Friendzoned

Chapter 2

Rae

The sun was going down when I snuck into Ryder’s room. Ever since my brother, Jack, passed out from a brain tumor five years ago, our families have been really close. His parents really helped out with the hospital bills for Jack when we were deep in debt. Something about the way Ryder shared his fruit snacks with me that day made me realize I was developing a crush on him.

At the beginning of fifth grade Ryder and I started having sleepovers. It started when this boy pushed me down at school and started making fun of me. That night I went over to his house to talk to him about it. When his mom came into his room and saw me she told me that it was really late and that I could just stay over if I wanted to. That was the first time I ever stayed the night. Ever since, we have been having sleepovers like every week.

Three knocks fast. Pause. Knock again. This is the secret code we made up to let each other know it was us. He came to the window and opened it for me. When I climbed inside, he smiled really big and pulled me in for a hug. I have always liked his hugs since the first one he gave me. We walked over to his bed and sat down. We sat and talked for what it seemed like forever. We talked about school, our families, our dreams, what we wanted to be when we grew up, and everything else. I loved when we would talk like this! The last time I looked at the clock, it was 12:03.

“Dang! It’s already 12:03! Time really flies when I’m with you!” said Ryder.

“I know! I’m getting really tired!” I said.

“Want to go to bed?” He asked me. I nodded as I climbed into my side of the bed. He slept on the far right and I slept on the far left.

“Goodnight Rae.” I heard him say while he was climbing into bed. I could hear the smile in his voice.