Detect thought

Bree watched as the fog disappeared from the window. She took a breath and exhaled on it again. The houses that passed by outside got less defined as the glass fogged up. She sat with the side of her head tilted against the window on the bus. They were on their way back to the school. Katkin and Dabria both had one more lesson to attend, and it was easier for her to get home from there anyway. Sel had said something about his moped being parked at the school, and Bree really didn't know what Amber was doing.

They got of the bus, and followed each other inside. Amber said a short goodbye and turned a corner. Katkin and Dabria checked their schedules to see where they were supposed to go.

"Great, english. I guess we'll be in touch later?" Katkin asked and sounded pretty low.

The others nodded.

"Yeah, I asked Almund to tell me if anything changed." Dabria said. "I'll hurry to my class now."

They all hugged goodbye. They did not usually do that, but today it felt good. Katkin hugged Bree last, and they held on a little bit longer than the rest, though it still was not completely clear what it all meant. At last, Sel and Bree were the last ones standing in the hallway.

"When is your bus leaving?" Sel asked her.

"In half an hour."

"What are you gonna do 'till then?"

"I don't know. Wait? I usually just sit at the bus stop outside, or like in the library if the weather is bad."

"I can wait with you if you want to? Since I just drive myself home."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Bree smiled softly at him.

They headed out again. The weather wasn't the worst, just a few clouds floating across a kind of blue sky. The sun was blocked out most of the time though, so they both closed their jackets as they sat down on the bench inside the bus stop. Sel let Flen crawl out of the big side pocket and the kitten sat down in his lap. Sel offered him his hand, and they played a little as Flen pawed at his fingers and pretended to attack them. Bree watched, it was calming too see the small creature, unaware of everything.

"So, what's going on with you and Katkin?" Sel suddenly asked.

Bree looked at him, he hadn't raised his eyes from the cat, but had a smirk on his face. She felt a light blush grow on her cheeks.

"She is staying at my house, for a while. Irma offered to help, we have the space."

"That's nice. So she sleeps like in a spare room at your place?"

"Well…"

Sel looked at her and raised his eyebrows. He didn't need to make her go on, they both knew she was going to tell him.

"She sleeps on a mattress in my room. We don't really have any spare rooms."

"Sounds cozy. A sleepover every night." Sel said, with something quirky to his voice.

"She literally sleeps on the floor. I don't know if that's very cozy."

"Okay, but what's with the hugging and general closeness?" He continued.

Bree fell silent again. She looked down on Flen and petted him, wondering for a moment if she was just going to pretend she did not hear the question. She realised though, that she liked Sel, and that she trusted him. She knew that talking about your feelings was healthier after all, so why not talk to him.

"Well. With the notes you know? I first thought that Katkin had planted them in my locker. Don't ask me why. But what I realised was that I maybe wanted her to have done it, or at least to have thought what the notes said. Maybe. I don't know. It just feels nice to hang out with her. And to be close to her."

Bree lifted her feet from the ground, and put her heels on the edge of the bench, pulling her arms around her legs. She buried her chin between her knees, and looked to Sel for a reaction. Sel just smiled. He didn't smile in a mean or teasing way, but rather genuine and kind.

"Do you have a crush?" He asked, leading her on.

"Heh… I don't think I ever had one before, so how would I know?"

"Let's see. Does it feel nice to be close to her?"

"Yes."

"Do you want her to talk to you a lot?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think she smells nice?"

"Yeah I do." Bree felt heat build up on her face.

"Do you want to make her laugh?"

"Sure."

"Do you sometimes wait for any reason for her to touch you?"

"Touch me?" Bree thought it sounded a bit to intimate.

"You know. A hug, holding her hand, her putting your hair behind your ear or whatever."

Bree smiled, thinking of Katkin doing does things.

"I take that as a yes." Sel put an arm around her shoulders and a finger on her cheek. "And this colour clearly indicates the result of this survey." He joked and chuckled as Bree covered her cheeks with her hands.

"I think it's cute. And I think that there might be a chance for the two of you."

"Don't say stuff like that. I don't know what I want to do with this yet." Bree said, slightly panicked.

It felt good to talk to someone about it, but she felt overwhelmed to say the least. She had not planned for Sel to deep dive into her emotions like that. Did she want to act on these feelings? Katkin was two years older, and she was not sure that Irma would approve of that.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to push you." Sel said, and stroke her reassuringly on the back. "I'm glad you wanted to open up though, I feel a bit honored."

"Thank you for actually asking, Sel. It felt good to have someone to talk to. I usually don't talk much about how I feel."

"I'll always be here if you need to talk more about it."

They sat quiet for a moment, both petting and playing with Flen, then a new thought appeared in Bree's head.

"How come you know so much about crushes and feeling Sel? Is there someone you're interested in?" She looked at him.

He didn't give anything away with his face, but just smiled at her. He looked amused, but Bree could also tell that there was a tiredness in his eyes.

"You'll have to unlock that conversation another time." He grinned, and nodded with his head down the road. "Time's up."

Bree turned around and saw the bus roll around the corner at the end of the road. She stood up, and turned to look at Sel again. He started to put Flen away again, and stood up as well.

"You get away this time." She said and blew a raspberry at him.

They laughed and hugged shortly. The bus rolled up to the stop, and Bree got on. She put her headphones in, and started a calm piano song, as she leaned in close to the window again. She set an alarm on her phone, as she knew exactly how long she was able to drift away before needing to get of. Then she closed her eyes and let the shaking of the bus and the music sway her away into dreams.