The next morning, Elias walked into AP History to find Alex Dunphy already seated, glasses on, pencil in hand, pretending to be too absorbed in her notes to notice him.
Which would've been more convincing if her hand wasn't gripping the pencil hard enough to snap it again.
He sat two rows behind her.
Close enough to observe.
Far enough not to press.
Class began. Mr. Halbern launched into a dense lecture about the Federalist Papers. Elias listened with half an ear, the other half tracking every tiny movement in Alex's posture.
She was flustered. But hiding it expertly.
Except for the part where she asked exactly zero questions.
Which, from what he'd gathered, was not typical Alex Dunphy behavior.
After class, students filtered out. Elias moved slower than usual, letting her hit the hallway first. Just far enough ahead that she'd think he wasn't watching.
She was walking faster than necessary.
Overcorrecting.
Amused, Elias adjusted his hoodie and stepped outside into the bright sun — and directly into Haley Dunphy.
Or rather, she stepped into him. Probably on purpose.
"Ohmygod, hi." She tilted her head back to meet his eyes. "You're, like... new, mysterious, and genetically illegal-looking. What's your name?"
"Elias."
"Elias," she repeated, tasting it like a secret. "That's poetic."
"I think it's from the Bible."
"Hot and holy. Great."
Alex, passing nearby, nearly choked on air.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" she snapped at her sister.
Haley raised an eyebrow. "Relax, Harvard. I'm just welcoming our new school icon."
Elias gave the faintest smile. "She's very welcoming."
Alex shot him a warning look like don't encourage her.
Haley sauntered off with one last glance over her shoulder. "Call me if you ever get tired of the nerd patrol."
Elias turned to Alex.
"I didn't realize I was on patrol."
"You're not," she muttered. "You're just… under investigation."
"Ah," Elias said, straight-faced. "A demotion. Tragic."
She started walking faster.
He matched her pace.
"Planning to tell anyone about yesterday?" he asked casually.
Alex's jaw tensed. "No. It's none of my business."
"You sure?" He studied her profile. "You looked like someone who heard a ghost."
"I didn't hear a ghost. I heard a guy showing off."
"That wasn't showing off."
She stopped.
Turned to him fully now, her voice low and sharp. "Then what was it?"
Elias looked at her for a long moment. His face unreadable.
Then he said, simply, "Habit."
She opened her mouth to argue.
But nothing came out.
So instead she said, "Whatever. Doesn't matter. I'm over it."
Elias tilted his head.
"No. You're not."
And he walked away.
Alex stayed behind, watching his back retreat into the hallway crowd, arms folded, heart pounding for reasons she didn't fully understand — or want to.