Elijah's POV

Luka.

Fucking Luka.

I couldn't get him out of my head. What he said to me that night at the diner about me marrying him, I was still thinking about it.

I know it was probably stupid of me to be still thinking about it because I knew that he was just joking, and yet...no matter how hard I tried to erase the memory, it was still there, echoing in my head like a broken record.

And honestly, the more I thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded.

"Let's just make a pact and say if we both aren't married by 30, then we'll just marry each other."

"Well, not only am I good-looking, but I would spoil you rotten. Shower you with gifts and flowers. Make you breakfast in bed during the holidays—"

"Think of it as a peace offering. As an apology for ruining your blazer, I'll buy you a new one, and in return, you have to agree to marry me when you're thirty."

A marriage pact. At 30. Seriously? Who the fuck even says that? Were we in some freaking romantic comedy show that I didn't know about?

And for God's sake, has he not looked at himself in the mirror? Well, clearly he has if he admitted to himself that he was good-looking, but still. He'd have to be the last living person on earth to not get married by thirty.

Anyone who has spent just two minutes with him could tell that he's too drop-dead gorgeous and charming to not catch the eyes of a king or queen who would be over the fucking moon to marry him.

He was quite literally Prince Charming, born out of some ancient fairytale. He was pretty, he was rich, he smelt goddamn delightful, and he was kind. He was so down to earth and a huge teddy bear. He cared about the people in his life and would do anything for them.

And even if he annoyed me sometimes, I cared about him too. So much so that I dared to call him a best friend. I would do anything for him.

But at the end of the day, even if he had been serious about the marriage pact, he would already be married long before the pact was over. He would be married and head over heels in love, and I would be left to die alone without so much as experiencing what true love was like.

Marriage pact or not, I already knew how the rest of my life would play out.

Sad and cold and alone. Buried six feet under in a bed of rotten roses. My fairytale would end in a tragedy, not a happily ever after.

"I think the shoes might be a bit too tight." The woman said, pulling me from my melancholic thoughts. She walked around in a circle by the shoe racks, testing out the running shoes before sitting back down on the bench. "Do you have any bigger sizes?"

"What size were you thinking, six and a half, seven?" I asked her.

"Hmm...maybe I could try both?" She glanced up at me with a curious smile. I returned her smile and nodded.

"Sure. Let me just see if I have any in the back."

After she took off the running shoes, I tucked them neatly back into their box and headed to the back of the store. I walked into our storage unit and scanned the shelves until I came across our shoe storage, putting the box back where I originally found it.

I glanced at all the shoe boxes. I couldn't find any six and a half, but I searched until I found a size seven of the same pair of shoes. I grabbed the box off the shelf and headed out of the storage room, wandering back over to the woman where she was waiting over by the bench.

"We don't have any six and a half, but I did find a seven for you." I told her and handed her the box. She took the box from me and set it down next to her on the bench. She grabbed the running shoes out of the box and slid them on, tying the laces.

"How's that?" I asked. She wiggled her toes in the shoes and then stood up, walking another circle around the area to test them out.

"Oh, the size is perfect!" She stopped and whipped her head around to face me, an excited smile adorning her face. She jumped up and down and clapped her hands, eyes shining in delight. I couldn't help but laugh in her joy. "Thank you so much for your help, sweetie. You don't know how much I appreciate it."

I smiled softly at her. "You're more than welcome. You have a good evening, okay? And good luck with your volleyball tournament."

"You too, hun. And thank you."

I put the shoes back neatly into the box for her. After that, she waved goodbye to me and hurried off to the storefront. I watched her go, before I dropped onto the bench with a heavy sigh, my smile fading and a wave of exhaustion hitting me.

I was so tired. I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. I didn't even want to think about all the homework and lab assignments that I had due next week and still had yet to start—at this time of the semester, I could never catch a break.

Whether it was lectures or labs or working a shift at Crown Athletics, there was always something that took up my time, and honestly, every day was a fighting battle against an emotional breakdown. One day, I was going to lose that battle.

I just wanted a break.

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, checking the time. 5:30 pm. I still had two hours left at work.

I groaned internally and slumped back against the bench. Please, to whatever god lived up in the clouds, just let these two hours be over already so I can sleep.

I ended up spending the next couple of minutes scrolling through my phone. I briefly checked my social media, liked a few photos my friends had posted, and then checked my text messages. I had a couple from Preston, one from Leigh and Prim, but they weren't the ones I was waiting for.

I had sent Luka a text just before my shift started, and it's been two hours and I still haven't gotten a text back.

Luka.

God, I really hated myself when I got like this. Getting overworked and overthinking something that had been nothing more than a lighthearted joke. He wasn't actually asking you to marry him, stupid. Getting anxious because I haven't gotten a text back. He told me he had a lot of midterm projects to finish and an art exhibit coming up at the end of the month, so I knew that he was just busy painting.

But it still didn't stop the twisting and the throbbing of my heart.

And on top of it all, I wished he had stayed the night. The last time we saw each other was during the summer break before classes started up again, and since then he's been quiet, keeping to himself more. So not only was I anxious, but I was also worried about him.

I missed him. I really did.

I'm so stupid. So fucking stupid.

I sighed heavily and stood up from the bench, tucking my phone back into my pocket. I walked to the storefront, where Ares was standing at the counter behind the till.

He was busy with a customer, packing up all their items into a large bag. After they finished paying for their items he threw on a smile and handed them the receipt, and waved as they walked out of the store.

Ares turned his gaze to me as I came to stand with him behind the counter,  his smile softening. "Hey, Elijah."

I sighed wearily and rested my head on his shoulder. "Are you tired too, or is it just me?"

He chuckled. "Definitely not just you. I've been yawning nonstop for the past half an hour."

"I just want to close my eyes and drift to sleep," I said, closing my eyes. Ares reached up and brushed his fingers through my hair, chills radiating up the back of my neck.

"Just two more hours, and then you can go home and sleep all you want."

I hummed. "Too long."

I opened my eyes a moment later, lifting my head. When I gazed back up at him, he was already smiling at me again, his blue eyes sparkling with wonder.

"What?" I furrowed my brows.

"So..." Ares trailed off. "You and Luka."

"What about me and Luka?" I frowned.

"He's pretty cute. Are you sure you two aren't together?" Ares asked, lips tugging upwards into a curious smile. I rolled my eyes, a light blush coating my cheeks.

"Yes, I'm sure. We're just friends. Good friends." I reiterated. He raised a questioning brow.

"Mhm...whatever you say." Ares hummed in a sing-song tone. "I don't really believe you though."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that there's clearly some chemistry there between you two. An I like you more than friends kind of chemistry."

"You're just reading too much into it."

"No, you're just not reading into it enough."

I groaned, shaking my head. "Ares, please."

"What? It's true." He shrugged. "You know, he kind of looked familiar to me. As if I knew him from somewhere..."

"Ares..." I narrowed my eyes.

"Soo...I may have looked into him a bit." Ares smiled sheepishly. I rolled my eyes and sighed exasperatingly. "He's the son of Logan Whitfield. The guy who owns the big ass company Whitfire Boutique. He's a pretty big deal."

If I rolled my eyes anymore, they would get permanently stuck at the back of my head. "He's the son of a guy who sells jewellery, so what?"

"So nothing. Luka's nice. And gorgeous. I honestly wouldn't have expected the son of a very rich and successful CEO to be...you know, so down to earth. But he is. And he clearly cares about you, judging from all the looks he gave you back at the diner."

"He cares because we're friends. That's all." I shook my head.

"Ugh. You're fucking impossible, you know that?" Ares groaned.

"No, you're the impossible one with all your conspiracy theories."

"They're not conspiracy theories, they're facts." Ares bopped my nose. "And the fact is, Luka has the hots for you."

I huffed. "I'm done with this conversation."

"You're just mad that I'm right." He smirked. I shook my head and turned around, exiting the counter.

"Bye, Ares. I'm going back to work."

"I hope all those boxes collapse on top of you to knock some sense into that pretty little brain of yours!" He called out. With my back turned to him, I waved and flashed him my middle finger, disappearing into the back of the store to unpack more boxes.