Welcome to Gaia! ::

Seriously? Elliot thought, sitting up in his bed to get a better look at the weather outside. He had been woken up by the sound of raindrops on the roof, but he did not want to believe that another weekend would be dampened by rain. Sure enough, the sight that greeted him was a rain-spattered window and a cloudy, grey sky. Perfect. Elliot fell back on his pillow and covered his eyes with his hand.

There went his plans for the day. He and Gavin had been talking about getting a pick-up football game going in order to help Gavin prepare for the big semi-finals game next weekend. Despite the brutal practices every day after school, Gavin still felt like he was not ready. Elliot smirked, thinking about how stubborn his best friend was. He removed his hand from his eyes and placed it under his head. Watching his ceiling fan lazily spin around, he let out a sigh. Might as well get out of bed now that he was awake.

He threw back his covers and got up, shuddering at the feeling of the cold hardwood against his bare feet. Once the feeling passed, he reached his hands up to the ceiling and stretched before running a hair through his shaggy hair. Letting out a yawn, he grabbed his cell phone from his bedside table and shuffled out of his room to the kitchen. His parents had already left for work and had left Elliot a note to keep his sisters out of trouble.

Sure, Jamie he could handle. She was in seventh grade and a perfect angel. Sam? A junior who partied even more than he did. Elliot shook his head and dug through the cupboards for the Pop-Tarts. ”Yes!” he said, taking out the last package of brown sugar and cinnamon. He tossed the empty box into recycling and was biting into his first Pop-Tart when his cell phone buzzed. Elliot picked up his phone and saw that the text was from Grace. Need to talk? he thought, taking another bite of Pop-Tart. He set his breakfast down and sent his girlfriend a response:

Hey, babe. I can be ready whenever. Where do you want to meet up?
<3 Elliot

Elliot continued to look down at his phone even after the “message sent” screen disappeared. I wonder what’s up, he thought, picking up his Pop-Tarts and taking a seat at the table. He picked up the newspaper and started reading the front page, waiting for Grace’s reply.

It did not take long for Elliot's phone to go off again. He read the text and was in the middle of his reply when he received Grace's next message.

Yeah, they're still here. Give me 15 minutes to wake up Sam and get ready and I'll be on my way. Love you, too!

Elliot finished his Pop-Tarts and set down the paper before getting up to toss out the package and walk down the hall to Sam's room. He knocked in the middle of the "Parental Advisory" poster that was taped to her door and waited for a response. Nothing. He knocked louder and pressed his ear to the door. She better be in there, he thought, listening for movement. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard rustling and a groan. "What?" came a groggy reply.

"Good morning, starshine," Elliot said, opening the door to peek his head inside. "I'm heading over to Grace's so you're in charge of Jamie." Sam looked at the clock next to her bed before glaring at her brother. "Do you know what time it is?" she asked angrily. "Yeah, time for you to get your lazy a** out of bed," Elliot replied. Sam groaned and threw her pillow at the door but Elliot had already retreated to the hall. "I'll be back in five to make sure you're up."

He shut his sister's door and walked down the hall to his room. Closing his own door behind him, Elliot slipped out of his pajama pants and t-shirt into jeans and a green button-up flannel. He then put on his black Converse and ran his hand through his hair before making sure he had his wallet, cell phone and car keys. With everything in his pockets, he left his room to check on Sam. Her bedroom door was open so Elliot continued on to the living room. Sam was wrapped up in her blanket on the couch, watching whatever Saturday cartoons kids watched these days.

"I'm leaving," Elliot announced, heading for the front door. "Tell Grace I say hi," Sam said, not taking her eyes away from the television. "Will do." Elliot saluted his sister before leaving the house and running to get into his blue Volkswagen Jetta. He started it up, pulled out of his driveway, and was on his way to Grace's.

Elliot strummed on the steering wheel as he waited for the light to change. A classical piece came on next and he reached for his iPod to look for a different song. He needed something upbeat on a dreary day like this. Not finding anything immediately on shuffle, he decided to just play through his dance mix. The light changed to green and Elliot stepped on the gas while "Give Me Everything (Tonight)" started to play. "Me not working hard? Yeah right, picture that with a Kodak..." Elliot mouthed the words as he continued to strum on the wheel.

"Tonight," he sang when it got to the chorus. "I will love love you tonight. Give me everything tonight. For all we know, we might not get tomorrow. Let's do it tonight." He did not sing along with the girl but instead bobbed his head like a fool. He did not care about the looks he was getting from the person trying to pass him. It was his car; he could do whatever he wanted. The idiot in the other car managed to pass and tried to cut him off, causing Elliot to slam on his breaks and honk his horn. He somehow restrained himself from flipping the bird. "Dumbass!" he yelled out.

The other guy flipped him off instead and Elliot had to take deep breaths to calm himself down. He hated people who did not know how to drive. I'm going to see my girlfriend, he thought, stepping on the gas again. I don't think she'd appreciate me getting into anything with people who have road rage... or me having road rage... He glared at the license plate in front of him and debated whether or not he should write it down. Doesn't matter, he thought, turning down Grace's street.

Elliot pulled his car into his Grace's driveway and safely stowed his iPod in his glove compartment. He then got out of his car and jogged up to the front porch. Shaking water from his hair, he pressed the doorbell and waited for Grace to come to the door and let him in.

Elliot was looking out at the rain when he heard the door open behind him. He turned around and looked at Grace with a smile. "Hey you," he said as she shook her head and pulled him inside. He then chuckled. "And you can tell me that a hundred more times because I'm not going to just waltz in your house unannounced. As much as you want me to, I don't live here." He kissed Grace back before taking off his shoes and setting them on the mat next to the door.

He followed Grace and wanted to laugh at her next comment. She was such a procrastinator; she probably was not even anywhere close to finishing the dishes. Elliot noticed her smile dim but did not say anything; she would tell him what she had to when she was ready. "They're both fine," he said, walking into the living room. "Jamie just found out she got the lead for the school musical. She's going to be Cosette in Les Miserables. Good to know she has musical talent like her brother."

He puffed out his chest as he took a seat next to Grace. They both knew that he could not carry a tune in a bucket. He enjoyed singing, but he just did not do it well. "But Sam..." Elliot chuckled, leaning back in the couch. "Got grounded for sneaking out of the house again. Almost thought she wasn't home this morning when I tried to wake her up. That girl sleeps like a rock." He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Sometimes I wish she were more like Jamie," he admitted, opening his eyes to look at Grace. "But at the same time, Sam is Sam. She can be frustrating at times, but she just has this 'I don't care what you think about me' attitude that I find admirable." He smirked. "The woes of being an older brother, I guess."

Elliot stuck his tongue out at Grace as she fought back laughter. "Of course she's better than me," he said with a smirk, bumping Grace back. "How else would she have gotten a lead role." He chuckled and shook his head. "Jamie has an amazing voice. My parents are thinking about signing her up for vocal lessons so she can be even more amazing. Me, on the other hand... I'll stick to performing in my car." He smiled.

"I don't know if I could handle being an only child," Elliot said when Grace changed the subject. "Sure, it would've been nice to have gotten more attention and more presents for my birthday and Christmas growing up, but in all seriousness I wouldn't trade being a brother for anything. It might've been nice having an older sibling to teach me right from wrong, but I'm glad that I can be that person for my sisters. Not that Sam listens, though," he smirked. Would she ever?

Elliot's smirk faded and his stomach dropped slightly when Grace told him she had bad news. "O-okay?" he said, shifting to look at her better. What could she possibly have to say? Did one of her grandparents pass away? Was she moving? She was sorry? For what? Did she sleep with someone else? Dozens of possible stories ran through Elliot's head as he waited for Grace to speak. "What is it?"

Elliot smiled. "Of course I'll let you know," he said. "I'm sure Jamie would love having you there. And put me to shame? Please. She puts me to shame, brings me back, then puts me there again.” He smirked. ”Oh, by the way, Sam wanted me to tell you she says hi. Don’t know if she meant it, though, because she was absorbed in the television when she said it…"

He thought about that for a moment as he listened to Grace talk about her parents. ”Yeah, but they worry because they love you,” he said. ”It may seem annoying now, but after you leave for college I’m sure you’re going to miss their pestering. Then again… I’m sure your parents will continue to be over-protective for the rest of your life... But you’re their baby and it’s just what parents do. You’ll probably be the same way when you have a kid.”

Elliot stared at Grace but did not really see her as he continued to think about all the possibilities. Only when she started to speak did he focus on her face again. She moved closer and took his hand. He looked at her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze before looking up. Her gaze lingered on their hands and he knew it had to be bad if she could not look him in the eyes. She finally opened her mouth and with every word she said, Elliot’s stomach sunk even further.

When Grace finished, Elliot stood up and walked away from the couch, his left hand on his hip and the other running through his hair. ”You slept with Gavin,” he said in disbelief. He covered his mouth with his right hand before spinning around to face Grace. ”You slept with Gavin,” he said again, his tone increasing in anger. ”And now you’re… you’re pregnant?!” He looked down at the girl on the couch, not recognizing her. She was not Grace. Grace would not have let something like this happen. Grace would never cheat on him.

Elliot threw his arms into the air and walked away from the couch again. ”I can’t believe… I…” Elliot tried to gather his words, but he did not know what to say. His girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend? And now she was pregnant with his baby? Grace… the girl of his dreams… the one he could see spending the rest of his life with was going to have another man’s baby? Elliot took a deep breath and slowly turned around, taking a seat on the couch again.

He rested his elbows on his knees and put his face in his hands. ”Why, Grace?” he asked softly before breaking down in tears.