Her Four Shifter Mates : Betrayed

Chapter 6

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"I need to grab something from the stacks. Don't cause any trouble while I'm gone." Mr. Ren chuckles as if the idea of Eli causing trouble never even crosses his mind. To be fair, it definitely hasn't crossed mine. With his adorably nerdy glasses, crisp polo shirt, and innocent blush, I doubt Eli could cause trouble if he tried.

Mr. Ren rounds his desk and heads into the back room, leaving the two of us alone. I start to stand, then remember Mom's outfit and quickly sit back down. A moment of awkward silence passes as Eli and I stare at each other. Then, Eli quickly jumps to his feet. He lets out a grunt as his headphones get caught around his neck, and then a yelp as he trips backward over his chair. He starts to fall, but then somehow manages to regain his balance. It's quite impressive, actually, until his headphones jerk free from the jack. Loud, static-filled music blasts from the crappy computer speakers, masking the thump Eli's chair makes as it crashes to the carpeted floor.

"Sorry!" Eli cries, his apology almost completely drowned out by the noise. He shoots a wide-eyed look at the door to the back, but there's no sign of Mr. Ren. Eli desperately tries to plug the headphones back in, but his hands start to shake, making the tasks near impossible.

The worst part is, I'm kind of glad. As much as I hate watching Eli panic, I love the sound of music way more. I haven't heard so much as a note in three long weeks, so even this garbled, static-filled mess sounds amazing. I start to catch a Latin beat, but then Eli succeeds in plugging the headphones back in. The library falls silent and he sighs in relief. I sigh in regret.

Eli gives me a shy, tentative smile and I can't help but smile back. He's so cute when he's embarrassed. His hands shake slightly as he reaches up to take off his headphones, and I can't help but think that I might be the reason he's nervous. I start to blush, then gape as Eli somehow manages to get himself tangled in the headphone cord. Like a fish caught in a net, he flounders, before finally yanking the headphones off his head. Not just his headphones though—his glasses, too.

Eli fumbles with them, but they slip past his fingers and fall to the floor. His cheeks flame adorably as he quickly bends down to retrieve them. Except he's still holding on to the headphones. Next thing I know, the Latin music's back, and Eli forgets all about his glasses. He jumps to his feet, grabs the headphone cord, and bends his face so close to the computer his nose practically touches it. Then, he tries and fails to plug the headphones back into the jack. Over and over and over again.

"What's going on out there?" Mr. Ren shouts from the back, his approaching footsteps echoing over the noise.

Eli just continues trying to plug the poor headphones back in. He keeps missing, and his face gets more and more flushed by the second. I can't even focus on the music anymore, I feel that bad for him.

I forget all about Mom's No Computers, No Boys, No Anything rule and jump to my feet. I don't even care about my ugly clothes. I rush over to help and I'm halfway across the library before I realize that I'm not wearing any shoes. Oh well. I've got more important things to think about than Mom's stupid shoes... like the fact that Mr. Ren's running out of the back room, Eli's panic is growing by the second, and his shoe is bare inches away from his glasses.

I rush forward and rescue the plastic frames a split second before Eli's right converse shoe takes their place. Eli doesn't even notice. His attention is focused on trying to plug his headphones in. He should have succeeded by now, but without his glasses, it's pretty obvious that he's blind as a bat. He misses again and lets out a half-wail, half groan. I have this sudden urge to hug him, but I lean over to help instead.