Hey! I'm sorry for the delay.
I did a few edits on the last chapter that does not affect the plot at all, it's just an adjustment of dates.

Amy moaned quietly as Laurie's right hand continued running his fingers around her clit. "You're ok?" Laurie asked in a low voice that made Amy's pupils go full behind her eyelids. She couldn't utter a word. She swallowed hard and just nodded, grabbing his arm to encourage him. Laurie smiled and pulled her left shoulder's strap to kiss it gently.

They were arranged, sitting one in front of the other, facing the same direction. Laurie had his back on the headboard, and Amy had her back on him. She moved her head to lean it in his shoulder and give him more area to kiss. He moved to her pulse point and she held his arm tighter. She gasped for more air at Laurie's ministrations.

"You're so getting laid tonight, Laurence," Amy said, keeping her eyes closed and reaching for his other hand. They intertwined their fingers and she could feel Laurie's smile in her neck, especially with the use of his last name.

"Stay,"

"I can't."

"My classes start until four," before she could answer, her phone buzzed, reminding her of her tasks for the day.

"I kind of hate that buzz," Laurie said, since it was not the first time they were interrupted by the reminder of some meeting/class or whatever that made them stop. He stopped and pulled his hand out of her panties, but kept it on her leg. "I thought today was your free day?"

"I know, I'm sorry." Amy laughed as she reached for her phone in the nightstand. "Michaela is sick so I have to cover her shift at the museum," Amy said, showing her lack of excitement. She walked out of bed and began dressing up. "I have to get clean clothes and Carina worries."

"That's sweet of her. You got lucky with that roommate."

"I know."

"Come here," he said standing up and hugging her by the waist. They looked and smiled at each other. Amy stopped their make-out session before it got too heated.

"Hey!" Carina greeted her from the kitchen table. "Walk of shame!"

"Don't say that," Amy said walking towards her room.

"How's Laurie?"

"Fine,"

"Is he your boyfriend again…?" Carina asked from the table.

"Ummm…. We don't want to label it yet." She answered, returning to the kitchen for coffee.

"Why?" It seemed pretty obvious to Carina that they were together.

"Because the last time, we did it too quickly and it ended up badly, so… look I don't know. I have to go to work." Amy rushed to her room to take a shower, leaving Carina shaking her head.

A couple of weeks later, Laurie was packing some stuff for a week. His friends were reuniting in Zurich. He hadn't been there in a while, and after a few efforts of convincing, he agreed.

"It's the first time we can meet, Mark thought it'd be a good idea," Turns out his college friends were all in Europe, some working, and others had the luxury of vacations. Really Laurie was the one who chose to study a Masters. A few were thinking about it, but since they already have a job, they weren't rushing anything. Plus, there was this party where he might see other friends from his internship. What could go wrong?

"You'll be fine," Amy reassured him. It wasn't that he didn't want to see them, maybe a little. He never told them about his relationship with Amy. He didn't know if he should. Plus, he would have preferred to spend the April holidays with Amy.

"Can I have a picture of you?" He asked hesitantly sitting on the desk.

"You already have a few," Amy said as she continued folding clothes.

"I was thinking of something more personal, of you...unclothed."

"You want a picture of me naked?"

"Is that wrong?"

"No, sure. You can have it."

"I'd delete it."

"Why? What's wrong about my hypothetical picture?"

"Nothing. It's for you, for your privacy and reassurance."

"Oh, can I get one of you?" She responded sitting on the bed.

"You don't want a picture of me naked."

"I do. I have to rely on memory when you're not here. It's only fair."

"Alright," he walked towards her, pulling her to lay on her back and kissed her. "I'm going to miss you," he said, as he pulled her shorts and panties down.

"I'll miss you too. It's only a week," she moaned as he entered her.

"Amy! Can I see you in my office?" Her boss called her while she was arranging some documents for an exhibition.

"Listen, we are doing some remodeling, some rooms need work and that tightens the budget. I'm sorry Amy. We need to let go of a few people, it's just temporal,"

"Right," Amy nodded, visibly worried. She couldn't believe her stupid luck. Laurie had suggested staying the summer in there since he applied for an internship. Carina was leaving for Milan. Like always, but she figured her paycheck would be enough to pay the rent. Plus, there were a few events that she would have loved to assist. Now that possibility was gone. She was not going to run to Aunt March and ask for money.

"We still want you with us after summer," her boss said, trying to make the situation better.

"I can't look for another job in the middle of exams. I haven't finished my projects," she sat with Carina in the living room.

"I can sublet the apartment for you, I'll be back at the end of August."

"Thanks," Amy said, although it did little to make her feel better. "That's it, I'll have to go back home," she said. She had bought her round plane ticket when she left Concord.

"Just, stay with Laurie."

"No."

"What's the big deal? You already spend four nights a week with him."

"We don't live together."

"You think if you tell him that you need a place to stay he'd say no. You think it'd scare him away?"

"Shit, no!" She reacted quite agitated. "I just don't want to put that on the table yet."

"God, dammit, Amy. Fine, do whatever you want. I don't understand you," Carina left her. To be honest Amy didn't understand herself sometimes. She always had trouble with her economic status, which provoked a sense of inferiority. It was crazy, but sometimes, she asked herself if Laurie was friends with them because he had no other choice. When he arrived at Concord, he didn't fit very well and Jo was the one who made the first move and invited him to their home. For Amy, it was so strange to see this super-rich boy with them. She often asked herself why he would be interested in them, they were poor and had little to offer. And it got worse because he and his grandfather were so generous. The whole family was grateful, but Amy was a little bugged by it. She hated pity and patronizing, and she knew that was not what the Laurences were doing, but still. It's not nice to be known for being poor. Amy thought that the scholarship and the job would help her feel better.

"Can you believe we're all with jobs? We are functional members of society!" Mark exclaimed. "Well, most of us."

"Oh, shut up. You sound like my father," Harry of the group protested.

"I would hate to go back to school. I'm done, why would you do that?" Harry asked.

"Deep down, he is a nerd. Aren't you? Top of the class," Tudor mentioned. It was quite a shock for all of them when Laurie graduated with honors. They knew he was smart but that was a high honor.

"You also want to do one," Laurie reminded him.

"I'm thinking about it."

"Why would you choose Florence, when you were in Zurich?" Tudor asked Laurie. It was true, Florence was not the first choice for a graduate of business.

"Had a good program, it's a nice city."

"Isn't Amy March there, too?"

"There's your answer," Sean said without thinking first.

"What?"

"Nothing," Laurie said too quickly.

"Oh my God! So it's true?"

"What?"

"People saw you together in Paris, you know? Parker is going to flip!" Tudor laughed. "Hey, we should all go to Florence to say hi."

"No, he won't. And no, you won't go. What do you want, a show? Come on, it's not a big deal!" Laurie tried to calm his friends. "Can we talk about someone else's lives, I beg you?" His friends showed mercy and let it go for a while. But honestly, they couldn't forget about it. For a lot of them, Amy was one of their first crushes or at least a girl they liked to follow around in Concord.

After Laurie returned from a party, his phone buzzed. He was exhausted, but it was Amy so he couldn't ignore it. Amy didn't send him the photo he asked for. Instead, she decided to send him a drawing of herself. You can have the original next time you come, she texted.

Laurie came back and things got to be normal for a couple of weeks. He didn't mention his friends, because to him it wasn't that important. "It all went well," he told Amy. For her part, she avoided discussing her issues. She told him that she wasn't working during summer, that the museum needed to redirect the budget. He was sorry but didn't ask her anything else. Meanwhile, Carina kept pressuring Amy to tell Laurie about it.

So one day, after they watched a movie at his apartment, she decided it was time. As they finished washing the plates, she started talking.

"I don't think I'm going to be here for the summer…" she started. He stopped drying a glass and looked at her. "I can't pay the rent and I'm not asking Aunt March for any more money. Besides, Carina is returning to Milan and she's subletting the apartment. So..."

"When?" He said, tightening his jaw.

"As soon as I finish classes."

"Two weeks from now. You're going back to Concord, then?"

"Yeah, I think."

"Well... I can't go back. I already accepted the internship."

"I know... I guess you'll want to see other people?"

"I guess." She answered quietly. What was she saying? There was an awful silence between them. Laurie stayed there, hearing the door slammed.

Notes:

The story of the naked picture is actually a very painful one in Normal People...like it's really awful, but I couldn't do that here. So I took inspiration from Portrait of a Lady on Fire and wrote the scene. I hope you liked it. I don't know what's your opinion on pictures, but it's a reality that people exchange them. Just be very careful if you ever decide to do it, and if it ever reaches one of them to you, don't share them!

I promise there will be a happy ending. As soon as these idiots learn to communicate successfully.

Oh, btw, I wrote a quick one-shot called "Hiding my heart away", based on the song of the same name by Brandi. If you like angst and are up to a not-so-happy ending, I would love to read your thoughts on it :)