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Post by Ella D'Agustino on Aug 15, 2010 15:29:49 GMT -5
The next time Christophe checks his phone, he will have this text from Ella:
Hey, it's Ella. I'm not sure if you have plans or not for lunch but if you don't, mind joining me at the quad later? - Ella
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Post by christophe on Aug 16, 2010 2:50:20 GMT -5
Christophe glanced down at his phone in surprise. Ella? And she wanted to see him? He frowned slightly, trying to work out what she wanted to talk about but he knew there was only one way to find out... He keyed in a quick reply, agreeing to meet her for lunch...
* * *
As soon as the lunch bell sounded Christophe headed for his locker. He dumped off his morning books and snatched up the prepared lunch he’d bought from home. Nothing spectacular. A croissant and a small dish of salad. Chicken, he seemed to recall.
He headed outside and spotted Ella immediately. Christophe raised a hand to wave and he jogged over to join her. “I hope you weren’t waiting long,” he said in apology. “My last lesson was all the way across the other side of the complex.”
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Post by Ella D'Agustino on Aug 16, 2010 5:47:27 GMT -5
Ella had been feeling pretty down lately and she knew she couldn't talk to any of her other friends. And Christophe popped into her head. Apart from the first time they met, Ella and Christophe didn't have much interaction. But she did remember how sweet and not pushy he was when they went on their pizza dinner.
So there she was under a big tree with a batch of cookies - as always, a bottle of apple juice and a container of pasta salad, waiting for the blond senior to arrive. She smiled and waved back when he appeared. "Nope, I just arrived like five minutes ago." She replied. Pushing the paper bag filled with her home-made cookies to Christophe, she looked at him with a little smile.
"I hope you don't mind my texting you. I figured, you offered a listening ear before. I'm just taking you up on that offer." She opened her container of salad and started on it.
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Post by christophe on Aug 16, 2010 9:29:41 GMT -5
He peered into the bag. “Les biscuits,” he stated with a grin. “Whatever it is you want to tell me has to be serious for it to merit such a reward,” he added with a wink. Christophe took one and set it aside for after his salad. “And home-made by the look of it. By you?” Ella nodded. “Then I am doubly honoured and also doubly concerned. What has happened that sees you need to use my ear? Not that I am voicing a word of complaint. I can endure anything for a home-made biscuit,” he finished with a wink.
He, too, opened his container of chicken salad. “I would offer to share buuut... I think yours looks better!” He took a forkful, breaking the croissant in half and pushing one portion towards Ella. No need to ask if she wanted it. Their friendship felt like it was past that requirement.
He settled down more comfortably. “So tell me what is worrying you,” he urged. Hopefully it was something he could help with... or, at the very least, console her over....
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Post by Ella D'Agustino on Aug 16, 2010 10:11:19 GMT -5
Ella centered her container on the table so Christophe could have it if he wanted it. Adn as she nibbled on the croissant given to her, she smiled at how at ease Christophe seemed to be. Why couldn't Ella have met him earlier? Before her confusion dawned on her? Before Diane Pollard, before Alyssa Freeman, before Brittany...
It wasn't too much to ask was it? It wouldn't have been that complicated if she liked boys instead of girls. Especially the girls she fell for. All unavailable be it physically or emotionally.
She smiled at Christophe's good natured ribbing, happy that at least he was in a better mood than she was. At least it would make talking to him a lot easier rather than having him in a sour mood. "What's worrying me..." she started, trailing off as she wondered if Christophe was the right person to tell.
"Nothing really. It's not me that's worried about anything to be honest." She chewed on the bread, tearing it piece by piece before popping it into her mouth. Ella looked up at her friend with a smile. "Have you been having problems with your love life?" she asked bluntly. The question would probably benefit her more than him.
She wasn't asking because she was concerned for his feelings. She didn't even know if Christophe was seeing anybody. Wait, who was she kidding. The boy was French and he was tall and handsome. A girl [like her probably] would be stupid not to fall for a guy like him. He was charming and much more sophisticated than any other high school boy [or girl...]. But that's not the point. She was asking because if girls brought that much drama even to boys, Ella was willing to give up on them. Even if it wasn't what she really wanted.
"I mean I'm sure girls are crawling all over you but you think they're worth all the trouble?" She had a feeling that his situation was probably a whole different ballpark than hers. But it didn't hurt to ask. Right?
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Post by christophe on Aug 16, 2010 10:50:59 GMT -5
“Problems with my love life?” Christophe laughed. “Only of the worst kind. Let me tell you about it...” He had a feeling this was the root of Ella’s concerns and maybe if she saw how his love life sucked she might not feel so bad!
“I started dated a girl... We went out twice... Then she dumped me because...” he paused theattrically and for comical effect... “a good dozen other people told her I was cheating on her.” He leaned closer,. “For the record I was not but the irony is I thought this accused girl might have liked me for more than a friend and so I took an invitation to join her - and another boy - for the weekend... only to find she had used me to keep this other boy from her bed! So much for my thoughts that she might have actually *liked* me... as in...” he shrugged. “... Ya know... Liked. So asking me about my love life is a sad tale from start to end... add to it that I found out only after the fact that the girl who dumped me had fled town. Imagine how that made me feel?”
Christophe picked at a morsel of croissant. “As for them crawling all over me...? Not at all. But are they worth it?” He threw Ella a grin. “Every second of every day... Sooo you are having a problem with your love? Tell me... I am French...we know all about love,” he added with a grin and a wink. “Sadly not my own!”
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Post by Ella D'Agustino on Aug 16, 2010 15:40:44 GMT -5
Ella listened attentively at Christophe's love life and sank deeper into her funk. So Christophe was having worst luck than she was. At least the girls he liked actually liked him back. But the girl who fled town, Ella thought that's a bit extreme and unnecessary but who was she to judge? And this girl who used Christophe to keep another boy from her bed, she sounded a tad horrible. Ella didn't think she would ever use someone for that reason. She doubted she would ever use someone...at all. Then again, she never had an opportunity.
Which brought her to the thought of what if she was presented the opportunity? Would she go that low? She supposed if she were to use someone, she would probably tell them up front and go from there. It was a ridiculous justification of what she hadn't even acted upon yet. "I imagine you'd feel pretty lousy but...who am I to say..." She tried lightening up the mood.
How he could pick himself up after being thrown for a loop was beyond her. But since he was being honest, she might as well be honest herself. "Well, my story is uh...actually almost like yours. I got dumped by the first one because they thought I was too much of a control freak. The next only used me to boost their popularity. The most recent one just didn't feel the same way as I do...did about he...them." Ella caught herself just in time before stuffing her mouth with her salad. "Currently, there's not much love in my life. Even my twin brother's getting more action than I am." She laughed at herself for being jealous of Casey.
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Post by christophe on Aug 17, 2010 2:07:47 GMT -5
“I felt bad a few weeks ago but now...?” Christophe threw Ella a grin and lifted his shoulders in a wry shrug. “now I am more... aah...philosophical about it all. The two things happened for a reason. Clearly I wasn’t meant to be with either of them and so... the right girl is still here somewhere. Who knows? I might even meet her today!” he finished with a laugh. It didn’t hurt to employ the power of positive thinking, did it?
He broke some more off the croissant and ate it whilst listening closely to the reason Ella had called him here today... After all, it definitely hadn’t been to hear of how his own romantic endeavours had progressed.
Christophe hadn’t missed the stumbled in Ella’s sentence. The rapid alteration of words. He’d picked up on it solely due to the fact that he had to concentrate more than a natural English speaker.
She’d almost said her!
“Ella, love is never easy to find... even amongst the same sex. Perhaps even harder under those conditions but... as with my own sorry tale of loneliness and misery I am sure you will find the right person. But tell me something... and remember I am asking this as your friend... Does anyone other than yourself and your aaah girlfriends know of your leanings? If it is a secret then no wonder it’s hard to find the right girl.” He paused mid bite. “Of course, if I have misunderstood and just made a complete idiot of of myself you have my full permission to use the remaining croissant and hit me with it!”
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Post by Ella D'Agustino on Aug 17, 2010 3:29:39 GMT -5
Ella couldn't help but smile at Christophe's positivity. Then again, she didn't doubt he would have an easier time finding a girl, what with his French charm and good looks and brilliant personality. She wasn't sure but if she had a slight inclination towards boys, she would have been all over Christophe like a bee to honey.
As it were, she just sat there and wondered whether Brittany was even thinking about her. Until, of course, Christophe mentioned same sex. So her subtle mistake had been picked up by the fellow senior. She had assumed she was discreet but apparently the Frenchman heard and now she was blushing furiously about it. She hadn't ever told anyone about her preferences. Except for Casey but that was only because he overheard her and Brittany's conversation from the party. But Casey was rather supportive of her. She wasn't sure if everybody else in her life would be.
Christophe, however, seemed fine with it. Her orientation wasn't exactly a secret though, because apparently a rumor had circulated during the party and now practically the entire student population knew. Christophe not included, perhaps. She didn't really see him as a gossipmonger anyway so that was a plus point. But if he was okay with it, why couldn't she do anything about it further?
She wiped the frown of her face and grabbed the croissant, ready to hit Christophe with it but stopped with a grin. But both the croissant and grin soon dropped as she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't know what to do with myself. Most everyone looks at me differently. The cheerleading squad won't come close to me save a few girls who don't really give a damn, pardon my language. It's not like this place is crawling with girls who share my preferences because of guys like you hanging around school," she partly teased him. "Sure, after a few months the rumors died and things kind of got back to semi-normal but I haven't had anyone come up to me saying hey, wanna hang out?
"To be honest, before I texted you, I hadn't gone anywhere else but school and back home. I didn't meet anybody else." It was clear how upset Ella was about the situation. And it didn't help matters when the girls who were quite open about their sexuality acted like it was just fun and games, Sloane Taylor's name popped up a few times there. Even she hadn't come up to Ella, which Ella stupidly thought was a little insulting. Maybe the rumors were true that she was settling down though...with a sophomore no less.
Coming back from her tangent, Ella looked up at Christophe. "I'm part of the student council and I'm heading the prom committee and the teachers know about my orientation. They're okay with it sure but I'm not blind to their odd looks nor am I deaf to their whispers." Ella bit into her croissant and looked up at Christophe before laughing wryly. "You didn't need to hear all that. I'm sorry to have unloaded that on you."
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Post by christophe on Aug 17, 2010 3:47:16 GMT -5
“Au contraire, mon p’tite souris,” he replied with a wink. “I find your story comforting as now I know I am not alone in the misery stakes!” He nudged her sideways with his shoulder as he spoke to make absolutely sure Ella knew he was teasing her.
“So what do we do? We have a few options before us. One...” He held up his index finger. “We both continue to behave like sorry souls and do nothing to rectify the situation. Two” Up when the next finger. “We go to the prom together and sit like wallflowers each waiting for the right girl to come along.” He paused, one eyebrow lifting. “Imagine if we fought over the same one, heh?” he said with a wink. “Or there is three.” As expected a third digit joined the other two. “You announce your liking for girls and then wait to be flooded by proper invitations to the dance. For myself I fear there is no number three.” Christophe added an over the top dramatic sigh for effect. He’d already resigned himself to missing the prom or - worst still - going alone. He managed to supress a shudder at that final thought.
“What’s it to be, mon ami... Shall you brave to wrath of the school? Or shall you continue in this state?” His face took on a far more serious look. Ella... whatever you choose to do it has to be what you want... and however you decide I will stand by you absolutely.” In other words, if anyone spoke unkindly to Ella they would have Christophe Broussard to deal with!
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