REBECCA'S POV

I avoided Ryan for the rest of the morning. It wasn't that hard after chemistry class because I didn't usually see him then anyways.

I was always overreacting and I knew it, but it hurt when he didn't talk to me on the way to school or walk me in like yesterday. I was hoping I didn't push him too far with the teasing but my thoughts soon got distracted.

"Hi Becca," he said while sitting next to me. He looked stressed out and flashed me a sad smile.

"Hey Ry..." I was rudely cut off when Melissa squeezed herself right in between us pushing me aside. I winced from the sudden movement causing my ribcage to jolt. She sent me a smirk with a matching glare as Ryan looked over at me apologetically.

"Ryannn," she whined while grasping at his bicep through his shirt, "How have you been lately?" Her nasally voice sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. She traced her perfectly manicured nails from his arm to his shoulder and circled it on his chest. That's when I looked away.

"Fine," I heard him ground out in a somewhat menacing voice.

Landon suddenly appeared next to me, pizza in hand, and rolled his eyes in Mel's direction.

"Ignore her. How's the nose?" he asks sweetly while gesturing to the white bandage.

"Good. It's not as swollen as yesterday so I can actually breathe through it now." With that he takes a second to glare at Izzy from across the table.

Those two already had a vendetta against each other and this incident with me didn't help with that.

I kept my face down for the rest of lunch, just looking at my food in silence and desperately trying to tune out Melissa's nasally voice. I could literally feel Ryan's eyes on me the whole time but I refused to look up while she had her hands all over him.

Landon nudged me a little after finishing his pizza. "Becca don't let Mel get to you. She's just jealous that Ryan has his attention on somebody else."

"Okay...?" I said inquisitively.

He leaned in and spoke quieter. "They used to date." His voice was like 'duh how did you not know this.'

How in the hell did Ryan ever become friends let alone date someone so opposite him? The shock must be evident on my face because Landon quickly continues.

"She didn't used to act like she does now. When Ryan started dating her she got more popular I guess you could say and it went to her head. That's why he dumped her."

"Was this recently?" I asked, too interested to care if I was being nosey.

The bell rang and cut me off but Landon responded bluntly before disappearing.

"End of last school year."

I was going to wait around for Ryan so we could stop at our locker and walk to bio together but he was still held up by the leech clinging to his arm. Rapidly growing tired of waiting, I left alone and grabbed my books before going to class. He finally showed up almost falling through the door as the bell rang and the substitute teacher rolled her eyes as he bolted to the desk behind mine.

"Hello class, I'm Ms. Margaret. The email I received instructs me to start a video for today's lesson."

The screen showed our normal teacher going through a PowerPoint lecture like she would if she were here. Ryan and I already finished this chapter so it really didn't make sense for me to take more notes on it; however, the rest of the class must have put off their homework because they were furiously scribbling in their notebooks to try and keep up with the fast-paced lecture. I feel a slight tap on my shoulder before a piece of paper appears on my right shoulder so I quickly snatch it from Ryan's light grasp before the teacher notices.

___
I'm sorry.

It's okay. Why didn't you tell me you dated her?

Mel?? It's embarrassing that I ever went out with her, but I was talking about how I acted this morning.

That's okay too. I understand and I apologize for pushing it...

I really don't mind that ;) I just don't want to hurt you when I need a little break to 'cool off.'

I know we're stuck in this awkward middle range between friends and something more and I truly do understand why you don't want to go further right now. I'm thankful for your thoughtfulness even if I get upset at times. You've helped me so much and if you say we have to wait, we will wait... for now.

What do you mean for now? I can't see your face so I don't know what you mean by that.

I mean that I really like you Ryan, but I'd rather talk about this and not do it on a note we're passing back and forth during a biology class.

Becs :(
___

I didn't pass the note back after that. He knows how I feel about him already even if I've never directly said it. I don't know why he wants to keep us from moving forward when he claims to want the same thing but I would trust him for now.

I could feel Ryan playing with the end of my braid so I took it out to let my now wavy hair loose and his hands ran through the bottom parts of my hair freely. He was in the last row so the only person that would notice was a guy I didn't know that sat next to Ryan but he seemed too focused on the lecture.

The shrill sound of the bell snapped us out of our trance and we walked to the locker together.

"We can talk when I get home later alright?" he said softly while leaning down so his head was almost level with my own.

"Sounds good," I responded cheerfully and gave him a side hug before rushing off to stupid gym class. It was uneventful which I was thankful for compared to yesterday. We had a weight lifting day today and Landon was my spotter although I couldn't be his, but he said he wouldn't need help so we paired up anyways.

"Am I bringing you home today?" he asked while easily bench pressing over two hundred pounds repeatedly. He wasn't out of breath or even sweaty! No fair.

"I think I might just wait for Ryan's practice to get done."

"Well if you change your mind text me and I'll come get you. I don't live far away from school."

That was the extent of our entire conversation in gym class but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. We were both usually quiet people so I think we understood that neither of us was being rude by not talking. I met up with Landon again in math class which went by quickly. I was technically in between levels meaning I wasn't smart enough for the advanced class but the class I'm in now was too easy so I could slack off a bit. However, Mason and Landon were aware of this so when we got class time at the end to work on homework they flocked towards me so I could re-teach them what they just learned since they never paid attention.

The bell rang just after all three of us completed our assignment and I walked to my locker alone, deciding if I should wait outside by the practice fields or go to the library to work on biology. My feet started moving towards the front door of the school so I guess that my brain really wanted to watch Ryan practice.