Page 40 of Psync
But what else was he supposed to do? He only had two tomorrow—well, at this point he might as well call it today—and thanks to his newfound free time, he was caught up on all of his class work. He’d even studied the first two chapters of the advanced geometry class he had later today. Most of it had even made sense.
He climbed back onto his bed and fumbled around until he found his phone. 4:00 a.m.—two hours before the library opened. All he had to do was kill two more hours, and then he could go and take a nap at the library.
He’d discovered this useful loophole a couple of years ago. Something about the peace and quiet of the library made him feel like nothing bad could ever happen to him there. So, at the very least, he could guarantee himself enough sleep to be able to keep up with his studies.
???
There was something wrong with his feet. Or possibly the door. Maybe both.
Whatever the case may be, actually entering his geometry classroom was proving more difficult than Eli would have guessed. It was only the idea of getting caught hesitating on the threshold that got him motivated enough to go through the door. Into a completely packed classroom.
Was it this full last time?
He cast around the room looking for a vacant spot, but there was only one.
Cool, mahogany eyes warmed as soon as Eli met them. The shivery thing in his stomach flared and then doubled in size when Haruka tapped the desk next to him.
Eli didn’t realize he was still standing in the doorway until Haruka raised an eyebrow. With the sun behind him and his head tilted just so, he looked like a pop star at a photoshoot.
Eli’s bag fell off his shoulder and hit the ground with a thump.
He briefly considered leaving it there and making a run for it, but the playful challenge in Haruka’s eyes had him scooping it off the floor and heading for the empty desk.
When he sat down, his shoulders instantly began to creep up to his ears as he waited for—well, he wasn’t sure, but he was certain something was about to happen.
Except it didn’t. Haruka didn’t tease him or ask why Eli had been hiding from him the past few days. Instead, he gazed at Eli with a thoughtful expression—much like he had at the fair.
Maybe Eli had been better at hiding from him than he’d thought? Though on at least two separate occasions, Eli could have sworn they’d locked eyes before he’d fled.
He sat frozen with Haruka’s quiet eyes on him. At first, he thought he was going to vibrate right out of his skin, but when he realized Haruka wasn’t going to say anything, his shoulders relaxed.
“Thanks.” Eli ventured. “For saving me a seat.”
Haruka nodded but said nothing.
And then continued to stay quiet for the entire class.
Outwardly, he seemed to have completely forgotten about Eli’s existence from the moment class started. But there was a subtle energy about him that made Eli feel like Haruka was very aware of his existence. It was as if Haruka was leaning toward him without moving an inch.
Which made it very difficult for Eli to focus on what the teacher was saying. He challenged himself to write down every word she said so that, even if he wasn’t able to process it now, he could look at it all later and try and take it in then.
When the class ended, Eli hurriedly stuffed everything back into his bag, but before he left, he couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at Haruka. It was just a quick peek through his bangs, but it was long enough for him to be stunned once again.
Haruka had his head propped up on one hand and tilted to the side. Once again, a lock of hair had escaped his short ponytail and fell charmingly over one eye.
And every single ounce of his attention was locked onto Eli.
Before Eli had a chance to say or do anything, Haruka stood, plucked Eli’s bag out of his hands, and headed for the door.
Eli blinked, then scrambled to his feet, and ran after him. “Hey!”
Haruka didn’t acknowledge his shout, but instead continued walking, leaving Eli no choice but to follow him out of the building.
He fell in step beside Haruka and tugged at his hoodie strings. “Um . . . I’m going to need that back at some point.”
“You’ll get it back.”
“Planning on telling me when?”
