Why wasn't she denying it? Why wasn't she pushing back? Of all the things Lucky expected Paige to respond with, a quiet, wounded acknowledgement wasn't one of them. She didn't like the way it made her feel, the sudden tightness in her chest and the way her stomach dropped; she spun in another agonizingly slow circle, buying time. When the chair faced frontwards again she stopped, fixing Paige with a long, narrowed stare. It wasn't hard to believe, Nick lying, and perhaps it was that realization that softened her. Lucky huffed and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.
"Look, I...everyone's trying to survive. And when someone promises you something, it's nice. But you've got to understand that people here aren't gonna trust you, not so soon after. You were allowed to stay, though, so that's something."
Lucky tossed the book into the 'returned' bin behind the desk and kicked off, spinning quickly.
"Stars."
Paige listened, still and staring at the ground as lucky gifted her a lecture. it was a short one, and one she deserved, and Paige took it. "I know. good thing, too. I..." i like it here, I don't want to be alone, I'm scared of the coalition out there. "this is my home." she didn't know what she'd have done if she'd been made to leave. she wouldn't have made it alone.
the word hit out of nowhere, and Paige stood for a second, a small smile growing on her face. she was grateful for the suggestion, for the quiet promise that she might still be welcome in the library. it was one of the best places in the university.
"I like stars." thank you.
when she found herself a book, she came back, holding it out to be checked out. it was a good-looking one, with a silver cover and stories of constellations inside. She'd never read it before. "You know I didn't help the coalition, right? when it happened? They timed it to happen while I was out because they thought I wouldn't warn the university, but I did. I still did.

















