Emotions Emerge

It's only when the school bell rings that they realize Noah's absence.

"That's strange. Noah hasn't come at all," Allen voiced out with a puzzled look, halting his writing before scanning around the room.

"It's not like him to run late. He'd also inform us beforehand if he's going to be absent. He had a lot of paperwork to submit, after all," Lance replied while arranging a pile of documents.

"I'll just check on him later. We have to go to class for now."

With that, Allen dismissed the officers for the meantime and reminded them of their next assembly time. At this, everyone packed up and prepared to leave. The Student Council members then started to head to their respective classrooms. On their way there, the two happened to pass by a fellow third-year with spiky black hair that covers almost half of his face. For a split second, the red head suddenly met his eyes as he strode to the opposite direction.

Deep, electric green eyes locked with keen, ruddy ones - at that moment, something obscurely portentous enveloped him, a foreboding vibe crawling on his skin.

"Allen? Why'd you stop?"

He didn't even know he halted on his tracks.

Allen then turned to Lance who's tilting his head at him quizzically. For some reason, that unfamiliar guy managed to catch his attention with a single glance, but then again, he might just be mistaken. Such a fleeting encounter probably doesn't mean anything.

"It's just my imagination..." Allen mumbled to himself before continuing his walk with Lance towards their classroom.

Hours ticked by and everyone simply complied to their daily routine. Attending classes, chatting with friends, completing seatwork - it's just like any ordinary day for the ash-haired bookworm. Eli was taking down notes during a discussion when she suddenly thought of something. Then, propping her chin over the palm of her hand, she looked out of the window and got more absorbed into her musing.

"Should I ask to join the Champions' meeting?" she whispered to no one in particular.

For a while now, probably since Hal started calling for assemblies more often than usual, Eli was plenty intrigued by how exactly they do it. Sure, they locked themselves up inside the librarian's office, but for unknown reasons, noisy chatters would ensue from time to time before eventually getting rowdier. For a secret meeting, they sure were making a racket whenever that happened. It always gave her the impression that there's more than four people occupying the room.

Aside from this, there's also that feeling that she wasn't being utilized enough. What she's really after was to lend a hand, after all. With the Student Council's mountain of workloads and Hal's overseeing duties, she doesn't think cleaning the library was helpful enough. Not to mention, Hal didn't let her run an errand anymore.

"What's the use of being a walking radar, then?"

At this, Eli just sighed. Though they're just probably very cautious or she's only being overly feisty, the signs are already all over the place. Even those princely facades couldn't hide them from her. During their tea party preparation yesterday, she became sure of them, especially after seeing Allen's weary face when he asked her to fetch their underclassmen and hearing Hal's attempt to hire bodyguards. Those two were holding back, not wanting to involve her any further than she already was and refusing to ask for help.

Just keeping all these to herself won't do anything, though. Therefore, she made it her objective to persuade Hal later at the library.

"You can't."

Not even a minute later into their negotiation, Hal shut Eli down. It's already past three in the afternoon, and the two are now sitting behind the librarian's counter, immersed in their conversation. She decided to bring up the subject when there's nothing much to do. That way, they could talk for a while longer than when they're busy. But even then, however, her plan didn't seem to work.

"It's not that simple, Eli. I know you're aware that it wasn't just any ordinary meeting. You also shouldn't have to worry about being a burden since you've already done enough just by reading the Forbidden Books for us. You'll be able to help us more in the future either," Hal reasoned, crossing his arms before leaning on the desk.

"Can it be... That you're also discussing how to make better use of me? If that's it then, it's all more the reason why I should be there," Eli retorted with a pout.

"Like I said, it's not that simple. The others aren't too accepting of you yet."

"That's why I'll prove myself useful!"

Hal only heaved an exhausted sigh at this. He knew that Eli wasn't just being cheeky or prying, though. Perhaps, their busyness and reticent approach when informing her of their affairs had made her on her toes. Then again, he'd only bring up the topic of their strategy meeting whenever he asked details about the Forbidden Books she finished reading. He didn't go any further in discussing it, which probably made her this curious. Even if that's the case, however, he still couldn't understand why she'd have to go all this trouble to offer some help.

"Joining you guys is also a good way to get closer to the others. I know I didn't leave a good impression on them, but I believe it's not impossible to change that. Not to mention, Noah finally talked with me yesterday. He even drank the tea I made... I'm glad we all get to spend time together with him," Eli mused out loud, much to his surprise.

At that moment, Hal found her in a trance. She wasn't looking at him, mind's somewhere else. A gentle smile was gracing her features and her eyes seemed softer than usual. As he continued staring at her dreamy expression, a strange and barely bearable emotion ascended all of the sudden. It just swelled up in his chest out of nowhere, making him want to blow up at that very second.

That's until Zeke's upset look yesterday flashed through his mind.

Feeling like a ticking time bomb, Hal simply hid his hands in his pockets, stood upright again and paced towards Eli. He then stopped right in front of her before mustering an inscrutable grin. Snapping out of her daze, Eli just stared back at him in confusion. That's when she suddenly got the feeling that he wasn't really smiling at all.

"Say, Eli... Why are you so fixated on Noah? You like him or something?"

Eli then blinked her eyes in flummox. For some reason, Hal looked annoyed despite his teasing smirk. His voice also came out a bit cold and distant.

"What are you saying? I just want to get along with him," she answered, tilting her head in puzzlement.

"To the point you were fussing about him every single day?" he muttered, baffling her even more.

"Huh? I wasn't, though?"

As the two just continued exchanging looks, stifling quietude sprawled around them. Both their minds were far from silent, however. Eli felt befuddled by how peculiar he was acting at the moment while Hal was currently having trouble in composing himself. They stayed that way for a few more seconds until the loud banging of the doors echoed throughout the room, interrupting them.