Page 78 of The Reunion

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Steph

‘Most Likely to End Up Together’

‘I’m sorry, sweetie,’ I tell Curtis, making a beeline back to him before I follow Bryony’s instructions, which I don’t dare disregard right now. ‘I should …’

Just go wandering off again with my ex-boyfriend, the one I very nearly kissed after spending an hour alone with him at the back of the school, immediately after telling my fiancé every single detail of it all. That’s not a red flag in the slightest, is it?

But kind, lovely Curtis just nods, and throws a smile at Bryony as she retreats into the school. ‘Seems like your friend is really going through something – go on, it’s fine. I hope you find the others. We’ll talk later, though?’

It’s timid, edged with that nervousness I saw in him at the beginning of our relationship, spiking up again around our milestone moments. It’s a request, a plea, and one I’m so grateful to have the chance for. I nod, and we kiss each other on the cheek before I peel away to join the search parties.

God, I love this man.

I hope he still loves me, after all this.

Shaun is saying something to his fiancée, who looks, understandably, pretty miffed. I hope that they manage to work things out, too; I know I’m not responsible for Shaun’s mistakes, but I still feel guilty for any hurt I’ve caused her. Still, she smiles politely enough to me, wrapping her arms around her waist before she follows the tide of people making their way back to the hall.

The others are already on their way to start looking for Ashleigh and Ryan, and Shaun and I are left standing alone outside.

He struggles to look at me and jabs a thumb over his shoulder. ‘We’d better …’

I nod, having to clear my throat. ‘Yes. Definitely.’

For a second or two, neither of us move, and I can tell that Shaun’s wondering if, as soon as we venture off alone together, we’ll resurrect that feeling from the back steps and be about to kiss all over again.

My stomach flips; I can’t quite tell if it’s nerves or butterflies.

It feels different this time as we wander the school corridors. Lights are already turned on and there is a hubbub of voices that seems to come from all around, the other people Bryony dictated as her search parties chattering away and their voices bouncing off the ceilings, amplified. It doesn’t feel like this is out of bounds or against the rules now, and the silence between Shaun and I stretches on, curdling into something tense and agitated that scratches at my skin and makes me want to run in the opposite direction.

Hoping that if I break the silence, things might find a more normal balance, I say, ‘That was a bit of a surprise, finding out …’

And at the exact same time, Shaun says, ‘Wild about Bryony, don’t you …’

We make eye contact again, both of us smiling now, and the horrible, nasty tension dissipates instantly.

And … there is nothing else rising up in its wake. It’s as if a spell has been broken and the nostalgia stripped away, and this doesn’t feel like reconnecting with my first love anymore, the great unanswered question in my life. It feels quiet, and normal, and like when I got chatting to the girls again or saw Greg or Hiro or Hayden. There’s a nice, warm feeling in my heart at spending time with someone I once knew well – but now, it’s not joined by attraction or heartache or anything else.

Shaun waves for me to continue, so I say, ‘Yes, it is a bit wild, isn’t it? I just didn’t see it coming from her! Online, she always looks so … And she’s got all those stories! It can’t all be untrue; I don’t believe that.’

He shrugs. ‘I guess maybe it’s something she does on the side and isn’t as successful as we all thought. I just can’t imagine her as a teacher. I mean – Bryony!’

I laugh, knowing what he means. She’s so fierce and bright and bold, and … ‘I don’t know, she seemed quite stern when she was telling us all off. If she’s half as enthusiastic about teaching as she was about pulling this party together, I bet she does a great job.’

Shaun hums thoughtfully, smiling as he pictures it. ‘Yeah, to be fair. She must be a really fun teacher.’

We start with our search of the music and drama classrooms, and I give an excited little squeal when I find Bryony’s name on one of the doors. Maybe it isn’t quite the same as seeing it in the credits of a movie, but even so. I do feel bad for her that she felt she had to hide it all this time, and I hope she’s not embarrassed or ashamed. She doesn’t deserve that. And I hope she doesn’t get any flak from her bosses about the fire alarm or the state we might be leaving the school in; she has tried so hard to keep order tonight, and that was apparent even before the power cut or the fire alarm went off.

Most of the classroom doors are locked, but Shaun and I knock and call, ‘Hello? Ryan? Ashleigh? Are you in there?’ just in case anyway. It doesn’t take long to clear through, and by then we’ve looped all the way around to the edge of the maths department. Roisin and Elise are nowhere to be seen, so they must already have gone back to the party; I wonder if they found them.

‘Well, the coast is all clear here.’ I get my phone out and, since I don’t have her number, I find Bryony on Instagram, so I can send her a DM and let her know. As I’m doing that, I say, ‘I suppose we should head back—’

‘Wait. Wait, just … Please?’

I look up to find Shaun has stepped in front of me, keeping his distance but a hand raised, palm out, and a crushed expression on his face that I immediately understand, with a pang of sympathy – not for him, but for who we used to be. Once we go back to the party, that’s it; both of us will have to face up to what almost happened outside on the steps and really speak to our partners about it, and deal with whatever happens next, but that won’t involve each other. We might not ever bump into each other again after this, and simply return to liking each other’s social media posts every once in a while, and occasionally commenting politely and supportively.

This is our last chance to talk.

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