An alternative routine developed through the course of the following three weeks. Raven would wake me up at ungodly hours to get ready, even earlier than before because now there were two of us sharing the same space. We maneuvered over each other as we found a comfortable method that worked best for us. Breakfast was now mandatory since my parents wanted us to spend some time in peace and collect our thoughts before we headed out to school.

We would walk together as usual and at school, he would rush for class representative work as well as committee work. It was proving effective as a distraction because he did not have the time to breathe. The only change was that he started to eat lunch with us and became extremely close to our patchwork of a gang. The terrace of our school became our meeting place where Mark and Liam would play fight with each other or sometimes with Raven, where Leah would huff about being surrounded by buffoons and too many guys, where Raven would constantly behave like my cape and cling to me. They appreciated the silence as well sometimes and we would just sit and gaze at the clouds.

They would also get me involved in multiple activities like dancing and singing and since it was just us, I let myself go completely. They would join me but most of the time, they would stare at me like proud parents watching their child excel, hooting encouragements when I moved to the music.

I fell in love with going to school after that.

School would end at four and Raven would have to stay for work till five. Leah would go to the literature club whereas Mark, Liam and I would head towards swimming practice. There were tryouts for the official team in a week and the three of us wanted in. So we would tire ourselves out with training till half past six and would be joined by Raven and Leah who would wait by the bleachers until we showered and freshened up.

We would then either part ways because it was a school night and we had tons of homework to do or we would go to the nearby cafe and eat our hearts out. Swimming was exhausting!

Then it would be Raven and me walking back home, talking about how our day went. We would bitch about the constant tests and the teachers who were probably playing the devil's minion by smothering us with work.

We would be greeted with warm food for dinner and an episode of a sitcom would play in the background as we spoke to my mom and dad. Following that, we would head up to my room, currently 'our' room and lapse into a comfortable silence as we finished our work for the day.

I adored it. I adored the change. I liked having him near me and for some odd reason, it did not feel suffocating being around him most of the time. He did his stuff and I did mine and only when we were done would he come to me.

He had become very free with his touches. Once he realized how much I liked being cuddled, I couldn't go a day without him wrapped around me.

He knew about my social anxiety but when he noticed that I craved being touched by people I was close with, he confronted me about it. I was a mess when it happened, full of fear that he'd hate me for it but he engulfed me in a bear hug and didn't let me go the whole night. He decided then that he'd keep doing it because he liked it as much as I did.

--

"Would you rather forget to wear underwear or wear someone else’s underwear accidentally?" Raven asked, swinging his arm around my waist as he pulled me closer.

"Forget to wear underwear. Would you rather have one nipple or two belly buttons?"

"First of all neither but if I had to choose, it would be one nipple. Belly buttons are weird." He pulled the blanket over us and I delved into the heat.

"Would you rather have bad breath for the rest of your life or bad body odor for the rest of your life?"

"Ew." I replied in disgust and he nudged me.

"Fine. Bad breath it is. Would you rather be on a date with a boy or a girl?"

"Currently, boy. Would you rather have loved and lost or never loved at all?" I shifted my body to have my back on the bed and faced Raven who propped himself up on one arm. I was dozing off, tired after a very physically challenging day.

"Loved and lost. Would you rather have the ability to teleport or the ability to read minds."

My eyes were now shut with my speech slightly slurred.

" Read minds."

"Why?"

"I want to read yours."

I laughed at that. "There's nothing that goes on in my head. I'm not that interesting."

"You baffle me on a daily basis, Seb. You're incredibly intriguing."

My cheeks tinted red and I cursed my body's ability to flush instantly when I was embarrassed.

"Would you rather go on a date with the girl that asked you out last week or with me?"