Chapter 206: Not Innocent
** Eli **
By the end of the hike, Eli came to three important revelations:
Number one, Harper is a demon. She should grow some cute little horns on the top of her pretty head. Between the fake fall and a series of other impromptu acts that followed — such as "accidentally" spilling water all over him and having to pat him dry — she made great use of almost every standard novel trope to throw herself in his arms every chance she’d got. And succeeded in stealthily groping him half of the time.
Not that he was complaining. If he were, it’d only be to protest that she didn’t succeed in doing it a hundred percent of the time.
Revelation number two: Tyler is hopelessly clueless. He must not have read a single romcom in his life. If there was anything he had picked up from Harper’s show, it was the fact that his sister was apparently getting along just fine with his friend, which apparently gave him great relief and made the aura of brotherly protectiveness drop visibly around them.
That part wouldn’t help with the impending judgment day looming right above Eli’s head though, since he knew that their game of lies would only make Tyler angrier once the truth was out. But every moment that he got to steal to hold Harper close was priceless, and it was worth every bit of it.
Revelation number three: Eli himself is getting jealous of a teddy bear.
Yes, the same teddy bear he had sent Harper three nights ago and told her to hug in his stead. The same one she had brought on this trip so that she could follow his instructions closely ... Maybe a bit too closely.
He pretended not to have noticed how adoringly she hugged and kissed the stuffed animal every time she went into her tent. Tyler certainly hadn’t noticed it — his tent opened on the opposite side, and he was too constantly distracted by grilling or trying to spot more wildlife hunting at dusk — but Eli’s tent had been intentionally set up by a certain demoness to open right across from her own, and every time he looked up, he’d see the devil herself cuddling that teddy bear and winking at him, tempting him with delicious treats that he couldn’t have.