Sweeney & Bowen

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Transformation

After sharing a shocked look with EJ, he walks away with a huffed laugh.

As I take a swig of my water bottle, Ricky approached me. I attempted to stay causal when I felt my heart practically pounding out of my chest.

"Hey..bro." His tone was awkward and unsure, with narrowed eyes.

I scoff a laugh, "Bro," I sarcastically greet, gulping down more water to avoid the uncomfortable void—but that surprisingly made it worse.

He huffs an uncomfortable laugh, "You, uh..drinking water?"

"No. I'm trying to drown myself." I deadpan, twisting the cap onto the bottle.

"Wrong princess/musical. We're doing Beauty and the Beast." Ricky jests, holding up finger guns in hopes of getting a laugh out of me.

My brows furrow, crossing my arms, "That's a little dark. I don't remember a princess trying to drown herself."

Shock crossed his face, completely dumbfounded and uncomfortable.

"Water.. Mermaid.." He reminds, before regretting his words, "That is a Princess movie, right?"

I nod in affirmation, "Hm. Must've ended up on the cutting room floor, though."

"It was in the book." He sarcastically shot back.

"Could've said musical." I remark, glancing over uncomfortably.

Our witty remarks weren't flying through the air as casually as they normally do. They were awkward and uncomfortable.

"Sweeney," Ricky snaps, and I raise my brows at the solemnity.

"I woke up in the middle of the night to you using me as a pillow." His tone was more comfortable, a gentle smile tugging his lips at the memory.

My heart melted at how endearing he thought that was. I downplayed my smile and held my head up. I wanted to keep my guard up. Especially with this weird tension between us. I can't explain it, but it felt like I was dreaming. There was an unfamiliar feeling in my chest.

"Then you were gone in the morning." He went on, now puzzled, and even a little hurt.

I press my lips together, nodding along, "I had to leave earlier than you, remember?" I remind, my tone harsher than needed.

His brows furrow, taken back, "Why do I feel like you're mad at me?" He almost sounded defeated.

"Why do you think that?" I casually quiz.

He glanced over uncomfortably, "Did I do something?"

"Did you?" I sarcastically shot back.

Before he could speak, his phone started ringing, so he picked it up casually, "Hello." He greeted, before growing confused.

"Hi, Ricky. Sorry to pop in like this." Hearing a girl on the other end of FaceTime sparked my curiosity, but not enough to stay.

Not until...

"Lily." Ricky blurted, confirming the girl's identity, causing me to grow confused. "How did you get..my number?" With confusion in his tone, he glanced at me, I shrug.

"Friend of a friend." Lily informs, "I just need some advice- is this too weird? Should I not have called you?"

"Uh, no. Uh, I don't know. What's up?" Ricky blurts.

"I'm struggling." in a theatrical tone that Ricky couldn't detect.

It took everything in me not to burst out laughing in amusement. Instead, I rolled my eyes with an intrigued smile tugging my lips.