Chapter Four ⢠Oh boy
"Well, you look like poop today," are the first words I hear when I see Amber this morning.
"Thank you. It's this new thing I'm trying called not getting enough sleep."
I ended up getting barely four hours of sleep last nightâdue to me being a bit of an insomniacâand now all I want to do is crawl back in bed for at least another two hours.
School has different plans for me though. Tortuous plans.
"Your insomnia is acting up again?" She frowns in concern.
"Yeah," I smile before she goes all mama-bear on me, "where's Link?"
We usually all hang out here. Maybe he didn't come to school today.
"Right here." A voice says behind me and then he's wrapping his arms around Amber's waist and pulling her in for a kiss. "Why? Did you guys miss me?"
"No," we say in union.
He pretends like we didn't say anything as he frowns at me. "You look like crap today."
"Okay," I say in disbelief, "it's a good thing you guys are my best friends, because I would be really offended otherwise."
"Wait, you told her that too?" Link turns to Amber for confirmation and when she nods, they high-five each other. "We are so perfect together!"
"Yeah yeah yeah, you guys are perfect for each other, yada yada yada," I roll my eyes. "Isn't it cute that we came to that realization by the both of you agreeing that I look horrible today?"
They laugh, knowing I'm just joking around, as we all start walking until we reach in front of English. Amber and Link kiss each other goodbyeâdramatically might I addâand I just walk past them into the classroom in disgust.
On the way over to my seat, movement from the chair next to mine catches my eye.
Ryder.
A breathtaking smile parts his full lips as our gazes connect and I can't help but smile in return, watching as his eyes light up at the notion. When I eventually break eye contact though, I realize that he isn't even supposed to be in this class. We only have 2nd, 4th and 6th period together. Frowning, I sit down.
He immediately senses my change in mood and leans closer to me, reaching his hand out and gently placing it on top of mine. The warmth that comes with his touch relaxes me instantly. "Hey, you OK?"
I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine." He doesn't look convinced though, so before he could say anything I blurt,"It's just. . .you weren't in this class yesterday, right?"
"Uh, no. I switched some of my classes this morning." His whole demeanor turns nervous all of a sudden, and I can't figure out why.
"Oh, well that makes sense."
⢠⢠â¢
I sit down at the lunch table, where Amber and Link are already sitting, thoroughly confused.
Ryder has been in all of my classes for the day.
He went from being in a total of three, to being in five in a row so far.
"Hey Em," Amber says when she notices me, then glances over my shoulder, "you too, Ryder."
I turn around, not surprised that he was here already. Is he following me?
"Hey," he waves at Amber and then turns his gaze to me, "and hello again to you too, Angel, can I sit here?" Ryder asks, motioning to the empty seat next to me.
"Sure," I say, pushing my lunch closer to me so he would have more room. He nods a thank you and sits down, immediately tensing when his leg brushes against mine. He doesn't move his leg away from me though, so when I don't either, I feel him relax a little.
Amber then introduces him to Link, in which they nod at each other, without actually saying anything.
I roll my eyes. Guys.
Ryder sees my eye movement and cocks his head curiously at me andâalthough this has never happened to me beforeâI swoon a little. He looks adorable when he does that; like a little puppy.
I shake my head at his unspoken question and he shrugs, turning back to his food and picking up a cupcake. "What! No way, you have a cupcake?" I say before I can stop myself.
He smiles and holds it out to me. "Here. You can have it."
I shake my head. "No, it's okay, you don't have to."
"I know, but I want to. It's okay, just take it." I look at the cupcake in his hand, feeling myself giving in. I mean, you shouldn't take food from a stranger and all, but he wasn't technically a stranger. And well, the cupcake looks deliciously yummy. So, I take it from him.
Upon taking a few bites though, I notice that Ryder has barely taken his eyes off me since I've been eating it. Well, at least at first, but when I reach the cream filling in the middle and can't help but let a tiny moan escape me at how good this cupcake tastes, I'm suddenly pulled into his lap.
Oh, boy.
â â¿ â Hey guys!
If you're following me you may or may not have seen a message I posted late last night (or early this morning depending on how you look at it) about how I was going to post this chapter on Friday and then post another one either on Saturday or Sunday, but I finished earlier than I thought and I couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer, so here it is. I'm still probably going to do a double upload, so there should be another chapter out on Friday, or later this weekend. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! And maybe a vote for trying to make the long wait up to you?
By the way, I stupidly forgot about dedicating, so from now on I'm going to be dedicating chapters to people that comment from now on!