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savannah walked the harbor school halls with marissa, chatting about their upcoming classes. they turned a corner and spotted ryan hurrying to catch up with them, his expression a mix of determination and apprehension.
"hi, hey... how are you?" he asked breathlessly as he fell into step beside marissa. she glanced at him, her expression tightening. "i'm okay."
savannah furrowed her brow, sensing the tension but unsure of its cause. "how's oliver?" ryan asked next, his voice careful. marissa scoffed, her annoyance palpable. "you really wanna know?"
"yeah, yeah i do," he nodded, swallowing his pride.
marissa sighed, her voice laced with exasperation. "he feels bad. he doesn't understand why he took a bunch of pills, and you and i got into a fight over it. by the way, i don't get it either."
savannah raised a brow, the pieces falling into place. she hadn't realized the extent of the palm springs incident's fallout. ryan had briefly mentioned to her how oliver tried to commit suicide by downing a bottle of prescription pills after their fight, but he wasn't truly convinced that was the case since oliver wouldn't allow anyone to take him to the hospital afterwards.
ryan nodded, looking genuinely contrite. "right, i know. and i know i've been a little weird about everything, but... he's your friend, so he's my friend."
savannah glanced between them, her curiosity piqued. she could sense ryan's sincerity, but also the struggle beneath his words.
"i know i'm not saying i might not get weird about it again, but i wanna try. you wanna hang out with him, you want me to, it's okay. it's... better than okay, it's... it's... uh, great," ryan justified, his words tumbling out.
marissa stopped in her tracks, raising her brows. "great?" ryan smiled sheepishly.
savannah raised a brow, "well, great's probably pushing it a little."
"but uh, definitely good." ryan responded. marissa's lips curved into a grin. "thanks," she said, leaning in to kiss him. savannah averted her gaze, looking anywhere else. even though she was with luke, seeing them together still seemed to make her heart ache.
just then, mr. bendis approached, his presence commanding their attention. "ryan, marissa, savannah, i want you to meet our new transfer student. says you're all friends."
savannah's heart sank as oliver stepped out from behind the man, a smug smile plastered on his face. marissa's smile faltered, ryan's expression turned to one of disbelief, and savannah just stared, her mind racing.
