A Change of Heart

Chapter 2 - Meeting Ryan

Amy was a genius. The idea of dating Jake was growing more and more plausible with each word that came out of her mouth. Ryan was close to Jake before he ( Ryan ) moved schools, so he knew him really well. Well enough to know his type, well enough to know how to capture his heart. All I had to do was listen to what Ryan told me and apply the information to my actions.

We were meeting up tomorrow, he was going to tell me all about Jake's interests. I was going to become his ideal girl. I loved it, I wouldn't even have to risk embarrassing myself again: he would come to me.

I woke up on Saturday morning. The perpetual screech of my alarm clock ringing beside my bed. It was always strenuous, getting out of bed in the morning. My tired limbs ached to stay just a little longer. Why would anyone exchange the warmth provided by a snuggly duvet for the chill morning air? Why did I have my alarm on, anyway? It was Saturday for god's sake. Able to justify my decision, I turned off my alarm and nestled back into bed.

My eyes snapped open. Crap.

Why did it always seem to happen like this? I couldn't do anything quickly. Ryan was sat on a bench at Mansley Park. When he saw me, he raised his eyebrows inquisitively.

"I'm sorry" I said "I have a problem with being late for stuff"

"So I've heard" he responded, chuckling.

I walked over to him and perched on the bench.

"I'm sorry about this, by the way, there's got to be better ways to spend your Saturday"

"Don't worry about it. I love bitching about my old best friends, can't get enough of it" he winked to show he was joking. "Jake's alright, bit of a player, mind. He has a thing for girls with brown hair, so I guess you have hit the nail on the head with that one."

"Really? Oh my god!"

I saw Ryan stifle a laugh. "Yep, and girls with dodgy taste in clothing, oh, and girls who show up late all the time."

Very funny.

I looked down at myself. Oh for god's sake. Who wears yellow pants with a brown halter neck, seriously? I knew I was in a rush, but this outfit takes the word 'unfashionable' to new extremes.

Ryan just laughed.

"I-" I started, but Ryan intercepted me.

"I know," he said "you were in a rush. Besides, Jake might like it. He's got a thing for girls who dress weirdly."

"I could do that!"

He chuckled "Not quite as simple as that, when I say 'weirdly' I mean 'like a prostitute'."

Oh....

For whatever reason, this amused me greatly, and I found myself in a fit of laughter. I think it was probably just the thought of me wearing that sort of attire. I sat on the bench, clutching my stomach in pain. After a minute, Ryan joined in too. He had no idea what I was laughing about, so it must have been one of those 'contagious laughter' situations. Before long, we were both just sat there like a couple of weirdos, tears streaming from our eyes.

"Come on" he wheezed, trying to calm us down "this would be better discussed over a cup of

coffee."

We made our way to Suzanne's. We'd stopped laughing and continued discussing Jake. We both ordered cappuccinos and sat at the same table as last time. Jake generally wasn't too fussy about his girls. But he liked them to have confidence, apparently, and a certain sassy quality.

We played out a couple of hilarious scenarios, where Ryan pretended to be Jake and started flirting with me, and I had to respond with as much attitude as I could muster. Which was, to say, not a hell of a lot. I kept muddling my words up. I swear, I would make the lousiest actress. Before long, we had most of the cafe staring at us in bewilderment due to our wild laughter.

But he did give me some tips I could use to my benefit, like that Jake was a human puppy dog. The way he phrased it, I initially suspected that he'd gone insane, but then he elaborated. Jake hated clingy girls, he much preferred it if he did most of the talking. I had to pretend I wasn't interested.

It was getting late. The sun was setting by the time we finally left each other.

"I'm going to go" I said "but thank you. Is it alright if I get your number?"

"What?" He asked.

"You know just in case-"

"Oh yeah, duh, yeah sure" He spluttered.

"Thanks" I said and we exchanged numbers before leaving.

I felt his eyes on me as I walked away. What was that?

I shut the front door behind me. Mum was sat watching TV in the lounge, so I joined her. Antique's Roadshow, my favourite. Perhaps I didn't concentrate in maths, but History was definitely my strong point. Despite my interest in the programme, I found it difficult to concentrate. I couldn't stop myself thinking about Ryan. Fortunately, kind of, I didn't have to, because my leech of a mother decided to bring up a much unwanted conversation.

"Who have you been with all day?" She pried

"None of your beeswax" I responded

"Ooh! That means its a boy!" She prodded.

"Didn't I tell you-"

"Go on then, who is it?"

Not telling her would only prolong the agony. " Ryan"

"Ohh! Do you-"

"No!" I snapped and scurried into my room.

I hated those times when my mum pretended she was a teenage girl. I couldn't do anything without her poking her nose in. Who did she think she was, forcing out all my secrets? She was supposed to me my mum, not my 'best fried forever'. Nosey bugger.

I lay in bed, my mind a blur. On the up-side, I learnt some valuable information which could seriously help me with Jake. But something weird happened with Ryan. We sort of clicked, and I didn't like it. I decided to keep my distance. I couldn't risk this feeling developing into something more.

I had nothing to do, so I read for a while: A History of York. I was utterly engrossed from the first page, who knew York was so interesting? That's one of the reasons I loved history, so many surprises. I had read ten chapters in, and was learning about a particularly famous raid on one of its many castles when someone knocked on my door. I told them to come in.

"I found your denim jacket" mum said proudly, holding it up like it was the World Cup "it was in the cupboard"

"Yeah, and I found your nose, it was in my business."

"You're not still mad about earlier, are you? Come on, I wasn't that bad! What is it with this boy? You're being very defensive"

I didn't answer her, just turned over in my bed and went to sleep.

On Monday, I put my newly-found information to the test. I had my hair in a bun and wore a low cut top, shorts and skin-coloured tights. I wasn't going to dress like a slag just for Jake, but I sure as hell was going to go as far as I could without exceeding the boundaries. My mum didn't stop me, thank god, but she did look a little disconcerted.

We had maths first, and I felt a little more confident than I did on Friday. We were sat in our usual places, listening to Mr. Ranson's drone. I struggled to remain undeterred by Jake's charming appearance as I scribbled a note on a piece of paper and passed it to him.

'Sorry about Friday, just trying to be funny I guess.'

Not a minute later, I got one back.

'You're alright, I get that sort of stuff quite a lot.'

I sat and thought for a moment, one word repeating in my head. Sass, sass, sass.

' Course you do, cocky much?'

I passed it to him, but I was a little bit doubtful. I was worried that I'd gone too far, but a cheeky smirk from Jake told me that I hadn't. Yes! Hit the nail on the head, as Ryan would say. Wait... Why am I thinking of Ryan?