The rest of the school day passed with an odd tension lingering between them. Lila still talked to him, still acted like herself, but there was a new awkwardness in the way she interacted with him—like she was trying to stop herself from reacting too much.

  Elias noted every detail.

  The way she hesitated before looking at him.

  The way she fiddled with the hem of her sleeve when he spoke.

  The way her heartbeat picked up slightly when he got too close.

  Something had shifted.

  But he didn’t understand why.

  After school, Lila usually walked home with him, but today, she lingered near her locker, pretending to be busy. Elias, naturally, waited.

  Eventually, she let out a dramatic sigh. “Elias, you don’t have to wait for me every time, you know.”

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  “But I always do.”

  “Yes, and you don’t have to,” she mumbled, closing her locker with more force than necessary.

  “You are avoiding me.”

  Lila stiffened. “I am not!”

  “You are acting differently than usual.”

  She groaned. “Oh my god, you are so—” She cut herself off, pressing her fingers to her temples like she was trying to will away a headache. “Never mind. Forget it.”

  “You always say that.”

  “Because you always ask questions I don’t wanna answer!”

  “Then why do you not want to answer?”

  “Because—” She abruptly stopped, taking a deep breath. Then, in a quieter voice, she muttered, “Because it’s embarrassing, okay?”

  Elias tilted his head. “Embarrassing?”

  She huffed, crossing her arms. “Yes, Elias. Embarrassing. You do know what that means, right?”

  “I understand the definition,” he said. “But I do not understand what part of this is embarrassing.”

  Lila covered her face with both hands. “Of course you don’t.”

  Elias remained silent, waiting.

  After a moment, Lila peeked at him through her fingers. She bit her lip, like she was debating something internally. Then, with a deep breath, she dropped her hands and looked up at him.

  “Elias,” she started hesitantly.

  “Yes?”

  She opened her mouth—then immediately shut it.

  Then she groaned loudly, throwing her hands in the air. “Never mind! Let’s just go home!”

  Elias blinked but said nothing as she stomped ahead of him, clearly flustered.

  As he followed behind, he made a note to himself.

  Lila was experiencing a very particular emotion.

  One that, for some reason, she did not want to admit to him.

  And if that was the case—then he would simply have to figure it out himself.