8.

When the bell rang to end the last class, Lle picked up his backpack and made his way outside the classroom with the rest of the student population. No one seemed to mind as they bumped shoulders with each other because they were all focused on talking about their weekend plans.

He released an exhausted sigh as his feet dragged him towards the Student Council meeting room. Once he stepped in, the whole conversation became softer until barely anyone was speaking anymore.

"Good day, everybody," he said as he took a seat in the circle and scanned around for a particular face. "Where's Sofie?"

"Dance rehearsals. She asked to be excused," one of them answered.

"And who gave the go-ahead? I thought I was explicitly clear on how important it is that we are all present."

"I did," Emily challenged, with a raised brow. He scoffed. Of course, she would. She had something against him from the moment he won the Best Fifth Grader in primary school.

"It would have been nice if you forwarded her leave to me-"

"But I think that as the Vice, I'm allowed to make changes-"

"And as President, I oversee everything. Is that clear?" he bit back sharply.

"It's a simple leave, Llewellyn," Amber, another member and their friend, said with a gentle tone which calmed him down. He collected himself and exhaled slowly, saying his apologies to the rest of the group. By this time, everyone was used to their little beef. Emily never failed to get under his skin.

"Shall we begin?" Emily smirked, glad that she got him riled up.

"Please," he gritted his teeth.

***

"Bye Llewellyn," Amber waved as she walked out last, leaving Lle alone with his notes that he had to finalize and report to the School Board on Monday. After 10 more minutes, he packed up and locked up, heading towards the gym hall where he'll take a shortcut to the parking lot for the students.

As he walked closer, he could hear some music coming from the hall. Thinking that it might be one of the after school activities going on, he carried on, thinking of little nothings. When he opened the door, he paused in his steps as the song became louder. He watched the girl dance alone on the stage. He looked around and there was no sign of another person.

His eyes went back to her again, and he got entranced as he watched her dance with no care in the world. The more he watched her swiftly move across the stage, the more he felt his smile forming. At first, he thought she was really good, then as the song went on he felt the meaning behind her choreography.

Soon, his smile fell and he was lost in how she moved so gently and yet so quickly, and it was like she was awakening his feelings. He gripped his phone harder when he felt something in the pit of his stomach and the face of a certain someone consumed his thoughts. If only it were easy.

"Oh, hey, I didn't see you there," she gasped, walking quickly to pause the music from the speakers with her phone.

"No, no. It's okay, I was just leaving," he brushed it off, clearing his throat and wondering where his mind was a few seconds ago.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be at the meeting today. I informed Emily ahead of time, though," she said as she sat on the edge of the stage. He walked up to the front row.

"That's okay, I'll send you everything we discussed," he said as he placed his bag down and looked around. "Cool hangout."

"Right? I love this size," she said as she jumped off the stage and came to stand beside him, turning him around so he could look at the back. "When you stand up there, you get the best view of the performers. When you're on stage, you feel powerful."

"Poetic," he teased and she beamed.

"I should get going. I'm going to lock up, you can leave," she said as she jumped back on stage and disappeared behind the curtains.

He chuckled, taking his bag and walking out. He sat on the hood of his car and decided to wait for her. He wasn't even sure if she was coming back out this way or not, but he hoped the other way was already locked so that she could come out through the back doors.

After sitting for ten more minutes, he was about to conclude that she left through the front, so he got in the car and started the engine. Just then, the back doors opened and out she walked in a fresh set of clothes and her hair in a neat bun. He watched her lock up before he hooted, catching her attention.

"Why are you still here?" she asked when she reached him, her hand leaning on the driver's door.

"I was wondering if you needed a ride," he lied. He doesn't know why he waited for her. But judging by the look on her face, he was glad he did.

"Are you sure? I was planning on getting a cab-"

"Get in," he said, a small smile on his face as he unlocked the side of her door. She quickly walked over and got in. She thanked him for the offer and put on her seat belt as he drove out of the school premises.

"Are your parents around?" he asked, making small talk, which she appreciated. This was the first time in so many years that they hung out outside of school obligations.

They initially drifted apart when they came to high school and the rivalry between him and Emily peeked, which caused him to lose out on some friendships for the sake of A-levels.

"No, but Consuela is if you remember her," she smiled, glancing at him to share an almost forgotten memory. He smirked, remembering exactly what was on her mind. "My mom is at a business conference thing in the Maldives," she sighed heavily, biting her nails.

"No need to explain," he said sincerely, earning a tight smile from her. He slowed down as he pulled up at her house.

"Here we are."

"Thank you, Lle. See you Monday," she said as she opened the door. She came to a stop when she felt his hand on her shoulder and looked over, waiting for him to speak.

"Do you have plans tomorrow?" he asked, facepalming himself mentally since he doesn't know where he's going with this.

"Uh, I was planning on doing some final year projects, why?"

"Do you mind if we worked on them together?"

"Group work?" she asked, scratching her forehead in thought. Their teachers encouraged them to work in pairs, but everybody knew that she always worked alone. Nevertheless, he nodded, testing the waters. "I'm giving you one chance to prove yourself worthy of being my partner," she deadpanned, making him chuckle.

"Alright, I'll text you," he said with a small wave. She bit the inside of her cheek and just nodded, saying her goodbye as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. He watched her run into the yard and into the house. Only then did he drive off.

***

Once inside her bedroom, she sighed and dropped her bag on the floor next to her bed before falling face down on her bed. She screamed into the pillow, her mind racing with questions of why he was taking small steps to revive their friendship. It took her a long time to accept the terms he indirectly gave her and, well, everybody else.

But still, he was one of her best friends at heart. And their friendship wasn't dead and buried. They kept being civil with each other but it didn't go unnoticed that they were out of each other's lives. Was she going to allow him to just walk back in?

Her thoughts were interrupted by multiple pings going off on her phone. She reached for it in her bag and unlocked it, feeling excited when she saw his name in her notifications.

Llewellyn Stamford: 5 photos

She opened the images and saw that they were notes from the meeting she missed. She smiled, staring at his sloppy handwriting.

Me: thanks a bunch she replied, changing his contact name while she was at it.

Lle: no probs. Please send me the song you were dancing to

Me: '1 Attachment loading'

Me: you liked it?

Lle: yeah, I believe I shed a tear

Me: you still got them jokes, huh?

Lle: stuck with me.

Her fingers did that dance over the keypad when you don't know what to type back. When she couldn't think of anything to type back in, she switched her WiFi off and placed her phone under her pillow.

"Fuck," she sighed, hating where this was going and yet she wanted to take a step forward because if she didn't, she would risk them becoming even more distant.