"The room held its breath."
Silver still had Eli's pen in her pocket when she walked into the dorm lounge the next evening.
It was supposed to be another ordinary study night. But nothing about tonight felt ordinary.
The lounge was quiet except for the low hum of the heater and the faint sound of snow brushing against the windows. A single lamp cast warm light across the table where Silver sat, pretending to highlight something in her psychology textbook. The words blurred together, meaningless.
Eli sat across from her again, typing something on his laptop. He wasn't wearing the hoodie she'd borrowed last night, and she still hadn't returned it. It hung off the back of her chair like proof of everything unspoken between them.
He looked up once, catching her glancing his way.
"What?"
"Nothing," she said too quickly.
He arched an eyebrow, skeptical. "You keep saying that lately."
"Maybe because you keep asking."
