Chapter Twelve

It was agreed by the girls that Rose would drive home because Sydney had fallen asleep, despite feeling more alert and awake beforehand. As Rose was the only other girl who could drive she had to be in the front driving. But Sydney made it very clear that she wasn't allowed to have any beverages in the front with her, and had to have Lissa next to her, before drifting off to sleep again.

Although Dimitri didn't fall asleep he was feeling a bit tired so he asked Eddie to drive. Mason was a beast on the road and would often end up in a race with random drivers, even if they were unaware of the actual race. Christian couldn't drive; he hadn't had the chance to start learning. And there was no way Adrian could drive with one hand in a cast.

The car journey back was a little quieter as Dimitri was also asleep, but it didn't stop Mason persuading Eddie to overtake the girls. The moment Eddie managed to get in front of Rose; she knew what they were doing. Lissa knew too, and before she could even say a word to Rose to not do what they were doing, Rose had sped up a bit and managed to overtake the boys. Jill had noticed this and tried to keep her laughter in, so that she wouldn't wake Sydney up.

Adrian, Christian, Eddie and Mason however burst into laughter when Rose overtook them, then realised that Dimitri was still asleep. All but Eddie glanced at the back seats, to catch Dimitri move a bit in his sleep. From then on they kept their laughing inside. If a laugh did slip from their throats it turned into giggles. The same with Rose, Lissa and Jill. They couldn't help but join in with the silly game the boys started of them trying to overtake each other.

The teens didn't bother about getting back to the school quickly. They were enjoying the ride. They even took a little detour in the countryside where they could drive a little faster and have short races down the lanes. Both cars had a roof window so Adrian and Christian managed to squeeze through their one while Jill stood on her own. After a couple of minutes of the trio pulling faces and laughing at each other Jill disappeared for a few seconds to come with a camera Lissa brought with her, and she took a couple of pictures of the two. Mason managed to find some room to squeeze in and joined in, but all three boys ducked when a tree came in sight, and Jill managed to get down in time before she was attacked by leaves and branches.

By the time they got back to the school the sun was setting, sending a beautiful orange and red sky over the countryside. Eddie stopped the car and Dimitri sat up immediately. Loud laughing and speeding, he slept like a baby. The moment the vehicle stopped, he was up and alert. Weird kid, but apparently this was normal of him.

Sydney on the other hand was still deep in sleep. When the group got out the cars Lissa finally started to tell both Rose and Christian off; Rose because she ended up speeding and acting foolishly, and Christian because he done the stupid thing of standing up out of the roof window and nearly getting attacked by a tree. The two looked sad, but the moment Lissa turned her back on them they glanced at each other, pulling faces that showed they were trying really hard not to laugh in a serious situation. Lissa was just worrying over them, they could had got hurt or in trouble, and they knew she was worrying.

When Dimitri found out what Mason and Eddie done he had a go at them. But quietly because Sydney was still asleep in the back seats.

"Should we wake her up?"

"No, she's been working hard on her science project the past few weeks." Adrian looked over Jill's shoulder. "Here, let me through." Jill stepped to the side allowing Adrian to move in and slowly slide his arms underneath Sydney. He slowly lifted her out of the car and held her in his arms. "Take me to your room, we'll let her sleep some more on her bed."

"We'll catch up with you guys in a bit. Where are you going now?"

"We'll be in the usual spot in the common room." Christian was the one to answer the pair. "Are you okay carrying her?"

"Yeah, don't worry about my hand, I can do a lot more now since I had the cast changed." Adrian grinned at his friends. So as Rose, Lissa, Dimitri, Christian, Eddie and Mason walked in one direction Jill walked beside Adrian who was still carrying Sydney like a princess.

When they reached the rooms Adrian laid Sydney on her bed and managed to pull her duvet on top of her body to keep her warm, not that it was warm enough in the room. Jill quickly scribbled a note on a sheet of paper telling her where they were in case she woke up.

Now the pair had to go over to the common rooms. They slowed down their pace so that they could talk as they hadn't spoken much to each other in the past few weeks.

"How are things? Jesse or Ralf haven't been annoying you or anything, have they?"

"No. I haven't seen them much." The young artist glanced down at the model to see her worried face, so he patted her on top of the head. "Look, seriously, don't worry about me. I'm fine. Really."

Jill couldn't help but worry though. Adrian was a bit of a cheeky boy. He often spoke back to his teachers that earned him lunchtime detentions. He often said snappy remarks to other students if they were annoying him, and there have a couple of times where he was caught smoking on school grounds and was told off. He did get into trouble occasionally.

Mia scared Jill. She could get Jesse and Ralf to do anything she wanted them to do. Jill still remembered how in their first year at school Jesse and Ralf spat out dirty rumours about Rose and Lissa sleeping around with not only other guys but with each other when Lissa's ex-boyfriend Aaron started dating Mia. Of course Dimitri stood up for the two by nearly beating Jesse up. Because of that, Jesse and Ralf stay well away from the Russian boy, but still pick on their other friends.

Adrian was doing a very good job hiding the fact he was left handed. But if anyone else outside the group ever found out and told either Mia, Jesse or Ralf then the chances of them attacking him again were high. She didn't want Adrian to get hurt again.

"Oh, there was also another thing I wanted to ask." Jill smiled up at Adrian. The conversation they had with Sydney earlier that day in the car was still fresh in her mind. "What do you think of Sydney?"

"Sydney? Well…she's nice. I've grown to know her a lot better these past few weeks. We talk a lot about things. Yeah, she's a great friend." He looked down at her. "Why?"

"No reason."

"No, tell me. Do you guys think I like her or something?"

"What makes you think that?"

"The guys asked me what I thought about you girls earlier, and I have the feeling they think I like her too."

"Well, do you?"

"I-I-I don't know." The stuttering caught her attention. Jill looked back up at Adrian to see he had gone pink in the cheeks. "Look, all I have to say is Sydney is a nice girl! Yeah, she's smart, really smart. She's funny. She's pretty. Fun to be around."

The more he thought about it, the more he realised that his heart was beating a little faster and his body was warming up. Adrian never had romantic feelings towards anyone else before. Quite often the only time he ever kissed another girl or slept with them was when he was at a party and got drunk, or he was really bored.

So maybe what he was feeling right now was something more than friendship? No, it can't be. They're just good friends, he decided. But the way he was over thinking it Jill could tell she found out how Adrian really felt. He did like her, but he was too shy and stubborn to admit it. Maybe a little more time would make him realise what she meant to him.

By the time they got to the common room half an hour had passed. Several other students who decided to stay at the academy during the week were gathered around the group, everyone just casually talking to each other with a bit of excitement in the air.

"Hey you guys."

"Adrian! Jill! Where have you been?"

"We decided to have a stroll on the way here, why?" Jill walked over to Lissa and Rose who were now buzzing with excitement now that they had seen their two friends.

"One of the guys from our kickboxing club swiped a spare set of Stan's keys from his office this morning."

"Does that mean?"

"Hell yes it does!"

"What's going on?"

"We're going to have a party this week!"