they stay like that for the entire second half, sitting ‘together’ in silence for another hour. it’s not uncomfortable. really, it’s not. gina’s more than used to just being with ej and not having anything to say, the pseudo-proximity almost the same as their regular proximity. the difference here is that the silence is dangerously close to feeling loaded. she doesn’t know what, but she knows there’s something left unsaid. whether it’s on his end of hers or even both is lost on her.

gina still catches ej looking at her instead of the movie sometimes, though, a soft smile on his face and contentment in his eyes. she doesn’t call attention to it because she realizes she’s doing the same thing.

portwell | hsmtmts | 4/7 chapters | canon divergence | spans next 2yrs post-s2 | friends to lovers | mutual pining | slowburn

chapter 4: junior/freshman year, semester 2

“glad we’re both still on the same page.”

the same page, she knows, is that neither of them care anymore and find their past attitudes uncalled for. she likes that they changed at the same pace. that they changed together. that they changed each other. her smile softens as she looks at him, fighting the urge to hug him now. it’s a lot easier, though, because she can’t. it just hurts more.

portwell | hsmtmts | 3/7 chapters | canon divergence | spans the next 2yrs post-s2 | friends to lovers | mutual pining

chapter 3: junior/freshman year, semester 1