Disclaimer: Don't own blah blah

Blue Sargent may have been a midget, but she was also a formidable opponent. Ronan had discovered this many months ago when they'd first met; Gansey had hit on her for Adam (that didn't really work out) and she just ripped him a new one. To be fair, Gansey was an idiot. On the other hand, Ronan knew Gansey, and he didn't know her.

He had to be physically restrained by Adam to prevent him attacking her physically right there in the middle of Nino's.

Now, of course, they were friends – or on the way to being friends. Ronan wasn't quite sure what to make of her, but that was okay. He didn't know what to make of Adam either.

The problem was, she was constantly distracting both Adam and Gansey. Adam, until just a couple weeks ago, had been dating her. Gansey was distracted by her because the poor fool couldn't take his eyes off her, but if he wouldn't do anything about it, Ronan wouldn't encourage him.

It was odd, though, how she seemed to be magnetic even to him. (He didn't like lamps.) She was pretty fun to be around, actually (though you would not be able to get him to admit it). Which is why, when she came around even though Gansey wasn't there, he let her stay.

"Adam said he'd come by after his shift," she explained as she took her helmet off. "I'm mostly waiting here for him."

"It's fine," Ronan said.

Then they sat in silence for a bit. Him on the one side of the couch, she on the far end.

"I heard about the whole yearbook thing," Blue offered. "It's actually going around my school."

Ronan shifted but didn't say anything.

"May I make a suggestion?"

"No."

"Why don't you just let it be?"

"Because it's a lie." It was the truth, if only a part of it.

Ronan guessed Blue didn't have anything to say to that, because she got up and went to the kitchen/bathroom. She came back a couple minutes later. "You know," she said, "you could probably break into the office, check the votes yourself."

Ronan raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know, to see if you really did win 'cutest couple'. Just to have a basis to work on. You can't move on if you're always doubting your footing."

"That makes no sense."

"Yes, it does." Blue held eye contact with him for a few more seconds before turning away. "I think I'll head home after all," she said. "Give Adam my best."

"This is a terrible idea."

"That," Ronan said, pointing at him in an accusatory manner, "is exactly what I said. You suggested we give it a try."

Adam looked at him, but Ronan didn't know what to make of it. "Well, I changed my mind. This is a horrible idea and we should head back and knock some sense into Blue for having suggested it."

"We're already here, aren't we?" Ronan said. They were, in fact, standing right outside the office Ronan had so rudely barged into only a couple days ago. They had broken into the school – a surprisingly easy feat – but not into the yearbook editors' office quite yet. The building felt different at night, calmer, as if it was preparing itself for the students who would come rushing back in only a few hours.

Adam sighed. "Fine. Open it."

Ronan opened the door and stepped it.

He may have neglected to tell Adam that there was no need to break in, per se, to this specific office. Someone had lost the key years ago and due to bureaucracy and general laziness had never gotten another one.

Ronan could feel Adam rolling his eyes as he followed him inside. They searched silently for the ballots, a task that took only a couple short minutes but felt like forever. It was Adam who said in his calm voice: "Her they are," and Ronan rushed to his side to help him unload.

The very first one said that their choice for cutest couple was, in fact, Ronan and Adam.

They looked at each other, split the pile, and got to counting. By the end, there was little doubt; Ronan and Adam were almost unanimously voted cutest couple.

Ronan groaned and leaned back. "This is…"

"Actually sort of funny?" Adam suggested.

Ronan glared at him. "A nightmare."

Adam stood, gathered the pieces of paper and put them back in the cabinet where they'd found them. If they had been sorted according to a system, it'd been lost. Ronan was still glaring at him when he realized Adam's hand was now offered to him, giving him the chance to hold onto him as he got up.

It took him only a second to decide to ignore the offer. He was standing before Adam had even blinked. "Let's go," he said gruffly.

(He only glanced at Adam's hands once on the way out.)

Adam was a bit disappointed to be back at St. Agnes' so quickly. The car ride had been quiet, and as Ronan glided smoothly into the St. Agnes' parking lot, it occurred to him that it wasn't because there wasn't anything to say.

"Thank you," he said, unable to express what was actually going on in his mind at the moment – unable to process it in the first place. It was all very sudden, actually.

"Welcome." Ronan tapped the steering wheel, then looked at Adam for what was probably less than half a second. "You going up, or what?"

"When's Gansey coming back?"

"Friday. Now, are you going to leave this car? I want to get home too, you know."

Adam could tell he was really, really ready to leave, but he ignored it and asked: "Are you lonely?"

"Is this a therapy session, Parrish?"

"I'm just asking a question."

"That isn't just a question."

"Why is this yearbook thing so important to you?"

"Because it's a lie," Ronan said, sounding exasperated – as if Adam should have known already. He had a point – this was Ronan, after all, and if Ronan couldn't stand something, it was lying.

"Is that the only reason?" Adam asked, carefully studying Ronan's features.

But if they were hiding anything, they betrayed nothing. "Yes, Parrish."

"Okay," he said, "then we should take it to the principle. Together. Or we can wait for Gansey – he's coming back in four days, isn't he? He can sweet talk his way into them getting it removed. Or – "

"Yes, yeah, okay, Jesus, Parrish," Ronan said. "We'll wait for Gansey. Are you going to ever actually exit this car?"

Adam nodded and opened the door. He climbed out of the fancy vehicle but before he closed the door he leaned in so he was almost at Ronan's ear.

"You're welcome," he muttered, and then he backed out quickly and slammed the door.

Adam Parrish's hands were all over him, and he was on fire.

The kiss was long and deep, and he pushed Adam down so he could lean over him. They broke apart, panting, Adam's eyes so bright and alive and looking straight at him. He could feel Adam's breath on his skin, but then his skin was literally fire, and Adam's eyes were not bright and alive but horror-filled, the red flame reflecting in his irises.

"Adam," he gasped, reaching out for him, but he was already pulling away.

Ronan woke, panting, sweaty. He stared at the ceiling, counted to five, flipped to the other side and tried to get back to sleep.

A/N: Fuck my life. My computer up and died on me two weeks ago, and I only just got it back two days ago. But, you know, this chapter's out there now, right? So... enjoy.

JustGail