Elias hurried to tidy the kitchen, wiping down the counter. His cheek still stung from Clara's scratch, and his leg throbbed from the burn from yesterday's hot soup incident but his mind was on Viktor... his apology, his anger, that intense moment pinning him against the counter.
'Why's he acting like this?' Elias thought, his heart racing. He shook his head, focusing on the task. Jace would be here soon, and they had to finish their project.
The doorbell rang, and Elias rushed to the gate, finding Jace with his backpack and a box of materials.
"Hey," Jace said, smiling. "Are you ready to crush this project?"
Elias nodded, leading him to his room.
"Yeah, let's do it." He noticed the box, filled with wires, small solar panels, and tools. "You bought all this? Why didn't you tell me? We could've split the cost."
Jace shrugged, his smile easy. "It's no big deal. I had this stuff at home. My dad's into solar tech, so I just grabbed it."
