Eli pushed Sue up against the lockers and stuck his tongue in her mouth to root around. She moaned a little and grabbed Eli gently to pull him in closer. But Eli pulled away and took a long, slow breath.

“Eli? What’s wrong?” Sue demanded.

“Sorry, Susie,” he replied, rubbing his eyes, “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“Not tired of me, are you?”

She smirked, but her intense gaze bore into him.

“No, of course not,” he said, leaning up against the lockers himself. He pulled her over so she was standing in front of him, and then squealed a little as she fell on top of him. She was blushing. Eli was not.

“Ooh, kinky,” she said, “Now you’re on the bottom.”

Eli forced himself to chuckle, and he let her push her own tongue into his mouth. Her hands started exploring his body, but his own were limp at his side. After just a moment, Sue pulled away from him.

“Seriously, Eli,” she said, brow furled in concern, “You’re not still sick or something, are you? You’re acting weird today.”

“No, it’s…”

He didn’t want to tell her that he wasn’t turned on. He didn’t want her to feel unwanted. After all, he was just tired. That was all.

“I’m fine, really,” he insisted, “I was probably up too late studying for…”

Sue was frowning, and she’d taken a step back from Eli. He was losing her. Eli didn’t want her to let go of him, so he grabbed her arms gently and squeezed a little.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I don’t feel very good. I’m… so tired. All the time, now, and it feels like I can barely get through the day.”

Sue stepped closer and said, “Eli, I’m sorry. Are you feeling depressed? Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Eli tried to push his hair out of his eyes. How long ago had he gotten it cut? Why did his hands feel so soft against his skin? Why did his chest keep feeling sore? Why didn’t it feel good to be around his girlfriend?

“I think I just need some rest,” Eli insisted, trying to give her a reassuring smile, “It’s Friday, and if I act like I’m dying my parents might let me rest this weekend. I’ll probably be back to normal on Monday, if you don’t get too bored and start looking for someone else by then.”

“I’d never,” she insisted.

Another voice interrupted them, “Hey, Susan.”

At the sight of some of the other Girls, Sue pulled away from Eli and turned to face them. The leader of the three was Abby, the captain of the debate team, who was flanked by student council member Tamara and volleyball player Khloe. They stood close together, and Abby had her arms folded. To Eli, it looked almost predatory. But Sue just leaned up against Eli and grinned as they approached.

“Hey girls,” she replied, crinkling her nose a little. Then Sue asked Tamara, “How’s Rose?”

“She’s fine,” Tamara said tersely, “Why do you care?”

“Just want to know if your girlfriend’s okay. Something wrong with that?”

Eli started to squirm. This situation had gotten really hostile really fast. He just wanted to get out of there. Sue noticed his discomfort and pressed up against him harder to prevent him from squeezing away.

“How’s your girlfriend?” Khloe asked, smirking.

Sue opened her mouth to reply, but bit her tongue. Tamara strode over, pressed herself up against the lockers, and leaned against Eli. He pulled away a little, but she grabbed onto his shoulder to hold him in place.

“Looks a little weak to me,” she said.

“Alright, let go,” Eli said, pulling away.

Tamara let him go and took a few steps back, throwing her hands up in mock surrender.

Eli glanced nervously at Sue, who was fidgeting. He suppressed a whine. Wasn’t she going to stand up for him?

Sue grimaced and insisted, “Just because he’s not a behemoth like those jocks on the football team doesn’t make him weak.”

“Whatever,” Abby said, rolling her eyes, “If you ever want a real man, maybe we can give you some pointers. I know at least one guy who’s been checking you out.”

The three other Girls left, and Sue curled her hands into fists. It took Eli a moment to realize that she had tears in her eyes. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Sue? You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said, quickly wiping her eyes and making herself smile, “So, um… you were saying something about being sick?”

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted, pulling her into a hug.

Sue tensed up, a little surprised by the sudden affection. But she did hug him back.

“Seriously, Eli, if you need to talk about anything, I’m willing to listen.”

“Thank you, Susan.”

Afterward, Eli did have to admit to himself that the hug was a little awkward. He should have at least asked first. And why had he waited for her to speak up and defend him? He really was out of it today.

“Oh boy,” he said with a long sigh when he saw who was looking at him.

“Out of my way,” his sister said, knocking into him as she passed by.

“God, what is your problem, Carla?” he snapped at her.

Carla stopped and turned to face him, scowling.

“You think you can get away with anything just because mom and dad treat you like their little princess,” she told him, “But you’re not as tough as you think you are. I see the way you tuck your tail between your legs whenever they’re around.” She jabbed Eli in the chest with her finger. “I actually have to take care of myself. Nothing has ever been handed to me.”

Her face was red from her fuming. Eli flinched, then cursed silently at his timidness when he looked away. Carla was in a mood for sure. The best thing would be for him to let her—

“You know what,” he decided, “I’m sick of you treating me like this because mom and dad don’t like you. It’s not my fault that you’re such a brat. I actually put in the hard work of living up to their expectations. So excuse me if I want to rough around with my friends, because I actually earned the chance to relax every now and again.”

Carla clutched her hands into fists and flared her nostrils. People around them had stopped walking and were silently watching in apprehension. Out of the corner of his eye, Eli saw an adult backing toward a door.

“I’m a brat?” she asked, “Just because I don’t let them parade me around like a trained poodle?”

“Because you don’t care about anyone but yourself, Carla!” he shouted at her.

She raised her closed fist and took a step forward. Eli reeled back and tripped over his own feet. He hit the ground hard and cried out suddenly, and Carla flinched at the sound.

For a moment, Carla stood still, quivering. Eli watched with wide eyes as she lowered her head and scrunched up her face, trying desperately not to cry. Then she turned around and stormed off.

Eli didn’t get up right away. There was a pang in his heart, and he wasn’t sure why. He knew that he wasn’t responsible for taking care of Carla and her problems. Why should he feel bad for her?

Someone wrapped their hands around Eli’s arm and pulled him up. Eli looked over in surprise at Anton, whose brow was furled in concern. Blushing, Eli mumbled his thanks for the help.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” Anton said, “What’s her problem, anyway?”

“She’s just hurting,” Eli replied, surprising himself with the answer. He shuffled uncomfortably, acutely aware of all the other students’ eyes on him and Anton. “Come on, let’s just go.”

Anton followed Eli in silence until they found another group of Boys that they recognized. Eli felt exhausted just being around them, so chose to stand a short ways away. Anton started to walk over to the group, but stopped and turned to Eli.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Eli insisted, “People need to stop asking me that.”

“Hey, scrawny!”

Eli swore and turned away. But Jimmy walked around him and adjusted his square-rimmed glasses so he was looking Eli in the eye and smirked. Eli turned and scanned the rest of the group. Leon wasn’t even here, so Jimmy really was just doing this on his own volition.

“You’ve got guts for someone so spineless,” Eli sneered.

Jimmy snorted and stepped closer. Anton started to move forward to block Jimmy, but Eli held up a hand to signal he should stop. Jimmy got right up into Eli’s face; but he was a little shorter than Eli, so he had to— Wait, no, he was looking Eli in the eye. Had Jimmy had a growth spurt? Was that the reason for his sudden confidence?

The thought made Eli smirk. If Eli was scrawny, Jimmy was a twig. Jimmy saw Eli’s reaction, though, and scowled.

“You’re looking weak, Elias,” he said, taking a step back and adjusting his glasses, “Unless you do your workouts you’re not going to be strong enough to jump the border back where you came from.”

“First off, moron,” Eli retorted, placing an arm on his hip, “The border between here and Portugal is the Atlantic Ocean. Quite a leap. Second, I was born in Virginia. In case you flunked geography, that one isn’t a foreign country.”

Jimmy clenched his jaw and glanced at the other members of the Boys. Eli followed his gaze. None of them seemed very interested in what was going on. That seemed to bother Jimmy, who glared at Eli. Eli bit his lip. These were supposed to be his friends, right? They weren’t standing up for him either?

“Whatever,” Jimmy decided, turning to walk away, “People are going to get sick of you eventually. Nobody likes a wannabe jock.”

Anton gave Eli a supportive punch on the arm, which made Eli jump a little in surprise. He smiled softly at Anton, but was still a little shaken. Not from Jimmy, really, more that nobody seemed to even care about what Jimmy did except for Anton.

Eli could feel himself starting to shake. He clenched his hands into fists and stuffed them in his pockets, then started to walk away. Anton called after him, but Eli just picked up his pace.

As soon as he was out of sight of everyone else, Eli slowed down and tried to ease his breathing. He closed his eyes and stopped, but still heard Anton’s footsteps behind him. Eli sighed and turned around.

“I just want to be left alone, Anton,” he said, throwing his arms up.

“What’s wrong, Eli?” Anton asked.

“I’m just sick. That’s all,” he insisted, looking away.

“No, there’s something going on.”

Eli closed his eyes and said, “I’ll be okay if I get some rest. Things are just really hectic right now and I need time to relax and recharge.” He opened his eyes. “I promise things will be back to— What?”

Anton was frowning, his eyebrows pinched in concern.

“It’s… nothing. You’re right. Just get some rest, okay?”

Eli started to nod, then paused. Anton wouldn’t look him in the eye. There was clearly more that he wasn’t saying. But on the other hand, Eli was pretty exhausted by the day’s events.

Curiosity overtook him and he asked, “What is it?”

“I told you, it’s nothing,” Anton insisted.

“Anton, tell me,” Eli said firmly, his voice cracking just a little from the strain.

Anton looked everywhere but at Eli, then started to rub the back of his neck. Eli narrowed his eyes.

“Alright,” Anton said, “I… thought for sure that you looked a little shorter.”

“W-what?”

“It’s just my imagination,” Anton said, but he took a step further away from Eli, “Maybe it’s just hard for you to stand up straight right now, being sick and all.”

Eli straightened his back and started grinding his teeth. Anton was already taller than Eli, and his explanation made a lot of sense. But Eli still felt faint.

“I need to go,” he said, taking a weak step.

“Go where?” Anton asked, “Isn’t your next class in the other direction?”

“Not to class,” Eli said, “To the nurse, then home. I’ll… see you on Monday. Promise.”

“O-okay,” Anton replied, “Just text me when you get home. Let me know everything is alright.”

Eli nodded, but didn’t dare say anything else lest he throw up. It took a few steps for him to get his balance, but then he had to restrain himself from breaking out into a full run. He had to stop whatever this magic was, and he had to stop it today.