His Princess | #Wattys2016

4. Hottie Say What?

    

      The next couple hours of school were torturous. I thought I managed to get away from Ryder, but I found out he was in pretty much every single class I'm in.  I had been able to keep my head down though, and only shared a couple unimportant conversations with him, mostly about the school. By the time lunch rolled around, I was praying to God thanking him.  Rushing to my locker and grabbing my lunch, I pretty much sprinted to the cafeteria and found Brooke eating her small salad at our usual lunch table. 

Letting out a deep breath I sat down next to Brooke.

"Holy shit, do I have a lot to tell you." I blurt out.

"Already? Jesus Ave, the school day is only halfway over and you already have a story? At least your days been more interesting than mine." Brooke states shocked.  I just shrug in response and take a breath, about to tell her about Ryder.  Suddenly, a new voice breaks out at our table.

"Hey Avery, I was wondering if I could sit with you and your friend... I haven't really gotten a chance to meet anyone yet, and since we already know each other, I was hoping you'd let me join you." Ryder rambles with a slight blush covering his cheeks.

Brooke was the first to speak.

"Hottie say what?"

      Ryder chuckles and takes a seat next to me.

"I'm taking that as a yes?" He turns to me and asks.

      I just smile and nod my head.  Hopefully this shouldn't go too bad... I'm just going to silently pray that I don't embarrass myself in front of this Greek God.

      Ryder has a wide grin on his face as he eats his sandwich.  Brooke starts light conversations now and then, but usually we all eat in a comfortable silence.  But of course, with my luck, it never lasts.

"So Avery, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Brooke has an evil smirk on her face as she asks the question.

"Oh nothing, it was stupid anyways." I respond as I try and cover the shocked look that crossed my face.

"No, tell me now.  It seemed like a great story.  You said that your f-"

I cut her off saying:

"Uh yea, my goldfish Nemo jumped out of his little tank and made his way to my glass of water sitting next to the tank... So when I was going to take a sip of my water, I nearly had a heart attack cause I saw Nemo in there." I scramble out, stopping her from embarrassing me any further.

      Both Brooke and Ryder looked at me like I lost my mind.  I decide to just look down and eat my fish-shaped chicken nuggets. Don't judge okay? I'm a kid at heart.  I hear Ryder chuckle next to me, and I give him a questioning look.

"What? What did I do?" I ask.

"Nothing, your just somethin else Ave." Ryder says with a small smile on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I cross my arms and look at him.

"It means that your unique, and that unlike most of the girls in this school, you're worth getting to know." He says, honesty leaking through every word.

"Oh." Is all I manage to say.

      I continue eating my fishy nuggets when Natalia, the popular girl in our school, walks over.

"Hey, your Ryder right? Well, I'm Natalia, the most popular girl in this school.  Where'd you move from? Hottieville?" Natalia attempts to flirt, and practically sits on his lap, forcing me to move to the other side of the table, next to Brooke. I noticed Ryder stiffen and look around not knowing what to do.