Sincerely yours, Viviana

Explain

The sound of Elijah's phone ringing, broke the silence between the two of them. It had been ten minutes of Ana absorbing his body heat and feeling the calm rise and fall of his chest before she stopped shaking.

"Hey, Theo." Elijah's voice was cool, compared to the panicked voice on the other end of the phone Ana couldn't quite hear. "Yeah, she's with me. No, she's fine, shaken up, but fine. I don't know, somewhere outside of Darbridge. Adora—. Look, Addy... Yeah, I know, I know. I'll bring her back when she's ready. She's going to need a couple bandages, Theo, grab them and put them in the room for me. We'll see you guys in a bit."

Elijah ran his fingers up Ana's forearm, savouring the soft skin, all the way up to her bloody elbow.

"Where'd you get the bike?" Ana mumbled.

Elijah looked down at her for a moment. Her eyes were closed and the rise and falls of her breaths were finally soft and slow. "My family has a house in Darbridge."

"It's not the safest mode of transport." Elijah felt a flicker of a smile reach his lips at her thoughtless murmurs, but pushed the sensation down.

"Probably not." Elijah whispered, unable to take his eyes off of the girl in his arms. He caught himself staring and tore his eyes away. "Are you ready?"

The depth of his voice in her ear sent shivers down her body, despite the cold. She wanted to say no. Ana hated herself for it, but she wanted to stay wrapped in his strong arms underneath the stars and never leave. Instead, she nodded.

Elijah stood up, before giving her his hand and helping her up. Her injured leg still weak, she stumbled forward into him. The top of her forehead only reaching his chin, she looked up into his eyes. The two of them were impossibly close, and Elijah couldn't resist placing his forehead onto hers, their breaths mingling. His breath was shaky, and he felt tense as if he was restraining himself.

He brushed his thumb against her cheekbone, careful not to touch her cut. Her soft skin felt like butter under the pad of his thumb, and she could feel butterflies erupting in her stomach. "Ana..." He whispered breathlessly.

Ana's heart fluttered, and the two lingered for a moment. It was as if there was gravity trying to pull their lips together, and it took everything in her to pull away. "We should probably get going." She muttered.

"Yeah." Elijah straightened himself out. "Here."

Elijah handed her the helmet, and straddled the bike, waiting for her. Ana savoured the feeling of his body heat as they rode down country lanes, heading back into the now empty Darbridge, and out again towards the school.

Elijah slowed the bike as they rode through school grounds, pulling up to his boarding house. Killing the engine, he got off the bike and took off Ana's helmet. He moved her hair back from her face and looked down at her. "I feel lightheaded."

"You're probably concussed, angel. Let me carry you up to the room. Adora and Theo are waiting for us there."

After hearing no complaint from her, Elijah lifted her off the bike and into his arms again, his arms under her legs and back, like she weighed nothing. He held her close as they walked through the quiet house— most of the boys were in the common room or in their dorms. Elijah thanked whatever god was out there for that. He didn't want any of them to see Ana as vulnerable as this, especially as he was taking her up to his room.

"Mr Campbell? What on god's green earth are you doing?" Elijah turned to see the house mistress, stood with her hands on her hips. Her eyes focused on a very lightheaded Ana, in his arms. "An explanation would be very valuable."