Elias: In my dreams, I am kissing your mouth and whispering 'Where have you been?' I say, 'I've been lost but I'm here now. You're the only person who's ever been able to find me.'
—Sue Zhao
ELIAS BROOKS was never smart, but Pope Heyward made him an idiot.
He should've listened to his friends before offering Pope the job of tutoring him. He wished he'd known of the boys' awkwardness, and his tangents about the most niche subjects, how he made you feel like the only person in the world, or that damn smile. He swore that smile could've blinded him.
He shouldn't have flown so close to the sun.
Elias was a Kook. He reeked of old money and white privilege, and he'd never worked a day in his life. He didn't need Pope to tutor him. He could've cheated his way through high school, lived off daddy's money for the rest of his life, and never spoken to the Pogue's. But, of course, his father didn't want a 'dumbass' son.
He tried asking his friends. Unfortunately, none of them were geniuses, either.
Elias traveled from The Valley of the Dolls, where the grass was clean-cut and every house had a pool, to the Cut, basehead heaven.
He arrived at Heyward's shop and asked for the smartest person he knew. Pope Heyward.
He practically begged Pope to help him out. He couldn't stand the disappointed look in his dad's eyes any longer. He even said he'd pay him extra. Of course, Pope accepted. A quick way for extra cash couldn't hurt, right?
Oh, how wrong he was.
All of their interactions started off innocent, honest-to-God truth! (Besides the lingering glances, slight touches, and endless banter. It almost seemed like flirting.) Sure, Eli may have had a slight admiration for his tutor, but that was it. He just thought Pope was pretty. And smart. Brilliant, even. Don't forget funny, in a dry-sarcastic sort of way. Oh, and—
He was in deep, deep shit.
He shouldn't have liked Pope as much as he did. He was supposed to be the Kook golden boy. Son of a hot-shot lawyer and an ex-model. He was supposed to have a nice girlfriend, who he would be able to take on dates without shame. Go to dinner with her family, and have 'the talk', where he'd say he loved her. He shouldn't like a Pogue, of all people. He definitely shouldn't have kissed one.
