“Hey, um, can we talk?” Abe sucked at this whole starting the conversation thing. “Maybe somewhere private…?” The fact he could figure out the expression Artemis was giving him made him even more nervous.

“Sure, Abe. Did you already have breakfast?”

“No, uh… I overslept.” He was supposed to be attempting to be more honest with her but he was already lying and making excuses. “You?”

“I already ate. You want to go eat and we can just meet up when you're done?”

“No!” He hadn't meant to say it so forcefully and panicked. “I mean… I can pick up something light like pop tarts from the store and eat them while we talk.”

“Then, maybe we could go back to your place and brew some tea? I can buy some replacement tea bags if having me over all the time is causing you to go through yours too quickly.” Artemis started walking back the direction she'd come from, obviously planning to walk with him the whole time instead of just meeting up after his purchase. He was entirely glad for that. Abe didn't know if he would have had the willpower to go find her a second time.

“No, it's fine. I have more than enough to last me the semester at least and I can always make more or have my mom send some on the off chance I get low.”

“That's good to know.” Artemis was making sure to walk slower to accommodate his shorter stride, he could tell. “So… what did you want to talk about?”

“Mostly yesterday, I guess? We kinda just went our own way after getting back. I happened to talk to my brother and he thinks there's some things we should talk about instead of ignoring it.” 

“Alright, which parts?” Abe had already used so much courage leaving his room to find Artemis.

“About that… Can we talk about it once we're in private?” He might have just been procrastinating, but he felt he needed the extra bit of time to steel his nerves more.

“Oh, yeah, I understand. It's a conversation that would be better done when we can focus on it.” Not why he asked them to wait, but she wasn't exactly wrong either. He nodded. 

Of course, now they were just walking together in an awkward silence. What were they supposed to talk about when they had just seen each other yesterday? Thankfully, they reached the store before it got unbearable.

“You're only going to be a moment, right? I'll wait for you out here.” Abe didn't know how he hadn't noticed before that she had been carrying a bag from the college store already. Of course he'd stopped her while she was on her way back to her dorm from the store. And he'd all but begged her to accompany him all the way back to where she'd just come from. He was being so stupid…

“Okay. I'll be right back, then.” He was mentally beating himself up as he walked straight to the food aisle. Quick, he needed to just grab something and checkout as quickly as he could.

There was someone standing in front of the shelf with the breakfast foods at that very moment. He considered waiting for them to move on their own so as to avoid an awkward interaction but he was slightly more worried about taking so long he ended up chickening out having a conversation with Artemis.

“Excuse me? May I get through?” The green haired person turned and smiled at him. “...Janan?”

“You remembered my name! It's nice to see you around Abe.” They moved out of his way.

“Oh, um, I guess so…” He grabbed a box, not really paying attention to the flavor or the conversation much.

“Well, enjoy your day. I hope to run into you again sometime you aren't so preoccupied.”

He was pretty sure he made some sort of affirmative response as he hurried to the checkout with his food. It only took a few more minutes for him to exit and reunite with Artemis. “All done… sorry for dragging you along.”

“It's fine, I really don't mind at all.” Maybe she really meant it. 

They walked towards the dorms and were soon settled with hot water started for tea. He was fidgeting nervously, trying to keep his hands busy as if it would calm him as he tried to figure out how to start. Artemis seemed to notice and broke the tension by speaking first.

“So, what has you so bothered, Abe?”

“I… um… it's really stupid.” She set a hand on his shoulder as if to comfort him.

“We’re friends and whatever it is seems to have upset you. It's not stupid to me.”

“You could do so much better.”

“Excuse me?”

“You could do so much better in terms of friends than me. I don't know why you decided to get close to me, but I'm terrible at being a friend and I'm probably horrible for your reputation. Your association with me is just bringing you down.”

“Is this about what Matt said yesterday? Ignore that idiot. He's not worth you getting upset over his words…” Except, Abe was upset by what was said and it wasn't just one jerk’s comment.

“I'm not so oblivious to not notice the way people react when they see us together. We're from different social circles entirely and I don't fit with the rest of your friend group… People question why you hang out with me at all.”

“Well, it's not any of their business. I like spending time with you as friends and anyone too small minded to respect that can keep it to themselves or cut themselves out of my life. I don't plan to cater to others’ opinions.” It was similar to what Nicky said she probably felt, but it was so much more reassuring hearing it from Artemis. Her saying it herself chipped away at the worry Nicky was wrong.

“But…”

“No but, Abe. Unless you've decided you don't want to be friends anymore, this friendship between us isn't going away any time soon. Do you not want me as a friend anymore?”

“No, absolutely not. You're amazing, Artemis. Anyone would be lucky to be considered your friend.”

“Good. I didn't want to stop being friends or anything like that.” She pulled the bag she was carrying earlier onto her lap and opened it. “Also, this would have been awkward if you stopped my friend right after I bought these.” She pulled out two thermoses and handed one to Abe. They were dark gray with a white squirrel on one side and the school logo on the other, the bright yellow of the school name practically glowing on the one Artemis handed him. Did she somehow know it was his favorite color or was it a coincidence? “I figured it was about time we had some proper cups for our tea…”

“My variety of flasks and beakers weren't good enough for you anymore?” Abe felt lighter as he attempted to joke around with her like he did with his brother.

“They are lovely… but these we can bring to class with us. No more flimsy cardboard cups for tea during lessons.” She was smiling so that was a good sign, right?

“And we can bring them into the library too because there is less chance of spilling… Thanks, Artemis. It feels like you're always giving me things and I don't ever return the favor.”

“Nonsense. You share your tea all the time and let me study here. I'm really grateful for that.” She smiled. “And you can call me Arty…”

“Oh, sorry, do you not like being called Artemis?” Great, he'd messed up this whole time, hadn't he?

“That's not it. I like my name… But we're friends so you don't always need to be so formal by calling me by my full first name every time. Most people call me Arty but you, a close friend, always say the whole name. Using my nickname once in a while strengthens the correct impression that we're on especially good terms.”

“Okay, Arty.” She tilted her head slightly.

“It feels weird coming from you for some reason… I'm not saying you shouldn't use it, but… how do I explain it? You're not everyone else so it's somehow unexpected coming from you, but Artemis all the time feels like it might be a mouthful. I feel like I need another nickname that only you use.”

“Okay…?” Abe honestly didn't know what to do in this situation.

“It's fine, Abe. Just call me whatever you feel comfortable with. My gran always said it's the person who calls you more than the name they use that matters. I was more just thinking out loud so you can ignore it if you want… You being my friend is more important to me than what name you refer to me with.” She poured some hot water in her thermos and added the tea bag to it. “I'll respond to you either way because it's you.”