𝐎𝐡, 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡è

Chapter Thirteen: Fresh Air

**Say Cheese, Harry's taking a photo**

"Brit, are you okay?" Rocky asks. I'm actually far from okay. And to think I wanted to talk with Ryder. Now this is why I don't let myself care because when I care I get hurt. "What happened?" He asks once again and his eyes avert to where I'm looking at. His eyes widen and he looks over to me again.

"And to think I wanted to talk to him," I growl.

"Come here," he voices. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close to his chest. I didn't expect this but I didn't mind. I always wanted a father figure where I'm able to express my feelings and he would understand. The only thing I accept about Ryder is how he introduced me to Rocky.

Within moments I feel the tears soaking my cheeks along with his white shirt. I don't know what happened to me. I went from a strong and independent woman to a fragile and dependent girl in a matter of days. All because of one stupid boy. And this is why I shouldn't of interfered with the bad boy because they always fall in love with the good girl.

He strokes my hair and allows me to cry. "It's okay, cry it out, Brit. I've got you," he whispers. I manage to stay in his grasp for a few more moments before he lets go. Looking into my eyes, hands on my shoulders, he takes a deep breath. "Stay here, I'm going to have a little chat with this stupid and immature boy," he says. My eyes widen and I try to process what he's doing but it's too late. Rocky has left me alone and is headed to Ryder himself.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rocky booms. I quickly make my way over to the ring and slip under the strings. Ryder looks between us and Mia and his eyes widen in complete shock. He knows he's caught and there's no way to escape. "And to think I thought you were better than that! Brittany actually had the guts to come to you and talk about everything and you're already moving on?" He continues.

"I-" he tries but Rocky silences him.

"No, don't you dare come back to my Gym. If you do, I'll escort you out myself. Unless you fix this mess, I'm done with your shit," he snaps and tears brim in my eyes. And to think I deserved such a kind and loving man like Rocky. I'm about to cry at this stage now.

"Rocky, wait, you don't understand the situation!" He tries but Rocky silences him. He turns over to me, his eyes burning into mine. "Brit, it's not what it looks like. I have feelings only for you, not Mia, she came with her brother and only congratulated me," he explains and I clench my jaw tightly.

"Save your explanation, Carter. If we already have problems before a relationship, what would happen if we're actually in one?" I ask.

"Brit-"

"Don't call me Brit, that's reserved for friends only," I snap and clench my fists tightly.

"Brittany, I've called you so many times but you never picked up. I stopped because I thought you wanted space since you ran out on me. I don't like Mia, only you, it's always been you," he says quickly. I could practically see the desperation in his eyes but I hold back.

"I think we need to cool off with this friendship, Carter. It'll be good for us," I snap. His eyes widen and he shakes his head.

"No, don't you understand I like you?"

"Okay, and? And I told you I needed space. I want this to cool down between us, let the tension settle down and I'll see from there," I say as I force the words out. I know I'm doing the wrong thing and I'm practically shoving him to Mia but I needed space. I feel so suffocated and vulnerable that I need to build my walls back up before I jump into anything.

"Okay, fine," he says and he turns his back. He walks away without another word and I'm left alone with Mia, Rocky and myself.

I release a shaky breath and I turn to meet Mia's scared and fragile eyes. "What're you looking at? Didn't you do enough?" I snap. With that she scatters off and I'm left alone with Rocky. A comfortable silence falls on us and I try to wrap my head around everything.

"Hey, you did the right thing. You needed to take a breath before you jumped into a relationship and suffocated," Rocky says. I nod because I know he's right. I needed fresh air before I jumped into anything serious.

"I think I want to go home and read some Harry fanfics," I say as I groan. "At least Harry's better than most men in real life," I state fustrately.

"What's the deal with this Harry Styles guy?" Rocky asks and I realise he still doesn't know him. Since he's older he doesn't know most celebrities nowadays so I pull out my phone and show him a photo of Harry. "Oh, that man is quite handsome, no wonder you like him," he agrees with a grin and I laugh.

"I knew it! I told you he's hot!" I squeal. "Come on, I'll let you hear some of his songs!" I exclaim and we rush all the way to his car. I plug in my phone and play 'Kiwi' and look over to Rocky. He has an impressed kind of look like he actually likes it. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah, I do. I think I found a new crush," he teases and I laugh. And for that moment I realised I forgot about Ryder. This little and happy moment gossiping and fangirling about Harry actually made me forget about him. "You want Subway?" He asks and I smile with a frantic nod. Who could turn down food?

What do you think of Brittany now?

What do you think of Brittany's and Rocky's friendship?

What do you think about Ryder?

(Hey lovelies! What did you think of this chapter? Please consider voting and commenting! Hope you had a great day/night!)

~Love, Natalie