The Elijah Walker Fanclub

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

I skipped over to the room the Student Council used for their meetings, up on the second floor in between the library and photo developing room used in art class. I'd never been in there before but knew where it was because of the term I'd spent as a library assistant, a job that was assigned to students at random every term. I'd walked by the door hundreds of times but had never really thought much about what was going on inside, or who was in there.

The door was cracked open slightly when I arrived. As I reached to push it open further, the sound of a girl crying inside the room made me hesitate. I peered through the crack in the door, uncertain whether I should go in or not. When I saw that there was only two people inside the room, I decided against intruding on whatever it was they were doing. It was Elijah Walker and a pretty girl from the year below us. She had tears spilling from her eyes in long streaks and every so often she let out a soft sob.

"I just," she said, struggling to get her words out. "I love you so much... I want you to feel the same way about me... I really want us to be boyfriend and girlfriend."

Elijah looked pained as he stood in front of her listening to her declaration. "I'm sorry."

"I've loved you since you came to the school. You're so handsome and kind... and you were so nice to me when you helped me carry some books to my classroom this one time. Do you remember?"

I cringed when the girl said kind, I'd said that herself about Elijah. So clearly, I wasn't the only one to see that he was more than just how good he was to look at. It felt strange now, to hear that. Almost like he was just nice to everyone and nobody was special or unique. Almost like maybe when I'd thought we were flirting, maybe I'd just been reading too much into it, because that's what I'd wanted it to be. Just like this girl. I shuffled uncomfortably at the thought. How often did this happen for him, just because he was nice to girls?

Elijah let out a little sigh and brushed a hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry. I don't remember that."

"I thought... maybe... maybe it was because you liked me," she said, the words coming out in short bursts of breath. "I thought when you gave me the flyer it was because you wanted us to be alone so we could both admit how we felt."

"I gave out lots of fliers–"

I gulped. Why did I, or Rosa and Cody for that matter, think there was anything to him asking me to join the council. He'd asked everyone. That was kind of his job as Student Council President.

Elijah cleared his throat before he continued. "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm sorry I just don't feel the same way about you, so I can't return your feelings."

The girl rushed at Elijah so quickly that he let out a small gasp of surprise when she enveloped him in a hug. It was only a brief moment, before she released him from her grasp and ran crying from the room. Straight into me.

The girl looked a little shocked to see me standing just outside the door, but quickly recovered herself, bowing her head in an apology before continuing off back down the corridor.

My gaze followed her until she finally disappeared off around a corner. When I turned back toward the room, the door now wide open, Elijah was standing staring at me. There was a longish silence. We were just kind of looking at each other, blinking. Seconds ticked by and neither of us said anything and it's just getting more and more weird. I didn't know what to say, or how to break the silence.

"What are you doing here?" Elijah asked finally, his expression somewhat puzzled.

"Erm," I hesitated again, caught between a feeling of abject horror and soul-rendering awkwardness. Of all the moments for me to walk in, why did this have to be it. I took a breath to steady myself before I spoke again. If in fear, speak with faux confidence, that's what Cody always said anyway.

"I was also here to confess my love for you, but I see that the slot for the day has already been filled," I said with a half-smile, hoping to lighten some of the heavy tension in the room.

Elijah perched himself on one of the tables in the room and put his hand on his face. "You're here because I asked you to apply for a position on the council, I'm sorry I completely forgot," he said, sliding his hand down his face so he could look at me regretfully.

I shrugged, still smiling to hide my feelings of awkwardness. "You seem to have been a bit busy, I think I can let it slide."

He nodded slowly. "Sorry."

Sliding into the room, I lifted myself up onto the table beside him. I held my breath for a second, trying to slow the rising pace of my heart. "You have to stop apologising; you don't have any reason to be sorry. You must have said it like ten times in the past five minutes, that's just crazy."

"I'm not sure Amy would agree," he said, glancing sideways at me.

I tilted my head to the side. "Who's Amy?"

"The girl that was just in here," he explained, still looking rather shamefaced

My mouth formed an 'O' shape. It was nice that he knew her name at least. Super nice for her. Except for the bit where he turned her down anyway. That had been awful. Really awful.

"Anyway, getting away from that really embarrassing moment you just walked in on," he said, a smile appearing at his lips. "You came here for my open door, does that mean you've decided to sign up for the council?"

I nodded, the smile quickly returning to my lips to match his. "Yes, I want to join the student council. I have references from the school Librarian and from the summer work I did at my dad's law firm. Do you need anything else from me?"

He took the references from me and shook his head. "I just need to talk through the applicants with the rest of the council, but between you and me," he said. bumping his shoulder with mine in a way that sent bolts of electricity down my arm. "You're a strong candidate."

Later, when I was home alone in my bedroom, I brought out Mae's steps to dating Elijah Walker and sat down with it at my desk. Taking my favourite pen—it had a lion on the end of it and was something my dad had gotten me when we went to the zoo a few years back—I put a line through Step Number Seven.

After what I'd seen today, under no circumstances was I going to be the one to ask out Elijah Walker. That was the most awful, stupendously excruciating thing I had ever seen in my life and I was definitely not going to submit myself to being let down like that. It was too brutal. No way.

If I wanted to make Elijah my boyfriend, I was just going to have to get him to do the asking.

**Author's Note**

Well THAT was awkward. Fingers crossed this chapter isn't too all over the place, it's a late night post for me and I'm used to writing in the morning so this is a change. Hope you liked it!