THE THIRD P3RSON

•Chapter 7•

It didn't take long for my little brain to connect the dots that I didn't know where Grey's house was. Oh my gosh Julianna. How dumb are you? How long does it take you to realize you don't know where you're going?

I resisted the urge to laugh at my stupidity. "Where are we going? Where exactly do you live?" I managed to ask.

"North Gale."

Well then. I coughed. Wow. Okay. North Gale. "Uh. Ryan..? You kinda...have to...give me directions. Haven't really visited...North G- there- much."

If you haven't noticed, tall and pristine mansions by the shore make me anxious. Where their are mansions with a view of the sunset, there are snobby rich people ready to judge your every move. Trust me. The owner of my house is a fashionista.

I kept asking myself why I was the one nervous even when I knew every reason why. Ryan should be the one nervous. I'm doing him the favor of taking him home. He just nods, thinking. I don't have an idea what about but I know it's something that happened today.

What else would it be about? Outer space?

Well, he is spacing out....

I sigh. I gotta stop. Think of something else. Usually, I have the radio on, singing along but today, I forgot to turn it on. Hm. Would it be rude if I turn it on now?

Excuse my anxiety. Makes me jittery sometimes.

The only words exchanged between Ryan and I are three things: "go straight", "left", and "take a right". It's a dull conversation. It's as if we were two people sitting next to each other on the bus. It's weird, how quiet everything was in the car.

My hands were aching to turn on the radio, maybe blast some throwbacks. The music would sure calm my nerves. For some reason, it makes me uneasy how calm Ryan is. Shouldn't he want to walk to his house? Calm his nerves after everything he's been through today? What kind of guy keeps everything bottled up?

I give a side glance at Ryan, who's fumbling on his phone. He shuts it off with a sigh and turns around in his seat. Something in me is saying telling me to kick him out because I don't know him. I glance at the guy sitting next to me every time I reach a stop light. This time, Ryan drums his knuckles against the window.

Also, since we're in the "whole car ride is awkward for me because" thing: just this morning I wanted to run over Ryan with my car, not drive him to his house!

But, alas, the world has granted me my wish of not going 'home' straight after school but at a price.

I laugh nervously and stretch my arm at another stoplight. Almost there, Jones. You will breathe fresh air again! I cast another look at Ryan. To be honest, another part of me is wondering if he acts the same way his uncle does.

"Do you hear the crickets too?" I ask him, jokingly.

"Huh?" He turns to me. His eyes watching me fumble over my words.

Crap! I said that out loud!

"I-uh...Nothing!" I tell him, embarrassed out of my mind. I don't know if he said 'huh' because he thought I was weird and gave me a chance to correct myself or he just didn't hear me.

"Weird." He muttered. Does that answer your question, Julianna?

Instead of messing up my social status any more than I already did (I once thanked a guy for asking me where I got my shoes from), I shook my head and keep my eyes on the road. We hit the shore part of Ocean City. I smile at the smell of the sea.

One day, I'm going to a college far from here and see something other than this side of the ocean. I'll make sure I have everywhere in Ocean City and Jewels Beach memorized like a secret map. When I come back, I don't want to feel like I'm coming back to somewhere I couldn't recognize.

Holy Crab!

As we are getting closer and closer to his house and the houses keep getting bigger and bigger. I can't help but gasp at one.

"You aren't going to make rich kid jokes are you?" Ryan asked me, tired.

He speaks something other than directions! Yay.

"Huh? No!" I told him. I probably busted his eardrums but I was offended. Me? Judge people? "I mean, I just surprised. Why would you think I would say anything mean?"

I wanted to ask if that's something Christina would do or did when she had to go to his house for the first time. Probably.

"I had people judge me by my location for a long time and I wouldn't do that to another person. Number one: I judge people by how they speak to me. If they speak to me as if I'm worthless to them, then I know I have to treat them the same. If they treat me with respect, I treat them with respect."

Ryan nods. "Nice. People need to stop judging by the wrong things. Like if two people like something that's the same as them."

I gave him a look. I sputtered a laugh. Wha-what? "Like what?" I chuckled, turning on my blinker for the last time as I pulled up to Ryan's street.

He finally lifted his head off the window. "Like if one pink pony likes another pink pony and one blue pony likes another blue pony. One pink pony deciding she likes purple ponies. One blue pony thinking he's better off being a pink pony. That kind of stuff."

I parked in Grey's driveway and shut the car off. I gave him a look of disbelief. "Did you just explain LGBT pride to me using ponies from My Little Ponies?"

He raised his hands to defend himself, a small smile in the corners of his lips. "Hey. All I'm saying is that Rainbow Dash is Rainbow Dash for a reason and that it wasn't just a coincidence that her friend is Pinky Pie."

I laughed. Really hard. Which I thought was weird but it was something I needed.

"Your uncle does the same thing!" I shrieked, laughing. "Not about the pony comparisons, that's kinda weird-"

"Hey!" Ryan yelled back offended.

"-He taught me how to solve the Rubix cube using this weird method. It took me days to remember it but I can solve any cube puzzle you give me unless, of course, I don't want to do it."

"Unless you don't want to? Of course. But yeah. That explains a lot." Ryan says thoughtfully, undoing his seatbelt and getting out of my million dollar car.

Not, but a girl could dream, though!

I get out too and spin the keys in my pointer finger. "Four- maybe five years and I finally get to see The Great Casa de Miles. This is gonna be cool."

Ryan looks at me and chuckles. He walks up to the main door and calls over to me, "Your stepping on the roses, Jones!"