Ryan’s stomach tightened. He struggled to keep from panicking.

Jake couldn’t know it was him, right? As far as he could tell, Jake thought he was mute, just like everyone else did.

There was only one way he could know, and that was if Luna told him. Luna wouldn’t do that to him. He had to believe she would keep her word.

Ryan took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm himself down. Jake didn’t know. He was ninety-nine percent sure of that. That meant that he was legitimately asking the question.

Ryan should answer then.

‘Sorry, no.’

But he still wasn’t calm. A voice in the back of his head was nagging him. It told him that Jake was only being nice to him because he thought Ryan knew the answer. Now that he knew he didn’t, or thought he didn’t, he would probably change.

No.

Ryan shut his eyes tight. Jake was Luna’s friend. That meant he wasn’t like other people. He had to trust that Jake hadn’t been using him. He wanted to believe that he was a good person who genuinely liked Ryan’s company.

But it was hard.

“Hey.” A hand landed on his arm and he opened his eyes. Jake was leaning toward him, staring at his face. “You don’t have to get so worked up. It was just a question. It’s not like I’m mad that you don’t know.” He gave Ryan’s arm a squeeze. “Just calm down.”

Ryan nodded. Calm down. Stop jumping to the worst-case scenario. Calm down. Don’t panic. Calm. Breath. In. Out. Deep breaths. In. Out. Everything was fine.

It took some time, but eventually he felt like he had things under control. He let out a final, shaking breath and lay his head down on the desk. He was exhausted, so he let his eyes fall closed.

“Feeling better?”

He nodded, enjoying the way the cool tabletop moved against his cheek.

“Should I call Luna to come get you?”

Ryan opened one eye. Jake still looked worried. He looked down at his phone and typed carefully.

‘No. I’m not a child.’

A relieved smile touched Jake’s face. “Two sentences. Wow. You’re opening up.”

Ryan punched his arm. It was feeble, but he hadn’t been trying to hurt him anyway.

“Still.” Jake turned and started clicking the computer mouse rapidly. Then he stood up and looked down at Ryan. “I want to make sure you get home safely.” He reached out and placed a hand on Ryan’s head, ruffling his hair.

Ryan surprised himself when he didn’t flinch away from the touch. Maybe he was more exhausted than he thought, but it felt comforting.

“Come on.” Jake hoisted him to his feet.

They walked quietly out of the building. Then Jake faltered, and Ryan pointed the way. He realized that, even though Jake and Luna seemed to be good friends, she had never invited him over. Ryan felt a pang of guilt, wondering if Luna kept her friends away for his benefit.

“How did you land an apartment within walking distance of the school?” Jake was shaking his head in disbelief. “The rent around here must be high.”

‘Parents are paying.’

“Ah. Lucky you.”

When they reached the building, Ryan dug out his keys. Then he fumbled to not drop them while typing on his phone.

‘Did you want to come up?’

He was disappointed when Jake shook his head. “I can’t. I should really go do some actual homework.” He grinned. “Don’t want to fail anything.”

Ryan nodded to show he understood. Then he held up a hand to stop Jake from leaving. He dug around in his bag, looking for the folder of drawings he always had with him. Inside was one he had done of the character Jake had modeled.

He handed it to Jake.

‘The model didn’t do her personality justice anymore.’

“Wow. This looks amazing.” That hand reached out and ruffled his hair again. “Thank you.”

Ryan watched Jake walk away. When he reached the corner, Jake turned back and waved. Ryan returned the gesture. Then he was out of sight.

He went up to the apartment and lay down on his bed. His head felt warm and tingly where Jake had touched him. He wondered why such a childish action made him feel so happy.

A part of him was hoping that Jake would do it again in the future.