Ragged✔|18+

SIX

CLYDE

Nothing sucks more than unrequited love. That shit hurts like hell. I try to tell myself that it just wasn't meant to be with us but every time Zoe leans in for a kiss from her boyfriend, a gut wrenching pain goes through me. I should be the one in that asshole's place. I should be the one she smiles at whenever I lean in and whisper something in her ear. I should be-

Fuck. Not this again.

I rub a hand over my face. I've got to move on from her. Yes, that's what I'm going to do. Move on.

A shadow casts over me and I look up to see Reyna with a tray of food in her hands. Maybe it's the short flowery romper she's wearing that's a dead giveaway of how pretty she is but no, it's the way her dark hair catches the light from the windows and makes it appear honey-gold. That and her eyes.

A small smile forms on her lips. "Mind if I sit here?" She gestures to the seat in front of me.

"No."

"I'm not sure how to go about this but, um. . ." she hesitates. "I'm sorry."

She fiddles with her frosted cupcake before extending it towards me.

"I don't normally share my dessert but I screwed up, so consider it a truce?"

Unable to resist her offer, I take the cupcake but I eye it for a moment, weighing the predicament I'll face if I so much as took one nibble.

"I can't."

Her face falls and I rush to explain before she gets the wrong idea as to why I'm refusing her peace offering.

"I wasn't kidding about being allergic to. . . cake."

She struggles to keep a straight face but in the end the façade breaks and a laugh slips out.

"It's just so surreal," she says. "How is that even possible?"

I like hearing her laughter. "I ask myself that everyday."

"Then here." She slides a pudding cup my way. "You can have my pudding."

"You really want that truce, don't you?"

"Something like that. I feel bad for what I said earlier. It's just that-" she hesitates.

"Just what?" I push.

"Well, you're. . . you."

Confused, I stare at her. "Care to elaborate?"

"Come on, you're telling me that you don't know how people perceive you when they take one look at. . ." She waves a hand over my body.

"If you're trying to insinuate that I'm superficial then I should tell you right now that I'm not."

"I don't know," she says but her tone suggests she's teasing. "Kind of hard to place a complete stranger I met in a club."

"And where would you place me?"

"Just a guy I had tequila shots with and paid a high price for it the following morning."

"Really?" My eyebrows shoot up. "I thought we'd bonded on our last encounter."

She shrugs, smiling. "I didn't even remember your name."

"Liar. I bet you dreamed of me. You did, didn't you? I was that good-looking, wasn't I?"

"You're so full of yourself." Rolling her eyes, she looks around the cafeteria. "Any girlfriend I need to be aware of? I don't want to be dragged into a catfight so early in the school year."

"No. There's no girlfriend." I look past her shoulder to Zoe, who's now watching us curiously.

Reyna follows my gaze, and it's no surprise when she puts two and two together. "Love triangle? That's even worse. Now I've really got to steer clear of you."

For some reason, that makes me panic a little. I don't want her to assume the worst of me and damn if I know why. "That's not. . . That's not the case with me and her. I just know her and-"

She smiles, waving her hand. "Dude, you don't have to explain yourself to me. I barely know you, so who the hell am I to judge?"

"Here." I slide to her the remainder of pudding left in the cup.

"Aw, aren't you the sweetest?" She scoops it with her spoon but before she puts it in her mouth, she narrows her eyes at me. "Tell me something."

I fold my arms on the table and lean in to her. "Shoot."

"About what you said back in class. Would you. . ." she hesitates then her voice drops low. "Would you really help? You know. . . with the script?"

To be honest, I kind of was taking a guess with the whole hacking thing. I really was surprised when she confirmed it but I can't let her know that. Especially when she's staring at me, expectant for an answer.

"Yeah, totally." And I just signed myself up to be caught by the NCSD.

"Just tell me when and where."

"It's sort of risky."

"How risky?"

"CIA risky."

Fuck. She has to be joking. There's no way- "Shit, you're serious."

"I'm trying to get hold of a classified file."

"Uh. . . maybe you should reconsider that. Hacking into the CIA database is like holding a neon sign announcing that you want to get arrested."

"I know that but I really need-" she pauses as if she's suddenly remembered who she's talking to. "You know what, forget it. Forget I said anything."

Well, now she has me interested. "Why are you hacking the CIA?"

Panic takes over her features and she quickly stands up. "Forget I said anything," she repeats and with one chilling look thrown at me, she walks away.

That went well. Girl clearly has a lot of issues if she gets worked up over nothing. I simply asked a question. Whether she'd answer it or not, that was fine by me.

I watch as she hurriedly dumps her tray's contents into a bin before proceeding with her march out of the cafeteria.

Zoe's watching too and once Reyna's out of sight, she turns to me, an accusing look plastered on her face.

Yeah, I'm the only one to blame in this kind of situations. Pissing off girls left, right and center.

Zoe stands up as if she's planning on coming over to give me her piece of mind but I don't give her a chance to. I shoulder my backpack and make my way out of the cafeteria and as I pass by her, I could've sworn I saw longing in her eyes.

One confrontation with her was enough and I'm not interested in having my heart ripped out again.