"I''m fine," Elijah said tly


    Cameron didn''t buy it, as his tone was off. But since he wouldn''t admit it, Cameron didn''t press the issue.


    She stood up and said, "It''s gettingte, I should head back to ss."


    Austin said, "Cam, there''s still a whole hour before ss starts."


    They still had plenty of time, but Cameron replied, "I still have some homework to finish."


    Austin said nothing more.


    So, it seemed that Elijah''s words worked. Austin slowly shifted his gaze to Elijah. Under that messy blond hair, his usuallyid-back face was turning ice-


    cold.


    Elijah felt Austin''s stare and shot him a cold look in return.


    Their gazes shed in the air, starting an invisible standoff. The tension was thick, and neither one was willing to back down.


    Cameron was busy packing up his books,pletely oblivious to the tension between them.


    Finally, Austin smirked and looked away, only for his eyes to catch on the starfish earring on Cameron''s ear.


    Austin smiled and said, "Cam, new earrings? Looks good on you."


    Cameron turned around and touched the earring. "Thanks."


    And with that, the previous topic was dropped.


    Cameron hugged her books and headed for the door, but Elijah called out, "Cameron, wait up. I''m going to ss too."


    Austin chimed in, "Cam, I''m heading to ss as well. Let''s go together."


    Elijah nced at Austin. "Isn''t that out of your way?"


    Austin shrugged. "How is it out of my way? I can walk with Cam to the main building, then he goes to ss 15, while I go to ss 13. What''s the issue here?"


    Elijah frowned and said, "You seriously don''t think there''s a problem? Why are you always clinging to Cameron?"


    Austin blinked, clearly ridiculed. "I''m clinging to Cameron?"


    He and Cameron were just friends, and they would just hang out normally, as friends. If anyone was clinging to Cameron, it was Xander.


    Elijah didn''t back down. "Austin, Cameron''s not like you. You could blow off every test, and your family would still get you into a top school just to save your family''s reputation.


    "But if Cameron doesn''t do well, he''s done for. You keep bothering him like this, you''re messing with his future."


    "Bothering him? You really think I''m a problem for Cam?"


    "Isn''t that the case?"


    "That''s just what you think. Cam might not see it that way.


    "Cameron''s too nice and too shy to say anything to you. Why can''t you just take a hint?"


    08:47 Thu, 29 May


    "What''s your problem, Elijah?" Austin waspletely pissed off now.


    Things were different from before, and now, Cameron mattered to Austin a lot, but Elijah wanted him to back off? There was no way Budia wouldply.


    Besides, it wasn''t like Cameron and Austin did anything out of line. They were just hanging out like any normal friends would


    Cameron kept quiet momentarily, finally saying, "Okay, time out." She held up her hands in a T-shape.


    She honestly had no idea how they even started fighting, or what they were fighting over. None of that was worthy of their time, after all.


    Cameron spoke up, finally breaking the tense standoff between the two.


    She said, "Elijah, I really appreciate your concern. But you know how my grades


    are. Even if I don''t study, I''ll still do fine on the SAT. So, there''s really nothing for you and Austin to argue about."


    Elijah didn''t respond. Surely, he knew how Cameron performed academically. He just couldn''t stand seeing Austin and her together.


    Honestly, there really wasn''t anything worth fighting over.


    Cameron turned to Austin. "Aus, Elijah''s just in a bad mood today. Don''t take it personally."