Close Your Eyes to See

Edie's mindset since the day she was born revolved around the theory that if you have low expectations on everything, you can never be disappointed. For every painting she created or every essay she turned in, the expectations on the outcome of them were low no matter what.

So naturally, when Eric informed Edie on the day of her parents' event that he could no longer be her date due to the fact that he had to go with Beth to her sister's birthday party, Edie wasn't upset. At least, she made herself believe she wasn't upset.

“Almost ready in there sis?” Gabe knocked once on her bedroom door as he adjusted the cuff on his suit jacket, something he had worn in forever.

“Yeah, give me a minute.” Edie turned back to the mirror, feeling completely foolish. She knew her mom was going to make sly comments about Eric all night, probably complaining about the dress she had picked out as well.

There were no bows or puffy skirts or candy colored fabrics on her body – she went for simple. A long sleeve white lace dress that reached the floor covered her body, making her feel self conscious. She adored the dress, but she had the realization that she was going to hate how she looked no matter what she was wearing.

Black paint still covered parts of her nails, the substance not coming off of her fingers despite the fact the mural had been done for two days. Edie walked over to her bed and began to slide on her black heels that were going to make her feel like a giant all night long.

She was preparing herself to be seated at a table with the men discussed politics and the women discussed who was fucking their gardeners over overpriced and tiny entrees and hundred dollar bottles of champagne.

“What is this event even for anyway?” Edie asked as she shut her bedroom door, Harley dancing around her feet for attention.

“Mom tried explaining it to me the other day and I stopped listening halfway through. Its a fundraiser for some cause to try and make mom and dad and the other adults of the community look like humanitarians.” Gabe said as he fixed his tie in the living room mirror before turning around and smiling at his sister.

Gabe knew Edie was having a rough go of things, he just wanted to see her happy. It hurt him when he found out his sister and Eric weren't on speaking terms after their weekend trip. Gabe wasn't home much because his job constantly had him going and traveling to different places around the world. He wanted to be there for Edie, but he knew he couldn't always be and loved that Eric Halvorsen was there to be her brother when Gabe couldn't be.

“So it basically like every other event they put on.” She reached for her jacket and shrugged it across her arms to hug her torso for comfort, she wasn't ready for the night. Everyone was going to give their attention to Gabe and ask about his travels with Edie was going to sit there as the forgotten child. At least if Eric was there, someone could make her laugh and entertain her all night.

“You look beautiful, Edie.” She looked at her brother and smirked slightly before waving the compliment off.

“Come on bro, we are going to be late.”

++++

“This is a terrible idea.” John stared at himself in the mirror and tried helplessly to talk himself out of the plan that had formed in his head. He continued to button up his white dress shirt, something he hasn't worn since Loren's wedding three years ago. He continued to shake his head at his stupidity as he reached for his coat jacket and placed it onto his thin frame.

His best friend had made an appearance at his apartment earlier today and the two boys found themselves forgiving each other before Eric even stepped inside. The obvious things were said, John apologized for trying anything with Edie and Eric said he was stupid to get so worked up over it.

What surprised John the most, however, was that Eric told him he wasn't going to be able to be Edie's date to her parents' event tonight. He was almost hinting that John should show up and be her date. After all of the ruckus that was caused, Eric had too much pride to admit that he wanted his two best friends together, but John got the hint easy enough.

He soon found himself digging through his closet in search for something to wear to the event. Eric mentioned it was dressy and John wanted to look good for Edie and her family. He needed to make a good first impression, especially for her brother who was going to be there. John was sure he already had his mind made up about him.

It wasn't until he laced up his shiny black shoes that he began wondering what could go wrong. Edie could yell at him or run away and cause a scene. He really didn't want to fuck this up, but he needed to make things right and he guessed that doing it publicly with her entire family there was going to have to work for now.

John checked to make sure once more that his tie was straight against his chest before reaching for his wallet and keys off of the kitchen counter and turning towards the door. As he opened it, he was surprised to see Aly there holding a suitcase and folded up cardboard boxes.

“I-uhhhh, came to get some of my stuff.” He moved out of the way so she could waltz inside her old apartment, ready to pack as much of her stuff as she could. Aly moved and set her suitcase down, her cardboard boxes going on the kitchen counter.

“You're looking sharp, where are you headed off to?” She noted how well dressed her ex boyfriend was, something she had never seen in the time they were together. John shifted in his stance, feeling uncomfortable with the sudden small talk going on between the two of them.

“I am going to this dinner thing tonight with a friend.”

“With Edie?” John chuckled at the quick observation his ex was making, still upset about how Edie was in John's life. He nodded his head slightly, still unsure if he was making the right decision by going to this dinner.

“Do you think we could have worked things out?” Aly's hair flowed freely down her shoulders as she was filled with questions at the sight of John.

“I don't know, Aly. We weren't exactly conventional.”

“Well, neither are you and Edie.” She crossed her hands over her chest as John groaned towards the ceiling, not wanting to start things with her again.

“I really don't have time for this Aly-”

“I just want to know what you like about her, John.” John stepped forward with intent of saying this whole thing once.

“Me and Edie just understand each other. Since the moment I met her in the back patio of another stupid house party, we just connected. She is the most frustrating and incredibly difficult girl I have ever met. Its nearly impossible to get her to open up and talk to me about things, but its something that makes me even more attracted to her. She has a weird obsession with cats and is crazy talented with painting and drawing and anything with a writing utensil. She is-” John's words faded as Aly approached him closely and began to adjust the collar on his suit jacket.

“What are you doi-”

“I just needed to here you say that, John. I wanted you to admit the feelings you had for her and not for me.” Aly leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before turing around and grabbing the cardboard off the counter to start packing up what she could.

“Better getting going, Bud. You're going to be late.”