It was finally Friday, and Kyle had heard through the grapevine that some of the staff were going out for drinks at a nearby pub called The Leopard. It was apparently a rather upscale and bourgeois establishment that the teachers liked to go to while the students tended to frequent the local college pubs. Kyle remembered all the New York City bars and clubs he and his friends used to go to during his Julliard days, and he realized that that was really the last time he had gone out for drinks with his peers.

Has fame really cut me off from other people that much?

It had been years since Kyle had been in one place long enough to do normal things like go out to a pub with friends. Perhaps it was time that changed? It was never too late to start again.

The music composition teacher - a nice young Scottish bloke named Dave - had been the one to approach Kyle and ask him to come out for a drink with the professors that night, and Kyle immediately agreed.

"Chloe's not going to be there, though, is she?" Kyle couldn't help but ask, unable to hide his hesitation. He did want to go out for a drink with Dave and the others tonight, but he was afraid Chloe would be there and likely ruin the whole night.

"Oh, no she's not," Dave assured him with a knowing grin. "She was invited, I think, but she said she had a fan meet-up or something over in Camden tonight."

"Good," Kyle said, smiling in relief. "I've been doing my best to avoid her since we both started teaching here, but lately I feel she's been throwing herself into my path wherever I go."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Dave laughed. "The look on your face whenever she's near ought to dispel any rumors of the two of you getting back together!"

"Very true. So who's all coming then?" Kyle asked as he and Dave walked down the corridor toward the teacher's offices.

"Just you, me, some of the music history teachers, Kier from the choral department, and Lydia the music theory professor. Maybe a few others as well, but I haven't heard anything."

Kyle's ears perked up slightly when Dave mentioned Lydia. If she was going, then surely Stephanie was too? He was suddenly quite eager to go out tonight. "Sounds like fun."

Kyle's mind had strayed to Stephanie more than once in the past few weeks. He thought back to when he last saw her a few days ago, practicing her violin upstairs in the performance hall - unfortunately Chloe had been there too, but Kyle tried not to pay her any attention. He had been much more interested in talking to Stephanie and hearing about her getting one of the fine tuners in her violin taken out. He knew how much time and effort she put into practicing her violin; she was undeniably good, and he wasn't sure why she felt so insecure about her musical abilities since she was so obviously talented. He was at least happy to know she was pushing herself more in an effort to expand and discover her own capabilities.

But then she had said something that gave him pause. During their conversation, he had made a stupid joke, and she had insinuated that she wasn't single. He hadn't asked, technically, and he supposed it wasn't really his business, but he very much wanted to know who her boyfriend was and if it was serious.

Honestly, it was hard to believe someone as amazing as Stephanie was still single.

Kyle had been reluctant to admit it to himself at first, but he was really starting to like Stephanie. Quite a lot, in fact. He thought she was pretty, without a doubt, but there was just something else about her that intrigued him like no other girl had done for him before. Perhaps it was her passion for music, or maybe it was the way she spoke to him: she was sassy, snarky, funny, and unintimidated by his fame. She was a refreshing change from all the fangirls he came across on a daily basis.

Kyle quickly blinked and shook his head, quickly trying to clear his thoughts of a girl he potentially couldn't have.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephanie and Lydia arrived together at The Leopard that evening, and immediately Stephanie felt out of place.

"Why did you say it was okay for me to wear jeans here?" Stephanie hissed in Lydia's ear as they made their way through the pub. It was a rather upscale, fancy-looking establishment with soft lighting and gold trim on the burgundy leather upholstery. The place was moderately full, and the people sitting around with their fancy drinks looked far classier than Stephanie felt in her short-sleeve blouse and skinny jeans.

"Oh relax. You look fine," Lydia insisted. She was wearing the nice knee-length dress and cardigan she wore to teach today, and Stephanie couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. "It's not like there's a dress code here or anything."

"I know, but still," Stephanie frowned, still looking around. "I feel like I'm going to stand out, and not in a good way."

"You'll be fine. Just stick with me," Lydia said, leading them to the back of the pub where the other Royal Academy teachers were sitting together at a large table. Stephanie followed her, feeling less eager than ever to join Lydia's colleagues for a drink.

Once they arrived at the table, however, and they were greeted by everyone sitting there, Stephanie's eyes immediately gravitated toward one person in particular: Kyle was sitting beside one of the male teachers on the far end of the table, nursing a pint of beer with his eyes directed toward her.

Stephanie felt herself blush and her heartrate tick up slightly when their eyes met, and she lifted her hand up in a tentative wave. Kyle smiled and raised his beer toward her in a toast.

Stephanie hadn't seen or spoken to Kyle since he walked in on her and Chloe in the performance hall a few days ago. She had rushed out after saying something stupid, and she hadn't known how to talk to Kyle again after that, but she supposed there was no avoiding him anymore. She wasn't entirely sure why she was so embarrassed by it in the first place.

Lydia went to chat with some of the other teachers while Stephanie made her way over to Kyle, who pushed out the empty chair beside him for her.

"Hi Stephanie. I was wondering if you would show up with Lydia tonight," Kyle smiled, looking genuinely pleased to see her. Stephanie grinned back, feeling strangely happy at the fact that he was thinking about her.

"Yeah. I mean, I wasn't going to say no to a drink," Stephanie joked, sitting down beside him. "Especially since this is my first time in a real London pub."

"Is it really?" the guy sitting on Kyle's other side said interestedly. He was a good-looking guy with reddish-brown hair and a heavy Scottish accent. "You're from America, then?"

"Yeah, I am," Stephanie smiled. "My name's Stephanie, and I'm friends with Lydia, the music theory professor. I'm bunking with her at her place over the summer."

"Very cool," the guy grinned at her. "I'm Dave, the music composition professor. I think Lydia did mention you were staying with her for the summer..."

The three of them chatted for the next fifteen minutes or so, talking about the Academy and the other teachers, as well as all the best local pubs in the city. Stephanie got herself a beer, and ended up ordering a London-brand stout that Kyle had recommended. It was surprisingly tasty.

"So Stephanie, how long are you staying in London for?" Dave now asked. The pub had gotten a lot more crowded in the last few minutes as more business people came in for their end-of-the-workday drink.

"Till the end of the summer," Stephanie explained. "My best friend back home is getting married in July, and I'm one of her bridesmaids, so I need to be back in America by then."

An odd look passed over Kyle's features, but he hid it as he took a sip of his beer.

"Sounds like fun," Dave smiled. "So are you on sabbatical from your job back in the States, then?"

Stephanie pressed her lips together in a grimace before shaking her head. "No. I actually quit my job right before I came here."

Kyle and Dave both stared at her in disbelief. "Seriously?" Kyle asked, his voice a mixture of shock and admiration. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I didn't really enjoy the work I did," Stephanie shrugged. "I worked in Human Resources at a marketing corporation, and it was just a bunch of mindless emails and filing paperwork. It was just a job to me, and my passion has always been with music and the violin. When I quit, I asked Lydia if I could stay with her for a bit in London and visit the Royal Academy where she teaches, and thankfully she said yes. So here I am."

Kyle couldn't help but smile at her. "Wow Stephanie, that's pretty amazing. Not everyone would have the guts to do that."

"Too true," Dave agreed, lifting his half-drunk beer in a toast to Stephanie. "I don't blame you for leaving that dull office job, Stephanie. But if you're looking for a new career, I highly recommend not getting involved in academia."

Stephanie and Kyle both laughed, and the three of them continued to chat for the next few minutes. Stephanie had drunk most of her beer, and she was feeling light and happy as a result.

Dave soon got involved in a conversation with some of the other teachers sitting next to him, and Stephanie and Kyle both turned to each other.

"So you really quit your job, then? I feel like I can picture you doing it," Kyle smirked at her, and he looked up at the ceiling in mock-thoughtfulness. "You probably made some big dramatic speech to your supervisor before upending your chair, throwing papers everywhere as you stormed out in a rage..."

Stephanie couldn't help but laugh at that image. "Oh, it was a lot less melodramatic than that. What led up to me quitting was probably way more interesting."

That piqued Kyle's interest. "Oh? What happened exactly?"

Stephanie cleared her throat slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed, but knowing she probably owed him an explanation. "Well... a couple months prior to me quitting, I had found out that my boyfriend of three years had been cheating on me. We lived in a condo together, and I ended up selling it since I didn't really want to live there anymore. I took stock of my life after that, and I realized there was so much that I felt I was missing out on, and I wanted to pursue the things that I loved while I still could. So that's what led me to quit my job, hop on a plane, and come here."

Kyle was silent for several moments after that explanation, simply staring at Stephanie in a way that made her blush. "Wow, Steph..." he blinked and shook his head. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Stephanie smiled slightly. "Thank you. Honestly, though, I'm not sorry things played out like this. I'm finally doing what I love, and I'm not being held back by my boring job or an unfaithful boyfriend."

Kyle smiled back at her, the soft look in his eyes seeming to make his handsome features all the more noticeable. He held up his nearly empty glass of beer in a toast. "To doing what you love," he said, still gazing at her in a way that seemed to make her insides melt.

Stephanie held up her own glass and clinked it with his. "Cheers," she said, staring back at him. As one, they drank the remaining beer in their glasses.