Water Under The Bridge

Chapter Fourteen

"Your boyfriend is already waiting for you in the morning? He's too cute", Cass says as we walk towards them.

"Shut up Cass, he's not my boyfriend", I say trying to even my breathing. I don't what Ryan is doing here. I'm only meeting him during lunch time.

"Yet".

I ignored her comment and roll my eyes. I can't lie and say I haven't thought about that aspect. But baby steps, I don't want to get too excited. I don't to rush into anything anymore. Just because a guy makes me feel good doesn't mean he's good for me. I know that from firsthand experience.

It's easy to get lost in the excitement. In the feeling. You start ignoring all their red flags because of the excitement. I don't even know if Ryan wants a girlfriend. I don't know what he wants from me. Hell I don't even know him!

We walk up to them and Ryan turns. It's like he gets more beautiful by the day.

"Hey morning guys", Steph says as we reach them.

"Hi guys", Ryan says with that gorgeous smile of his and continues, "sorry for the early intrusion again, I just wanted to see Star before classes start and ask something".

"Uhm sure, Steph and I will leave you guys to it then", Cass says as she goes to leave with Steph.

At this point I should be getting used to the daggers from people but I haven't. I can literally feel everyone's eyes on us. Ryan doesn't even look like he sees it. Or maybe he's just better at pretending he doesn't than I am. I must master that.

"Hi", I say sheepishly. This guy affects me so much. Every nerve in my body has lighten up. The butterflies in my stomach are going wild. My heart is frantic. There is so much tension between us it's actually crazy. I can feel it in the thick air.

"Hi beautiful", he says with a smile as he steps closer, my heart does a backflip at him calling me beautiful. He said it so smoothly, like it's second nature to him. I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing him call me that.

"I wanted to ask if we're still hanging out for lunch today"

By now he's literally right in my face. He's so close and staring right into my eyes. I hope he can't hear how fast my heart is beating, "Uhm yeah we still are", I say as confidently as I can.

"Okay cool, I'll see you at lunch then", he takes a step back.

"Alright. Great".

Does it feel awkward!? I feel awkward! Why do i feel awkward oh my word! I don't know what else to say. I'm getting dizzy just from this exchange and my mouth feels dry. What is this boy doing to me. Ryan and I stare at each other for a few seconds. Few seconds that felt like hours. Why is he looking at me like that!

"I'll see you at lunch Star", and with that, he turns and leaves.

I release the breath I was holding. He called me beautiful again. I don't know why that affects me soo much. It's not like people don't tell me I'm beautiful, they do but it's different with him. Maybe it's the stupid crush I have that makes it different. I watch him as he leaves. The way he walks as if he's been walking these hallways all his life. The confidence he exudes. You can just see it from a mile away. And then it hits me, I really really like him. Oh I am soo fucked.

I finally will my body to move and open my locker, taking out the books I need. I close it and lo and behold, it's Mia standing behind me. I sigh. I've already been called loose, I wonder what she has in store for me.

"It's so embarrassing how you're throwing yourself at him. The whole school is talking about it", she says this as she looks me up and down. I don't say anything and just look at her and her friend.

"And it's also funny how a junior student thinks a senior guy like Ryan would be into them", she goes on to her laugh and her little minion laughs too.

Okay I need to end this and go to class. I square up to her and look directly at her face,

"Mia, if I'm throwing myself at him, why is he the one waiting for ME at my locker in the morning? Why is he the one asking ME to hang out during lunchtime?", she tries to say something but I cut her off and continue,

"I think you should revisit the meaning of throwing yourself at someone. Now excuse me I have a class to go to".

I immediately leave before I give her a chance to say anything back. The nerve. How am i throwing myself at Ryan when I haven't even done anything. If anything, he's throwing himself at me. I walk in class and throw my geography teacher an apologetic look. I don't like being late to class coz now everyone is looking at me.

My morning classes went by very quickly, the more lunchtime neared, the more I became anxious. I was gonna be with Ryan for lunch. Just the two of us and that thought scared me more than I'd like to admit. What if we talk and I realise he's a boring guy? Or he's not smart? Or he thinks I'm the boring one?? Jesus I need to calm my tits down. My overthinking will ruin things for me before they even begin.

Still deep in thought, I'm interrupted by the chaos of the other kids in class. It's lunch??? I didn't even hear the bell ring. Shit it's lunch. Shit shit shit shit! I don't even know where I'm meeting Ryan. We didn't talk about that. I pack my books and head for the door, as I'm about to turn to the direction of the cafeteria, a voice calls out my name. That voice. I know it. I freeze for a few seconds before I turn. Ryan is waiting by the wall outside the door I just came out of. He smiles when I see him.

"You're way too deep in your thoughts you didn't even notice me outside your door. You okay?", he pushes himself off the walk and walks up to me.

"Yeah no I'm good", I say and exhale deeply. Did I mention my heart is trying to jump out off of my chest?

"Penny for your thoughts?", he asks, he actually looks concerns. If only he knew I'm like this because of him.

"A penny? My thoughts definitely cost more than that. Maybe millions . And I'm hungry. A hungry me is not good company", I say trying to lighten my anxious thoughts. I want to be comfortable around him so joking around might help.

Ryan smiles at my comments, "I asked Stephanie in the morning what you liked having for lunch and she said chicken burger and sprite so I went and collected them at the cafe before I came down here", he holds up the takeaway.

It's only now I realise he's holding a takeaway and a cup of Sprite. A smile makes its way to my lips. I can't put into words what I'm feeling right now. He went and fetched my lunch? He asked my friend what I liked? I still don't say anything. Too anxious to ruin the mood.

"There's a tree I liked by the parking lot I think would be good to have lunch under. You up for it?", I just nod my head like a dummy and he starts walking to the direction of the parking lot. It's lunch time so the halls are empty thank the heavens for that!

When we reach the parking lot, Ryan quickly said he had to go to his car. I see him coming back holding what looks like a blanket. Oh my God? Are we gonna have a picnic vibe??? I try to hide the smile that tugging at my lips.

"You just happen to have a mini blanket in your car on standby?", I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I knew a beautiful girl agreed to hang out with me for lunch and when I saw the tree yesterday before I left, I knew we'd hang out there and didn't want her to get dirty, so I brought a blanket", he says coyly.

"And people say chivalry is dead", I say as we walk towards the tree. Ryan laughs at my comment and I'm reminded again how beautiful of a laugh he has. He lays the blanket down and we sit down. People do hang out by the parking lot during lunch. There are some benches on to sit on the side and I can see some of them staring at us. I shouldn't let it affect me. This moment feels beautiful. I want to enjoy it.