Moon Rise (Ryan Magee)

five

<a/n: prepare yourself for the longest chapter of all>

Ryan and I hang out alone a lot after that night at the planetarium. He hasn't made a move since then, which is a bit disheartening seeing as we're always in his basement watching movies or at my apartment playing video games.

Tucker doesn't seem to mind; between his niece getting hurt and all of his classes, he's not available to hang out that much.

One morning, the three of us are in our usual positions in our lab. The professor announces that the next project must be done with only one other person.

The three of us exchange glances, worried about choosing which one of us is going to have to find another partner.

The project is relatively simple. Successfully identify a few different constellations from a list the professor has given out.

The truth is, I want to work with Ryan more than anything. Tucker is great, but Ryan is just... something else. I want to spend as much time as I can with him.

Once the professor dismisses us, the three of us huddle together in the hall, and it reminds me of middle school for some reason.

"Okay, what are we gonna do?" Ryan asks. I shrug, frowning.

"We could do... rock paper scissors? Or... draw straws or something?" Tucker offers.

"Yeah, some kind of elimination thing so no one has hard feelings or whatever," I say. The boys nod.

"How about we go down to the cafe and get someone to help us draw straws?" Ryan says. Tucker and I agree, and we all head down to the basement of the building, which houses a small cafe. I take three red stir sticks from the coffee bar. I snap one in half before heading back out.

"Okay. Now we just need to ask someone to help us." Ryan looks around before heading over to a guy doodling on his tablet, headphones in. He taps the boy on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey, man," the boy says, pulling out an earbud.

"Hey!" Ryan turns to us. "This is Ross, we've had a ton of classes together." He turns back to Ross. "So, we're trying to decide who gets to work together on an astronomy project. Would you kindly help us by holding these straws? We're gonna each take one, and whoever gets the short one has to find another partner."

Ross chuckles and nods, taking the red straws from my hand. He shuffles them under the table before presenting them again. I was hoping I'd be able to tell the short one apart somehow, but unfortunately they all look identical.

The three of us look at one another before each taking a straw. I close my eyes.

I exhale slowly before looking down. It appears the other boys did the same thing as me. Thank God, mine isn't the short one! Before I can see who wasn't so lucky, I hear Tucker groan.

Well, that answers that.

Excitement bursts through me, and I high-five Ryan. Tucker looks disappointed, but not heartbroken. Good.

"Yesssss!!" Ryan exclaims, pumping his fist in the air.

"Damn," Tucker exclaims. "Well, guess I'll have to find a new partner."

"Yep, guess ya will," Ryan replies, with a shit-eating grin spread across his face. I smile and giggle at him.

"Well, thanks Ross, you're a real pal," Ryan says, patting him on the back.

"No worries, man," Ross replies. He puts his earbud back in, leaving the three of us free to leave he building. When we get back to the first floor, we're stopped- or, Ryan is stopped- by a girl from our lab. Her name is Callie, and I've decided I hate her. She looks like a Vogue model, with a minuscule nose and a slight, endearing gap between her two front teeth. She towers over me, though she's half the width I am. But it isn't just the fact that she's more gorgeous than I could ever hope to be that makes me not like her. She's one of the dumbest girls I've ever met. And on top of everything else, she's rude. When she greets us, she looks right past me, and pushes in between me and the boys.