Ravan's POV
Over the next few weeks, I didn't speak to Gael, fully immersing myself instead with Rowan and Rylan's friend-group. Previously, I didn't know that they actually had other friends but Muun, Josefeen, and Jayn seemed like nice people.
Josefeen always wore the coolest outfits outside of school and although she was quite loud, she was always a calming presence in everyone's lives. She was very blonde and very athletic because she went to the gym after school with Rylan.
Jayn was the most popular out of all of us. She came and went between lots of different groups. I had heard before that she used to be bullied about her shiny, curly, rose gold hair and heterochromatic blue-jade-coloured eyes, but when I met her the only impression I got was one of optimistic confidence. Sometimes she seemed depressed and had a bit of a dark side, but she always bounced back to her usual happy self.
Muun was introverted but funny and sarcastic. She looked like Marqus because they were twins. They both had the same dark hazel hair and equally dark hazel eyes. Her and I formed a fast friendship and although I didn't tell her everything, I did confide in her most of my feelings about Gael and how much I missed him.
"Sometimes gay people can be really annoying," Muun told me. "Trust me, I live with one. You should try not to dwell on it."
I sighed. "You're so right. I just feel really bad for yelling at him, I keep seeing him in the hallways and feeling guilty." Muun shook her head.
"Ravan, go read some self-help books or something." She said bluntly. I burst out laughing and she smiled at me before going back to scrolling through Tumblr, probably stalking her brother.
At that point, Rowan walked over and sat next to me, putting his arm over my shoulders. I leaned into him and smelled his seafoam scent, which I now knew the origin of.
Without looking at us, Muun rolled her eyes.
"Hey, darling. How goes the Psych report?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes. I groaned and slumped in my seat, my laptop on my knees.
We were in the library so I couldn't complain too loudly but the project on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy was definitely not going well. Muun was my partner, but neither of us had any idea what we were doing so we always ended up talking instead.
It wasn't that we disliked the topic, rather that we couldn't be bothered. At least not until the day it was due.
Rowan extended his hand for me to grasp, I held on tight as we walked to English together. It was nice being with him like this, no distractions or drama to get in the way of our feelings for each other.
Without Rylan's oppressive presence because he was sick and staying at home, I couldn't help wanting to kiss Rowan every chance I got.
In the Autumn sunlight, his eyes sparkled like a wealthy woman's neck; flashing like two chips of ice, as beautiful as a red rose.
"What are you thinking about?" Rowan asked me, his head tilted to the side so that his brown hair flopped over and framed his face.
I blushed scarlet and mumbled a quick response, fiddling with a strand of my own crow-black locks to distract myself from his overpowering beauty. He was like a siren from a Greek myth, and I was standing next to him and holding his hand. In that moment I knew that I was never going to leave him and pass up this beautiful chance at love, no matter what haters like Gael had to say.
I was jolted out of my thoughts when Rowan waved a hand in front of my face. "Helloooo? Ravan?"
"Ah- Sorry. I was... distracted by your pretty facial features." I blushed, unsure of why I disclosed this information to him. I quickly changed the topic to avoid more embarrassment. "Are we still going to Rylan's house after school with the group?"
"Yeah, I was thinking we could all watch a movie or something."
During English, Rowan and I brainstormed which movie everyone would enjoy and eventually it came down to three; we were going to make the final decision when everyone else was present.
I got to Rylan's house and felt a flutter of nervousness, remembering what had transpired the last time I was here. Rylan herded all of us into his fancy movie room, where I was met with a mountain of snacks, drinks, and even a popcorn machine. Damn, this boy was rich.
"What should we watch?" Josefeen queried brightly. Rowan and I looked at each other, and I noticed his eyes glimmering deep blue and vermillion in the mood-lighting.
"Actually," he began, "Ravan and I already came up with some suggestions."
I nodded.
"We narrowed it down to Tangled, How To Train Your Dragon, or Rise of the Guardians."
Josefeen and Jayn cheered at the mention of their favourite princess. Rylan looked generally disapproving and I was pretty sure he would rather be doing homework like a nerd. Muun looked up from her phone at the mention of How To Train Your Dragon and she pulled up her sleeve to reveal her Stormfly tattoo and matching spiky metal earrings.
We all casted our votes and in the end, Tangled won with four versus one for HTTYD and one for Rise of the Guardians. As we settled in to watch the movie, I leant onto Rowan's shoulder and he put his arm around me in a tight embrace. I could hear his heartbeat matching mine where my ear was against his neck.
Rylan looked unimpressed at the cosy scene in front of him and turned away to stare daggers at Mother Gothel. Viewing the change in Rylan's demeanour, I shuffled away from Rowan awkwardly to sit closer to Muun.
She was shovelling handfuls of popcorn into her mouth and I decided to join in until 'when will my life begin' started to play and I had to listen to the beautiful soundtrack, a true masterpiece of our generation.
When I looked over at everyone else, Rylan had taken my spot next to Rowan, which gave me a twinge of jealousy.
I had to try really hard not to laugh when Muun leaned over and whispered "foot fetish" to me sensually as Rapunzel literally touched grass for the first time.
After the movie finished I had to get home to open my new lego set, which was, thematically, based on Tangled. It even had a little Pascal and I couldn't wait to build it.
I said goodbye to everyone quickly and Rowan kissed me at the door as I was leaving. My cheeks went pink and I stuttered out the rest of my farewells before heading home, happy.