As they made their way to the dorms, Jarek and Rupert exchanged a glance before Jarek spoke up.
"Mind if we join you lot?" he asked, adjusting the strap of his bag. "Figured we'd all end up working on that paper anyway. Might as well do it together."
Adrian raised a brow but didn't object, and Aiden nodded easily.
"Yeah, of course. We'll just grab our stuff first, then we can do it in the common room."
"Great, thanks," Rupert said, rolling his shoulders.
"Honestly, I'd rather work with you three than sit through another afternoon of Jarek claiming he 'works better under pressure' and then scrambling at the last second."
"Hey!" Jarek shot him an exaggeratedly wounded look. "That is a proven technique! I thrive under pressure."
"Right, because you don't give yourself a choice."
Adrian smirked. "Can't wait to see you 'thriving' when you realise we actually have to turn in proper research, not just whatever you cobble together in the last five minutes."
