(Where equations are easier than emotions, friendship takes its first uncertain breath, and Kade begins to understand that softness can come from unexpected places too.)
"Numbers make sense. They follow rules. People don't."
Monday, 10:41 AM – Math Class
Kade sat at the far-right corner of the room.
As always.
Back row. By the window.
Close enough to see the sky, far enough to avoid being seen.
His fingers drummed softly on his thigh as the teacher wrote something about parabolas and velocity on the board, her voice soft and a little bored.
He was good at math.
Not great.
But better than most of the people in this room.
It made sense.
It had rules.
And more importantly: it didn't ask anything of him.
You could stare at a formula for an hour, and it wouldn't get offended.
People weren't like that.
Three Desks Over
Elliot Mathers sat with his hood up and his pencil spinning perfectly between his fingers.
He wasn't like the others.
He didn't look loud.
He didn't shove people's books off their desks.
Didn't flirt with girls or laugh too hard at the wrong jokes.
Instead, he solved quadratic equations like they owed him money.
Half the time he was sketching something on his graph paper instead of taking notes.
Once, Kade saw him draw a tree that looked like it had grown out of the margin.
But mostly, Elliot kept to himself.
That made him safe.
Until now.
The Message
[Elliot M.]:
"You did good on the quiz. Wanna go over homework sometime?"
Kade had stared at it for a whole day before answering.
He didn't know why it felt so big.
It was just math.
It wasn't like the guy was asking to hang out and talk about feelings.
But still…
It felt like something.
A door cracking open.
And after a long inhale that felt like it reached his ribs, Kade replied:
"Sure. When?"
After Class
The bell rang.
Chairs scraped. Zippers zipped. Noise bloomed.
Kade stood slowly, sliding his notebook into his bag. He didn't notice Elliot standing next to his desk until the guy cleared his throat.
Kade jumped a little.
"Sorry," Elliot said. His voice was quiet but steady. "Didn't mean to startle you."
Kade blinked.
Elliot held up his phone. "You replied."
"Yeah," Kade said.
A pause.
Then:
"There's a library room open after school. Not the big one. The side building. No one really uses it."
Kade nodded.
Elliot nodded back.
Then walked away.
Just like that.
Like he hadn't made Kade's chest go tight with anxiety and something else he didn't have a word for yet.
After School – The Library Room
It was a tiny, windowed room that smelled like old paper and forgotten finals.
Elliot was already there, seated at the far table, sketchbook pushed aside, a pencil tucked behind his ear.
"Hey," he said when Kade walked in.
Kade gave a nod. "Hey."
They sat.
Not across from each other.
Next to.
That felt… strange.
But okay.
For fifteen minutes, it was just math.
Equations. Diagrams. Quiet talking.
No eye contact.
No personal questions.
And it was… good.
The silence wasn't heavy.
It was companionable.
Kade found himself explaining something about slope-intercept form, and Elliot listened—not impatiently, not like he was just waiting for his turn to talk.
He actually listened.
Kade noticed his shoes—high-tops, worn at the soles.
And the way his thumb twitched whenever he was thinking.
He also noticed something else:
He wasn't panicking.
Not even a little.
Break
They leaned back, the table between them a mess of lead-smudged paper and empty water bottles.
"Hey," Elliot said suddenly, eyes still on the paper. "You and Viera. You're together, right?"
Kade's stomach did a weird thing.
"Yeah," he said. Voice low. "I guess we are."
Elliot nodded.
"You don't have to talk about it. I just wanted to say… it's cool. Not a lot of people have something like that. It's rare."
Kade stared at him.
Elliot didn't look up.
There was no envy in his voice.
Just… recognition.
Like he knew something about loneliness too.
A Question Kade Didn't Expect
"You ever worry you'll mess it up?" Elliot asked.
Kade blinked. "What?"
"Not because of anything you do. But just… because you don't know how to be that close to someone?"
Kade's breath hitched.
And in a voice barely louder than the air conditioner humming above them, he said:
"Yeah."
A long pause.
Elliot finally looked up.
And said, "Me too."
Later, at Home
Kade sat on his bed, fingers hovering over his phone.
He wanted to tell Viera about Elliot.
Not because he had to.
But because he wanted her to know.
Not everything in his world was heavy now.
Some things were… lighter.
So he sent her a simple text.
"Met up with a guy in math. Elliot. He's cool."
She replied instantly.
"You made a FRIEND?! I'm calling the news."
"Not a friend. Just a guy."
"Sure. Just a guy. Who happens to be chill. And smart. And talked to you without you combusting. Kade. That's basically marriage."
"Shut up."
"Never."
He grinned. Set the phone down.
And in the quiet of his room, for the first time in a long time…
He felt okay.
End of Chapter 27 – Math Doesn't Lie, But People Do