Chapter Text
“Santiago.”
“Santiago.”
“Santiago.”
“Amy.”
“Santiago.”
“Santi--”
“What.”
Jake grinned triumphantly as Amy whirled around, glaring at him with an intensity she usually reserved for AP tests and guilty pleasure snacking.
“Good morning!”
Amy groaned and narrowed her eyes, taking a long sip of her coffee. After three years of already riding the train together in the morning to school, Jake knew better than to pick on her before she's fully awake, but it was the first day of their senior year and some habits were just too difficult (read: enjoyable) to kick.
Besides, they were in public and that meant he was safe.
He tapped on her shoulder a few more times but ultimately gave up when she refused to react to his baiting. They didn't speak to each other until the train arrived at their stop and the pair exited onto the platform.
“You ready?” she asked, taking another sip of her coffee.
“Nope. You?”
“I've been ready for senior year since I was a freshman.”
Jake smiled almost fondly as Amy turned on her heel towards the direction of their school but caught himself as he rushed to catch up with her. He knew she hadn't been joking, though. If there were only a few things he knew about Amy Santiago, they were that she had never missed or been late for a day of school in her entire life, had a caffeine addiction she was in deep denial about, was definitely (probably) still a virgin, and had planned every single moment of her life since she had started developing her own autonomy.
As they reached the crosswalk, he frowned. “We're going to have to look at all of Boyle's vacation pictures.”
“I bet they're all going to be of food.”
“If you could put an approximate dollar value on how sure of that you are, what would it be?”
Amy snorted and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow as they continued walking. “I take it the end of summer job hunt didn't go well?”
“Being in debt to all of your friends is no laughing matter, Santiago.”
“Crippling debt,” she corrected. “Besides, I'm one of them. I'm allowed to make jokes.”
“But they're not funny,” Jake whined.
“I think they're pretty funny.”
“You think pictures of dogs with eyebrows drawn on them are funny.”
She shot him a glare as they approached the campus. There was still ample time until the bell was to ring, and a good majority of the students were gathered in groups outside, catching up and going over their summers. Jake looked around, trying to spot anyone else in their friend group.
Neither had seen Boyle, who spent the last month of his summer on a trip to Italy with his parents, for some time, and with his disappearance, Rosa seemed to find an escape as well. Amy claimed to have kept in touch with her via text, but he wasn't believing it until he saw some proof. Gina, meanwhile, dropped completely off the grid. To be entirely honest, they weren't even sure if she was alive still, but both figured she would claw her way back to school if only to make inappropriate comments and laugh to herself while everyone else became uncomfortable.
Fortunately for Jake and unfortunately for Amy, they lived close enough that they weren't able to shake one another. Jake had made it his summer mission to ruin every single plan of Amy's he could, and she had bought various different locks that she had to change on her bedroom window all summer. More than once he'd tried to climb through it, claiming that as two hot single teenagers whose friends had abandoned them, they were absolutely required to hook up and have a fling.
She, naturally, didn't agree with that particular train of thought.
“Maybe they're inside,” Amy said thoughtfully.
“Or maybe Boyle got stuck in Italy, Gina really is dead, and Rosa eloped with a member of the mob.”
Amy took a deep breath in and frowned up at him. “I don't know why I put up with you this early in the morning.”
“Must be my good looks and charming personality.”
“Yeah. Must be.”
–
“Welcome to Legal Studies III. As you can tell from the course title, this is the third installation of this class. If you have not passed Legal Studies I or II, please leave now and visit the guidance department to rectify this mistake.”
Jake leaned forward in his seat. “What if you only passed with a D?”
Holt remained deadpan. “Welcome back, Peralta. I trust we'll have a mundane repeat of last year's mediocrity?”
“You know me well, sir.”
Amy groaned in the seat next to him, sinking down. She figured there was a good chance if she willed it hard enough, she could probably disappear. Sure, Jake was her friend, but Professor Holt was her hero, and she didn't want to be found guilty by association.
“I'd like to introduce you all to the teaching assistant for this year. Terrence Jeffords is currently a graduate student and one of my former students.”
He gestured to the surprisingly tall man standing next to him.
“You guys can just call me Terry.”
Behind her, Amy heard Gina practically purr, and she fought the urge to bury her face in her hands. Perhaps in her four year high school plan she should have included finding new friends.
“Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I would like you all to turn to page fifteen in your books so we can begin our first lesson.”
Holt turned around to face the whiteboard, writing the chapter title across it.
“Psst. Hey, Amy! Psst,” Jake whispered, leaning over to her.
“Shh!”
“I forgot my book.”
She shot him a look. “What do you want me to do about it?”
“Can we share?”
Sucking in her breath, Amy pinched the bridge of her nose. When she let it out, she sighed and nodded. Jake grinned and moved his chair closer to her desk, causing a disturbing screeching noise to echo throughout the classroom.
“Peralta. Santiago.”
Amy froze in her seat, wishing more than ever she could actually make herself disappear. Holt had knew it was them without even turning around. Oh yeah, definitely guilty by association.
“I, uh, forgot my book. Santiago was just letting me look along with her.”
Holt turned around, capping the marker in his hand. “That won't be necessary. I believe the syllabus I sent out to everyone a week ago requested that every student bring their book to every class. It's a requirement.”
“Yeah... I kind of just forgot?”
Holt's face remained neutral. “I'm going to have to ask you to leave class.”
Jake's jaw nearly dropped. “Are you serious?”
“I'm lenient with other classes, but Legal Studies III is open only to seniors. It is my job to prepare you for higher education, and I take that responsibility very seriously. In college, professors will kick you out for less. Hopefully this will teach you to remember your book from now on.”
Jake tried to catch Amy's glance out of the corner of his eye but caught her looking down at her desk instead. He bit down on the inside of his cheek and stood up, collecting his backpack.
“Fine. I'm out.”
“Please do remember your book tomorrow.”
“Sure thing,” Jake replied under his breath as he exited the door.
As Holt turned back to the whiteboard, Amy tucked her hair behind her ear self consciously and looked over at Rosa, who appeared disinterested. Charles sat nearby her, trying to discreetly peer out of the door's window to catch a glimpse of Jake. Gina was texting furiously under her desk.
Only a few moments later, Amy received a text from Gina: a picture of Holt from the yearbook with a golden crown drawn sloppily on his head. The caption read “DRAMA QUEEN”.
–
“Where do you think Jake went?” Charles asked anxiously as the group left the room. As soon as they were in the hallway, he turned his head frantically in every direction for any sign of their friend.
Amy, although curious, refused to follow his example. With her luck, the moment she showed any sign of concern, he would jump out from inside one of the lockers with an exuberant “gotcha!”
“I don't know,” she said instead. “The cafeteria maybe?”
“Or home,” piped in Gina. “That's what I'd do.”
With Legal Studies being their last class of the day, Amy realized it could be a possibility. With a slight frown, she realized she'd probably have to ride the train home alone.
“Are we doing anything now?” Rosa asked, burying her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.
“If we are, we should text Jake,” Boyle said insistently.
“I kind of have a lot of homework already,” Amy said quickly, idly playing with one of the straps on her backpack. “I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow?”
Charles agreed quickly, and Rosa nodded. Gina was preoccupied with her reflection in her handheld mirror. With a sheepish smile, Amy waved and headed off in the opposite direction. Once she was out of sight, she pursed her lips and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She scrolled through the contacts until she reached the P's.
'Pineapples'.
She selected Jake's contact name and opened up a new text: “Hey where are you?” and sent it with a slight frown.
It only took a few moment before she got a reply.
“sal's.”
Amy knew the brief message was both an indication of leftover irritation but also an open invitation. Of course, she wasn't lying when she told the others that she already had loads of homework, but she could probably get some of it done over a slice.
She quickly sent back “See you in five” and exited the building.
Sal's was a nearby pizza place that had been Jake's favorite since their freshman year. He claimed it was the best pizza in all of New York, prompting many an argument between himself and Charles. Amy, being neither a self proclaimed foodie or pizza aficionado, tended to stay out of it. Rosa and Gina just didn't care.
As she entered the restaurant, Amy realized that she should have thought of Sal's first, but it had only recently been rebuilt after it caught fire the previous summer. She'd forgotten it was open again, but of course Jake hadn't. He'd probably been counting down the days until he'd be able to go back.
She spotted him alone in a booth towards the back, staring intently at his phone screen. As she sat down, he didn't even look up or nod in acknowledgment of her presence.
Amy cleared her throat.
“Hey do you know how to get past level fifty eight of Candy Crush?” he asked, still not looking up from his phone.
“You know I don't play Candy Crush,” she replied, brow furrowed.
Jake clicked his phone shut and tossed it down on the table with a small smirk. “Right. I forgot you were allergic to fun.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “I thought you already went home."
“Why would I go home when I could go to Sal's?” he asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“I don't know. I just thought you might have. Well, Gina thought you did.”
Jake tilted his head. “Hey, where are the rest of them anyway?”
“Oh, uh, they all had stuff to do. I just figured I'd see where you were so I'd know if I had to wait for you or not.”
“Wait for me?”
“The train."
Jake's expression broke out into a wicked grin as he leaned over and pinched Amy's cheeks. She swatted his hand away with a scowl. “Awww, you were going to wait for me!”
“Only because you deflect weirdos! I'm a young teenage girl on public transportation – when they see me with you they just assume I'm already being harassed and leave me alone.”
“Too many cooks in the kitchen,” Jake replied, nodding his head sagely.
Amy scoffed and an almost tense silence fell between them. It felt strange after three months of weirdly comfortable companionship. Maybe that was why she'd waited for him before leaving to go home. She'd been in denial of it while actually making the decision, but it was only natural to seek him out after spending the entire summer with just the two of them. She was just used to him being around was all.
“Hey, uh, do you wanna go?” Jake asked, nodding towards her backpack.
“Oh, yeah. Right. Homework. Sure.”
Amy blinked back to attention and collected her bag, slinging it back over her shoulders. Jake followed behind her as they left, waving goodbye to Sal and showering him with compliments. They walked back to the train station together, neither really speaking but keeping an even pace with the other. The train was mostly empty when they boarded, and they were able to find two seats next to each other near the front of the cart.
“... Did I get you in trouble?”
“Hm?”
Jake looked almost bashful and guilty as he avoided eye contact with her, focusing intently on staring out of the window. “With Holt, I mean. Because I guess I kind of deserve being on his bad side, but he shouldn't be a dick to you. You didn't do anything wrong.”
“He didn't say anything to me,” Amy replied quietly.
“Good. You know, because I remember you told me you wanted him to write you a recommendation letter for college or whatever. I just didn't want to screw that up for you.”
If it had been anyone else besides maybe Rosa, the conversation might have felt strange. While their group of friends was close, they never really opened up like this much, least of all herself in Jake. If anything, they were in near constant competition with each other. Conversations like this would have simply shown weakness.
But Amy was sure something had changed in their friendship over the summer. Not drastically, but it was subtle. It made conversations like this okay. It was why she didn't feel self conscious when he barged into her house early in the morning before she was ready for the day. It was why she knew that the reason he did that was because he hadn't felt particularly comfortable at home since his dad left him and his mom. It was why she felt almost guilty for not saying anything in class when Holt reprimanded him.
The term best friends felt a little juvenile to her, but maybe partners was the correct word.
“I think it's okay,” she said softly. Jake nodded at her, and she reached into her bag. “Oh, before I forget, I made two sets of notes... I figured you probably won't read them, but they might be helpful or something.”
She handed the sheet of looseleaf paper to him, and Jake accepted it with an unintelligible look in his eyes.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
She smiled almost nervously up at him before breaking eye contact and looking down at the floor of their cart. The train stopped, and the pair got up and left the station.
“I'm going to head over to the library,” Amy said, as they walked out onto the sidewalk.
Jake nodded. “Alright. See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
He waved to her quickly before turning on his heel and heading home. After Amy finished her trek to the library and sat down at an open table, her phone vibrated on the table. She picked it up to find a text from Jake. It was a picture of him holding his Legal Studies textbook triumphantly.
She couldn't help but smile and quickly text back the thumbs up emoji before she turned her phone off.