killing time with you -- ELLIS

[ELIZA JOY LIEBERMAN]

A deep frown was etched into Eliza’s features. Her eyes focussed on the ring that was spinning over her bare stomach. A circle. That meant it was a girl. The woman let out a sigh. What if she didn’t want a girl? Reaching up with her other hand, she stilled the ring. She held it in her hand for a moment- something about letting her energy flow through it, she’d only skimmed the website about it. Yes, she had been googling ways to find out the sex of her baby. Of course, the only sure way was to wait a few more weeks for an ultrasound. However Eliza wasn’t sure how much she actually wanted to know- or what sex she actually wanted more. So, for now, she was actually content repeating wives tales ‘till she got the answer she was after in that moment. Which changed almost every day. Every time she saw a new baby product that was inclined to a particular gender, each time she imagined herself with a baby. She’d always been indecisive, but right now she was taking it to an extreme. Though, it was probably a good thing she didn’t have her heart set on one gender. Less chance of disappointment that way.

So there she was, stretched out on a banana chair beside he best friend’s pool. Dangling the ring for a third time in a row, trying to get it to swing back and forth and indicate that she was going to have a boy. The ring, of course, was not complying. It just kept spinning in a circle and telling her that she was going to have a girl. “Jelly,” she chastised her stomach, eyes still watching the ring spin. “Are you hiding your penis to trick my ring? Because that’s not very nice.” While, according to websites she had read, the baby was only just starting to be able to hear, EJ had been talking to her baby from the start. In private, then around Ellis of course. Because even now, they were the only two people that knew in five months time, Eliza was going to become a mother. She hadn’t even told the father yet. Which was a sore subject and one she shut down every time Ellis brought it up. Though, it was one she’d have to face soon, since she was putting on weight like no-one’s business, and was going to start showing soon. She’d have to tell him before someone else did.

That was why she was there, actually. Because she was fat. Or at least, she was feeling fat. That morning, the woman had gone shopping. First, she had discreetly slipped into a baby store and bought a whole bunch of yellow themed things. Bottles, pacifiers, jump suits, and the cutest classic winnie the pooh cot set she had ever seen. Then she had been hungry- she was always hungry these days, so had gone to the super-market and filled her cart with way too many bags of snacks. The teenaged check-out girl had sneered a little, and looked Eliza up and down. It had made the young woman feel rather self conscious. She had wanted to frown and yell ‘I’m pregnant, not fat!’, however, instead she had just collected her food and left feeling a bit like shit. All that was waiting for at home was two snobby cats and the prospect of eating a family sized back of sour cream and onion crisps to herself, so instead she had taken the familiar route to Ellis’ large house. Only to find him asleep on a floating couch in the pool. Leaving her to eat the bag on her own anyway.

Still though, asleep Ellis was better than nothing, so she had made herself comfortable by the pool with her crisps, and a large class of juice. However after about ten minutes boredom had set in, and she’d switched his radio to a station playing some classic rock, and started to test out some theories on her baby’s gender. Stopping the ring for the third time, she let out a sigh. Maybe she just needed a break. Or maybe if the baby got some food it would be happier to play along. Putting the ring (and the string) down on her stomach, the pregnant woman reached out to take a handful of crisps from the bag. They probably weren’t the healthiest thing she could be eating for the child, but for the most part she was being healthy. Taking care not to eat any of the forbidden foods and to take her pre-natal vitamins. So what was one (or five) bags of chips? Once finishing her handful, Eliza dusted off her hands and picked up the ring again. “Now, play nice.” She told her stomach, as she dangled it over the exposed part of her stomach.... Circles.... sigh.

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[LOGAN IAN ELLIS]

It was still the weekend right? His brow pinched together in confusion, eyes still closed. It wouldn't be the first time that Ellis had fallen asleep in the pool before, nor the first time that he had done it and actually slept through a day entirely. He stirred in his lounger, it's plastic surface squelching against the his, now sweaty, legs and the water beneath. There was a beer in his hand, half drank and entirely warm now thanks to the sun, which felt it necessarily to beat on his eyelids in the most unforgiving fashion. "Ah, balls..." He hated the sun. It was Saturday, and here the sun was reminded him that he still had nothing to do besides sleep. Sleeping killed time. When the soothing hum of the pool filter wasn't enough to lull him back to sleep, Ellis allowed himself to stir some more, reluctantly opening his eyes and admitting defeat.

What was he doing with his life?

Looking around, groggily squinty through the harsh rays, it had been made apparent that this nap was liquor induced. A tattered copy of his own book rested in his lap, the radio was playing some music he didn't even like and his head felt like it was water logged. This didn't count as a drinking problem, did it? Beer cans lined an edge of the pool, a few crushed cans bobbing in and out on the surface of the pool water, giving the scene a "morning after at a frat house" kind of feel. Not like he would know, or anything. He was never invited to those kinds of things in college. The man yawned, blinked a few times, then collapsed once more into the soft squishy surrender of the floating couch he was positioned on. There were worse things in life, he supposed, then drunkenly passing out in ones pool. At least EJ was here to supervise him. It was almost uncalled for how she always had a knack for showing up at just the right times.

"What time is it?" He asked, voice loud enough for her to hear over the radio, sparing no time on pleasantries. They were past that stage of their friendship. Come to think of it, they were past it about ten years ago. Closing his eyes, he raised a hand over his brow to shield them before speaking again, "Shouldn't you be at a Lamaze class or something?" It didn't even cross his mind to ask her how she had gotten in or what she was doing here. No. This was normal. This was them. As soon as he had bought the house, EJ had received his spare key. Or, more precisely, demanded one. And so she received. She was the closest living being on this planet that Ellis had, besides Dr. No (who was located some where in the depths of the yard no doubt terrorizing some small creature). The only one he could be himself around.

Lazily, his let his feet drop deeper into the water beneath him, slowly moving them around for some propulsion. As the man moved at a glacial pace around the pool, he picked up his warm beer, swished its contents around the bottom of the can and considered it. He couldn't have been out here more then an hour or so, so it couldn't be that terrible. Right? He picked his head up and pressed his lips against the lid for a swig, immediately regretting his decision and spitting the mouthful into the pool water. Resting his head back down, he let out an inaudible groan, free hand grabbing the useless book upon his stomach to rest it open, over his face to ignore the sun. All those thousands of dollars, he thought to himself, letting his free hand dangle his warm beer in the cold water in an attempt to fix it. All those thousands of dollars received for his apparent literary masterpiece, and here he was drunkenly floating in a cesspool of beer, using said masterpiece as a visor. He was pathetic.

OOC:|| think this?

[ELIZA JOY LIEBERMAN]

Hearing her best friend’s voice, Eliza’s head shot up. The ring still circling her stomach. “Morning sleeping beauty..” She smiled at him, though sarcasm was heavy in her tone. It wasn’t the first time she had made herself at home while he was asleep, and it wouldn’t be the last. EJ had felt comfortable to make herself at home in his house since before high school. Whenever she’d had enough of her mother for the moment, and needed a bit of sanity, she’d make her way over to the Ellis house and spend the night there. In fact, her high school boyfriend used to ring Logan’s house if he couldn’t contact Eliza at her own house. During college it was much of the same. Though, some of those occasions when she would sleep in Logan’s bed were due to... other things, but that was neither here nor there. Now that they were grown up (or so they were supposed to be), it wasn’t strange to find Eliza cleaning her best friend’s house or cooking up a storm in his kitchen. It was just how they were, and really, EJ was thankful. It was a good feeling, being so close to someone that you could consider their house your own. Besides, she liked looking after him, when he’d let her.

Still smiling at him, she gave a slight shrug. “Don’t know what the time is, don’t have my phone on me. It’s probably almost two.. I got here at about quarter past one?” She tilted her head to the side, trying to work out how long she had been there. However the woman didn’t really have the strongest perception of time. She never had that skill really. She could be sitting in a waiting room for five minutes, yet assume it was twenty. It actually had a lot to do with what she was doing. As cliché as it was, the saying about time flying when you are having fun did ring true for Eliza. She always felt like her time doing something great ended too soon. Like she never wanted to leave a party that she was enjoying, or admit it was time to go home after hanging out with a friend. She could also accidently waste a whole day doing something she loved without even realizing it. She’d look at the time and be shocked to see that it was already six in the afternoon and she’d done virtually nothing the whole day.

She hadn’t really looked at Ellis when she had let herself in and settled into the pool chair. However now she was looking at him and smiling, she found her eyes taking in the larger picture. The way he spat the beer into the pool water. The cans that littered the water... He was literally wallowing in alcohol. EJ knew what he had been through. Shit, she had sat next to him, made sure he ate, cleaned up after him, while he was dealing with the heart break of losing his ex girlfriend. She herself had dealt with three rather messy break ups- one rather recently actually, so it wasn’t like she didn’t understand. The downward spiral he seemed to be on though was heartbreaking. Mostly he functioned, and her best friend was himself. Though, it was moments like these that her heart literally broke in two for him, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in bubble wrap so no one ever hurt him again. As impractical as that was. How could she not want to protect the broken man she saw before her though? In Eliza’s eyes he was amazing, and it killed her that he couldn’t see what she saw, and that he was in such a bad place.

Biting the inside of her lip, she stopped the ring, putting it on the table beside her. “Have you eaten today?” She asked, her voice was attempting to recreate casual conversation, but her worry pushed it’s way through. “And by eaten I mean more than beer.” Perhaps she was being a little hypercritical, because all she had eaten so far was a donut at the shops and half a bag of chips, but still.. Standing from the chair, EJ pulled her top back down over her stomach and moved to the edge of the pool. Bending down, she collected some of the bits of debris from around the pool’s edge. Placing some books in a pile, and plucking a can from the water, she sat down on the edge of the pool. Her legs tucked up under her skirt so as to not touch the water. Fiddling with the can, she sighed, before tossing it towards the bin near his outdoor entertainment area. “Want to go out to dinner tonight?” She tilted her head to the side, wanting to give him a reason to get out of the house- to shower even..

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[LOGAN IAN ELLIS]

"Fuck." Barely audible beneath the folds of his novel, the man grimaced. She didn't know what time it was. He didn't know what time it was. And finding out what time it was meant removing his make-shift visor, scrounging together the motivation to get out of the pool and walking some where to check. Groggily he opened his eyes, staring at the text in his way before tilting his head ever so slightly forwards. The light from the sun flicked through its pages, illuminating his eyes and allowing Ellis to see whether or not the sun was on top of him, to the side of him, or...Well who the fuck was he kidding. He was just some nerdy loser from the suburbs of Massachusetts, not a jedi master tracker or a sun dial. He closed his eyes once more, rested his head back down and let lose a low groan. Maybe he had been out here the whole entire day. Oh, wouldn't that just be productive.

Lazily, he slid his legs a little deeper into the water, his free hand reaching over the side of the lounger to hover over its meniscus. "Yes?" His answer was unsure, Ellis allowing his fingers to trace the surface. Did he eat today? There were those Stoeffer's TV Dinners he housed last night along with a bag of stale cheese-doodles he found on his coffee table. That was less then twenty-four hours ago, and as such, obviously counted as a meal today. "Yes," He answered again, this time with little to no uncertainty. There was no use having her worry about him. He listened as she stirred, the man tightening his mouth in disappointment. She was cleaning up after him, wasn't she? She always did that. He hated it. Well, not really, but he hated the fact that she felt the need to take it upon herself. EJ was for ever looking after him and it was a harsh truth that they both knew if she didn't, no was.

Hearing the aluminum can clang amongst his back entertainment center, he knew she was at the waters edge, the man a little embarrassed at the amount of cans littering the water. It was beyond him why EJ thought he was worth wasting her time, especially now that Jelly was on the way. He was nothing but a waste of space and she was the physical manifestation of benevolence. Listening to her voice, a twisted smile broke through on his lips, the man letting his hand dip into the crisp water below. Even now she was doing it - pushing him to eat healthy, pushing him to get out of the house. After all these years, Ellis had come to learn his best friends techniques. He had also learned that she had the tenacity of a wild animal when it came to the ones she loved, and she wouldn't take no for an answer. It was why she was his rock through out all these years, and why she was going to make a fantastic mother.

"No, absolutely not," the smile placed on his lips pulled farther apart on his face, the statement so far from the truth it was almost comical, "I hate you. Go away." With the final syllables, he flicked his free hand in the water towards her, lightly spraying her. Allowing his hand to slip back into the water after sliding the book off of his face, he continued in a more rushed tone, "Only not really because I wouldn't get to see your face..." Ellis knew it must have been hard on EJ's self esteem to gain weight during her pregnancy, and not have the means to explain it to any one. Weight problems were hard for all women, even some men too. She deserved a night out to boost her confidence. Christ, he might have needed one too. "In which case, if your face is in the mood to dress up - let's say we dine like moderately wealthy royalty at The Wharf?" His smile held strong in spite of the grimace that just hit him: Christ, he'd have to shave, wouldn't he.

[ELIZA JOY LIEBERMAN]

It was nice, really, that Ellis thought she was so fantastic because she looked after him. She liked that he thought it was due to her good nature. Truth be told though, Eliza didn’t clean up after him because she felt like no one else would, or because she felt like it was her duty. She did it because she liked feeling needed. It was selfish actually. Or at least Eliza felt it was. She did things for other people because she felt content when she was being useful to those in her life. Okay, so maybe that did make her a good person. Or at least a better person than some people. Still though, she always felt a little awkward when people praised her generous nature, because she wasn’t being selfless, she enjoyed it. It would be a different story if she undertook things she detested, and wasn’t at all happy- then she would at least expect a thank you for what she was doing. At least Ellis never took her for granted. EJ had dated a guy in college for a while who would just expect her to do everything for him. That had ended the relationship rather quickly.

Raising a small eyebrow, she wasn’t sure if she believed him when he said he had eaten, but she wasn’t going to push the point. At least not right then. She’d learnt a long time ago that she needed to pick her battles when it came to her best friend. If she lectured him on every little thing, he would stop paying attention, so when something important needed to be said he wouldn’t listen. Actually, sometimes he didn’t anyway but that was another issue indeed. Plus, if she started in on things with Logan, he was likely to retaliate by picking on the things that she was doing wrong. The huge one being the fact she wasn’t telling Tyler about the baby. However there was a ton more he could select from if he wanted some new material. Her bad sleeping habits for one; Eliza had never been a good sleeper but lately she’d been having on average three hours sleep at night. Causing her to be completely exhausted by the time she got home. Then there was the fact that she drank too much diet coke and needed to cut back. And probably a million mote things she didn’t even know bugged her best friend.

Letting out a slight squeal, she scooted away from his splash. “Logan!” She chastised, calling him by his first name for emphasis. “That water is probably so full of beer you’ll give Jelly Foetal alcohol poisoning!” Still glaring lightly, she settled back into her spot. The water wasn’t all that bad, but still, she just didn’t want to be splashed with it. Actually, it was cool and refreshing. Maybe she’d hire someone to clean the pool, even drain and re-fill it before the warmer weather started and ban Ellis from tipping his beer into the water so she could actually use the thing. It would be good practice for him, because Eliza planned on practically living by the pool in the summer months while she was heavily pregnant and uncomfortable. Then after Jelly is born, she’ll want to be able to take her baby into the water. And there was no way she was letting her son- no, her daughter. Wait, no. Her son. Arg, whatever, her child. She wasn’t letting her child swim in a pool full of beer. In fact, Ellis was lucky she was even letting him. There was a part of her that wanted him to just get out now and not be allowed back into the pool until it was completely clean.

“Ha. Like I would ever go away.” She retorted. Getting over the water splash, and getting back to the topic at hand. A grin tugged at her lips as he rushed on with the next sentence. Man, she really needed that ego boost right now. If he was beside her, she would have leant over and kissed his nose or something. However instead, she blew him a kiss and smiled gently. At his offer, she grinned again. “My face is very in the mood.” She assured him. “Only..” She paused, biting at her lip. “As pretty as the wharf is, I don’t like seafood at the best of times and right now the smell may make me want to vomit. We could go to the bistro at the yacht club instead. Or oh, what about that little Italian place on the marina? The view is gorgeous, and so are the cocktails for those of us who aren’t pregnant.” She paused, thinking. “I may need to go home though, Not sure if I have any of my dresses here. At least the ones that still fit. I’ll go check..” Going to get up, she paused. “Oh! I just remembered I haven’t shown you the cot set I bought today!”

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[LOGAN IAN ELLIS]

Blah. Foetal alcohol poisoning. Sometimes it didn't sink in that his best friend was pregnant. It wasn't as if he had forgotten or anything - christ, she wouldn't let that happen what with every other word out of her mouth being about "Jelly." It was just a life changing event that was on the horizon for her. For them. EJ was going to be a mother and while he was over the moon with excitement for all the happiness it was going to bring his best friend, it was sometimes hard to stifle the images of the woman hew knew from childhood. The one who would hide her face under the covers during a thunderstorm or crawl into his bed for cuddles on lonely nights. Ellis laughed. Who was he kidding? She still did those things and nothing had really changed. Having Jelly on the way was just something he hadn't yet gotten his mind fully around and probably wouldn't until he/she/it had actually arrived. Which, in Ellis' mind, was too soon.

It was common knowledge that Logan Ellis wasn't the father of EJ's child - no matter how much his mother wanted him to be. But that didn't mean Ellis wasn't ready to assume the position if necessary. Up to this point in their lives, the two of them had been side to side on every major event in each others lives and if stepping in as a masculine paternal figure for this child was what was required for it to have the best life possible then so be it. He knew if EJ didn't contact Jelly's biological father soon, there was a possibility it would have to be done. Then again, he knew that whether or not EJ did contact the father, Ellis would still be fiercely over protective of the child like he was with EJ. There was almost no choice in the matter when it came to what had to be done: he was going to be there no matter what, whether she asked him to or not, and while it was exciting, it was as equally frightening.

"We could always just go buy you one," he said off hand, turning his head towards the woman as she spoke of dresses or some crap like that. It wasn't abnormal to have Ellis' debit card filled with purchases of the feminine persuasion thanks to EJ. He did, after all, have a god damn ridiculous amount of money, and nearly no way to properly spend it all. His best friend was the reason he was alive and such, treated quite frequently for her benevolence. "You should buy a few. They have preggo dresses right? That way y'know, you don't look like a globe at my new books release in four months. I'm not sure what shade tones down 'gravitational pull' though, so you might be on your own with shopping." He was of course joking: he'd never release a book within four months. He was only six chapters in on his newest novel and none of it lived up to it's predecessor's glory. Oh, and she'd never get that fat.

Nodding slightly as she did that thing women do when they buy things (insist on showing men), he raised a brow to feign interest and motioned for her to get it. He didn't really care - well, he did of course, but not as much as she did. She was quite adorable when excited over this sort of stuff. Baby stuff. It was EJ's expertise, not his. His main focus at this point was to get himself out of the pool. Letting go of the skunked beer in the pool, he briefly watched it float away before dipping his hands on either side of the flotation device and rowed himself towards the shallow end. There was some finagling around in an attempt to keep his book his book from getting wet, but before long he stood upon the steps of the water, minimally wet and heading onto the cement mote that surrounded it. The water skittered from his feet as he took his first few steps on the pavement, stretching his arms over his head and letting loose a loud yawn, "Think they'll let me in if I stay in my swim shorts?"

[ELIZA JOY LIEBERMAN]

Eliza didn’t like Ellis splashing his money around, buying her extravagant things. Sure, her wage wasn’t the best, but she could afford everything she needed, and even a lot of things she didn’t. She really did not need her best friend wasting his money on buying her dresses and other such silly items. And she was about to open her mouth to tell him exactly that, but stopped as he continued. His next sentence was like a stab in the gut to the already weight conscience woman. As big as a globe? The brunette looked down at her stomach. She was huge, and she was only going to get bigger. Then, she’d never loose any of the baby fat, and no guy would ever want to be with her again. She’d sit at home just eating her feelings ‘til she was so big she wouldn’t even fit through the door-way, and they’d need some sort of crane to get her obese dead body from the house when she died. Fat and alone.

Looking back up from her stomach, Eliza watched as her best friend (or ex best friend, whatever) got himself out of the pool. A glare firmly set on her features. How dare he state the obvious truth like that so bluntly and break her heart. Wasn’t he supposed to be the one to make her feel better about this sort of thing? Tell her that she was beautiful even if she was fat, and she wasn’t that fat anyway... Or something like that. Whatever. Point was, she couldn’t believe her best friend could be so nasty. She hadn’t sat there and called him a sad, pathetic drunk who was likely to end up alone with Doctor No for the rest of his life. She could have! There was a whole list of things she could have so rudely told him about himself just to tear him down. She wouldn’t though. Eliza wouldn’t be so petty! Obviously, she was just a better friend, and Ellis didn’t care for her feelings at all.

Somewhere, deep in that twisted, and hormonally imbalanced mind of hers, Eliza knew that her best friend was joking. That she was ridiculous and irrational and she really had no reason to get upset. However, pregnancy had messed with her emotions and addled her brain and Eliza just couldn’t see that irrational side of the situation. At least not right then. Her glare intensified as he got out of the pool. “I don’t care.” She spat, getting up fully and turning her back on the man who could previously be identified as her best friend. “Wear what you want, Because I’m not going with you.” Just like somewhere inside she knew she was being irrational, she knew she was being completely over-dramatic- And frankly, she didn’t care. Stalking to the banana chair, Eliza snatched up the bag of chips from where she had left them, and got ready to storm inside. “You wouldn’t want to be seen with a fatty like me in public.” She shot over her shoulder, before slamming the back-door for affect.

Eliza stood for a moment. Considering locking the door. However upset she was though, the woman knew that locking Logan out of his own house was going just too far. So instead, she skulked her way into the lounge-room. Feeling utterly sorry for herself and perhaps even just a tiny bit guilty. Throwing herself onto the couch, Eliza hugged her bag of crisps. Like they could offer her the comfort she wanted. She didn’t exactly deserve Ellis’ comfort though. Especially not after the way she had just treated him. Their entire relationship was based on teasing, and she’d just thrown the biggest fit over something that really shouldn’t have upset her. Oh well.. She told herself, trying to stay upset to at least feel a little justified. It was his fault. He should know how sensitive I am to the f word right now.

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