Roger wanted to think that there was a time when Pippin actually talked to him. There must have been; he was her boyfriend after all. He winced at her laugh. It wasn’t at all like her usual laugh, which though sometimes rare was one of Roger’s favorite things about her; this was bitter and angry and it made Roger want to shake her.

“Well, maybe I’d know if you would actually tell me!” he answered. “Jesus, Pip, I’m your boyfr…” her furious glower made him stop in the middle of the word, “I’m your friend, and I’m trying to help you, and if there’s really a good reason for you to just up and leave then you could at least have the good grace to talk to me about it.”

She didn’t belong here, anyway. She belonged with him, sitting with him in the cafeteria talking about their last psych test or hanging out together with their friends or alone with him in his room on a weekend evening. She was part of his family now, and he was going to keep her safe.