Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️TWENTY-TWO: THINGS WILL ONLY GET STRANGER⚠️

You had barely stepped out of your new classroom when you bumped into Sue, looking like business as always.

"(Y/n), could I speak with you?" she asked.

"Oh. Uh, sure," you agreed, and she led you to her room, closing the door behind you.

You looked around, and you realized it looked a lot like Lawrence's room, but there were key differences. Sue had her sticky notes color-coded and lined up on the wall neatly, a separate row for the things she finished already. Her papers were in small metal baskets by the window, and she had a stack of notebooks labeled in neat handwriting.

"Have a seat," she said, pulling out a spare chair for you. She pulled out her own chair and sat across from you, crossing her ankles.

"I'll make this quick. I know you didn't start that fire," Sue said.

"What do you mean?" you asked. Of course it hadn't been you, but how could she know?

"Because I know who did. And if my predictions are right, then things around here will only get stranger," she explained.

"Why are you telling me this?" you asked next, feeling even more confused about the events of that day.

"It just feels right," she told you, standing up. "And I want you to know that I'm your ally, and you can trust me. Can I trust you, (Y/n)?"

"Um, yeah, you can," you said, standing up as well.

Sue gave you a small smile. "Glad to hear it. Stay safe," she said, moving you back to the door and pushing you out quickly.

"And if anyone asks, we never had this conversation," she added, closing the door before you could get in a word.

You heard someone coming down the hall so you quickly moved away from Sue's room, going towards your own and pretending like you just came out.

It was just Harry who came around the corner, smiling when he saw you. You gave him a smile back, walking up to him.

"We should go back to taking pictures," he said, and you agreed. Hopefully doing that would keep your mind busy. Harry reached into his pocket, but it came out empty. He checked the other one, his eyebrows knitting in confusion.

"Maybe you left it outside?" you suggested. He looked doubtful but he turned and started for the steps anyways, going down them two at a time. You had to rush to catch up with him as he pushed through the entrance doors outside, where the sun was lowering.

The two of you searched the the yard for the camera for a good half an hour before Harry gave up. "It's not here," he said, looking defeated.

"Did you put it back in your room?" you asked.

Harry shook his head. "I haven't even been back in my room since we were outside earlier." he told you.

"Then where could it be?" you sighed, looking around.

Harry sat down in the grass. "Maybe I dropped it somewhere in the school. Or maybe one of the others picked it up," he thought out loud.

"Maybe we should ask them," you said.

"There's already enough suspicion because of the fire. I don't want to make it worse," he admit. "Maybe we'll give it a few days, see if it comes up. Then we can ask."

"Okay," you relented, sitting next to him. He put his arm around you, giving you his usual warm smile.

"Don't worry about it, (Y/n)," he told you. "Even if it never comes up, it's not that big of a deal."

You were eased by his comforting voice, and any stress from the day's events melted away.

"Thanks for always being so kind to me, Harry," you said, looking up at the darkening sky. You could always depend on him.

"I try," he said with a small laugh. "I just love seeing you when you're happy. It makes me wish when this is all over, that you'll always be smiling."

Your heart swelled at his words and you couldn't help but blush.

"Okay, you two lovebirds," called a voice from across the yard, and you turned to see Zion standing at the entrance doors. "You gonna stay out here stargazing all night, or are you gonna come eat?"

Embarrassed, you quickly got to your feet, dusting grass off your clothes. Harry did the same, picking a piece of grass out of your hair with a smile before taking the lead back to the school.

The two of you went back up to 1-C, and when you went in everyone was already there besides Lawrence.

You and Harry took two empty seats next to Eugene, who gave a slight wave. "Is Lawrence coming?" he asked, putting his hands over his stomach. "I'm starving."

You shrugged, realizing you were hungry too. "We didn't see him," you told Eugene.

You glanced over at Sue, who had one of her notebooks open in front of her. She wasn't writing anything and you guessed she was waiting for the leader as well.

It was another ten minutes before the door opened and Lawrence came in. "Sorry I'm late. I had to finish something," he apologized, going over to the main table to spread out food.

Eugene immediately went for the chips, beginning to dig in, and you decided on a pack of granola bars. You took a bite, watching as Harry opened a pop tart.

"Man, I never thought I'd say this, but I think we're all getting tired of this junk food," Jay complained, stuffing a handful of cheese goldfish in his mouth.

"Speak for yourself," Eugene replied, polishing off his chips.

"Well, we aren't all junk addicts like you," Zion retorted, taking one of Jay's goldfish and flicking it across the table at the younger boy and hitting him right in the face.

"Shut up," Eugene grumbled, throwing it back but missing Zion by a long shot, making Jay snicker.

The rest of dinner was mostly quiet, everyone too tired to make much of a fuss, and Lawrence and Sue working off to the side just like that morning. As soon as you finished your food you got up, deciding to go to bed.

"Night, (Y/n)," Harry said through a yawn, rubbing his eyes. "Sleep well."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Jay called teasingly.

"Watch out for caterpillars," you fired back, and Jay crossed his arms, turning red in embarrassment while Zion laughed at him.

You walked out of 1-C, towards your room instinctively, before remembering and backtracking to your new room, the one you shared with Lawrence.

You closed the door gently, going over to lay down in your blanket, the darkness and faint conversation of the others soothing you to sleep.

And there were no bed bugs or caterpillars, but there were nightmares.