Thirty Reasons Not to Date a Player

15. He'll Show Up Out of No Where

A/N: One of my readers suggested I do a chapter in Ryder's POV so the second half of this one is from his perspective. Hope you guys enjoy! :)

*

Boys always have to prove their masculinity in the stupidest ways.

Like right now, I'm about to be late to Physics because two sophomore boys are having a wrestling match in the middle of the hallway. There's a large group of kids surrounding them, mostly cheering for one or the other, except for a few who watch with disapproving looks on their faces. Once you're a South River veteran like me, a petty little fight between underclassmen isn't your definition of entertainment. I begin to push past groups of kids when the dean finally gets there, bringing two burly looking security guards with him.

It seems like a bit of an over-reaction, considering that two boys actually involved in the fight are pretty short and lean for their age. I don't understand high school. Half the boys that go here haven't developed Adams apples yet while the other half need to shave twice a week in order to look presentable.

"There's nothing to see here," Mr. Rodriquez shouts over the swarm of bodies, "Get to class or you're all getting detention!"

Everyone at the scene scampers away into classrooms or staircases and the hallways are finally clear enough to walk again, without having to forcefully push past people in order to keep moving.

"Hey there," someone says, causing me to look to the right. It's April's voice, but parallel with her body is Aiden, her now-official boyfriend.

"Hi," I tell them both, "What's up with you two?"

Aiden smiles widely, raising his right hand, which is interlocked with April's. "You know."

I open my mouth to say something when another voice speaks from over to my right. And it is not the voice I'm expecting to hear at all.

"Congratulations," Ryder says, with a small, boyish nod. April and Aiden share the same astonished expression, as if they can't believe that Ryder would have the audacity to say such a thing. I give him a wide-eyed look and nudge him to show my disapproval.

He continues anyway. "You two look great together. I'm sure Sharon would agree, don't you think?" He gives April a knowing smirk, which causes her eyes to narrow in anger and disgust.

"Fuck you, asshole," she snaps, her words like venom. Aiden holds up his free hand and gives Ryder the finger, before he and April storm off. I don't know exactly what had just taken place, but I know that I don't like it.

I stop walking, and pull Ryder to a halt with me. "What was that?!"

He rolls his eyes, and runs a hand through his dark hair, messing it up in a way that—despite the situation—I can't help but find undeniably attractive.

"Don't worry about it." His voice comes out in a low mumble.

"Excuse me?" I position my body directly in front of his in an attempt to be intimidating, although it probably isn't working.

"It's not your business."

"Of course it's my business, she's my best friend! Do you have any idea how long it took her to get over you? You have no right to say anything about her new relationship!" My words fall out without hesitation, and it's like suddenly, all my hatred towards Ryder has come rushing back.

"Aiden's just using her to get over some chick that just rejected him," he says, as if he didn't even catch a word I had just said. "She deserves better than that."

"Who are you to say what she deserves? If you hadn't cheated on her in the first place, we wouldn't even be in this situation!" I exclaim, looking directly into his eyes. Something in them changes, only for a split second.