The Raven Cycle Boarding School

Chapter Twenty-Two

"I mean I'm kinda talking to Noah right now," She says, perplexed at his inability to understand basic social interactions.

"Actually I think I'm just gonna head to class, I'll see you guys later," Noah tells them. Blue and Gansey look at him in confusion, but let him go and offer their goodbyes as well.

Once Noah has walked away, binders in hand and shoulders hunched more than usual, Blue turns to Gansey. "What's up?" She asks him.

"Well I wanted to apologize about this morning, I was being rather rash," He admits.

Blue sighs, she hates apologies. "Yea I'm sorry too, I probably shouldn't have gotten so worked up about it," She offers.

"Are you feeling any better now?" He asks her.

Blue shrugs. "Well you know, not really," She admits.

Gansey frowns, this whole situation is giving him a headache, and it's looks like he's not the only one.

"Where's your next class at?" He asks. "I'll walk you there." Blue rolls her eyes and simply starts walking. Gansey follows quickly behind. "You can never just be simple can you?" He asks her.

Blue smiles. "I can walk myself to class you know," She says.

"Well obviously, but frankly I just wanted to walk with you," He says casually.

Blue blushes and clears her throat. "Aren't you gonna be late?" She quickly asks him.

Gansey shakes his head. "Professor Greenmantle always shows up like ten minutes, so he won't even know."

"What luck," She huffs. Gansey smiles at her annoyance, and angles his stride closer to her. Blue pretends not to notice, but keeps her palm open. Gansey eyes it carefully, before slipping his hand into hers. Both keeps their eyes facing foreword.

"Is it a long walk?" he asks her, slowing his pace just the slightest.

Blue notices the change in speed, and causally matches it. "Is that one of your three questions?" She asks, a laugh bubbling on her lips.

Gansey chuckles, "Only if that were one of yours."

"Touchè," She says.

They reach the door of her classroom faster than wanted. "I should go," Blue murmurs. Gansey nods.

They stand by the wall and watch everyone else walk by, groups of young adults rushing to and fro, pushing each other out of the way and hurtling themselves through the crowded hallway. Blue stops watching the crowd and starts watching Gansey. His hand tightly squeezes her's.

"You know whatever's happening, we've got each other," He murmurs softly.

Blue watches his face, his eyes stares intently at the top of her head, and slowly drift down towards her face. His hair is puffy, and appears to be in need of a slight trim. There are dark circles under his eyes that speak volumes about his sleepless nights. His lips are slightly parted and puffy and indented with as many bite marks as he can seem to manage. Her eyes linger on his torn lips.

Gansey, likewise, examines his friend, his counterpart, his comrade, his -close friend? That certainly doesn't seem right to him. What on earth could it be? Whenever she is around his heart beats faster, something that normally only happens to him in unpleasant situations. His palms seem colder than normal, even though he can tell he is sweating slightly more than usual. He blushes when she stands just a bit closer to him than she does with the other boys. Why does she stand so close? Why does she continue to hold his shaking hand? Why have his eyes fallen on her pursed lips?