When Chrysanthe forced herself to look up at him and said she was fine, Baz couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly once she looked away. She certainly didn’t look fine. She was still acting differently, too. She was stubborn. Normally, Baz might have admired that, but in this instance, with her flushed and looking like she was about to faint not five minutes ago, he was mostly just concerned. Stubbornness was all well and good, but it wouldn’t do anybody any good at all if she fainted in the middle of the library or made herself sicker than she was, if she indeed still fending off something or other. The older of his two younger sisters, Georgianna, was the same way. She’d often insist on doing something for herself, or seeing something through, only to end up regretting it later.
He watched as she drew his notebook closer and began copying his diagrams. She asked if there were other reasons for the experiment, or if it was just to show the difference between combustion and decomposition.
“There were a few others,” Baz replied. "We talked at length about various other kind of chemical reactions and there were examples given of each"
He reached out and pulled his notebook back, closing it. “But that can wait. I think that it’d be nice to take a break.”
He knew she would protest again if he made it about her, so he got to his feet. “These chairs are terrible and my arse is falling asleep. Come on, let’s step outside. Just for five minutes.”
He stuck the notebook into his school bag. He was banking on Chrysanthe not being the type to go rummaging through someone else’s things to get it back out herself. “Everything will be here when we get back.”