THE THIRD P3RSON

•Chapter 17•

Dear Fandom,

I didn't kiss Ryan Miles.

Yes, Ryan did cut me off. Yes, I was up against the door. Yes, Ryan leant close to me and, if I'm honest, my heart did jump. When it did, I held my hand up to his chest, faintly smelling Channel No. 5, and pushed him away. Ryan, looking puzzled, took a step back and asked what was wrong. I hid behind my hair.

"D-Don't mistake me for her," I muttered, hurt. "I'm not Christina's replacement. Sure I may have Amy as a fashionista police to monitor everything I wear but I'm not Christina's replacement." I told him, keeping my voice low to avoid him hearing it crack.

"Julianna, I-I wasn't... That's not why-" His voice died off.

It hurt. Shouldn't he be asking me why I was accusing him? Shouldn't he have asked if I really saw him like that and if I thought he was that kind of person? I rubbed a hand over my heart. The poor little thing was strong and has endured quite a bit over the years but especially over the last three days. Why could I feel how bad Ryan felt about what he was about to do? Why did I hear how sorry he was?

"What happened to her, huh? Trouble in paradise?" My eyes were trained downwards to see Ryan's sneakers take a dew steps away from mine.

"Julianna..."

I looked up at Ryan, trying to sneak even lower into the shadows to hide. "Christina sure loves her perfumes, did ya know that?" Scoffing, I voiced my thoughts out loud. "Now, don't be stupid, Julianna! Of course, Ryan knows that about Christina. What doesn't he know about her?" I spat.

We stayed in awkward silence. What the hell is happening here?

I stretched my arm out in front of me and pulled on the sleeves of my hoodie. Someone, please rescue me before I say something really stupid.

"Jones. Why don't you come inside?"

I jumped out of my shoes, almost tripping over a flowerpot next to the door in surprise. If it wasn't for the arm wrapped around my waist, I would have had a face full of dirt. While looking up to ask Ryan why he didn't just let me fall, I bumped foreheads with his.

"Ouch." We chorused. We both reached up to feel for a bruise.

From the door, Grey snorted and hollered a laugh. "Every time I see you two, it's just-" Grey sighs, trying to recover from his laugh. With the brightest smile I've ever seen on his face, he asked us to step inside.

Ryan and I shared one last look before we both went inside.

Walking back into the living room, Stacy stepped out of the bathroom with red cheeks as she was tying her hair in a bun. She looked at Ryan and I before her eyes slid back to Grey. I glanced at Grey to see him give her a wink and a nod. I had no idea what they were talking about but I wasn't really sure if I was ready to hear it.

Not wanting to ruin their moment but fighting against sleep, I tugged on Grey's shirt. He looked down at me while I asked him if I could stay over. "Um. Grey, if you don't mind, it's already late. Do you mind if I sleep on the couch or something? I promise not to-"

Grey must've thought it was a good idea because he gave me a hug. "I was just about to ask you to stay. I put some sweatpants in the bathroom with a T-shirt. Stacy says she'll get your stuff before tomorrow morning. You don't need to go to school if you don't want to, Julianna."

I gave him a tight squeeze and shook my head. "I'll go tomorrow with Stacy to get my stuff for school but thank you. I'm just gonna sleep on the couch if you don't mind."

Grey gave me a kiss on the forehead before he nudged me in the direction of the bathroom Stacy just walked out of. "Just go, Julianna. Get at least a couple hours of rest if you're going to wake up early enough to get your things."

I made my way to change in the bathroom and felt three sets of eyes waiting for its door to close.

---

Wrapping up my school clothes in a ball in my hoodie, I grabbed my hair tie from the sink and had my hand on the doorknob when I heard Grey.

"You need to make up your mind. Stop going back to her if you know it's not good for you." Grey hissed.

I paused, not wanting to interrupt them but not wanting to eavesdrop either.

Ryan sighed and I imagined him running a hand through his hair. "Unc, it's not that I keep going back to her. She just needs me-"

Grey gave a laugh in disbelief. "She's using you, Ryan! Why can't you see that? She has her boyfriend. Move on!"

"It's not that easy! I'm trying but it takes time."

"If it takes time, make sure you figure out what you're doing during that time. Make sure you aren't making any mistakes you shouldn't be making."

That's when I stepped out before things could escalate any further. I hope.

"Unc, there are a bunch of things I'm dealing with right now and I just hope you understand before you think I don't know what I'm doing." Ryan looks my way but my eyes dart somewhere else. "I'm turning in. Good night."

I blew out a shuddering breath as Ryan passed me into his bedroom in the hallway behind me. I looking down at my clothes as Ryan's door closed.

Grey ran a hand over his eyes. "I guess I'm not getting any sleep until tomorrow. Thank goodness it's Friday, right? Ugh. I'm going to call the family to come next week." Grey says, referring to the party he was hoping to have on Saturday.

I nodded and headed towards the couch. I heard a sigh from behind me. "Sweet dreams, then, Julianna." Then the lights turned off.

With that, I pulled a throw pillow behind my head and fell asleep.