Mori returned to school about a week after the incident with Vasilio. Although she quipped that she had been declared "officially stable" by The Arch, Liam had his doubts. Just as his friend had predicted, she made no effort to reconcile with Vasilio. She sat with Ruth in class—her usual way of showing she was peeved with him—and had lunch with Dustin's crew. For his part, Liam spent most of his time with Chelsea. His conscience nagged at him—but only a little. He knew Vasilio as mature and level-headed enough to look after himself. Liam's only crime was being a bad friend.
It wasn't until Mori herself confronted him, however, that Liam began to take a more serious look at his decisions over the past few weeks. She joined Liam and Chelsea rather unexpectedly for lunch on the last Thursday before the Lunar New Year holiday—a move that Liam initially put down to Dustin being otherwise engaged.
"I'm not that clingy," said Mori sullenly. "I can give him space when he needs it."
Just over herr shoulder, Mori's Misdravus pulled a skeptical face.
"So things are going well?" asked Liam.
He had tried to make his question sound innocent and casual, but Mori's eye's narrowed. She took a long sip from her glass of tea.
"I'm gonna go ask Marsha something," said Chelsea, in a way that told Liam she was clearing out for a while so Mori could have her say without feeling cramped. Mori waited for her to be out of earshot before responding.
"Things are going fine," she said. "Just fine. What makes you ask? Has the judgy albino been poisoning you against me too?"
"I dunno," said Liam. "Just intuition I guess."
Mori snorted.
"Save the intuitions for Vasi and Rebecca," she said, making a disgusted face. "They're the ones who are still doing that 'we're not really dating' thing for no reason. If any relationship in this school has issues..."
She chewed her tongue, as if trying to restrain herself from saying anything more cutting than that.
"I gotta confess, they've kinda grown on me," said Liam, more to annoy Mori than because he actually meant it.
"Yeah, well I know more about these things than you," she snapped. "I'm the relationship expert at this table."
"Oh, come on," said Liam. "I have a girlfriend now. What makes you think just because you've kissed more people than I have that you have some monopoly on relationship wisdom?"
Mori took another long sip of tea. Above her head, Misdreavous cackled gleefully, as if Liam was really in for it.
"Liam," said Mori, "I'm gonna give you some advice you don't want to hear."
"Okay," said Liam curiously.
Mori looked around the restaurant to make sure no one else was listening.
"Slow down with Chelsea a little bit, okay?"
Liam shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I've barely seen you for the past three weeks," said Mori. "Not that I miss you, I just know what it's like when you first start a relationship and all you wanna do is… you know, swap saliva."
Liam felt his face starting to burn.
"And believe me, I know how good that feels," said Mori with a self-conscious smile. "But… just be careful. Don't let that be the whole thing. It's easy to forget why you liked someone in the first place if all you're ever thinking about is when you get to make out with them next."
"Are you… okay with me dating Chelsea?" asked Liam defensively.
Mori shook her head, as if Liam were completely missing the point.
"Look," she said, leaning across the table and fixing Liam with her intense gaze, "If you wanna date a freshie that can read your mind, I can live with that, just as long as she stays out of my head. Chelsea's been through a lot, and I can see how having someone that's there, someone… a little more mature could be good for her. And wipe that smirk of your face—being more mature than Chez Whitaker is not an achievement."
"But she's grown on you," said Liam.
Mori rolled her eyes.
"You're incredibly dense. I'm just saying that, as a girl, I know Chelsea will give you all the making-out you want, and she'll enjoy it, but she'll miss talking to you, and eventually she'll start to wonder if you like her, or just like kissing her. Okay? Have I spelled it out clearly enough?"
Liam nodded glumly.
"Good. Now don't ever make me prove that I know more about relationships than you do again, okay? Just because I make bad decisions doesn't mean I can't give good advice."
The waitress arrived and set their rice and vegetables on the low wooden table. Chelsea was still talking to Marsha.
"Dustin wants to know if you guys wanna go on a double date," said Mori off-handedly. "Not my idea, to be clear, but my dad wasn't gonna let me be alone with my boyfriend, and I'd rather be grounded for a month than spend that much time with Vasilio and… Rebecca."
She pulled a disgusted face.
"I'd be down for that," said Lam, cheering up a little. "I'll ask Chez if she's interested."
"One thing," added Mori. "Make sure your nosy girlfriend stays out of my head."
"She's not like that," said Liam. "But you can wear a tinfoil hat if it makes you feel safer."
Misdreavus made a choking sound, earning a swat from her trainer's chopsticks.