finding the stars- hawk x female reader

chapter 9

"Because who would love a girl with scars?"

-Unknown

"What do you mean she asked you out!?" Demetri's loud voice rang through the bustling cafeteria, turning a few heads.

Eli's face immediately flushed, and he shook his head at Demetris's antics, it was bad enough they already turned heads for the wrong reasons; and his yelling was not helping. "Do you want anyone else to hear? Be quiet." Miguel whispered.

Eli recalled the previous Friday night, he had to fight to keep the smile off his face.

"She said we should check out the arcade together."

Both friends went silent at Eli's words, slightly shocked.

"Wow, I didn't expect that." Demetri said, stabbing his fork through his pasta with brutal honesty as usual.

"I mean I could see it, she always looks to you when she laughs." Miguel added.

"And that means...?" Eli looked confused, beginning to sense that this was going somewhere in his favour.

"Well psychology does say it means that the person likes you."

"That just feeds our delusions, I wouldn't have told him that." Demetri casually said, pointing his plastic fork from Miguel to Eli.

"Regardless I don't know if I should go." Eli pulled the edges of his sleeves down.

"What are you talking about?" Miguel looked shocked, leaning his arms forward- "you have to go! If you don't you'll give her the impression that you're not interested."

Demetri nodded his head along with Miguel's words, "he's right- although I wouldn't mind going to the arcade too."

Miguel scoffed, "dude."

"What? If he doesn't want to then I will GLADLY take his spot!"

Eli rolled his eyes, "no one is taking anyone's spot, I'm going."

Miguel smiled before looking around the cafeteria, eyebrows raising in the process. "Where is she anyway?"

Demetri also looked around, taking a quick break from his questions. By now, his friends were used to his antics.

To be truthful, Eli hadn't seen Iris today. She wasn't in chemistry this morning, and he didn't see her when he left his house.

"I don't think she's here today," Eli concluded, fidgeting nervously with his sweater at the thought of the red-headed girl.

His mind wandered to her the day she came over for dinner. She looked spectacular, like a scene straight out of a movie.

It was only Monday today, and Eli knew he had the rest of the week to see Iris in class, but it already felt torturous that she wasn't here today.

And he knew how stupid that was. They had only met barely a month ago.

"Why?" Demetri asked another question, this time it was relevant and Miguel agreed.

"I don't know."

"Maybe she's sick?" Miguel added, taking a bite from his red apple in the process.

Eli shrugged his shoulders, thinking that it was a likely possibility.

"How would she get sick?" Demetri rolled his eyes and pushed around stray pieces of pasta salad on his plate. He always had to chime in with a comment like that.

"Did you seriously just ask that?" Miguel deadpanned, staring at his black-haired friend.

"It's a valid question to ask!"