Ryan Peterson

As soon as I crossed the school gates, Drew jumped off my motorcycle; he did not wait for me to park it in its place.

"Yo, bro. Thanks for the ride." He did a two-finger salute. "You can wait for your girlfriend here; I'm off."

I breathe out the heaviest air of relief. The whole ride he couldn't shut his chatty mouth, which made my ears hurt bad. He could go on endlessly about anything in the world.

I parked my motorcycle in the parking lot in my spot and made my way out to catch on with Amara. I had to greet her morning properly i.e. with a proper kiss.

While I was waiting for Amara in the school building near the lockers, I saw Zoe making her way in my direction. I purposely turned to avoid meeting her, hoping she'd just pass by, however, she seemed to have other plans.

"You are ignoring me?" Came her comment from behind me.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want this interaction with her early in the morning, not like this to say the least, but she was already here for it.

Clutching the strap of my bag hung on my shoulder, I adjusted my glasses and turned to face her.

"What if I were?" I did not intend for my tone to come out rude, nevertheless, it did.

Her face visibly dropped and she looked around her trying to figure out if I had said that to her or someone else.

"What have I done, Ryan?" Her painful tone almost compelled me to believe maybe, maybe she did not do anything, but I had trust in Amara. She'd never frame anyone for her benefit... neither would Zoe, this is what I believed.

Disbelief surged inside me. It hurt me to be questioning her like this. She was my best friend after all.

"You want me to word it out for you? Really?"

"Ryan, Please." Her voice was laced with distress but I wasn't going to melt so easily.

"What did you say to Amara?" I questioned without beating around the bush.

Her face turned pale as if she had seen a ghost. "Wh-what did she tell you?"

"You tell me; I asked you." I crossed my arms across my chest.

Her hands went up in her hair as she sighed out loud in exasperation.

"Ryan, you know she was wrong. She played a prank on me. Why are you being insensitive to me? It's all her fault, can't you see?"

I straightened my stance and upheld firmness as I squarely countered,
"Yes, Amara was wrong. Yes, you deserved an apology. And yes, Amara did apologize to you, and as far as I know, she must've been sincere with it."

I waited for a second, observing her, and continued, "And what did you do? You behaved rudely with her even after she apologized? This is not you, Zoe. This is not my best friend."

She looked at me in complete incredulity as though I had said something unacceptable. She suddenly chuckled as she raised her hands in front of her and then fisted them. She then looked directly into my eyes without any flicker and said,

"Saying the guy who didn't ask me once how I was. How I felt! The guy who used to stick by me no matter what is no longer the same. This is not my best friend, either. What has possessed you?"

"How could have I? You ran away when I came to you and Amara after that incident. Don't behave like I didn't call you after that incident. I did, thrice. Even texted you. But you didn't reply to any of it. The next day when I found you, you and Amara were again arguing." Agitation had surged inside me and I almost yelled at her but I managed to remain calm.

She scoffed emotionlessly. "And then you ran after her."

I was left appalled by her behavior. I mumbled softly, hurt lacing my voice.

"I expected understanding from you... like always. Not this. I wish I could go back in time and erase what happened between us  at Joshua's party."

Almost instantly Zoe's expression changed from agitated to uneasy and her face turned white as if she had or was about to lose something. She quickly started apologizing.

"I–I am sorry, Ryan... for acting rudely. You know I won't ever intentionally offend you. But You have to admit it's Amara's sudden closeness to you that changed things between us."

Not this again! I immediately answered her; I was fed up with her for making everything about Amara.

"I have always been close to Amara, Zoe! The only difference this time is we no longer argue over silly things like we always did."

Yes, I was aware that she had a clue I liked Amara and honestly, It was on the tip of my tongue to reveal my relationship with Amara to her, but I was not gonna do it until Amara was ready.

Yes, Amara may have disclosed it to Drew but he was of a different league and was her true friend. He would never change if his best friend found someone to have a relationship with, in fact, he would support them wholeheartedly.

Unlike Zoe...whose behavior changed with my increased proximity with Amara and she failed to understand I could or would never reciprocate her feelings and she seemingly refused to accept that simple thing and turned to Amara instead to mess with her.

"This is not it, you know that. You and Amara are closer than ever. This is bigger than you claim it to be." I heard her silently mumble, her eyes starting to fill with mist.

I sighed. I had to take this more delicately than I thought.

"Don't remain stuck at this, Zoe. I am advising you for your own good. Accept it and move on. You're harming yourself. It hurts me seeing what you're doing to yourself." I said as politely and sincerely as I could. I needed her to understand me and herself as well.

"Why is it that your presence makes everybody upset?" Tory, the devil, chose the very moment to interrupt us. I shut my eyes and let out an inaudible groan of annoyance.

"Mind your own business, Tory. Don't interrupt us." I dismissed him.

"Oh, where was this interruption when you left Zoe all alone crying in the middle of the school?" He added mockingly.

"Excuse me?" I frowned at him.

"Yes, I was the one who consoled her. I dropped her home. You were nowhere to be seen. And you call yourself her best friend." He scoffed at the end.

In all honesty, I did leave her alone but I did not completely avoid her. But, yes, I had to appreciate Tory for being with her. Well, appreciating him was the last thing I'd do, but he deserved it this time.

"Well, thank you for being nice to her but right now, we are discussing something so you better leave us be." I didn't want to be mean to him but friendliness would never come out of me for him, even if I tried.

"Listen guys, I don't wanna talk about this anymore and surely don't want to be caught in between your quarrel. I am leaving." With that said, Zoe turned her back to me and walked away without giving me another glance.

"Huh, this is what you deserve. Zoe, your best friend just walked out on you. Amara is going to do the same. Enjoy till it lasts."

Like Zoe, Tory walked past me in the corridor, but what he claimed infuriated me to the fullest. It was like, I would be annoyed even if he said nothing. His presence itself was enough to spoil my mood.

Not having the mood to be in the chatty, bustling crowd anymore, I ditched the plan to wait for Amara near her locker and briskly made my way to find an empty classroom; the only place where I could find peace.

______________________________________

Amara Knight

Upon reaching the school I sprinted inside to look for Ryan because I knew he'd be waiting for me since we couldn't have a required greeting at my house. I had this intuition that I'd find him next to my locker but when I didn't find him there, I phoned him and instead of receiving my call, he hung up on me and texted me his location.

Weird. That was so unlike him. I would have accepted it if there were classes scheduled for the day but because of the sports event we were free of classes. I followed the directions wondering what could have happened to him in such a short span.

I was lost in my phone while walking that I did not know how I bumped into someone. "Oh, Sorry." It came out of me almost instantly.

Raising my eyes, I found none other than Zoe glaring at me. She did not utter a word; she just threw me the deadliest glare and walked past me. I was dead sure she bumped into me intentionally.

How on Mount Everest does she get past that with that attitude?

I do it and I am a bad guy. She does it and she's a victim? Wow. No one notices it.

"Wish I had a voodoo doll of her so I could just... Ugh!" I mumbled under my breath.

Letting out a long air of frustration I walked ahead with an eye roll. I did not want to spoil my mood early in the lovely morning.

When I entered the empty, deserted classroom Ryan sent me the location to, I found him sitting by the window, lost in his thoughts.

"You left my house all smiles. What happened all of a sudden? Did Drew eat up your head on the way?" I cheerfully uttered to make him smile. And he did when his gaze landed on me.

I went up to him, sat on his lap, and pressed my lips against his. He held me tightly as if I would vanish in thin air as our tongues swirled around each other. There was urgency in the kiss. It was soft and sensual yet I felt that little void.

"What happened, Ryan? You don't seem to be present here." I asked with concern.

He pressed his forehead against mine and mumbled, "Nothing. It's Zoe. I feel hurt seeing her change." 

He did not meet my eyes. He thought I would get upset with him for having friendly feelings for Zoe. Not his fault. It's human nature.

"I feel you," I uttered with utmost understanding.

His eyes snapped at me, searching for familiarity in my eyes. "You do?"

"Mmhmm," I nodded my head. "I'd be tormented if Drew did this to me."

He cupped my face and gently rubbed his thumb over my jaw. "It might sound weird coming out of me but I am happy that you have Drew as your best friend. I don't want you to ever lose him."

Aww, that was so sweet of him. I almost had tears in my eyes but I countered them by trying to lighten the atmosphere and making both of us laugh.

"Well, that mushroom head is way too big to be lost. I'm sure he's gonna glue himself to me for life."

Laughing, he gently pecked my lips, and this time this slight peck was more intense than the previous deep kiss.

I pouted. "I wanna spend time with you but... school." I sighed.

I excitedly jumped off of his lap when an idea struck me. "How about we skip school today?"

"Sure thing." He muttered almost instantly, making me gasp in utter shock.

"What? You–you agreed to skip school just like that?" I snapped my fingers.
"No reprimanding me. No chiding me for being childish? Really?" I was shocked, to say the least.

I neared him and dramatically pressed the back of my hand on his forehead. "You sure you're not unwell?"

He let out an exhausting sigh as he stood up from the chair he was sitting on and pulled me in a hug. He rested his forehead on my shoulder.

"I don't feel like being at school today." He mumbled.

I playfully pushed him away and rested my hands on the sides of my waist.

"What has possessed you, Ryan?" I questioned, laughing.

"You."

Saying that he pulled me in for a kiss. A making-me-wet kiss.

I was short of breath when we parted our lips but I managed to say with a smirk, "I am a good influence, ain't I?"

"With bad things, yes." He twisted his lips along with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Pleasure." I laughed. "I still can't believe you agreed to skip the school," I added, still unable to digest it.

He grumbled. "C'mon. I wouldn't have agreed with you if we had classes. There are no classes, remember?"

He then added as he pulled me to him. "I want to spend more time with you."

My stomach flipped when his hands traveled inside my t-shirt, touching my bare waist. He dipped his head in the crook of my neck and whispered oh so sensually,

"Or maybe we could continue where we left off the other night."

And my core melted. I squeezed my thighs in order to remain in my control because I was beginning to lose my senses. All I wanted was his hands on my bare body; all of him over me, inside me. However, it wasn't the right time. I had to have control of my urges.

I blushed. Hard. Over my own thoughts.

My heartbeat peaked to another level as I suppressed a moan when his teeth gently nibbled my neck as his hands began to advance up my waist and stopped just under my breast. I held his biceps for support because my legs gave up on me.

He was going to leave a visible mark on my neck. The moan I had been holding inside of me tried to break the barrier but it remained inside because Ryan stopped his lascivious assaults on my neck.

"I've got to stop here or it won't end just here." He mumbled into my neck, breathing hard.

I tried to act normal and not some sex-starved girl by leveling down my breathing as well.

"Yeah. Good. I was starting to get worried by the possession of evil on you." I joked.

He raised an eyebrow. "You're calling yourself evil."

"Yeah, sure." I scoffed. "Let's wait for an hour or so before we leave, okay?"

I tried to rush out before I could jump on him but he held my wrist. "Wait, you can't go out like this."

I turned to him. "Like what?"

Smiling, he pulled me to him again and began to brush my hair with his fingers. Was my hair messed up? Could be. I was too lost to figure out anything anyway.

He then fixed my t-shirt which I believed had pooled up to my waist. And all this while I watched him intently, and for nth time wondering how caring and nice he was.

"Now you're good to go." He ushered me out.

"What, you're gonna stay in this dead classroom?" I frowned, halting my steps.

"Don't feel like socializing." He shrugged.

Rolling my eyes at an unexpectedly expected answer, I walked out with a silly smile. Hot and bothered, too.

I was rummaging through my locker when someone called for me from behind.

"Hey, baddy, have you seen your crackhead of a friend? I've been looking for him for a while now but he's nowhere to be seen."

It was Becky and she was looking for Drew.

"No. I was actually going to look for him just now." I responded. "You could call him though," I suggested.

She gave me a duh look. "You think I didn't try? That fucking dick won't answer my calls." She fumed.

My eyes widened in surprise. "Drew? Not answering your calls? That's something hard to digest." I laughed at the end.

"Oh, Let me find him I'll make sure you digest what I'm gonna do with him." She gave her a killer look. "Anyway, let me know if you find him."

She blew a flying kiss and walked away with determined steps to look for my best friend– to maybe, castrate him?

Holly cotton socks! What did that nut do this time?

"Hey, babe!"

Tory came and slapped my back. "I haven't seen you since that Zoe fiasco. Where have you been hiding?"

"If you think I've been hiding after that incident then you surely don't know me well. Just to tell you, I don't hide. I own things I do." I stated.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa, babe, I was just kidding. There's no need to be defensive. Anyway, remember we were interrupted in the theater when I said I wanted to tell you something?"

Oh, I remembered. We were interrupted by Ryan. But honestly, I did not want to listen to what he had to say. I had a bad feeling about it. I just wanted to avoid it for as long as I could.

"Uh, Tory, could we do this some other time? I have to go find Drew before Becky kills him. It's urgent."

I walked backward and in no time I was running to look for Drew. I did not wait for Tory to say another word and also I did not fail to miss his clenched jaw. I'd deal with him later.

I found Drew in the stands staring at the empty tracks as if measuring the distance with his eyes. I approached him but he didn't notice me, which was an utterly odd behavior of his.

"Hey!" I snapped my fingers in his face. "Where on the Earth are you lost?" I asked as I sat next to him.

He looked at me as though he wasn't pleased to see me there.

"What? You want me to leave?" I again questioned, tilting my head.

"What, no! I just–" He quickly replied.

"Where's your phone? Beck's been calling you. She's looking for you and I swear she's all armed and set to cut you into pieces." I laughed at the end but received a silent sigh from him.

I placed my hand gently on his shoulder, asking, "Is something wrong, Drew?"

He faced me but hesitated to utter a word. He took a short pause before finally deciding to share his concern with me.

"After that stage incident...Becky and I kind of argued and our fight ended up in her bed but I somehow stopped and left."

"You? Stopped? With Becky around?" I was shocked to the zenith.

I just couldn't comprehend what was with people not acting themselves!

"You're not sick, are you?" I pressed the back of my hand on his forehead.

"You and Ryan were good when you left my house but now both of you are acting strange," I commented.

"What's with Ryan?" He questioned, frowning.

"This isn't about him. You tell me about yourself." I stated.

He sighed. "I just couldn't. After so long I was closer to her. She wanted me. I wanted her. But I couldn't."

"Why?" I tilted my head, scrutinizing his eyes.

"Because that night, for her, I was just someone who could help her let off steam. But after spending time with her while practicing for drama, I couldn't treat her like a casual sex." He commented and then paused.

"I will continue to tease her, flirt with her, or pass aggravating comments to have her running after me and inflict physical pain on me... but this time I will only go closer to her if she accepts to be my girlfriend. I have decided. I wish to have something that you and Ryan have." He gazed at me with such longing that I couldn't help but embrace him tightly.

I had never seen him be such serious about something or someone.

"Oh, Drew. I didn't know I could positively influence you or anybody for that matter." I tried to make the thick atmosphere lighter, and it did help. Drew laughed and forcefully pushed me away from him.

"You're such a bitch, Knight!"

"And you a Dog!" I slapped his arm. "Anyway, playing reverse psychology, are you? Avoid Becky and make her look for you." I stated and he grinned wickedly.

"What a mediocre plan!" I exclaimed.

"Do you have any advice to give?" He challenged, to which I clicked my tongue in a no.

"Then shut the fuck up!" He called out.

A deep frown appeared on my forehead. "Can you for once not cuss?" I complained.

"Can you for once use a real cuss word?" He raised his thick, black eyebrows in challenge.

I narrowed my eyes at him, almost killing him with my mighty stare. He laughed it off in response stating that he wasn't scared of me.

Getting up on my feet, I said, "Anyway, Ryan and I will be skipping school today. I don't need to ask you to have our back, now do I?"

"Ouch, you hurt me, Knight. You really thought you'd have to ask me for that?" He feigned hurt.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be a dramatic doll. Bye, see you tomo."

And with that, I made my way back inside the school. 

::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ryan and I were at my favorite dumpling food truck savoring the most delicious steamed delight along with pineapple slushie after having grilled chicken tacos from a food truck around the corner.

"You have a history of making me have unhealthy food whenever we're out," Ryan grumbled.

"This ain't unhealthy! Don't act like my dad." I was left appalled by his choice of words about my favorite food.

He rolled his eyes. "Not this. I'm talking about those unhealthy sauce-slathered tacos we had before this."

"I didn't force you, did I? I simply dared you." I feigned innocence, to which he narrowed his eyes down at me.

"You're cunning, you know that? You knew I'd go head to head with your challenge." He stated defensively.

I gleamed with a winning grin and headed to throw the empties in the trash can, leaving him standing there.

When I returned I saw some stranger woman approach him who seemed to know him quite well but Ryan did not seem to recognize her.

"Ryan, don't you remember me?" She questioned and I witnessed Ryan visibly go uncomfortable under her gaze.

She proceeded with a smile, "It's Samantha. We bumped into each other at the supermarket, You helped me then, remember?"

Ryan looked like he was trying to recall what she had said. "Oh, yeah, yeah."

Knowing that he recalled her widened her smile. "What a lovely coincidence, isn't it? We meet again."

I chose the moment to interrupt them because Ryan seemed concerned and uneasy. Who was that woman exactly?

Her smile instantly faded as soon as her gaze landed on me. I witnessed the change in her demeanor.

"Umm, guess you're with your friend. Well, enjoy, and hope to see you again." She flashed a forced smile, not trying to meet my eyes, and left as quickly as a superjet.

Weird!

"Who's she, Ryan?" I questioned.

He shrugged. "I bumped into her the other day and helped her with her belongings. I did not know she'd remember me or my name for that matter. I couldn't even recognize her when I just saw her. Don't you think it's suspicious?"

I shrugged as well, my gaze still fixed on the woman's disappearing figure.

"Could be a coincidence she ran into you again. Maybe she remembered you 'cause you helped her? But why did she look at me like she had seen a ghost?"

"I saw that too." He muttered.

I shook the apprehension out of my head. "Forget her. Let's go somewhere else to eat."

"Fine, I'm not having whatever junk you're having. You can't force me this time." He whined.

I smirked, "We'll see."

____________________________________

Samantha

"Ugh! I had the chance today! I was this close, this close to having what I wanted. I only wanted to talk with Ryan a little more, but that daughter of Xavier Knight ruined it for me."

I banged the steering wheel of my car in utter frustration. I had been following him for last two months and I did get a chance to find him alone at the supermarket but I couldn't just jump at him right away. I needed to make him trust me first before I could advance my plan.

Agitated, I drove my old shabby car back home at a speed it could barely handle. I parked the four-wheeled thing barely qualified to call a car in the cramped parking lot of my rented apartment building. I tried to open the door, but of course, I had forgotten it would take a forceful nudge from me to unlock it. So I did.

"Goddammit! I want a new car!" I yelled while throwing my purse on the couch of my scruffy one-bedroom apartment. "And a new apartment, too! I'm fed up with this life!"

"Then work for it!" My headache of a boyfriend Colin, came out of our bedroom with a beer in his hand.

He carelessly slumped next to me, relaxed as if he had no worry in the world, which boiled me to the core. 

My jaw ticked. "I'm trying, alright? I'm doing my part; you do yours. Don't just sit here and order me around. You spent more than I did."

The thing was, we were in debt. Huge debt. We had earned loads of money through gambling but lost double the amount. Just two months back we were living a luxurious life in a penthouse and on a cruise sometimes but now we were living off cents, hiding from our debtors.

Scowling, he defensively came at me. "Really? I spent more? You were the one who partied at the costliest bars, clubs, yachts, and cruises out there. You spent a hefty amount on your maintenance and stuff. While I was only trying to grow our money in casinos!"

I pointed a finger at him. "Don't come at me like that! I was growing the money, too. We're in this together, you know that!"

He let out an evil laugh. "Oh, darling, I know we're partners in this. You owe me money as well else you'd have left me a long ago like you left your son!"

He stood up and pointedly looked at me. "We were slowly making money in casinos but you told me you had an easier way to get money faster that's why we came to New York but you are failing every attempt to have that son of yours under confidence."

Infuriated, I stood up from the couch, throwing my hands in the air. "I. Am. Trying! Such things take time. It's not easy but yes, it is the shortest way."

With that said, I marched inside the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

"Fuck my life!" I shouted, gripping the life out of my hair. 

I had to act fast because I needed money quickly so I could shove it in the face of debtors and Colin's fucking ass. I wanted to be free again.

"Sean. Lauren. I'm coming for you. I will take back everything you snatched from me... Ryan included."

__________________________________

Finally an update! Phew!!

Hope you all are satisfied. ☺️