Not So Bad After All

# 13

(So, I lied. All I'm going to say is that my sister/friend is having a bad day and is in some serious need of cheering up. So, here we are folks, chapter 13! This chapter is dedicated to Alyssabeasley)

Ruby walked home with a bright smile on her face. Although she had a run-in with ex-friend and ex-boyfriend, she still had an amazing day. "Ruby!" Someone shouted from behind, making Ruby stop and glance behind her. Anastasia came running up, grinning like a maniac. "How did it go?" She asked, walking alongside Ruby. Ruby smiled warmly, clutching her backpack softly. "It went really well."

Ruby woke up the next morning sprawled out on her couch with a sleeping and drooling Anastasia on top of her. She glanced over at the TV and seen Attack on Titan was still playing. She chuckled softly as she turned it off, gently pushing Anastasia off of herself and placing a blanket over her. She walked into the kitchen, getting out some cooking utensils and turning the coffee maker on. She started making pancakes and bacon, humming Mad Hatter by Melanie Martinez, one of her favorite songs. "Do I smell bacon and coffee?" A groggy voice asked from behind her. "And pancakes, don't forget-" She said as she was turning, but busted out laughing at the sight of Anastasia. Her glasses were crooked, she had drool all over the side of her face, and her hair was sticking out everywhere. Anastasia raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" Ruby forced herself to stop laughing once her sides began to hurt and she began crying from laughing so hard. "Go look in the mirror." Was all she said as she turned back to her cooking, hearing screaming coming from her bathroom only moments later.

"I am so using that as blackmail." Ruby said, cutting into her pancakes. Anastasia scoffed, cheeks burning in embarrassment. "You don't have any proof." She replied, shoving bacon into her mouth. "Doesn't mean people won't believe it." Anastasia sighed, knowing her friend was right. "Anyways, what do you want to do today?" Ruby asked, taking a sip of her coffee. Anastasia hummed in thought, tapping her lips with her finger. "How about we go to the mall?" She suggested. Ruby shook her head. "Movies?" Another shake of the head. "Arcade?" Ruby arched an eyebrow. "Since when do we have an arcade?" Anastasia snorted, taking a bite of her pancakes. "Since last Monday. And don't you have Ryder's number?" Anastasia asked, an odd gleam in her eyes. Ruby nodded cautiously. "Yeah... why?" Anastasia grinned before saying, "Text him and invite him and his friends to come with us."

"How exactly were we roped up into this?" Liam muttered, kicking a pebble on the sidewalk. "You were the one who wanted to go, idiot!" Xander shouted at him, his hair in a short ponytail. Ryder shook his head at the two, walking alongside Ruby and Anastasia. "What happened to Noah?" Ruby asked, trying to spark up a conversation. "He said that he already had plans." Ryder said, shrugging. Ruby sighed as it once again fell silent, Xander and Liam bickering in the background. "Oh my gosh... WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUT IT?!" Anastasia screamed, whirling around to face the two. The two immediately shut up, well Xander did. "Are you on your period or something?" Liam asked, his eyebrow twitching. "Why you little-" Anastasia went to lunge at him but Ruby intercepted. "Okay, we are five minutes away from the arcade, think you three can manage not to kill each other in between that time span?" The three deadpanned as they replied in sync. "No promises."

Once inside the arcade, Xander went off with Anastasia to the shooting games, Liam went to the basketball one, and Ruby and Ryder were left alone. "So, uh, where do you want to go?" Ruby asked timidly, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. Ryder shrugged as he glanced around, seeing Galaga. His eyes lit up as he grabbed Ruby's wrist, dragging her over to the machine. Ruby felt her cheeks burn when he did this. "I haven't played this game in ages." Ryder murmured, a soft smile making its way on his face. "You like Galaga?" Ruby asked, tilting her head. "Are you kidding me? I used to play it all the time when I was a kid! I'm the best at it." He said with a cocky grin. Ruby huffed before smirking. "Then I challenge you to prove it to me." His face morphed into shock for a split second before it returned to a cocky grin. "You're on."

Nine matches later and the two were practically neck and neck. They were pretty much even on the scores, Ryder managing to have a couple extra points. "Hey! Other people want to play, ya know?" A kid yelled behind them, making them glance over and see a bit of a line behind them. "Oops." They both muttered sheepishly, getting out of the way and allowing the others to have a turn. "I totally won, by the way." Ryder said, smirking at Ruby. "As if! I was totally winning!" Ruby protested. "Whatever you say, princess." He replied, winking at her. She could feel her cheeks heat up once again. "Hey guys?" The two glanced over to see Anastasia, Xander, and Liam standing there, two with concern etched on their features and one with anger. (Cookies to whoever can guess who has which emotion) "We hate to be a buzzkill, but trouble just rolled in." Anastasia said, pointing over at the entrance. Ruby's eyes widened once she saw Leo and Peyton laughing and smiling together. Peyton glanced over and saw Ruby, smirking as she cupped Leo's face and kissed him. Ruby could feel anger and sadness taking over, her fists clenched at her sides. Once the two got done sucking each others faces, Peyton pointed at the group, Leo looking and smirking. "You want to get them back?" Ryder whispered in her ear, Ruby nodding firmly. Ryder cupped the side of her face and turned her to face him, sealing her lips with his in a kiss.

(A/N: Who else liked Galaga as a kid? Let's not forget the ORIGINAL Mario Bros.! But as I said, I will STILL be updating Monday, I just wanted to do something for my sister who is mentioned at the top of the page. If you don't mind, hop on over to her profile and give her some love ;) Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful day/afternoon/evening! Sayonara!)