Meet Me at Midnight | Tyler x Reader | School Bus Graveyard

| Ep 8 |

I arrive a little late to the school bus headed for Savannah. I enter and scan the full bus, hoping to have a good empty seat. I then find one beside Aiden and am relieved I can sit by someone I recognize. He steps out to let me through and I settle down. The twins are sat in front of us, wearing the exact same outfit. Ashlyn is sat alone in the seat across from us and Logan and Ben are sat behind us. Our group is all nearby, whether that was intentional or coincidental.

I smile at Aiden, "Thanks for letting me sit here. I was a little late."

He grins at me as he fiddles with a Rubix cube, "Ah, no worries! We all have our days."

Tyler pokes his head up from the seat in front of us, ready to run his mouth, "Nah, that's just how she always is."

I smack his head, making him slouch back down in his seat. Aiden chuckles at the two of us before looking back over at me, "Excited for the trip?"

I nod enthusiastically, "Very!"

Mr. Thomas steps onto the bus with a stack of papers in hand. He explains the schedule, advising us to stay in our groups whilst we explore the town. We are introduced to the chaperones and are given their numbers to save into our phones in case of an emergency.

I quietly watch Aiden work on the cubed puzzle, amazed at the speed of which he solves it. My eyes widen and I clap once he completes it in just a few seconds.

"Here, give it a try!" He tosses it to me after scrambling it back up. I look at it with narrowed eyes.

"Erm, I don't really know how to-"

"I'll teach you."

The rest of the ride was just him explaining the movements and strategies he's learned. By the time we reach Savannah, I've managed to match up one side of the cube. That was good enough for me and I felt proud.

We all step out of the bus one at a time. I stretch my legs and arms, relieved that I am no longer cooped up in that uncomfortable bus seat.

"Alright, everyone don't go too far out, make sure to be back here at five. And if anything happens, call us immediately!" Mr. Thomas orders before going off on another rant that I tune out. Taylor finds me and drags me along with her brother. Ben and Logan trail behind. Aiden calls out for Ashlyn and we all venture off from the rest of the students.

We peacefully walk through the clean streets of Savannah, scoping out things to do.

"What should we do first?" Logan asks shyly.

"Well, we haven't eaten since we stopped for lunch a few hours ago," Taylor recalls, "We can get some food and talk about what to do while we eat?"

We all agree to her suggestion and find a local restaurant around the corner. We settle in a booth, slightly crowded from how many of us there were. I am squished in between Logan and Tyler, my arms pressed up against there's.

The waiter takes our orders and then returns with our drinks. I sip on mine before asking,

"So, what's the move guys? The tourist from earlier gave us some pretty fun suggestions."

Ben nods before jotting down on his notepad, 'Horse carriage'.

"Yeah, we have to do that!" Taylor nods excitedly, "Horses are so pretty."

Logan chuckles nervously, "And scary-looking."

We all laugh at his paranoid response before Aiden adds, "I saw a face paint booth near the park. I've always wanted someone to paint my face."

I chuckle at his strange wording but then nod in agreement, "I'm sure we can do all these things. We have plenty of time."

After lunch, we all catch a ride on a carriage, just like Ben wanted. We then visit the historic cemetery a few blocks out. I quietly read each label, frowning at a few. Cemeteries were always mood killers for me.

I'm currently crouched down by one of the rusty tombstones, running my fingers over the engraved date. I hear a pair of footsteps approach behind,

"You didn't have to come to this with us, y'know." Tyler's voice assures from beside me. I stand back up and brush my knees of the dirt and blades of grass. I turn away from the tombstone to look at him.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't want to miss out." I say, sounding a little distant.

He places a hand on my shoulder, "Come on, let's go."

I smile a little as we all leave the cemetery. There was a reason why I never enjoyed going to them. Well, who would?

My dad died a few years ago, so it's pretty reasonable that I don't feel comfortable roaming around carelessly on property full of deceased people who've all lived their own lives but never got to fulfill it. It just hits too close to home thinking about all of these people who were taken too soon.

After the cemetery, we hit a few more spots until we are down to one more hour before we have to return to the main group.

As we walk down the sidewalk, an unfamiliar voice approaches from behind us,

"Excuse me!" we all turn around to see a short-haired woman walking up to us, "Would you be interested in a tour of the Sorrel Weed House?"

I raise a brow at her invitation. It was very out-of-the-blue. Plus, I doubt we can afford it.

"A group cancelled their tour last minute and now we have some empty spots if you guys are interested?" She continues, her eyes glowing in desperation.

I nervously glance over at Ty, who is no longer glued to his phone. Taylor steps forward, seeming all for this opportunity, "Wait, really?!"

She turns around to face us with bright eyes, "This place is supposed to be really haunted! We gotta go!"

I purse my lips, not feeling very confident about this. I lower my voice so the strange wouldn't couldn't hear me criticizing her, "I don't know Tay...I've heard some things about this-"

"Sure, I don't care."

"I'm in!"

My mouth falls open at the lack of hesitation my group mates were showing. Was no one else finding this sketchy?

"Then right this way!"

She guides us down the street and I fall in step with everyone else. Aiden then nudges my shoulder lightly, "Relax, dude. This is gonna be great!"

"Right..."