The next day at lunch felt… weird.
Not bad, exactly. Just off — like the world had tilted slightly to the left, and no one could figure out why.
Lucifer sat across from Eliza, unusually quiet. His head was down, his fork slowly poking at his food like it had personally offended him. His ears were red — really red — and his hair was still slightly damp from the morning rain, making him look even more flustered than usual.
Eliza wasn't doing much better. Her stomach wouldn't stop twisting, her heart still caught somewhere between last night's broken, desperate words and the warmth of his hand in hers. It all felt too big to process.
They weren't just friends anymore — but they weren't something else either.
They were… something. And neither of them knew what to do with that.
The silence between them wasn't exactly uncomfortable. It was more like standing on the edge of something, too afraid to move forward but too tangled in each other to step back.
Lily was nowhere to be seen — which was strange, considering she usually stuck to Lucifer like a shadow. Her absence should've felt like a victory. For once, Eliza didn't have to grit her teeth through Lily's loud, annoying laughter or watch her touch Lucifer's arm like she had any right to.
But now… it just made everything feel more obvious.
Unfortunately for them, Ava wasn't the type to let weird silences slide.
She stared at them, chewing her sandwich slowly, eyes narrowing like she was trying to solve a murder mystery.
"Okay," Ava said finally, setting her food down with a loud thunk. "I've had enough. Just talk already. What the hell is going on with you two now again?"
Eliza blinked, jolting out of her spiraling thoughts.
"W-What do you mean?" she stammered, her voice a little too high-pitched to sound casual.
Ava raised a brow. "Don't play dumb. Yesterday you two were acting like strangers, and now you're sitting here all awkward and blushing like you accidentally walked in on each other naked or something."
Lucifer choked on his drink.
Eliza's face went nuclear. "Ava!"
Ava shrugged, completely unapologetic. "I'm just saying what everyone's thinking."
Lucifer coughed into his sleeve, his ears somehow burning even redder. He didn't look up.
"It's nothing," Eliza muttered, desperately trying to sound normal. "You're imagining things."
"Uh-huh." Ava gave her a long, knowing look but, thankfully, didn't push further.
Ryan, who had been unusually quiet up until now, leaned back in his chair with a lazy, smug grin, clearly enjoying the show. His eyes flicked between Eliza and Lucifer like he was watching his favorite new sitcom.
"So, Eliza," Ryan leaned in, resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand, his eyes sparkling with mischief, "you free after school? I was thinking maybe we could study together — or, you know, pretend to study while you do all the work and I watch."
Eliza blinked in surprise. "What?"
Lucifer's head snapped up so fast it was a miracle he didn't give himself whiplash. His jaw clenched.
Ryan smirked.
"Come on, I'm hopeless at history. And math. And… well, everything. You're smart. Help a guy out?" He gave her a playful, lopsided grin — one that was a little too charming for Lucifer's liking.
Eliza hesitated. "I guess…"
Lucifer's fork hit his tray with a loud clatter.
Ryan didn't even try to hide his grin this time.
"Oh, wait — you're good at English too, right?" Ryan added, his voice dripping with fake innocence. "Maybe you can tutor me in that, too. You could come over to my place. My parents are out tonight."
Lucifer looked like he was one bad joke away from throwing his entire lunch tray at Ryan's head.
Eliza glanced at Lucifer, noticing the way his jaw tightened and his eyes darkened, his hands balled into fists on the table. He wasn't saying anything, but his body language screamed loud enough for both of them.
Her heart did a weird, stupid flip.
Ryan leaned back, satisfied.
Ava, oblivious to the silent war happening, frowned. "Ryan, aren't you like… passing all your classes already?"
Ryan didn't miss a beat. "Sure, but maybe I just like the idea of Eliza explaining things to me." He winked at Eliza, and Lucifer made a noise that sounded dangerously close to a growl.
Eliza felt her face flush again. She wasn't even sure if it was from embarrassment or something else entirely.
Lucifer didn't say a word. He just stared at his tray like it personally betrayed him.
"Actually," Eliza blurted, her voice louder than she meant, "I promised Ava I'd help her with something after school. Right, Ava?"
Ava blinked, mid-bite. "Uh… right. Totally. Something very important."
Eliza nodded quickly. "Sorry, Ryan. Maybe another time."
Ryan raised his hands in surrender, but his smirk never wavered. "Hey, no problem. Another time, then."
Lucifer's shoulders relaxed, just barely.
The conversation moved on to safer topics, but Eliza could still feel Ryan's amused gaze flicking between her and Lucifer from time to time.
Lucifer didn't look at her again for the rest of lunch — but his foot, under the table, brushed lightly against hers and stayed there.
Neither of them moved it away.
To be continued....