Borrowed Heaven

This is my first one on FP. hope you guys like it *wrings hands in anxiety* .reviews would be greatly appreciated .this first chapter is more of an introduction to the characters than anything else, so don't panic with the next chapter...you'll see what I mean *smiles innocently* **the idea and characters of this story are my own - any similarities are
purely accidental**

Enjoy.!!!

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Chapter One

"RYDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I lean on the horn of my beat up old car for emphasis. All I get in return is an ugly look from Ryder O'Connor - resident bad boy, jock and student body president miraculously all rolled into one, exiting his house.

Now you might ask why it is that I, Alexiel Daniels, the proverbial Nobody is giving Ryder, the just as proverbial Mr. Popular a ride to school - it might have something to do with the fact that he totally wrecked his car the other day while arguing with his latest flavour of the week over his cell - but it has more to do with the fact that I have been the best of friends with his twin sister, Peyton since around grade 3, who is just as good looking, but ten times nicer than Ryder. Not that Ryder isn't nice - it's just that his moments are few and far between. Seeing as how I give Peyton a ride everyday, it just doesn't seem fair not to do the same for Ryder too - at least until his car is fixed, which I hope to the whole darn UNIVERSE, is soon.

"Holy crap, Daniels. Calm down - we are still going to school, aren't we?"

"Why, yes we are, but Matthew dear, I told you to be outside fifteen minutes ago - Peyton got here just fine, what's your excuse?"

I watched one of his black eyebrows rise at the use of his first name - which he figured wasn't cool enough some time around the sixth grade. Talk about unbalanced. His answer was one that I had come to expect.

"Angela needed to talk to me about something"

His vague responses to personal questions were nothing new.

"Angela??!! THAT is what kept you for almost fifteen minutes??"

My anger was justifiable - not because I was jealous over Ryder. Please. It's just that there should have been a better reason as to why I was going to fail my up-coming Calculus test other than the latest problems with Ryder's newest girlfriend of the week. Argh. He was such a guy.

"My, my. Are we jealous?"

Who knew being good at throwing a funny shaped ball around and not looking all that ugly could amount to such self-absorption? Will wonders never cease?

"Are you in a hurry to meet your boyfriend, um whats-his-name??... Uh. Landers, London."

"Uh, I think the name you are looking for is LANDON. And he is NOT my boyfriend - god, Ryder, if you can get to the twelfth grade with the semi- decent grades you somehow manage to pull, why can't you get it through your thick head that Landon and I are just FRIENDS???"

"Children, Children. Shut up. Let mommy read here"

Peyton O'Connor has to be one of the weirdest, most gifted people I know. She can draw, she can write, she can act, she's going out with the starting forward on our basketball team and she landed the lead in the school play - again.

It makes no sense, our friendship. I mean, we met in the third grade and bonded over our mutual hate for the class bully, Johnny Donovan. He was constantly trying to look up girls skirts and punch them at the same time -yeah; I don't get how that is possible either. One day he went after Peyton, who at that time was too innocent to fight back, so, seeing as she was my new friend, I felt compelled to help her - in the form of kneeing icky Johnny Donovan in the groin and then pulling his ears - something I had seen my aunt do to my older cousin numerous times, though until that day it was a mystery as to why. That day I was a hero on the playground - I guess nobody really liked Johnny.

After that, Peyton and I became inseparable.

"Peyton, hun, what are you reading?"

Ryder half turned in his seat to look at his twin, who was currently engrossed in a big hardcover book that she held straight up in front of her - as if to shield herself from the rest of the world.

One thing I have to say though is that regardless of everything, Peyton and Ryder love each other - they would do anything for the other - sometimes I feel jealous, being an only child, but hanging out with Peyton or fighting with Ryder puts me at ease. I'd be lost without them - not that I would reveal this to Ryder. He'd have a field day with that information.

"The Biography of Marilyn Monroe; Lex, why did you say you needed to be at school early again?? Are you sure it's not because of Landon?"

I glare at her over the snort of laughter that comes out of Ryder. Apparently, she was listening to the conversation between Ryder and myself. This, while it may seem like a trivial thing, is actually a huge thing, because once Peyton starts to read a book - she's lost; she can't hear or talk to anyone around her. There is only one other person who gets like that over a book - me.

I let her comment about Landon go - after all, she is fully aware that nothing is going on - she just likes to remind me that she is, in fact her brothers sister by pulling something evil once in a while - hence the Landon remark.

"Actually, I wanted to get there a little early because I needed to cram for that major test in Calculus third period."

"There's a test in Calculus??!! Since when?"

I don't get Ryder on a good day and today is no exception. How could he not know about this test, when that's all our scary teacher Mrs. Golden would talk about during every class?

"Yes, there's a test, you know, the one that Golden has been scaring us with for two weeks now?"

"THAT test is TODAY??!!"

I give him my 'duh' look - not that he's actually paying attention to me anymore.

"Shit. Lexxie."

I hate being called Lexxie - Ryder is the only one who does so, and only because he has the luck to be bigger than me - and he only says it when he needs something or is attempting to piss me off.

"No. There is no way in hell that I am letting you copy off of me - remember what happened last time? And stop calling me Lexxie - you KNOW I hate that name"

The last time that I had allowed Ryder to copy off of me had been in grade nine, and a complete disaster. Our teacher who found out somehow, called the principal, who called our homes and we both got zeroes on top of everything. I remember I had been grounded for a month. Not to mention the lectures and "We are very disappointed in you" looks that my step-father and my mom would throw at me every now and then for weeks afterwards.

"I don't want to copy you - last time was bad enough - just help me to cram before the test. Please?? Don't you have a spare in second?? I do too - I'll meet you in study hall. please? I won't call you Lexxie anymore"

This last was made as a last ditch effort, as everyone in the car very well knew. He always made that promise whenever he needed something.

"Oh, give the poor guy a break - can't you see he's begging you with everything he's got?"

The interruption from Peyton causes me to glance at Ryder. And then the funniest thing happens. I feel this little flip in my stomach. I don't know what it is, or what it means, all I know is that it happened when I looked at Ryder O'Connor, sitting in the passenger seat of my beat up Buick, looking at me with a twinge of desperation reflected in his amazing grey blue eyes, seeming to almost will me to say yes. Something around my heart tenses up, and though I'm not sure why - I mean this is Ryder, I'm talking about, after all, I get the feeling that I should stay as far away as possible from him, but I respond by saying the exact opposite.

"Yes. Okay, fine. Meet me in study hall in second, okay?"

The relief that shows on Ryder's face is quickly replaced by a quick grin - which causes a funny speeding up in the area of my heart, - and I almost miss what he tells me.

"Thanks, Lexx, I owe you one"

With that, he exits my car, which I amazingly found a parking spot for in the seniors' lot. It must be magic.

"That was sweet of you"

"What can I say, Pey? I'm a sweet person."

"Yeah, okay and I'm Santa Clauses' head elf."

Peyton says the weirdest stuff sometimes.

"So if I give you my Christmas list would you pass it onto Santa?"

I never said I wasn't equally weird.

We both crack up and quickly say our goodbyes with promises that are made and reinstated daily to meet by the football field to pick up Ryder and then head to lunch.

"Later, Pey"

"Ciao Lexxie"

Argh. I'll get her back

*An hour and forty five minutes later*

"You're late"

"Whoa. Sorry. Didn't realize I was on a schedule"

I sigh. My morning started out okay enough, but quickly proceeded from bad to even worse in the space of a period.

"Never mind. Okay Ryder, what do you need help with in particular?"

"Whoa. No mind- numbing retort? Lexxie, honey, you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I feel fine, just having a bad day. Didn't you promise not to call me Lexxie anymore, less than TWO hours ago?"

"Okay, okay, sorry. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really. Landon didn't show up"

"Oh. So, no time for a quickie before class?"

"RYDER! That was gross and disgusting and I don't think I want to talk to you anymore. Go study by yourself"

Jeez. Sometimes Ryder was such a guy. It's so infuriating.

"Sorry, sorry, okay, I take it back, okay? I need you to help me study though- just tell me what's bugging you first"

"Why do you care Ryder?"

I sound resigned. I don't understand what his problem is - I mean we both need to study for this test, and he keeps insisting on talking about what's wrong with me and every time he looks at me something in me flips, which is starting to make me feel a little on the sick side - as in 'oh look, my breakfast'

"Hey. I care. You just seem tired, that's all."

"Fine. You wanna know what's wrong? What's wrong is that Landon didn't show up for a major presentation that was due today of all days, so I had to get up there and pretend to be Hitler and Mussolini by myself, and then half way through, I get a page down to guidance to tell me that I'm missing about 5 credits, though how that happened I don't know and so now I have to take extra courses somehow - though between work and the crap I have to put up with at home I don't know how that is gonna work, and then, because of my crappy mood, I made some smart-ass comment in Hendersons' class - which by the way I can't even remember- and now I have a detention - for the next three days. GOD, As if my life isn't already full of things to do - now I have to put up with a 45 minute detention to get Henderson off my back - and then I'll have to explain to Lorelai why it is I'll be coming in late to the diner for the rest of the week I just want to pull out my hair - ARGH"

At the end of my little rant, Ryder looks a little awestruck and a lot amused.

"You think this is funny?"

"Honestly? Yeah. Definitely funny. Not that I think you are funny - just your problems"

He says it with an almost sheepish honesty, magically calming me down - and that is just freaky - since when has Ryder O'Connor been able to calm me down??

"Fine" I sigh, figuring we might as well study, since that is the main purpose for Ryder even gracing study hall with his presence.

"Let's get to work"

* hope you guys liked it.please don't forget to review p.the next chappie will be a little (actually a lot.lol) different from this one, but I've put an authors note in b/w that kind of explains things.don't freak out though, I have a plan!!!* mwahahaha *ahem*