Ruby Redfort: try not to scream

Chapter 9- Jealousy

Ruby felt Dan's eyes on her as they walked to the Donut. She chose to ignore it. She didn't need anything else in her life. Stupidly she had forgotten something. Clancy would be at the diner and he would not be happy to see Ruby with a random stranger. Ruby Couldn't tell Clancy who Dan really was so this would be interesting.

When they arrived, the others jumped up to greet their friend and this new boy. Everyone was there including Clancy and he looked less than happy when he saw Dan.

"Hey guys," said Ruby as she walked into the diner. "This is Dan. He's a British exchange student and he's staying with me for a while. Dan this is Red, Mouse, Del, Eliott and Clancy,"
Everyone shook his hand or hugged him except for Clancy. Dan didn't seem too phased by this. Ruby had a feeling that he had already been briefed on the severe jealousy Clancy could show. Dan flashed him one of his best smiles. To that, Clancy just responded with a nod. Everybody noticed his reaction, even Marla did.
"Are you alright Clancy?" she asked when she came to take our order.
"Yep, perfect," said Clancy, putting extra emphasis on the consonants and frowning.

When they arrived at school, Clancy grabbed Ruby's arm.
"Can we talk?" he was almost pleading with her.
"Guys, could you show Dan where to go? I'll be in in a second," Dan smiled at Ruby and followed the rest inside.
"What is it Clancy?" said Ruby, trying to rush him. If they weren't inside in two minutes it would be another lunchtime wasted on writing a tedious essay on the importance of punctuality.
"Who is he?" there was slight aggression in Clancy's voice that Ruby hadn't heard before.
"What do you mean? He's a British exchange student,"
"Ruby, you are a terrible liar," sighed Clancy. "Is he part of Spectrum?"
"No, he's not," technically she wasn't lying. He was British secret service.
"Ok fine, but you know we need to talk about us for a second," by now they were alone.
"Us? What us, Clance?"
"Well, I mean, the kiss. What did it mean Rube?" He took Ruby's hand in his and stepped closer to her. She felt the heat of his breath on her cheek as he leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"What do you want me to do, Ruby?"
"I... I don't know Clance. We need to go inside."

Ruby ran into the building, leaving Clancy standing on the front lawn. They made it inside just before Mrs Drisco entered the classroom. They sat in silence for all of maths and science. At lunch, Clancy was only angered further. Dan sat next to Ruby when they ate and couldn't stop smiling while she spoke. Things only got worse for poor Clancy when they went swimming.

"I have no idea why they insist on making us swim," complained Del.
"Hey, at least it's a break from Mrs Drisco," joked Elliot.
The boys and the girls parted to get changed and met back up in the pool. It being a warm Friday, the instructors decided to let the class have some free time to just swim. Mouse and Red stayed in the shallows talking while Del, Elliot and Clancy splashed about where they could still stand. Dan and Ruby swam into the deep end so that they could talk. No one really went into the depths of the pool; it was colder there. Both of them were very good swimmers and the cold didn't trouble either of them. Ruby had been plunged into iced over lakes in training so a little chill in a pool was not a problem. She bobbed above the water and swam elegant, long strokes.
"So, are you still in training?" asked Dan.
"Nope, I finished all of my training last year and now I teach the new recruits."
"I guess you're my new teacher then," laughed Dan, once again smiling widely.
"It would seem so. I'm sorry about Clancy by the way,"
"What about him?" Dan really looked puzzled.
"Well he's been really rude to you all day,"
"Don't even worry about it. Guys can be quite territorial sometimes." he shook his head.
"Territorial?"
"Well, no. Not like your property. I didn't... you know, mean it like that,"
Ruby giggled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I know what you meant,"
Ruby splashed his face with water.
"Oh, that's how you wanna play huh?" laughed Dan, splashing her back.
Soon they were both submerged under water, swimming around. In a way, Ruby felt quite sorry for this boy. He was so far away from home, working on a case to catch a psycho and he didn't know anyone. Ruby made up her mind that she would be nice to him. She saw no reason to be cold or sour; he hadn't done anything to justify that kind of behavior. When they resurfaced they noticed the boy floating next to them. It was Clancy.
"Having fun are we?" he said abruptly. Dan was still very calm and charming.
"Yep," he grinned, catching his breath. "You wanna come over tonight?" Ruby appreciated Dan making the effort with Clancy but she really didn't think this was a good idea.
"Oh no, I'm sure Clance is super busy with stuff and..." he cut her off.
"Sure, why not. We can get to know each other better," said Clancy.

The three of them walked back to Greenwood House after the lesson was over. When they arrived, they were greeted at the door by a very tired looking Hitch. Even so, Hitch always looked very smart. No matter what he wore he looked sophisticated and of a high class. He wore his exhaustion well. The only person who would notice would be Ruby Redfort. It was his eyes, they were slightly less sparkly. He smiled his most charming smile when he saw them. Hitch was one of those people that you couldn't help liking and if you didn't like him, you envied him. He may have been forty-five but he looked about thirty. Not only was he a very handsome individual but he was also an all round nice guy. Ruby really didn't have a bad word to say about him, except the fact that he drank immense amounts of coffee. It could not be good for his health.

"Hey, kid"

Comment your fav character. I really wanna know. Btw bear with Clancy for a bit. It will get better 🥰