Nine Muses, Nine Bruises

Meeting Ryan

When the others got home we dragged them through the door, pushed them on to the sofas - knocking them breathless - and told them all about our unwelcome visitor.

'And she just showed up all like "I live with my mum and she said to say hi to the neighbours and now I'm gonna be rude to you mwahaha"' I said excitedly and in one breath, mimicking her voice. The girls looked shocked.

'And she tried to diss my awesome new hair' Rebekah said, sounding hurt. The girls looked even more shocked, both by her hair and Sorcha's rudeness.

'And I told her she was trash' Paige piped up proudly from the corner. The girls looked even more shocked.

They sat silently for a moment, trying to think of what to say. Then they bombarded us with questions.

'Where does she live?'
'Did she know we lived here?'
'Why is she here?'
'What if she robs us?'
'Has she changed?'
'Should we be afraid?'
'How do we get rid of her?'

The last question came from Hazel. I gave her a look and said, 'We don't know what to do about her, we don't know where she lives, she just showed up. But we do know that she's not going to get to us again'.

A chorus of 'Yeah!'s came from my friends and I smiled at them. 'Go team Actimel!' I shouted, trying to make a joke even though I was actually really worried.
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The next day Ryan finally came over. Paige talked to him about MineCraft and YouTube, and everyone else just kind of watched him and Sky being cute together, which sounds creepier than it actually was.

At lunch they sat together, and halfway through the meal he started to hold her hand. I raised my eyebrows at her, smiling. She turned red and looked at him happily. I repressed the urge to let out a sigh. They were so cute together.

Diana was telling everyone about Harry again. 'Did I ever tell you about the time we went to the beach and he sang for me?' she boasted happily.

'Yes' the others sighed.

'Or when we went camping and we lay down stargazing, and he looked at me and said there was no place in the world he'd rather be?' she continued dreamily.

'Yes' the others sighed. 'Isn't that a song?' Elise smirked. Diana glared at her.

'And at the fair when he won me the big teddy bear and...' she blabbed on. 'Oh shut up Diana' Rebekah nudged her playfully. 'Jealous?' Diana laughed.

'Well Ian writes songs and poems for me' Hazel said smugly.

Ryan looked at Sky and whispered something to her before kissing her on the cheek. She grinned from ear to ear.

I was silent. All my friends and their cute boyfriends made me miss Hugo even more. He wasn't meant to be back for two more weeks, and I hadn't heard from him in ages. Not a word. I tried not to think about him and just enjoy myself and feel happy for Sky, but it was hard.

Jayfeather walked in and I picked him up and cuddled him, being careful not to breathe in any fur or get it near my face. I noticed Alison beside me do the same. I had almost forgotten about her cat allergy, probably due to the fact that she was wearing a beanie with cat ears. It looked great on her, everything did.

I saw Paige on her phone again. She really did like that Leo guy, even if she wouldn't admit it.

Aisling and Grace were chatting to each other while Elise stood up to get a banana from the fruit bowl. 'Anyone want one?' she called. 'Nooo thank you' Rebekah grinned.

When Ryan had to leave, everyone said goodbye casually and politely, as if we all brought home new boyfriends everyday. As soon as he had left, though, we all crowded around Sky.

'You're perfect for eachother!' Aisling sighed happily.

'He's so nice!' Grace said, sounding impressed.

'Not as nice as Harry' Diana joked, at the same time Hazel said 'Not as nice as Ian'. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

'I'm so happy for you Sky' Alison said, hugging her.

'He'll be the Dill to your Scout, the Thomas to your' - Elise paused to shudder - 'Isabella' she grinned.

Rebekah said 'Skyan for life! I ship it so hard! Except it's already canon...'

'Cough, you're welcome, cough' I laughed at Sky.

'Thank you' she smiled at me. She looked the happiest I had seen her in a long time.

'Just promise he won't take our place' Elise joked.

'Never' Sky promised, pulling us in to a group hug.
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Author's Note
Sorry this is short and not much happened, but there's more stuff planned later, don't worry!
Of course when I say "'He'll be the Dill to your Scout, the Thomas to your' - Elise paused to shudder - 'Isabella' she grinned'" I mean Isabella Melling and not my amazing friend Isabella!
Thank you for 500 reads, it means a lot to know you enjoy my story!
Stay tuned,
Dia