The Cosmos

Ⅰ

"Good morning, Elena."

The brunette paused and looked at Nathan over her shoulder. Her lips tugged at the corners as she cast a small smile, but her eyes held confusion.

Nathan wondered why. He had genuinely hoped she would someday be used to his presence.

"'Morning," she said with a nod, before moving along.

Nathan's eyes widened. He feared he wouldn't be able to catch her the rest of the day. Elena tended to make herself unnoticeable at school. An iota of attention and she'll be uncomfortable. This is why Nathan made sure she was never put in such a situation, but also tried to make small talk with her.

"How are you today?" he asked, trying to catch a glimpse of her face through the curtains of hair.

"I'm doing good," she paused for a second or two, "How about you?"

"Me?" He asked dumbly. He had been so entranced with her voice that he didn't realize she was continuing the conversation today. God was with him. "Better now, actually. I've been looking to talk with you."

He sensed her posture going tense before he heard it in her voice. He cursed at himself inside his head. To Elena, Nathan must've sounded like a clingy creep.

She cast her head down, further hiding her face. Nathan's fingers itched to brush away the strands of her hair. "Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

Oh god, she was shooing him away.

Nathan couldn't help but let the disappointment show on his face as well as his body. His shoulders slumped, and he forlornly dug his hands into his pockets. But her next words had him halting in his steps.

"You have Literature with me right now, don't you?" Elena seemed too cautious. Almost hesitant. "Do you...maybe, want to walk together?"

Nathan's heart jumped out of his chest. That's what it felt like anyways. This was the first time Elena was willingly spending more time with him. He believed he could frolic in the hallways at this moment.

His eyes darted to how she fiddled with her fingers, scratching the side of her thumb.

"If you're busy, I'll just go by myself. It's fine. I don't want to force you."

He realized he hadn't answered yet and found himself jumbling his sentences together, barely coherent.

"No, no, no- I mean, uh, I'd love to go with you to class. Not in a creepy way, I just wouldn't mind going with you. To class. Yes, that's where. Not anywhere else. Wait, that came out wrong, I didn't mean that - shit"

Thankfully, he cut himself off with a low groan, and ran a hand down his face, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't want to see Elena looking at him like he was a madman.

He was not a madman, this girl's presence just made him one.

Nathan wallowed in self-pity. He picked out every insult in his vocabulary and directed it at himself. Just what he needed. Humiliate himself in front of the one person that mattered. How wonderful.

His ears perked up at the sound of a soft chuckle. He opened one eye to subtly glance at Elena, only to have his breath catch in his throat.

Elena was pursing her lips, trying hard to stifle her laughter. Her head was faced away from him. Nathan shook his head. She didn't need to hide his smile from him, he would do anything in the world to make her happy. Even at his expense.

Though the prospect of having her laugh at him was not that appealing. But beggars can't be choosers - Nathan would take what he can get.

"You can laugh, you know," he said in a teasing tone, cocking his head to the side. Your cheeks flush like a rose when you do, and your eyes shine so brightly. It's fascinating.

Like always, he didn't voice his thoughts.

Elena shook her head, refuting his suggestion and composed herself. She started walking away, leaving Nathan starstruck behind.

Ten steps forward, she frowned at him. "You're coming, aren't you?"

Nathan adamantly nodded his head and rushed to her, chatting up as he walked all the way. He took extra small steps and prayed that Elena wouldn't notice.

They weren't late by any means. Elena came super early to school for some reason which Nathan didn't care about. It only meant he would have more time with her. Even if he had to wake up an hour earlier than necessary.

Now that he thought about it, he could never really stay away from her. On days she didn't show up to school, or he simply couldn't talk to her because of their drastically different schedules, he found himself sulking for most of the day.

Nathan sometimes questioned why he acted so dramatically but found no answer. What could he do, anyways? He was who he was.

That night, Nathan slept with a fuzzy feeling in his stomach.

***

not edited.