all those broken promises | shyland

Chapter Three

He knew they shouldn't have moved.

He had been perfectly happy in his old school in Colorado, but his father had gotten a better job, and Ryland never got a say in anything his family did. Of course, his older brother, Austin, was still living Ryland's dream life, having went off to college the year before, but him and his little sister, being seventeen and fifteen, had to do whatever their parents said. God, he couldn't wait until he turned eighteen.

And, to put it lightly, California sucked. First, his high school was full of stereotypes of people he hated, the main one being Shane Dawson. And, yeah, Shane was incredibly attractive, he would be dumb to not think so, but his personality was a solid negative five on a scale of one to ten. Ryland wasn't rude either, he could have talked to Shane, would have tried to be his friend even, but the harsh tone of Shane's comment twelve seconds into seeing him for the first time sent him over the edge; he didn't have time for assholes.

Secondly, he didn't have his best friend, Drew, to complain to. Sure, he could call him on the phone, but he wanted to tell him how much he hated this place at least ten times a day, and they had only lived in California for barely a week. Of course, he had his demons back in Colorado, but he couldn't imagine having to handle the new ones here too. But, he knew one thing was for certain.

Shane fucking Dawson was not going to be one of them.

"So, you're new here, huh?"

There was a soft giggle from behind the set of lockers Ryland was standing by, shoving his bag into number 54, already cursing the auburn-haired boy for nearly making him late to first period on his second day. Who hung out in the parking lot of the school anyway? When he hear the giggle again, he froze, his blood starting to boil as he slammed the metal door shut and whipped around the corner, coming face-to-face with fucking Shane Dawson talking to his sister.

"Ry!" Morgan squealed. "Hey, this is Shane—"

"What the hell are you doing?" He demanded harshly, unsure which one of them he was talking to, but he'd take a response from either of them. Morgan furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and Ryland really couldn't blame her; he hadn't mentioned Shane to her the day before. Still, he wasn't stupid, and he was aware that Shane probably knew they were siblings, which made him want to punch him even more.

"Nice to see you too, Ryland."

Ryland ignored the fact that Shane had managed to finally get his name right, sending a glare in his direction as he grabbed his sister's arm and pulled her away, knowing he was probably going to be late to first at this point, but not really caring anymore. When they were far enough away from Shane, Morgan pulled her arm away from his grip, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him, looking older than she was.

"What's your problem?"

"My problem?" Ryland hissed. "You're a Freshman."

"I'm allowed to have older friends, Ryan."

"Don't call me that—"

"Then stop being an asshole!"

"Look," Ryland demanded. "I'm trying to look out for you. You're allowed to have older friends, but he doesn't want to be friends. He's not that guy; trust me, I met him yesterday, he's a dick. He's not going to care about you, and he's not going to be your friend. The only thing he wants is to get under my skin, and probably get to say he slept with you. Promise me you won't talk to him again."

"Maybe you should give him a chance."

"Morgan..."

She shook her head, "Ry, we're at a new school now. Not everybody is going to be like—"