Six

Cain

I was early.

For the first time in three years, I was actually sitting in a seminar room before the professor had even finished his first cup of coffee. It felt weird. Usually, I liked the dramatic entrance, the slight disruption as I slid into a seat while everyone was already settled.

But today was about strategy. I wanted to see Eli come through that door. I wanted to see the exact moment his face went from relaxed to guarded when he spotted me.

I wanted to see if his shoulders stayed square or if he slouched to hide. I wanted to read him like a book before he had the chance to glue the pages shut.

But the universe apparently thought it was funny to mess with my plans.

When I walked in, the room was mostly empty, except for one person at the far end of the long mahogany table. Eli was already there.

He was hunched over a thick notebook, scribbling something with a focused intensity that made the rest of the world look like a blur.

His glasses were sliding down the bridge of his nose, and he didn't even bother to push them up. He was just... there. Lost in whatever world he occupied when no one was watching.

I didn't sit down immediately. I stood by the door and just watched him for a full minute. He didn't notice. He was tracing a diagram in his textbook, his lips moving slightly as if he was reciting a formula to himself. It was a strange sight.

Most people at this university were either trying too hard to look busy or were genuinely drowning. Eli just looked like he was having a private conversation with the paper.

Eventually, the weight of my stare must have registered. He blinked, his head tilting back as he looked up. His eyes found mine, and the transition was instant. The softness, the quiet focus—it all vanished.

His expression went flat. It was that measuring look again, the one that made me feel like he was looking at a math problem he had already solved and found boring.

"You're early," he said. His voice was dry, like he was stating a disappointing weather forecast.

"New semester, new me," I lied, pulling out a chair a few seats away. "Don't get used to it."

"I don't plan on getting used to anything involving you, Cain," he muttered, turning back to his notes.

That right there? That was the hit. It was intoxicating. Most people tripped over themselves to stay in my orbit, but Eli looked at me and saw a distraction he couldn't afford.

It made my blood hum. It made me feel like I was finally playing a game where the opponent actually knew the rules.

The seminar dragged on, but I barely heard a word the professor said. I was too busy thinking about how to get him alone.

A direct invitation would be a disaster. He’d say no before I even finished the sentence. He didn't trust me, and honestly, he shouldn't. So, I had to be smart. I had to make it look like it wasn't my idea at all.

When class ended, I didn't go to Eli. I went to Sarah and Mike, two overachievers who were always looking for extra study hours.

"Hey, you guys thinking of doing a group for this seminar?" I asked, leaning against the desk. "The material is getting a bit dense, and I heard the midterm is a nightmare."

Sarah looked up, her eyes lighting up at the fact that I even bothered to come to her. "I was actually thinking about that. You want in, Cain? You're usually a lone wolf."

"I'm trying to actually pass this time," I said with a charming shrug. "Maybe ask Eli too? He seems to have the best notes in the room. It would be good to have someone who actually knows what’s going on."

"Good idea," Mike said. "I'll catch him on the way out."

I watched from the corner of my eye as Mike flagged Eli down. I saw Eli hesitate, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on me. I looked away, pretending to be busy with my bag. A few seconds later, Mike gave me a thumbs up.

"He's in," Mike told me. "Campus meeting room, seven o'clock tonight?"

"Perfect," I said. "See you then."

Phase one was complete. Now for phase two. I had to make sure Sarah and Mike didn't show up. That part was easy.

A couple of well-placed texts about a "last-minute change" and a fake emergency, and suddenly, the group of four was down to two.

At seven o'clock, I was sitting in the small, glass-walled meeting room. I had two coffees on the table—one black, one with a ridiculous amount of sugar and cream because I had a feeling Eli was the type to need a sugar rush to deal with me. I also had a stack of readings spread out to make it look like I had been working for hours.

The door opened precisely at seven. Eli walked in, his backpack slung over one shoulder. He stopped dead when he saw the empty chairs. He looked at the extra coffee, then at me, then back at the door.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Sarah’s roommate locked herself out and took the wrong keys, and Mike’s car wouldn't start," I said, leaning back and trying to look as relaxed as possible. "They both bailed about ten minutes ago. Texted me apologizing like crazy."

Eli didn't move. He stood there, doing what I could only describe as a threat assessment. He was looking for the trap. He was looking for the punchline.

"So it's just us," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Just us," I confirmed, pushing the black coffee toward the empty seat across from me. "I figured we could still get some work done. Unless you're scared of a little one-on-one tutoring?"

Eli narrowed his eyes. "I don't need tutoring from you, Cain."

"Then tutor me," I countered. "I'm genuinely struggling with the renal system notes from Tuesday. Stay for an hour. If it's a waste of time, you can leave and tell everyone I’m an idiot. Deal?"

He stayed by the door for five more seconds. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head. Then, with a heavy sigh, he dropped his bag on the table and sat down.

"One hour," he said firmly. "And don't touch my highlighter."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I grinned.

The first hour was... surprising. We didn't talk about anything other than the work. I expected him to be snappy or cold, but once he opened his book, he became a different person.

He was precise. He explained the flow of blood through the nephrons like he was describing a map of a city he’d lived in his whole life.

"Wait, go back," I said, pointing to a diagram. "How does the pressure change in the glomerulus if the afferent arteriole constricts?"

Eli looked at me, actually looking at me. "It drops. Think of it like a garden hose. If you kinking the hose before the water hits the nozzle, the pressure at the end is going to disappear. Why are you even asking? You wrote this down in class."

"I wrote it down," I admitted. "I just didn't understand why it happened. Most people just memorize the facts. I like to know the mechanics."

Eli stared at me for a second, then nodded slowly. "Okay. That’s actually a smart way to look at it. Most people in this program are just robots."

"And you're not?" I asked.

"I’m a robot with a very specific hardware update," he said. He actually laughed. It wasn't a big, loud laugh. It was a short, surprised sound that he tried to cough away almost immediately.

But I felt it. It landed somewhere in the middle of my chest like a small, warm collision. It caught me off guard. I had spent so much time trying to manufacture a moment that when a real one happened, I didn't know what to do with it.

"You should do that more often," I said quietly.

"Do what?"

"Laugh. It makes you look less like you’re planning a murder."

Eli flushed slightly and looked back at his notebook. "Let’s just get through the next section, Cain."

We kept working. The silence between us shifted from awkward and tense to something... comfortable. It was the most comfortable silence I think I had ever sat in. We weren't performing.

I wasn't being the "Golden Boy" Cain, and he wasn't being the "Ice King" Eli. We were just two students in a room, surrounded by coffee cups and messy handwriting.

He asked me a question about the cardiac cycle, and I answered him honestly. I didn't try to sound smarter than I was. I just told him how I visualized the valves opening and closing. He listened, nodding along, occasionally correcting a term but never making me feel stupid for getting it wrong.

When I checked the time, three hours had passed.

"Oh," Eli said, noticing the clock on the wall. "I didn't realize it was that late."

"Time flies when you’re having fun," I said. This time, I wasn't even being sarcastic.

"I wouldn't call physiology 'fun,' but it was productive," Eli said, starting to pack his things. He reached for his glasses and pushed them firmly up his nose. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Anytime, Eli. Same time next week?"

He paused, his hand on the strap of his bag. He looked at me, really searched my face for a second. "Maybe. We’ll see what Sarah and Mike say."

"Right. Sarah and Mike," I repeated.

I watched him walk out of the room. I stayed behind for a few minutes, just sitting in the chair he had occupied. The room felt significantly colder now that he was gone.

I gathered my stuff and started the walk back to my dorm. The night air was sharp and cold, the kind of cold that makes your lungs ache when you breathe in too fast. I was halfway across the quad when I stopped.

I had spent three hours with him. Three hours of talking, laughing, and studying. And in those three hours, I had thought about the bet exactly once.

Just once, right at the beginning when I was setting the trap. For the rest of the time, I had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be a prize. He was just... Eli.

I stood there on the path, the wind whipping around me. My heart was thudding against my ribs, and it wasn't because of the cold.

"That's a problem," I whispered to myself.

If I was forgetting the bet, it meant I was losing the game. Or maybe, it meant the game was changing into something I didn't understand yet. I had spent years being bored, looking for something to keep me interested, and now that I had found it, I was terrified.

This was either the most dangerous thing that had ever happened to me, or it was the most interesting. I couldn't decide which one scared me more.

I started walking again, faster this time. I felt like if I moved quick enough, I could outpace the feeling growing in my chest.

I could go back to being the guy who didn't care. I could go back to the version of me that saw Eli as a project instead of a person.

But as I reached my door, I knew it was too late. The collision had already happened, and I was still feeling the heat from it.

I was in trouble.

And the worst part?

I didn't even want to be saved.

Not from him.

Yep... I was fucked.