"I'm…"
Eli's throat locked up, caught completely off-guard by the weight of Lucas's stare. His little brother's eyes—once so wide and bright—were narrow now, sharp, demanding an answer.
For a terrifying second, Eli almost forgot to breathe.
So he blurted the first thing that made sense.
"I'm Lucien's friend."
Lucas blinked, arms crossing over his chest as he tilted his chin up.
His voice carried that mix of teenage stubbornness and bitterness that Eli knew all too well. "Friend? Please. I love my brother, but I doubt he'd ever have a pretty friend like you."
Eli's eye twitched violently. His lips pressed into a thin line as he swallowed the sharp retort threatening to leap out.
'You little brat—' He had to calm down.
He forced his jaw to relax, though his voice came clipped. "I'm a guy."
The words hit harder than expected.
"You're a guy?!" Lucas's eyes went round, his voice cracking across the hall like he'd just been told the earth was flat.
