Love Bites; Bullets

Staying Away

Days after the courtyard incident, Ryan finally returned back to School. I promised Ivy and Lindsay I'd stay away from him, for my own safety. That day was very hard for me, because every time he'd walk by me, I'd walk right around him. I felt awful doing that, because we had such a connection in the courtyard some days ago. I found myself staring from the cafeteria window into the yard again. 
"Casey!" Lindsay and Ivy shouted.
"What!?" I said while startled.
"I'm getting sick of this." Lindsay stood up from the table and walked away, while Ivy followed. 
"Lindsay wait!" I followed behind and Ivy turned around to me.
"You're mad in love with Ryan, and I am not gonna stop you any longer!" Ivy looked disappointed and hurt, not angry. I couldn't help but lower my head in sadness.
"I'm sorry, but I think you're right." Was all I replied.
"Answer me this, why?" Ivy asks.
"I really don't know." I start to cry, and she holds me loosely.
"I can't stop you from loving who you want." She then pulls me back.
"But! Don't come crying to me when you find out who he really is!" She snaps.
"I know who he is." I wiped my tears.
"Okay." She sarcastically says, then walks away to chase Lindsay in the crowd.
That's when I turned to look into the yard, but Ryan was no longer there. Then I felt a subtle tap on my shoulder, I turned, and there's Ryan breathing over my head.
"So, you're in love with me?" He asks, and I grin.
"Umm.." I couldn't even answer, when he pulls me in close to kiss me. Kiss me! He actually made the first move! I kissed back, obviously. This made me so happy, too happy. Everyone in the cafeteria would stop and stare in the corner of my eye. Our kiss lasted for a while, and I did hear a lot of laughter. And even saw others pointing and laughing, but that didn't stop him, and it clearly didn't stop me either. 
"Yes." I said after he gently let go, and he smiled.
"Good." He says.
We walk down the hallway, and I see Ivy and Lindsay in my sight. Ivy stood there, looking frightened, and Lindsay had her arms crossed. 
"I'm sorry." I mouthed to Ivy, and she shook her head slowly.
I was sorry, but honestly at this point, I was just so happy that my feelings were finally being set straight. I knew what I was doing was being looked down upon, but that only made me wanna work harder to prove to my friends that Ryan wasn't as bad as he appeared to be. But most importantly, I knew he loved me as much as I loved him.