It was Blue who suggested it. Maura had never been strict with her - at least until the boys came along - but since being rescued from Cabeswater by her daughter & co., Blue's mother had been especially trusting of her.
Blue first proposed the idea to Gansey. They were waiting for Adam to get off work, and Ronan was hiding himself away in his room listening to awful music.
"You guys aren't doing anything on Saturday night, are you?"
Gansey scrutinized her. "Jane, you would know about it if we were. You would be coming along."
Blue tried to hide how pleased she was by this, this belonging. That this group of people had managed to come together and fall in love with each other, was just as magical to her as any supernatural forest or sleeping king. She picked at her leggings, working up the nerve to ask her next question.
"I think we should all, like, have a sleepover party or something, you know? I mean, you and Noah and Ronan are always hanging out together, and I'm stuck at home, and Adam would think it was charity if it was just him invited..."
"You want to stay the night at Monmouth?"
Blue was uncomfortable with how wide Gansey's eyes were. "Gosh, it's not like I'm a pros-"
Gansey cut her off. "As I am well aware. This seems to be a sensitive topic for you, Jane."
She kicked him in the shin, but she was smiling. "I'm not just a girl," she said. "I'm as much a part of this group as any of you, and I'd appreciate it if you treated me that way. I'm sick of magical caves and psychos trying to kill everyone I care about. I just want to do normal teenager things and have a sleepover with my friends."
Gansey appeared reticent. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to offend you. We can do it if you want, Saturday. I'll let the guys know. You want to do it at Monmouth or...?"
"Yeah, if we could."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"The fuck?" Ronan asked Gansey. "Repeat that please. She wants to do what?"
"Have a sleep-over party, you know?" Gansey said.
"Why?"
"I think she wants to be initiated into the wonders of masculine social customs."
"Dude..."
"Whatever, it seems like a fine idea to me," Adam interjected. Apparently he had been listening, even though he had appeared asleep, leaning his head back onto the chair in Borden House with his eyes closed.
"Well, since Parrish seems to think it's such a fucking great plan..." Ronan said. He threw his hands up in either mock or real exasperation.
"Alright, I'll let Blue know," Gansey said briskly, gratified that they had agreed. He would not have enjoyed the prospect of delivering the message to Blue had they declined.
"Okay," said Adam, closing his eyes again. Ronan was shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
"You're doing what?" Maura asked.
"Having a sleepover with my friends," Blue replied, adding another bobby pin to her hair, deliberately looking in the mirror instead of at her mother.
"Oh my god, I have officially failed as a parent," Maura said.
"Hmm?"
"Because I'm going to say yes, aren't I? I'm going to let my only daughter, who is still in high school, go spend the night at a warehouse with four very hormonal teenage boys. Parent extraordinaire, Maura Sargent. Just wait until Calla hears about this. On second thought, don't tell Calla about this. Let's not let Calla find out about this at all."
"Okay," Blue said, smiling angelically. "And you trust me! Come on Mom, I can't even kiss anyone."
Maura held up her hands in a gesture of defeat. "You already won, honey. Have fun with your friends. I'm going to go watch TV."
Blue was ready with only a few minutes to spare. She went and sat in the living room, watching her mother do a reading for a neighboring elderly lady while she waited for Gansey to pick her up. Finally his Camaro pulled up. She grabbed her tote bag and pillow (she had hand-sewn different pieces of fabric onto it in a fractal-like pattern) and rushed out the door.
"Woah, Jane," Gansey greeted her.
"Not Jane," she said, experimentally flipping him off. She decided that she very much liked the effect that this had on his face. She decided she would employ this tactic again, and often. Gansey held open the door for her nonetheless, and trailed his fingers lightly down her arm as she sat down. She shivered.
On the drive to Monmouth, she asked, "so, what are the plans?"
"Well, if Adam and Ronan can quit squabbling long enough to spend a whole night in the same room..." Gansey sighed.
"Oh?" Blue giggled, but she was also a little pissed off. She didn't want one of their stupid fights to ruin this. This had been her idea after all, and she felt that the blame for its failure or success would inevitably be laid on her shoulders.
"Yeah," Gansey said, "if you can believe this, Ronan is yet again in trouble at school. Apparently he played some stupid prank on one of the intern teachers..." he shook his head, and Blue laughed for real this time.
"Your child is getting out of hand," she chided.
"I know," Gansey said mournfully, "I think I need to make his bedtime earlier, or give him more responsibilities around the house."
"Agreed," Blue said, and then they were at Monmouth.
When they entered the front door, Ronan and Adam were standing in the living room, shoving each other.
"Oh come on, Ronan," Adam was saying. "There was no reason you had to do that. The guy was new!"
"The guy was an idiot," Ronan said. "He had it coming to him."
"BOYS," Gansey said. Instantly, Adam and Ronan dropped their hands, turning to face him, looking at their feet. Blue rolled her eyes.
"Just try to get along tonight," she pleaded.
"It's Lynch," Adam said.
"This is ridiculous," said Ronan. "Why are we doing this? Do I need to get my jammies on?"
There was a pause and then Adam said, "But actually, he kind of has a point? What are we even supposed to do?"
"Well, what do you and Ronan do when he sleeps over at your place?" Blue asked.
Adam paled. "What? Nothing!"
"Why don't you decide, Sargent?" Ronan asked. "This was your brilliant idea."
Blue pulled the first idea from her mind, cringing as it left her mouth. It sounded so much better in theory. "Truth or dare?" she squeaked.
"Oh my god," said Ronan.
Noah had decided to appear now, so the five of them were sitting in a circle on the floor, on the comforter from Gansey's bed. A bowl of chips rested in the middle of them.
"Okay," Blue said, "Who wants to go first?"
Ronan raised an eyebrow. Adam raised his hand, but Noah swatted it away. "Me, me!" he said, "I frickin' love this game! No one ever wants to do anything fun around here!"
"Truth or dare?" Blue asked him.
"Dare?" asked Noah.
"Was that a question or an answer?" Blue asked, screwing up her face. When Noah started to protest, she held up a hand to silence him. "Wait, just give me a minute to think of something...oh!...kiss Adam's cheek."
"What?" said Adam and Ronan in unison.
"This is how these things work!" Blue defended. "You asked me to pick a game, so I picked a game. You're lucky I didn't ask him to kiss you on the lips."
"Lucky?!" Noah exclaimed. "There is nothing wrong with kissing me! I am a great kisser. Probably better than any of you."
"Whatever," Adam said.
Noah grinned and pecked him quickly on the cheek. Adam blushed fervently.
"There, I win!" cried Noah.
"Actually, you have to pick some-"
"I know, I know! I pick...Adam! Truth or dare?"
"Dare..." said Adam uncertainly.
"I dare you to kiss me on the cheek!" Noah said gleefully.
"What?" Adam said. Ronan groaned and buried his face in his hands.
"You heard me," Noah said. He was practically glowing.
Adam made a face, and kissed Noah as quick as humanly possible.
"Please, no one pick him ever again," he said. "I choose Ronan. Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Really?"
"I never lie anyway," Ronan pointed out.
"Okay..." Adam thought about it for a minute. "I can't even think of anything. Let's do something else."
"YES," said Ronan.
"Well, you guys are choosing this time," Blue snapped.
"Ooh! I know! I know!" said Noah.
"What?" Blue asked.
"Let's dance!"
No one had any better ideas, so they put on some music, the top forty station. None of them particularly liked it, but it suited the occasion, and it was nice to have something lighthearted to listen to after the events of the past month.
Blue wished she could slow dance with Gansey the entire night, but as always, they were stepping around Adam's feelings. She felt a burst of annoyance at him, that she possibly had only a few months left with Gansey, and she couldn't even utilize them fully because of Adam.
But then Gansey had his hand on her arm. He jerked his chin towards the stereo. Blue shook her head slightly.
"I don't think he'd mind," Gansey said with a laugh.
"What?"
"Look in Ronan's room."
"What?" Blue repeated, pushing past Gansey to swing open the door to the bedroom. She felt a chill first, before seeing the wide open window. There was a length of rope secured to the floor with some sort of hook. Blue remembered Gansey once hinting that him and Ronan rock climbed.
"They did not," she said, "rappel out that window to escape my slumber party!"
"Good Lord, she sounds angry," Ronan muttered. Adam had a hand clamped over his mouth to stop laughing. They were hiding in a bush just below the window and were trying not to be discovered.
"Want to just go back to my apartment?" Adam asked.
"I thought you'd never ask, Parrish," Ronan said.
"Well," said Blue, "that sucked."
"What are you talking about?" Noah cried, coming up behind Blue and upending a can of soda over her head. "I'm having a blast!"