I can fight too

Chapter 11

Ryan is standing by the door with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He always wears that smirk on his face; seems like it a habit out of his arrogance. But he somehow manages to pull it off you know. 

He is wearing a t-shirt that is sticking perfectly to his body showing off his abs, with jeans and a pair of sneakers.

"what are you doing here Ryan? Are you stalking me?" I ask as I act terrified.

"you are such a terrible actor bookworm" he smiles as he walks towards me with determined steps.

"I disagree! But I need not have to prove anything to you. so, back to my question, why are you here?" I ask again as I watch him take a seat beside me.

"well, I just had a dream where I saw you reading here" he chuckles as he looks outside the window.

"Nice choice by the way. Didn't know you were a nature lover" Is he trying to change the subject here?

"Ryan! why are you here? How did you find me?" I ask with a warning in my tone. I have used this tone often and it works like magic.

"and I told, I saw you here in my dream" He imitates my tone. How dare he! I mean how can I forget; this is Ryan we are talking about. No tricks work on him. which brings me to another question;

"how old are you Ryan?" I ask as I look at him and think through our conversation. He has somehow managed to prove my tricks unsuccessful whenever I used it with him and his behaviors; the way he talks, the way he thinks, the way he acts is just so mature. I haven't seen any of my school mates act that mature.

"do I look that old?" he pouts as he faces me with puppy eyes

"cute but answer me Ryan if not, I won't talk to you" I know it won't work but it's worth the try. I fold my book and take off my reading glasses as I put them in my bag and look at him one last time to see if he is going to answer me or not. All I see is his sparkling green eyes looking at me or more like studying me. 

This is creeping me out now. Why do I attract such creeps?

"well, here I was thinking that we were friends. Turns out I was the only one out there" I mutter with venom in my eyes as I feel tears brimming my eyes. I know I am overreacting but then, I have had enough and there is only so much I can handle!

Before he could say or do anything, I grab my bag and jog towards the door. The day itself was confusing. Here I was, wanting peace of mind and all I feel is sadness and loneliness.

The saddest part? I don't have anyone to blame. It's my fault that I was born, my fault that my mother is working so hard, My fault that I trusted Benjamin with my secrets, my fault that I felt comfortable when I am with Ryan, and my fault that I thought we were friends. 

Before I could open the door, I feel hard hands grabbing on my shoulder before turning me around.

"you are such a child sometimes" He chuckles as he looks around the room sounding irritated.

"Well, this is how I deal with people who are nothing but creeps" I snap back as I look at his eyes turning a darker shade of green as he clenches his eyes. But it softens as soon as he looks into my eyes and sighs.

"I am 17 years old sneakers" he confesses as he releases his hold from my shoulder.

"well it wasn't so tough now, was it?" I ask as I smiled at him. He looks confused for a second before he comes to the conclusion.

"you fooled me!" he accused as he looks at me with bewilderment.

well, it was not all an act but I think I should grab hold of emotions in front of people; can't let them see my weakness now.

"well, I am a fast learner. How much would you grade my acting?" I ask as I burst into laughter looking at his shell-shocked expression.

he looks at me with those intense eyes as if to confirm something. He does that sometimes and it confuses me a lot.

"well, you need to work a little harder" he shrugs as he steps back from me and sits back on the couch.

"so are you going to tell me how you found me?" I ask as I sit beside him.

"Such a curious cat! I don't know if you noticed but I lice two blocks from here. I saw you earlier and decided to join you" 

"oh," I realize now that it's actually true. I must have been in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice that.

I hear him laughing his sweet laughter bringing me back to reality.

"My turn, what happened?" all the fun and jokes he made earlier vanished, he is now serious as he is looking at me intently; observing my every move. Should I tell him or should I just make funny remarks about it? How can he read my mind so clearly? Is he some sort of soccer?

"well, I was reading peacefully when a big bad wolf decided to ruin my mood" I pout as I watch him chuckle as he runs his hand through his hair. 

"Nice try, now shoot" he crosses his arms as he looks at me with challenging eyes.

"My mother left for a business trip and she won't be here for more than a week" I blurt it out as I look at him to see what he thinks of it.

"he uncrosses his arms and rubs his forehead as if he is trying to process his thoughts. when he finally looks back, I see discomfort and a little bit of anger. why is he angry again? Don't ask me about how I read those eyes, it comes naturally to me.

"you should visit a doctor Ryan" I blurt out as I look at his hands that are now fiddling with the coffee cup that I had.

"Why should I visit a doctor Sneakers?" He teases back as he smirks and looks my way with curiosity.

"you surely are bipolar. I mean, one moment you are all funny and happy and the next, you look like a wolf that didn't have anything to eat for weeks" I share my opinion as I look back at him enjoying his reaction. 

His mouth opens and closes, then again opens and closes after thinking for a second and he looks like a fish.

"what are you laughing at?" he asks irritated.

"you looked like a fish" I laugh as I try to imitate his action once again.

"You do it one more time and you will regret this Carrie?" He warns as his jaw tightens. 

"oh, you don't want to know how you look like? Too bad" I coo at him as I look at his hands that are curled into a fist and his veins are about to pop out.

Seems like I caught his weakness and this makes me really happy.

"should I do it one more time Ryan?" I ask softly in a motherly tone as I try my best to hold my laughter.

He clears his throat and when he speaks, his voice has grown deeper "that's enough Carrie!"

why is so angry? 

"okay okay chill baby boy! I didn't know that you hate people imitating your actions. If I-"

"it's not about imitation at all Sneakers! It's just that when you did that, I almost k.... I mean... forget it" He runs his hands through his hair trying to take out the frustration.

if he meant what I said earlier, I think I should stop then.

"Ryan, we are just friends" I remind him as I step away from him. I have never seen him or anyone else more than a friend and I don't plan on considering this though as well. 

I have a lot going on in my life and I don't even trust people enough to let them see who I really am. I just can't take the risk.

"I know dear, I know... I.... I am ... so... sorry" He stutters as he looks at me with eyes that are filled with so much pain but it disappears so fast and it's now replaced with mischief.

"so you are also joining my league I see" I shrug as I open my book once again to resume my reading.

"Well, I love fooling people so I can't help it" He laugh as he looks my way and acts like he is wiping an invisible tear.

I am glad that he was just acting. Thank god!

"hey, before you begin, let's grab and eat something" he suggests as he looks at me with puppy eyes.

He does look cute on that look but I won't budge if I were not hungry as well.

"okay baby Boy," I remark sarcastically as I stand up and head towards the door.

"I am not a baby boy! I prefer to be called Ryan or Ry... if you like" He complains as he follows me through the door.

"likewise sir, I prefer to be called Carrie and not Sneakers, bookworm, or whatever," I say as I realize that I forgot the other nicknames he uses on me. Told you; I have memory issues.

"but you are a nerd, you live with books, you are so tiny, you run away from prob-"

"hold there mister! I faced the problem yesterday; head-on and I plan on keeping it up" I whisper back as we pass the counter.

"Let's see about that" he scoffs as he looks sideways as if looking for something and heads then nod his head satisfactorily. He is very confusing.

"where should we eat?" He asks as he looks down at me.

"well, how about Kellen's?" I answer as I walk three steps away earning a confused look from Ryan.

"My neck hurts from looking at you," I complain as I see him cracking into laughter once again.

"how about wearing heels?" he smirks as he looks at my favorite Adidas shoes.

"well no thanks, I know a better option" I smile mischievously as he assesses my moves.

"and that is?" He asks

"not mingling with you" I laugh as I look at his offended face.

"well, you cant now. When I commit to something, I do it with full heart" He replies 

"let's see about that"

"certainly! Now lead the way to Kellen's. I am starving" he pleads as he uses his puppy eyes once again.

well, this Ryan right here is something I must say. He seems to understand me so well and he even has a way of making me smile. I am just glad that I decided to visit this public library.

"it's just a block way" I roll my eyes as I hear his footsteps following me.

"Oh, and why didn't I see you for the last couple of days? Were you sick?" I ask as I look back at him.

"why? did you miss me?" He smirks as he looks at me with that curious eyes.

"ha! I don't have time to miss you or anyone. I was just curious. I mean you are in high school and if you have some serious goals, I think you shouldn't miss your classes" I preach I begin walking towards our destination.

"well, let's just say that it had something to do with one of my goals" he answers nonchalantly. What can I say then? I just hum in response.

"We are here" I announce as we see the beautifully crafted signboard.

"hmm. nice choice!" he praises as he assesses the hotel as we enter inside.

This is one of the hotels I visit regularly and I love everything that they have on their menu. The best part is that they offer discounts to regular customers and since I am one, I make the best use of that.

"where should we sit?" I hear Ryan whispering as I smile at the cashier.

"lets me ask" I take charge as I head towards the counter. 

"Hello Mary, is my regular spot taken?" I ask as I cross my fingers and wait for her response.

"oh hey Carrie, I think your friends are here already, they booked the table" She smiles back at me.

I didn't have plans with any of my friends.

"oh, so you wanted to surprise me?" I hear Ryan groaning and he seems a little hurt as well. 

I can never understand this guy.

"no, I didn't have any plans with Benz" I shot back at him and look back at Mary with a smile.

"oh well, I think we will just leave then. Thank you, Mary" I smile as I earn a confused look from her. It is true that Benz and I visit this place so often and we have our favorite table but I am not ready to ruin my mood. By the way of what Mary said, I think he has his so-called "cool friends" with him.      

I look at Ryan who is looking at me with challenging eyes.

"What now?" I murmur through my greeted teeth.

Ryan just smiles and bends to whisper back at me "I thought you started facing the problems head-on?" 

"yes Ryan, but I didn't say I would face my friend head-on" I fire back earning a chuckle from Ryan.

"Seems the same to me. Tell you what, if you face them today, I will answer three questions you have about me"         

why is he so smart? Cant, he thinks a bit slower? This offer is my only chance.

"How about five questions?" I smile sweetly at him as I watch him sigh in defeat.

"deal"          

"