I woke up in the green room couch feeling groggy. My sight was a blur. Even my memory was quite blurry. After my sight became clear, I looked to the floor and saw shoes. Eli!, I thought and looked up.

"Hey girl" To my disappointment, it wasn't Eli. For even more disappointment, it was the tall guy who made fun of Emma and me on day 1.

"What are you doing here?" I asked without any interest in him.

"Eli asked me to keep an eye on you, in case you woke up." He said. I nodded my head in approval.

"How long do you know Eli?" I asked since Emma had told me no one knew Harry a.k.a Eli's real name.

"9 years" he said.

"Tell me everything about him. His current behaviour, his studies grades, his lo-" I caught myself and cleared my throat.

"His loneliness" I said. What? That was stupid.

"He was broken and depressed as hell for a 11 year old. I saw him wander through the halls alone, so I started hanging out with him. He has closed himself up. He doesn't trust anyone too much. He doesn't interact with anyone too much. And about grades, for god's sake, he studies arts. And you know how much he loves that subject. He bunks classes, but gets good grades." He said. I had completely destroyed him. I wanted to kill myself for what I did to him.

"Liya,.." He said.

"Huh?" I asked, getting out of my thoughts.

"You are the only one who can make him better." He said. I nodded. I realised something.

"God, where are my manners. I didn't even ask your name." I said

"You didn't ask them the first time we met. " he said with a smirk.

"You didn't have any manners then. " I said.

"Michael."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Liya." I extended my hand for a handshake. He shook it firmly. For how he behaved last time, he was a gentleman.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Behind you." A voice said. I turned around and there he was. He had a cup of hot Chocolate in his hand. He came up to me and sat beside me.

"I'll give you some space." Michael said and left the room. I was still disappointed at myself for ruining Eli's life.

"I'm sorry." I said for the millionth time.

"It's fine. How many times are you gonna apologise?" He said for the millionth time.

"Not for that."

"Then?"

"After I left, you completely closed yourself up. Now you have become like one of those evil gang leaders you see in movie all because of me. You shouldn't forgive me for that." I replied looking at the ground. We shared a few seconds in silence.

Then I mustered up my courage and looked up. He gave me the 'really?' look. I continued staring at him. I took in all his details . His light stubble, pink (probably soft) lips, his nose, his brown hair which partially covered his forehead and then his eyes,those navy blue eyes. I could literally get lost in them.

He also took in my features. We stared into each other's eyes for quite a while. Then I heard it. In the distance, I heard the grandfather clock ring. I counted the rings. 9,10,11,12. My eyes widened a bit. Partially because I had been unconscious for 3 hours and partially because it was my birthday. Eli also must have heard it because then he leaned in. My heart beat quickened. He kissed my forehead and whispered in my ear.

"Happy Birthday." He smiled. His smile was so genuine, I felt the corners of my own mouth lift up.

"Thanks." I replied.

"It's cold." He said

"What other temperature do you expect a winter midnight to have?" I asked back.

"I meant the hot chocolate." He explained.

"Oh." I had totally forgot about it. My eyes started dropping again.

"Why am I feeling dizzy?" I asked Eli. I don't know why but I thought he knew.

"Don't worry just sleep." He replied and soon I slipped into a dreamless sleep.