Robyn

~Chapter 16~

The history teacher drones on about World War I monotonously, as I lightly rap my pen against the desk. I shift in my seat, uncrossing my legs. Not realizing how far apart Ryland's legs are, my quad brushes against his on it's way down, radiating a strange heat from between us. From my peripheral, I see Ryland make a furtive glance in my direction. I bite my lip attempting to calm the rate of my heart, but instead the tapping of my pen increases in volicity and sound. The change grabs the attention of a girl sitting in front of us, and she turns to give me a glare. Although I do slowly decrease the speed and noise of the pen, my eyebrows shoot up as if challenging her to do something and she turns around with a roll of her eyes.

Ryland and I haven't talked much about the kiss since it happened a couple of weeks ago. We actually haven't talked about the kiss since the day it happened, and I'm thankful we haven't. I can barely make sense of my feelings in my head, let alone articulate them to Ryland. There's something subtly different between us, something like a tension, and we both do our very best to tip-toe around it, but during moments like this the feeling resurfaces.

My hand continues to hit the pen against the desk and Ryland reaches out, covering my hand with his own to stop my tapping. The warmth of his touch causes my breath to hitch in my throat as I turn toward him, my eyebrow raised in question.

"Calm down," he mouths, his hand lingering on my own before pulling away. His lips are turned in a small smile, and his eyes twinkle. It takes everything in my power to refrain from grasping his hand, just to feel the warmth of his skin against mine again, but I manage, giving him quick nod before returning my attention to the front of the classroom.

The remainder of the day passes by normally, with similar incidents between Ryland and I springing up here and there. Once I finally arrive home, I'm glad and slip into my pajamasI run my fingers through my hair, my middle finger getting tangled in between a lock of my curly hair. I force my finger through the strand, causing me to wince in pain. The screen of my laptop shines brightly in the darkness of my room. My eyes glance over toward Brielle's side. Her bed perfectly made and untouched since this morning. Brielle and Jun decided to go out to a school party this Friday night. They, of course extended the invitation to me, but I declined, preferring to stay home.

Leaning my head against the head board of my bed, I rest my eyes briefly before reopening them. My gaze falls onto the dresser pushed against the wall beside the door. There lies the camera with the evidence from Travis John's office. Still, I have yet to look at it, and so there it remains in my bottom dresser drawer, sitting beside my feminine products.

I've been dreading the moment when Nacy remembers to ask about the dirt I was supposed to collect. Life had been moving rather smoothly, and while I would like to return to our vigilante mode, there's a comforting stability with not having to do any of that.

A knock sounds from my door, startling me from my thoughts. "Come in!"

The door creaks open, Nacy poking her head inside. Her blonde hair is curled perfectly, and the light from my computer bounces off her silver eyeshadow. She's dressed in a classy, black cocktail dress that clings to her curves, showing off a bit of her cleavage. She holds her black heels in one hand, and shuffles inside my room. From my view, it seems like she's preparing to go on a date, but I refrain from asking her about this. "What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you a question," she says biting her deep crimson lip as she sits on the foot of my bed.

"Shoot."

"So I've been thinking about us--you know us stealing and stuff--and I don't know but I think after the next one we should stop. I mean it's getting risky. College is coming up for you girls and I want you guys to go to college and live without having to look over your shoulders. Plus I kind of want to live my life too you know?" She sighs deeply. "I'm just tired."

I nod silently. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been thinking about stopping too. With the recent college process starting up, I've been thinking about my future, and I'm not sure if this vigilante thing fits into our life anymore. We were just angry, miserable teenagers when we first started this idea. Our lives had been so messed up by a system we felt didn't work for us, we wanted to get back everything it took from us--our families, our happiness, our life. It all seemed so hopeless back then, but the circumstances have changed.

"I understand," I reply, causing Nacy to lift an eyebrow in shock.

"I'm just not the same girl. We're not the same girls. Brielle's not the same careless deliquent she was labeled; she found the arts. Jun doesn't find it necessary for her to do this anymore and is focusing more oh her sports, and you, I've seen you--you're not as broken anymore."

"And what about you?" I ask.

Her gaze looks outward, a glossy look falling over her eyes. She bites her lip as her brow slightly creases. "Honestly Robyn? I've found someone who makes me really happy. I don't know how long it will last, but it has me thinking about taking some time for myself. It may sound selfish but we can't do this forever. We've helped a bunch of people, and I'm so happy we did, but we need to stop after this next one. It's just too risky, and if we want to be able to live our lives, we're going to need to give it up, you know?"

Nacy looks at me, the blacks of her eyes dilated as they attempt to take in what little light is currently in the room. I nod my head silently, digesting everything she's just said. I can guess that this person who makes her really happy is that man who came around here a couple weeks ago. Yet I still can't help but ask, "Who is it? The person who made you realize all this?"

A heavy sigh escapes her lips. "His name is Mateo. He goes to my college. I've been waiting to tell you guys, because the guys who I tend to date all end very quickly and I didn't want to get you guys used to seeing me with a different guy every second."

"How long have you guys been together?"

She shrugs. "Well I've known him since my freshman year of college. He was in my Calculus II class. We've been really good friends, but we've been dating for about a year."

My eyes widen. "Wow," I whisper to myself. "A year?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure things were stable. I've been planning to introduce you guys to him for months, but I didn't know how you all would react. You guys didn't really like my boyfriends before."

I laugh. "That's because they were all assholes, but I think we would like to meet this guy who has swept you off feet and has you acting like a school girl."

"What do you mean?" she asks, feigning naivete while her cheeks redden.

"Look at you. You've gotten dressed up on dates before, but you're going the extra mile tonight." I say, gesturing toward her.

"How do you even know I'm going a date?"

I deadpan. "I'm not stupid."

Nacy laughs, pushing me with her hand. "I can't deal with you," she teases as she pushes herself off the bed. "I'm going to ask the others too, but it's looking like Travis John may be our last takedown. How's everything going with that?"

My brain freezes briefly as I frantically come up with a response. "Good. I almost got what I need."

She stares at me for a fleeting second before smiling once again. "Cool. Tell me when you have everything ."

I nod, forcing a small smile on my face. "Yeah, absolutely. You better hurry up you got a date to head to."

She giggles, giving me a wink as she exits my room, closing the door behind her. Shutting my laptop, I place it on the floor beside my bed and crawl underneath my covers. I press my eyelids together as I tuck my head beneath my sheets, hoping that sleep will come and carry me away.

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A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long to update. It's been nearly a month since I last updated and that's horrible. I've been so stressed with school and dance that I've had no time at all. I'm just so done. But luckily spring break starts after today so I should be able to get a chapter or two out within the next weeks :) I hope you liked this chapter. It was kind of a filler but had necessary character development, so here you are! Please tell me your thoughts on Nacy and the other girls. Any guesses on their backstories? Those will be revealed in depth later in the book but there was some hinting in this chapter and previous ones, so I'd love to hear any guesses. Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed and please don't hesitate to leave a comment or vote!!