“I guess I’ll just sit here and watch the sun rise in a couple of hours.” Jaya’s hands shook a little as she said the words, as she imagined Grey doing the same, fear knotting his stomach and icing his spine. Alone, thanks to her.

Isha and Caterina exchanged a glance and then Jaya felt Caterina’s eyes on her, assessing, weighing. She didn’t have the energy to ask what that was about.

“Excuse me,” Caterina said a few moments later, getting up abruptly and stalking away, back down the hallway.

“Yeah, um, me too,” Isha said, hopping up and following her.

Jaya watched them go, frowning slightly. It was odd, but she didn’t have the energy to wonder what they were doing. “Nice speaking to you,” she said, and sipped her coffee morosely.

Grey

Grey walked in the dark-cloaked forest outside the campus, ensconced in his jacket, his face hidden by the hood. There was a thick layer of bluish snow on the ground and he trudged through it, winding deeper into the trees, his boots crunching as they packed down the icy precipitation. He couldn’t keep still, though he didn’t know what it was he was trying to outrun. The sunrise? That was coming soon, whether he liked it or not. It was just after four thirty in the morning. His weather app told him sunrise was at 6:45 a.m. There was no outrunning this. There was no outrunning anything. Still, if he could pick anything, what would he have chosen to do on possibly the last morning of his life? An image of Jaya pressed against him as they danced together entered his head, unbidden, and he forced it away.

Wherever you go, there you are flashed through his mind, and he smiled grimly.

His phone beeped in his pocket and his heart thudded. He pulled it out and felt a small prick of disappointment when he saw who it was.

DE: Hey, dude. Where are you?

Frowning, he put the phone back into his pocket. He didn’t want to speak to DE right now. His phone buzzed again. And again. Annoyed, Grey slipped it back out.

DE: Dude.

DE: Grey. Hey. Dude. Where are you?

Growling in frustration, he tapped out a reply. Why?

DE: Mm, that’s not exactly an answer

He waited.

DE: You need to speak with Jaya.

He stopped and leaned against a tree, his jaw hard.

DE: Grey I know you’re super mad. But you had some good times with her too, right? She needs to say something before you guys go your separate ways

She had the chance to say a lot of things and never took it. Why start now?

DE: This is about closure, duh. You need it, even if you don’t think you do

When he didn’t respond right back, she sent another text.

DE: Why? Do you have big plans today?