The pounding of footsteps was the only announcement Elliot had of Cece's approach before her bedroom door was tossed open and Cece strode in.

"That's it!" she said. "I give up!"

Elliot flopped back on her pillows.

"Oh thank goodness," she said. She pushed herself back up. "I didn't want to say anything because you love the color red so much, but it totally drains your color and that dress, well..."

Cece stared at Elliot with a baffled look and her hands on her hips.

"What are you talking about?" she said. "I was talking about Milo."

"What!? Right, that's what I was talking about too..."

Cece moved over to the bed, twisted and fell onto it. She stared up at the ceiling, her arms spread out.

"For the past few days he's been distant," she said.

Elliot leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand.

"What's up? Have you been doing anything different?" She shrugged. "I don't know, paying him compliments? Showing him any ounce of attention? Telling him that you actually have feelings for him?"

Cece tossed up her hands.

"That's the thing," she said. "I've done none of that! So why is he so annoyed with me?!"

"It's his birthday today, maybe he's just been distracted with thinking about that?"

Cece turned her head to Elliot, wearing a flat expression. Elliot scowled and crossed her arms.

"Okay...yeah....I'm not coming up with the best responses today. That's not my fault, it's early and a Thursday."

Cece's face softened.

"I forgot what day it was," she said. "You're complete rubbish on Thursdays. I guess I'll have to solve this on my own."

She got up from the bed and straightened her dress, paused and looked at Elliot.

"Red really drains me?" she asked.

"It's like you sucked out all your blood to dye the dress red."

"Gruesome image but quite accurate, props to you. Then I must change."

"Yes, I'd start with your personality, it needs some work."

"I'll make a note of it, forget about it, find it a year later and toss it out."

"I expected nothing less. Do you have your dress for the party tonight?"

Cece rolled her eyes, her expression turning sour.

"There's the other thing," she said. "Why did Milo let Soso plan his birthday party? Why not us?"

"I'm guessing it went down a little something like this," Elliot said. She looked off and moved her hands in an arch. "Soso enters the Cafe. Milo looks up. She smiles. He nods. She says 'Milo I heard your birthday is coming up. Could I throw you a birthday party? He shrugs 'Sure' then continues reading his book."

Cece started to clap slow and dramatically.

"Beautiful impression. Truly stunning," she said.

Elliot bowed.

"Thank you."

"So I shouldn't take offense that he agreed to let her throw the party?"

"Oh, I'm not saying that. It could easily go either way. He could be snubbing you or he could have chosen Soso because she asked and our party would be filled with countless illegal things that we could get arrested for."

"Okay!" Cece said, waving her hand about. "How was I suppose to know you can't rent an elephant and ride it around the Common?"

"It's common knowledge."

Cece rolled her eyes.

"So I'm not common and I lack the things that come with being common like knowledge and sense."

"I'm sure Thomas Paine could help you out there."

"I have no time for him, I have to figure out what to do about Milo."

Cece crossed her arms and looked off. A slight frown edged its way onto her face.

"Who throws a Great Gatsby themed party anyways?" she blurted out.

Elliot shrugged and tossed aside her blankets.

"I don't people who are majoring in literature," she said, climbing out of her bed.

"Right, I forgot Milo is actually a nerd. His good looks always overshadow that."

"Yes, he is an odd one. It's really amazing we hang out with him at all."

**************

The heat of the day was patiently waiting for Elliot as she stepped out of the house. As she shut the front door, it sidled up to her and tossed an arm around her shoulders.

Elliot entered the Common when Beck approached her from the side, holding two cups of coffee. Elliot paused and waited for him to join her.

"Here," he said, holding out a cup.

Elliot took it, giving him a scrutinizing look.

"This is the third time you have had coffee for me and this time you are delivering it," she said.

"My way of furthering my apology," Beck said.

Elliot nodded and started walking again, Beck beside her.

"I thought about bringing it to your house," he said, "but we would have had to cross the street together. I didn't want to risk the chance that you weren't happy to see me so early and push me into oncoming traffic."

Elliot scoffed.

"Like I would do that," she said, "to the driver who killed you. They would go to jail for man slaughter and I would feel bad and have to visit them. Jail." She cringed. "I hate looking at people wearing orange. I just couldn't do it. "

Elliot took a sip of the coffee and looked at Beck, her head cocked.

"You are aware that we have to cross another street to get to the office, right?" she said.

"I figured I had the length of the Common to make you feel less inclined to push me to my brutal and sudden death."

Elliot nodded.

"I did hire you for your brains," she said.

They fell into silence. Birds swooped over head, chasing each other and flaunting their defiance of gravity.

"It hasn't been too bad of a summer," Beck said. "Weather wise, that is."

Elliot gave him a puzzled glance.

"Uh...no, it hasn't," she said.

They moved from the open space to the cover of trees, the temperature lowering and the smell of grass strengthening.

"This coffee tastes pretty good today," Beck commented.

Elliot stopped walking and held up her hand.

"Alright stop," she said.

Beck stopped and looked at her with a calm expression.

"Are you trying to make small talk?" she asked.

"I thought it would make you feel more comfortable."

Elliot shook her head, fighting back a grin.

"Not coming from you," she said. "It's not natural. You can stop."

"Thank you," Beck said. "I felt as if my brain was frying."

"Yeah, I think I could hear that."

Elliot turned, restraining her smile and they continued on to the office.

**************

Elliot clapped her hands together, a relieved look spreading across her face.

"At last!" she said, "I don't hate this story and it's still within the boundaries of what my current audience would read."

She let out a sigh and looked up at Beck. He was resting against the side of the couch, one foot laying across his knee, the beginnings of a smile emerging on his lips.

"Does this mean I can freely travel at night without fear of being murdered? Am I off your black list?" he asked.

Elliot put on a ponderous expression and tapped her chin.

"You're off the black list, but I still don't like you for being right. So I will hold on to my dislike of you for a while longer."

Beck nodded.

"That's something I can work with," he said.

Elliot looked back down at the coffee table, reading over the index cards. Her expression reverted to a thoughtful look.

"Okay, we have the majority of the story mapped out. Tess's story line is the almost complete but Weston's need help. Hopefully we can get this all done before the catastrophe that is Michelle's wedding descends on me."

"How soon is it?" Beck asked.

"A little less than three weeks but I have to leave earlier to be there for the traditional 'bride goes crazy, gets drunk and cries about her life being over event'."

"Are you referring to the bachelorette party?"

Elliot cocked her head.

"Is that what normal people call it? Well, whatever it is, I must be a part of it. Cece and I are taking up the roles of 'sisters who drive Michelle to the Mexican border if she wants out.' Can't really miss that."

"No, it would be a real shame for you to skip out on that."

The hint of a smile darted across Elliot's lips. She picked up her phone, glancing at the time.

"We are going to have to call it a day," she said. "I want to go talk to Milo."

Beck stood and slung his satchel over his head. As Elliot straightened up the mess of pens and notecards, Beck carried the coffee cups to the sink and dumped them in. They left the office, clicking off the lights.

Outside the air was soft with a cool breeze traveling to them from the ocean. The scent of salt was trapped in the air and tainted by car fumes.

"Are you headed to the Cafe?" Beck asked.

Elliot looked at him.

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you mind if I walk with you?"

Elliot hesitated but then nodded.

"Okay, but once we get there you have to wait five minutes before following me in. I have a reputation to protect."

Beck gave her a questioning look, a smile teasing his lips.

"What reputation is that?" he asked.

Elliot shrugged and pulled her pony tail free from her purse strap.

"I don't know, but I assume I have one. The best kinds of people do."

"Then I will wait five minutes."

They crossed the street and made their way through the Common. The late afternoon sun elongated the buildings shadows, giving them the appearance of long fingers stretching across the ground. Elliot and Beck were just stepping onto the curb, in front of the Cafe, when Soso appeared. Her face brightened into a welcoming smile.

"Hey!" she said. "You both are still coming tonight, right?"

Elliot looked over at Beck with a curious look.

"You're invited?" she asked.

He ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"Uh, yeah," he said.

"I invited him," Soso cut in. "I saw him talking to Milo and extended an invite."

Elliot looked between the two of them.

"Okay then," she said.

Soso leaned forward, radiating an eager energy.

"So is that a yes from both of you?" she asked.

"Yes," Elliot and Beck said.

Soso beamed.

"Great, see you tonight."

She walked past them and turned around a corner. Elliot looked at Beck.

"When did you and Milo become friends?" she asked.

Beck shrugged.

"A few weeks back. I borrowed a book from him."

"Okay, well, I was going to say you could walk in with me cause it would help your street cred, but if you're already friends with Milo you don't need it."

Beck bowed his head.

"I appreciate you offering," he said.

"I'm not anymore, walk in on your own. I'm not useful to you now."

Elliot moved to the door and pulled it open, Beck following. The Cafe was dotted with lone customers, their computers open and their minds trapped in other places. Milo rested against the back wall, a book in his hand. They made their way over to the counter, but Milo didn't look up. Beck rested against the counter, his arms crossed.

"Salutations on the marker of your emergence into this world!" Elliot said.

"Happy birthday works just as well, El," Milo said.

"Interesting phrase," she said, looking off thoughtfully. "I don't think it will catch on. There is no pizzazz to it."

Milo dropped his book and looked at her. She met his flat look with a bright smile. He didn't return the look and Elliot frowned.

"Who messed with your perfectly styled hair today?" she asked.

"You should know," he said, "you share the same left pinkies and right elbows with her."

"What did Tristan do to you this time?!"

This comment was received with another flat look and an added smack on the head with Milo's book for good measure. Elliot scowled and smoothed down her hair.

"Fine, what has my beloved sister done today to make you the world's most attractive moper?"

Milo leaned on the counter.

"You want to know what she did?" he asked, rhetorically.

"No, I don't. That's why I asked."

Milo ignored her comment, too absorbed in his scowl.

"Your sister texted me, 'It's your birthday, how does it feel to be one step closer to death?'"

"I fail to see the problem here," Elliot said.

Milo looked at her, his expression repeating itself. Elliot laughed and playfully slapped Milo's arm.

"Come on," she said, "what did you expect from Cece? Honestly? On my birthday she handed me brochures for funeral parlors and asked which one I like most."

"Which one did you pick?"

"Henson's, of course."

"It has the best seating arrangement," they both said.

Milo stood and waved his hands.

"That's besides the point," he said.

Elliot crossed her arms and looked at him.

"Then what is the point?" she asked.

For a long moment words teetered on the eager of Milo's lips. He shifted, crossed his arms and the words were swallowed back up. He shook his head.

"Nothing," he said. "There is no point."

Elliot just looked at him, having spotted the words waiting there a second before.

"Really?" she asked.

Milo nodded, his face going closed off.

"Yup. Did you want something?"

He looked over and noticed Beck standing there.

"What can I get you?" he asked.

Beck placed his order, while Elliot watched Milo, a troubled look slipping onto her face.

**********************************************************************

Holy Tortillas!

Something about me you don't know is I'm weird-

(🙄 Nope, we actually knew this. It's really hard not to notice)

You didn't let me finish. I'm really weird when it comes to books. If I like a book I will read it multiple times. Even after I have just finished it, I will start it all over again. I don't even know how many times I have read the Hunger Games. (I stopped counting after 8) I am now rereading Fire by Kristin Cashore. It is far and away one of my favorite books of all time. The leading male character Brigan is my ideal guy! He seriously has my heart. Another series I've read lot is The King Killer Chronicles. I'm still waiting for the third book to come out, so to ease my pain I've read the first and second over and over.

Vote, comment, follow, tell me I am not alone in my weird obsession with reading the same book multiple times!