The walk home was unusually quiet.
Normally, Lila would talk the entire way—complaining about school, bringing up some random story, or teasing him about something he said earlier. But today, she was silent.
Her arms were crossed, her steps were slightly quicker than usual, and every so often, she would sneak a glance at him before looking away just as fast.
Elias observed all of it.
“Lila,” he finally spoke.
She jumped slightly. “W-What?”
“You are still acting differently.”
Lila groaned, rubbing her temples. “Elias. Please. Just let it go.”
“I cannot,” he said. “I do not understand it.”
She let out an exasperated laugh. “Yeah, well, neither do I!”
That was interesting.
“You do not understand your own feelings?” he asked.
Lila froze mid-step.
Her grip tightened around the strap of her bag. “I— That’s not—” She inhaled sharply, closing her eyes. “Can we not do this right now?”
“Then when?”
Lila opened her mouth, then shut it again.
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A pause.
Then, in a small voice, she muttered, “I don’t know.”
Elias studied her carefully. This was different from her usual frustration with him. She wasn’t just annoyed—she was genuinely flustered.
Whatever she was feeling, it was something she wasn’t ready to admit.
For now.
So, for the first time, Elias chose to let it go.
“Alright,” he said simply.
Lila blinked. “Wait, really?”
“Yes.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Just like that?”
“Yes.”
Lila stared at him for a long moment before sighing in relief. “Good. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Elias nodded.
But he wasn’t done with this mystery.
If Lila wouldn’t tell him what she was feeling—then he would just have to keep watching her until he figured it out himself.
Because whatever this was…
It had something to do with him.
The tension between them didn’t disappear overnight.
The next morning, Lila still seemed flustered around him. When he greeted her at school, she nearly dropped her books. When he sat next to her in class, she avoided looking at him for the first ten minutes. And when their hands brushed against each other while reaching for a textbook, she yanked hers away like she’d been burned.
Elias observed all of it.
But he said nothing.
If he pressed her too much, she would avoid the topic entirely. And since he didn’t yet understand what exactly was happening, it was best to let things unfold naturally.
For now.
At lunch, she seemed to have calmed down—though she still fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve as they sat together.
“So,” she started, clearly trying to change the subject. “Did you do the history homework?”
“Yes.”
She hummed, poking at her food. “Good, good. I, uh, definitely did mine too.”
“You did not.”
Lila gasped dramatically. “Elias! How could you assume such a thing?”
“You never do it on time.”
She groaned, slumping onto the table. “Okay, fair point.”
Elias simply nodded.
Lila sighed, rolling a grape across her tray absentmindedly. Then, after a moment, she asked, “Hey, Elias?”
“Yes?”
She bit her lip. “Have you ever wanted to… experience something you don’t understand?”
Elias thought about it. “I am always trying to understand things.”
“Yeah, but, like…” She struggled to find the right words. “Have you ever wanted to feel something? Even if you don’t know what it’s like?”
That was an interesting question.
He had spent his entire life mimicking emotions—understanding them intellectually, but never truly feeling them.
Did he want to?
“I do not know,” he admitted.
Lila smiled softly. “Yeah… I figured you’d say that.”
She didn’t sound disappointed. Just thoughtful.
Elias wasn’t sure what that meant.
But before he could ask, Lila suddenly perked up. “Oh! By the way, I almost forgot—I need to stop by the convenience store after school. Come with me.”
“Alright.”
She grinned. “Good. It’s decided.”
The tension from earlier seemed to have faded.
For now.
