Change of Plans Chapter Five

I might have been calm and cool when I left Ezra that night but I shut the door behind me to my own room I leaned against the door frame and palmed my face.
"What the f…" I mumbled quietly and slunk to the floor.
How could such a thing be possible?  A giant.  A giant living here.  My parents must know about such a thing, otherwise they would have never stopped here.  I mean would they?  Would they??  I had to have answers, I'm sure Ezra himself could tell me but I knew there was at least one person that could really help me out with this.  I removed my hand from my face and looked towards the heavens.
"The internet," I whispered and jumped off the floor and ran to my computer.
"Giants…" I typed quickly and hit search.
Nothing.  Nothing that would really help me.  I didn't really care about baseball, or bears, or the Guinness Book of World Record holders.  The tallest man to ever live was almost nine feet, and Ezra was well over fifty.  It didn't make sense.  It was getting late…but I wanted answers.  I looked around the room then…the albums.  The albums that Aiden insisted I leave alone.  But…I mean did it really matter at this point?  He said don't go into the ballroom, and I already did that.  I stood up out of my chair and walked to the shelves.  
"Really…how much weirder can this get?" I said more to myself than anyone and began to pull a book off the shelf when…there was a harsh knocking at the door.  Did Aiden know?  Did he already somehow find out that I knew his secret?  
"Who is it?" I asked.
Nothing.
I slowly walked to the door.  "Who is it?" I asked again in a more stern voice.
Nothing.
I opened the door anyway.  Stupid right?  And before I could say anything or react I was enveloped in a sweaty darkness.  What the heck??  I punched all around me but could find no means to escape.  
"HELP!" I screamed out but warm breath somehow found its way to my face as loud voice rumbled around me.
"SHHHHHH," it hushed me and I gasped.
As if it could be anybody else.  I shut my mouth then and tried to maintain some stability at what must have been Ezra navigated his way through the house and back to his room again.  It was strange to think that he had somehow made his way up to my room without making an unbelievable amount of noise.  I mean he's a giant.  Don't giants make noise?  I listened as Ezra was breathing heavily and eventually heard a door unlatch and my stomach dropped as his hand with me in it rose suddenly in the air.  He must be standing now.  The darkness opened up to light then and his eyes were now focused on me.
"I'm sorry," was the first thing he said to me.
I leaned forward and tried not to look as out of breath and nervous as I now felt.  I don't know why, but it really bothered me that he felt he had the right to snatch me up and take me out of my room.  Couldn't he have just asked me to stay in the first place?
"Couldn't you have just asked me to stay in the first place?" I stuttered out at him, deciding just to say exactly what was on my mind.  Ezra looked embarrassed and walked over to the window sill.
"No," I commanded him and he stopped.  "Put me on the ground.  I don't want to be on that window sill.  It's too high, I could fall."
"I won't let you fall," Ezra began but I kept my face stern.
"I want freedom to move around, you can't just pick up and place people wherever you want," I explained to him.  For being only a few years younger than me, Ezra was almost like a child who just didn't know how to play with his friends or his toys.  I realized that I would have to be patient with him but I still couldn't allow him to see me as something he could just do whatever he pleased with.
"I don't want you to run," Ezra said quietly but began to lower his body to the ground.
"Where the heck am I going to go?" I shouted as I stepped off his palm and faced him.  He leaned against the wall then and bent his knees.  He was still so big…maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to go hide in the car until Aiden came.  Still, looking at his face it was hard to be rude to him.  I tried to take a different approach.  "So why didn't you just ask me to stay if you obviously still wanted me around?" I asked gently.  Ezra glanced at me for a moment before jerking his head to the side.  He reached over and lifted a SUV off the ground and clutched it to his chest like a toy and tried to focus on anything but me.
"Look at me," I demanded while trying not to let the fact that he was holding a car in his hands bother me.  I could only imagine what those hands could do to me if I ever got him upset.  Ezra brought his attention to me who was standing between his shoes.  I wondered what he thought about me, and how comfortable I was pretending to be around him.  "Why did you take me from my room?  It's almost two in the morning…did you think for a moment that I didn't want to get some sleep?  I promised that I would be here tomorrow night."
"Well…" Ezra began quietly and turned the car over in his hands, yet another disturbing sight.  "I've met people before and sometimes I only meet them once.  I just wanted to talk to you a little more before…" he trailed off and looked away.
"Before what sweetie?" I couldn't help asking in a nice tone.  I really did want to know.  I reached out and grabbed his pant leg next to me and attempted to pull it.  "Tell me."
His face looked surprised with my concern and I found myself wanting to be closer to him.  It felt weird trying to talk to him while hovering around his feet, but I couldn't help that he was enormous. Ezra kept looking away.
"You're too nice," he spoke to the wall.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Yes,"
"Well then how about you try looking at me when you speak Ezra.  I'm small, but I'm right here you know."
Ezra sighed then and finally put the car down next to him.
"You are the first one since Aiden," he whispered and crossed his arms over his knees.
"Aiden?" I asked perplexed.  "Aiden the weirdo?"
"Aiden was one of the only people that ever talked to me, like actually talked to me," he went on quietly.  "You say that I'm young, but you're young too, and I don't think you understand what you're doing when you are so nice to me and talk to me."
"Well then explain it to me," I offered and took a huge risk.  Using my athletic ability I began to scale Ezra's pant leg by grabbing on to the folds of his pants and climbing up his leg.  I felt him un-cross his arms to watch me, but he remained silent as I did so.  I don't know where the courage came from, but something about him, his worries about talking and me getting to know him, made me want to know even more.
"Gah!" I yelped as I almost lost my footing but a giant hand appeared under me.
"Be careful," Ezra whispered.  "Do you want help?"
I shook my head with a large smile.  "Nah, I'll give you a break from carrying people around."
Ezra sighed then and smiled causing my hair to ruffle slightly.
"You are too nice," he went on as I finally reached the top of his bent leg and sat on his knee with my legs crossed.
"You can't avoid looking at me now," I joked and rested my chin in my hands.
"I thought you wanted to be on the floor," Ezra said with a smile.
I waved him off.  "What I want…is to know about these rules you keep talking about.  Why are you so afraid of me knowing things about you?"
"It's complicated I guess."
"Well apparently I'm here all night, so maybe you should just try me."
"Or what?" Ezra joked.
I was actually taken aback for a moment.
"What do you mean 'or what?'"
"Well," Ezra began in a sing song tone, "I'm asking what you can do to force it out of me.  If I don't want to tell you…then I guess I won't have to."
"Are you challenging my awesomeness?  Do you think that just because you're some giant…that I can't force information out of you?"
Ezra leaned forward then so close that his nose was almost touching mine.  I could see my entire reflection in his sea green eyes and thought I would never admit it, it was pretty intimidating that he had no problem with invading my personal space.  He was waiting for me to back down.  How many times had he done things like this and the person probably ran away from him?  I narrowed my eyes.
"I'm not scared of you," I challenged him but tried to keep my voice from cracking.  All he would have to do is open his mouth and I would be eaten.  He said he didn't hurt humans so I hoped that meant that he didn't eat them either but he was just so close now.
"You're not?" Ezra asked with a menacing tone.  My heart was pounding out of my chest, my breaths were becoming ragged, but I couldn't back down.  "Prove it."
I took a deep breath and stared at him.  Ezra's eyes began to soften in disappointment.  "I knew it…"
BAM!
I punched him on the side of his lip with as much force as I could manage.  I think both of us were really surprised then because Ezra leaned back and I fell forward due to the effort it took to hit him.  I tumbled down his thigh and with a face so red I must have looked like crushed tomatoes I crashed into his stomach and lay on back in a daze.  With a surprising amount of slowness Ezra lifted up his hand and touched the spot where I struck him and looked down at me lying there between his hip and thigh.  His eyes were surprised but nervous.
"Are you okay?" he asked.  "Can you move?"
I nodded but didn't get up.  It was surprisingly nice being his lap now.  He was everywhere and I felt so safe this close to him.  "I proved it didn't I?"
Ezra nodded and his eyes lit up with happiness.  "You sure did.  I don't think anyone's even touched me before since Aiden without me initiating it, and no one…no one has ever actually hit me before."
I laughed and stared up at him.  "No big deal…I told you I wasn't scared of you."
Ezra kept smiling and shook his head.  "No, you really aren't scared of me are you?"
"Nope," I chuckled after popping the 'p' in the word nope.  I sighed then and looked up at Ezra.  His happiness and playfulness was intoxicating.  It was odd though, even though he was young and acted young sometimes there was sadness in his eyes that aged him as well.  Our eyes met then and we both remained silent for a few moments as I considered just what this kid was going through and if no one ever allowed him to touch them, or hit him or argue with him, how tentative must he be of people my size.
"Are you lonely?" I dared to ask him.
"Yes," he answered quickly, "But not right now."
"That's good to hear.  You're actually pretty cool."
"You are too!" Ezra shouted quickly and I grabbed my ears.  "Sorry," he said in a lower tone.  "But it's true; you're like no one I ever met before.  You're…you're very very different Clover."
I blushed at hearing his say my formal name again.
Clearing my throat, "Ezra, I do have to go though.  It's almost three in the morning.  I have to ask that you don't take me out of my room again."
Ezra nodded quickly.  "Yes, I'm sorry about that."
"If you want to talk to me, I'm here…I'll talk to Aiden about it so we can hang out during the day."
"Are you sure you want to do that?"
"Well…I could see you more if I do."
"But…" Ezra began slowly and looked away.  I stood up in his lap and yanked on his shirt.
"The rules…right?" I asked.
He nodded.
"Screw the rules," I blurted out and Ezra smirked to himself.
"What?  What did I say?" I asked him in an irritated tone.
"It's not that easy."
"Well what the heck are these stupid rules?"
"Can I pick you up?" Ezra asked suddenly.
I held out my hands in confusion.  "Okay?"
"See this is what I mean!" Ezra sulked and put a palm to his face.  "You…you don't know what you're doing.  You have a future right?"
"Sure, I'm on my way to start college,"
"Exactly…you want to go right?"
"Of course!!  I've been looking forward to college since I was a freshman in high school."
"You couldn't imagine yourself not going to college?"
"Hells no,"
"Well there you go," Ezra grumped and hastily scooped me into his hand.  Before I could respond he strode across the floor and placed me on the ground and opened the door.
"Good night Clover," he replied and stood up again so he could look down at me.
"What did I say?" I asked helplessly.
"You…" Ezra accused.  "You can't just come in here and be all nice to me and trust me and not be scared of me and just leave.  I won't…I won't get attached to something again only to have my heart get broken.  Just go."
"But Ezra…" I mumbled.
"Just go Terra.  I don't want to see you again…it hurts too much."
"But we only just met,"
"I don't mean just you, you normal humans in general.  You don't…you can't understand what it's like for me."
"Than help me understand," I yelled at him and tried to come back in the door.  Ezra's large foot blocked the way.
"No, you have a life.  A future.  College and whatever else."
"What's the big deal?  There's colleges all over the country…I don't have to go to that specific one.  What's wrong!!?" I shouted and grabbed onto the top of his shoe.  "I don't get anything but I'm trying aren't I?  Tell me what hells I'm supposed to do.  I like you Ezra, I want us to be friends but I can't guess everything about these stupid rules."
"You want to know the rules?" Ezra challenged.
"I do," I mumbled into his shoe but then lifted up my head trying to look into his face.
Um…not happening.
"Talk to Aiden and then decide if you want to see me.  I'll be waiting…if you come to see me tomorrow by ten, than I'll assume you know the rules and you're okay with them.  If you don't show up…well then I've lost another."
I let go of his shoe then and stood up.
"I'm going to learn the rules…but I'm telling you now.  I'll be here tomorrow so be prepared to see me."
"You say that now," Ezra whispered and closed the door.
What the heck are the rules?
I wouldn't stress about it tonight, Ezra was enough of a stressor.  I'll talk to Aiden tomorrow and figure this whole thing out.  I wanted to be around Ezra, it was strange now that the door was closed that I suddenly felt empty.  I had some close friends in high school, but Ezra made me feel differently.  I felt like I was needed.  I felt like Ezra needed someone to confide in and he was testing to see if I could be that person.
Well I am always up for a challenge.