Until July *COMPLETED*

Chapter VII

'So it's Friday, straight after school, yeah?' Briella recalled her conversation with Ryan from a few days ago. 'Yeah, we can walk together down to the bus stop...' was his reply.

Her teachers' voice kicked her back to reality.

Briella was sat in class. She looked at the board, trying her best to absorb the new information she was shown, but the ticking of the clock was her distraction. Within minutes the bell would ring, marking the beginning of the weekend.

And just that happened. The bell went off and everyone left.

But Briella couldn't leave the school grounds, not just yet. She had to wait for Ryan.

If it wasn't for the fact that she didn't have to go to his house, she would already be halfway down towards the bus stop.

She had herself stationary by where the main door is. Looking at the flood of the school-body that left the school, she recognised a few of her teachers amongst the vast crowd of students.

Slowly but surely, the school grew more and more empty as fewer people exited the school. This was where Briella became confused. Ryan was not to be seen...

'Did he walk out amid the crowd of students and I didn't see him? Could he already be at the bus stop??' Briella asked herself. Dread slowly filled her up. 'We should have discussed our meeting point for today. But then again, I figured staying on the school grounds would be the most logical place to wait for him...'.

She looked down at her phone, turning it on, she didn't dare to unlock the screen. She only looked at the time. 13:28.

Letting out a gentle sigh and just after the screen darkened, she placed the phone back into the pocket of her jacket.

'If he doesn't show up soon, I'm afraid I'll have to leave in order to back the bus...' she thought to herself. But the thought itself left some sort of a bad taste in her mouth.

She turned her head left and right, Briella noted how the car park itself was getting emptier.

Getting herself ready to leave, she halted in her place when she heard the door bolt open. A shout followed. "Briella!!".

She turned back around just to see Ryan's wide frame running towards her. She was surprised to hear the mere bit of tiredness present in his breathing when he reached her.

"Ryan, hey.".

"I am so sorry, I got a bit held up in around the school. Had to get a few things organised for next week. I hope I'm not too late.". Just then have both Briella and Ryan began their way towards the bus stop.

"You're all good. I was just about to leave now anyway to get to the bus stop on time. But it was very good that you came just now," Briella replies.

"So you would have left despite our deal of you helping me today?" Ryan asked, the teasing in his voice was all too noticeable.

"Well... we do live nearby anyway, so I would have gone over to yours anyways.".

"But here is the trick..." Ryan started, a small smirk growing on his lips. "How would you know my apartment of residency?".

"You know, I wouldn't mind some detective work here and there. I could ask some of the residents for a big, blonde guy called Ryan," Briella replied, a small smile took place on her lips too. Ryan responded with a chuckle or two filled with amusement.

"A big, blonde guy?" Ryan questioned, entertainment still present in his voice.

Briella looked at him with a raised brow. "Yeah! I mean, you are a big, blonde guy. It's your distinguishable features.".

"Eh, you have a point..." Ryan answered back.

From there, the muteness took over the quiet conversation between Ryan and Briella.

Within about ten minutes, they reached the bus stop and a few more minutes later, a bus came along and picked them up.

It took there a mere twenty minutes to get to their stop and throughout this bus ride, no words were muttered between Ryan and Briella. The talking of other passengers and the humming of the engine echoed throughout the bus.

The bus stopped at their stop and both Briella and Ryan packed their things up before exiting the vehicle. With a loud hush and the closing of the doors, the bus began its way to its next stop.

"Alright, let's go..." Ryan said, and with that, they both began their way down the familiar street.

Minutes into their walk, no words were exchanged. The silence allowed for the sounds of nature to fill the air between them.

Though at times the quiet may be linked with awkwardness, the silence here showed no signs of it. People say that at times silence speaks louder than words. I guess, at this moment, the portrayal of such a saying couldn't have been any better.

Before Briella knew it, they both walk into a big building before heading up the stairs, straight to Ryan's apartment. Unlocking the door, Ryan let both Briella and himself inside.

"Welcome to my small den, as I like to call it. Feel as if you were at home. There are perishable goods and drinks in the fridge if you feel hunger or thirst," Ryan spoke as he closed the door behind him before leading Briella into the living room.

"Where can I sit down?" Briella inquired. Though she saw a few vacant places, she still proceeded to ask.

"Anywhere you like," Ryan replied. He began walking towards his kitchen right after letting his bag down by his work table. "I know I literally just asked, but I can't help it, do you want a drink or anything? I have water, some juice...".

Briella looked at Ryan. "Water will do just fine, thank you...".

"Alright, water coming up!".

With a smile at Ryan's words, Briella turned around, her eyes landed on a small, piano keyboard on Ryan's desk.

"You own a keyboard?".

"The piano keyboard on my desk?" he questioned. "Yeah. You can play it if you desire to do so...".

"I can?".

Ryan popped his head by the corner of the wall. "Yeah!" he replied, nodding, before disappearing back into his kitchen.

With his words of approval, Briella took her place behind the keyboard.

"Do you know how to work the keyboard?" Ryan inquired once more from the kitchen.

"Well, to be honest, not really. But I'll figure it out..." she replied.

"Alright, if you need any help, shout!".

Briella managed to turn on the piano. It was different from the one she was taught on, the one she got used to. But regardless, it still looked just as majestic.

She placed her fingers on the cold white tiles. The same, euphoric feeling filled her up. She felt like she could take over the world just by playing the piano.

From there, she proceeded onto playing the piece from school.

She didn't manage to play the full composition as she was stopped when she felt someone looking at her. It was Ryan, pleasantly surprised.

"So it was you!" he spoke up.