𝟖.

                                    

                                          

The movie ended several minutes ago. Matt and Chris were asleep in their makeshift beds on the couch - me, Alyssa, Nick, and Madi were in their room. 
They made me promise for a debrief after the movie, so that's what I gave them.
"I did notice that he's been acting weird," said Nick.
Madi nodded, leaning back on her elbows on the bed. Alyssa and I were sitting at the foot of the bed, glancing at each other.
"Yeah," said Madi as she seemed to be reminded of something.
"You know, the day we met you he seemed strangely happy when we were walking back to the hotel."
Nick hummed in agreement. "But that day we found out that Alyssa watched our videos, his whole vibe, like, changed."
I shifted my legs to sit criss-crossed, facing them as I picked the lint off the blanket. This was all so unnecessarily complicated. I had only met these people, how could there be so many unresolved questions already.
"Show me the texts again," said Alyssa, making a grabbing motion for my phone. I unlocked my phone to show her the messages from Chris earlier on in the day.
"Yeah that's weird. What's 'oh lol' supposed to mean?"
I simply shrugged. We've known each other for barely two days, he probably just felt strange texting some random person.
"And he was for real into you that day at the pub. That's why I called you over in the first place."
Alyssa covered her mouth at Nick's words as she plopped my phone onto the bed. She let out a giggle as she shook my shoulder.
"I told you!" 
An aggressive blush creeped up my neck as I rolled my eyes.
"No he wasn't," I refuted.
Madi raised her eyebrow at me, scoffing. "Dude, he said you were cute. Why do you think he was covering his face when you came over?"
Nick stifled a laugh at my expression. I must have looked like a deer in headlights because soon after, Madi joined in on the giggles. I had to fight with everything in my power to not cover my face in the blanket a curl up in a ball.
"Well whatever he thought of me that day, he definitely doesn't now," I said before clearing my throat uncomfortably. Sure, they knew him better than anyone, but there was no way Chris had any interest in me. I spoke up again. 
"He seemed like he was gonna say something else but then Matt walked in and he, like, shut down."
Nick nodded in understanding. I appreciated their comfort, but I didn't know him well enough to be upset by this. I was honestly just confused more than anything.
"We felt the tension, girl," said Madi.
I wasn't sure if she was referring to when they walked back into the living room, or the movie night when I had to sit next to him. Either way, I internally agreed. The awkward atmosphere was undeniable - yet the reason for it was still to be discovered.
"We'll investigate more tomorrow. Right now, we should get some sleep before our trip to Belfast tomorrow," said Alyssa as she grabbed my hand to lead me out of the room.
We bid each other goodnight, and I turned off their lights before following Alyssa to her room. She was right. I was too tired to think about anything right now, sleep would do me good.
I didn't want to think about how hot and cold he was, or how he sometimes couldn't look at me, but then a fee minutes later he'd strike up a conversation. As sleep overtook me, I decided to leave that problem for another time.
- - -
The next morning was hectic as all hell.
Me and Nick were desperately trying to book the next possible tickets for the museum. Since we bought them so last minute, we ended up getting them for 6 o'clock, which meant we had the whole day until we had to be there. It also meant the weather would probably be terrible by the time we arrived.
"Its better than nothing," he tried to reassure me. I sighed, but I knew he had a point.
Matt and Madi were digging through their clothes to try and find something to wear, asking everybody in their vicinity for opinions on their outfit.
"I can drive us to the station, but you guys might have to squeeze a bit in the back," I said.
Trying to plan the seating arrangements was difficult, but we figured that since the train station wasn't too far, they agreed to endure being squashed together.
Alyssa was trying to make breakfast, to which I told her that we'd just get some on the way out. I was too stressed by the idea of missing our Titanic tour. By the time everybody was ready it was already 2PM, so we began to rush out of the house and into the car. I snapped a quick picture of me and Alyssa as the rest were arguing about who was going to sit at the window seats. 
Chris ended up shoving Matt into the middle as he took the side, sitting behind me. The whole ride there his hand rested on the headrest as he leaned his head on it. I tried not to pay attention to it as I focused on the road.
"Alright," I said as we neared the station, "it's a two hour journey, so we should be there for around half four."
We all left the car in a hurry, not wanting to miss the only train. They only came once every hour.
Throwing away the wrappers from the breakfast we pick up on the way, I fast walked ahead of them and went to the machine to buy my ticket. Chris jogged up to me, walking by my side to purchase his as well. He seemed to be in a lighter mood today.
"Thanks for all of this," he said as he got a few coins out.
I was surprised at his cheery tone. The last time he initiated a conversation, it didn't seem to go too well. But maybe I was just overreacting.
"No problem. I'm having a lot of fun."
He nodded, his eyes crinkling as he let out a goofy smile. "Me too."
He backed away from the machine slightly, looking behind at Matt who was waiting on his phone for his turn. Chris turned back around to face me.
"Uh- can you help? I don't know what I'm supposed to press."
I moved next to him, my shoulder brushing his gently as I stood in front of the screen. His eyes followed me attentively as I pressed the button for Belfast, making sure he got a return ticket as well. I took out some money before pushing it into the slots, ignoring his protests. 
"Consider it a repayment for the ice-cream," I said, giving him a toothy grin as I returned to my own screen to finish the payment process.
Madi and Nick raised their eyebrows at each other, wiggling them as they giggled silently to themselves. Alyssa just gave me a look as I turned around. 
"Guys go get your tickets and stop messing around," I said, fighting off a smile. I knew Alyssa was never going to let that go. She gave me one last knowing glance, smirking before moving off to buy her own train pass.