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It was suspicious enough that he was half naked, with Corrine holding a pair of his boxers, but after he hastily excused himself, without even a single word of acknowledgement to any of them, suspicions rose even higher.
Josie and Marshall looked at each other, but neither said a word.
After pulling out two chairs from the dining table into the living room for him and Corrine to sit on, Greg promptly excused himself. Suddenly everything became quiet.
Everyone looked around in silence.
This was not how she pictured their arrival. Firstly, she would have been ready when they walked through the door, and she would have definitely not have been caught dead in the middle of fetching Vaughn a pair of boxers. And secondly, she would have tried harder not to make things seem awkward between her and Marshall.
It was all just wrong timing.
Josie smiled at Corrine, who smiled back in return. "Nice place," she complimented.
Greg who was busying himself in the kitchen came out with an armful of snacks and drinks. "Thanks," he answered.
"Yeah, this is pretty much all Greg," Corrine added. She looked up from her seat and smiled.
"But wait till you see Corrine's new apartment. Now that's a looker,"
"Yeah, when do we get to see it?" It was the first time since their arrival that Marshall spoke to her directly. And when she answered she could hardly get herself to look him straight in the eyes.
"Soon, hopefully," She focused her attention on the red bag of chips on the coffee table, since her eyes refused to look at him. "They're still finishing up construction."
"Whatever happened to the one you were so excited about?" Lucas asked. He remembered her showing him and Josie a photo of a homely brick building, with a picturesque garden and window shutters while they were at the airport. She had sounded excited about moving in.
Greg chuckled, but let Corrine answer.
"False advertisement," she simply put it, glancing at Greg who took the seat next to her.
Z nodded in agreement. "Never can trust the internet,"
Lucas objected immediately. "Not exactly," and afterwards, they stayed on the subject for several minutes as Corrine sat back and took in the scene. She would have never imagined having all of her friends with her in London.
"So who was the lucky guy?" she heard Greg whisper into her ear, and she blushed when she saw Marshall glance in her direction.
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After a few more minutes she excused herself, as Greg bragged about his new role in a play; everyone seemed genuinely interested, and hardly noticed her leave.
It took several knocks, until she heard a voice on the opposite side. Quietly she let herself in.
She found Vaughn sitting on the edge of her bed--his bed--slipping on a pair of socks. He looked up, and smiled reassuringly. "Well, that was awkward," she leaned against the door.
"You have no idea,"
"You don't have class later do you?"
He shook his head, "No. Why?"
"Well I figured we'd take them out, you know show them around of course," Just as when she was talking to Marshall, she was looking everywhere but at Vaughn, and when she finally locked eyes with him, she found her knees feeling week under his gaze, just as it had been that night the power went out.
She scolded herself for acting so...unlike herself.
"Yeah, definitely," he said, not taking his eyes off her.
"Okay,"
Their conversation was quick and to the point. And when she turned around to leave, she felt Vaughn get up and move behind her. "Maybe you should wait a few seconds before you come out," she said quietly to the door.
He realized she didn't want anyone suspecting anything especially after the previous incident. He understood, but it wasn't like there was anything to suspect anyway. He hesitated and stepped back wanting to respect her wishes.
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She was already seated for a good minute when he came out, all smiles--an act, she figured.
"Hey," he greeted as if nothing embarrassing previously happened.
Everyone looked up. "Vaughn!" Marshall cried out, and surprised Corrine, by getting up to give him a hug.
Obviously, everyone else was surprised too.
"H-hey, Marshall," he hesitantly hugged him back, patting him lightly.
Corrine suppressed her laughter. It was truly out of character for Marshall to sound so excited to see Vaughn.
Marshall stepped back, and as quickly as he got up, took his seat again. As if embarrassed by his unexpected actions, he promptly buried a hand in chip bag, and stuffed his mouth with a handful of chips. Corrine noticed Lucas scold him, as some crumbs flew on his lap.
"Nice of you to finally join us," it was Z who got up next to greet him. He extended a hand out formally as if he was meeting Vaughn for the first time.
Vaughn smiled wholeheartedly at the sight of his favorite science teacher. Ignoring the outstretched hand, he reached out and gave him a hug. And unlike the one he gave Marshall, it was a genuine hug that he felt was long overdue. "I should be saying that to you guys. I hope you're not too tired out from the flight?"
"I feel strangely...younger," Z teased, and sat back down. "I think London's just what I've been needing,"
"It certainly grows on you, I'll tell you that," he let his eyes linger on Corrine who was coincidentally looking back at him.
He was looking at her again with that same strong piercing gaze, although this time there was a touch of uncertainty--a touch of tenderness--that made her heart beat faster. He smiled in satisfaction when he thought he saw a hint of color rise to her cheeks. She looked away, and he was forced to return to his friends.
He looked over at Lucas, and noticed he wasn't wearing those ridiculous goggle glasses anymore. "Love the new glasses Lucas," he complimented the newer sleeker brown frames.
Lucas sat there awkwardly not knowing whether or not to get up and hug him like Marshall and Z did. "Thanks," he simply said. "I like the new apartment," he added to equal out the sides.
"Thanks,"
As his eyes wandered over the littered coffee table, that he remembered Corrine clearing off minutes before they arrived, he knew that the only person left was Josie. He desperately didn't want to make things awkward between them, and he wished saying 'hi' didn't have to be so much trouble. He swallowed, as he slowly moved his gaze in her direction.
Corrine sensed his anticipation, and watched with sympathy as their first physical conversation since the day Vaughn left unfolded before her.
"Hey Josie,"
It became suddenly dead silent, even as everyone did anything to make it appear like they weren't listening. Marshall and Z appeared to study the ingredients list on the back of a chip bag, and Lucas played with a Big Ben keychain he found in the airport. Greg sat silently, with his head tilted up towards the ceiling.
"Hey," she returned.
"I'm glad you could come," he literally had to forced himself to say it, as it wouldn't come out freely on its own.
She smiled. "Me too,"
There was a moment of awkward silence where everyone looked up from their doings, but it quickly passed. "You know, I really enjoyed that scrapbook you made,"
It took a second for it to register in her brain. "Yeah, it was just something I threw together."
Vaughn cleared a spot on the coffee table, and sat down. "No, it was really good," he continued. He seemed genuinely engaged in the conversation.
Suddenly, it wasn't sympathy she felt as she watched the two converse like old friends. It wasn't anything close to being sympathy.
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I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Feedback is always greatly appreciated.