COME MY WAY • RODRICK HEFFLEY

twenty fifth chapter

"you sure you can handle all of this, rowley?" giselle asked her newest trainee.

the young boy looked sure of himself, he'd been enjoying the workload more than giselle ever expected. he did say he's been wanting to be a volunteer for a while now so it made sense why he seemed so motivated.

"i got it, giselle." he smiled at her, "don't worry about it! i will not let you down."

gisele grinned, patting him reassuringly on the shoulder. "i never thought you would." she chuckled. "so i'll see you next thursday?"

"yup," rowley replied, as he helped giselle pack up the rest of her camera equipment into a bag. giselle was thankful having the boy around, he was awfully too kind and she loved working with someone so thoughtful and genuine.

"thanks rowley!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick side hug as she strapped her bag onto her shoulder. "take care!"

"i will, take some great photos for me!" was the last thing she heard from the boy as she waved goodbye to him.

stepping out of the community center and into the chilly air of plainview brought slight shivers for giselle, luckily for her she had remembered to wear a sweater after noticing the gray atmosphere today at school.

rodrick's van was parked right out front and she could already see his anxious looking face by the driver's seat. giselle couldn't deny that she also felt nervous for today. she was heading out with rodrick of all people and as much as her main goal was to capture some great photos, it felt a little weird to not be with zara or quinn for once.

"hey," she greeted, as she opened up the front door and plopped herself comfortably in her seat. "could i put this in the back?" she asked rodrick who nodded in reply, as he reached out for her bag and thoughtfully placed it in the back himself.

he seemed a little tense, giselle thought but he always was whenever they'd bump into each other. she was hoping things would cool off at some point considering this time they were actually going to spend time together.

"oh thank you," giselle said, smiling kindly at him.

"don't mention it," he grinned, starting up his van while she put on her seatbelt.

it was awfully quiet in this vehicle, nothing but the sound of the engine revving and the slight whirring of the air conditioning trying to block out the silence between the two teenagers.

rodrick cleared his throat as he began to drive off, placing his free hand on the dial of his stereo. "do you mind if i play some music?" he asked.

giselle shook her head, feeling relieved it wouldn't be too silent their entire ride to wherever rodrick's 'nice place' is. "of course not."

he turned on the stereo and the riveting melodies of def leppard roared through the speakers. the sudden loud sounds of music made rodrick feel worried that giselle would not like it, but as he checked on her there was nothing but am impressed grin on her face.

"def leppard?" she questioned, shocking rodrick that she knew one of his favorite bands.

"you know them?"

she scrunched her fact at him, "are you kidding me? i love 80s rock, my dad put me on it." she giggled.

rodrick's lips curved into a smile, turning up the music even more.

"you're fucking awesome."