Her Royal Charming

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Hey!"

"Hey you-"

"Come back!"

I paid the shouts no mind, raising the volume of my music and running a little faster. I didn't think it pertain to me until I felt a hand on my shoulder. Freaking out, I screamed and threw my fist back to attack my would-be assailant.

I missed completely.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." The handsome guy with the sharp blue eyes said. There was no denying his good looks, even if he almost scared me half to death.

I scoffed, pulling my headphones out of my ear. "It's would be more believable if you said that when you didn't just sneak up on me."

"Fair enough." He shrugged, a small smile on his face. He extended his head and before I could freak out again and attempt to punch him, he opened his palm. In it held my keys with its distinct glass high heel keychain.

"You dropped your keys a while back." He informed me as I smiled sheepishly feeling embarrassed by the whole ideal.

"Thank you." I cleared my throat. "Sorry for trying to punch you in the face, in my defense I thought you were going to murder me."

He nodded and remained standing there. "Ok, well I'm going to start running now." I put my headphones back in to get back in the zone. As helpful as this interaction was, it was ultimately an interference in my running, and I needed to get back in the zone.

"Let me join you." He was awfully eagar, and it was suspicious.

"I prefer to run alone."

"As do I, but you wouldn't mind some company just for today?"

"I would actually." I insisted.

"I'm not bad company." He persisted.

"For all I know, you could still be a murder, and I'd rather not take my chances." I began running, hoping the conversation would have ended a while ago. This interaction was becoming way longer than it needed to be.

"I'm not a murderer." I scoffed, as if that statement was in the least reassuring.

"Look it's nothing personal. I don't know you and I like doing this on my own." This was as polite as it was going to get. I started to run away. Not even two seconds later, I felt a presence beside me.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" I groaned.

"Maybe I want to run here too." He shrugged innocently. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out his end game. I had my guard up, weary of him, he was a stranger after all. He looked around my age, ruggedly handsome with dark hair and light blue eyes that made me think of the pristine water of the ocean.

He was taller than by a whole head with a muscular build. All this information and I had yet to know his name. Although, he did look vaguely familiar.

"Stay out of my way." I figured if he didn't move away by now, he wasn't going to in the near future, might as well make the best of it. I still had half an hour of cardio left before I had to get back home and I wasn't going to waste time arguing with whoever he was.

So many things to do, and no time to complete them all.

"If you are going to run so close to me, can I at least know you name? I asked halfway through. Even with the music in my ears, the silence between us was was deafening.

"Ah, how could I have missed something as important as that. I'm Derric, Derric Wilder."

"Got a bit of a Ron Weasley vibe going on there." I noted.

"Typically when someone introduces themselves, the other person does the same." He explained slowly, gesturing between us as if I didn't understand how a basic conversation worked.

"Nice buddy." Like I was going to give him my name, I'm not an idiot. "But while we are on the subject, why won't you leave me alone. We don't know each other at all."

I should have realized he wouldn't give me a straight answer. "Friends are strangers until you get to know them."

"That's an interesting philosophy, but it doesn't answer my question." He wasn't necessarily wrong, I certainly never thought of it that way. Regardless, it was a stall tactic intended to divert attention away from my question.

"Do you go to Seaside?" Derric changed the subject abruptly. I decided to play along.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I checked how much time I had left. 10 minutes left to go. Time went by fast.

"Do you get a kick out of being enigmatic?" He asked me seriously. I resisted the urge to laugh.

"I don't like revealing personal information about myself to strangers, regardless if we go to the same school."

His face light up instantly. With a smirk he said, "So we do go to the same school." Realizing my slip-up I cursed underneath my breath. Great going Adira, I chidded myself.

"This doesn't change everything." I argue scowling.

"Sure it doesn't." He says with that annoying smirk on his face. It makes me wish I hadn't missed my mark the first time.

"You are infuriating."

"And you are a mystery." He countered.

"One you'll never figure out Derric Wilder." The alarm on my watch beeps, indicating the end to my cardio session. I placed my hand on my thighs and took a minute to catch my breath. "As fun as this was, I have to go."

"Where are you going?" He asked. His curiosity and constant inquiries were slowly getting on my nerves. I started walking towards the exit of the park, glad to know he wasn't following me.

"Not like it's any of your business, but I'm going home. And before you ask, I'm not letting you know where I live so you can stalk me some more."

"I'm not stalking you!" He called out from behind me.

"Say it louder so the cops can hear you." I yelled back jokingly, giving him a thumbs up. I walked back home with a hint of a smile on my face.