The Constant

Chapter 24

FEBRUARY

BEA POV

"Bea hurry up or I'm coming up there and carrying you down here!" Ryker yelled from the bottom of my stairs.

"I'll be down in two minutes!" I yelled back.  

We had to leave for school any minute but I just needed a few extra minutes this morning. It was the week of Valentine's Day, which this year just happened to fall one a Friday, so this whole week at school was Cupid Week. Miranda begged me at the beginning of the year to join the planning committee so I was helping with the flower delivery and Valentine's day dance ticket sales. 

The committee decided to wear red, pink, and white all week to get in the spirit so I needed an outfit that fit the theme. I went with a light pink sweater with white jeans a dark brown boots, my long hair tied into a french braid, which was the cause of my lateness today.

With just the final tie of my elastic, I was finally ready for school. I grabbed my backpack and headed to the stairs where Ryker was waiting. He looked up from his phone as he heard me coming and smiled at me. 

My knees buckled just at the sight of that smile. It'd been five weeks since our first official date and things have officially gotten better each day since. The initial awkwardness of being more than friends which we had been for so long evaporated and things were easy with us. 

"I think I grew grey hair, just waiting for you." Ryker teased as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I just flipped him off. "You look really nice today Bea." He complimented. 

I gave him a peck on the lips, "Thanks Ryk." I smiled at him. 

"We should probably get going though or we're gonna be late for homeroom." He said. I nodded and quickly plucked an apple off the counter before following him out the door. 

He opened the door to his car for me, something he's done for me everyday to my pleasure. Ryker placed his hand on my knee as he usually did and turned the radio on. "So since I've got a girlfriend that's on the planning committee, does that mean I get a discount on roses and dance tickets?" He asked as pulled into his parking spot. 

I gently whacked him on the arm. "You do not get a discount, but I get two free tickets for being on the committee. If I don't find a better date by friday, I may just take you." I winked at him before hopping out of the car. 

Ryker hopped out of the car and jogged up to me. He grabbed me and spun me around, "What was that?" He whispered in my ear. 

"This is school not the bedroom." I heard a voice said. 

The voice was familiar. With zero effort, Ryker placed me back on the ground and I saw the voice belonged to Jared. Ryker stiffened at the sight and stood up at his full height. "I don't think any of this is your business Jared." Ryker said forcefully. 

Jared took a step closer to us, "Last time I checked, this school was for all the students, not just you two." 

Ryker started to take a step closer, when I put a hand on his chest to stop him. "Okay that's enough guys. Let's just break it up." I said looking between the two of them. The two of them continued to look at each other. I rolled my eyes, "I'm serious, both of you go, now!"

Jared sighed and walked away. Ryker just stared at me. I crossed my arms across my chest to look as serious as possible. "I said both of you go." I restated. 

Ryker's face dropped in surprise. "Really?" he asked, pointing at himself.

I nodded, with a face as serious as I could muster. "Yes, get to class you trouble maker. I need to do some things for the committee." I pushed him gently towards the school. 

Ryker sighed but gave me a quick smile before bouncing off towards the school. 

"Wow that was like classic male macho high school drama." I heard Miranda say as she walked up to me. 

"You saw that?" I asked, hitching my backpack further up my shoulder. 

Miranda nodded with a laugh. She then threw an arm around my shoulder, "C'mon, let's go get the table set up for selling roses." 

RYKER POV

I was hoping Bea wasn't too mad at me for what happened in the parking lot, it was just that Jared bugged the shit out of me. I knew Bea liked me and was with me, but I still couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the fact that Jared was with her. But I knew that Bea hated violence and fighting, so no matter how much I disliked Jared I was going to have to keep it to myself.

The hallways were buzzing with busy chatter from students, most who were discussing Cupid Week. Never before was I that emotional, romantic type, I was more the see a girl and fool around with her type, but now I wanted to be that romantic guy for Bea. 

"Could people be any cheesier?" I heard Len's voice come up beside me. "I mean the hallway looks like some little girl's bedroom exploded in here." He continued as we walked to gym class. 

I rolled my eyes at his annoyance. "Some people are just excited and want to celebrate the holiday. It's not a crime to celebrate love and friendship."

Now it was Len's turn to roll his eyes. "Dude you're fucking whipped. About four months ago you would have been making fun of all these people and scooping up any desperate single girls for your benefit." 

I crossed my arms. "First of all, being whipped is not a bad thing. I have the best girlfriend around so excuse me if I'm happy. And second of all fuck off." I said with my middle finger pointed at him. 

Len just chuckled, "Hey it's actually good that you're off the market, it just means more ladies for me." He winked. 

"Just shut up and get in the gym." I said and pushed him in.