The rest of the school day passed as usual—at least, for Elias. Lila, on the other hand, remained suspiciously jittery.

  She still interacted with him, but her reactions were a little too fast, her voice a little too high-pitched. Even when they walked home together, she kept glancing at him, then quickly looking away as if she was trying very hard not to think about something.

  He observed all of this in silence.

  Elias had already realized that Lila’s behavior stemmed from him. But the specifics still eluded him.

  Did she like when he did things like fixing her collar? Or did it make her uncomfortable? She had insisted she didn’t hate it, yet she had reacted so strongly.

  It was conflicting information.

  Normally, Elias would set aside things he did not understand. If something had no logical answer, it was not worth his time.

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  And yet—

  This time, he was curious.

  That in itself was odd.

  They reached the usual corner where they always parted ways. Lila hesitated, shifting her weight. “S-So,” she said. “Um. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded, gripping the strap of her bag. “Okay. Cool. Yep.”

  “…Lila.”

  “Hm?”

  “Your shoelace is untied.”

  Her eyes widened. “Ah—! Right! I should—”

  Before she could bend down to fix it, Elias kneeled.

  Lila froze.

  Without a second thought, he took the laces in his hands and began tying them.

  It was a simple action. Efficient. Logical. She might trip if she walked like this. Fixing it was faster than waiting for her to fumble with it.

  Yet—

  Lila was completely silent.

  When he finished, he looked up at her. “Done.”

  She was staring at him.

  Her face was red again.

  “Lila?”

  She let out a strangled noise. “Y-YOU CAN’T JUST—”

  Elias blinked. “I cannot just what?”

  She opened her mouth. Closed it. Looked away. “Never mind!”

  “…Are you upset?”

  “No!” she squeaked.

  “Then—”

  “J-Just go home, Elias!” she wailed, practically running away before he could say anything else.

  He watched her retreating figure in confusion.

  Then, he looked down at his hands.

  Even now, they still held the ghost of her warmth.

  Strange.

  Elias still did not understand emotions.

  But for some reason—

  He was starting to feel like he was missing something important.