Chapter Text
Ronan slams the passenger door of the outrageously orange Camaro shut and sighs that little bit extra loudly as he sinks into the seat.
Gansey doesn’t pay his theatrics a second glance and he’s already turning the keys, clicking in his seatbelt and giving him a stern look over his designer sunglasses to do the same.
Ronan glares at him for moment but he knows Gansey won’t leave Monmouth Manufacturing until he buckles his stupid seat belt so he does so, for the sole reason that he’s starving and wants a pizza from Nino’s as soon as possible.
He can feel his hands burning with the heat of the surprisingly hot October day and he can feel his powers simmering beneath the surface so he clenches one of his fists in his lap and wraps the other around the roof handle just to have something to ground him.
Noah sits in the back rambling about the latest episode of RuPaul’s fucking Drag Race and Ronan tunes him out because he really couldn’t care less and opts to stare out the window and he wishes he was the one driving right now instead of Gansey.
Five minutes ago he had his BMW keys in hand and was walking to his car with Noah trailing behind him, ready to drive the three of them to Nino’s when Gansey insisted that he was going to drive them in the Camaro.
Ronan whirled around to him and almost punched a fist in the window of his car because Gansey always fucking did this.
The excuses were always the same, “I just got her checked out, I want to make sure she still runs smoothly”, “I’ve some homework in the back that I want you to look over as we drive”, “I need to get it washed, I may as well do that on the way back”.
But Ronan knew what they all meant, “I don’t trust you not to get us all killed with your reckless driving” but of course Gansey would never say that out loud.
Ronan couldn’t even be pissed at Gansey for doubting him if it was because he was a demon.
Demons will always have more stereotypes associated with them than precious angels like Noah but Gansey really doesn’t care that Ronan’s a demon.
When Ronan had told him, Gansey didn’t even look up from the extra credit English essay he was writing and said, “Well that explains why you’ve such a fiery temper.”
Noah had laughed at the pun. Ronan had not.
But no Gansey just hates Ronan’s driving because he drives like he’s nothing to live for. Gansey actually told him that once and that he was worried that’s why he drove so fast because that’s how he really felt, that Ronan didn’t care if he crashed and wound up dead in the local morgue.
Ronan had forced himself not to roll his eyes and tried to be genuine as he promised that wasn’t why he drove fast.
He drove fast because it stopped his brain from overthinking. Instead of his hands constantly feeling like they were going to burst with their constant heat, his whole body buzzed with electricity and burning warmth.
It was a distraction that made him feel more alive than anything ever could. He wanted to feel alive, he didn’t want to die.
Gansey had said he understood but he still insisted on driving whenever they went anywhere together and although it annoyed Ronan like nothing else, he wasn’t going to cause a fight over it, fighting with Gansey was never worth it.
If there was only one thing in the world that made Ronan Lynch feel guilty, Richard Campbell Gansey the Third’s disappointed eyes were it.
They’re pulling into Nino’s when Gansey finally speaks,
“By the way, I invited Adam Parrish along so be civil.”
Gansey looks at both Noah and Ronan when he says this but one doesn’t have to be a genius to know his words are aimed at Ronan.
“Parrish?” Ronan scoffs, relishing in unbuckling his belt the second Gansey pulls into a parking space and turning to face him, “From school? Why the fuck would you invite him?”
He hears Noah whisper, “I think he’s nice” from the backseat but Ronan doesn’t even look at him, his eyes fixed on Gansey who sighs and turns off the ignition.
“Because like Noah said he’s a nice kid” Ronan can’t help but feel like Gansey is a parent trying to talk their child around to a play date they arranged with the only kid in school they dislike, that wasn’t to say Ronan disliked Adam in particular, Ronan just happened to dislike everyone, “I told you he helped me fix my car last week remember? When it broke down on one of the many mornings I drove to school while you decided once again not to attend? I asked him to let me pay him back.”
“And you’re going to do that by taking him to Nino’s?” Ronan makes sure to emphasis the diner’s name with particular distaste.
Nino’s is your typical greasy pizzeria with its mediocre food and cheesy music, Ronan much preferred the take out place closer to Monmouth as their fries tasted way better but Gansey took a liking to Nino’s so of course it became their regular.
And when Ronan said Gansey took a liking to Nino’s, he meant Gansey took a liking to the pretty girl with short black hair who worked as a waitress there.
Blue had been the newest addition to what Noah liked to grin and call their ‘squad’ and Ronan hadn’t even warmed up to her yet so in his opinion it was a little unfair for Gansey to introduce Parrish into their friendship so soon after the damn pixie.
Admittedly Ronan knows very few things about Adam Parrish.
He knows the general stuff; that Adam transferred to Aglionby Academy at the start of this school year from the public school on the other side of Henrietta.
He’s pretty sure he works at a mechanics or is just constantly working on cars because Ronan has noticed leftover grease under his fingernails while Adam took notes in class.
That wasn’t to say Ronan stared at Adam a lot, only that Adam just so happened to be seated in front of him in Latin class and since Ronan could only take staring into space or outside the window for so long, he occasionally took to watching the attractive boy’s movements as a way to pass the time.
This leads Ronan to the third and last thing he knows about Adam Parrish, he’s clever. When their teacher asks the class a question, Parrish is one of the only ones willing to raise their hand and Ronan has never witnessed him be wrong about the answer.
He’s watched Parrish’s reaction when their tests were given back, never caring to look at his own results and he noticed that most people probably couldn’t tell Parrish did well as he didn’t grin or high five his best friend as the other boys usually did.
Instead his shoulders merely dropped with Ronan assumed to be relief and only then would Ronan realise just how tensed they had previously been and how stiff they always were.
Needless to say he’s not the type of guy Ronan would expect to be having dinner with in Nino’s of all places.
Sure, he can see Gansey and Parrish being friends, both smart, Parrish is probably just as much of a nerd about school things as Gansey and he seems friendly enough even though he’s never spoken to Ronan but that’s normal for the majority of Aglionby students.
But picturing Adam Parrish sitting across the table from him? Listening to his crass jokes and being on the other side of his glares? Well that’s something Ronan definitely never thought would happen and he’d no idea why Gansey would think of it being a good idea.
Gansey doesn’t respond and he simply gives him that Gansey look that basically tells Ronan to just please go along with this.
Ronan feels a small hand squeeze his shoulder and he knows it’s Noah so he doesn’t shove him off; it’s a rare day when he can deny Noah Czerny anything. That’s probably because he reminds him so much of Matthew. They are both angels after all.
Growing up the son of a demon father and fallen angel mother, Ronan hadn’t grown up with the prejudices many demons did of opting to stay away from angels and even humans to an extend as they only ever tried to change them and Ronan has learned that most angels are taught the same thing about demons.
Noah never seemed to care about being in Ronan’s presence though. The only times he mentions what Ronan is, are when he’s making a pun or a stupid joke and Ronan never talks about the fact that Noah’s an angel.
Gansey, the only human in their friend group, well before Blue and apparently Adam wandered into their lives, used to constantly ask him questions about his life and how it worked and what was different about the two of them.
Ronan had looked him dead in the eye and said, “The difference between Noah and me Gansey is he’s an annoying prick and I’m not.”
His car keys had suspiciously gone missing for the next two days until he muttered an apology to Noah and to this day Ronan’s not sure which one of them stole his keys but he wasn’t exactly going to ask.
“Come on” Noah says gently and it’s only then that Ronan realises Gansey has gotten out of the car, “I know you don’t like meeting new people but Adam seems nice. He’s in my English class, we’ve talked a bit.”
Ronan silently curses Noah and his ability to always fucking know everything but he winds up nodding and opening the door to get out of the car anyway.
Blue is waitressing this evening because of course she is and once they enter the diner she smiles at them, well she smiles at Gansey and Noah and glowers at Ronan and points to a booth in the corner where Adam is waiting patiently, his hands lying comfortably on the table and his eyes trained out the window.
He’s so still he almost looks like a damn portrait, except for the denim jeans and baggy seaweed colour t-shirt he’s wearing and the bags around his eyes that Ronan can see from the doorway.
Gansey and Noah walk immediately towards him so Ronan of course has to follow, Gansey sits beside Adam and Noah sits on the inside of the booth across from him so Ronan has no choice but to sit diagonally across from Adam which isn’t so bad, at least he’s sitting on the outside so he can escape if he needs to.
They all exchange pleasant greetings and ‘how are you?’s but Ronan only nods in greeting after he shoves off his jacket and mutters a gruff “Parrish” in his direction, if Adam is surprised by his lack of communication, he doesn’t show it.
It doesn’t take more than five minutes for Blue to come over and ask their order and Gansey suggests they all share a pizza between them and whoever wanted fries and drinks could get them too and they could pay for whatever they got afterwards.
Usually they get at least two pizzas between them and split the bill but maybe Gansey wanted to be more polite with Adam joining them, Ronan notices Adam’s shoulders drop slightly just as they do in class out of the corner of his eye so he knows not to mention anything.
After they order and Blue brings them their drinks, Adam casually asks how the three of them ended up living together.
Noah and Gansey both took a furtive glance at Ronan which of course the clever Adam Parrish instantly caught.
Ronan sighs and turns to speak to Adam for the first time that evening,
“Well it’s simply really, when Gansey and I started our love affair our parents kicked us out so we made Monmouth Manufacturing our love nest and well then Noah fell in love with us and we just couldn’t let him go he moved in with us too and now we all happily live together as the gayest polyamorous couple in Virginia.” He grins sharply when he sees the embarrassed flush in Adam’s cheeks.
Gansey splutters while Noah laughs as he bites on the top of the straw in his glass of fizzling coke and Ronan’s sure he can hear Blue snorting from where she’s supposed to be working a few tables away.
“That’s not-” Gansey says quickly, “He’s joking! Ronan likes to joke a lot.”
“Aw Gansey darling,” Noah whines “Don’t deny our love!”
Ronan smirks and leans back, folding his arms while delighting in the sudden crease in Adam’s brow but he wasn’t expecting the bright smile that soon appears on Adam’s face.
“I’m not surprised. It only proves the rumours that have been circulating all year were true. The whole school is very happy for you guys.”
Ronan definitely hears Blue laugh loudly as she walks by the table and catches the proud glance she throws at Adam and Ronan’s sure she’s dying to high-five him right now.
Ronan and Adam stare at each other for a long moment and then Ronan grins again and turns back to Gansey who’s watching him carefully as if unsure of what his next move will be.
“You know what Gansey?” Ronan says, wrapping his fingers around his drink and bringing the glass to his lips, wishing something alcoholic had been dropped into it, “I think Parrish might be alright after all.”
Noah claps his hands together and excitedly talks about Adam joining the ‘squad’ while Gansey tries to look impassive but Ronan catches the relief and happiness lurking behind his gaze.
Adam says nothing though; he just nods along to Noah’s words and doesn’t seem at all intimidated or uncomfortable at how quickly Noah is growing attached to him.
Once the pizza arrives and Blue joins them on her break, it quickly becomes the Blue and Gansey flirtation show while Ronan, Noah and Adam turn into three third wheels.
For once, Ronan couldn’t care about Gansey’s attention being averted because for one there’s food and two, it means the explanation of the real reason why Ronan and Noah and Gansey all live together has been dropped.
It’s not that Ronan cares what other people think about him, he certainly doesn’t care about what Adam Parrish of all people thinks about him but it’s not a topic he likes to discuss a lot and he knows it’s a similar situation for Noah.
“Are they always like this?” Adam whispers across the table, eyes glancing towards the two lovebirds sitting beside them.
There isn’t even enough room for the three of them on the seat, Adam is pressed as far as he can get to the window while Blue is half sitting on Gansey’s lap but Ronan doubts she or Gansey are complaining about that.
“Pretty much” Ronan huffs
“I think they’re cute.” Noah wistfully says at the same time
Ronan glowers at him, “They’re not even together”
Adam looks at Gansey and Blue who have their heads so close together as they talk to each other that they may as well be kissing and looks back to Ronan with a raised eyebrow,
“Are you sure about that?”
Ronan isn’t sure. But he likes to think he knows Gansey better than Adam Parrish and if he’d gotten himself a girlfriend, Ronan would assume that Gansey would tell him.
Ronan’s expecting it of course and he wouldn’t be surprised if Gansey was dating the weird dressing short girl but he’d probably need to shoot some fireballs at a wall with Kavinsky if he found out they’d been dating without telling him.
Ronan Lynch grits his teeth at the thought.
Joseph Kavinsky is the reason negative stereotypes about demons exist with his not so secret drug business and the unknown deaths of his parents always tracing back to him yet he’s never been charged with anything.
Kavinsky may be the worst person that Ronan Lynch knows and Ronan knows quite a few sketchy people but he’s also one of the few demons Ronan has ever known and the only one willing to teach Ronan how to use his powers other than his late father.
Gansey hates him and Ronan has never known Gansey to hate anybody and whenever Ronan leaves to see Kavinsky, Gansey does all but beg him not to go.
Ronan says the same thing every time, “He’s the only one who can help me, the only one who can teach me about who I am.”
Gansey responds with the same words every time too, “It’s not all you are Ronan and we can find someone else. Declan has said-“
And that’s usually when Ronan storms out the door because the last thing he needs is his best friend sticking up for his brother.
Declan had tried to find tutors for Ronan to control the fire that rests below the surface of his palms, to stop him almost setting fire to Monmouth on at least four different occasions as he slept, he would have set the whole building on fire if it hadn’t been for Gansey’s insomnia as he’d been awake and was able to put out the fire before it turned into more than a few flames and smoke.
All of Ronan’s tutors had given up after the first lesson.
Maybe Ronan was too difficult to work with as a person or maybe his powers were damaged and uncontrollable like Kavinsky always said.
Noah snaps his fingers in front of Ronan’s eyes and Ronan snaps out of his thoughts to glare at him and swat his hand away.
“What the fuck?”
“We’re leaving Lynch, come on”
Ronan blinks and realises the others have all stood up, their food eaten and drinks gone. Ronan’s own plate is cleared even though he can’t recall finishing his fries and multiple slices of pizza.
Gansey and Blue are standing beside the table, Blue has a tray under her arm and she’s gazing up at Gansey and nodding along to whatever wondrous tales he’s telling her of.
Adam stands behind them, searching through his wallet and Ronan forces himself to tear his eyes away, somehow he feels guiltier watching Adam frown at his wallet than watching Gansey and Blue cosy up to each other with barely an inch between them.
Ronan steps out of the booth and stands, stepping aside so Noah can exit the booth too.
Ronan reaches into his pocket and takes out a note with some old president on it that he could never remember the name of but knows it’ll more than cover what he ordered.
He slaps it onto Gansey’s chest and Gansey jumps in surprise and catches the bill with one hand and tears his eyes away from Blue to raise his eyebrows at him.
Shrugging, Ronan tugs his leather jacket back on and walks backwards towards the door,
“I’m going to wait in the car, if there’s any change give it to our dearest Blue over here” Blue shoots him a death glare so he just smiles sweetly back, “Adam, hope you didn’t find our presence too revolting, see you in class on Monday, or not, I’ll see how hungover I’ll be.”
Adam glances up from his wallet once he heard his name and nods when Ronan finishes his sentence while Noah rolls his eyes at his words.
“I’ll come with you” Noah says, handing his money to Gansey as well, “Adam, lovely seeing you again, please do come out with us more, you’re excellent company.”
A faint blush tints Adam’s cheeks but Ronan turns his back on him as soon as he sees it so he doesn’t have to think about it and he walks out, leaving his hand on the open door for a second longer than necessary so Noah can follow through.
Walking to the car, all Noah can do is babble about how amazing Adam is and Ronan silently swears that if Noah becomes as lovesick for Adam as Gansey is for Blue, he might just set Monmouth on fire on purpose.
Stepping into the passenger seat, Ronan ignores the nagging ache in his stomach and Kavinsky’s voice in his head pushing him to get in the driver’s seat instead and just drive.
“And he’s so smart too!” Noah continues as he clambers in the middle of backseat and shuts the door behind him, “Did you know he’s been acing all our pop quizzes in Latin? Even I got a B minus in that one two weeks ago but he said he found it okay. He didn’t seem to want to tell me that he was doing so well, I think I embarrassed him but still! Can you believe it?”
“Wait, when the hell were you two talking about Latin?” Ronan asks, turning in his seat to frown at Noah who looks like a kid on a sugar high as he jumps up and down in his seat.
“When you were all spaced out” Noah says, waving his hands, “But I just thought it was cool because you know usually only people who are like us are good at Latin.”
Ronan nods and turns back in his seat, staring out into the night through the windshield.
Noah is right, angels and demons tend to excel at Latin because it’s in the blood and they were the ones who originated the language centuries ago.
It doesn’t help that their Latin teacher at Aglionby Academy is awful and can’t teach for shit, so much so that Gansey usually spends his insomniac nights studying Latin in an effort to do as well in it as he does in all his other subjects, both compulsory and the unnecessary extra ones he takes ‘for fun’.
Gansey’s easily the smartest person in the year, everyone knows that and yet even he struggles to get a B in Latin so Ronan must admit that it is strange how well Adam does in it.
Maybe he’s friends with an angel or demon who tutors him; he most certainly can’t be one.
One can usually tell if someone isn’t human by looking at them. Noah and Matthew have the same similar light hair and bright smiles and shining, attractive personality that the majority of angels have.
Ronan and Kavinsky have the same sharp features, unpleasant attitudes and repellent personalities associated with demons.
A lot of humans aren’t exactly intuitive so they don’t notice but angels and demons can usually recognise one another; maybe because they’ve been warned about the other for so long.
But Adam was something else, some sort of enigma that Ronan had never thought he’d want to figure out, yet here he is sitting in the passenger seat of Gansey’s Camaro thinking about him.
Whatever Adam Parrish is, whether it be human, angel, devil or something else undiscovered, Ronan had a feeling that if he was going to start spending more time with them as Noah hoped then they’d probably discover whatever he is sooner or later.
Ronan’s stomach twists again because he knows what that means.
If they are going to find out what Adam is or isn’t, that means eventually he’ll find out what Ronan is if he doesn’t already know and God knows how he’s going to take that.
Gansey finally gets into the car ten minutes later and gives Noah and Ronan their change back, murmuring how he paid for Blue’s tip himself and waits until everyone’s ready, and of course buckled in to start the car, blast his really bad old music before driving back to Monmouth.
On the way, Gansey asks over the music if it’s okay with them if Blue and Adam come over some day to help him on some history project that Ronan knows Gansey doesn’t need any help on.
Noah predictably says, “Of course!” very excitedly while Ronan just nods.
It seemed their ‘squad’ as Noah calls it has quickly grown from three, to four and now to five and while Ronan should feel sick at the thought of being surrounded by more people on a regular basis now maybe this way he’ll be able to figure out the mystery that is Adam Parrish before Adam uncovers the mystery that is Ronan Lynch.