Blue thought she was an amazing broccoli steamer. Ronan was starting to doubt that.

"Jane, is this the only food in your house?"

"Yes."

"Let's go out. I want meat." Ronan didn't like broccoli.

"Ronan…" Blue started,

"I'm going out with or without all of you. You can chose." He took his keys and left the room. The door slammed in the distance. Blue looked from Gansey to Adam.

"Well, shall we?" It wasn't a question. What Ronan did, everyone did.

"We shall," Adam replied.

-LINE BREAK-

Gansey's phone rang in the car.

"Hello? Oh, hi Mom, yes I'm good," There was a lengthy pause. Gansey looked to Adam who looked to Blue who looked to Gansey.

"Okay, next weekend. May I bring some friends? Yes Mom, him but another two too. Maybe Mom. Bye Mom, I love you too."

Gansey sighed.

"You guys want to come?"

"Is it a question dude, I don't want to fucking go to Washington."

"I'll go," Blue piped in. Relief flooded through his face.

"Me too."

"Okay. Fine I'll go. I still say fuck Washington."

"Nice Ronan, nice."

So that was why the gang was at Gansey's Washington D.C mansion, all dressed in black. Gansey made sure Adam and Ronan had red ties. Blue's dress, which Helen picked out, was a little too low for her taste. Gansey was enjoying it though.

-LINE BREAK-

"Dick, nice to finally meet your friends, care to introduce me?"

" You already know Adam, but this is Ronan, and Blue."

His mother's eyes flicked over Ronan and stayed a little longer on Blue.

"Blue, do you go to Aglionby?"

"Mom, it's an all boys' school."

"I go to Henrietta's public schools."

"Public schools." She said in disgust. "Okay, now Dick you need to introduce your friends to the people here." She walked close to her son and whispered in his ear, "And keep the Irish one away from the liquor."

Gansey put on his fake smile and returned to face his next guest.

"Blue, you watch Ronan. No drinks for him, a drunk Ronan would not make the party a success."

Blue rolled her eyes as she followed Ronan to the drink table and took his drink from him.

"No."

"You're the watch dog tonight, I would've bet on Adam."

"Not after last time."

Ronan calculated the comment. He knew it was true.

"Okay. Can I have my drink?"

"No."

Ronan also knew Blue wasn't going to give in anytime soon. Not unless she was distracted. Not unless she was distracted by Gansey.

And at that moment, Ronan got very lucky. While brainstorming his distraction, a very attractive, (he thought, he wouldn't know) girl walked over to Gansey. Blue's eyebrows spiked in interest. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a black dress, which was so low cut you just, had to look. She looked like a mini Ashley.

Blue grabbed Ronan by the sleeve and dragged him over.

"Hello, my mother, you know her, Mrs. Ligon, well she told me to introduce myself."

"Oh, you're Jenna's daughter. These are my friends, Adam Parrish, Blue Sargent," Mini Ashley's lip curled in disgust at her, "And Ronan Lynch."

"Hi, my name's Paige."

She did look like a Paige.

"Paige," Ronan interrupted because he loved to cause plenty of trouble for his friends, "Do you have an older sister Ashley."

"Yeah why?" Ronan looked at Gansey, Blue, this Paige girl, and started to walk away slowly.

"Oh, Ronan's," Blue, seeing him farther away pulled him in again. Back to square one. "Older brother is dating a girl named Ashley."

"Well," Paige's hand crept up Gansey's arm. "That's nice for her. Speaking of dating, are you seeing anyone."

Gansey took he well-expected look at Blue, which both Paige and Adam intercepted. Adam's face clouded with recent pain. It wasn't a good look on him. Ronan also knew that. The amazing thing was, Blue was absolutely distracted, but now Ronan was thinking that drama was better than alcohol. Maybe.

"I'm not. But I'm not going to anytime soon."

"Why, because Blair or whatever has just broken up with Adam, and he's your BFF. Aw, such a kind friend. I know how you feel. Usually though, I'm in her space. She's not even that pretty."

Blue's face showed no emotion. It was kind of crazy. Ronan admired it.

"No, That's not why. Sure I'll go out with you. Come to Henrietta." Come on Gansey. Ronan had never dated, but he was pretty sure that's NOT what you want to say in front girl you want to fuck with. Still no emotion on the Blue front.

"I will."

Adam walked over to Ronan.

"I always thought he knew about dating."

"He knows about dating. Does he know about love?"

"Are you saying they're in love."

"No."

He was.

-LINE BREAK-

The ride back Ronan and Blue were in the same BMW sitting awkwardly. No words. The real question was why she was in this car.

"Why didn't you go with Gansey."

"I'm mad at him. And it's more awkward with Adam."

"You two are a thing then?"

"No. I don't know. I think that he's conflicted. I'm not, but he feels guilty about his feelings. God, that sounds so stupid. Have I gone down to that level?"

Ronan thought that she had. As Gansey had said on many occasions when Blue wasn't there, that she was sensible. Ronan didn't agree. It was knowing she was never going to leave that made her sensible. Knowing that no matter how hard she tried, she wasn't going to get out of Henrietta that made her sensible.

"Gansey underestimates me doesn't he?"

She WAS getting girly now.

"Just because I'm gay doesn't mean we can talk about boys."

Blue rolled her eyes. "God, Ronan. I know. How stereotypical do you think I am, but what do you think? What would you do?"

"Obviously he's scared. Right? He's avoiding the topic and not confronting you. Scared."

"I should come for your gay advice more often."

-LINE BREAK-

Henrietta is his palace. At night especially. That's when Ronan ruled. Since Kavinsky's death a month ago, the racing had gone down, but not the insomnia. The acknowledgement of his sexuality hadn't helped either.

So that's why Ronan and Gansey, who also from the inability to sleep, were awake at three in the morning.

"You drove home with Blue, which alone is weird, but she said something about gay wisdom. Do you have any?" He said with a laugh.

"Blue's pissed off with you."

"What? Why?"

"God Gansey, how ignorant are you? Obviously Paige."

"Oh, her. Adam kept yelling at me in the car. Did Blue care?"

"Of course Blue cared. How ignorant are you? Maybe I do have gay wisdom." It was the first time he got something good from it.

-Line Break-

The bitch called Ashley and her bitchy little sister Paige asked us to go to dinner. That night Blue looked like shit.

"I don't want to go, Adam." Blue whined.

"Pygmy can come with me. I'm not going either."

"Let's go to Nino's Ronan."

"Are you sure you two. Wait, Ashley, Declan, Paige, and making Blue's day, Gansey will be there. Have fun."

"Aren't we growing closer Ronan?"

"We aren't. We just hate the same people."

"I can deal with that."

-Line Break-

"They'll break up right."

"I know I might have given you some good advice, but my life and yours isn't about if Dick Gansey is going to call you or break up with a girl. I thought you were a feminist."

"You're right Ronan. I just sent the feminist movement back 50 years. Great."

"You have, you're right but don't beat yourself up over it."

"Now Ronan, don't kill me if I ask you a personal question. What happened with Kavinsky?"

"Not now Pygmy. Not now."

"It's been a month. What happened? You would feel better if you told someone."

"I'm not a girl."

"You're acting like one."

"Okay. Kavinsky taught me how to control my dreams. He had a huge crush on me too." The devil's smile crossed his face for the first time in a while. The snake was back.

"Well, okay. That's all?"

"Sure."

"And Adam?"

Blue had gone there. Adam was, special. Ronan liked him. A lot. Or so he thought. He really didn't know at this point.

He was a stranger looking out on his life. It made no sense to him. Gansey had it so easy, well, he did love his friend's, (not best, that was him), ex-girlfriend, but still she was a girl. What would his father have said? That was a constant thought going through Ronan's mind. What would Gansey, or Adam, or Blue say? It was one of his faults. The constant pressure to please the people closest to him. To not, and never disappoint them. When he had revealed his secret to Gansey, it was almost solely to impress him.

He looked away.

"How hard was it for you to see Gansey and Paige together?"

"Hard."

"How hard?"

"That's not important."

"Because they're right there."

And they were, laughing and smiling and overall making Blue not very happy. She groaned.

"I think that he's just doing this to make me jealous. Or maybe because of Adam, I honestly have no idea."

She was looking out the window. Ronan followed her gaze to Paige's dress. It was flowery and low cut. Really low cut.

"Now Pygmy, don't go all slutty on us. Please. You don't need to do that to get Gansey's attention. You know that right?"

"Uh, maybe? I kind of want him to notice me."

"Are you kidding? He can't take his eyes off you right now, imagine, wait; you want one of those montages don't you. You want me and you to go shopping for push up bras and cleavage dresses. I'm maybe on board. If you pay me."

"I'll pay you in Adam advice."

He considered it.

"Fine."

Now, what happened after that was a painful sequence of events that Ronan never wanted to relive ever, ever again.

-LINE BREAK-

The terribleness that Ronan never wanted to relive again though, did result in a new bra and dress for Blue.

"Blue, I hate being a gay best friend."

"Why Ronan? You're such a good one."

"Thanks. But life isn't all fun and games. Now, Gansey invited us to dinner. Again. Normally, I'd say no, because it's dinner with my brother, his bitchy girlfriend, her bitchy sister, Gansey, and Adam. So in other words, hell. But because of you, I'll go."

"Aw, thanks for the guilt trip Ronan. Really helpful. You'll drive me right?"

This dinner was a little more formal. Declan had graduated and Gansey had though, 'Now how can I piss Ronan off the most, oh, that's right throw him a fucking dinner.' So he decided to fulfill it. And tonight was the night. And Blue was wearing her cleavage dress. It was black and low. He had been sleeping in the dressing room when she'd decided to get it. So much for being the dedicated G.B.F.

Gansey though, hadn't seen Blue in that dress yet. It was going to be hilarious. He was just waiting for the whole thing to blow up. It was worth being dragged through shopping torture.

Ronan was sitting next to Gansey and Adam, and across from Blue. Gansey hadn't once looked at Paige, and his gaze was burning holes in Blue's chest. She looked at me and smiled.

"Ronan, can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

"He's making me way more uncomfortable than I imagined."

Ronan smiled. "Yes. He is. And I'm enjoying it greatly."

Gansey was walking over to them. He looked mildly mad, but also confused.

"You two are being anti-social."

"Gee thanks Gansey. I had no idea. That was not the point of coming out here." She pointed to her surroundings.

"Stop looking at her boobs Gansey." Ronan said as he turned to walk back inside.

"Ronan!" and "Lynch!" Came from Blue and Gansey respectively as he walked back into the restaurant. Well, he walked to the door and hid inside, listening to their conversation.

"You look really nice Jane."

"Thanks Gansey. Means a lot."

"I'd hope so. You know, maybe we can go to dinner sometime." Gansey was doing that awkward scratching of his neck.

"What about Paige?"

"She's nothing compared to you." He held out is hand and she grabbed and they walked inside.

Ronan learned 2 things from this experience. One, romance between people is complicated and he never, never, never, wanted to take part of. Two, he actually was a decent G.B.F.