TEACHER TEACHER! [re-uploaded due technical issues with first upload]

Chapter 23- A Moment Shared (Part 2)

WARNING:
EMOTIONAL CONTENT.
Mentions young carer pressures, anxiety, social pressures, emotional distress.

A rather misshapen circle was formed in the living room.
Elliott hoped Zee would play, but she had already made a beeline for the refreshments table whilst everyone was finding a place in the circle.
Naomi placed an ice-cold Coca-Cola bottle in the centre of the circle.
Aurelia shuffled forward.
With a grin on her face, she spun the bottle. 

Irene looked around at all of the excited faces.
She couldn't really understand what all the fuss was about.
This was basically a glorified kissing game. And why was everyone in such a hurry to kiss each other in the first place?
Did they all like each other or something? No, Irene knew that was highly unlikely. 

A loud 'ooh' sound, coming from the others, caught Irene's attention.
The bottle landed on Eloise. 

Aurelia smirked at Eloise, who just looked down. 

"What, can you not handle me, Bhasin?"

Eloise looked up at her, making sure to maintain eye contact so Aurelia knew she wasn't intimidated.
She quickly glanced at Atlas, worried that James' comment earlier in the week was still playing on his mind.
She knew it was just a game, but she was also a shoulder for Atlas to cry on when Aurelia first broke up with him.
She hated seeing her friend hurt then, and she refused to be the reason he could potentially get hurt now. 

However, Atlas gave her a subtle nod, followed by a small smile. 

"We doing this or not, Eloise?" asked Aurelia. 

Confident Atlas wouldn't be hurt, Eloise nodded.
Aurelia turned towards her and got up, walking in her direction.
When she got to her, she sat down on her knees.
She grabbed the collar of Eloise's jacket, pulling her closer.
When their lips connected, Aurelia placed her free hand on the back of Eloise's head. Before she could deepen the kiss, Eloise pulled away, to Aurelia's surprise. 

Eloise smirked.
"Didn't want to give you more than you could handle."

Aurelia's eyed widened, but after a couple of seconds, she chuckled.
"Fair enough.
Well played, Eloise."

During their kiss, the other students cheered.
Irene couldn't for the life of her, work out why it was such a big deal.
They acted like this was some form of entertainment, but it was far from entertaining as far as Irene was concerned. 

Atlas spun the bottle, and Eloise noticed the worried look on Spencer's face.
Remembering their earlier conversation about Spencer being worried his first kiss would be embarrassing, Eloise frowned.
She wanted to help him, but she wasn't sure how to. 

"Irene!
The bottle landed on you", said Elliott. 

Rowan looked up at Irene.
A part of him wanted to see if she was excited at the prospect of kissing Atlas. Although he couldn't make out what her facial expression meant, he was relieved that she wasn't grinning or jumping with joy. 

"Oooh, pucker up, Irene", said Elliott, earning an eye roll from Irene. 

"It's ok, we don't have to if you don't want to", said Atlas.