“Rip summer, I guess.” Marley also got to her feet, if a bit more grumpily. “Onwards, sheep.” I shook my head and followed suit, letting Ana slip her hand into mine as we made our way into the school’s lobby. Her touch was cool and hardly noticeable, especially since I’d gotten so used to her penchant for physical contact.

“You weren’t really checking her out, were you?” Ana’s thumb twitched absentmindedly as we entered school, which was still mostly empty. When I looked at her, I was a little surprised to see that she was almost frowning. Her voice was quiet enough that I knew she didn’t want Marley butting in.

“No? I mean, she’s pretty, but there’s definitely something off about her. Why?” I shrugged but felt myself scowling. Ana was, without doubt, the nicest person I knew, and until today, I don’t think I’d ever met someone (in person) that she expressed anything even close to dislike towards; usually, her response to anything negative was sympathy, heartfelt and insistent.

“She’s a bit of an enigma, and Megan can vouch for her until the ends of the earth, but I’m just not too sure who she is, really.” Her tone was casual, but her words were slow and measured. “And I’d definitely advise against pursuing Megan; she’s an absolute angel, but as straight as they come.” She put on her best smile again and bumped my hip lightly with her own.

“No problems there. I’ve had my fill of dating the endlessly cheerful type, anyway.” I bumped her back and she rolled her eyes.

“I’m not endlessly cheerful.” Ana griped without any bite. I nodded sarcastically back.

“You are and would you like me to keep pretending you don’t suck at whispering?” Marley flashed a coy grin over her shoulder. Ana huffed but decided against fighting this battle, probably because she knew she’d lose.

We kept up small talk as we checked in at the auditorium and picked up our shirts. The things were maroon and gold, the school colors, and were decorated with the two-tone print of a Newfoundland dog on the front, with some dumb catchphrase printed in bold across the back; not too bad, but I kind of hated it out of obligation.

“I still don’t get why they think we can’t guide the same group,” Marley grumbled half-heartedly as she snatched up her shirt and name badge from next to the senior sign-in sheet outside the auditorium doors. She’d been complaining about the tour group assignments since Ana sent it to us last night, and I was surprised it took her until now to get back to whining.

“You know exactly why they don’t put us together, Marley.” I rolled my eyes amusedly, grabbing my own name tag to stick in my bag, along with my shirt, to put on later.

“Okay fine, maybe there’s a history there, but Mr. Powell put me with Ana because he thought I needed, and I fucking quote, adult supervision! We are literally the same age! Like, he doesn’t want me with Gracie, fine, that’s probably a good call, but he just went and dumped the salt right in there.” The brunette shook her head in mock disappointment, “I thought we were friends, Mr. P.”

“Mar, you know the reason for that too.” Ana snorted, giving Marley a generous whack to her shoulder and earning her a very childish glare that could have been featured on a Gerber’s commercial.

“Fuck off, Tater.” She huffed. “Whatever, I guess it’s still better than dealing with Prezzilla and the transfers.”

“Good morning, ladies!” Greeted a practically vibrating Holly Robinson as she trotted away from the teacher she’d been talking to, and made her way towards us. Marley muttered a pointed speak of the devil under her breath and Ana threw her a chiding glare.

“Morning, Holly! God, it’s been ages! How are you?” Ana smiled brightly and pulled her into a hug. Marley and I exchanged a look. Holly was the senior class president and always had a hundred boring school-related things to discuss in depth with anyone who got her started. Unfortunately, Tatiana Levison was one of the few that actually enjoyed talking to her about all of them. Whenever the two started, it was like going grocery shopping with a parent and running into one of their long-lost friends.

Marley jerked her head to one side, toward the cafeteria. I nodded.

And we both snuck away before Ana could rope us into talking about our opinions on school politics; that would always result in a long lecture on why we should care about school politics, and Marley and I had now ignored it at least fifteen times.

“Another narrow escape from debilitating boredom.” Marley sighed, “you hungry?”

“Of course I’m hungry, my mom practically shoved me out the door before I was even dressed to get you to stop honking that damn car.” Marley shrugged and smiled, not the least bit guilty.

“Ana told me they ordered pizza to impress the new sheeps.” She said as we got in line for food.

“Mar, you know it’s like ten in the morning, right? They’re not gonna be serving pizza until after the tours.”

“Dammit. Do you think if I asked they’d give me pizza?”

“They probably haven’t even got it yet. I think I see donuts, though.”

“It’s honestly a fundamental problem in this culture that donuts are considered a better breakfast option than pizza.”

“You’re an idiot, but you’re also right,” I laughed under my breath. Marley leaned back on the cafeteria line’s railing with a self-satisfied grin. I was about to continue, but my stomach suddenly had that weird feeling again and I looked around for just a second before finding a pair of piercing eyes staring me down from across the cafeteria.

She didn’t look away, so I didn’t either. Luckily, Marley was just the kind of cold water I needed to snap out of the staring contest.

“I think she’s into you.”

“Excuse me?” I think I almost gave myself whiplash with how fast I turned on her. Her smug smile grew wider.

“I said, I think she’s into you.”

“We’ve looked at each other like twice. How does that mean she’s into me?”

Her eyes pinched at the corners; I couldn’t honestly tell if it was because she was teasing me by making it up, or if she was just proud of herself for making it up. Either way, it definitely shouldn’t have been encouraged in any capacity.

“Like, you probably shouldn’t do anything, especially because even Ana seems iffy about her, but she was definitely watching you. Big bottom energy watching you.”

“Bottom? In what world does anything about her read bottom?” I immediately blurted, but the look of smug triumph that followed made me regret it instantly. Marley nodded, of course, with a confident grin that put all her teeth on display. “Absolutely not. Don’t you even start.“ I glared at her, jabbing a finger at her collar resolutely. Unfortunately for me, Marley only saw my annoyance as fodder.

“My dude, there was definitely a look. Not like a meet-cute look, like an ‘I’m mad because I don’t wanna be attracted to you but I totally am, so pin me up somewhere, ruin me, and never mention it again‘ look.” She laughed, leaning back on the counter, looking way too satisfied with having gotten me into the argument in the first place. “Why is it so hard to believe that she’d be a bottom? It’s like you don’t even read. Hot girls with power complexes and sticks up their asses love being topped.”

“I don’t even know how to begin to tell you how wrong that entire statement is.”

“So you’re saying you’d rather she top you?” Marley put on her most wicked grin, “because that’s what it sounds like, Gracie.”

“Wait, what the hell? No.” I don’t know if it was that annoying smirk on her face or the implications of her statement finally getting to me, but I felt my cheeks and neck begin to heat. “So entirely not having this conversation with you.”

Because she’s Marley, she completely ignored this.

“So you’d like her to be your bottom? Cuz I think we both know you’d want one or the other. And I think I know which. I mean, your dating history is kinda a tell there, Gracie; Ana is like the queen of—”

“I will literally pay you to shut up right now.” I felt myself folding inwards involuntarily and I put a hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose.

“How much?” She pulled my elbow down to uncover my face, grinning childishly.

“Hey, you two!”

“Fuck.” I groaned between my teeth. Megan’s cheery voice was much louder than it should have been from across the room, so, even without looking, I knew Marley and I were about to have company. Marley was watching me with annoying attention.

“Hey.” I put on a wide smile to try and ignore the remnants of my blush as I turned to the twins. I knew the fact that Ana knew everyone would get me in trouble one day.

I tried to stop myself from looking at Hazel to try and see if Marley had any possible substance behind the whole look thing. I lasted a couple of seconds before I caved in to my curiosity and met her stare, which had been going between Marley and me with laser focus.

“Where’s Tatiana?” I vaguely heard Megan ask over the rush of blood in my ears.

I don’t know what exactly it was, —maybe the dangerous vibe I got from her, or how I hadn’t really looked at her until now— but I definitely felt my stomach drop, and my heart doubled in pace.

“Catching up with the school president.”

Hazel’s brows were drawn together just a little, making a small, barely-there crease form between them. Dark, black hair and a widow’s peak defined the heart-shaped outline of her face and made her already pale skin even more prominent. Her irises were a rich, saturated blue that I couldn’t quite get close enough to pick apart, watching from elegant almond-shaped eyes that were absolutely freezing. Her lips were set in an inscrutable line that turned downwards just barely at the edges.

I had no doubt she was aware of the new attention I was giving her, but if she had any reaction to it aside from deep boredom, it was well hidden. Though her stare did seem to harden just a bit further.

I had completely forgotten about the conversation around me, caught in some kind of standoff with Hazel until I felt Marley’s elbow jutting into my ribs.

“Hey—“

Marley rolled her eyes knowingly and nodded towards the bored-looking lunch lady who was already frowning impatiently at me. I rushed over to order, trying to hide the embarrassment by smiling as widely as I could without it looking too damning.

“It‘s definitely a little weird,” I nearly startled out of my skin when Megan materialized next to me as I turned away from the attendant; she was smiling calmly like I was supposed to have been expecting her there. “Ana and I have known each other a while, and she’s told me a lot about you, but I get the impression, and correct me if I’m wrong, that she’s never mentioned me. Or Hazel, definitely not Hazel, but that’s kind of expected at this point.” She laughed quietly and messed absentmindedly with the end of her braid.

“Uh, no, she’s never really talked about anyone involved with her night school. She really knows just about everyone though, so I’ve kind of stopped asking about who she does or does not know.” Again, I could feel Hazel’s eyes boring into me, but I tried to push away the dread that seemed to follow her. Marley, who I saw out of the corner of my eye, had taken to messing with her phone and didn’t look like she was going to interject any time soon, either.

“Makes sense,” Megan paused, nodding slowly, before continuing with a broad grin, “I’ve heard a little about your friend Marley too, but I obviously heard about you more often. No offense,” she turned around to face Marley, still smiling, only to shrug and turn back to me when she realized Marley wasn’t listening. I’d have bet money that she was, but Megan didn’t need to know that.

“Grace, they put your food out and Ana says we need to be back at the auditorium, with the stupid shirts on, for some dumb orientation stuff in thirty minutes.”

I tried my best to telepathically thank Marley for the timely save as I gave Megan a smile and half-assed a goodbye to her and Hazel.

We made sure we were sitting far away from wherever the two then disappeared before we went back to talking about them.