3(AN) Say hello to chapter 3! It took me a while to figure out how I was going to put this chapter together, and it's also in the build up stage, but I hope you like it! (Munches much loved chocolate) O.O I forgot to include this in my earlier chapters, but I don't own Vertical Limit, All-American Girl is all Meg Cabot's (The Author's) and James Bond is definitely not mine, though…if he were, well, lets just say I'd be doing more interesting things…
Chapter 3 – Strange Fellow
BEEP!
BEEP!
"No…"
BEEP!
BEEP!
"No…!"
BEEP!
BE-
"RAWR" I smashed my hand down on the snooze button of my alarm clock, desperately attempting to make it stop the beeping. Oh lord…the beeping…
I snuck my head back down under my covers, trying to suck warmth back into my brain. I hadn't turned my heater on last night, and so, consequently, I was already shivering. I cursed my room for being so airy, but then I remembered the story about that lady who had suffocated in her house because she sealed, like, everything, and I took it back. I tried to recall what would've made me go to bed without saying goodnight to good old Mr. Heater, and moreover, carelessly enough to set my alarm on buzzer, as opposed to radio. I had just personally subjected myself to Mental Torture Skill #3. Shame on me.
Then I remembered good old Mr. Hot Shot, and things started making sense. I rolled over, and pulled the covers up higher as I recalled the later part of yesterday afternoon's encounter with Ryan Cage.
'My god,' and it all suddenly made sense to me. 'He's gay.'
Everything just sucked. I finally find a guy that I actually think has potential, and now what? He doesn't even swing my way? This was great. Just…great…
I wondered if I had actually said my statement out loud, or if I was someone who was generally easy to read, because it took all of 3 seconds before Ryan started waving his hands frantically in front of him, trying to get my attention.
"Whoa there! Don't jump to conclusions like that!" He sounded disturbed.
I guess I did say it out loud. Oh hell, I was disturbed.
"But…but…what else am I supposed to think!?" I exclaimed, kind of shocked about how my voice suddenly went falsetto on the last word. He didn't say anything in the second that I gave him to respond, so I took it upon myself to continue, " I mean, come on man, you quoted 'All-American Girl'! That's such a girl book! No offense to your tastes or anything," he was looking at me like I had a chicken for a head. Suddenly, I stopped rambling, and blurted out, "Hey hey, don't look at me like that! I'm not homophobic or anything, so you don't have to worry, I won't –"
"Sydney! Look at me!" Well, if there's anything that could snap me out of as freaky a moment as I was experiencing, it was the sound of a really handsome man – albeit homosexual – raising his voice at me. It sounded all…earthy, and whatnot. God, I had issues. Oh, wait. He's talking.
"I'm only going to say this once okay? So please, listen. I-am-not-GAY."
He separated every syllable for me, to really emphasize what he was saying. Unfortunately, I wasn't so quick to believe him. Honestly: smart, funny, nice and cute? Why hadn't I guessed that he was gay from the start? He suited all the qualifications.
"But…But…I don't…but you…Explain!" Oh, I was good. I couldn't even put together a full sentence.
"I have a little sister." I felt really sick all of a sudden. "She's 12. She insisted on reading some part about frisson to me out loud, because she thought it applied to me and some girl she wanted me to date. Believe me yet?"
Oh yes, I believed him. The sick look was for me and me alone. I could not remember a more embarrassing moment on my part. I had accused this really great guy that I just met of being homosexual. I wanted to jump off the side of the hill into the river and be dragged away, and if I acquired my luck back: die.
"Oh gosh…" I whispered gravely, "I am so sorr-"
"Hey now, no need. If I were you, I would've definitely thought I had issues." He gave me a really goofy smile, and I realized he wasn't the type of person that one would come across often. He was skilled at making it like awkward situations hadn't really happened.
"but I –"
"Tsk Tsk." He was nagging me with his index finger. "You really don't know when to stop do you? Funny, I hadn't tagged you as an impulsive person." He was playing with me. I shot him a, 'oh now you've done it' look before I pounced on him.
Wait…pounced on him? CRAP!
And to believe I thought I wasn't an impulsive person.
I had tackled him down from his sitting position on the hill, and was sprawled on top of him. Not only that, I was – I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't heard it with my own ears – growling.
And Ryan…well…Ryan was laughing hysterically. That is, until he suddenly donned a serious look and flipped me over, so our positions were reversed. It was my turn to laugh, although, it came out as more of a girlish giggle after I took notice of the position that we were in.
What was I doing?! I just met this guy! I didn't even know how old he was! I could see the headlines now, 'Sydney Coswell, for once her in life was intentionally breaking the rules, and she didn't want to stop'. That would blow over well…
He was in the process of telling me just how much he owned my crappy fighting skills when his watch started beeping. He took one look at it as it blinked 2:30pm, and sighed before releasing me and climbing to his feet.
2:30pm? Whoa.
He offered me a hand to help me up, and I gladly took it. As soon as I had my feet firmly on the ground, I dusted all the grass off my pants, and then reached my hand up to extract any pieces that may've got stuck in my hair-
My hair! It was in that ponytail... that totally disastrous ponytail now. I swear, I must've resembled Bam-Bam from Flintstones. I was never one to really care about my image, but right now was an entirely different story.
"Sorry Sids, but I've got to be going now, I have to pick up my sister from –" He looked like he was going to gag, "cross stitching."
Well that wasn't so bad…hold on…Sids? He already has a nickname for me? Sweet!
"Earth to Sydney."
"What? Oh, yeah, sorry. You should go then." I didn't mean to sound dismissive, but I also didn't want to sound clingy. I mean, this was just a chance encounter right? We weren't probably going to run into each other again. I didn't want him to think that I was desperate for his attention. I may be totally drooling over him right now, but hey, I have morals!
"Okay, well…do you want me to walk you home first?"
Yes. Yes damn it! But I couldn't say yes. I had to be a big girl.
"Thanks for offering, but you really should be going." I wanted to say something to end the conversation, but would leave him possibly with a reason to think about me. "Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime, Mr. Cage." Was the best I could come up with. Hey, while we were on movie themes and all…
He smiled that happy smile again, "Until then, Miss Coswell." And then he was off.
It all seemed like some terrible nightmare to me now. All so unreal. I tried convincing myself that maybe the whole thing didn't even happen, and I'd made him up. Plus, even if he was, per chance, real, I didn't even ask him for his phone number, or email! Why, because I wanted to try and seem aloof. What were the odds of ever running into him again? Would he even want to see me again? I know he said, "Until then" but he could've just said it to be nice…
My ten minutes of snoozing were up. I thwacked my alarm clock, and flicked the notch on the side down, before the poor, nasty thing even had a chance to make a noise. I tossed my covers down, prepared to bare the chill, but what I wasn't prepared for was the need to have a reason to get out of bed.
I couldn't tell Odessa about meeting Ryan, because she'd want to know how it happened and all that, and after I'd finish, she'd tell me that I was special. With a capital R.
I rolled over and squealed into my pillow while I kicked my feet in frustration. How could I have acted so…well…weird? I tackled him! Yeah, that's me, the master of first impressions. I glanced up through my bed-head to see that I was now ten minutes late. That, I suppose, would suffice enough as inspiration to get ready for an excruciating Monday at school.
By the time I had reached my locker at Bayside High, I still hadn't accomplished the task of erasing my embarrassing encounter with Ryan from my mind. Subsequently, I was definitely not in a fine mood. I took hold of my lock and began spinning the dial to the correct numbers. 24…43…-
"SYDNEY!" Oh for the love of all that's holy.
I stopped my hand mid-spin and looked to my side just to see Odessa sidle up beside me, with this big grin on her face, as she assumed her spot at the locker beside me, and began to spin her lock. She had something she wanted to talk about. That look in her eyes said it all.
"What, 'Des?" I didn't mean for it to come out as biting as it did.
"Whoa there, Syd. What's got your panties in a twist?" That glimmer was still in her eyes, but it still didn't stop her from worrying about my mood. This was not my normal morning attitude.
"Sorry for snapping Odessa, I guess I just didn't sleep very well last night." Didn't sleep very well last night? Yeah, that was an understatement. "So what're you so anxious to tell me about?" I showed her my biggest smile, because Odessa always did that to me. Annoying as she could be, her presence still made me happy.
Odessa opened her mouth to say something, nice and wide too, but before even a whoosh of air could escape, I felt two large, extremely male hands rest on my hips.
Bad move, mister. This was not a good time.
"Brett." I said in a rather loud, commanding voice, "you have two seconds to get your hands off me." My intensity could be very helpful sometimes. His hands left me, but his presence did not. If it had been Linken, I would've let him stay there and taken comfort from him, but Brett Connors? No, Brett I wanted as far away as possible. He wasn't a stalker of mine – I wasn't cool enough for those – but I considered him to be close enough. He was handsome sure, but it was more of a snake-like handsome. You know, the kind of person that makes you shiver when you look at them? That's definitely him.
Brett has jet-black hair, and dark, very dark blue eyes. He's also one of the richest kids at school, not to mention the cockiest. I don't know what his obsession with me is, but he seems to think he owns me. He practically murders any guy that has the guts to flirt with me with his eyes. Believe me, they never come back again. Yet another reason why I hate the guy's guts. But the overall, most aggravating thing about him, that made me wish I lacked decorum and in its place was brute strength, was that he had wandering hands, and bedroom eyes.
Good lord, how he made me really nervous. Nobody really ever made me nervous, because I somehow always felt more capable than everyone around me, but Brett made me remember just how female I was. I didn't like it at all. Whenever he was near me, he always had to touch, and when that was out of the question, he'd just stare at me. Literally, stare. It was like he was undressing me with his eyes. I shivered right there, just thinking about it. If he wasn't such a creepy, egotistical, and revolting man, I would be flattered that he thought I was something worth looking at.
I looked across at Odessa, knowing that I had flames burning in my eyes, and her face was a priceless sight. If I wasn't so irritated, I probably would've laughed, and taken out Mr. Camera to capture the moment forever. She had this, 'oh my, she's going to kick his ass' look on her face, and she was slowly taking small steps back. My temper flared as I remembered that Brett was still standing there, behind me, doing nothing.
I whipped around and stated coolly, "Is there something you wanted to say, or are you content just to stand there?" And do you know what he said? He said, "content", with that stupid, slime-ball smirk on his pale face.
'He's a man of many words' I thought to myself sarcastically. I stiffened as I felt his hands start to creep back in my direction.
"Stop it –" I tried not to yell. Shouting would show that he was getting to me. "- and that's not an invitation to do it again." I turned around to glare daggers at him. But his face was totally void of any expression. Did I mention this guy was the very definition of creepy?
Odessa's grossed out and slightly distressed expression suddenly changed to exasperation as her eyes moved to the hallway door. She obviously found that whatever happened to have crossed her mind was far more important than waiting for me to bash Brett's skull in, because she grabbed my head - yes, my head - mumbled, "yeah, yeah, whatever." At Brett's serpent-like face, and jerked my head towards the doors.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
I couldn't believe me eyes. My mouth formed a big 'O' and all thought of Brett's disgusting advances were out of my mind. Ryan Cage was right there, standing a mere 6 feet away from me, studying a class slip in his hands.
"I saw him in the foyer today! My god Syd, isn't he gorgeous? If I didn't have Mike, to you know, play with and everything, I'd totally make a move on that fine piece of –"
"Don't even say it." I breathed out as soon as I remembered how to operate my jaw. I dislodged my eyes from staring in horror at the guy I'd made such a fool of myself with, and immediately started looking around for prime places to hide.
'Garbage can?' Ew. No. Even I wasn't that desperate; plus, I'd have to walk closer to Ryan to get there, and I'd definitely get caught.
'Recycling Bin?' Big. Tall. Wide. Blue. I would definitely not be able to blend in with that thing. It was also placed right next to the garbage can, conveniently so.
'Girls washroom?' Now that was an idea. There was one just a few classrooms down from where I was standing, with a window to escape from too! Perfection!
I yanked my head from Odessa's grip, with what I assume was a lack of feminine grace, and grabbed her hand as I started to drag her at top speed down the opposite end of the hallway.
'Please don't let me get caught' I prayed to myself as I shot a nervous look behind my back. His head was still staring down at the paper, brows furrowed in concentration. I knew I couldn't run forever, but heck, I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.
"SYDNEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE WE RUNNING FROM?!"
Or I'll cross it now.
I dropped Odessa's hand like it was burning, spun around and wished that I could just disappear. Why, WHY did she have to say – SHOUT – that out to the whole world? Did she posses no tact at all? She was just like the type of person you kick under the table to send across a hidden meaning, and then looks up to you and says, "Hey, why'd you kick me?"
"Sids?" Shoot me now.
Everyone in the hallway, which would now include Linken, – who just came in, and was standing behind Ryan – Brett, - unfortunately – Odessa, - she was totally sending me, "how do you know this guy?' vibes – and some spiky haired dude – does he even go here? – all spun around to stare at me.
No really. Shoot me now.
"H-hey, Ryan" I croaked out. I bent my head down, in hopes that my hair would cover my face, and he wouldn't see how red it had become. Could this get any more embarrassing?
"Whoa, is Sydney blushing?" Apparently it could. I didn't even bother to figure out who said it. I was still on operation camouflage. A useless operation, considering it had already proven itself useless.
I heard footsteps coming towards me, and I peeked through the strands of my hair to realize, with growing anxiety, that Ryan was getting closer, as opposed to further away. In an attempt to somehow grasp whatever dignity I had left, I flicked my head backwards to put my hair in its rightful – though slightly untidy – place, and adopted the whole, "casualesque" stance. Don't ask me what it is. I made it up off the spot.
He was getting closer, and closer, and – he was standing right in front of me.
"The way you're acting, I'd guess – if I didn't know any better – that you'd done something really strange the last time we crossed paths." How'd he guess? Or…was he joking? Was that smirk on his face trying to tell me that it didn't matter? Or was he trying to remind me of it – though I doubt it – so that I'd feel stupid? I hate it when they do this. He was smiling, so I suppose…
I didn't know what to think.
Where had my voice gone? I stood up as straight as I could without looking like a Barbie doll in an uncomfortable stick-up-my-butt position, and battled with my mind over how to act.
First. Analyze the situation.
Met cute guy randomly in a park. Accused him of being gay. Practically acted out a scene from Lion King. Resembled a cartoon character.
Not a thing to be embarrassed about, really.
I needed to pretend that it all didn't happen. No. Better yet. I should just act like I know what happened, and am proud of it!
It all didn't feel so convincing to me, but hey, it was a start.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say that you're definitely in the wrong place." Yup, doing well so far. I jabbed him in the chest with my finger, and quirked a playful eyebrow. "'Cause you see, this school year is almost over, and that –" I pointed to the class paper in his hand, "- would mean that you intend to go here." I wasn't sure if my pulse increasing was because I was overcoming a potentially embarrassing – if I let it get to me anymore – incident, or because I was very aware of Brett and potentially everyone else – apparently, I don't act this way normally – watch me harass the new kid. Guy. Man. Whatever.
"What if I told you to call me a super genius, because I'm just that smart that they let me in?" Ryan joked back at me. There it was again, his ability to lift that stupid feeling off my shoulders. I would've felt better about it, you know, if everyone in the hallway wasn't watching the entire scene. Ryan seemed kind of oblivious to it all.
"Do you actually want me to call you that?"
"No."
"Thought so."
I still wanted to know why he was here. He'd have to be a genius, I reasoned with myself, if he was let into Bayside's program in time to take the exams. Not only that. He'd have to be, you know, in his teens. Or not. He could be a grade 13.5. Even though it didn't realistically exist... Whatever. It still narrowed down my quest to discover is, how you say, 'potentiality'.
"Ooh, the calculating look."
"I have a calculating look?" Somehow, in all the funniness I intend for it to be - to cover up my examination - it kind of just made me sound stupid. Good job.
Ryan shrugged his shoulders, and then continued, "My dad's friends with the principal, so he read over my transcripts and let me in."
Ah…connections. Why didn't I ever think of these things?
I heard a girly swoon from behind me, and I briefly turned around to see Richelle Winters – total snob, mind you – giggling with her girls, while ogling Ryan, and, dare I say it, killing me with their eyes.
I seemed to know a lot of people who could do that.
It appeared that Ryan and I wouldn't be able to keep up our personal public – ha ha, funny – conversation, seeing as everyone finally got tired of waiting.
"So," Odessa started, moving to come and stand in the gap between us, "How do you guys know each other?"
Ryan answered before I could make anything up. I didn't exactly want to tell her about my momentary lapse of all-things-Sydney behaviour. I was the most by-the-book type of person anyone would ever meet. Go figure, though, that Ryan would answer. Odessa was cute. Real cute.
"I met her in the park yesterday. I just moved here, and she was –" It went unnoticed by everyone else, but he shifted his eyes down, 'he's what? 6"2'?' to meet mine,
"- going to show me around school today –" Oh, the devil. That was not what I thought he was going to say.
"- but I think she forgot." Where was this all coming from?! Brett was looking at him like he planned on pounding his chest – even if that was completely out of his character – and shouting, 'You. Me. Parking Lot. After School' all macho like. Somehow, I get the feeling everyone's life – including mine, seeing as Richelle's friends were ready to attack me with nail files – would've been safer if we'd just had a good laugh at my expense…
"Well then," Odessa swept her hair over her shoulders, and turned to look at me. Her eyes screamed, 'Tell me all about it later!' "It's rude to keep him waiting, don't you think?"
Not so. Not so. Lord give me the strength to live another day.
I was so confused. Oh, so confused. No matter how many times I went over our crappy conversation in my head, I could not, for the life of me, figure out how it ended up here.
It was kind of like:
Patty Cake.
Patty Cake.
Patty-
OH MY GOSH. A STORM TROOPER!
You know what I mean? There was just nothing leading up to this. Ryan was a - don't make fun of me now - really strange fellow.
Odessa shoved me out the hallway door after Ryan had turned and left, and then turned to assault Brett with random questions – her talent – in order to keep him from following me out. Disturbing.
I had more important things on my mind though, like Ryan practically signing my field trip form like I was a little kid, so I'd be stuck to him all day. Maybe he really did need to be shown around campus, and I was just, you know, conveniently there. GAH!
I really had believed he'd want to escape as soon as possible. I'd finally met someone I couldn't read.
AN) That's it for this chapter! Hope you stick around and review! It's quite a bit longer than my others, but that's because I was introducing more characters! No worries, this is all going somewhere… If you can guess where my mind was totally somewhere else in this chapter, props to you. Most embarrassing thing happened at school… Anyway! Next chapter: Sydney and Ryan talkin' in the hall, and much more! We all need some more info on Ryan, 'cause as of now, he's just, you know…there. Not to mention random.
I disclaim: Bam-Bam from Flintstones, All-American Girl by Meg Cabot (Hilarious book though, you should definitely read it), Lion King, and I do not own unfortunately, the awesomeness that is Storm Troopers from Star Wars.