Door Number One

The Journey Home

School ended the way it always did, with Dom, Weasel, Jimbo and Liam waiting outside the corner shop near the bus stop. Aiden had to stay behind in detention as he had politely told his home room teacher to F off when he arrived late to school that morning. Liam and Jimbo were drinking a can of coke each whereas Dom was devouring a bag of haribo and getting his much needed sugar fix.

"I need a squid"sighed Weasel as he looked at his open hand and counted his shrapnel.

"You've got more than enough there for the bus"pointed out Dom, peering over his shoulder.

"It's not for the bus. I need to get some fags"said Weasel looking up from his hands.

"You smoke?"laughs Jimbo in surprise,

"Piss off! You don't smoke"retorted Dom.

Liam quietly handed Weasel some money to which he nodded in thanks. Ignoring Jimbo and Dom he entered the shop however came back a few seconds later looking slightly irritated.

Liam raised a questioning eyebrow.

"He's asked me for ID"admitted Weasel reluctantly.

The others laughed at him while Weasel handed Liam back his pound coin.

"Well you are in your school uniform"pointed out Liam.

"And you do look about 12"added Dom.

"Piss off I do not!"snapped Weasel.

Jimbo patted Weasels arm sympathetically, "Sure you don't. Maybe once your balls drop you won't have that problem anymore".

Weasel scowled at the taller boy, "Fuck you Jimbo".

Jimbo grinned back but then got distracted by the number 54 bus driving past them. The bus was overcrowded and filled with girls from St Augustus. At the top girls could be heard yelling and wolf whistling at them. The boys blinked slightly when one girl was brazen enough to lift her beige blouse and reveal her chest from one of the windows. The sound was deafening.

Suddenly Liam heard his name being called out from the madness that was St Augustine. He scanned the bus but couldn't single out anyone he knew at that precise moment.

"You coming lads"beckoned Jimbo, binning his can and reaching for his Oyster card from his trouser pocket before jogging towards the bus.

The others followed and climbed on the bus scanning their Oyster cards as they got on and traipsing up to the top deck. Immediately Liam heard his name called again and saw it was Trina and Cassie who were sitting right down the back. He waved and motioned the others to follow him. Liam and Dom sat behind Trina and Cassie while Weasel and Jimbo decided to sit in the seats opposite.

"Hi"Liam grinned at both of them, "Been a while"he joked.

Trina rolled her eyes, "Yeah like two days".

Dom gave Liam a quick kick of annoyance and glared at him. "Oh, this is my mate Dom and other there is Jimbo and Weasel, who you may remember speaking to on Saturday. Guys, this is Trina and Cassie"introduced Liam as an afterthought.

"Sorry about that"Trina grinned sheepishly at Weasel.

Weasel shrugged and grinned back, "No worries".

Dom suddenly looked at Liam and then Cassie as realisation dawned on him. As he nudged Liam sharply in the chest, the other boy blushed as he remembered the events from the weekend.

Trinas eyes narrowed as she looked at the other boys before they snapped back to Liam, "So where's that dick head best mate of yours?".

From the other side Jimbos eyes widened as he coughed loudly while Weasel grinned wildly. Dom was too busy staring at Trinas assets to hear a word that she was saying to which Liam gave him a quick kick to avert his eyes.

Liam nervously laughed and ran his hands through his mousy brown hair. "Think Aidens in detention at the moment. Things still good?".

Trina frowned slightly, tossing her hair over her shoulders, "Fuckers only gone and ghosted me since Saturday"

"Oh".

"It's not like I was asking for a life long commitment or anything"Trina went on bitterly, her eyes betraying her hurt.

"Our friend is clearly a moron. It's his loss. Your fucking hot"smiled Dom.

Trina laughed. She looked at Liam approvingly, "I like him".

"Like like or like?"asked Dom with keen interest, leaning further forward.

Trina didn't answer, she simply shrugged, smiled and bit her lip in a slightly flirtatious manor. Liam rolled his eyes slightly amused at how quickly Trina had moved on from Aiden.

"Why don't I give you my number and then you can let me know when you decide"said Dom eagerly handing over his phone to Trina.

"Smooth dude, smooth"called out Jimbo. Dom responded bu raising his middle finger before taking back his phone.

Liam took this moment to speak to Cassie, who was half listening to the conversation and half scrolling through her phone. He cleared his throat anxiously, "I was a bit wasted on Saturday. Are you okay and everything?"he asked vaguely alluding to the blow job she'd given him and hoping she hadn't regretted anything.

Cassie looked up amused, "if anything it was me taking advantage of you Liam. You really can't take your alcohol".

Liam scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, well...".

Cassie raised an eyebrow and continued to look at her phone updating her Instagram profile.

"I'm kind of regretting not asking for your number"continued Liam.

"Are you asking for my number?"asked Cassie, mockingly but held her hand up to take Liams phone. He passed over his phone quickly unlocking the front screen. "Cute"she commented as she glanced briefly of Liams screensaver of his cat Barnaby.

"Yes?".

"I had fun last night but I'm not really looking for anything more"she said carefully, handing back Liams phone. "Something tells me your not either".

Cassie looked at Liam pointedly and smiled knowingly.

Liam paled slightly. She knew. She fucking knew.

964 words