Claire heard someone speaking her name, but gave them a slightly dismissive wave of her hand without turning to see who it was. âSorry. Iâm kind of in the middle of something here. Iâll talk to you later okay?â She said, glancing up to flash the person a reassuring smile, only to find herself looking at Elijah himself. For a split second, as her knocking on his door faded away, the features on her face softened ever so slightly at the sight  of him, before she remembered what it was that had brought her here, and she gave a small shake of her head, refocusing herself. The look on his face told her that  he was confused, and she supposed she couldnât really blame him for that. A part of her wondered whether he had even realized that she had come back yet, or if this was truly out of the blue for him. Suddenly, she found herself at a loss for words, not exactly sure how to say what she had come to say, although her face remained fierce and determined as she stood there desperately trying to figure out  what words to use. Did she just come right out and say what she needed to say, or did she try to get her answer more subtly? Subtlety might have been the preferred method, had she not entered this conversation making it very clear by her expression and body language that she had something to say; now she didnât think she had much of a choice but to come right out and say what needed to be said. âSomeone told me that you said that you didnât even notice that I was gone. â She said finally, hating the way that  this situation had unfolded. This was not at all how she had imagined it when sheâd made the decision to get answers from him, although in truth, she wasnât really sure how she had expected it to go. Nonetheless, she kept her eyes firmly locked on his, even after she shook her head, and huffed a sigh. âLook, I just need to know if thatâs true, or if some asshole is just trying to be funny okay? Did you really say that?â As strong as she had managed to keep her tone throughout everything else she said, she inwardly cringed at the fact that the last question was spoken in a voice that was a little bit softer, that, to her ears, betrayed the fact that there was more to her asking him this question than simply wanting to know whether whoever had told her he didnât care had been lying or not.  She could only hope that he hadnât noticed.
While it was somewhat humorous that the girl had been so caught up in her train of thought, so determined to speak with him that it took her a few extra seconds to realize that he was the very person approaching, Elijahâs confusion didnât waver. There was a part of him that was flattered that Claire would jump so quickly to blow someone off for him. In truth, her look of determination and the fiery blaze written in her features were some of the initial things that had drawn him to the girl when they met. However, he still wasnât sure that this fierce expression wasnât a direct result of being furious with him in some way. Â A brow lifted when she finally realized it was him, and he found himself bracing for what she would do next. When her first words reached his ears, the boy was taken aback; having only said that a few hour prior, he hadnât expected her to ever find out, let alone to see her again, to have her confronting him about it. Of course when he said this, it was simply out of protection of himself. What would it have sounded like if he had been honest? In Elijahâs mind, if his answer to missing Claire was âyes,â then people might have assumed he was pining without her. Whichâ wasnât entirely untrue, but it wasnât exactly the truth either. Being sent to Safe Haven was one of the hardest things he had to experience socially, and when he found himself connecting with Claire so easily, he had, unadmittedly, grown attached to her. And in spite of this face, he hadnât given himself a chance to consider the thought any further than that.
Through the moment of silence, Elijah gawked at the girl, lips parting as though he were going to muster up a response. He pressed his lips back together at her abrupt start, and felt himself gradually shift from his initial confusion, to a shaking bewilderment. It was obvious that Claire was upset by this news, regardless of her knowledge of the context, or even if it were true, however, that wasnât what surprised the boy. In fact, despite the look of surprise and perplexity reaching his eyes as he stared back at the girl, he wasnât sure he wanted to give himself enough time to decide where the surprise was coming from. âN-noâ I ââI mean,â he paused, turning his gaze down the hall briefly, not bringing it fully back to her when he spoke again. It wasnât until the words began leaving his mouth that Elijah realized how difficult it felt lying to the girl. âI noticed you were gone, Claire, I showed up at your door the day after weâ after you⊠dragged me out to the roof.â He admitted, deciding that telling the actual truth didnât need to involve admitting what he had said before. âYou were gone⊠all your stuff was goneâŠâ He concluded this with a shrug, feeling a wave of nerves come over him and hoping that the shrug would be enough to mask his being upset by her sudden absence. âIâI noticedâŠâ he repeated simply, shrugging again and ignoring the weight that came with his unspoken words. âI guess if thereâs something I didnât noticeâ until now, I sâpose, it's that you came back. I didnât⊠I didnât expect youâd be back.â
