The Roots Beneath

Chapter 10: Uninvited Invitations

The cafeteria buzzed with the usual lunchtime energy as students clustered in their usual spots. Seren sat at her usual table with Emily and Elijah, the latter quietly picking at his food, looking distant. Emily, back from her short absence, was scrolling through her phone, occasionally chiming in with gossip about the latest happenings around school.

"So, apparently, Melanie's party this weekend is supposed to be huge," Emily said, her voice full of mock enthusiasm. "It's all anyone's talking about."

Seren rolled her eyes. "Of course it is. Melanie makes everything into a spectacle."

Elijah, sitting across from them, remained silent, focused on his food. Seren glanced at him and smirked.

"What about you, Elijah? You going to grace Melanie's party with your presence?" she teased, knowing full well it wasn't his kind of scene.

Before Elijah could respond, a shadow fell over their table. Melanie herself appeared, her ever-perfect smile plastered on her face as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. She didn't even glance at Emily or Seren, her focus laser-pointed on Elijah.

"Hey, Elijah," she said in that sugar-sweet tone she reserved for moments like this. "I'm throwing this huge party on Saturday, and you have to come. It's going to be epic—everyone's talking about it."

Elijah barely looked up. "Not interested."

Melanie blinked, clearly not expecting such a blunt response. She leaned in slightly, undeterred. "Oh, come on, it'll be fun! I promise you won't be bored."

This time, Elijah didn't even dignify her with a response. He simply kept eating, his face unreadable. Seren stifled a laugh, finding the whole scene amusing.

Emily leaned over to Seren and whispered, "She's really going for it, huh?"

Seren grinned, but something about Melanie's persistence started to bother her. It wasn't like Elijah needed rescuing, but still, the way she kept pushing despite his clear lack of interest made her want to intervene.

"What if we went?" Seren said suddenly, surprising even herself.

Melanie's eyes snapped to Seren for the first time, as if she were only now realizing she existed. "You'll come?" she asked, her tone a mix of skepticism and mild surprise.

Seren shrugged, trying to play it off casually. "Why not? Could be fun."

Elijah's fork froze halfway to his mouth. His eyes flicked to Seren, narrowing slightly as if assessing her.

"If you're going, I'll go," Elijah said, his voice calm but firm.

Seren's heart did a little flip at the way his attention suddenly shifted entirely to her. Melanie, for her part, looked completely thrown off, but quickly recovered with a bright smile.

"Great! I'll see you both there, then," she said, though the excitement in her voice didn't quite reach her eyes.

As soon as Melanie walked away, Emily burst out laughing. "Oh my God, that was priceless. You should've seen her face."

Seren couldn't help but laugh too, but the truth was, Elijah's sudden shift in attention had thrown her off more than Melanie's reaction.

"You didn't have to come just because I said I would," Seren said, turning to Elijah, curious about his reaction.

Elijah shrugged, his usual cool demeanor returning. "You said you were going, so I figured I'd tag along."

There was something in the way he said it that made her stomach flutter. It wasn't possessive exactly, but there was an intensity to the way he looked at her—like she was the only person in the room that mattered.