Blue had spent the last hour reading a book on her phone, enjoying Henry and Gansey’s company as they all did their own thing. Henry was using his laptop, typing like a maniac while Gansey methodically wrote on his leather journal, an image so common for her that it barely registered at times.
Henry stopped typing and turned to Gansey with a quizzical look on his face. “What’s Ronan doing today?”
“Why don’t you ask him?” Gansey didn’t even glance up from his journal.
“He’s your boyfriend.” Henry replied.
“He’s got a phone.”
“That he doesn’t pick up even if the barns are on fire.”
“Why would he pick up when I call?” Gansey had a point, getting Ronan to answer his phone was still a challenge, but he had to know that if anyone could get him to answer it was him. Blue shot Adam a quick text asking if he was with Ronan.
“He’s your boyfriend,” insisted Henry.
“Adam says they’re still on the road.” Blue chipped in, typing on her phone. “Says the visibility’s shit. Even Ronan is driving within the speed limit.”
Gansey looked up at that, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. “Tell them to be careful, they can drive down to the barns tomorrow.”
“Gansey, I love you but I’m not your fucking messenger pigeon.”
Her boyfriend clutched his chest in pretend-hurt. “Jane! I wouldn’t assume—"
A knock on the door interrupted him. None of them would knock, Monmouth was their home and all of them came and went as they pleased. Noah’s voice drifted in. “Guys, come on, I lost the keys again.”
Blue stood up and let Noah in, whose clothes were wet enough that he started stripping at the entrance. She let out an appreciative hum when Noah took off his sweatshirt and t-shirt, his pants were on the floor next.
“When I was dead, I could just think myself into places, you know?” Blue took her coat from the hanger and wrapped it around Noah’s shaking shoulders. “Why did Adam text me to come here? The barns were warmer.”
“We’ll get the heating to come back, we’ve done it before,” said Gansey.
“You mean, Adam’s done it, right?” replied Henry.
Blue shook her head and ushered Noah towards Gansey’s closet so he would put on some clothes. Blue watched him put on a pair of Gansey’s sweatpants and one of Ronan’s black hoodies that she wished she had stolen for herself. He looked adorable and he came to huddle for warmth next to Blue on the sofa.
She put on a video on her phone and was nodding off when Ronan and Adam arrived, the smell of takeout and a string of curses drifting in with them. Adam kissed the top of her head as he came to sit next to her, while Ronan stopped next to Gansey to offer him a takeout container.
Blue unfolded herself and stretched her arms over her head before reaching for one of the wraps, inspecting its contents trying to decide if it was chicken or turkey in it. “It’s chicken,” said Adam, freakishly reading her thoughts.
Out of nowhere, Henry asked, “Adam, would you please be so kind to see what’s happened to the heater?”
“I’m a mechanic, Cheng.”
“Gansey said you’ve done it before.” There was a frown thrown at Gansey but the man looked at Adam with his pretty brown eyes and his pleading face. The bastard.
With a sigh, Adam stood up and went to check Monmouth’s ill-fated heater. Somehow, Blue knew this would result in nothing but cursing down the line. She watched Ronan and Noah set up a match of something she had no interest in watching, so she put down her food and followed after Adam to keep him company, taking a bag of chips with her.
“You could’ve refused, you know?” Blue said.
“You could freeze to death,” he replied.
“You and I both know it’s not gonna happen.” Blue offered Adam a chip, which he refused with a shake of his head. She shrugged and ate it herself. She wasn’t done chewing as she said “and you know nothing about fixing a heater.”
“I can work it out. I’ve done it before.”
“You mean you’ve duct-taped it before.”
Adam turned to her with a retort written on his face when the lights went out.
“You know, in hindsight, of course this would happen,” said Blue.
She sighed and blinked until her eyes got used to the darkness. She could hear Noah and Ronan argue about whose turn it was to check on the generator, knowing no one wanted to go downstairs to do it. She went to what used to be Noah’s room —Blue couldn’t remember the last time Noah had slept there alone— and got a heavy wool blanket for herself, then walked to Gansey’s bed, where she wrapped herself like a burrito and said, “can someone pass me my chicken wrap?”
After a beat of silence, there was some shuffling and someone’s extended hand with her food. Probably Henry’s, because his hand was warm and soft where it touched Blue’s.
“I can’t see shit,” said Ronan. “Gansey you should just sell this piece of shit place.”
“It’s not like I control the power grid,” replied Gansey. Blue could almost hear his frown, the same one he got every time someone joked about giving up Monmouth.
“Maybe you could though,” said Blue, after taking a bite from her wrap. “Don’t you have the money?”
Noah snorted, then Blue saw his silhouette stand up from the couch to come sit on the bed with her.
“Hey, you know this is how horror movies start, right?”
“This is not a stupid horror movie, Cheng,” retorted Ronan. “If anything, this is a bad comedy.”
Blue secretly agreed with him, but telling him so would be ganging up on her boyfriend, so she didn’t.
“You know, we could’ve stayed at the barns,” said Noah with a sigh.
Ronan was the first one to support the idea. “We can still go.”
Gansey’s voice pierced through the darkness. “I’m tired. Let’s just go to bed.”
Blue couldn’t see their faces in the dark, but she could bet more than one of her boys was making a face. “Gans, I love you but you don’t expect me to sleep with Ronan, do you?” Henry said.
“You can sleep on the couch if sharing a bed with the guys is that terrible for you.”
Ronan got up and walked in the direction of his old room. Noah grabbed his sweater’s sleeve and asked, “where are you going?”
“To my own fucking bed. You’re welcome to come and spare Henry’s fragile sensibilities.”
“You can’t sleep somewhere else, Ronan, I was counting on you to keep the bed warm,” said Blue.
“I’m not your space heater, asshole.”
Adam walked to Gansey’s bed, abandoning the heater.
“Parrish?” Ronan’s tone was hesitant.
“It’s more convenient if we all slept here,” he said.
“It’s more convenient if we just go back to the barns where there’s a dream chimney that can stay on all night.”
“Now, why would I do that if Gansey is all warm and comfortable here?” reasoned Adam.
And that was enough for Ronan to join them.
As usual, Noah took a moment to kiss everyone good night. He didn’t have to, but Blue knew that he did it to be a nuisance. When Ronan got in bed, Adam pushed him so he was closer to the center. Before long, Henry wrapped himself around Gansey and Blue hugged him from the other side, with Noah spooning her.
Not long after they got in bed, Henry spoke up. “I can’t sleep if there’s no sound in the background.”
“You can use my phone to play music,” suggested Blue.
“I can’t sleep with music,” Ronan said.
“You’re not going to sleep anyway, so why do you care?” Blue replied.
“You’re insufferable.”
“So are you.”
“Guys,” interrupted Gansey. “Can we not do this now? And whose cold feet are on my legs? Why aren’t you wearing socks?”
“Sorry, love,” said Henry. “I don’t like sleeping with socks on.”
“You’re weird,” Blue joked.
“Hey, can you guys stop hogging the goddamn blankets?” asked Adam from his side of the bed, clearly annoyed. “I’m cold over here.”
Blue couldn’t stop herself and laughed the moment the room dissolved into another argument over the blankets. Gansey sighed next to her, then said, “I don’t know why I bother.”
She softly kissed his cheek, then huddled closer to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck. His arms wrapped her up in a hug and she felt home. Ronan and Adam ganging up on Henry as they fought over the blankets, Noah’s warm body at her back, Gansey’s arms surrounding her. It didn’t matter that their plans to hang out were ruined, all that she cared about was that she had her raven boys with her.
Eventually, the discussion around her faded, Noah scooted closer to her, one arm sneaking around her waist, and Ronan stopped his tirade about why they needed to make the Barns their number one hang out spot. Blue felt warm, content and full of love as she drifted to sleep in her boys’ arms.