You Belong With Me (A Sequel to "What Once Was")

2 she's back

"How has your day been?" asked my mom after she entered the house late in the day.

Ella and I sat on the couch, watching a movie.

"It's been good," I responded as Tessa walked into the living room. "Everything alright, T?" I asked.

"We saw Ainsley," she said, taking no time to tell. Usually she plays some sort of guessing game.

My mom walked into the living room and took a seat in the arm chair. "Yeah. Did you know she's back?"

"No. I really don't care about her," I bit as I held Ella closer to me. "No surprise though. LA was a waste and she got cheated on. I would leave too."

The three of them went silent as they looked at one another.

"Be nice to her, Ryder," said my mom with a warning look.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course. Why would I treat her any differently?"

-

When Friday night rolled around, I prepared to take the field. The mood in the locker room was all around a positive one because we knew we could easily take this team.

I was also super excited to play for Ella. She will be on the sidelines this game since she is team manager.

"Alright, boys! Helmets on. We have a packed house so I want a good game," Coach Sloane yelled as he entered the locker room, which created a bunch of silence. "Get out there and warm-up. You all know what to do," he added as he stepped aside to hold open the locker room door.

One by one, we all filed out of the room and jogged out to the field. Cheers erupted and the band began to play as we ran through the tunnel that the cheerleaders had set up. At the end was a banner, which we tore through.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Your 2022 Varsity Bears! Give them a hand!" the announcer yelled as we jumped right into an organized warm-up.

The crowd went wild once more for us, and then again for Sloane when he stepped onto the field.

Thankfully, it seems Coach has put me dating Ainsley in the past. I think he may even actually like me now!

-

It was now Wednesday. The first day of school.

"I wish we had more classes together..." said Ella as I walked her to her first class.

Unfortunately, Ella and I only have a class together. This is partly because Ella is not in the advanced classes so that sucks. 

"Me too," I responded, "but at least we have art together," I reminded.

She nodded and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "I will see you later, though."

"I love you, El. Have a good day."

"You too," she responded with a smile before hurrying into her classroom.

My room was not too far away, so I did not even bother to rush. Not even when the bell rang. I ended up walking in a few minutes late. That earned me a dirty look from Mr. Loughmiller, the physics teacher.

"You're late," he said. "It's understandable for freshmen... but a senior."

"Sorry, sir. I was dealing with some team stuff. Where should I sit?"

He pointed towards a desk in the back of the room which was empty. Since I had no friends in the class, I didn't mind having to sit alone.

After I was seated, he went on again about his class rules and such, but someone walked in once more. I paid no attention because I was texting Ella.

"Sorry I'm late. I was having an issue with my schedule," said the person.

"That's acceptable. Maybe you can teach Mr. James about some actual reasons for being late," Mr. Loughmiller seethed.

I glanced up, and of course, it was Ainsley. I felt my stomach plummet as I took in the sight of her. This was my first time seeing her in months since she did not show up to the last game for whatever reason.

However, she did not look much different. Her hair was a little shorter if anything, and she did not look as peppy as she used to. I did not think much of it though because I cared more about the fact that Loughmiller was trying to seat her right next to me.

"Sir, are you sure?" she asked, "is there any other seat?"

"What's wrong with that one?" he asked.

Ainsley glanced down at me, but seeing I was already looking at her, she averted her gaze. "Never mind," she mumbled as she slid defeatedly into her desk.

Loughmiller then nodded and walked back to the front of the room where he carried on talking. Thankfully, he did not require us to do any partner work because Ainsley would have been mine.

Throughout the whole class, I could not help but notice how quiet Ainsley was, but that thought was erased when the bell rang.