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They shook their head. ‘It is not my business, Aiden.’

‘Well it clearly is if she told you and not me!’ His voice rose, heat blooming on his cheeks when a few pairs of eyes fell on him.

Luc chased away the stares before mumbling quietly, ‘It wasn’t that she told me and not you, okay? We both had the same problem.’

‘What problem?’ Luc hadn’t mentioned anything, either. Did friends just not tell him things?

It stung, the idea that two of the most important people in his life hadn’t wanted to talk to him about something. All right, fine, hewasa rich arsehole and he looked like a fuckboy – he could handle that. But he was also understanding and eager to help his friends, and he’d sat here babbling about his feelings for Juniper while Luc kept their problems secret. What kind of shitty person did that make him?

Luc scratched their nose nervously, leaving the air between them uncomfortably quiet. ‘RACA froze a few students’ bursaries over Christmas. Budget cuts or something.’

Aiden didn’t know what to say. He just couldn’t stop wondering why they hadn’t told him they were struggling. ‘So, what does that mean for you all?’

‘It means we have to pay tuition for our third term without aid. I’m just about able to do that with my international funding,but I’m not sure if Juniper has a backup plan.’ Luc’s eyes turned pleading. ‘Please do not tell her I told you, Aiden. It isn’t my business to share, and if somebody spilledmyfinancial status without permission, I would be furious.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me? Not about Juniper, about you. I thought…’ He sniffed and cleared his throat, afraid he sounded childish. ‘I thought we were friends, that’s all.’

‘Weare.’ Luc’s own voice cracked. ‘I just was not sure if you would want to hear about it. It was a moment of dread, and then it was over, and that was that. Not something you would need to worry about.’

He didn’t believe Luc, not really. He knew why people didn’t talk to him about money: because he had it. These people didn’t trust him to empathise. To be a decent friend, a decent person. The people who supported him, who made this school year so much better than the last, wouldn’t let him do the same.

Luc huffed. ‘Please, not the sad puppy eyes.’

Aiden tried his best to rearrange his features, form a more neutral expression, but it wasn’t easy. A wall divided him and the people around him. His side was wide open, allowing entrance to anyone he could find, but theirs remained locked up tight. This time, he couldn’t blame it on shallow friends who only wanted to use him. It washimthey had avoided,himthey couldn’t confide in.

After the other night, Juniper’s confessions, he’d thought it had all been demolished, but it hadn’t. It never would be.

‘So, you’re okay?’ Aiden asked quietly.

Luc nodded. ‘I’m fine. Honestly.’

‘But Juniper isn’t.’

‘I don’t think so.’ Their mouth downturned with regret. ‘But you can’t force it from her, Aiden. She has to come to you.’

He scoffed. ‘She never will.’

Luc was different. They had a clean slate. Aiden could build their trust in time. But Juniper had seen him before. She knew him at his worst.

How could he change that? How could he make her see that he was here for her?

‘What will happen if she can’t cover her tuition?’ Part of him could guess. He couldn’t imagine her taking on more work just because she wanted to. The contest was a last-ditch effort to afford the funding. And she’d asked Chris about the Stoke trip – were things so bad that she couldn’t even afford the train tickets?

‘I don’t know. I think maybe…’

‘What?’ Aiden urged, bracing himself for the inevitable.

‘I think she mentioned that perhaps she would have to drop out. Her job at the café won’t exactly be enough to cover it all.’

Aiden cursed. She couldn’t drop out. He’d seen how much she wanted this, how much she cared. She deserved her place here as much as everyone else. Certainly more than him.

An idea flitted in his mind, barely quickly enough to catch it, but he did, because he was desperate.

His dad. He’d written letters of recommendation for Aiden’s friends before, back when Aiden still wanted to impress them,and he was connected to almost every art college dean in the country, either directly or through his colleagues.

If Juniper needed that funding, he might be able to get it.

There was just one tiny problem: it would mean that he would have to talk to Jonathan. That rarely ended well.