Two Weeks Later-Eli's POV

Blake's absent for the third time this week, and even though I know he's not going to come through the door, I can't help but look back at the door, just in case. I have no idea why the hell he isn't here. We'd just gotten to talking last week about family and interests, and now he's bloody gone!

And on top of that, I don't know where he lives. So I can't go to his house.

He's distracted me so much; I got a 43 on my Bio pop quiz.

'God, I must like this boy to flunk when he's not here!'

And I was pretty sure I liked Blake. I think I knew I did the moment he first sat down next to me in Biology. And that affection was doing nothing, but growing…

I was seriously head over heels crazy about Blake!

Cough cough cough.

Aah! I recognized that cough.

"Mr. Davis, is there a legitimate reason for your tardiness?" Ms. Andrews snapped at him from her desk. Today we were mostly doing silent bookwork, and she wasn't in the mood for anything.

"Um, yes. I wasn't feeling very well." His voice sounded like even more of a whisper than normal…so thin…fragile…

I turned in my seat and my heart was practically crushed right then and there.

Blake looked half-dead; his eyes sunken with bags underneath. They weren't bright; they didn't seem to have any life in them at all. His feet dragged as he made his way to the seat next to me. He plopped down with a heavy sigh, and reluctantly pulled his textbook from his bag.

"You don't look too good." I said quietly.

"Thanks." He said, probably assuming I meant he didn't look good, looks wise. Yeah, right. He'd look good even if he was burned beyond recognition in some fire.

"No, I meant, you don't look good."
"Oh, yeah. I don't feel well at all. But my mom insisted that I don't miss the whole day. Some education is better than none." He wouldn't meet my gaze. He was silent for a few minutes, scribbling down a few answers. His hand was pale-white and bony-looking.

And without thinking, I reached out and stroked his cold hand. He startled a little, but relaxed soon enough.

"Your hand feels nice. It's warm." If he wanted to warm up so bad…

I took his hands in mine and rubbed them, and his eyes widened. I could hardly tell, but there seemed to be a little color returning to his cheeks. He was shivering a little, and I wondered what he was thinking.

"How about now?"

"Yeah, it feels really nice. But maybe…" He trailed off, and I was a little confused.

"Maybe what"
"Maybe we could do this later. You know? When we're not at school." Aww, he was so embarrassed because of me!

"Yeah, we could. Do you wanna come over later and meet my parents?" He looked at me in surprise and someone moved two rows ahead of us, causing me to drop his hands and return my focus to the work in front of me. Gah, how could I be so forward?! He was gonna say 'no', I just knew it!

"Okay, but why?"

"Why? I don't know. Just forget it."

"No, no, I don't mind. But…what if…what if all I wanna do is be alone with you?"

Now it was my turn to blush deep red and snap my head up. I turned to face him, seeing a small smile on his face. That guy looked downright pleased with himself! I couldn't help but smile at him, and so I placed my hand on top of his and stroked it lightly with my thumb.

"Then we can be alone."

I could tell that this was the beginning of something great. Kind of like a roller coaster. I was sitting in the seat, going up the first hill, and now I was dropping down the hill, holding on for dear life.