Episode 8 — Almost
981 Words
Andrea woke up the next morning with one thought in his head.
Elliot.
Which was annoying.
Very annoying.
Because apparently his brain had decided that replaying yesterday’s conversation at six in the morning was more important than letting him sleep.
He reached for his phone.
No new messages.
Nothing from Elliot.
Nothing from Adrian.
Andrea frowned.
“Great.”
He got ready and headed to school.
The moment he entered the hallway, he saw Elliot.
Their eyes met.
Elliot looked away first.
Andrea’s stomach dropped.
He walked over.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You’re avoiding me.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You literally looked away.”
Elliot sighed.
“Because I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to you.”
Andrea stepped closer.
“You could start with hello.”
Elliot laughed despite himself.
“Hello.”
“Hi.”
For a moment, they just stood there.
Then Elliot smiled.
“You’re annoying.”
“You missed me.”
“I saw you yesterday.”
“Still.”
Elliot rolled his eyes.
But he was smiling.
And Andrea couldn’t stop smiling either.
Neither of them noticed Adrian standing at the end of the hallway.
He did.
And for some reason, that smile bothered him more than it should have.
⸻
At lunch, Andrea and Elliot sat together.
Just them.
They talked about everything except yesterday.
School.
Teachers.
Random gossip.
A ridiculous video Elliot had seen.
For the first time in days, Andrea felt normal.
Then Elliot reached across the table and stole a piece of Andrea’s food.
Andrea stared at him.
“Did you just take my food?”
“Yes.”
“Give it back.”
“I already ate it.”
“You’re actually unbelievable.”
“You still like me.”
Andrea froze.
Elliot froze too.
Neither of them laughed.
The sentence had slipped out too naturally.
Elliot looked down.
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know.”
But Andrea’s voice was quieter than before.
Across the cafeteria, Seraph watched them.
She smiled slightly.
Then she noticed Adrian.
He was watching too.
Except he didn’t look amused.
Seraph walked over to him.
“You’re staring.”
Adrian didn’t look away.
“No, I’m not.”
“You’ve been staring at them for five minutes.”
“Have you been timing me?”
“Yes.”
Adrian finally looked at her.
“You’re irritating.”
“And you’re jealous.”
“I’m not.”
“Sure.”
Seraph sat beside him.
“You know what your problem is?”
“I have several.”
“You’re waiting for Andrea to figure you out.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“And if I am?”
“Then you might be waiting too long.”
Adrian looked back at Andrea.
Elliot had made him laugh again.
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Maybe.”
⸻
After school, Andrea received a message.
Meet me behind the old auditorium. — Elliot
Andrea’s heart immediately started racing.
When he arrived, Elliot was already there.
“You came.”
“You told me to.”
“I know.”
Elliot looked nervous.
Andrea stepped closer.
“What happened?”
“I wanted to talk without everyone else around.”
“About yesterday?”
“Partly.”
Andrea waited.
Elliot took a breath.
“I meant what I said.”
Andrea’s heart pounded.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Elliot looked directly at him.
“I don’t want to keep pretending that you’re just my friend.”
Andrea went completely still.
Elliot continued.
“I tried to convince myself it was nothing. That I was just being protective. That I was jealous because you’re my friend.”
He laughed nervously.
“But that’s not it.”
Andrea didn’t know what to say.
Elliot stepped closer.
“I like you, Andrea.”
Silence.
Andrea’s heartbeat seemed impossibly loud.
“You don’t have to answer right now,” Elliot said quickly.
“But—”
“I mean it. I’m not asking you to choose me.”
Andrea looked at him.
“Then what are you asking?”
Elliot smiled.
“Just don’t lie to me.”
Andrea swallowed.
“I won’t.”
For a second, neither moved.
Then Elliot reached out and gently fixed the collar of Andrea’s shirt.
It was such a small thing.
But somehow it felt bigger than any confession.
Andrea looked into his eyes.
And for one dangerous second…
he almost forgot about Adrian.
Almost.
Then a voice came from behind them.
“So this is where you disappeared to.”
Andrea turned.
Adrian.
Standing several feet away.
His expression was unreadable.
Elliot stepped back.
Adrian looked at him.
Then Andrea.
“Am I interrupting?”
Andrea opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Adrian gave a small smile.
“Thought so.”
He turned to leave.
“Adrian!”
Andrea started after him.
But Elliot caught his hand.
Andrea looked down.
Elliot didn’t pull him back.
He simply said:
“Don’t choose because you feel guilty.”
Andrea looked between them.
And suddenly, he understood.
This wasn’t a love triangle anymore.
It was becoming a war of feelings.
And nobody was going to walk away untouched.
⸻
That evening, Seraph received a message from Adrian.
I need to ask you something.
She stared at the screen.
Then replied:
What?
His answer came almost immediately.
Did you know Elliot liked Andrea?
Seraph’s eyes widened.
She typed:
Yes.
A pause.
Then Adrian replied:
How long?
Seraph hesitated.
Because there was something she hadn’t told anyone.
Something that could change everything.
Finally, she typed:
Longer than you think.
And somewhere else, Andrea was staring at Elliot’s last message.
Goodnight. Don’t overthink everything.
Andrea smiled.
Then another notification appeared.
From Adrian.
We need to talk tomorrow. Alone.
Andrea’s smile disappeared.
Because somehow, he knew tomorrow was going to change everything.
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