Under A Paper Moon

III

The week passed unbelievably fast. Elias had adjusted to his everyday schedule. He'd wake up, go to school, pass a smile at Micah during classes and in the hallways, have lunch with the gang, and ride back home with Micah, do homework, eat, watch Netflix, then sleep.

The more Elias got to know Micah, the more he realised how different he was during school and during their ride back home. In school Micah always seemed to be on his guard, he didn't talk to anyone outside his circle, but he was polite whenever someone else tried to talked to him. Dismissive, yes, but in a polite manner.

Elias wondered why Micah had taken an interest in him. At first, he assumed it was because he was the new boy from another country, maybe that intrigued him? But as Elias started to observe Micah's social life, he realised the boy wasn't keen on knowing anyone apart from his immediate circle.

The question, why him, bothered Elias, but he was grateful nonetheless.

It was now Sunday, Kat and Yvette wanted to show Elias around, which in their terms meant drag him to the mall to shop. Dominic being the only one with a driver's license, was obviously tagging along.

The four were already in the car, Elias being the last one to get picked up, when Kat groaned.

"What now?" Yvette asked.

"I forgot my wallet," Kat frowned, "Can we please head back? I can't shop without money."

"I'll lend you money, you can pay me back," Dom said, "I'm not driving all the way back."

"Dom, then the car around, you know I don't borrow money. Come on, please?"

After a five minute argument between the two, Kat won. Dom turned the car around and drove towards Kat's place. Kat jumped out the door as soon as the car stopped and ran inside.

Elias laughed at a joke Yvette made about Kat's forgetfulness, when he saw Micah and Raphael walking towards them on the sidewalk. The two were deeply engrossed in whatever they were talking about, but as soon as Elias got out of the car, Micah looked up at him. He sped up towards Elias, after whispering something in Raphael's ear that caused him to turn back around in the direction he came.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"Going to the mall, Kat forgot her wallet so we had to take a detour."

"Sounds like her." Micah let out a dry laugh.

"Wait, I forgot, she said you all live in the same neighborhood."

"Yeah, I live a few blocks from here." Micah said.

"This is the exact opposite direction from school, I thought my house fell on your way," Elias furrowed his brows, "Why do you drop me home?"

"Uh I- I just want to spend some time with you." Micah answered honestly.

"That's sweet of you but it's also unnecessary. I would never have taken up on your offer had I known it caused you this much trouble." Elias frowned.

"What? No! It's no trouble, really. I give you a ride back home because I want to be with you. It honestly doesn't matter if I have to drive a little longer. It's worth it, trust me." Micah ranted.

"If you say so," Elias bit his lower lip, "I just don't understand why."

"You'll know in time."

"Wow. Mysterious." Elias let out a dry, sarcastic laugh.

"Uh hey, I've been meaning to ask, did you break up with Kyle?" Micah asked hopefully.

"No. Not yet." Elias has a straight face as Micah frowned.