(Val POV) "So, uh...want to tell me what's going on?" I asked. I internally cringed. Was it a bad time to ask that now? Gray looked down, his gray (haha get it-) eyes fixed on the floor. I could feel his lean body against my taller, athletic build, his warmth seeping through my clothes. Gray didn't speak for a moment. "It's nothing...it's just...Eliara. She's acting odd. I mean, she just snapped at me for no reason! Like, what did I do to her?" Oh, I understand now. While Gray and Eliara never said anything out loud, I could feel the r0mantic tension just buzzing between the two. I could see the way Eliara's eyes lingered on Gray's back for a second too long when he wasn't looking at her. I could observe the way Gray leaned towards Eliara when she talked. To be honest, me and Glitch had been sh1pping them behind their backs. I tilted my head. "Maybe she was just having a bad day." Glitch shook his head. "It's not that! I would know. She's hiding something." The thought made me pause. Hiding? What could she be hiding? "Do you know what she's hiding...?" "No." "Well, maybe you're overreacting then." Shrugging, I pretended to be unbothered. But on the inside, now I was worried. What if something bad happened to Eliara and she wasn't telling us? "Let's just go back to the others. They're probably wondering what's taking us so long." Gray was silent for a moment before nodding. "Yeah...Okay. Let's go." He let me go, and I felt the sudden loss of warmth. I forced a smile on my face, masking my growing unease as we headed back to the others.
