Eli stared at the three girls in front of him like someone had just dropped a piano on his head.
Lila Carter was smiling like it was a spring afternoon. Brooke Turner was smirking like she already knew the outcome. And Emma Rhodes? She looked like she regretted every decision that led her to this moment.
They all held chocolate.
And they were all staring at him.
"So," Brooke said, twirling a strand of her wavy brown hair, "who are you going to pick?"
Pick?
Eli blinked. "Wait... pick what?"
Lila tilted her head. "Pick who you'll spend Valentine's Day with, silly."
His heart did a backflip.
This had to be a prank. Or a fever dream. Maybe Jay slipped something into his water bottle as a joke again.
Before he could respond, the school bell rang, cutting the moment in half like a knife through frosting.
"Lunch is over," Emma said quickly. She shoved the heart-shaped box of chocolate into his arms, face flushed, and stormed off without waiting for a reply.
Brooke handed him hers next. "Don't keep me waiting too long, okay? I'm expecting a masterpiece in return." She winked and turned on her heel.
Lila gave hers last, her hand brushing against his for half a second too long. "I'm serious about mine, Eli," she said quietly. "Think about it."
Then she left too.
Eli was alone again.
Only this time, his arms were full of chocolate, his head full of confusion, and his sketchbook felt ten times heavier.
He stood there for another full minute, frozen.
"You're a monster," Jay's voice came from behind him. "A harem-starting monster."
Eli nearly dropped everything.
Jay popped up beside him, eyes wide with admiration and jealousy. "Dude. Three confessions. In one lunch break. That's legendary. You're the chosen one."
"I didn't do anything!" Eli hissed. "I didn't even talk to them today!"
Jay gave him a smug look. "You sure? Maybe they saw that sketch of Lila you left in the art room last week. Or that one of Brooke on the rooftop. Or Emma when she fell asleep during test prep."
Eli's stomach dropped.
His sketchbook.
He kept it with him most of the time, but once in a while he left pages around the clubroom when no one was there.
At least, when he thought no one was there.
Jay snorted. "You've been accidentally seducing girls with your art. How does that even happen?"
"I wasn't seducing anyone. I just draw."
"And yet here we are. Valentine's Day. Three confessions. One confused art boy. Sounds like the start of a harem anime."
Eli groaned and walked back to class, Jay trailing behind him like a cheerful shadow.
"It was just a drawing"
His mind replayed the lunch scene over and over, skipping whatever came after.
Every time Eli looked up, someone was staring at him.
Girls whispering behind textbooks. Guys glaring at him like he stole their lunch money. Even the teacher paused mid-lesson to eye him suspiciously when she caught him sketching.
And the sketchbook? It sat on his desk like a time bomb.
When the final bell rang, Eli thought about making a break for it. But Lila was already waiting at the door.
"Walk home with me?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Eli nodded before he could think of an excuse.
Outside, the air was crisp. Clouds hung low like cotton, and the school looked smaller behind them with each step.
Lila kicked a pebble as they walked.
"You looked shocked earlier," she said softly.
"I was," Eli admitted.
She smiled. "But... happy?"
He hesitated. "Confused. I didn't expect anyone to… like me like that."
Lila stopped walking.
"I've liked you for a while, Eli. You always saw people in ways no one else did. Even me. Especially me."
He swallowed hard. "I don't even know what I'm doing."
"That's okay," she said, stepping closer. "Just don't run away."
They stopped in front of her house. Her porch light flicked on like it had been watching the whole time.
"Think about it," she repeated, then slipped inside, leaving him standing on the sidewalk with her chocolate still in his hand.
---
That night, Eli sat at his desk, sketchbook open but untouched.
He stared at a blank page. Then at the chocolate boxes. Then back at the page.
Was Jay right? Did his drawings somehow show the girls more than they saw in themselves?
He flipped through his sketchbook.
Lila, sitting on a swing, sunlight catching in her hair. Brooke, laughing at something off-camera, head tilted back. Emma, fast asleep with her glasses sliding down her nose, peaceful in a way she never let people see.
They weren't just drawings. They were moments.
He didn't draw them to impress anyone. He just drew what he noticed. What felt real.
And that made it worse.
Because now… now those moments meant something to them too.
He closed the sketchbook and rubbed his face.
This was going to be a problem.
The next morning, Eli walked into school cautiously.
He tried to blend in. Hood up. Head down. Sketchbook in his bag, zipped and buried under a history textbook.
It didn't help.
Brooke was waiting by the shoe lockers.
"Well, well. If it isn't my favorite little artist."
"I'm not little," Eli muttered.
She grinned. "But you are my favorite."
"Brooke, I didn't mean to—"
"You didn't mean to make me feel something with that drawing?" she interrupted. "Too late."
Eli opened his mouth. Then closed it again.
She leaned in, whispering near his ear. "You made me feel beautiful. Not hot. Not cute. Beautiful. You don't get to pretend that means nothing."
Then she winked and walked away, leaving a faint scent of strawberry perfume behind.
Jay practically tackled Eli a minute later.
"I saw that! Are you trying to speedrun this harem thing?"
"Please stop calling it that."
"What, the truth?"
Eli glared at him.
Jay threw an arm around his shoulders like they were in a sitcom.
"You, my friend, are in over your head. And I'm here for every second of it."
"Great," Eli muttered.
But deep down, he couldn't stop thinking about what Brooke said.
And what Lila said.
And what Emma might've said if she didn't run off.
He sat down at his desk. Reached into his bag. Hesitated.
Then pulled out the sketchbook.
If this was going to spiral out of control, he at least wanted to understand how.
He flipped to a fresh page and started drawing. Slowly. Carefully.
Halfway through shading, someone slammed a note on his desk.
He jumped.
Emma stood there, looking like she was about to explode.
"You," she said through clenched teeth, "are going to meet me on the roof after class. We need to talk."
Then she stomped off.
Jay leaned over, grinning from ear to ear.
"Three girls in two days. You're a magnet."
Eli stared at the note. His pencil rolled off the desk and clattered to the floor.
His heart was pounding.
And it wasn't from fear.