Walking to school is most likely the only time for peace and quiet. A moment to get some much-needed oxygen, vitamin D, and time for a mental spring cleaning. A time to think about what's been going on in your life as of late, how you've gotten to where you are now, and plans for the future, or at least estimates of plans for the future. Enough time to dethaw some mental glaciers that have been obstructing your thinking process currently and to pass the time quickly; arriving at the front doors with 10 minutes to spare.

To say you showed up to the building perfectly content for the first time in a while would be an understatement. You felt fresh, healthy, both physically and psychologically and you had been rejuvenated with a vengeance ( little Brontë reference). Abbie had obviously picked up on this as she walked towards you, eyeing you up and down suspiciously but with a trace of a cheeky smirk, on such a gratifying morning.

"Good morning ?"  She questioned, starting to consider drugs as the reason for your giddy demeanor.
The question stopped you in your tracks and received a genuine answer. "You know what? It really has been. For the longest time, it has been a great morning." Abbie's smirk disappeared, as it morphed into a small but overwhelmingly comforting smile. One that says so little but the eyes say so much. The best kind.

Deciding to change the subject, the pair of you walked to your English lesson, when Abbie spoke up.
"So, what do you think we'll be learning today ?"  With a shrug, you replied.
"You know what, I can honestly say I've never learned a smidge at museums. I just like to walk through the dinosaur part and pretend I'm not scared shitless still."
"OR" Abbie interjected. "As childish as that is, it's equally as fun to go to the art section walking around whimsically like those manic pixie girls written by men. Acting all deep and pensive as I stare at a statue of a man with a one-inch wonder and marvel at his 'beauty' and explain to an attractive yet approachable male lead  how it's not about .. male physicality but.. but how the figure projects masculinity in an unearthly way us mortals could never understand!" It went silent just for a millisecond before the pair of you burst out into wild laughter at, for one: her accuracy, and two: her hand gestures which were ALL over the place.

She wasn't wrong though. Men really don't know the first thing about writing women.

~

Tyler greeted you at your seats with a loud and impatient "Here they come! What happened? Did you guys get lost again ?" But before you could protest your punctuality, you were paused by the voice of a slightly warmer but still emotionless Cillian, interrupting. "Thank you for the announcement Tyler but since the last of you are coming in now I think I'll start the register." As he walked past you two to get to his desk, he gave a polite "Morning ladies." Tipping his head at you both and smiling at you for slightly longer, which you returned, of course.

~

"So where do you want to sit? Front or back ?" Tyler asked as he walked first onto the coach.
"Oooo anywhere where there's a free three seats !" Abbie hastily suggested. The bus was set up so it had three seats on the right altogether then two seats to the left but since you three were relatively late it wasn't a matter of front, back, or middle but a question of availability. And the only free-three was the second row which was slightly quieter, as the rambunctious groups sat in their own little community at the back; ignorant to the rest of the world. That meant you three were awarded a bit of privacy and to your luck, Mr. Murphy would be sitting in the empty three-seater in front of you all.

As he walked onto the bus after everyone else, he stood at the front silently counting heads, mouthing numbers, and checking his lists. His focused face meant you had to stifle a bit of a laugh but being sat in the middle of the three-seater, you could easily pass it off as a bit of 'bus banter'. Once he was satisfied and made sure everything was in order, he gave the driver the signal and collapsed into his seat with a sigh.

The three of you noticed his presence now and it was too tempting to pass up. Apparently, Tyler had the same idea as he stared at him with a meddling smile.

"So sir, how's life going for you lately ?" Cillian did a double-take as he realised Tyler was talking directly to him, not paying enough attention.
"Uhhh, good Tyler. Nothing to complain about. How 'bout you ?" His face was blank but his eyes were sincere as he turned his head to face you all. As he did, he briefly caught your eye as you stared at him with a slight intensity that brought a twitch to his lips.

"Nothing to complain about."
You all chuckled, Cillian exhaled a laugh from his nose and closed his eyes fleetingly. "Good to hear it."

"Hope the new jobs treating you well, we are a rowdy bunch."

"It's going crackingly well Tyler, and you're not rowdy at all." His tone was warm yet sarcastic, bringing another round of chuckles.

"Little bit forward of me, but anyone special in your life? Any ladies?... or men? ... hopefully?" Abbie gave Tyler a quick slap to his arm, scolding him with his own name. But you simply giggled as you watched Cillian blush at the impropriety of it all. After a moment of regathering his confidence, he replied "Unfortunately for us both, Tyler, no men or any foreseeable men I can speak of." The three of you laughed as Tyler faked a pained look. "A lady though." Your eyebrow raised at the ... high praise.

"Ooooo fancy. A lady, does she own a leopard print coat. Does she smoke those fancy long cigarettes like 'Breakfast at Tiffany's ?" Abbie questioned.

Cillian clicked his tongue in thought.
"Now I wouldn't say that fancy. Just... regular fancy."

"Wooowww, she sounds thrilling," Tyler mumbled, causing the two of you, besides him, to giggle. But when you looked up your eyes locked with Cillian's, his eyes had darkened above his smirk. His expression tinged with something almost unidentifiable but if you had to guess you would have hoped it was pure unadulterated lust.
...
You would have hoped ( 🤷🏻‍♀️).
...

"You'd be surprised, I think you'd like her very much. I know I do." The next message was delivered directly to you, despite it being a response to Tyler. " Her company is easy to derive pleasure from." Right, that was a bit too racy for a conversation with your students but you were all 18 so... well you weren't, but for a very short time. (It's legal if you haven't done anything illegal people, remember that. Any arguments people have against the two of you, will not hold up in court.)

Not to sound unrealistic to those cynical people but the bus journey did take well over half an hour. (It's possible for school trips to be long and let's just say this museum is far away, get over it.) So once you had all gotten off the bus you could just imagine the picture it created for ongoing public. Like a bunch of dancers or athletes stretching and popping on the sidelines, getting feeling back into their body and certain bones back into the places they should be. Once the groans were silent and all the necks properly clicked, Mr Murphy was happy to lead us in to the building.

The four of you seemed to gather at the back throughout the trip. It was like you just all sort of gravitated to each other like a regular friend group. It felt odd walking around with your friends and your teacher slash secret-"lover" (and I use that term loosely). It felt as if he was just one of the group, he blended in perfectly, you had to admit. It felt natural. The four of you just spectated as the rest of the class messed about or made fun of the particularly small stone carved male members with the oh so famous "look, it's you" or the frequent naked cherub in the corner of the canvas. As childish as it was, it was equally as funny. No ones above classic humour, but it didn't stop the four of you from dropping the odd sarcastic comment or insult just to make it a tad bit more refined.

From your slow pace and the classes' hyper speed, it placed a few feet of distance between the two groups. So, whilst being able to supervise the class, Mr Murphy and the rest of you were able to do your own thing. This meant slowly circling sculptures or stopping for a moment in front of paintings while chattering and discussing amongst you.

Roughly at lunch time, the class stopped at the museums caffe. Most of the friendship groups separated to their own tables, with their drinks and their over-pricey baked goods (as one usually finds at museums); A few even scattered into the gift shop to look at meaningless key chains. As the four of you queued for your own over-priced products, Tyler and Abbie had gone first and gone to scout for a table. You and Cillian stood side by side at the counter waiting for your coffees. But as you reached for your purse you were interrupted. "No, no, no. Put that away. I'll get it." You looked up to him whilst shaking your head profusely. "No! I'll get it!" You protested and continued to search through your purse, this time however, Cillian pulled your hand out of your purse. "Y/N really, put that away . I'll get it !". Pulling out a £10 note, you objected again. "Really you don't have to do that, I can get it." He simply rolled his eyes, taking the £10 and shoving it back in your purse, snatching it from your frozen hands and back into your bag. "You're so stubborn sometimes." He muttered, as he took out his card. But as he proceeded to pay, under your breath, you uttered a "I could've payed for it." To which he replied, with a small sincere smile, a side-eye glance and a soft voice,

"I know.
But I wanted to pay for it."
~
As the trip continued, you all meandered from room to room, drink in hand. Tyler the cack-handed idiot managed to mess up the simple task of taking a sip when coffee dribbled from his cup all down himself.

"Ah shit." Tyler cursed to himself, as he inspected the developing stain all down the front of his white shirt.
"Watch your fucking language." Mr Murphy half-heartedly protested. Walking on, un-bothered. Meanwhile, you and Abbie were hastily searching for some sort of napkin or wet wipe; coming up short. The only option would be for Tyler to go to the toilet and manoeuvre himself under the tap and dryer. So after a while of arguing, Abby finally relented to go help him find it. This left the perfect opportunity for some one on one time.

~~~~
Hey you guys, long time no see. Thank you to all of you still reading/commenting/voting it really makes me smile. Especially all of you asking for an update - it's gonna be a very slow process and I apologise deeply for that but life is very hectic at the moment, work/education/family/friends ; all that jazz. I kind of have no idea how I'm gonna pick up from this cliffhanger but when the idea comes to me that's when you'll see the next chapter.

Hope you enjoyed 🖐🏻