Blue Sargent closed her eyes, every swear word that Ronan Lynch had taught her running through her mind. She wanted to scream as the new girl, Veeka, approached her with a clean stack of laminated menus. Veeka wasn't the individual that Blue was upset with; rather, it was the pair of boys who had just entered the colorful and loud atmosphere of Nino's diner. Veeka offered to take them, but Blue knew that she had to; after all, she wouldn't wish the presence of these boys onto anyone.

Was anyone ever thrilled to see Joseph Kavinsky and Prokopenko?

"Ah, look who it is! If I remember correctly, aren't you Dick's group's new pet? Quite the charity case, if I remember correctly," Kavinsky chided, leaning back in his chair as Blue inhaled a sharp breath, passing menus to the two boys. In reality, she wanted to punch Kavinsky directly in his shiny white teeth. If she was anywhere other than work, then she would've. Ronan did just teach her how to properly throw a punch.

"What can I get you to drink?" She asked, grabbing out a small notebook and pen, preparing herself to jot down their order.

"I'll take a Mountain Dew," Prokopenko requested, sending Blue a wink. She wanted to break something.

"Dr. Pepper," Kavinksy added, Blue scribbling down the order before walking away as quickly as she could. In her opinion, she couldn't get away from them fast enough.

A chime at the door forced Blue's attention to shift that direction. Relief flooded over her when she looked between the individuals that were standing there. Veeka rushed to assist them, leading Ronan Lynch, Adam Parrish, Noah Czerny, and Richard Campbell Gansey III over to a booth in Blue's area. Blue couldn't ignore the way that Veeka batted her lashes at Gansey, but it didn't matter; that was solely because Gansey only had eyes for Blue. Veeka seemed to notice this, too, so she turned her focus to Adam, then seemed to notice the glare she'd been receiving from Ronan and left. Blue was quick to approach their table.

"How do you guys deal with those two everyday? They've been here for three minutes and I'm already debating killing either them or myself," Blue muttered, giving a short nod over towards Prokopenko and Kavinsky. Ronan laughed.

"They're not that bad," Ronan insisted as Adam rolled his eyes.

"He's completely lying. They're the worst," Adam explained to her as Noah grinned up at Blue, sitting up and leaning against the table in order to touch the colorful barrettes and bobby pins that were located in her hair.

"They kind of seem that way," Blue muttered, placing her notepad down and beginning to mark down what the boys usually order when they come to Nino's.

"Lynch!" Kavinsky spoke, strolling over to their booth with Prokopenko in tow. Kavinksy leaned over the table, looking between the four Raven boys that Blue had grown rather fond of over the past few months. Next, Prokopenko wrapped his arm around Blue, which resulted in her going rigid. Gansey's hands balled into fists beneath the table.

"Ooo... Is Prokopenko touching a nerve there, Dick? You seem a little upset about something," Kavinsky remarked as Ronan and Adam looked over at Blue, locating exactly what had caused Gansey to tense up.

"Tell your friend to piss off, Kavinsky," Ronan demanded, eyes narrowing down at the thought of anyone making his friends uncomfortable. Kavinsky only shrugged in response.

"I'm not in charge of him," Kavinsky replied with a knowing smirk; Ronan narrowed his eyes down further on the boy.

"Really? Because you and I both know otherwise," Ronan stated as if it was a fact, resulting in the others seeming a bit confused. Adam sent Ronan an uneasy glance, meanwhile Gansey kept his gaze focused on Blue. She kept shoving Prokopenko off of her, but he continued to grab at her.

"Hmm... Tempting, Lynch. However, watching Dick Three squirm in discomfort is something I find far too enjoyable," Kavinsky muttered as Ronan finally got fed up, slamming his hands down on the table and rising to his feet. Noah flickered in and out of existence.

To everyone's surprise, Kavinsky didn't back down. Then again, he hardly ever did. But Blue figured maybe Kavinsky would be smart enough not to mess with Ronan's overprotective nerve.

A sickening smirk formed over Kavinsky's lips as Ronan stepped into his personal space; the Lynch brother's face was etched with anger. Kavinsky genuinely didn't seem to mind. All he did was tilt his chin upward in order to meet Ronan's lethal gaze.

"Tell the puppet to back down before I break him..." Ronan's words had been composed of every ounce of anger that the boy possessed.

Blue didn't have to fight off Prokopenko for much longer after that. Without any words being exchanged between the friends, he released Blue and went back to their table without another word.

"You're a sick bastard..." Ronan growled, eyes taking a quick glance over towards Blue; she nodded, signifying that she was alright.

"Perhaps. But just remember that you and I are one in the same, Lynch," Kavinsky explained, his smirk morphing into a hideous grin.

Gansey got to his feet, moving past the pair and making it to Blue's side. He watched her as if she'd fall apart just hearing him speak; just how fragile did he think she was? Maybe he wasn't used to this sort of harassment because it hardly happened at Aglionby, meanwhile Blue's public school crawled with disgusting people who did whatever they felt like to anyone they could get their hands on.

"I'm fine, Gansey..." She breathed, not wanting to draw Kavinsky's attention over towards them; then again, he seemed rather preoccupied with the lack of space between him and Ronan.

"You're not, actually..." Gansey muttered, gesturing for her to follow after him. Without a single thought of doubt, she did so.

The two of them made it to the hostess stand, where Veeka was picking at her cuticles and humming softly to the song that was blaring over the radio: 'Daughter' by Pearl Jam. Her back was resting against the wall, meanwhile her body was propped up on a stool with her legs crossed in front of her. When she noticed Gansey and Blue, she smiled.

"Everything alright?" Veeka questioned, tipping her head and allowing her long purple pigtails to follow the movement of her head.

"Yeah," Blue chided.

"No," Gansey replied at the same moment.

Blue shot him a glare, not wanting to argue about this. Especially in front of her coworker. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was simply because she didn't want to think about it. She just wanted to resume her shift and pretend that everything was going to be fine.

Veeka appeared puzzled by their rapid conflicting answers. "Did something happen, Blue?"

Appearance-wise, Veeka was the exact opposite of Blue. While Blue was skinny, Veeka was composed of complex curves that made her appear far older than she was. Pale skin stretched over Veeka's bones, coated in a layer of freckles. Bold makeup colored her eyelids purple to match her vibrant hair, meanwhile black eyeliner formed wings that accentuated her eyes, which were a brilliant shade of green.

Blue hated to admit it, but part of her was envious of Veeka.

"Nothing that I couldn't handle. Really, everything is fine," Blue insisted; the latter portion of her statement had been sent in Gansey's direction, accompanied by a glare.

Veeka sat up, more attentive. That was another thing starkly different between the two girls; Blue stood at about five foot even, meanwhile Veeka lumbered at around five foot and eleven inches. Therefore, she could be intimidating to approach.

"Blue, are any of those Raven Boys causing you trouble?" Veeka's tone was different somehow.

She was new, so how was Blue to know what she'd gone through? Maybe Veeka had a extreme disliking of Raven Boys. Hell, a few months ago, Blue would've agreed with her.

But that was in a time period before Blue's Raven Boys.

"The two that came in before us are actually disturbing my table, and I came to complain about them," Gansey explained, gesturing back towards his table, which left Veeka staring at quite the scene.

Ronan Lynch was standing in front of Kavinsky, looking angrier than a bull. Meanwhile Adam Parrish had his head in his hands, looking ready to throw himself out the window he was sitting next to. Then there was Noah, who seemed to want to intervene between Ronan and Kavinsky, but wasn't sure how to go about doing so.

Veeka hummed. "I see. Blue, I can escort them out if you're not comfortable doing so."

"Why would you—?"

"Because I know how Raven Boys can be: 'no' isn't in their vocabulary."

With that, Veeka was off, popping a bubble from her gum. Blue blinked, so many emotions swirling through her core all at once.

On one hand, she wanted to throttle Gansey; perhaps that would be therapeutic. Just one good punch. She was almost certain that Ronan wouldn't mind and there was a chance that Adam would look the other way. She could get away with it.

But that left her with Veeka's final words on the scene. Someone had done something to her; Blue wasn't sure who, but she wanted to find out. While Veeka hadn't been employed at Nino's for too long, Blue was rather fond of her. She was sweet and rather task-oriented. Never had Blue seen her act the way she was now.

All Blue could do was watch as Veeka pushed Ronan and Kavinsky apart. Adam raised his head, suddenly interested in whatever was about to happen. Ronan looked ready to tell her off, but fell short due to the words that Kavinsky let echo through the building.

"Well, if it isn't the local whore! Sorry, I wasn't aware that we were dining in a place like that," Kavinsky beamed; Blue felt her blood boil.

Veeka didn't react to the claim. Instead, Blue watched her point in the direction of the exit and speak more civilly with Kavinsky. Ronan looked at Kavinsky the way that Blue felt.

The next scene happened within a matter of seconds. Kavinsky grabbed at Veeka; one hand landing on her waist while the other was dangerously close to her chest. Blue instantly understood his intentions. Running, Blue beelined for Kavinsky, but didn't make it in time.

Ronan had been quicker.

Not wasting anymore of his breath, Ronan's grasp was crushing as he threw Kavinsky down onto their table. Adam jumped in shock. Noah vanished without a trace. Gansey stood behind Blue with his mouth dangling open. Blue stood with her hands clenched into fists. Veeka held herself together at Blue's side, attempting to smooth out her uniform.

"I don't care who the fuck you think you are, but you don't have the right to touch anyone like that..." Ronan hissed like a snake only moments away from a kill.

Kavinsky was grinning.

"And you have the right to threaten my life?"

Adam gritted his teeth. "After that? Yeah. I think he does."

Ronan sent Adam a wink; Adam actively didn't look at it.

"Rushing to your boyfriend's aid, Parrish? How sappy," Kavinsky commented, though his tone had changed in a way that unnerved Blue.

"Wh-What? No, he's not— We're not—"

"Aww, how cute. You're all flustered and red, Parrish. Do you have feelings for Lynch? Because, I hate to be a bearer of bad news, but Lynch doesn't have feelings..."

Ronan was oddly silent and Blue was confused as to why. But she did watch his knuckles go white from how he'd tightened his hold on Kavinsky.

Veeka scoffed. "So says you..."

Kavinsky's smirk was cold enough to freeze over hell. "Lighten up, slut."

"Do not call her that," Ronan demanded.

The boy pinned to the table hummed. "And why shouldn't I? It's the truth."

Veeka looked on the brink of murder.

"Ah, yes, I know all about you and Edison. You two were dating, if I recall correctly. Then you slept with Nelson, his best friend, and that ended your little relationship," Kavinsky mused, smirking into his words.

"Reid Nelson raped me. And Jack fucking Edison helped him do it..." Veeka's voice sounded like a loaded weapon.

Veeka's previous statement to Blue and Gansey made a bit more sense now.

While Blue couldn't necessarily disagree with her, she was thinking on another scale. Like Gansey refusing to stop hunting for Glendower. Or Adam making himself work three jobs in order to pursue his education. Or Ronan not budging about dreaming up little things for his friends, despite the nightmares. Perhaps even like Noah, who wouldn't stay dead, because his soul needed justice.

And those, Blue thought, were good things. Stories of perseverance, bravery, courage, and good will. Each of them had their reasons to keep going. But each didn't just assist them, but also helped others.

Then there were the boys Veeka was speaking of.

"Unfortunate. But that doesn't change the fact that it happened," Kavinsky muttered with a shrug.

Ronan grabbed onto Kavinsky's shirt collar, yanked him upward, and then slammed him back down onto the table. Kavinsky's mighty facade fell at that moment, pain being displayed for everyone to see.

"If you're going to tell me that it's the victim's fault, not the abusers, then I might murder you right here on this table..." Ronan seethed, taking the most minuscule glance up at Adam before returning to glaring at Kavinsky.

Kavinsky kept quiet. Ronan dragged him off the table, pushing him back towards Prokopenko.

"If I hear you're causing anymore trouble, you'll regret it..." Ronan seethed; Kavinsky didn't even comment on his remark. Instead, the boy collected his friend and left.

Blue didn't even care that they didn't pay for their drinks. She was just glad that they were gone.

Turning his stare towards Veeka, Ronan silently assessed her. She nodded, telling him that she was alright. And he nodded back, which explained that she didn't need to thank him for that.

Gansey opened his mouth, probably to say something too posh and rich, which would somehow make the situation worse. Raising a silencing hand, Blue passed him to assist Veeka back to the hostess stand.

"They're your friends?" Veeka questioned once they'd made it away from the booth and back towards the safety of their post.

Blue glimpsed back at them, seeing Ronan wading up the straw wrappers and attempting to toss them in Adam's drink; this earned him death glares from the owner of the cup, who was now using his hand to shield the top. Gansey had his journal out now, preaching about what they needed to do next in their quest to find Glendower. Noah was back where he once had been.

"Yeah. They're my friends," Blue breathed.

Veeka weakly smiled. "Keep them. Clearly, I'm not an expert at finding good Raven Boys, but I think you got the best of them."

Blue couldn't disagree.