Ron is visibly hesitating. 

"He misses you as much as you miss him," Marlo says, very soft. 

"You think so."

"I do." 

He hesitates again, then opens the car door and gets out.

And Marlo stays in the car and quietly prays that he was right. 

Raine's asleep when Asher finds her, curled in on herself in Lev's bed. 

She's so beautiful he can't help but smile as soon as he sees her. 

He puts a hand on her shoulder. "Hey."

She opens her eyes and blinks and smiles —

— and then remembers where they are. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"Marlo came by Ron's and. --I needed to give you a hug."

She glances around at the other people still in the dorm room, then gets out of bed. "Bathroom." 

"Sure thing."

As soon as they're inside she throws herself into Asher's arms. 

He holds her very tightly. "I love you I love you I missed you-- you're so good-- I was so worried about you--"

She presses herself into him like a full-body cling. "I love you — I'm not dreaming you, you're here — I love you I missed you I love you —" 

"--I did come here with an ulterior motive."

"What is it."

"--I have been pretty vocal about wanting to move to New York City and dance and if I instead move to the Midwest and work construction they're going to be looking in the wrong place for a while. Maybe long enough."

"If you move to the Midwest and work construction you're going to be miserable." 

"I am going to be less miserable than I would be being away from you and-- not even not knowing whether you're all right, knowing that you're not all right."

She clings to him tighter. 

"— please don't move to the Midwest and be miserable." 

"If you have a better plan that doesn't involve you getting traumatized until February I am happy to hear it."

"It's just a couple more weeks and then I'm home and I have my sister and —" and she sobs and wraps her arms around him tighter, tighter. "— I, please don't —" 

He holds her and makes quiet soothing noises. "I won't do anything you don't agree to."