Dignified

Chapter fifteen

The blood was rushing rapidly through his veins. One moment she was there and the next she was gone. How could that be? Ryan panicked, jumping out of the pool to search for her. Was she playing a trick on him? Some sort of cruel, unfriendly joke? "Peyton?" Ryan called out, looking around the terrace. There wasn't a lot for him to look through. The terrace was small and flat, giving no hiding spots. He stepped inside, his feet crunching the broken glass on the floor from the previous day. He ran over to his older brother, his eyes scanning everything. "Clark, have you seen Peyton?" He asked, looking around.

"I thought she was with you," he muttered.

"She was, but I went underwater and she disappeared. Clark, I don't know where she is." Said Ryan, his voice worried and shaky.

Clark shrugged, paying no interest. "I don't know."

Ryan glared at Clark. A year ago, he would have jumped up and quickly would have helped Ryan search for her, but now... He ran back onto the terrace, examining the spot where she had been standing. There was nothing there. He looked over the railing, the world below him buzzing with life. He slipped his shoes on, running across the penthouse. He stepped out of their apartment, knocking on the door opposite of theirs. It was useless. He knew if she wasn't there, no one would be. Her parents were at work, and her older brother was in college. He grabbed the door handle, turning it as far as it would go. Ryan decided to use his new strength to his advantage. He pulled the handle until it broke, snapping as the lock undid itself. He grinned and ran into her apartment, searching like a maniac for her. He gasped slightly as he saw what her home looked like again. It had such a warm look and feeling. There were warm colors everywhere, colors like brown and beige. It gave the place such a nice feeling, a feeling of home. Scott's apartment was nearly entirely white, the few exceptions being the colors gray and black and the colors of the boys' clothes. A modern penthouse did not feel like home. Peyton's apartment reminded him of Camp Safe Haven, which made him smile. He shook his head, realizing he was getting lost in thought, and ran up to her room. He kicked open the door, but no one was in there. "C'mon, Peyton. Where are you?" He said to himself, looking in her closet. As he was headed out, he slowed and walked over to her dresser. She had pictures of all four of the boys and her from the previous years in a girly little collage. He smiled, running his eyes over all of the memories. Ryan laughed slightly, continuing to search for her. As he was leaving her room, he ran into someone, falling over them and knocking them down. "Ryan, what are you doing in my room?" A familiar voice asked. Ryan looked up, his face inches from hers. "Peyton. What are you doing here? What happened? Where'd you go?" He asked rapidly, the questions rushing out of his mouth. "What are you talking about?" She replied, pushing him off of her. He sat back, pressing his eyebrows together in confusion. "Where were you just now?"

"At the library. I told you I was going to be there, Ryan." She said, standing up. He did the same, unable to understand what had happened. "No you didn't. Peyton, you were just at my house swimming when you disappeared."

"Ryan, listen to yourself. You sound crazy. I haven't been to your house since yesterday." She said, heading towards her living room. "Peyton, what happened? Stop messing around." He said, grabbing her shoulder and grunting her to face him. "What's the matter with you?" She asked, pushing his hand off. "I've already told you were I've been. I don't know why you care so much, all of a sudden.." She muttered. Ryan didn't understand. She had screamed. She was there and then she vanished. There was no possible way she was at the library. Clark saw her come in too. He even said he thought she was with Ryan. He couldn't help to think that the creepy man had something to do with it. Had he taken her when he wasn't looking? Ryan eyed Peyton, his face expression hard. "Okay then. I'll see you later." Said Ryan, stepping slowly away from her. "Watch yourself." He left her apartment, and entered his own. "Clark, you saw Peyton come in here earlier, right?" Ryan asked, leaning against the kitchen counter top. His brother nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention to Ryan. He dragged himself up to his room, unable to wrap his mind around what had happened. What had happened? He didn't know. He threw himself onto his bed, peering out the window at the darkening sky. "I should go for a fly," he muttered. Why not? It's dark. It's crowded. The buildings block the sky. No one would see him. "Let's do this," Ryan said, standing up and heading out the door. He walked down the hallway, reaching the room at the end that said, "KEEP OUT." He opened the door and climbed the ladder, opening up and climbing onto the roof. The breeze hit him immediately, making him smile slightly. He walked to the edge of the building, placing his feet right on the end. His toes were hanging off as he stared at the world around him. Could he even call it a world? Technology everywhere, pollution suffocating everyone, and no nature anywhere to be seen. Trace could put his powers to use here. He took a deep breath, looking down. He closed his eyes and let himself fall forward, pretending he was on a bungee jump. The wind pulled his hair back rapidly as he picked up speed. Everything had changed for him since he got his powers. His vision had improved by far. Even as he fell, he could still see everything clearly. He could see every window passing him, every car driving by below him. He let himself fall to a dangerously low height before willing himself upward. Ryan lifted his head up and began quickly moving in the opposite direction. He loved it. The wind ran along his arms, playing with his hair and giving him chills. He flew up, passing all the buildings and heading straight for the clouds. He kind of wanted to leave it all behind. Was that selfish of him? Was it wrong for him to feel that way? Would he be a jerk if he thought of leaving? If he thought of running away and never looking back? Ryan heaved a sigh, unsure of what to do. The temperature was dropping rapidly, so he slowed to a stop. He floated high in the air, simply dazing around. He didn't know what to do. He felt lost. His friends and family were in danger. He could feel it. Something wasn't right. He wanted help, a clue, just a hint as to what he should do. He wanted his mother's guidance. "She would have known what to do," he said quietly. Everything seemed to be going wrong, yet at the same time, nothing bad had really happened to him. Sure, his brothers got in a fight and the family seemed divided in two at the moment, and sure, his best friend and long time crush seemed to have forgotten everything that had just happened, but really, that was nothing bad. No one was hurt, so he didn't know why he felt like that. "You should be thankful," he said, scolding himself.

"You've got things others could only dream of having." Ryan sighed, crossing his legs in the air. He tapped his pockets, looking for his iPod. "Crap. I could really use some Ed Sheeran right now." He said. He laid back, closing his eyes and resting his head on his hands. "What if an airplane comes and just runs me over?" Ryan laughed to himself. He quickly sat up and opened his eyes when he felt a cold, icy sensation run over him. "You should be worried." A low voice said.

-Okay, guys. I'm so sorry. I'm at loss right now. I have no idea what to do. This book was an original idea of mine that I thought of when I was a kid. (I was a really strange kid.) I used to pretend I was Ryan (even though I'm a girl) and I would pretend I was fighting and I had super powers and everything. I had always wanted to write a book about. Well, the other day a good friend of mine convinced me to do it. I did, and I was very excited and happy about it. I was roaming around wattpad when I came across a story almost identical to mine. I felt my heart drop to my stomach, my mind crashing around me. I always had one fear when writing this, and it was that people would think I'm copying another story. The other story (called the elements by banedragonx) was posted before mine, but I swear I'm not copying it. I feel horribly saddened, almost depressed, about this. I have contacted the writer and have let them know that if my book sounds too similar to theirs, all they have to do is let me know and I will delete my own. They posted it first and I know they have all rights to it. Now, the stories aren't identical, but they're very similar. (I read theirs and i think it is far better than my own. Very well written.) Comment and let me know what you think I should do because I'm nearly in tears. Thank you for reading this book and please don't forget to vote.-