Undaunted

Chapter 16: Accidental Cuddling

The next day I pack up my things in a luggage bag as Antheia and Flinn both get their things ready as well, and Ryder walks out of the bathroom wearing dark grey shorts and a white, v-neck t-shirt. He pauses in the middle of the room and runs a hand through his strawberry blond hair and his grey-blue eyes watch me.

"Ryder?" I ask whenever his eyes fixate on the necklace I put on this morning, along with a pink spaghetti strap tank-top and a pair of shorts.

"When did you get this?" He asks as he walks over to me and picks up the charm on the end of the chain and looks at it as it rests in his hand.

"A few years ago," I say and smile, "I got it whenever I went with my aunt to a plaza when we went shopping. We bought books, clothes, and some supplies like pens and tablets before we went this little shop that made custom engravings on jewelry, so I got a necklace made and my aunt got a bracelet. I remember after that we went and got ice cream together too."

"A little shop, huh?" He mumbles as he looks over the front of the charm, "What does this symbol mean?"

"Oh, it's the number two in Japanese. Japanese is one of my favorite cultures to learn about. I chose the number two because I believe there's always two sides to every story. People act and react to each other and to different things differently, and we all have our reasons why, they just aren't always clear," I explain.

"Yeah," Ryder whispers and turns over the necklace and rubs his thumb across the rune on the back.

"Oh," I frown, "I never knew what that symbol stood for. I kind of just assumed it was the company's logo."

"Philomena..." Ryder trails off, "That's..."

"Ryder?" I question.

"Who gave you this necklace?"

"I told you, I bought it at--"

"No," Ryder shakes his head, "Who? Who was at the counter?"

"How would I know?" I scoff, "Ryder, what's this about?"

"That rune, it--"

"Hey!" Ace, wearing converse, jeans, a tank-top, dog tags, and a fedora, stops in the hallway and shouts at us while our door is wide open, "Hurry up or you'll miss the bus!"

"What the hell is he wearing?" Ryder mutters, "It won't be my fault when he complains about wearing jeans and a hat at the beach."

I chuckle and grab my bag before grabbing onto Ryder's wrist.

"Come on," I smile, "Let's go!"

"Hey!" Ryder shouts as I drag him out of the dorm and he grabs his wand before casting a spell and levitating his luggage bag over to us, "Wait!"

"No time for waiting!" I shout back at him and drag him down the hallway.

Ryder glances over his shoulder and casts another spell to close the door, but Antheia opens it a few seconds later and glares at him.

"The lovebirds forgot about us..." Antheia mutters and follows us down the hallway alongside her brother.

"What?!" Flinn shouts, "Lovebirds?! Philomena, my sweetheart! Don't make any rash decisions--"

"You idiot," Antheia elbows him in the ribs, "I was joking. Even still, why would she choose you?"

"Hurtful," Flinn whines.

After a few minutes the four of us reach the bus we're assigned to and Ryder and I sit near the back of the bus on the right side, while Antheia and Flinn sit across from us, Ace and Spade sit behind Antheia and Flinn, Tempest and Solstice sit behind us, Ezra sits by himself across from Tempest and Solstice, sitting with his back to the wall of the bus and his legs are bent so that his knees are up in the air and his feet go to the edge of the seat while he reads, and Augustina sits in front of Antheia and Flinn, along with Harlow, and she clutches her bag to her chest and occasionally glances wearily at Harlow. I sit next to the window while Ryder takes the side of the seat closer to the isle and I look out the window with a smile on my face. I look back down at my necklace and turn it over so that the rune is visible and I trace my thumb over it. I wonder what Ryder was going to say before he got interrupted...

***

Sometime during the bus ride Ryder ends up falling asleep and I chuckle. However, a little while later I fall asleep too, and whenever I wake up I notice that I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder and I was holding onto his arm. I blush and quickly move away from him before looking out the window. A few moments later Ryder wakes back up and I glance over at him before returning back to looking out the window.

"Philomena?" Ryder questions after a few moments, "Are you blushing?"

"N--No!" I exclaim.

"Yes she is," Ace says as he leans over the seat and smirks, "This little cutie here had a cuddle fest with you while she was asleep and when she woke up she got all embarrassed about it."

"S--Shut up!" I shout and smack Ace's fedora off of his head.

"Hey!" Ace whines before chuckling and picking his fedora back up.

"It's true," Spade shrugs.

I narrow my eyes at Spade and he smirks before shrugging innocently.

"Oh," Ryder says and rubs the back of his neck while smiling slightly.

"When did you two even switch seats with Tempest and Solstice anyways?" I ask.

"Well," Spade chuckles, "Antheia got pissed off at me because I kept messing with her and Tempest got annoyed because the two of us kept yelling at each other, so she told us to trade seats with her and Solstice."

Ryder laughs, but tries to cover it up with a cough and I giggle.

"Hey, look!" Augustina shouts and beams, "We're here!"

I go back to looking out the window and I smile as I see the boardwalk and the beach, as well as the ocean and several large buildings as we go down the road. Something tells me this trip is going to be amazing, and I can't wait.