EVOLUTION - RYDER SCANLON

15

i'm so sorry you had to wait so long but here's the longest chapter I've ever written to make up for it! <3

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After what he had done, Ryder made it impossible for Geordie to feel normal around him. It wasn't as if he did it on purpose because he didn't even know he was doing it in the first place. He was oblivious to how Geordie was unable to coherently form sentences because of the cloud of awkwardness that was practically suffocating her. Geordie assumed that Ryder had forgotten the kiss altogether as it wasn't really a big deal for him. For her, on the other hand, it was something that completely changed her and something that she couldn't just forget about.

     Geordie had worried that their friendship would be affected by what he had done. She thought it would alternate into something where they were forced to talk about what happened in order for the both of them to move on with their lives. When it hadn't, she didn't know whether she wanted to feel relieved or frustrated. Ryder didn't need to talk about his impulsive actions in order to move on with his life—he was doing it perfectly fine, all in his own little world. He didn't realize that he was hurting Geordie, so bad that she'd stay up at night contemplating what she'd say to him when she actually decided to confront him.

     Geordie sometimes felt like Ryder was discretely leading her on, though she knew he would never do such a thing. She couldn't help her negative thoughts, her endless string of subconscious reasoning that she had had since the day she met Ryder—since the day when he didn't push her away like everyone else. It didn't make sense to her and it never did. Yet, he always came back with a friendly hug and a cutesy smile and every problem went away because she was devastatingly happy to be friends with him and she didn't want that to go away.

      "So, Joe's marrying this girl named Elena," Ryder said, walking through his neighborhood with Geordie by his side, the sky flattered with pinks and purples. "She's from Russia."

      "Oh," Geordie said, attempting to sound excited. "I didn't know Joe was in a relationship."

     "He isn't...well, he wasn't." Ryder tried to explain the situation his nanny was in, stumbling on his words. "I mean, they kissed right in front of our faces, but they aren't together or anything. I think."

      "Sounds complicated." Geordie discretely rolled her eyes.

      "Yeah." Ryder agreed. "She's his uh, Russian colleague. He's marrying her to keep her from going back to Russia."

      "Why?" Geordie asked, then shook her head at her own curiosity. "Never mind, that's a stupid question."

      Ryder laughed. "No, it's uh, more complicated than that. If she goes back to Russia, there's a strong chance she'll be arrested."

      "Did she kill someone?" Geordie asked unenthusiastically.

      Ryder looked up at the splattered sky and scoffed, pityingly chuckling at himself. "Something about a Ponzi scheme at the company she works for. She had nothing to do with it, though. Sound familiar?"

       Geordie frowned. "I'm sorry, Ryder."

      "It's not about me," he said dismissively. "He's marrying her so she can stay and be a free U.S. citizen. The thing is, I don't know if Joe's doing it because of morality or because he loves her."

      Geordie looked up at Ryder this time, fully aware of how much taller he was than her. "Maybe it's both."

      "Maybe." He shrugged. "He hasn't known her for very long."