaches out and ruffles my hair. His hand was warm. Why did I notice that? In fact when his hand left my head it felt cold. 
        "Well then I shall be on my way. I hope your day gets better, Olive." He backs away while giving me a wink and I feel my breath stop. Why did he have this effect on me? Why was I so aware? And furthermore, why didn't I hate it? 
       Remembering that Shawn would be returning and expecting something to eat I went back to setting up for the next film. I placed the bag next to the sofa, deciding I'll look at it later.
       Once Shawn returns we start the next film but it seemed that exhaustion was finally hitting Shawn as about halfway through the film he fell asleep. 
      I smiled to myself and decided to start cleaning up before Sandra got home. I cleaned the dishes and made sure the kitchen looked spotless. The less work for her the better. 
      Once I'm all finished I return to the living room to see he was still passed out. Glancing up at the screen I saw that we had reached the maze scene of the film. 
      I went to sit down and felt my phone go off and smile once I saw who it was. I really need to stop smiling, I must be going crazy. Elijah was asking what time I wanted to meet up Saturday. After I responded I remembered the bag he left for me and went to look what was inside.
     I grab the bag and sit down on the floor and pull out the first item. Veggie chips. I chuckle, the man was getting to know me for sure. I reach in again and pull out a candle with a sticky note attached to it. 
      Lavender to help you relax :) -Jess
      I smiled and gave it a whiff, it definitely smelled nice. It was nice of her to chip in as well. I pulled out the last item and I froze once I saw what it was. It was the mancala game. Before I had any time to think I reacted. Images of that night flooding my mind.
     I felt myself disconnect, like I had no control over my body as I threw the game across the room. A scream echoing around me as I crawled backwards til I hit a wall. The sound of the doorbell playing on repeat in my mind. The smell of iron invading my nose. The sharp pain stabbing in the chest. It was too much. 
       I curled up and pressed my palms to my face only to realize it felt wet. I had started crying. I then realize that the scream was coming from me but I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop the memories from flooding my mind. I was right back at the place I hated the most. The blood splattered walls, the fear and confusion, and him. 
        I then felt something reach around me and I immediately started throwing punches. Not again. I can't don't this again. Make it stop. Please. Please. I'm begging. Let me wake up from this nightmare. 
          "OLIVER!" A voice yells and I feel confused, who is Oliver? Oh. That's the name I was given for my new life. I'm living with Sandra and I'm safe. Finally coming back to reality I see the worried face that belonged to Shawn. 
        I immediately cling to him and sob. I miss them so much, it wasn't fair. He took them from me. I hated him for it. 
        I eventually run out of tears but I don't let go of Shawn and he lets me without saying a word. He rubs circles on my back to give me comfort and to say it was working was an understatement. I was exhausted after today and crying took the last bit of the energy from me. Slowly but surely I let my eyes close and fall into darkness praying that I don't dream at all but I see those green eyes staring back at me.