Chapter Text
As they walked back to the rapidly emptying parking lot, Adam only half-paid attention to whatever nonsense Gansey was sprouting, while Ronan replied mockingly, seemingly only for Adam to hear. Adam felt terrible for not giving Gansey his whole attention, as he seemed genuinely invested in what he was saying, but Ronan made the task very difficult when it went something like this:
“And they say that Glendower could still be in these parts!”
“My name is Richard Gansey the Third and I am a massive virgin.”
“I was reading this one article from a very well-renowned historian that-“
“I’m not saying dead guys are my kink, but that is exactly what I’m saying.”
“-fantastic documentary about this, but they always forget to include-“
“If I keep this up, King Dick’s dick is gonna get all shriveled up.”
Adam elbowed Ronan, trying desperately not to crack up. Ronan looked down at Adam and clutched his gut where Adam elbowed, a sharp grin nearly splitting his face in half. Unfortunately for the two of them, Ronan had said that last part a little too loudly, and Gansey laid a disparaging eye on Ronan while letting out a heavy sigh.
“Ronan, we have established time and time again how disinterested you are in this concept. I’m just trying to explain it to Adam for his own information. This is really interesting research, and I genuinely think he would be interested in it if you stopped distracting him.”
“You think you’re gonna recruit every new person you meet to your hunt of a dead guy, Dick. And how many did it work on so far? One, if you count Noah-“
“Let’s not count Noah,” Noah chimed in, wedging himself between Adam and Ronan. While Ronan and Gansey continued on in their argument, Noah turned directly to Adam.
“I’ve never seen Ronan in such good spirits.”
That took Adam aback. He felt his good eye widen slightly as he glanced over at the paler boy, as if waiting for the punchline. Instead, Noah looked back at him, sincerely and kindly, assessing his reaction.
Adam paused for a minute before asking, “What do you mean?”
Noah shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets and kicking a nearby rock across the parking lot.
“Exactly that. I haven’t seen Ronan smile this much in a day before. He’s more talkative, too. I think we have you to thank for that.”
If Adam was taken aback before, he was downright speechless now. He felt his mouth moving, as if it knew it should be responding, but his mind came up completely empty. How was he supposed to respond to something like that?
If Adam was being completely honest, he was just as mesmerized with this change in character as Noah seemed to be. Less than a week ago, Adam referred to Ronan in his head as “the shaven-head menace”. He hated his attitude, hated Gansey’s attitude, and hated Noah by association. Now, not only was he becoming friends with all of them, but he seemed to see a completely new side of Ronan especially, one that surprised him more than he would care to admit. He thought back to just this morning, when Ronan looked at his battered body with what could only be described as pure concern. He thought of that moment in the parking lot, after he had parked, before Gansey knocked on his window. The way he had caught Ronan looking at him was nothing short of soft, if not downright caring. A Ronan Lynch who cared about Adam’s wellbeing was easily to most wild turn in Adam’s life, that much was obvious from how the school day had went with him not leaving Adam’s side. How was he supposed to put all of that into words for Noah? If he said it out loud, he felt as if this impossible change would actually become impossible; it will all just be a delusion Adam had created to feel as if he fit in with anyone from Aglionby.
Mercifully, Noah didn’t seem to expect a response from him. He seemed to notice how fast the gears were turning in Adam’s mind, and gave them a minute until they started to slow down. He continued on after a few seconds of silence, talking even more quietly now.
“Ronan’s been needing a friend like you, Adam. And I think you’ve needed a friend like him, too.”
Adam noted how Noah didn’t use the word us. He made a point to only refer to Ronan, despite the fact that the three of them were practically a package deal.
“Is there something you’re trying to tell me, Noah?” Adam asked after a long silence, not understanding the deeper meaning that was clearly behind Noah’s words.
Noah simply shook his head and stopped as they approached Gansey’s orange monstrosity of a vehicle. Adam noticed with a start that Gansey and Ronan had paused their argument in front of Ronan’s BMW several spots down from them, leaving Adam and Noah to have their conversation privately.
“I just want you to know that we aren’t your enemies, Adam. You may think we are from the cars we drive and the clothes we wear, but like it or not, both Gansey and Ronan have taken to you. And I like you, too. You seemed to fit right in with us from the start. First impressions aside, we all have a lot more in common than you may think we do. You can trust us with anything- we’re friends now. So please don’t push us away from you.”
That was the most he had ever heard Noah speak at one time. His words hit Adam differently than he was expecting them to. He felt the sincerity of his words to his core. The kindness etched into his impish face made Noah look for a moment much older and more mature than Adam was expecting . Noah had a casual demeanor and an I-don’t-give-a-fuck posture, but Adam realized that he was much more perceptive than most, and wiser than he would allow anyone to believe. And this was only the first full conversation Adam has had with him. These guys were unbelievable.
While he was still figuring out how to respond, Gansey came up from behind Noah and shuffled around for his keys for a second.
“Sorry, Noah! If I had noticed you came over here, I would have unlocked the car for you.”
“Nah, it’s good,” Noah waved him off. “Adam and I were just talking.”
Gansey looked up after finding his keys and grinned happily at the two of them.
“That’s great to hear! Hey, Adam, if you’re not too busy today, we were going to drive to the public archives to find a few documents that might help out with my research. Do you want to come?”
Adam was just about to make the mistake of asking what research, before he realized it was about the dead guy Ronan was joking about. The thought of Gansey’s strange obsession brought a lopsided smile to Adam’s beaten up face; maybe Gansey really was human, after all.
“Sorry, Gansey,” he replied, checking his scratched-up watch. “I have work in a half-hour.”
Before the disappointed look could once again come over Gansey’s face, Adam spoke again without thinking, much to his surprise.
“But I don’t have work on Saturday, so I can help out with whatever you need then.”
Gansey looked elated, like a kid at an amusement park who just found out he was tall enough to ride. Noah gave Adam a knowing grin as well upon hearing this, and pat Adam on the shoulder before ducking into the orange death-trap.
“I hope you know what you’re signing up for, Adam.”
With that, Adam watched as the Camaro shuddered itself to life and miraculously managed to peel out of the parking lot without leaving any crucial pieces behind.
Adam turned back to where Ronan and his BMW were parked and saw that it was the last car in the lot. Without all of the expensive and colorful cars filling up the lot, it looked massive to Adam, and for some reason he thought it would be a great place to roller skate with someone on a date, underneath the light of the lampposts. He could imagine how peaceful that would be.
Wait, what?
Adam frowned at that bizarre and abrupt thought, struggling to remember the last time he even went roller skating. And since when has Adam seen things for their romantic value?
He shook his head dismissively as he walked toward the BMW and its owner casually leaning against the driver’s side door, oblivious to the strange dialogue Adam just had with himself in his own head. However, Ronan seemed to be going through his own inner dialogue as he looked thoughtfully at Adam as he slowly approached. The look on his face made Adam wonder- not for the first time, and undoubtedly not for the last- what he was thinking. When Adam got within earshot, Ronan spoke up.
“I hope you just didn’t say yes to Gansey’s one-man cult.”
Adam chuckled as he stopped in front of Ronan, arms crossed.
“What can I say, he’s very convincing. A true politician.”
Ronan yet again barked out another laugh as he shrugged, “Hey, they say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
He tossed his car keys up into the air and pushed himself off from the car door, ready to get going. However, Adam still stood in front of him, as if waiting for something.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked, opening the driver’s side door, but not getting in yet.
Adam’s smile faded a little bit, his eyebrows scrunching together as he shifted his weight from one foot to his other.
“Can you pop the trunk?” he asked, sticking his thumb toward said trunk.
“Why the fuck would I do that?”
Adam hesitated for a second, as if debating if Ronan was serious or not. “So I can get my bike?”
Ronan shook his head and closed the driver’s side door, though this time not with much force at all. He let out a sigh and turned to fully face Adam and his beaten-up frame.
“I heard you tell Gansey you have work soon. Where do you work?”
“Boyd’s,” Adam responded, frowning slightly. Ronan nodded in response; he knew the place- people who knew nothing about cars (like Gansey) frequented Boyd’s. In fact, Aglionby boys driving recklessly is probably what has kept the old man in business these days. Ronan guessed that Adam must be one of the shop-hands. That would explain why he was so quick to fix Gansey’s tire the other day.
“Alright,” Ronan said, giving a nod toward the BMW. “Get in. I’m driving you.”
Before Adam could as much as even think of a retort to that, Ronan continued on, slightly louder.
“I’m driving you until at least it doesn’t look like you’ll die from being breathed on wrong, okay? It’s not permanent, but I do have your bike held hostage. So it’s either I drive or you walk, and just in case you were considering it, I’m not letting you walk.”
Adam looked as if he was trying very hard to think of something to say, a reason to say no to him. Then, as if he remembered something somebody said, he took a deep breath and closed his good eye for a moment. After a very long moment, he opened his eye again and nodded.
“Okay,” he said softly. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem,” Ronan snorted at the formality of their agreement and turned once again to open the driver’s side door. As he got behind the wheel, he saw Adam make his way around to the other side, and open the passenger side door.
As he got in and gently closed the door, he turned urgently to Ronan once more, his eyebrows furrowed in a way that made him look like a lost puppy.
“But I will pay you back for gas at the end of this.”
Ronan groaned and turned the key to the BMW, hearing the engine roar to life and hoping it was loud enough to drown out his racing heart.
Adam-God damn-Parrish, he thought to himself as he whipped the BMW out of the parking lot, turning right to get to Boyd’s.
“Asshole,” he said out loud, trying and failing to keep the fondness out of his voice.