Chapter Nine

Ryan's just in gym class jogging when he meets another new face.

Buh bum. Buh bum. My heart was racing, for we were required to jog a mile for our gym class. I wasn't worried about Derek knowing my secret anymore, he's been really good with it. What a great guy. Three weeks have passed since then, and the October winds are chilling me to the bone.

 

I shivered in mid-step while I looked around me. The leaves were falling, and I liked to watch them. Fluttering to the ground, they fell one by one. Some were accompanied by another, then it was two by two. I tried to keep my attention before me, but I was preoccupied. Soon I found myself on the ground.

 

I looked to the ground, but I didn't see the usual asphalt. I saw a girl with pure red hair. Not Stella's red; that's orange. This girl's hair was seriously red. Her eyes were brown like Derek's, but there was something else about her. Buh bum. Buh bum. She was staring back up at me. As soon as I got myself together, I stood up. "I'm sorry!" The girl said.

 

Why on Earth was she sorry? I held out my hand to help her up. "It's my fault," I explained. "I should have paid attention to where I was jogging."

 

The stared at me for a moment. She then glanced behind me and gestured for me to look. I turned to look over my shoulder and saw a couple of girls swoon. Goddammit! Do they have nothing better to do? Buh bum. Buh bum. I hadn't been jogging for a couple minutes now. Why was my heart still all out of wack?

 

I looked back to the one girl. She had been talking silently to herself for a moment, then stopped in her tracks. I felt a little bit woozy at that moment. When she had finished, I felt like my mind had become entirely foggy. I couldn't help myself but to stare into her eyes. Luckily, the trance didn't last very long. "Get jogging!" the teacher shouted angrily.

 

I never said the trance actually left. Instead of standing there like retards, we ran the rest of the way together. "I'm Alex," she told me.

 

I smiled at her. "I'm Ryan," I replied.

 

The rest of the period was just weird. There was just this... feeling. No, a need. I felt like I needed her or something. It began pissing me off, but it's not her fault. The final bell was one of the sounds I had been waiting for. When it finally rang at two thirty, I didn't even notice. I guess I was too deep in thought. Even the teacher left before I did. Stella came in with Derek looking for me. "There you are!" Stella announced.

 

I looked over to them. Why were they here? I was so out of it, I didn't know what time it was. My mind was so fricken blank. "Isn't fifth period starting?" I asked sheepishly.

 

Derek and Stella seemed stunned. "Ryan, it's quarter before three," Derek said incredulously.

 

Seriously? It was that time already? I dared look at the clock. It really was that time. I stood quickly and looked over. "Aww God, guys, I'm sorry!" I apologized.

 

"It's fine," Derek said kindly.

 

Stella didn't look to happy. She stared at me for a moment, processing something. She looked to Derek who came towards me. He put his arm around my shoulder. "Let's get out of here, okay?" he asked.

 

I nodded. Maybe I could get my mind off of Alex if I went somewhere with Stella and Derek. What if I couldn't stop? This was so bad. What if...

Author's Note

ignore typos! (: