I don't want to be your friend anymore

12| Crushing

That 3-day weekend had been a rollercoaster of events.

Today was a Monday, two weeks later, and the moments Eli had share with his friends on their mini vacation were still fresh in his mind. Especially the ones involving Jessica.

He knew he had to have gone crazy for saying and doing what he did at her house and at the funfair but, lately, his self-control skills were slacking. His body moved on its own when she was around, wanting to always touch and hold her. And on that night in the Ferris Wheel, it was no different.

He had seen Payton and Nadia winking at Jessica so he thought she would make a move on him... which never happened, by the way. But she did hug him back! So his words must have meant something to her.

After the long hug they shared that Saturday night, he was sure he had a strong crush on the woman and it terrified him that he would scare her away for being a simp. He would constantly buy her food and drinks, sit next to her in class, drive her to campus and back home and even sleep over at her house (in the guest room, he made sure). But he didn't just show up to sleep there. They had coursework to do together and, even though they could do it in the campus library, they'd always offer to do it at each other's houses after eating and playing racing games.

Eli wanted to let his friends know about his feelings towards Jessica and, since today she couldn't come in, he decided to ask for advice.

"I knew it! The way you look at her, talk to her and buy her food is so obvious" Payton said, squealing.

"But that means you like me too! You buy me food all the time and your eyes twinkle when you look at me" River said, tapping a finger on his chin.

"River, shut up for once. The adults are talking" David said to him, rolling his eyes.

"Not sure why you're tuning into the conversation then, little one" River spat back. Nadia and Payton sighed and Eli just shook his head and chuckled.

"Is it a bad thing?" Eli asked, ignoring the ever so prevalent bickering.

"It is if Jessica decides to shut it down for good. It's not easy for her to open up to people. We kind of get a pass because we're friends but even then she won't talk to us about everything" David explained.

Lately, Eli hadn't seen him hanging out with Hannah or disappearing at some point during the day but he still felt alert around him. He'd seen David daydream while staring at Jessica a couple times, though. He'd also noticed how David would blush whenever Jessica got too close to him or even smiled. And that was weird. But anyway...

"Yeah, that's true. She could even like you back but her mind would keep warning her to be careful. Eventually, she would just start ignoring your attempts" Nadia chimed in.

Eli was scared. Would the woman he came to like not be able to distinguish between other people's fakeness and his real feelings? Would she think he was just another person trying to hurt her? He had made it clear to her that he would never harm her, physically or emotionally. But truth be told, it was all up to her. And that was more than frightening.

"Would it be okay if I kept trying to get through to her? It's not fair that she has to keep her guard up because of some people's inability to feel compassion" he mumbled.

"You can try but let me tell you now, you're going to have a lot of work to do. We don't oppose to it, though. Kat deserves to be happy just like everyone else" River said.

For the first time in a while, Eli thought his friend's comment actually made sense and was not stupid. He was definitely right.

"Ooooh... listen to you, Mr. Psychologist. I might have to book a few sessions with you" David awed, ruffling his friend's hair.