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When Nick decides to run and catch up with Grace and Courtney, it's because he sees them laughing.

Initially, on the walk from school, he figured he'd let them have some girl time—if Grace was even with Courtney, he thought. She wasn't by his locker waiting for him or just outside the front doors, so he assumed she had found her other friend and took off. It bothered him only a little bit, something he didn't let himself dwell too much on. It wasn't as if Grace could only talk to him, but he pretty much only talked to her; which wasn't a problem until Courtney started hanging around. And that's not even fair, because Courtney's kind and funny and fits right in with them, but Nick has really grown to enjoy the one-on-one dynamic with Grace.

He ends up quite a ways behind the two girls, alternating between staring at the sidewalk or at Grace's shoes. (Or Grace . . . no, it's definitely her shoes.) His mind is flipping back and forth from wanting to say 'screw it' and walk with them anyway, and about how lost he is when it comes to his bio homework. Or bio in general.

His friends' laughter floats into his eardrums and for a split second, he wonders if they're talking about him. How they feel about him. It's a ridiculous notion, one that he knows is completely false, but his heart still thumps at the thought and his feet still speed up to a jog until he's beside them.

When he asks where they're going, it's mostly because the answer is probably 'home' and then he'll have an excuse to stay right where he is, right by Grace's side. And Courtney splitting off immediately after to head to her own home is just the icing on the cake.

Nick watches Courtney walk across the street for an appropriate amount of time before turning back to Grace. "So. What'd you guys do all day?" His mind wanders to his locker, Graceless. And why didn't you wait for me?

Okay, that's stupid. She doesn't have to wait for him.

(But he'll wait for her.)

She sighs and begins a shortened summary. "School. Then walking home from school." Grace keeps speaking, but Nick barely has enough control to know when to tear his eyes away from her, and his ears tune out a bit to what she's actually saying. Just listening to her voice is enough for him.

He hears when she brings up Courtney, and he thanks the chance to slip in inviting him next time. Her "of course" puts him at ease. She'll always have time for him. But he knows that he missed her today, and it sets him right back on edge. Why did he miss her? Six hours apart and he has the makings of separation anxiety?

The textbooks in his backpack remind him of his other thought before he crashed the Girls' Day. "Oh, hey, I got a biology test coming up; do you think you can help me study for it?"

Her eyes widen and she stops walking completely. "Wait." Grace turns to him and puts a hand on his shoulder before pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

Nick vaguely realizes that his own hand is rising up to hold her side but then she touches his neck and his mind almost goes blank with buzzing noises. His hand keeps rising until it finds her arm, almost subconsciously. He doesn't even know what she's saying at this point. Both hands are on his shoulders now, and he's looking around, just to make sure the world isn't spinning. Everything looks dull in comparison to her.

What's that about studying?

Oh. Right.

"Yes, I actually decided I wanna know stuff, alright?" His laughter continually escapes him and she's still touching him and oh God he doesn't want her to let go but if she doesn't he might lose a few brain cells.