"You are attending the event," John repeated, trying not to laugh because that just sounded so strangely stiff and formal, especially coming from Claudia. Miss-him-itis sounded so much more natural and only only partially because it was more of who she was. Luckily, he young and laid back in his own appearance, even if too serious for his age. So, no one else would think twice about him telling her to lighten up, even if what he was really doing was helping her with her cover by telling her was to dial it back a little. These things took getting used to, after all. "It's a casual thing with friends at a park, not a state dinner. Relax."
Putting an arm around her shoulders, he squeezed gently. Losing people never got easier and, like Savannah had said, there weren't a lot of people who'd really tried to get closer to Nick because of his differences and the fact he was incapable of returning affection or emotion the way they expected and were able to understand. "It sucks." And was probably worse for her not having a sympathetic household to go home to at night when it would be harder to stop remembering dead friends. "You know I'm here if you need a shoulder or an ear, right? Any time. Whenever."