An Exchange

Chapter Fifty-Six - Dresses

Ryan

I entered shop and gave Giles a nod. He turned away like he hadn't seen me. So weird. After the California trip, I thought we'd at least reconciled or personal differences, even if we couldn't resolve our Penny conflict. But he had just done his annual trip, and he usually came back closed off and all depressed.

Later, I found Penny on the way to class. I moved in to kiss her, but she dodged it, forcing me to kiss her cheek.

"Are you okay, babe?" I asked.

"Yeah." She gave me a weak smile. "Rough night."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

But she stayed quiet for the rest of the class. I took her hand, gently stroking it. She must have had a really rough night to be so quiet.

At lunch, her usual group lacked a few faces; Seth, Ray, and Giles. Zoe sat beside her, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and aria even tore herself away from Marty long enough to give Penny a warm smile.

Something was off, really off.

"Penny," I said, pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. "Are you okay?"

She patted my hand on the table. "I'm fine. As I said; rough night."

"What was so rough about it?"

Her voice caught. Zoe coughed. I glanced at her as she shook her head. What was going on?

"Penny." I kissed her cheek. "Talk to me."

"I just..." Her eyes filled with tears, but she wiped them away.

A pit formed in my stomach. "Penny. Tell me what's wrong."

She looked into my eyes and whispered, "Giles and I had a fight."

Her voice caught again and she looked away. I wouldn't get anything more out of her without upsetting her, so I rubbed her back to try to comfort her. "Don't worry. You'll both get over it soon."

"I don't know about that." She slumped focusing on her food.

I glanced at Zoe. She raised an eyebrow before trying to ignore me. She wouldn't give me more than Penny had.

Later, I sat beside Ray in class. He leaned away, looking me over like I had a disease. "What's with you?"

"Where were you at lunch?"

"Getting some work done." He opened his text book and buried his nose into it.

"Penny was pretty upset."

He didn't even glance at me.

"Why is she fighting with Giles?"

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Because she doesn't want to talk about it." I tapped my pen on the desk. "I'm worried about her."

"You're not the only one." He snapped his book shut. "Take someone's advice for once; don't push it on this one. It's between them."

"But you seem to know about it, and Zoe."

"But you don't need to." He grabbed his bag and moved over a desk.

I scowled, and flicked absently though my textbook. The ranks had closed around Penny and Giles, and I was blocked out. I was her boyfriend. I had every right to know why she was upset.

On my way to my truck, I saw Maria kissing Marty goodbye. Redirecting my course, I hung back nearby until Marty drove away.

"Maria?"