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It was happening, Adam thought, as he packed his things. He was getting out of Henrietta. He was going to college.
He'd chosen James Madison University because one, it was a state school with relatively low tuition, and two, they were pretty generous with the financial aid; it turned out that the prestige of Aglionby was actually good for something. And most importantly, number three: it was on the ley line, so he could still fulfill his obligations to Cabeswater.
He wouldn't miss Aglionby, and he wouldn't miss Henrietta. Almost everyone he would have missed was gone, anyway. Blue and Gansey were somewhere in medieval Wales, and maybe not being in Henrietta would help keep him from missing them. Persephone had died almost a year ago, and he still missed her.
There was only one person he'd miss. And he was coming up the stairs now.
A quick knock on the door, and then Ronan threw the door open. "Hey."
"Hey."
They slid into each other's arms awkwardly, limbs going every which way, mouths and chins bumping, trying to find a way to fit. Ronan had been angry with him for leaving, and he'd been angry with Ronan for not understanding why he needed to leave, but none of that seemed to matter now that it was happening.
"I'll scry when I can," Adam said when they broke apart. "Cabeswater will let me into your dreams."
"AT&T's more reliable," said Ronan, and he tossed something onto the bed. "Happy going-away present."
It was a smartphone, not the newest model, but not entirely obsolete either. He looked at it.
"It's not a live scorpion, Parrish. Pick it up."
He did. It fit into his palm, a matte black rectangle. "Did you dream it?"
"Why not? I've had practice." Their eyes met for a moment, as close as they'd come to acknowledging what they'd done to Greenmantle. One of many things they didn't talk about.
"Well, unless you've also dreamed me a service plan, I can't afford it." He dropped it back on the bed.
"I added it to mine."
Resentment, thick and spiky, surrounded him with a fortress of vines and thorns. Adam felt it like a live thing coiling around him. "I can't accept that," he said, his voice flat. "You can't –"
"Shut up," said Ronan. "The phone is a present to you. The service plan is a present to me, because my asshole boyfriend is going away to college, and I'd like to be able to get in touch with him in ways that don't involve a supernatural forest." He leaned forward and scooped it off the bed again, then pressed it into Adam's hand. "I'm going to text you. And you're going to text me back. And if I can't make it over to Harrisburg on a weekend we can have phone sex."
"Oh, great. Is that you yelling, 'Fuck you, Parrish' into the phone?" But he couldn't keep the smile off his face, and he couldn't keep from running his finger along the dark case. He was Ronan's asshole boyfriend. That was good for something.
"I've programmed in my number and the psychics' house. If you want to call anyone else you can figure it out." Ronan gave him an evil smile. "And don't bother trying to change the ringtone."
"Oh, no," said Adam.
"Oh, yes," said Ronan. He pulled out his own phone and poked at it. "You're number one on my speed dial."
Squash one, squash two, sang the matte black phone.