Misconception

24: Volleyball Mishap

Clementine's POV

After class is out as Ryan and I are walking out of the school he asks,

"Do you need a ride home? It's the least I can do after using you as my own personal chauffer all day."

I grin up at him and nod,

"Sure!"

When we pull up in front of my house I ask,

"Would you like to come inside? I think Vinny's home if you wanna hang out with him."

"Sure"

He replies.

When we get inside, I drop my backpack on the couch.

"I'll go see if Vinny's in his room."

I tell Ryan as I head upstairs. 

It turns out Vinny was home and him and Ryan are downstairs gaming as I'm up in the living room working on homework. There's a knock on the door and as I get up and answer it, I'm surprised to see Ricky on the other side.

"Hi!"

I say, hugging him.

"What're you doing here?"

I ask. He comes inside and as I shut the door he says,

"Vinny invited me over. What're you up to?"

"Just homework."

I reply, gesturing to my books splayed out on the coffee table. Ricky smirks before he says,

"Maybe I'll just hang out with you then."

Ricky sits with me and as I'm finishing up my homework he asks quietly,

"Are there any updates on the whole Chris situation?"

I think for a second before I realize that I never told him that Chris ended our 'deal'.

"It's over... He actually apologized and everything and promised to keep my secret. He's been nothing but nice to me too since then."

I say. I see the surprise on Ricky's face before he says,

"Really? Maybe Chris is finally growing up."

He chuckles.

I work on more homework as Ricky quietly plays a game on his phone before he gets up and says,

"Well, I suppose I should probably head down there before they start wondering where I am. Have fun with your homework."

"Thanks"

I laugh.

I continue doing more homework, when there's another knock at the front door. I get up to answer it to see Chris on the other side.

"Oh, hey, Chris. All the guys are downstairs."

He comes in and I shut the door.

"Actually I'm here to see you."

He says. I can't help the blush that creeps up my face. I head back to the coffee table and start putting away my things as I ask,

"What did you wanna do?"

"Would you like to go see another movie?"

He asks. I giggle before I say,

"Chris, are you asking me on a date?"

"Maybe I am."

He says, as he cups my face in his hand and looks into my eyes. Then his eyes trail to my lips then back up to my eyes again as I feel his thumb brush over my lower lip. Butterflies swarm my stomach and I blush again.

"J-Just let me g-go get changed..."

I say, stumbling over my words. I scurry up the stairs and into my bedroom, before I completely ransack my closet. I hope I'm not taking too long before I finally decide on a black maxi dress with a chunky, white sweater on top. I throw on a pair of Mary Jane Dr. Martens and rush back downstairs. 

Chris opens every door for me tonight and even lets me pick out which movie we see and the snacks.

After the movie when we're back in Chris' car he asks,

"Are you hungry?"

I nod and he takes us to his favorite sushi place. Before today I had never had sushi before, so I'm surprised that I really like everything that he orders for us.

He takes me back to my house after and walks me up to the door.

"Thank you for everything tonight, I had a really good time."

I say, looking up at him. 

"I had a really good time too."

He says with a smile, placing his hands on my hips and pulling me to him. He tips my head up and leans down to kiss me. My eyes flutter shut as our lips meet and I stand on my tiptoes so he doesn't have to crane his neck so much. As soon as it starts, it ends. We pull apart from each other and he looks down at me, tucking hair behind my ear as he says,

"Have a good night, Clementine."

He turns and heads back to his car as I'm left leaning against the front door, speechless. 

I finally open the front door and head inside when my legs stop feeling like Jell-O beneath me. I'm surprised to see Vinny and Ryan in the living room.

"Hey, guys."

I say, distractedly, as I head toward the stairs.

"Where were you?"

Vinny asks, not looking away from the TV. I can sense the irritation in his voice. Ryan on the other hand, hasn't stopped looking at me since I walked in.

"I went to the movies with a friend."

I say. Vinny doesn't say anything, so I turn to head up the stairs as Ryan says,

"You look nice, Clem."

"Thanks, Ryan. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

I smile at Ryan before heading upstairs.

The next day at school is pretty boring. Ryan tags along with me again since he's still not a hundred percent sure how to find everything. Gym class rolls around and to my dismay, we're playing volleyball. It's boys against girls and I'm not gonna lie if I didn't say that I basically hide behind whoever I can find because I'm absolutely horrid at sports. A guy serves on the other team and much to my luck, it comes barreling down and strikes me right in the face hard. I must've blacked out for a second because next thing I know is I'm on the ground with a bunch of the other girls surrounding me seeing if I'm okay. I hear the coach say,

"Break it up!"

Ryan, who was on the boys team, is shoving through the crowd of girls and is kneeling on the ground beside me.

"You okay, Clem?"

He asks, helping me sit up. 

"Y-Yeah, I think so..."

I say as my nose starts gushing. Someone must run and get paper towel because next thing I know is Ryan is holding it to my bloody face.

"Someone take her to the nurse!"

The coach booms.

"I've got it."

Ryan says, calmly. Before I can even attempt to stand up, Ryan scoops me up in his arms and starts carrying me out of the gym, the rest of the class watching. Once we're out in the hall and my mind becomes less foggy, the embarrassment hits me and I feel the blush creep up my face. I'm still holding the paper towel to my nose as I say,

"I think I can walk, Ryan."

He gently sets me on my feet, but my legs betray me and he just scoops me up again.

"Sorry, princess, looks like I'm carrying you."

Ryan says. I groan in embarrassment and hide my face in Ryan's chest from the onlookers in the hall.