A/N: Hello there lovely people! In case you haven't seen, I've started to write extras from Good Girls Love Bad Boys. In other words, more Max and Rylie! It is called The Peyton-Harris Equilibrium. I am loving writing little extras for them and I hope you all enjoy it. I'm super motivated for this story right now so I have been and will continue to upload fairly frequently! This is a bit of a weird chapter, lots of bits and pieces thrown about everywhere but bear with me. The next one will be much smoother, I promise xx

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"You seem distracted." I had followed Rylie out to the shed after we returned to her house. We had been in the kitchen speaking with her dad but Rylie wanted to play piano, so we ended up out here.

She flicked the lights on and took of her heels, before turning to the keys. She didn't answer me.

"Thinking about that kiss?" I prodded, taking a seat on the couch. I could only hope that's what she was doing.

"Of course I'm not," she responded, adjusting the straps of her dress. I rolled my eyes, despite being a little miffed.

"Oh please," I scoffed. "You loved that."

"Come on!" She fought back, starting to play something. I didn't know what it was and I didn't think she knew either; but it sounded good regardless. "You were the one that started before we needed to."

"Oh please," I repeated, running a hand through my hair. "You didn't know when she was going to come around the corner." It was a shitty defence, but it was all I had.

She was quiet for a moment, her playing slowed. She was clearly thinking about something, her face scrunched into a frown. She then shook her head slightly, her wavy hair falling over her bare shoulder.

"You didn't pull away when you heard her either."

I couldn't help but grin. "I was too distracted to notice her," I said, half truthfully. I did notice her; I was just too distracted that it didn't occur to me that we had to stop.

Rylie's laugh mixed with the sounds from the piano, making the music far more beautiful. "Were you really that distracted by thinking how bad it was to kiss me?"

She's got to be kidding me.

But she wasn't. Her cheeks flushed red and she hid behind a curtain of her hair that she'd put between us. I had to smile.

"Nope!" I said. "I was actually distracted with-"

"Guys!" Kye interrupted, coming into the shed. "Dad wants to know if you want to play cards!"

Rylie's face fell, looking almost annoyed at Kye. "Sure," she said anyway, closing the lid to her piano and standing up.

"Sorry," I answered, thinking it was time I should head home. "But I should get going."

We walked back to the house and I said goodbye to everyone. Rylie walked me to the door and gave me a hug, but she didn't once make eye contact with me.

What was she thinking?

I drove home in confusion, trying to figure out why the hell Rylie wouldn't look at me.

When I got home, the driveway was full, meaning everyone was home. I headed inside and went straight for the kitchen, where Hazel, Hayley and Mum were all sitting and chatting. They were all in pyjamas, probably waiting for me to get hom before going to bed. Dustin wouldn't have bothered staying up.

"So...?" Hayley asked as I went straight for the fridge. I got out the orange juice and poured it into a glass, before taking a sip.

"Girls are confusing," I grumbled, leaving them to their conversation. I didn't want to talk to anyone. I took my OJ to my room and got changed into sweats, before skulling the rest of my drink. I flopped on my bed and closed my eyes, wondering what the fuck had just happened and why I was now grumpy.

.

"What's up, Max?"

I looked up to see Tessa on the other side of my locker, leaning against the wall beside it. I shrugged, shoving my backpack in my locker before shutting it. I was still in a bad mood, but I couldn't figure out why. Was it because I had overheard August's plan to tell Rylie he liked her? Was it because I knew Chase liked her too?

Was I jealous?

I didn't know!

"Woah, someone's annoyed," Tess said, falling into step beside me as I walked down the hall. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I told her. "I don't fucking know. I'm just pissed off."

"I can see that." she nodded, frowning. "Is it because of what August did?"

I stopped. "What?"

Tessa's eyes were calculating, probably wondering whether she should tell me or not. I think she decided how much of a bad idea it would be to not tell me. "August told Rylie that he likes her."

"What? What did she say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah," she nodded. We started walking again. "He left a note in her locker telling her how he feels. I don't even know if she got it yet, or if she's even here."

Fuck.

"I wouldn't worry." Her voice was kind, trying to calm me down no doubt. "She doesn't like him."

We turned a corner and someone ran into me. I saw the familiar curl of dark hair and grabbed her around the waist before she could fall over. She looked into my eyes; whatever she was feeling last night to avoid doing that obviously had disappeared.

Then, the strangest thing happened; she wrapped her arms around me, putting her head on my chest.

"Woah, Rylie, are you okay?" I asked, but she didn't answer. She just stepped around me and walked out of sight.

I turned to Tessa who had the biggest smile on her face. I groaned. "Why do girls have to be so confusing?"

She burst laughing and I just shook my head. "Come on, let's get to class."

.

I had to wait until period four to see Rylie again and when I did, she sat down right beside Nate with only a "Hi" directed towards Tessa and I. She started firing questions at Nate about Leah before awkwardly averting her gaze when August came into the room.

"I told you so," Tessa muttered. Maybe she was right; at least I hoped she was.

The class went by painfully slowly as I made a plan to talk to Rylie at lunch. I needed to figure out what was going on in her head so that I could figure out what was going on in mine.

The only problem was that she got into a conversation with Tessa straight after class, so I just had to wait. Thankfully, Tessa walked a different way to her locker to leave me to talk to Rylie.

"Hey Ry," I said, pinching her sides, smirking when she squirmed away from me. She was off in her thoughts, hardly noticing I was there.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, nudging her side with a smile.

"I have to talk to Chase and August," she told me, shrugging.

I tried to keep my smirk up. "Going to confess your undying love to one of them?"

She rolled her eyes. "No Max, I'm going to confess my undying love to both of them."

I frowned, but she was quick to notice. She put a hand on my arm and looked into my eyes so that I'd know she was serious. "Max, I'm just joking."

I let out a breath and relaxed, happy that I had confirmation from Rylie. I wasn't even annoyed when I saw both August and Chase standing either side of her locker.

"Hey guys," Rylie greeted them. I knew I should have left then, but I was just going to wait for Rylie to tell me to piss off. I knew she would, but it was kind of funny to watch they both eyeing me off. It's not like Rylie liked me either.

"Uh, Max? Can you please leave?" Rylie asked. That was my cue. I just laughed and walked to the cafeteria, sitting up the end with Tessa and Seth.

"Am I right?" Tessa asked me as I swung my legs over the bench.

"You're right," I nodded with a smile, shoving my cold hands into my pockets. I swear the cafeteria was always colder than everywhere else in the school.

"What are you right about?" Seth asked Tess, wanting to be part of the conversation.

"Rylie. She doesn't like August and Chase and this idiot here wouldn't believe me," she said, gesturing to me.

"Yeah no shit," Seth smirked. "That's cause Max is in loooooove."

I rolled my eyes, tempted to kick him under the table. Instead, I just told him to shut up because Rylie was walking in with Chase. I had no idea where August was. Shit, something must have happened.

She got into a conversation with Olly until Tessa interrupted. "Hey," she said, to get her attention. Rylie looked at her in questioning. "Do you wanna come to mine to get ready for the party on Saturday?"

Rylie looked to Leah who nodded, before back at Tess. "Sounds great."

"How come I'm not invited?" Nate groaned from beside Leah, pouting.

"Yeah! What if we wanted to get ready at your house as well?" Seth joined in. They were just being idiots, but the girls were smart enough to realise this and all smiled simultaneously.

"Fine. Anyone who's going to the party can come to mine and get ready," Tess said.

Damn it, guys! Now I was dragged into this whole thing too. With two sisters and a mother, I knew how long they took to get ready. We would be bored out of our brains.

Thanks a lot, guys.