I was awoken by a very hung-over Cynthia Johnson the next morning. It turns out that I had over slept, which seemed to be happening a lot lately. I really shouldn’t have knocked my alarm clock off the table the other day. And I really should have known something was wrong when I picked it up and some screws fell out…

“Get up,” she grumbled. “The bus is here.”

Brilliant. Oh well, good thing it doesn’t take me too long to get dressed. I grabbed the first clean shirt from the pile of laundry at the foot of my bed and hopped into a pair of jeans. I hobbled down the stairs while pulling my pants over my hips, grabbed my backpack off the counter and left the house at a full on sprint. Turning the corner of the street revealed Ryan as he began to take a step onto the bus.

“Wait up!” I called.

He turned around and waved me over. I slowed to a jog and halted in front of the door. He smiled and held out a hand. “Sleep too late?”

“Unfortunately.” We walked to the back of the bus and took the seats. I yawned and leaned onto his shoulder. “Wake me when we get there.”

“Will do,” he replied.

Classes went by as usual, far to slow for my tastes. When lunch arrived, I was grateful for the escape. Jake and Jade were flirting quietly as usual, barely acknowledging us and simply lost in their own little worlds. With a subtle glance to Ryan, I reached over and poked Jade softly. She ignored me. So I poked her again, but alas to no avail. I scrunched my nose in frustration and pinched her arm.

“Ow!” she complained. “What is it?”

“May I have a cookie?” I requested with an oh-so-innocent smile. Ryan choked on his spit, prompting Jake to slap him on the back.

“Jade?” Jake asked, perplexed.

“Oh, nothing Jakey. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” Ryan answered with a cheeky grin.

Jake grunted and went back to consuming the food that was laid out in front of him. I was still amazed, even after have known Ryan and him for so long, that a guy could eat so much. It was really quite stunning. As I pondered this, I surveyed the surrounding tables, to observe the feeding habits of other high school males. My eyes wandered and finally came to rest on a certain individual with the unnaturally straight dark hair and surreal blue-green eyes that were currently locked directly on mine. I stared back silently, my face blank. What was it with this guy?

I must have been pondering this for a while because when someone called, “Em? Emma? HEY!” I jumped, and my head swiveled around quickly to face Jade, only to collide with Ryan’s nose.

Ryan let out a string of curses and put a hand to his nose as his eyes watered lightly. My eyes widened. “Um… oops… I’m really sorry Ry.” He nodded stiffly and rubbed his fingers softly over his nose, wincing slightly.

When I was finally satisfied that Ryan was alright and I hadn’t scarred him for life, I returned my eyes to Jade who was currently wearing an amused expression. “What?” I asked stupidly.

“Way to mortally wound Ryan.” I reddened, embarrassed by my unfortunate coordination. “Eh, you totally spaced. I would have reacted the same way. Care to give us any insight into your mind?” Jade stared at me, a puzzled expression fixed on her face.

“Oh, you know. I was just thinking…” I defended weakly, not able to think of a proper excuse. Jade eyed me skeptically, but no one else seemed effected. Jake had gone back to eating his second club sandwich and Ryan was oblivious, still a little jarred from the hit to the nose. “So…” I racked my brain for something to change the topic. “Anyone know the math homework?” Ryan shrugged and rattled off some page numbers. I smiled. “Thank you very much kind sir.” Jade raised an eyebrow at me but let the conversation drop. I sighed inwardly. I was safe, for now at least.

Jade tracked me down after school.

“So what really happened at lunch?” She crossed her arms. She wasn’t going to give up easily.

“Like I said before, I just zoned out.”

“There’s something you’re leaving out. I know you better than that. Ryan would have noticed it, too, if you hadn’t broken his nose.”

“I didn’t break his nose!” I exclaimed. “Look, I’ll show you tomorrow at lunch, ok? It’s nothing really. I’m probably just taking things too seriously anyways.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. It’s nothing really.”

“I don’t care. I want to know why you’ve been acting so weird.”

“I haven’t been acting weird!”

“Well, you sure haven’t been acting the way you normally do. If there is something going on, ever, you need to tell me, ok? No matter what, I want to know what’s going on. Now and always. You have to let people in. I am your friend, right? I only want what’s best for you.”

I sighed. “Just… See you tomorrow ok?”

“You look bloody awful. What are you doing here?”

“You hired me. I can't help it if your standards are lax”

“… You smell funny.”

I was sitting on the couch with Ryan watching Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, his head in my lap. I looked down at him.

“Do you think I’ve been acting weird?” I inquired.

“No, Em. Jade just doesn’t know what you have to put up with.” I ran my fingers through his hair, thoughts flying in my head. He sat up. “Hey,” he said softly. “Come here.” I fell against him softly and sighed. He squeezed me in a hug. “Look, we all have things to deal with. You know how Jade can throw things out of proportion. Watch, tomorrow she’ll have forgotten all about it.”

“I hope so.” I put my head on his shoulder and went back to watching the movie.

Jade didn’t forget. In fact, as soon as I stepped a foot into the cafeteria that afternoon she grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the table.

“Where is he?” Her eyes scanned the room.

I raised an eyebrow slightly. “Since when is it a he?”

“It’s obvious you’ve got a thing for someone.” She winked at me and continued, “So where is he?”

I sighed and sat down. “Wait for it. I don’t see him yet.”

“I was right. It IS a guy,” she continued excitedly. I groaned and rubbed my forehead slowly.

It was obvious that she was no longer angry at me. We hadn’t had a serious fight in a long time. We generally avoided the whole drama scene. It was too much hassle for anyone, in my opinion. But right now, I hoped more than ever to not see him for once. I pulled my eyes from my feet and searched the faces of students surrounding us.

He wasn’t there. No where. He was no where to be seen. He was simply missing. It was strange. Ever since that one day, I'd seen him everywhere, or at least I thought I had. Maybe my imagination was just acting up, or maybe, he really was following me. Either way, I had to tell Jade something.

“Uh, he isn’t here.”

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me.” She shook her head. “Fine, but next time you see him you had better yell my name or something. I have got to see him. This is the first guy you’ve liked since third grade. I deserve to know.”

I nodded energetically. “Alright.” At least I wouldn’t have to deal with it right now.

Ok, not posted quite as soon as I'd said... but I'm not going to try and give excuses. I hope I don't dissappoint. I'm frustrated with this chapter, it doesn't seem to flow or... something. I don't know but I put it up because it really has been a while and I owe anyone who is watching out for me. So thanks, and definitely, definitely feel free to review, comment, critique. Merci beaucoup mes amies.