elijah mintz had come to a conclusion. it'd been lovely being friends with you, you were a ray of sunshine that left any room feeling more at ease; and he had no issue with that. objectively, you were a good person. but when the lines between friendship and the subtle romantics had started to blur, it concerned him. you were too sweet for him.

it was gnawing at him. your sweetness, akin to that of something succulent like the aroma of brown sugar, was biting-- you were too good of an influence for him. elijah was in college, and it was his time to be a delinquent, live his turbulent life how he wanted to. he had admitted many times that his schedule was unhealthy-- drinking late at night, waking up even later the next day and refusing to leave his bed without a mug of black coffee. this behavior was a stark dichotomy to you, with your gentle words and the smile he found radiant. you were as beautiful as a vine, but he preferred the alcohol it produced.

so he had ignored you, ghosted you, if you will. one moment he was there, walking you between classes on campus, getting coffee with you in town, and the next it was as if he was merely a figment of imagination.

being you, you had turned up at his dorm to attempt to glean the source of his absense, to make sense of it all. you'd found him sprawled on his bed, black hair a mess, airpods whispering music into his ears (probably anaconda, let's be real); somewhat unwilling to talk.

"you're too sweet for me." elijah had said, his dark brows furrowed as his blue eyes flickered over you, with a lazy apathy that seemed forced, at least to a degree.

"you're drunk on life, babe, i think it's great." he paused, a slight exhale emerging from his throat, muffled by the slight moistening of his lips as he thought. "but i'm starting to think you're too fucking good for someone like me."