class rep ;; Ryden

4; intuition

Ryan watched absently as the three others on his table ate and talked happily. They were in the local McDonald's, again, they frequented here so often someone might think that they actually lived here. Unbeknownst to Ryan who had completely zoned out the girl next to him was clicking her fingers furiously in front of his face. Quickly the boy was pulled from whatever world he'd drifted to and faced the person behind the finger snapping.

"Oh so you're still with us?" She quipped, raising her milkshake to her lips and taking a long drink from it.

"What do you want?" He asked - it was supposed to sound angry and almost snappy but all that came out was a tired sounding complaint. As he glanced down at the table he noticed Z pushing a few notes towards him. He looked back up at her with a questioning look.

"We want more food." Was her answer to that look. She said it simply, with a wide smile. Making sure to take another sip of her drink. She was just doing that to be annoying. Most definitely.

Ryan let out a defeated sigh but asked the group to relay their orders. Since when did he become the dad of 3 kids? He was used to only have 1 to contend with. But now Jon was frantically trying to ask for ice cream while Spencer pinned him down. Apparently according to Spencer. 'He has had too much sugar for one day.'

"Let the man have ice cream Spence" another voice was heard as they walked past. Ryan instinctively tensed up, it was him. The voice let out a small laugh - it was adorable. Spencer shook his head at the boy.

"Oh Ryan this is Brendon, Brendon Ryan." Spencer did the whole introductory thing, but as Ryan turned around to face Brendon and said hi he found himself sort of staring and just fumbling over his words. Brendon didn't take his eyes off of the other boy. This was the way they stood for a few minutes before Brendon gave a small smile.

"We've met." He said simply, but that was all he could get out - another figure came behind and dragged Brendon to the front desk. Ryan blinked and turned back to his table.

"What are you waiting for get us ice cream!" Jon shouted pointing over to the desk like a child. Fine then, he'll go. As he got there he was only behind Brendon and the other one who was with him. The short chaotic one? It looked like him from behind at least. Ryan wasn't listening in or anything but when it came time to give the worker the money Brendon began to be sent into a panic.

"Are you kidding me?" The other boy scoffed shaking his head at the ground. It seemed as though he'd left his money or forgotten it completely. The minimum wage worker looked on blankly, really unamused with the situation. "It's like y'know $2 you don't have that?" His friend asked, looking up at Brendon. Ryan couldn't tell what his facial expression was but his voice didn't sound too happy.

Ryan debated on wether he should do what he was about to do. But as he looked at it from a moral standpoint it was the right thing to do.

"Here, heres $2" he choked out- tapping Brendon on the shoulder and handing him two notes. As the recipient turned around he looked more than thankful, he took the notes out of Ryan's hand with a nod and a smile. That made it worth it to Ryan. He didn't give a shit If it was one of those fake scams. He got to see the boy smile again.

"He's not poor just really forgetful." The other boy said finally turning around to face and speak to me. Guess I wasn't the only emo in the school I thought to myself. He seemed more punk than emo but who even knows what those words mean anymore. But he was definitely wearing some sort of eyeliner or eye makeup. I shrugged my shoulders, playing it off as if it was nothing and I didn't really care either way. He spoke again shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'm Frank by the way. You're Ryan right?"

Ryan's breath hitched before he could even answer, how did he even know his name? He didn't have time to dwell on that thought so he just nodded and let out a meek "that's me." The punk kid didn't notice the quietness in his voice either that or he'd elected to ignore it. He actually seemed pretty nice when he wasn't being chaotic or feral.

"You seem cool, don't be afraid to sit with us if you see us." He finished, as Brendon had now gotten his 'food' which was comprised of an ice cream and a cola. That sounded really genuine and Brendon nodded in agreement.

"A personal invitation from me to you Ryan" he grinned, before walking back over to their designated table in the corner of the room. Ryan had no time to process what just happened as the woman was shouting for the next customer. So he had to forget about that interaction and prepare for another social interaction.

—

"You said to be wary of them. They seem nice." Ryan questioned z. It was just them now. They were walking home together in the dark. Z didn't live anywhere near here but she always walked with Ryan to his house. She knew he couldn't be trusted alone and he needed the company. But also Z just liked being around him. She would take every opportunity to spend time with him.

"Most people who seem nice aren't nice. You seem like an asshole but you're the sweetest guy around." Z playfully elbowed the boy walking beside her, the darkness hid it but she was smiling at him. Not that Ryan would even notice anyway. He was looking directly forward. His eyes not even moving towards her.

"Right..." he mumbled, nodding slightly. Why didn't he believe her.

"You don't sound convinced." Z mumbled, turning away from her friend and looking at her shoes as they walked. Ryan didn't completely know what to say to that comment. So they spent the rest of the walk in silence.

As they got to Ryan's house his mother was on the doorstep to greet him, but mostly to greet Z. She gave a smile to the daughter she wished she'd had.

"Bye Ryan, think about what I said please." She gave a wave to Ryan and a wave to his mom. Then walked away quietly, her head down and her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"What does she mean?" Ryan's mom began to question as he entered the house. He shrugged. He didn't really know what she meant. There was something odd about all of this. Z was supposed to be Ryan's best friend. He didn't question her when she went out with a guy called Dan. Who was such a dick. Everyone knew it, he tried to warn her. But she didn't listen and ended up getting cheated on just weeks into their relationship.

Even then they didn't break up. Z said "so what he had a casual affair don't we all?" Ryan at that point didn't even recognise her. They eventually broke it off but she was a shell of her former self.

So why did she feel so strongly about this if she had gotten involved in way worse? He expressed these thoughts to his cat first of all. Who didn't really answer. But then he spoke them to his mother over dinner. She always seemed wise, and she could relate to the subject. She had a fair share of bad relationships.

"Maybe shes warning you because she doesn't want what happened to her to happen to you." She explained,

"It's different. Her and dan were together. This is just about me sitting on a table and making a few friends."

"Just friends?" His mother teased. He was now regretting even bringing the subject up to her. He nodded firmly and repeated his words.

"Girls have an intuition. Maybe she knows more about yourself than you think."

What was that supposed to mean? He went to open his mouth and ask her. But his plates were taken away signifying the end of their chat.

"Get some sleep Ry. You think better with a clear head."

—