Chapter Text
Mara had become very good at not looking at June. It was a skill she'd developed over the past six months. She didn't look when June walked into the classroom ten minutes late, hair still damp from the rain. She didn't look when June laughed at something her friend whispered, tipping her head back in that way that made Mara's stomach do something deeply inconvenient. And she definitely didn't look when June sat beside her.
Except—
“Hey.”
Mara looked.
June smiled.
And there went six months of practice.
“Hey,” Mara managed.
June dropped her bag beside the chair and pulled out her notebook. Their elbows were almost touching. Almost. Mara stared determinedly at the board. She could feel the warmth of June's arm beside hers. This was ridiculous. She had sat beside June approximately forty-seven times. She had survived all forty-seven. Probably.
“Did you get the homework?”
Mara swallowed. “Yeah.”
“Can I see?”
“Yeah.”
She slid her notebook across, their fingers brushing. Barely. Nothing. A completely normal thing that happened between two completely normal friends. Except Mara forgot how breathing worked for approximately three seconds. June didn't seem to notice. Or maybe she did. Mara couldn't tell anymore. That was the worst part. She could spend an entire afternoon analysing a two-second glance from June and still have absolutely no idea what it meant. Sometimes June looked at her and Mara thought...Then June would smile at someone else and Mara would think... Definitely not. So Mara had settled on the safest option. Don't ask. Don't assume. Don't ruin it. Because having June as a friend was better than having nothing at all. Even if sometimes, when June leaned over her shoulder to read something on her laptop, Mara had to remind herself that friendship wasn't supposed to feel like standing on the edge of a cliff.