An Invisible Companion

While in the middle of the class discussion, Eli finds herself silently thinking about Hal's nonplussing remark from time to time. 

What he said earlier had come out of nowhere. Up until this minute, she's still a bit flabbergasted by that. 

It's not just the words he suddenly spilled, though. The way he looks at her so tenderly has some sort of meaning that she can't quite figure out.

Now that Eli thought about it, she also recalled that Hal had been acting a bit different from how he used to. 

Back then, all his intimate gestures were only filled with mirth and solely his forms of entertainment. Whether he held her hands, draped his arms around her shoulders or embraced her out of nowhere, she knew that he's just playing around all the time.

Now, though, she can sense some kind of underlying weight in all of his advances. She knows so since she can't help but be thrown off guard every time he does something intimate to her.