Ryder the Love Expert | Protector 2.1

Chapter 15

A tiny bit of French is used in here and I'll put the translations in the author note at the end.

Chapter 15

       I tried my hardest to get my name taken off of the nomination list, but apparently, it wasn't allowed. I mean, seriously? Shouldn't it be my choice if I wanted to run for homecoming king or not? I even tried coming up with ways to make sure I would lose, but I lost count on how many people came to me in the hallway saying that they're voting for me.

       I couldn't believe I was saying this, but I was really hoping Raphael would beat me.

       "By the way," Orchid said as I pulled into the parking lot of the school the night of the dance. "I voted for you for homecoming king."

       "You what?" I asked. "Please tell me you're joking!"

       Orchid snorted. "No. We all did."

       "Great," I muttered.

       "You're making a big deal out of nothing," Nolan said.

       "Yeah?" I asked. "Well, what if you had a girlfriend who wasn't nominated for homecoming queen and if you won, you had to dance with someone else? In front of the whole school. With your girlfriend watching."

       Nolan snorted. "I doubt that would ever happen," he muttered.

       "You never know," I said. "Someone can purposefully vote for you when you have a girlfriend but not vote for her."

       "Yeah, that still won't happen," Nolan said. "I don't like..." He stopped for a bit before continuing. "Attention. You like attention. It's not a big deal."

       "Why'd you stop?"

       "What?"

       "Why'd you stop before you said attention?"

       "Why are you making a big deal out of being nominated for homecoming king?"

       I sighed as I parked the car. "You're hopeless. But I swear, if I win, all three of you better sleep with one eye open."

       Alan snorted. "Baby."

       "Devil spawn," I shot back.

       All three of them got out of the car, Alan and Orchid having an amused smile on their faces. I sighed once again as I got out and locked the car before heading into the school gym. Mae was already there, waiting near the door. When she saw me, she gave me a smile as I walked over.

      "Wow, you look gorgeous," I said.

       Mae smiled even wider. "Thank you. You look great as well. And don't say you always look great because I have a feeling you were going to say that."

       "You're not wrong," I said. "But, come on. You know I look amazing everyday."

       Mae rolled her eyes. "For some odd reason, I actually like your arrogance. It's usually annoying, but you make it work. So, want to dance?"

       I gave her a fake wince. "I would, but I don't dance."

       "Funny," Mae said with a smile. "Because didn't you place first in a duet competition. And aren't you currently the Male Soloist?" She took her hands in mine before pulling me to the dance floor. I had only been to a few school dances throughout my years of middle school and high school and I rarely liked them, despite my love for dance, but I knew I was going to like this one with Mae here.