broken | shyland ✓

chapter nine

s h a n e

on friday lunch times, we would come up with our best ideas and plans. me, trisha, drew, garrett, joey, daniel (and now ryland) would munch on french fries, the special that day, and contemplate our plans for the upcoming weekend.

however, today, due to ryland's sensitivity displayed on our walk to school, we decided to eat lunch alone. my hand wasn't touching him, instead hovering just next to the fabric of his oversized black sweater, guiding him out onto the field. despite it being a sun-filled summers day, since the canteen was selling fast food, the large patches of grass were empty for us to venture. i spotted a large oak tree, the one that's normally populated my gossiping thirteen year old girls, and suggested we eat there.

hastily, he nodded, almost weary of interaction. he was shy today, a fragile being, a person i'd never met before. still, he looked beautiful, a dad hat not only shielding his face from the sun, but also from my eyes. much to my disappointment, might i add.

we sat on the mossy grass, fries in hand as we opened the grease covered cardboard boxes. 'how were your lessons this morning?' i asked softly as ryland tore open his sachet of ketchup. we hadn't had any classes together today, and my heart rose when i saw him in the hallway between third and fourth period. he kept his head down, however, and did not see me.

he shrugged, raising his head. 'they were okay, i didn't get too much homework.' the cuffs of his sleeves covered his hands as he carefully squeezed sauce on his food.

'are you okay, ry? i'm sorry if i upset you earlier. i just... i'm sorry.' i mumbled, blushing in shame.

ryland shook his head, glancing up at me through ocean eyes. 'don't worry, shane, it's okay. you didn't upset me, i swear.' he softly smiled, lips twitching as he spoke.

i'd become accustomed to the way he makes me feel. my heart beats that tiny bit faster, even though we've only known each other for a few days. before, i didn't believe in love at first sight. and, well, i don't now; love is something that grows slowly, and then you suddenly tumble head first. it's sort of like jumping off a cliff into the deep sea below. at this moment, i feel like i'm in the stage before the jump. shakily, i'm taking several steps towards the cliff edge before i fall. perhaps i'm falling in like, i perceived. perhaps this was alright.

garrett loved to tease me about ryland. later that day, in fifth period, a smirk plastered on his face, he accused me of "hooking up with the new boy and abandoning everyone". however, after explaining that we were simply eating lunch, garrett silenced himself, sending several suggestive winks in my direction whenever the teacher wasn't looking.

i hated math. it was god's enemy, satan. honestly, i much prefer english, and it's my favourite subject, not just because i sit next to this super pretty boy with chocolate hair and cotton candy eyes, but because i actually managed to achieve good grades in it.

'mr dawson, since you've been spacing out for the last ten minutes, perhaps you can tell us what x is equal to, in terms of 6x + 17¼ = 53.25, or are you not interested in passing your a-levels?' a loud voice asked. i placed it to my teacher, begrudgingly lifting my head off of my palm and looking at the equation with a black face. i bit back a sigh and looked at the mix of numbers in confusion.

'x is equal to six.' a british voice whispered, one i didn't recognise. no one ever sat at this table (i'd been moved away from garrett so i was sat all alone), so why was a boy sat next to me? knowing not to steal a glance at him as it would give away the fact that he'd just helped me, i recited the answer. the teacher, perturbed, nodded in shock that i'd actually gotten the answer right.