Chapter 139 Elias

Chapter 139 Elias
Skylar's POV

I found him by his locker before first period, still rubbing the side of his face where Marcus had gotten him, a fresh bruise blooming along his cheekbone despite the ice pack someone must have given him after.

"Hey." I stopped a few feet away, suddenly unsure what to do with my hands. "How are you feeling?" I smiled.
He looked up, startled, like he hadn't expected me to actually seek him out. "Oh. Um…. Skyler. I'm fine." He touched his cheek automatically, then winced. "Mostly fine."

“I wanted to check on you.” I walked closer. "That looks like it hurts." I pointed to the bruise.
"It's not as bad as it looks." He gave a small, awkward smile. "I've had worse."
He said that so easily, like it was just a fact of his life rather than something that should bother anyone.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I should've stopped him before it got that far."

"You don't need to apologize." He shut his locker, adjusting the strap of his bag over one shoulder. "You're the only one who actually stopped and did something. Everyone else just stood there filming it."
"Still…I hate that it turned into an actual fight, that's not what I want…." The bell rang from down the hall, interrupting me.

“Literature?” I pointed to nowhere in particular.
He nodded.“Yeah.”
We started walking toward the classroom together. “So what were you reading before all that happened?” I asked, looking at the book in his hand.
He noticed my eyes. “It's a collection of essays.” He raised them.
I glanced at him, chuckling. “Of course it is.”
He laughed quietly then paused. “What does that mean?”
“It means I guessed correctly.” I giggled. “You always have a book.” I turned to him. “Not saying that's a bad thing though.”

“Um..” He started, breaking the awkward silence. "Ryan seemed pretty mad out there." He glanced sideways at me. "You two are really close?"
"Yeah, family friends," I said. "Our parents have known each other forever. He's..." I searched for the right word. "Protective…overly."
"Must be nice," Elias said quietly. "Having someone like that."
I didn't have an answer for that, so I let it sit for a moment while we walked, the hallway thinning out as most people filtered into their classrooms.

We reached the classroom door. He hesitated entering, shifting the books in his arms. His eyes flicked down to the floor and back up like he was working up to something.
"You could sit with me sometime," he said, then immediately looked like he regretted it. "I mean… not, like, sit with me, I just meant, if you wanted notes, you could…" He stopped, exhaling hard, clearly annoyed with himself. "Sorry, t..that came out weird."

I almost laughed, but I didn't want him to think I was laughing at him. "It didn't come out weird."
He gave me the ‘don’t lie to me’ eyes.
"A little," I admitted, and this time I did laugh. "We should actually hang out sometime."
His eyes flicked up to mine again, hopeful and startled all at once. "Really? You want to hang out with me."

"Yeah, maybe the library sometime, if you're around after school." I shrugged, trying to sound more casual. "Or a coffee shop, if that's more your thing."
"I, um…" He fumbled with the strap of his bag. "Yeah, I like coffee shops. There's one on Fifth, it's usually pretty quiet and…good for studying, they don't rush you out even if you just order one drink and sit there for hours, which I might have tested more than once…." He cut himself off again, exhaling again…"Sorry, I'm rambling."

"You're not rambling." I smiled. "I like a place that doesn't rush you out."
"Okay." He nodded, like he was confirming it to himself. "Okay, yeah. That could work."
"I'll hold you to it," I said, stepping past him into the classroom before he could second-guess himself into taking it back.

"Okay," he said again, mostly to himself, and I caught the small, disbelieving smile still lingering on his face as I found my seat.
I'll try, I told myself, sitting down and pulling out a notebook I actually intended to use for once. We'll see.

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I checked the time on my phone and nearly groaned. "Come on, we're going to be late." I grabbed Elias's sleeve, dragging him down the hallway while he struggled to keep his books balanced in one arm.

"I still don't fully understand why we're running," he said, though he was laughing, letting himself be pulled along without much resistance.
I'd been trying to get into this class for weeks. It’s one of those special electives the school opened to both juniors and seniors. I'd finally managed to switch into it this term, and I had been excited about it ever since.
“I can't believe I finally got in,” I said, pushing my hair behind my ear. “I've wanted to take this class since last year.”

The philosophy seminar was on the other side of the academic building, which meant we had less than five minutes to get there before the teacher closed the door.
"So why philosophy? You don't seem like the type who signed up for extra reading."

"It's not really about the reading." I slowed as we turned the corner, catching my breath. "It's not like the normal philosophy where you just memorize names and dates. Professor Hale actually makes you argue things out loud, defend positions you don't even believe in sometimes, just to see if you can." I shrugged, a little embarrassed by how much enthusiasm was creeping into my voice. "I don't know, I like it. It's the one class where nobody's just repeating what's in the textbook."

"That actually sounds kind of great," he said.
"Why'd you agree to come, anyway?" I asked, glancing sideways at him. "You didn't have to."
He hesitated before answering. "I don't know. I guess it seemed better than sitting through the study hall again, plus I love learning."
"Right." I bit back a smile, deciding not to push it.

We reached the classroom door just as the second bell rang.
I pushed it open, already scanning for two empty seats together.
I stopped in my tracks. “What's he doing here?”
Ryan sat near the back, one arm slung over the empty chair beside him.
His eyes found mine immediately, like he'd been watching the door the whole time waiting for me to walk through it.

Then his gaze shifted, sliding past me to Elias.
Elias stared at me. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly.