For nearly thirty seconds, Cameron tried to wrap his head around what she was saying, tried to grasp her meaning. He sat in silence, his gaze flickering between Sloane's blue hair and the small staircase that led into the courtyard behind it. Sisse shouldn't care, but she did, and Sloane thought... what? "You think Sisse fancies... me?" he asked finally, unconvinced but not able to claim for sure that she didn't.
Sisse had never been anything more than friendly with him. She'd been his tutor, his Divination partner, a friend he sat with at breakfast on the days where he'd woken up so early that he'd considered pouring hot tea in his lap so he could escape class to nap in the hospital wing. He supposed before this year there hadn't been any indication that Sloane liked him either, but at least they'd always been close! Similar interests! Bonded over shared academic struggles! Sisse was just a girl he knew, and he was just... a boy she knew. Right? Right?
"I think you're wrong," he said, shaking his head. No, there had to be some other explanation. Sisse was such a girl; maybe she really had taken offense that Sloane would hide their relationship from her, in some twisted way that neither he nor Sloane could understand. "I don't treat her any different than Alice or Calla. Never. I'm just... Cameron."
But what if she did? He didn't know how girls operated, but he could only imagine what lengths Sloane might go to repair her friendship. She could break things off altogether to spare Sisse's feelings, or even abandon him entirely to prevent further pain. They'd only been together a week; she had no reason to keep trying if it cost her friendships. His gaze dropped to his lap and he felt his chest tighten.
Sisse had never been anything more than friendly with him. She'd been his tutor, his Divination partner, a friend he sat with at breakfast on the days where he'd woken up so early that he'd considered pouring hot tea in his lap so he could escape class to nap in the hospital wing. He supposed before this year there hadn't been any indication that Sloane liked him either, but at least they'd always been close! Similar interests! Bonded over shared academic struggles! Sisse was just a girl he knew, and he was just... a boy she knew. Right? Right?
"I think you're wrong," he said, shaking his head. No, there had to be some other explanation. Sisse was such a girl; maybe she really had taken offense that Sloane would hide their relationship from her, in some twisted way that neither he nor Sloane could understand. "I don't treat her any different than Alice or Calla. Never. I'm just... Cameron."
But what if she did? He didn't know how girls operated, but he could only imagine what lengths Sloane might go to repair her friendship. She could break things off altogether to spare Sisse's feelings, or even abandon him entirely to prevent further pain. They'd only been together a week; she had no reason to keep trying if it cost her friendships. His gaze dropped to his lap and he felt his chest tighten.
