Eli notices Dinah before he decides to.
He always has.
She's loud in a bright way. Confident. Unapologetically interested.
She laughs too long at his jokes. Touches his arm when she talks. Sits too close.
He used to brush it off.
Now he doesn't.
It starts small.
In chemistry, she slides into the seat beside him even though there are others open.
"You're quiet lately," she says.
"Am I?"
"Yeah. It's mysterious. I kinda like it."
He almost smiles.
Mysterious.
If only she knew.
Across the room, Nora is bent over her notebook, Liam leaning toward her.
They look easy.
Natural.
Eli looks back at Dinah.
She's looking at him like he's uncomplicated.
That's new.
At lunch, Dinah waves him over.
He hesitates for half a second.
Then walks.
It feels deliberate.
It feels watched.
He doesn't check if Nora noticed.
He tells himself he doesn't care.
Dinah talks a lot.
About a party this weekend. About her ex. About how she likes boys who don't try too hard.
"You should come Friday," she says. "With me."
With me.
It lands heavier than it should.
No confusion. No history. No almost.
Just interest.
Simple.
Safe.
Later that night, alone in his room, he thinks about it.
Dinah wouldn't hesitate.
Dinah wouldn't almost say something and then pull back.
Dinah wouldn't look at him like he's a problem she's trying to solve.
She already knows she wants him.
That should feel flattering.
It does.
A little.
But when he imagines holding her hand—
it doesn't feel like anything.
No static. No tension. No history.
Just quiet.
And maybe quiet is easier.
Maybe easier is what he needs.
The next day, when Dinah loops her arm through his casually in the hallway—
he doesn't move away.
Across the corridor, Nora pauses mid-step.
Just for a second.
And that second is enough.