James laughed in amusement. "Why are you surprised?" he said, tilting his head as he looked at her. "I used to come to your house, remember?"
Elena paused, her brows knitted together for the second time before she let out a soft sigh, she nodded, brushing the thought away, maybe she was just overthinking again, he must have seen her birth certificate.
"You're right," she said, her voice calmer.
Her birthday. Nineteen on the nineteenth of the ninth month, it sounded almost too weird when he said it like that.
'Come on, you must be taking your thoughts too far…' she thought.
"See you soon," she said, turning to leave.
She had barely taken a step when a hand wrapped around her arm and gently pulled her back.
"Wait…"
Elena stopped and sighed, the warmth of his hand lingered through the thin fabric of her sleeve, sending an unfamiliar tension through her body, she turned back in frustration and let her eyes meet his.
"What is it, James?" she asked, exhaling as if she was already tired of whatever he was about to say.
For a moment, he didn't respond and just looked at her, not the usual glance he gave her when he stepped in to help, not the casual smile he wore around others, his gaze lingered, like he was trying to read something hidden beneath her expression.
It made her uncomfortable… or maybe something else…
"I've ordered another food for you," he finally said.
Elena blinked, caught off guard, before she could respond, two boys in neat school uniforms walked up behind him, each holding a tray filled with fresh food, the scent alerted her hungry stomach, they stopped in front of her and handed the trays over without a word.
Elena stared at them, then at the food, then back at James.
She folded her arms in amusement. "You didn't have to do that," she said.
"I know," he replied simply, that same smile appeared on his face again, but there was something different… something that made her chest feel strange.
"You've been standing there for too long," he added. "I couldn't just watch."
Elena let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding, for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
She hated the way she was feeling… she didn't have feelings for him, yet she felt that kind of unclear energy…
'No! I don't like the way he always shows up at the right time and the way he makes it hard for me to stay angry,' she recited in her mind.
Elena nodded. "Okay," then she took from one of the boys. "Thank you," she muttered, almost reluctantly.
James' eyes never left her and Elena hated it, she decided to focus on the food and sniffed the soup in satisfaction.
"Elena," he called softly.
She looked up again, her expression guarded.
"Tomorrow," he smiled and raised a brow. "Don't disappear after school."
She frowned in confusion. "Why?"
"Celebrating your birthday, of course." Something about the way he said it made her heartbeat nervous in another way.
She scoffed as she looked around. "You know what… I want to stay alone. Goodbye, James."
She didn't wait for a response, with the tray in her hands, she turned and headed out of the cafeteria, ignoring the stares that followed her.
"And tomorrow?" James called after her.
Elena didn't stop walking. "I'm not celebrating anything!"
"You've just said that for the ninth time!" he yelled back, teasing her.
Her frown deepened as she glanced over her shoulder at him, she shook her head in annoyance and kept moving, pushing the cafeteria doors open and stepping into the quieter hallway.
"Confused again?" the voice came from behind her.
Elena didn't stop because she already knew the owner of the voice.
Ava!!
Of course, it was her.
Seeing that Elena ignored her again. "Actually, you're the weird one," she continued, walking fast to catch up. "Who takes food from the cafeteria and goes all the way to the roof to eat?" she pointed upward and laughed. "You're really something."
Elena rolled her eyes, tightening her grip on the tray as she kept walking. "So, what's your problem?" she snapped. "You just appeared out of nowhere and started following me around, I don't care who or what you are, stay. away. from. me."
Ava stopped walking.
Elena took a few more steps before noticing the sudden silence, something about it felt… off, she's not following her again? good.
"I'm not your enemy, Elena," Ava said, her voice no longer playful.
Elena let out a dry laugh, though it held no amusement. "Then I'm not your friend either, Ava."
She turned her head just enough to glare at her. "Stop following me."
Without waiting for a reply, she turned and headed toward the staircase that led to the roof.
"You'll start to understand everything starting from tomorrow," Ava called after her. "Your nineteenth birthday."
Elena stopped walking, and a strange feeling crept up her spine as her grip on the tray tightened.
She turned her head, looking over her shoulder at Ava, confusion written across her face.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
Ava didn't move from where she stood.
"You can always come to me," she said, her voice echoing faintly through the hallway. "When you can't handle it anymore."
Elena frowned, irritation mixing with something she didn't want to name. "You see—"
She turned fully, but to her surprise, Ava was gone and there was no sign of her among the students passing by.
Elena stood there for a moment, her thoughts tangled, she suddenly felt chilled… as if someone was watching her…
"Whatever." Then she scoffed under her breath.
Shaking her head, she turned back toward the staircase and started up the steps, the sound of her footsteps echoing faintly as she climbed higher.
But even as she tried to brush it off… Ava's words lingered in her mind. And for the first time that day… Elena felt something she couldn't ignore… something far more unsettling than she thought.