Cassie's P.O.V
I had never, ever, seen Ryan this upset. He had vapor traveled us back to the mansion after the confrontation with his father.
Such nasty and vile words were exchanged. The hatred literally seeped out of Ryan's veins. I could hear his thoughts and feel everything he felt. Every nasty experience with his father was on constant reply not too long ago. Now his mind was clouded. The remaining anger left in his body was about to be released on a poor training dummy.
"Calm down Ryan." I pushed into his head and tried to sooth him.
I felt a brief flash of pain and he turned around so quick.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He said
I knew he meant it. But when he reached out to hug me I backed away. The second I did this I saw the pain in his eyes. I reached out to pull him back but he walked away.
Now, for the past year we've been sending some mixed signals to each other. I liked him and I'm pretty sure he liked me but we never made a move. Sometimes he'd hug me and I'd smile as I heard his heartbeat and breathed in his smell. When I'd pretend to fall asleep in his bed he'd kiss my forehead and let his lips linger a minute, or whenever he was paying attention in class I'd study his features as his eyes remained trained on the board. He always claimed that he needed help with his foreign language studies but I know it was just to spend more time with me. After all we spent most of the whole day with each other, whether it was in his room or mine. I always needed help with Maths and Sciences so he was my personal tutor. He'd help me study for exams and help me raise my grades. He was my best friend.
And that tore me apart.
I wanted him to be more than that. I wanted to be able to tuck a piece of his blonde hair behind his ear without making things awkward. I wanted to be able to lean into his embrace without making everyone gossip and snicker. It sounded stupid but one of the main reasons why we aren't together already is because we were scared what others would think.
I set aside my thoughts on him being my boyfriend and focused on our reality. He was my friend. Just a friend.
For now.
I followed him into the danger room where he had taken off his jacket and started to prepare a simulation.
"Thought it was just going to be a dummy."
"I guess I need to beat up on some familiar faces." He snarled
I hated seeing him like this. He had worked so hard on keeping a strict image and not making kids flinch whenever he walked by. Years of work could be destroyed because of his temper.
"Enable privacy protocols." I said out loud. The light dimmed a bit and the doors locked.
"Set it up for two." I added.
He laughed and shook his head. "You aren't a fighter."
"Then teach me." I said.
He smirked. One sparring dummy popped up after a flurry of his fingers across the console.
He crossed his arms and stood up straight.
"Show me what you got."
I giggled and sighed. I was going to embarrass myself. I walked up to the padded dummy and punched with all my might. Ryan burst out laughing. I scowled at him.
He walked up behind me and took hold of my arms. I only enjoyed the feeling a little bit.
Just a bit.
