JujuBee
Pettiest Bitch Out There
N a m e :
Elijah Lockwood
A g e :
24
G e n d e r :
Male
S e x u a l P r e f e r e n c e :
Bisexual
P e r s o n a l i t y :
Has there ever been that one person you know? The one you don’t truly know but you know enough about the rumors you’ve heard about them? The ones that speak of them being evil, deranged, crazy, serial killer like? Then there’s that moment where you finally meet. You watch in anticipation, anxiety, fear as they slowly make their way to you. You stare at them, praying that you’ll still be alive after this interaction. That you won’t be scarred. You wait and wait until they’re finally right there, just inches- centimeters away. So close that you can feel their breath, that you look up into their dark eyes. You see that frown on their face, the very one that holds so many rumored stories. The cloudy eyes that are so hard to understand. The emotionless face. And then that’s when you realize that you are dead. You wait, watching as they finally open their mouth and you anticipate for their words to be degrading, demeaning, sentences that’ll rip you to shreds, pick you back up and rip some more. But what you come to find is that they’re far from the rumors you’ve been told. That they aren’t some broods, mysterious, asshole that wants to see the world dead but one of the biggest sweethearts you could have ever talked to.
This is Elijah. Despite his appearance he is certainly one of the happiest people you will ever meet. Modest and very humbled, there’s always a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes as he gets ready to bring about the next joke he’s heard whether it’s a dad joke, an actually funny joke, or one of those corny pick up lines he seems to love so much. He’s quite the sweetheart, loving to see smiles on other people’s faces as well and if they’re upset he’s always been the one to sit down and listen if they were ready for it.
It is to be noted however that Elijah doesn’t take to rudeness quite well. Due to how he was raised by his parents, Elijah doesn’t accept certain types of attitudes. He’s usually able to keep himself calm, cool, and collected but his words will become sharp and at that point no one is safe from the wrath of a Lockwood. Elijah is very big on not seeing any type of prejudice and has no problem getting rough it means he’s still fighting for his beliefs.
B a c k g r o u n d :
Elijah certainly isn’t one of those children who had a wonderful life. You know, the ones where they were born to loving parents, the child of however many. The ones that grew up in a nice suburban home only having to worry about the next prank to pull on their brother or sister. Elijah was far from that. His parents, Lorraine Joyner and Calvin Belcher weren’t that loving pair of parents. Having met while in high school, the two lit up together like a flame. They were the it couple and with that image came the responsibilities that dropped on them with it. Though they didn’t seem to care too much, Calvin surely didn’t as he wasn’t faithful even then. However their senior year of high school Lor would become pregnant with Elijah and Calvin would of course, be the father.
This is when both of them finally stepped up to the plate, wanting nothing but the best for their son. Both got jobs and with the support from those that were willing to give it were very close to succeeding in making a good life for Elijah. Life however, had never meant for them to get as far as they did and wouldn’t let it slide by. Lorraine would succumb to giving birth, dying just minutes after Elijah would be birthed into the world. She would hold him for her first and last time, tears escaping her eyes as she slowly felt herself leaving the world. Calvin would be right there by her side, holding their son in his arms as she went to be in heaven. The death of the mother of his child was a huge blow to him and for a small while Calvin would angrily blame Elijah but would later come out of it. He instead did his best to raise his son on his own as the supporters he’d had before began to drop like flies.
By age 2, Elijah wouldn’t see his father for a long time after his father decided that enough was enough. He knew he couldn’t provide for Elijah and wanted him to have a better life which took him to the conclusion of adoption. By age 3, Elijah was simply another kid in the system, waiting for a loving family to adopt him. He would bounce from foster home to foster home as he grew up, his mood deteriorating rapidly from every rejection he received. By age 16, Elijah was a youngster who lived his life in silence, never trusting of the ones who would bring him in. He’d try and get along with them but his distrust was enough for him to break away from the family. It would be his next transfer to a new foster home however that would change his life and his thought process.
Elijah would be told that there was a potential pair of parents looking at him and that he’d be staying with them for a while. This was the usual protocol for Elijah so he wasn’t very much excited for it as he got his stuff packed up and ready to be shipped over to the next house of uncaring parents that only wanted the money that would come with him. He continued to think in this mindset however the first moment he laid eyes on his parents he would be surprised. He’d’ heard about, seen a few and even had friends who’d declared this but never in a million years would he have thought his new set of parents would be a same sex couple.
Sterling and Tanner Lockwood would welcome Elijah into their home with open arms, huge smiles on their faces and hearts ready to love the teen they wished to call son. Elijah wouldn’t go in too well. He was a bit uncomfortable at first, not necessarily sure how to take it. He had never been around something like this. Slowly but surely however, Elijah would come to like them enough to begin opening up from his shell he’d placed himself into a long time ago. They became a very close family and Elijah knew they were the ones. A few months later, Elijah would officially become a Lockwood. He would finally have a permanent school where he’d come into contact with Aaliyah, a girl who he believed to be very important. They would become very close though would never step over the line of friendship along with the others in the group. However the one moment where Elijah would know she was certainly the best friend that heaven had sent him would be his senior year. After a night out with his friends Elijah would come home to a wrecked house. The windows on one side would be broken and the door almost off the hinges. The young boy would immediately rush into the home, screaming for his fathers with fear and would be relieved when he got an answer. The relief however wouldn’t stay for long when he’d be told to call the ambulance.
Not everyone in the town was accepting of the men raising a child and that fateful night would be the night they’d let their opinion be known, beating Sterling within an inch of his life. Sterling would make a full recover however though it would be a long and hard process. This ruined Elijah’s mood for weeks and the outcome would be Elijah slowly build that wall again. Aaliyah would be the one to stop him from doing so, making sure to keep him balanced as well as visiting whenever she could to help his parents. The whole family would be grateful of her actions and Elijah would be happy to see both of his parents there for his graduation that year.
He would go on afterwards to college where he’d earn his degree in communications. He would then gain a job as a Public Relations Coordinator within an organization that was created in support of the LGBTQ community. This would keep him occupied and eventually the same thoughts of friends would begin to drift away as his meetings, calls, and texts with them decreased until there was nothing left.
W h e r e w e r e y o u w h e n y o u g o t t h e c a l l ?:
In the parking lot, thinking about coming home.
While Elijah certainly loved living in Baltimore and continuing to keep his organization getting all the attention it deserved, he was getting too homesick for his own good. It had a been a good few months since he'd stepped back into the very home he'd spent a good majority of his teen years in. Since he'd seen his fathers' smiling faces and those sassy comments they'd always throw at him out of love. It had also been a while since he'd talked to a few of his friends as well. Aaliyah had been the last one he'd spoken to about a month ago. She'd pleaded for him to come home due to the fact that she'd missed him and that she had so much planned for the group when se finally got them all together. He had agreed, telling her he'd make his way down the first chance he got and to call up the others. But that time never came.
So today he'd make his way home. To see his family. To see friends. To just have a moment away from his job.
He was currently on the phone with his one father, walking in the parking lot towards his car. He'd shared the news and as expected his father had immediately went into talking about the cute girls and guys he'd met along the way at work that would be 'perfect' for him. Elijah had to give it to him- this man was persistent.
"I'm gonna tell Pops you're trying to make me get grandkids again."
"Boy, try me." Elijah let out an even louder laugh as his phone beeped, signaling another call. He pulled the phone away from his face for a moment and saw it wasn’t a saved number. That wasn’t abnormal for him though as he usually always got calls from random numbers. Sometimes they were important people, sometimes people wanting interviews- Hell, he’d even gotten calls from people who needed to vent.
"Hold on Dad. Got another call." He switched over happily, a huge smile plastered on his face as he nodded towards a group of women he worked with that were leaving as well. “Hello? Elijah Lockwood here.”
“Oh good this is the right number. Elijah, this is Pastor Blake from the church you came to with your parents. Do you remember me?”
Elijah sobered up quickly. “Of course I do Pastor. May I ask what’s going on? For what do I owe a call from you?”
“I’m bringing terrible news. I truly do wish it wouldn’t have been something like this but it had to be. Aaliyah has passed away and the family has given me the task to call close friends. You were on the list.”
For Elijah, it was as though someone had just punched him in the stomach. The air had left him, he was stuck frozen in that space, and waves of pain washed over him repeatedly. How… How could this be true? Aaliyah? She had just been so alive and well. He had just gotten done talking to her yesterday over FaceTime! She had been talking about this new job she’d gotten and had just told him about the trip she wanted them all to do. Aaliyah had been so vibrant and sweet as she had usually been. She’d given him updates on everyone else she had managed to talk to and said she had been doing fine herself. So how was she gone the next day?
“Y-You’re joking right Pastor? This is just Aaliyah being a pest.”
“I am not Elijah. She died at exactly 2:27 this morning.”
“Oh my…” Elijah groaned, feeling himself swaying slightly. “Aaliyah…”
“Will you be coming for the funeral?”
“Of course Pastor.” Elijah responded, forcing himself to stand straight before walking along as though he were having a normal conversation. Not one that involved informing the other about their best friend’s death. “Of course.”
“Alright. You have a blessed day Elijah.”
“You too Pastor.” Elijah responded, turning the corner and seeing his car. He didn’t bother switching over the lines, listening to the distinct click of the pastor hanging up as he climbed into his car. His father’s voice came back on, him apparently arguing with one of his employees though it was obviously playful. “Hey son, you back?”
“Y-yeah…”
There was a pause on his father’s side as the older man processed the tone Elijah had used. Of course he wouldn’t have missed a beat. “What’s wrong?”
“Aaliyah…”
“Aaliyah? That angel! I saw her the other day at the supermarket over here, getting groceries for her mother. Such a sweet thing. She asked me about you. Wants you all to come back for like a friend reunion. Boy why don’t you bring your ass back here? It would be fun! We all miss you! I know Aaliyah does too-“
“She’s dead.”
“… What? Hold on Elijah, what just… Aaliyah’s dead? Who were you just talking to? What happened-“
“It was the pastor who called to tell me Aaliyah was d-“ His throat seemed to close up as the bulge grew. His eyesight became blurry and Elijah knew the tears were coming. He hated to show his emotions too much and especially his tears but he couldn’t help it. Not this time. “Dad, she’s gone.”
It was as if his body had wanted to hear those words as now there was no stopping the waterworks. He seemed to lose his breath once more as the tears rolled down his cheeks, never once stopping as he shut his eyes to block them. He leaned in forward on himself, resting his head in his hand to hold him up all the while covering his face as sobs overtook him. Elijah was sure he looked crazy to those around town that didn’t know him but there was no helping it now.
“Oh son…” He could hear his father in the background, his voice far from the loud, attitude tone it had been earlier and now soft and comforting just as Elijah had needed. “I am so sorry for your loss with Aaliyah… What are you going o do now Eli?”
Elijah managed to stop his crying for moment, letting his mind race for the answer. It hit him immediately and he sniffled, taking a deep breath.
“I’m going to come home of course. They’re not burying her with out me. That’s my best friend and I’ll be damned if don’t get to say my last goodbyes…"