𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 || A Paw Patrol Fanfiction

E I G H T

How did he even ended up in this situation?

Darius remembers the time that Ryder practically begged in front of him (not that kind...) to come along with him to school to pick up some textbooks that he needs to study earlier this morning. Not that he doesn't want to go with him; he'd love to see the younger boy in his rather dashing, dark green uniform but, there's just one tinsey wincy problem.

He had a fight with one of the students there.

Darius never mentioned it to Ryder, knowing the boy will be upset with him; and he doesn't want that. No, 'upset' isn't even the right description of his emotion. Ryder will be disappointed. And the boy is quite scary when he gets distraught; in the pups and Darius' opinion.

Ryder is sensible, calm, and collected with his emotions but, if you ever mess with him, hell could break loose. But, it doesn't really seem that vicious since his patience is as big as a whale. That boy has a lot of patience to go around.

Like how much money he keeps in his pockets. Seriously, his bank account is through the ceiling and had to have three accounts to keep it all in.

"Ryder, seriously, I really don't want to be here..." Darius whined as he clutched close to the younger boy's dark green blazer. He didn't want to be here, not because he's scared and a whimp, but because he doesn't want to ruin his or Ryder's reputation.

"You'll be alright..." The younger boy started. "We'll just have to ask permission to the headmistress, grab the books and we're off. We could have lunch at Mr. Porter's later." He added as he holds Darius's hand, gently squeezing it as they walked the school halls. Darius blushed but, it was coforting him. It helped him ease down a bit and he was glad about it too.

×

"Okay, Zack..." The headmistress started. 'Zack Ryder' was Ryder's full name but, he rarely uses it; commonly for formalities like, documents and papers.

"Since, you still have perfect grades and you keep it all at balance with your missions, I'm going to give you three weeks to finish studying for the finals..." She says as she signed a paper that the boy will need for getting the books. Ryder thanked the headmistress and out he goes towards the library.

"So... Were you good for taking the books?" Darius asked as he caught up with the spiked haired boy. Ryder nods his head. "Yeah. She was impressed of how I managed to keep my studies and leading the missions in balance." He chuckled.

"Were you good at keeping your mental health in check though?"

That question made Ryder stop his tracks. That really made him think deep. Was he making the 'pefectly fine' act so obvious that even the royal notices it? He wasn't even sure but it scares him. He refuses to let anyone help and see him getting hurt. It makes his body fill with guilt. But, it also makes him feel guilty that he doesn't tell anyone about his troubles, making people around him worry; especially the pups.

Ryder looked at his hands and then to the royal, flashing him a simple smile. "Yeah. I'm good." He says simply as he continue to walk, making Darius look at him with confusion and worry. Yeah. The royal didn't believe that. He was worried for the younger one but, it's best not to bother him about it just yet, in case Ryder isn't comfortable talking about it.

As Darius was about to ask something else, someone hugged Ryder from behind; making the boy jump due to fright. "Geez! Em! You scared me!" He giggled. Em laughed. "Can't help it! Your spiky hair isn't that hard to spot!" She joked. Ryder pouts and Darius and Em laughed at how cute he is.

Katie joined the group and she began to speak. "Ryder! Hi! Is he your boyfriend?" She teased, to somehow get a reaction from the brunette. "I guess you're not the only one cheating around here~" she added, making Ryder look down. He didn't like that part of the joke. Katie frowns, feeling terrible at what she said.