New York State of Mind *Grand Army*

13

Ryan sat on her bathroom sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She hadn't realized until that moment how broken she had looked under all of her makeup and fake smiles. She needed to get away, being in the environment where her life revolved around Luke and her friends at one point wasn't helping her forget everything.

A single tear ran down Ryan's cheek, and she quickly wiped it as she heard the bathroom door open. "Do you want some breakfast?" Grayson asked, peeking in the door. Ryan shook her head, and Grayson sighed.

"Can you please eat at least a piece of toast or something?" Grayson said, making his way to Ryan's side. "I really am not hungry, Gray." Ryan said, running a brush through her hair.

"A granola bar?" Grayson asked. Ryan knew that Grayson wasn't going to give up so she nodded her head. Grayson smiled, and pressed a soft kiss on her cheek before he left the room. Ryan pulled out her tube of concealer, and place a gracious amount under her eyes to hide the bags.

Ryan's phone vibrated on the counter, and she put down the tube of concealer and held her phone up to her face.

Joey: Can we meet later? I wanna talk

Ryan sighed, and sat her phone down. She wasn't ready to see Luke again after what he did at the party. Her phone buzzed again, and she look down at it.

Anna: Yes

Tim: I'm down

Luke: Park at 4?

George: Works for me

Ryan's fingers hovered over the keyboard, her hands trembling as the nerves of seeing all of her friends already started to take effect on her body. "Ryan?" Grayson called out. Ryan set her phone down quickly, and pretended to fix her makeup some more.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning to face him. He held out a granola bar, and Ryan shook her head, but took it from his hands. "Thanks." She muttered. Grayson still lingered, waiting for her to take a bite.

Ryan undid the wrapper, and took a large bite and slightly chewed it. "I'm gonna go get dressed, I'll meet you downstairs." Grayson said, closing the door. Once he did, Ryan spit the bite into her hand, and threw the bite and the rest of the granola bar into the trash.

She climbed off the bathroom sink, and looked at her phone. Ryan internally fought with herself whether or not she should meet them. She wanted to be there for Joey, especially while she talked about what happened to her, but she didn't want to see the people who didn't believe the pair.

Ryan walked out into her room, and over to her dresser where she pulled out a pair of jeans. She looked over on the chair and saw Grayson's hoodie laying out. She pulled it over her head, and slipped it on.

"Ready?" Grayson asked. "Oh, you're wearing my hoodie." Grayson pointed out. "Yeah, did you want to wear it?" Ryan asked, and Grayson shook his head. "No, you look good in it." Grayson smiled, pulling Ryan's body into his by her wrist.

He wrapped his arms around her body, and lifted her off the ground. "I know you didn't eat that granola bar, but I'll let it slide cause we're gonna be late for school." Grayson chuckled, and Ryan rolled her eyes with a smile.

﹋

Ryan shivered under the cold New York air, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked to help her keep herself warm. Her heart was pounding against her chest a mile a minute, and she almost turned around and walked home four different times.

"Ryan!" A voice called out. Ryan froze, and turned around slowly to see that it was just Joey. Ryan placed her hand on her chest, and took a sigh of relief. "Joey." Ryan said, pulling her in for a tight hug.