Familiar

Chapter Six

There had probably been no point in running since we were both soaked well before we reached my apartment's front door. The rain had started pouring fast, and I wondered if Dane would be okay. Glancing behind me as I searched for my keys in my bag, I caught a glimpse of orange darting into the bushes.

"Don't worry about him, he'll be alright. He is a wild animal after all." Ryan grinned down at me, his hair plastering itself to his forehead. I had no idea what I looked like, but I was guessing it wasn't all that pretty.

Finally feeling the keys with my hands, I opened the front door, and lead us upstairs, both of us doing our best not to track water inside the entrance, and failing miserably.

I fumbled with my keys for a second to find the key for the apartment door, but the door swung open before I could get to the door handle.

"There you are. Finally." Tanya opened the door to reveal a very short dress, made out of a ridiculous sparkly material. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her outfit, our tastes were not similar at all, but she was my friend still.

"Nice dress," I commented politely. "Can we come in now?" I watched Tanya mouth 'we' before opening the door further to let us in and catching sight of Ryan beside me.

"Hi, Ryan, I wasn't expecting to see you. Come in." Tanya's eyes were wide as she tried to get me to look at her, but I kept my head down and moved past her.

Taking off my shoes at the door, I made my way into the bathroom and grabbed the two of us towels.

"I was going to have a shower, Ryan, or-" I paused and remembered my manners. "Did you want to have a quick shower first?"

"Um, sure, if you wouldn't mind," He stammered awkwardly, as I turned and went to the linen closet and got him a towel.

"Here."

"Thanks," As Ryan took the towel, he glanced between me and Tanya. "I, uh, won't be long." Watching as he disappeared into the bathroom, I could feel Tanya's eyes on me, probably ready to burst with a hundred questions.

I turned around to face her, but instead, she walked past me, her eyes wide, a look I knew well. Fake innocence.

"Hey, Ryan?" Tanya knocked on the door. There was a rustling sound muffled by the running water as Ryan popped the door open a crack and stuck his head out. He raised his eyebrows questioningly." If you want to hand me your clothes, I could run them through the dryer for you quick."

"Uh, sure, just give me a minute." Tanya looked at me and I grinned. Never thought I would see Ryan looking that flustered. "Here," He reached out a hand that held his wet clothes, and Tanya grabbed them. The door shut quickly again and you could hear the shower curtain move.

"Look, he wears boxers." Tanya loudly whispered to me as I tried to drag her away from the door and to stop her from going further through his clothes.

"I'll take them." I offered only so she would stop.

"Mhmm." Tanya smirked. "You should get used to taking his clothes." My face was certainly bright red as she continued to mock me. I couldn't take anymore so I quickly went in my room to grab tokens and a dryer sheet and headed downstairs.

Setting the dryer to "hot", I hoped he wouldn't be stuck in the bathroom too long without his clothes. My clothes were still wet and cold too.

I ran back upstairs, relieved to see that Ryan was still in the shower so Tanya couldn't pester him, I strolled into the kitchen. Tanya wrinkled her nose as she leaned over what looked like a glass of orange juice.