The next day at school, Marcus kept asking about Roman Vale and Eli Thorne's interaction. Deeming it unusual.
Eli Thorne shut his lips in silence, looking uncomfortable to speak on the topic. He wasn't deliberately hiding the truth from Marcus. He just didn't know how to say it. The situation seemed so preposterous that he himself hadn't entirely accepted it.
Marcus saw his embarrassment and did not pursue the matter further. He knew that although Eli looked usually cowardly, he was actually very stubborn especially recently.
It was useless to interrogate him about something he didn't want to talk about. "Forget it. Anyway, it's not disadvantageous for you to be friends with Roman Vale!"
It's fine as long as you don't suffer a loss, thought Marcus.
Eli hummed and nodded. To express his gratitude he shared half of his breakfast with Marcus.
Marcus was happy and accepted it without further thought, munching on the sandwich.
At noon, Eli Thorne quickly tidied his desk and moved with the after-school crowd to go and hide in the library. His phone had been left in the drawer of his classroom. He had actually done it on purpose, as he didn't want to see any more messages belonging to Roman Vale. He wanted to put him off until he gave up willingly on his own.
He used that as a silent rebellion, hoping the other party would understand his intentions, and be merciful in letting him go.
While doing his homework, the hours passed quickly. Eli eventually left the library as he hadn't eaten lunch and his stomach was protesting in hunger. He turned towards the cafeteria, bought two burgers and ate them on the way back to class.
As he climbed up the stairs, he was startled by what he saw in the corridor.
At the entrance of his class, a tall and powerful youth was leaning against the white wall. The loose school uniform could not conceal his well-proportioned body. One long leg was straightened while the other was slightly bent, indicating a waiting posture.
Eli Thorne was taken aback. He wondered how long he had been waiting there for him.
As if noticing the stare, the youth turned his head and met Eli Thorne's eyes. At his expression, Eli Thorne's heart throbbed. Perhaps Roman Vale's eyes were too clear, but he could easily read the sadness that was in those eyes. Like a loyal dog that had just seen its owner after being abandoned.
Eli averted his gaze. He felt a little scared but also a bit regretful. It seemed like he had really hurt his feelings.
Roman Vale looked at Eli, a few steps away, his eyes fell on the half-eaten burger in his hands for two seconds. Only then did he drop his gaze and turned to leave.
At that moment, Eli realised Roman had been carrying some takeout. There was a trash can in a corner of the corridor.
When Roman Vale passed by it, he threw the cold takeout away. The person he had bought it for was already eating, so it was no longer needed.
Back in his own class. Roman, who had not slept a wink, coming straight back to school from a mission just to see him, only to be disappointed, flew into a rage and kicked over his chair.
Eli, back in his class, checked his phone. There were four messages sent by Roman at noon.
'Baby, where are you?'
Quickly reply to my texts. Once the food gets cold, it wouldn't be nice to eat.'
'You don't want to eat with me?'
'I'll wait for you anyway.'
After reading through all the messages, Eli Thorne's mood became gloomy.
He really didn't think Roman Vale would be so persistent.
Originally they had not interacted at all. Then, out of nowhere he had said that he wanted to pursue him. If it were anyone else, would they have accepted it immediately?
Distressed, Eli Thorne slumped on his desk and used a book to cover his face.
His mind was filled with images of Roman Vale's sad departure. He was obviously a very proud person but was still willing to reveal the soft and hurt side of himself.
It seemed like his own heart was softening as well.
"Eli Thorne."
Suddenly being called out while zoning out, Eli Thorne hurriedly lifted his head and looked at the teacher who was staring at him with a frown.
He immediately sat upright to better pay attention and emptied his mind, not daring to think about it further. The softness that had started to take root in his heart also disappeared altogether.
He only later recalled the matter when he was lying in bed after his shower that night.
He picked up his phone and opened Roman Vale's Instagram page. The last message was "I'll still wait for you" at 01: 20 pm.
He was hesitating as he typed and deleted, always lacking the courage to send the message. He felt extremely fretful and rolled around, hugging his pillow.
On the other end, Ramon Vale was also staring at his phone. He had already been staring at the screen for nearly an hour, but there were still no signs of activity.
Finally, he lost his cool and sent two words: Eli asleep?
Eli was surprised and immediately replied: I thought you were angry.
Followed by: Sorry, I left my phone in class.
After that, He really didn't have anything more to say.
Roman Vale stared at the screen of his phone for a few more minutes. He knew that Eli was not interested in him. He had made it clear that he was into girls, although he didn't know why he had retracted that message. He was still happy, and when he said he would consider it instead, he treated it as a spark of hope.
He thought that meant that he had a chance, but he didn't expect it to be so out of reach. Putting his phone down, he leaned against the van, closed his eyes to rest for the impending job he had taken up.