Lessons In Butterflies ｡ ｡ ｡ (StudentxTeacher Romance)

Chapter 54: God, She Was Beautiful.

Elias's POV:

She made it across.

I didn't breathe the whole time she was walking the ridge. I told myself it was because I was supervising. Responsible. In charge.

But the truth? I couldn't tear my eyes off her.

The way her face tightened with concentration. The way her eyes locked on mine when she was unsure of her footing. The way she trusted me to catch her—even when I couldn't.

When her boots finally hit the ground, I reached out without thinking. My hand found her arm. Her sleeve was cold, but the heat from her skin—radiating through the fabric—was real.

"You've got this," I said.

She didn't even realize she was still looking at me.

God, she was beautiful.

I wanted to say something else—anything—but Juliet and Dani came up behind her, bickering and dramatic and loud, and the moment slipped away like breath in the wind.

We kept moving.

By the time the last student cleared the ridge, the sky was deepening into gold. The wind had eased a little, but the cold remained, nipping at exposed skin, biting at our fingertips. It was nearly dusk when we finally saw the outline of the second campsite—tents already set up, a low fire burning, logs set in a circle like a promise of rest.

The students scattered like ants. Some went to dump their packs and stretch. Others collapsed straight into the snow with exaggerated groans.

And Shella...

She lingered.

Always just on the edge of my awareness. Never close enough to touch. But I felt her.

God, I felt her.

I turned to Trey, who had wandered up beside me with a packet of trail mix and a knowing look. "Don't say it," I warned.

He shrugged. "Didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

"Look," he muttered, popping a peanut into his mouth, "I'm not blind. And you're not subtle. Just... be careful, alright?"

I glanced over at Shella again. She was hugging something close to her chest—my hoodie.

My heart stuttered.

Yeah.

I needed to be careful.

But I also needed to survive another night knowing she was just over there, sleeping in a tent that wasn't mine.

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Elias's POV
The next morning – still cold, still halfway up a damn mountain.

I was not in the mood for giggling.

Especially not from the trio of girls balancing on a slippery rock over the freezing lake like it was a fashion runway. One of them—Madison, I think—was waving her phone around like she was livestreaming from a pool party instead of a snow-covered valley.

"Get down," I barked, stomping over before someone cracked their skull. "Now."

They squealed like I'd just summoned a snow monster, but they clambered down, shivering and muttering about how I was sooo dramatic.

"Dramatic is scraping your kneecap off ice with no reception out here," I snapped. "Don't make me call the principal because someone got hypothermia trying to get a selfie."