So, uh, did Sophia see that, or…?

I broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes as I settled back in my seat.  Even before he opened his mouth to say something, I was giving him the smallest shake of my head.  He closed his mouth. 

Heh. Yeah, I don’t blame you for wanting to say something in reaction to that, Brian.

Y’know, maybe Rachel was partially right. If the idea of Taylor as a potential romantic interest hadn’t occurred to Brian before, it presumably will now.

When I looked away, I felt his arm settle around my shoulders.

Playin’ the part.

I looked and didn’t see Sophia at the front of the bus.  When I checked over my shoulder, I found her near the back.  She was staring at me.

“Oh hi, Sophia! How are you? This is Brian, he’s with me.”

I startled when something moved to my left.  It was just the person sitting next to me standing to get off at the next stop, but it made me aware of just how tense I was.  I reached up and touched Brian’s elbow.  When he glanced down, I moved over into the empty seat and pointed to the vacated spot.

This sounds like it would make Taylor more visible to Sophia.

He smiled and sat down beside me.

My pulse was pounding in my throat, and I couldn’t tell him why, not here.

Afraid of eavesdroppers? Although I suppose Sophia hearing it is a risk.

I waited and tried to organize my thoughts, as people from the front of the bus moved toward the back.  It took some doing, but I avoided looking at Sophia.

I reached up and put a hand on his shoulder, used it to rise high enough to murmur in his ear, “Do me a megahuge favor?  I’ll explain after.”

Ten hours later, in Siberia: “It might be time for that explanation, Taylor.”

Or maybe not.  Maybe he would’ve liked the attention from a girl that looked like her.

Bleh.

It’s getting to her.

She still hadn’t seen me.  I could see why – I was sitting, and she and Brian were standing, and there were others between us, obscuring her line of sight to me.

Ah, right, I forgot about that arrangement.

An arrangement that is perfect for Sophia to only see Taylor once she actually approaches Brian.

Heh, I can’t help but imagine Sophia coming over to hit on the hot guy she saw on the bus… and then she sees Taylor sitting next to him, doing a little wave with a smug expression to rival Lisa, and saying, “Oh hi, Sophia. How are you? This is Brian, he’s with me.”

It’s not at all likely to happen, especially given Taylor’s lack of confidence that Brian would pick her over Sophia, but it’s a fun mental image.

She was oblivious to the attention and to my existence, preoccupied with a conversation over the phone.  She looked annoyed, bored, and distracted, as the person on the other end did most of the talking.  Probably a parent.

Okay, good, this might give you some time to make yourself less recognizable at a glance.

The bus continued on its route, more people filed in, and the people near the front moved further back.  I stared at her, waiting for the moment she would see me and make eye contact.  I wasn’t sure what she’d do, or what I’d do, but that moment held every iota of my focus.

There’s also the chance that Sophia is only doing the horrible things due to peer pressure and just plain won’t care. That’d imply she’s decent at acting, I suppose.

She was Emma’s best friend.  The person who had shoved me into the locker, back on the day I’d gotten my powers.  On countless occasions, she had pushed and tripped me, often several times a day.

Yeah, no, I don’t think she’s acting.

She’d knocked me down the stairs, when I was near the bottom of the flight, even got others to do similar things.  Given that she’d been suspended after my last meeting with her, I somehow didn’t think she’d walk away without confrontation if she saw me.

Probably not.

The bus had stopped to pick up passengers, and Sophia Hess was among them.

Ohhh boy.

Welcome to Taylor’s civilian life, Brian. You are now about to become ammunition – there is no way Sophia won’t tell the rest of the trio if she spots Taylor with a boy. Exactly what the Harpies will do with that information if Taylor returns to school someday, I don’t know, but it can’t be good.

And that’s after whatever might happen right here on this bus.

Her sleeveless polo top was long, extending down to her waist, and clung tight to a slender body with curves and a chest I’d never have.  The tennis skirt she was wearing was only barely long enough to be decent.  More than one set of eyes turned her way as she boarded the bus, Brian’s among them.

It’s natural for people’s eyes to be drawn towards anyone boarding the bus simply because they’re moving and new to the scene, but this feels… stronger than that, if that makes sense. And Brian’s eyes specifically being among them is bad, not because he might be attracted to Sophia, but because it’ll be a hard blow to an already self-conscious Taylor if she thinks he might be.

Also, props to Wildbow for the reminder of Taylor’s self-image issues showing up right before this development. It makes for a pretty good transition.

Now where were we… Ah, right, I left us off on a cliffhanger as to what sight felt like a bucket of cold water for Taylor.

Let’s see what horrors await her, shall we?