AN: If you read the other version of this, read this one because I've changed it, cheers. X
Despite being incredibly amused by Scout's determination to get the young couple back together and Kevin's frustration at being held here against his will (apparently he really wanted to get to Maths, but Scout refused to let him go. "Mr Chalk is your foster Dad; you're hardly going to get kicked out so shut up."), Christine forced the teenagers to get to their lesson before they got her into trouble. Scout flounced away, feeling like her idea was being severely under-rated and Kevin just mooched off, annoyed that he'd been kept from his favourite subject for no reason. They walked together in silence but just as they got to the maths classroom, Scout collared Kevin.
"Try and make some effort with him, yeah?" she whispered, referring to Connor. "Once you're back on speaking terms, you can sort him out and I can sort Imogen out and then we can all sort this huge mess out, alright?"
Kevin shrugged as they entered; he saw Mr Budgen sat sleep at Chalky's desk, nodding off. He made a mental note to ask Chalky why he wasn't in lesson when he got home. Everyone was clustered together in little groups, pretending to work but having quiet little chats about the latest gossip. Connor stuck out like a sore thumb, sat at the back on his own with his head on the desk and when Kevin noticed him, he realised this was his chance.
"I would ask whether I could sit here but I won't bother because I'm going to anyway." Kevin joked, hoping to start the ball rolling.
Connor sat up, running a hand through his messy hair. "Look, whatever my mum said to you, can you just ignore her, please? I'm not in the mood."
"I'm trying to sort things out between us, mate. It has nothing to do with what your mum said. She couldn't get a word in edgeways over Scout rambling on." He saw Connors face twist into confusion but decided now was not the time to explain. "It doesn't matter. I suppose I just… miss you being around, a bit. There's only so long a guy can put up with Dynasty Barry talking about acrylic nails without spontaneously combusting."
Connor knew Kevin had been tutoring Dynasty for a while now, and a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as he pictured the scene – Kevin trying and failing to teach Dynasty about fractions. "Are you and her together now then?"
"I don't really know, if I'm honest. We're really different people, but they say opposites attract, don't they? I don't think I could put up with the whole protective brother thing from Barry, though." He chuckled. "Wait a sec… I think this is the first time we've spoken to each other civilly since you punched me."
Grimacing at the mention of last week, Connor shook his head to try and forget about it. "I shouldn't have hit you. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and I took all my anger out on you."
"Is that your way of apologising?"
"That's the best you're going to get - your turn."
"I don't think it's you I need to apologise to." Kevin nodded toward the front of the classroom where Imogen was sat with Scout and Dynasty, feeling guilty when he saw Connor's face fall. "I don't understand why you two finished… everyone thought you'd be one of those couples that get together in their teens and end up married."
Mr Budgen told everyone to quieten down in his own furiously malevolent way. Connor attempted to steer the conversation away from Imogen, because every time he thought about her it felt like someone was twisting a knife in his heart and then proceeding to drag it all the way down his body. "I reckon I'll be living alone with a cat when I'm Budgen's age. Not even with a cat, actually. I don't even like cats."
"What, you really think you'll make it to 150?" Both boys burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. What Kevin had said wasn't particularly funny but they were just happy to be getting on again.
They didn't realise just how loud they were being until they heard by the hilariously irritated voice of Mr Budgen. "Can a man not cover a lesson in peace without being interrupted by two acne-ridden hormones?"
Kevin automatically reverted to the cheeky-chappy persona he had adopted to cover up his intelligence. "Sorry, sir. We were just talking about how old you are. I mean, you're a scientific breakthrough. You're a living, breathing fossil."
"I refuse to put up with your tedious rambling. Mr Chalk had better have a brilliant explanation for his sudden disappearance. You two, get to the cooler." Connor and Kevin grabbed their things and left, leaving a ever miserable Grantly Budgen muttering to himself about the joys of teaching.