Chapter 46—Patterns

Elara's POV

I looked at her like I had seen nothing, and we stood there on the field together watching the rest of the games continue around us.

Freya was still analyzing moves, people were still running drills, and everything felt normal on the surface even though I knew Nyx's secret now. I could feel the weight of it sitting between us, this thing I knew and wasn't saying anything about.

The games went on for another hour, and by the time everything wound down, we were all tired and ready to head back inside.

We grabbed our stuff and made our way back toward the school buildings, talking about which events people were going to compete in, who had the best chances of winning, all the normal stuff.

During second period. Leo was quiet in a way that meant something was wrong. Not the normal Leo quiet where he was thinking about something stupid to say. The actual quiet where he was dealing with something real and trying not to let anyone know about it.

I caught him staring at nothing during class, his chin propped on his hand, completely lost in whatever was happening in his head. He had barely touched his lunch, which was basically unheard of for Leo. I waited until we were between classes to corner him in the hallway and actually get him to talk to me.

"What's going on with you?" I asked, falling into step beside him as we headed toward our next classroom. "And don't say nothing because I can tell something's up."

"It's stupid," he said, but his voice was flat in a way that told me he was absolutely lying about it being nothing important.

"Leo."

He sighed, stopped walking, and leaned against the wall like he suddenly needed the physical support.

For a second I thought he wasn't going to say anything, but then the whole story came pouring out like he had been waiting for someone to ask.

There was a girl named Rose. He liked her actually liked her, not just the casual kind you forget about in a week or move on from easily. But he found out last week that she was already dating one of the house captains, which meant Leo's chances were basically zero because everyone knew captains had status and power in the school hierarchy, and nobody was going to compete with that.

"That sucks," I said, because it actually did suck. Leo deserved better than this disappointment. "But hey, your time will come. You don't need to worry about this one."

"Easy for you to say," Leo said, but there was less bitterness in it now, like he was already accepting it as inevitable. "You're already with someone everyone thinks is hot."

"That's not the point," I said. "The point is Rose isn't the only girl in this school. You're going to find someone who actually deserves you instead of some girl who's into house politics."

"You think so?" Leo asked, and he actually sounded like he might be starting to believe it, like maybe I was right about this.

"I know so," I said. "And honestly, if she's with a house captain, she's probably boring anyway.

You need someone who can actually keep up with you, someone who gets your sense of humor and isn't just chasing status or connections. You're worth more than that."

Leo laughed at that, which was the whole goal. "When did you become the wise one?"

"I've always been wise," I said. "You're just now noticing."

He bumped my shoulder playfully as we started walking again, and I felt like I had done my job as a friend, at least for now. Leo was going to be okay.

He'd bounce back because that's what Leo did. He had that ability to take a hit and keep moving forward like nothing happened, like it didn't hurt at all.

By third period, things were pretty normal again. I was back to regular classes, sitting through lessons, trying to focus on what the teachers were saying even though my mind kept drifting. It was hard though, knowing what I knew about Nyx now, seeing her lie so casually about something so obvious. The pattern had been staring me in the face and I had finally connected the dots.

Nyx showed up during third period, just walking into class like she hadn't been missing for the last few hours. No explanation, no note, just casual strolling in like it was no big deal. I raised my eyebrow at her, silently asking where the hell she had been this whole time.

"Bathroom," she said, settling into her seat like that was a totally normal answer for being gone for so long.

"For that long?" I asked, keeping my voice light but definitely questioning.

"Yeah, I just needed to get some air. Stood outside for a bit."

I knew she was lying. I had been paying attention to the pattern recently, noticing how often Nyx disappeared without telling anyone where she was going or when she'd be back, how her excuses were always vague and quick.

The bathroom, getting air, needing a moment to think. All of it was bullshit, and I was pretty sure I knew exactly where she was spending her time and who she was with.

I could have called her out. I could have asked her directly about Michael, about the supply closet, about why she was lying to us and keeping this huge secret. But I didn't say anything. I just let it go because I was doing the same thing with Ravin. Disappearing. Making excuses, lying to my best friends about where I was and what I was doing.

Who was I to call her out on it when I was being just as bad, if not worse? At least she was honest about wanting to keep her thing private, even if her methods of lying about it were not transparent.

We were sitting through whatever lesson was happening when Ravin leaned back in his seat and caught my eye from across the classroom.

He tilted his head slightly, a silent request. Come here. It was the kind of thing he did sometimes, brazenly calling me over in the middle of class like he had every right to interrupt my education whenever he felt like it. And the thing was, he probably did have that right.

The teacher was focused on the board, going on about some historical event or another that I was supposed to be paying attention to. But Ravin had my attention now, and there was no competing with that.

I glanced at the teacher, who was too focused on the lesson to notice me moving. I stood up without hesitation, walked to the front of the classroom, and sat down next to him. He smiled slightly, like he had known I would come without question.

"Hi," he said quietly, and that one word felt like a whole conversation.