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“Want to grab breakfast at the cafe after I get dressed?”

He scrunches up his nose, which is fucking adorable. “It’s probably full of students at this time.”

“Uh, yeah…most humans need to eat, I’m pretty sure.” I rub the back of my neck.

“I don’t…like crowds.”

Oh.

Ooohhh.

That makes sense. If he’s awkward with everyone, he would want to avoid crowded spaces. “Oh, we could walk over to the coffee shop. Better muffins. Less people."

Quinn looks at me like he’s running the variables of hanging out with me.

“I already ate,” he finally says.

I glance at his coffee mug. “Coffee doesn’t count as substance,” I say.

He stares at me like I grew another head. “Sustenance. And I had a granola bar.”

“That’s what I said,” I say with a grin. Then add, “Those 100 calorie things? Okay, now you have to come. I’ll buy. And I’ll even let you sit with your back against the wall.” I slip off my bed and grab my boxers, jeans, and a t-shirt. The first one I can grab, which so happens to be a shirt my mom got me for Christmas last year. A Periodic table across the chest. I wear this shirt periodically underneath.

Fitting. I do have chemistry today.

I head to the bathroom to change. When I come back out, Quinn’s eyes go to the shirt, then to my face, then back to the shirt.

“That’s inaccurate,” he says.

“The joke or the table?”

“The joke is fine. The table is missing elements if it is supposed to be current.”

I look down. I never noticed. “My mom is not part of the IUPAC.”

The corner of his mouth moves, and I’m pretty sure that got a better huff of a laugh than earlier.

“Third street coffee house,” he says. “Not the one on Union.”

“Deal.” I shove my feet into my shoes and try not to look as if I just won the lottery. Step one of making him my friend: started. “Give me two minutes. I need to brush my teeth and wash my face so I can look less like I slept on my textbook.”

“Yeah. You have what could be ink on your cheek.”

“See. We can be friends.”

He blinks, then picks up his backpack and stands. “I’ll be outside.”

I let the grin spread over my face as he disappears out the door. And I resist punching the air in celebration. We will be friends in no time, and then…maybe he will willingly help me if I struggle in class. Not that I’m doing it for that reason, that just happens to be a bonus.

Two minutes. Teeth. Face. Hair. I grab my bag and take the stairs two at a time before he changes his mind.

He’s waiting on the front steps with his backpack square on both shoulders, already angled toward Third. He glances at me as the door shuts and then immediately starts walking toward the coffee house. I fall into step next to him and shove my hands into the pockets of my hoodie.

The coffee shop is half full when we arrive. Quinn scans the room once and heads for a two-top in the back corner of the room. I follow, and he slides into the seat facing the room.

“What do you want?” I ask.

“Tea. Earl gray. Small.”