THE THIRD P3RSON

•Chapter 8•

Queenofhoen15 and Opal_Star This one is for you.

I huffed as I walked up the perfectly done stone steps that lead between the two perfectly placed trees on either side of an amazing house. I keep walking, pretending that it meant nothing to me being somewhere I know I didn't belong. On the other hand, I am a human being. I deserve to walk anywhere I want to, right? Ryan opens the front door, I follow him in, not wanting to be outside.

Ryan took off his shoes and sighed. "You could get comfortable."

I laughed. "Heh. Yeah..." I eye the amount of space in the house. Now, I'm not so sure being inside is better.

Ryan flipped a switch and a huge chandelier that took up most of the ceiling lit up. Now the roles were switched. I felt really uncomfortable. Duh. I was in a different place. If there is anything in the world that makes me uncomfortable is being somewhere I don't know.

"Not even here for more than two seconds and you've squashed the roses. I wonder what you'll destroy inside." Ryan smiles.

Hey. At least he's not giving the world his (excuse my French) "fuck the world" look.

"So... What are we going to use? Pen and paper or computer?" I ask him, putting my hands in the hoodie I've been wearing all day.

I eye the laptop he hands me. "Well, I'll use my laptop." It's charging, he had told me when I asked him why it was still plugged in. I nodded and he moved over so I could be closer to the wall. "Since Unc seems to trust you, you use his."

A few minutes later, we both silently log in to our e-mails and start looking for the e-mail with the questions. For a while, all I wonder is how I'm going to talk to the guy. The ride home means no more "Robot", right?

Ryan sighs. "Can I tell you something?"

I keep my eyes on the computer screen. "Um. Go ahead."

"Uncle Grey seems to trust you so I'm going to ask something. Why does he trust you so much? When did you first meet him?" Ryan questions.

"Well," I start, turning the computer, sitting so I'm facing him. "You have to tell me something else for trade."

"What would that be?" He asks wearily. I notice the life coming back to his eyes. The soul of his that makes everyone smile is coming back. A challenge usually makes that happen. I have to remember that.

"Answer me a simple question." I told him. "How long have you loved Christina?"

Ryan sighed. "For as long as I've known her."

"Interesting. " I tell him, my eyes going back to the screen of Miles's laptop. The huge living room seems smaller somehow. "Noted."

"Please don't put that in the project." He begs.

"Oh, look! Another question." I joke.

I feel Ryan's stare. "Julianna."

For some reason, I laugh. "Ryan, don't worry. I'm not putting it in the project. But..." He looks at me as I trail off. "You know we have to put our first impressions about the person in the project right?"

"Yeah. And I'm sure your story will be different." He murmurs. Was I supposed to hear that?

And why is he still so awkward?

He didn't say anything for a while. I took that as my cue to start the layout for my part of the presentations. There was a silence that made me antsy. It was the kind of silence you know you could break but wouldn't risk saying something stupid and regretting it.

"Well, Christina has an idea about what she thinks of you already." Ryan says so suddenly that I almost trash the slide I was working on.

I looked at him, startled. For a second, I forgot he was here. There he was again with the cold look.

Ryan was quiet, searching for something in the air with his eyes until they found mine again. "What's your story?"

"My story? What?" I asked back, hating the way my voice echoed back to me. I cringed.

I hate places with so much empty space. It tells me no one is messy enough to live. Like where Amy gives me the "privilege" to live.

"You said I had to tell you something for trade. I told you how long I've loved Christina, which I haven't told anyone except for Unc. I mean, sure, people can guess but they don't know. But, tell me what you were just thinking about. You were lost in your thoughts for a while there."

Um. No. I just don't like to be the one to break the silence.

I sighed. I pulled the laptop close.

"Which one do you want to hear first? What I was just thinking of or my story with your Uncle?" I asked him.

Tell the guy because why the hell not? His Uncle will beat the crap out of him if Ryan says anything (not really. Grey is too sweet).

He seemed surprised. I asked him why.

He scratched his neck while turning away. "It's just that... I didn't expect you to trust me so easily."

I shrugged. "True. I don't trust people easily. Especially people who believe in the rumors they hear." I fake cough in Ryan's direction. "Plus, Grey says I should and he would go crazy if you say anything bad behind my back."

The blondie was momentarily confused."I thought you called him Miles."

"In school. Outside of school, I call him Grey." I told Ryan. I clap my hands, then place them back on the laptop before it falls off my lap. I bring my legs up to sit on the couch with my legs folded under me. As I run my fingers through my hair, I glance at Ryan. He's staring. "So. The story of Grey or the story with Christina?"

Ryan blinks at the name. "Christina's. What's with Christina?"

Ah. Even without her audience, he still drawn to her. How sad.

"Her 'boyfriend' supposedly loves me," I told him simply. Lifting the top of the computer I laugh. "The end. Now, this slide is uncooperative. How do I change the font of the bullet points? "

My questions were followed by silence. I stretch my arms out of nervousness.

"Jesus Maxwell is in love with you?" Ryan seems puzzled.

I stretch my arms again. I give a nervous laugh. "Yeah. That's what I said right? After a few years, you think the guy would move on. Ha..."

"Trust me. The heart doesn't know what 'a few years' is. Seeing them every day is like seeing them for the first time." Ryan mutters.

Damn it. He's thinking of Christiana again. Well, when isn't he?

Julianna meet Uncomfortable Silence.

Uncomfortable Silence, nice to meet you again.