Chapter Twenty-Six - In Which They All Meet Up At The Bus Stop...

Briella continues walking down the familiar path and only minutes later, she reaches the bus stop.

She crosses the road and seats herself at the stop opposite to the one where both Ryan and her would get off at when taking the bus from school.

Then, as always, her eyes slowly walk their way up to the sky. Scattered clouds rule the blue sky with sunny intervals here and there, that is when the big clouds allow for it to happen...

Then, she lets out a gentle, respectful sigh before allowing herself to rest back in the plastic seat.

It was then that a wave of the fragrance she sprayed on herself rose and got caught by her scent of smell.

'I really do hope Ryan will like the perfume I have on...'. The same thought went through Briella's head.

Then, her eyes drop down to her suitcase beside her. And next, she looks back up and around her. The bus stop is pretty much empty. Apart from another guy that is about her age who is texting on his phone, there is no one else waiting for a bus at this stop.

Right before Briella, cars and other vehicles busied up the main road, driving up and down the street. Around the bus stop, people took over the sidewalks, there were a few bicycles here and there, but it was a rarity to see. Chatter and laughter echoed through the air, along with that, so did the roaring from the engines of the many vehicles on the road.

Then, a brief and a weak wave of the cold wind blew through the busy street, the busy sidewalks. It hugged the nearly-empty bus stop, causing Briella to shiver ever so slightly. She tightened her coat around her.

Then, barely a second later, a bus is heard approaching the stop. But it was approaching the stop on the other side.

Briella had her eyes glued to the white bus as it slowed down before turning into the stop. It drove for a meter or two before fully stopping.

A loud hush is heard before heads upon heads caught Briella's attention as they all stood up. Briefly, Briella looked through the window of the bus.

The large vehicle is stationary, and not even ten seconds later, a loud hush is heard once more. With that, the bus is off.

Only when the bus drives off does it take Briella an extra second to spot Nadia.

She waves at Nadia just as Nadia sees her. She greets Briella back with a wave.

Then, Nadia looks to her left and right before she takes her chances and begins sprinting across the busy road, to Briella's stop.

And not even five seconds later, she is beside Briella.

Briella's jaw is down to the ground. "You could have gotten run over, Nadia!!!" Briella begins. "There was a zebra crossing barely fifty meters from the stop...".

"I am a fast runner, not even the fastest car can get me..." Nadia replies with a big smirk on her lips.

'I sense a strong case of hyperbole...' Briella thinks to herself.

"Anyways..." Nadia starts before looking around her. "I'll take it that others are not here yet?".

Briella replies with a nod. "Yup. Hopefully they will show up soon as I don't know when the bus will arrive.". Briella lets out a sigh just as she finished her sentence.

Nadia plops herself beside Briella. "And if we miss this one, who knows where the next one will come by...".

"Yeah..." Briella sighs out once more.

Then...

Sniff, sniff. Sniff, sniff.

"Hmm?". Briella turns around to the sound of sniffing. Its Nadia, she is already looking at Briella. "Yes?" Briella questions a few seconds later.

"Is that a new perfume you have on, Briella?" Nadia asks. "Because I smell something floral... sweet...".

Briella's eyes light up. 'If Nadia managed to smell it, then so can Ryan!!!!'. "Yes, it's my perfume! But it's not new, I just rarely ever use it.".

Suddenly, Nadia's face goes deadpan.

"W-what's with that look on your face, Nadia?".

"It's just making my stomach turn ever so slightly, that's all..." she replies, her face becoming slightly pale.

"Oh...". Briella's forehead begins to sweat ever so slightly.

Then, suddenly...

"Hey, Briella! Nadia!!" A loud, faint shout is heard. It draws both Nadia's and Briella's attention to their left. There they see Cole waving his hand up high as Ryan has his eyes on them with his signature emotionless face.

Upon landing her eyes on Ryan, Briella's heart begins pounding against her ribcage. Same can be said for when Nadia landed hers landed on Cole.

The two senior highschoolers cross the road at the zebra crossing...

"I'll give it to them for their cautiousness of using the zebra crossing..." Briella begins before diverting her eyes to Nadia. "Unlike you who could have gotten injured...".

Nadia raises her right brow. "You have done the same thing I have. MANY TIMES.".

Briella replies by raises her brow at Nadia's words. "Me?? No, I have never...". Suddenly, confusion is expressed all across her face. 'Wait... have I???' she asks herself.

"Yes, you have! And I have had the privilege of being the eye-witness in nearly all the times you crossed the road outside a zebra-crossing...".

But before the conversation could evolve any further...

"Hey, guys!" Cole greets them both.

"Briella, Nadia," Ryan then speaks, nodding his head at them both.

Just then does Briella take a good look at Ryan's outfit.

'H-his outfit...'. Briella can't help but gaze at him. 'He looks so handsome... I don't think there are any clothing combinations that don't look good on him!'.

Ryan is wearing a casual black shirt with a pattern of white stripes that go across his body. The shirt is coated by a denim jacket, unbuttoned, with a woolly collar extending around his neck. His legs are wrapped with a pair of slim fit, ocean blue denim jeans which are bleached. All while he is wearing a pair of grey of low-top Vans shoes.

While Briella is looking at Ryan, Nadia has her eyes on Cole. He too is dressed very nicely. With a grey jumper covering his top, the white collar of a shirt can be seen as they are neatly folded over the rim of the jumper by his neck. His big legs are covered by a pair of slim fit, denim blue jeans, they are bleached just like Ryan's. Over his outfit, he has a olive green coat that stretches down to the very half of his thighs. With a pair of nice low top black all star converse coat his toes.

Nadia blushes, and the more she keeps her eyes on him, the more redder her cheeks become.

Cole noticed this and as a result, a small, yet wild, smile grows on his lips. He wants to do something, but just as he is about to take a step closer to Nadia...

"GUYSSS!!!" A shout booms through the air. The voice sounds familiar. "GUYS! WE ARE SORRY!!!".

They all turn towards the shouting, that is when they see Scarlett, then Ronan and finally Liam at the back running towards them.

When they reach Briella, Ryan, Nadia and Cole, they all slouch down in grave attempts to catch their breaths.

Once them three settle down...

"We are sorry, we ran as fast as we could..." Scarlett begins. All while the Briella, Nadia, Ryan and Cole look at them, dumbfound. Scarlett looks at them all in hope that they are all able to piece together what has caused them to be running late.

The silence continued for a second or two longer...

That is when Scarlett gives in with a deep sigh. "We missed the bus...".

The rest - except for Scarlett, Ronan and Liam - react with an 'oh' as they finally realise why they are so late.

"Well... the bus is not here yet, so I'll take it that we are not too late?" Ronan states.

"Pretty much!" Nadia replies.

Then, they all proceed on hurdling up into one big group.

"Does anybody know how long till the bus arrives??" Ronan questions.

But everybody shrugs.

"Hopefully soon..." replies Scarlett.

"Yeah..." Ronan agrees with her. "Hopefully...".

Then, brief silence descends upon them all. They all look at each other before slowly diverting their eyes to the ground right before them.

Then...

"So..." Liam begins. "How are you guys today?".