The hallways were fairly empty, safe for a few rogue teenagers hanging around their lockers and happily chatting with each other, and the occasional group of girls exiting the bathroom, their loud giggles bouncing off the walls and painfully piercing the eardrums of anyone who happened to be nearby. Judging by the time, the rest of the school should be having lunch at the cafeteria, which made it the perfect time for some sleuthing. Nobody would notice someone sneaking into the main office at that hour.

Not that that had ever been an issue for someone who was literally invisible.

Millard Nullings made his way through the near-empty hallway, positively overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions. He wanted to explore every corner of that building; to fully immerse himself in that new cultural experience in Jacob's timeline. But most of all he was dying to see the library. A library in that timeline had to be teeming with all sorts of new information about events that he had yet to know about in his own timeline. The thought of the possibilities alone was enough to make his mind race.

Alas, he had a mission to complete. And as any man on a mission, Millard had no time to waste. He had been assigned – or rather, he had assigned himself – with the task of searching the main office for any sort of document that would aid him in discovering the identity of the peculiar student that attended that institution. As much as it pained him, he would have to visit the library some other time – although he highly doubted he would ever have another chance.

Shaking the negative thoughts out of his head, he focused on the task at hand. He increased his pace, making sure he wasn't walking too fast, lest he risk the few students around hearing the sound of his bare feet hitting the linoleum. He found the door to the main office at the end of the hallway slightly ajar; just enough for him to fit through without alerting anyone to a door that somehow seemed to be opening on its own.

Poking his head inside, he saw the only person in the main office was the secretary, who was absentmindedly eating a sandwich behind her desk. On her left side was a small row of chairs backed up against the wall and a door with a golden plaque which had the principal's name engraved on it. The right side of the secretary's desk was a perfect mirror of the left side; the exact same number of chairs and a door. The only difference was the identification plaque on the door, which simply read "records".

Sneaking past the secretary was a breeze. She was so immersed in her thoughts that Millard could have waltzed past her whilst whistling a happy tune, and she would still be none the wiser. He grabbed the handle and waited for the opportune moment to open the door without alerting her to his presence. Luckily he didn't have to wait too long, for suddenly she had leaned down to pick something up. He seized that opportunity and snuck inside the record room as swiftly and carefully as possible, closing the door behind him so as not to arouse suspicion.

He spent a good half hour digging through all the documents inside the file cabinets. He looked through every progress report, disciplinary write-up and medical statement he could find, yet nothing too out of the ordinary caught his attention. Aside from discovering that a student named Harmon Bradford suffered from an unusual allergic reaction to water – causing him to wonder how they had survived for so long without hydration – Millard found nothing worthy of being considered peculiar.

He decided to try the principal's office next, since it was possible that they would have some more important files in their possession. Peeking through the small window on the door, Millard saw that the secretary was no longer behind the desk, probably having gone to the washroom. He quickly opened the door and stepped out with his back turned to the secretary's desk.

After making sure the door was closed, he took a step back as he motioned to turn around and head to the door at the other side of the room…

…only to bump into someone in the process.

"Pardon me." He blurted out, his entire body tensing not a second later.

He could feel all color draining from his face, as unlikely as that sounded. If the sudden physical contact had not been enough to alert the other person to his presence, then he was sure there was no ignoring the sound of his voice. Curse his innate sense of politeness!

He didn't even dare turn around and face whoever was behind him. Sweat began to pool on his forehead as he waited for their reaction. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth, mentally bracing himself.

"It's alright."

To say that Millard was confused was an understatement. This person had just felt the impact from an unseen force and heard a voice coming out of thin air, and that was their response? How could they be so calm after experiencing something so bizarre?

He finally willed himself to turn around and found something rather unusual: a young woman with wavy brown hair sat at one of the chairs by the record room. She was looking up at him, giving him a soft smile – although it seemed like her gaze wasn't exactly focused on him.

Millard wasn't sure how to proceed, since this was something he had never experienced before. His mouth hung open in bewilderment, until he caught a glimpse of the cane resting against the chair by her leg. A white cane.

She's visually impaired!

As wave of relief washed over him, just as an idea crossed his mind. This girl couldn't see – or rather, couldn't see that he was invisible – so he had the opportunity to do something that he had never been able to do with a non-peculiar: he could talk to her. With any luck, she would be able to help him find who they were looking for.

"I'm terribly sorry!" He apologized again, this time with more vigor. "I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, don't worry about it." She replied between soft giggles. "It's not the first time someone's bumped into me. I'm used to going unnoticed."

"I know the feeling." Millard half-joked.

"Are you a foreign exchange student?"

"I guess you could say that." He chuckled lightly. "Why do you ask?"

"I can tell by your accent that you're not from around here." She replied, her smile widening. "Scottish, right?"

"Indeed! You have quite the listening skills."

"Well, when you lose one of your senses, all the other ones heighten to make up for it. It's almost like a superpower."

"It seems like a great ability, although it must be terrible to unintentionally hear things you don't want. I would hate to accidentally hear people speaking ill of me behind my back. Although that has happened on a few occasions."

"That's awful. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Well, when you've lived with the same group for decades, it's easier to list the nice things they have to say about you."

She broke into laughter, a sound that once it entered Millard's ears made his heart skip a beat. He had never experienced anything like it; his heart was picking up speed, his cheeks were heating up and his palms were sweating at an alarming rate – all from hearing this one girl laugh. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought he was having a stroke.

"I'm sorry, please don't take this the wrong way." She said as she wiped some tears from the corner of her eye. "I have weirdest sense of humor."

"It's quite alright. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Millard. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss…"

"Lily. It's nice to meet you, Millard."

She smiled up at him, which made his heart swell. The more Millard looked at her, the more entranced he became by her beauty. She was indeed a lovely young lady, both appearance-wise and in terms of personality. Her mere presence seemed to make the world a better place.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are you doing here at this hour?" Lily asked as she reached into her pocket. "No teenager in their right mind would spend lunchtime at the main office."

"I could ask you the same thing." Millard retorted in a witty manner.

"I actually have lunch with the secretary from time to time. She's good company." She turned to Millard and cocked a brow at him. "What's your excuse?"

"I've already eaten." He lied, immediately feeling bad about it. "And I needed to ask for some information."

"Well, Patrice, the secretary, just went to the bathroom. So if you're willing to wait, she shouldn't take too long."

Millard nodded reflexively, humming affirmatively in response. He watched as Lily unfurled a thin chord and attached it to a small device she had taken out of her pocket. Millard recognized the items from one of Jacob's 'normalling lessons': a modern-day telephone and… earbuds, was it? She inserted the earbuds into her ears and pressed the telephone's screen a few times before inserting it back into her pocket.

From what he could recall from that particular lesson, Jacob had explained how, when connected to the telephone, one could use the earbuds to listen to music. Being the overly curious fellow he was, it wasn't long until Millard felt that all too familiar itch to know more – in that case, he felt compelled to know what kind of music Lily enjoyed. He pondered if it would be too prying of him to ask, but part of him felt comfortable enough with her to do so.

"What are you listening to?" He finally inquired.

Lily glanced up and removed one of the earbuds, extending it in his direction.

"Take a listen."

Millard slowly moved forward and sat next to her. His hands were trembling slightly as he took the earbud from Lily's slender fingers. He wasn't certain how to go about it, but after glancing at how Lily's earbud was placed inside her ear, he tried his best to insert it in his own ear in a similar way.

The moment the earbud was placed comfortably in his ear, Millard was amazed at how clear the notes that came from it sounded. He could hear each chord so neatly; he was certain he could never achieve such an experience with a gramophone. It allowed to fully immerse himself in the melody – a melody that sounded awfully familiar.

"Is this Agustín Barrios?" He asked as realization dawned on him.

Lily's head suddenly whipped in his direction, her eyes wide in shock, yet with a twinkle of excitement.

"Yes!" She almost squealed in glee. "Wow! Do you know how rare it is to find someone our age who knows Barrios?"

"It shouldn't be, if you ask me. He is one of the greats."

"Yes! Thank you!"

They shared a laugh, Millard's heart swelling even more with each chuckle that escaped Lily's lips. Her enthusiasm was truly contagious.

"Glad I'm not the only one around here with amazing listening skills." She commented before settling back against the chair.

Millard followed her lead and allowed himself to relax as they both fell silent, enjoying the soothing guitar music. Lily's arm was pressed against his, her warmth radiating onto his bare skin. He found himself closing his eyes, basking in the feeling of another body so close to him, the gentle guitar strums almost lulling him to sleep.

He felt absolutely at ease; a sense of calm which he couldn't remember the last time he had experienced. Lily made him feel that way – she made him feel calm, comfortable… happy, even. In his many years of existence, he had never met another girl that made him feel that way. He had been fairly young when he began to turn invisible, so he never got a chance to establish a relationship with a member of the opposite gender. And he could never bring himself to try and do so with any of the girls he lived with under Miss Peregrine's care. They were like sisters to him, so they were off limits.

Lily was different. She made him feel things he had never felt before.

She made him feel… whole.

He felt like could stay there forever; just him, Lily and the sweet sound of classical guitar music. He felt like that was where he truly belonged. It felt right.

And he would have stayed, had it not been for the sudden reminder of why he was that office in the first place, and the intense sense of responsibility that came with it.

A wave of disappointment washed over him as he opened his eyes and was forced back into reality. He almost pouted as he thought about the task at hand, releasing an exasperated sigh through his nose. As much as he wanted to stay there, he couldn't just ignore the pressing matter of finding the peculiar who attended that school. His friends were counting on him, and he wasn't one to let them down.

Glancing at Lily, he saw that she also had her eyes closed, fully immersed in her music. He felt a pang in his heart, both due to how lovely she looked and due to the fact that he had to leave her. As much as it hurt, he didn't really have a choice. The least he could do now was attempt to find out if she had any information that could help.

"Lily?" He spoke softly, removing the earbud from his ear and placing it on her lap. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure." She replied, removing her own earbud in the process.

"This may strike you as somewhat odd, but…" He trailed off, carefully choosing his next words. "Has anything strange happened around here, lately?"

"It's a high school. Strange things are always happening." She laughed.

"You have a point." He released a few chuckles before returning to his serious demeanor. "But in all seriousness, have there been any occurrences that were more out of the ordinary than usual? Dare I say… peculiar?"

The smile on Lily's lips suddenly vanished and she seemed to tense up. She turned her face away from him, and Millard began to fear that he had crossed some sort of line.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked, her tone a lot darker than it had been before.

"I guess you could say I'm an enthusiast. A connoisseur, if you will." He treaded lightly, tying his best to convey that he meant no harm. "I've heard rumors about a student here who possesses some special abilities. Is that true?"

Lily began to nervously wring her hands, all the while avoiding eye contact with him. Millard gently took hold of her hands, the sudden feeling of their skin touching making his heart skip a beat and causing her to quickly turn her head in his direction.

"Lily, I promise you I have no ill intentions whatsoever. Quite the contrary, actually. My sole goal is to help that person, but in order to do that, I need to know their identity, first." He squeezed her hands lightly in a reassuring manner. "All I ask is that you trust me."

Her eyes drifted to the side for a moment, as if she were deep in thought. She bit her lower lip as she pondered, the sight of her rosy lips reddening causing Millard's cheeks to flush. When her gaze met his again, he could read some resolve in her expression – she was ready to cooperate.

She had opened her mouth to speak when the loud, high pitched sound of an alarm flooded the room. Millard reflexively covered his ears to drown out the blaring noise, whilst Lily remained surprisingly serene.

"It's probably just another fire drill." She declared calmly. "We've been having a lot of those, lately. And I don't smell smoke."

"Oh? Is your sense of smell another one of your 'superpowers'?" Millard joked, trying his best to elevate his voice in order to be heard over the sound of the alarm.

"You'd be surprised." She grinned.

"Maybe it's best if we leave, just to be safe." Millard got up and gently took hold of Lily's arm. "Allow me to help you up."

"I appreciate it, I really do, but I've got this." Said Lily as she grabbed hold of her cane and lifted herself up from her seat. "Still, I'm glad to know that chivalry isn't dead."

As Millard felt the temperature of his cheeks increase tenfold, the secretary ran into the room, her own cheeks flush from the sudden adrenaline rush.

"I seriously hope this is just another drill." She panted, desperately trying to catch her breath. "Let me just grab my things and we'll head out together, OK?"

"Thanks, Patrice." Lily beamed.

Patrice rushed behind her desk and began gathering her belongings in a haste. While she was distracted, Lily inched closer in Millard's direction, her gaze fixed on the floor beneath her.

"I know who you're looking for." She whispered, the sound of her voice barely audible over the blaring alarm. "Meet me after school at the Steamy Bean. It's a café not too far away from here. I'll tell you all you need to know then."

Millard smiled to himself and gave Lily's arm a gentle squeeze as a positive response to her instructions. Just then Patrice came and wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulders, leading her out of the main office. As they were nearing the exit, Lily turned her head in Millard's direction to wink at him and discretely waved goodbye.

As they turned into the hallway and disappeared, Millard found himself grinning from ear to ear, his heart racing and his cheeks heating up to such an extent that he was almost certain that others would be able to see it despite his invisibility. An immense sense of accomplishment coursed through his body. Not only had he managed to find a way to obtain the information he was looking for, but he also managed to forge a relationship with a non-peculiar in the process. And not just any non-peculiar – a girl!

Millard now had two objectives in mind: to find the rest of his group and tell them the good news, and ready himself for his meet-up with Lily. Truth be told, after all the ordeals he had been through lately, he was in desperate need of a shower.