kinda a filler...but important at the same time. whatever, enjoy lol.

July 16th:

Elias tosses Mara the ball, a terse spiral that slices through the air. She catches it flawlessly, throwing the ball back as fireworks erupt in the sky. Red and orange bombs of light, sparking against the dark canvas of night, their laughter mixing in with the bodies around them. They are relaxed, tossing a football between themselves, her friends wrapped up in blankets near them.

They are having a picnic for dinner, watching as families on the opposite end of the part set off weeks-old fireworks. Loud booms that make their ears hurt, their eyes sparkling in wonderment. Nobody is too old to appreciate fireworks.

Cairo and Ryn are laid out on the old knitted blanket they've draped over the fresh-cut grass while Will drags over two cases of beer. They are away from the rest of the masses gathering in the park, igniting fireworks into the night sky. The aftermath of those fireworks being a haze of smoke in the atmosphere. Fire-like embers, falling from the sky, landing in the grass.

"Who do you think invented fireworks?" Will asks, sitting down next to Ryn and Cairo on the blanket. He has a cold beer in hand, bringing it to his lips as he watches more lights flash up in the sky.

"I don't know, William, but they are probably as stupid as you," Mara teases, throwing the ball back to Elias. He is grinning, disregarding every worry he had talked about in therapy with Dr. Alice only earlier that morning.

It is easy for him to forget, wrapped up in the small cocoon of happiness with Mara's friends. The air is tender out tonight, the sky clear besides the smoke left by leftover fireworks from the Fourth of July. They discard sweatshirts for tank tops, tennis shoes for flip-flops. Their skin, sticky with sweat at the night's humidity.

Earlier, Elias had confronted Mara after talking to Dr. Alice. He was worried, despite her protests, that she was fine. All he asked was that she speaks to her doctor about going back on medicine, and she promised him she would.

So he relaxes into the background, tossing the football with Mara as he drowns in their easy conversation. Her friends aren't that hard to get along with, each of them their own character.

Ryn is utterly blunt, with a personality like the sparklers they'd run around with earlier. Will is the known crazy of the group, the one whose stupid illusions make everyone snicker. And Cairo is the visionary who can make even the dullest of minds imagine a place of sheer euphoria.

Elias has never felt more comfortable surrounded by personalities. His anxiety is low tonight, he even wore short-sleeves, his tanned skin on utter display to everyone. Nobody would know this, but that is a triumph itself.

- Hours Earlier -

"Dr. Alice, I'm happy," Elias states, with a big grin on his face. She sat across from him with a smile playing on her lips, the yellow walls appearing brighter today. His mood was lightened, his shoulders eased as he dipped into the comfort of the sofa.

"That's great, Elias," she gleams, crossing her ring-covered hands in her lap. He clutches his worn notebook in his hands, tapping the surface of its cover. He hesitates a second, biting his tongue as he glances out the window.

"Is there more?" She asks modestly, her posture open for conversation. She was gaining trust with him, growing the little yellow circle on his drawing each hour-long session. She kept it in the back of his file, a reminder of how far he's come.

They'd even started delving into his past trauma, a slow process, but he was opening up more about it. Because he was eighteen, legally, Dr. Alice wasn't allowed to discuss with his parents what she speculated. She could only encourage him to tell them, but today, his mind was elsewhere.

"I'm worried about a friend," he laments, his voice hoarse. His vocal cords still strained when talking for long periods, sometimes, he resorted back to sign language.

He could communicate secretly with Mara that way, knowing that nobody would know what they were talking about. Like their own little universe, just the two of them, the morosely shared secrets with their fingers.

"She would hate me if I stated she was sick, but I also know she's not as okay as she claims," he laments, rubbing his forehead.

He doesn't know who to talk to about this, but Dr. Alice was bound by patient confidentiality. He realizes she can't do anything he is hurting himself or others. He is only cutting on the inside, but that is inevitable with the friendship he was lost within.

He can never leave Mara, despite the pain she brings him. She isn't inflicting pain on him, anyway, it is just his own disturbances. He worries a lot, always in a state of crisis.

"What's the matter, Elias?" Dr. Alice asks, setting her clipboard to the side. This is her way of showing him that they were just talking, that none of it had to do with him. She is someone he can come to for anything, his trustee.

"I don't want to betray her trust," he groans, looking at Dr. Alice with so much concern. She smiles, understanding the care he must-have for the girl, bowing her head in honor. Tucking a stray strand of her red hair behind her ear, her smile softens.

"But her safety comes before all. If she needs help, then she needs help," Dr. Alice explains to a circumspect Elias. He didn't know how he could confront Mara without her running in the opposite direction, he didn't want that.

But Dr. Alice is right, all he aspires to do is shield Mara, despite the cost of their friendship. He would sacrifice it to save her life, but to what lengths will he go? He isn't sure.

- Present -

Elias intercepts the ball, but instead of tossing it back easily, he casts it aside. It falls into the grass, tumbling towards their picnic. Frowning, Mara looks at him questioningly, her expression turning confused than grim as he races towards her. She has no chance to escape, his arms hooking around her waist tightly.

Throwing her over his shoulders, she squeals in surprise, beating his back with her fists. Elias laughs, unaffected by her attempts to escape, poking her in the sides as she writhes in his ironclad hold. Bringing her back towards the group, they all watch their little interaction with soft smiles.

They've never seen Mara so comfortable, not in any of her past relationships. They've seen Mara at her lowest and her highest moods, but never this unbothered by anything.

"You all make me sick," Will splutters, sipping on the beer as he shakes his head in play disgust. Will has difficulty keeping a relationship, to which he blames it on his parent's divorce. Claiming his unstable family is the root cause of all his troubles.

In reality, he just doesn't understand girls, more importantly, the emotions that come with it. He can't relate to them, which eventually will catch up when the sex isn't as good anymore. He burns through girls the same way he burns through money spent on beer and other recreational things. He will never acknowledge his jealousy, though.

"Awe, that sucks," Ryn pouts, a smirk falling on her lips. To prove her point, she kisses Cairo passionately, making them all turn away in disgust. They all groan as he kisses her back, ignoring the public setting, children, just distance away.

Mara and Elias are now sitting on the blanket as well. Her face turned into his chest as he hugs her in his lap. His hands find her hair, tangled from the gust of wind that whipped it behind her. He smoothes out the knots with his brushing fingers, his other hand tapping her hip two times.

"Mara?" Will asks, turning to her. He puckers his lips, asking for a kiss, which she denies, offended. Elias just laughs, not at all bothered as Mara's arms wrap around his shoulder tighter, holding him impossibly closer. Will is a tease who flirts with anyone that will pay him any sort of mind.

"Dude, she's like, in love or something," Cairo snaps, smacking Will upside the head, who shrugs. He falls to the ground on his back, spilling some of the beer in his lap as he sighs dramatically. They all just watch him, smiles on their faces at his antics.

"Love, such a strange concept," Will speaks in a high-pitched voice, pretending like he was narrating. Fireworks erupt loudly, catching all of their attention.

"It sucks, really," Ryn nods after the calm down. Cairo pouts at her, pushing her off his lap as she laughs in his face.

She crawls towards Mara on her hands and knees, who leaves Elias for her, now holding Ryn in her lap. The boys all just laugh, looking at each other knowingly.

"Kiss?" Will taunts, the girls glaring at him. Will holds his hands up in defense at the glares he receives, making them all fall into fits of hilarity. Mara moves back towards Elias, falling into his welcoming embrace. He kisses the side of her head as she smiles towards the group of people she loved unconditionally.

Elias could fall into this trance too, has he not already? He could stay here forever, wrapped up in the warmth of the person he feels the most for. Trusting her promise that she will start back on medication, Elias opens his heart a little for her. Tearing down some of his walls, he lets her in, giving her dominance over him.

And maybe he will be destroyed, but he can't not. Mara has him, all of him, at her disposal. The ball is in her court, she has all control over Elias as he submits to her raw beauty.

The chaos is inevitable.

-Elias Journal -

My life is a snow globe, and I'm the helpless puppet trapped inside. People take my ball of glass in their greedy fingers, and they shake it up. They create a storm of flurries and watch it all fall to pieces. Different hands, reaching for me all the time.

My life is a snow globe, I have no control over the people who seize it. All different sizes, different colors, each creating a torrent of rage. One minute my world is still, and the next, it's a blaze of snowflakes, each swirling around my innocence.

My life is a snow globe, and she has me in her hands. She takes my glass walls and places them on her dresser, on display for her fury. She watches my peace, my serenity, waiting for the right moment to shake it all up.

My life is a snow globe.

---

Authors Note:

Kinda boring, sorry. I promise that the next few chapters are a lot- the calm before the storm lol.

Anyways...thoughts?

Like, comment, & follow. 

- Love you Guys, Nia

Edited 4/5/22