Just For A Little While

12

Elliot smiles still. "Why're you here right now, Samantha?" He asks, a teasing edge apparent in his voice. "You don't hate me." He points out. "You wouldn't apologize to me if you hated me."

"I don't hate you." I confirm.

He looks surprised, like he didn't just decide I didn't hate him a second ago. "You don't?" It comes out a question, but he clearly doesn't mean it to.

I answer him anyway. "Thought I did."

"Then what do you feel?"

I frown. "What?"

"If you don't hate me, then how do you feel about me?" Elliot questions. "Do you like me? Want to be friends with me? Just plain and simple coworkers?" He pushes for more before I can even make sense of it.

I swallow. "What is wrong with you?" I ask him. "Just because I said I don't hate you doesn't mean I'm starting to feel some sort of way about you." I reason. "You're being stupid. You're making it into something more than it is." I quickly add, killing any ideas he may have in an instant.

"I'm not saying you have feelings for me."

I blink at him. Then frown. "You're not?"

He shakes his head calmly. "No," He says on a hum. "I listed all the other possible ways you feel about me." He reminds me of the endless questions he just asked. Elliot laughs to himself. "I know for a fact you don't have those kinds of feelings for me."

My frown doesn't falter. "Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why do you know that for a fact?"

Elliot is surprised by my question. He frowns back at me. "I don't know." He admits. "There's just no way you like me that way." He shrugs me off. I decide against challenging the conclusion he's made.

I look away, down at my hands. We still aren't friends, and we won't even be coworkers for much longer. But for some reason, I can't tell him that. It's true, but I can't spit it out.

The horrifying truth is, I do like him. I actually like Elliot Fucking Hightower.

He bumped my seat up to first class. He shared his audiobook with me on the plane. He let me lean on him while I slept peacefully beside him. He helped bring the bags that weren't even mine into my room when no one else would. He helped me find my roommate. He argues with Ronald. He constantly reminds Ronald of my name. Hates it when Ronald's eyes land anywhere but my eyes. Wants me to have a better chance at this job just like him.

All he's ever wanted was to talk to me. Just like all I ever wanted was the smile he gave everyone but me.

I don't hate him.

"Sam?" Elliot quietly calls, noticing my smile has faded upon my traumatizing discovery.

I don't hate Elliot Fucking Hight—

"What's your middle name?"

Elliot blinks at my question. "Um..." He gives his head a little shake. "Arthur." He mumbles with a soft confused chuckle. "Why?"

I snort. "Arthur?"

Elliot shrugs softly. "Great Grandfather." He reasons. "Why do you ask?" He asks again. I shake my head and look down at my lap, still amused by his middle name. It's a bit funny.

I don't hate Elliot Arthur Hightower at all. No 'as much as I thought I did'. Nope. I don't hate him at all. He can be annoying and is a total happy-go-lucky, but I don't completely dislike him.

I've chosen to believe him. He really did freeze up when we first met. Maybe it's dumb of me to believe him. It could very well be a lie, I'm not sure. But I believe him for now. It's the only reason I've been given, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it to be true. Elliot Hightower found me so pretty, he froze up when he first met me.