Nothing Is Forever [COMPLETE]

Chapter 70: Ryan - The Big EmbarrASSment

Ryan opened his mouth to say something smart back to me but I stopped him before he could.

"I THINK YOU'RE JUST HAVING A HARD TIME BELIEVING THAT I LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE SO USED TO BEING TREATED LIKE SHIT WHEREVER YOU GO. YOU FEED OFF OF OTHER PEOPLE HATING YOU... EVEN YOUR EX WIFE!! TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST I BELIEVE THE THOUGHT OF SOMEONE ACTUALLY LIKING YOU – LOVING YOU – SCARES YOU TO DEATH BECAUSE YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO HANDLE YOUR EMOTIONS..."

I took a deep breath and awaited his reply, but to my surprise, I was greeted with silence. This was the one time I actually wanted some backtalk from his audacious mouth, but to no avail, he was at a loss of words.

We walked parallel in silence for a while as anger boiled inside of me. Anything was better than saying nothing at all. The look on his face said that he was calm, but I knew underneath he was ready to spew his words of hatred like fire from an active volcano.

I couldn't take it anymore. The silent treatment wasn't working for me. We were a few paces from the front of the gym when I gave in.

"You know what Ryan?! FINE," I shouted, gripping his hand tightly as we continued on.

"Ow– loosen your grip... I didn't even say anythi—"

"EXACTLY," I shouted, "You wanna hold hands? We'll hold hands! You wanna announce to everyone that we had a thing? BE MY GUEST!"

"Savannah chill—"

"I'm PERFECTLY CHILL Ryan. Matter of fact, to show you how 'chill' I am, I'll walk into the gym holding your hand for everyone to see!"

"Wait a second—"

"I'll even make out with you!"

"Ok now you're just saying stuff—"

"No, I'm serious! If that's what it takes to show you how much I love you, then so be it..."

I eased my grip on his hand a little bit, and looked forward to the gym filled with hundreds of people. We got closer and closer until we finally reached the front. Ryan dropped my hand and opened the door for me. I walked in and he followed behind, gripping my hand once more when we got inside.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, "because I'm not the one putting myself on the line here. I couldn't care less what happens to me—"

"Positive"

I definitely wasn't positive and Ryan could tell. We made it to the very last set of doors down a long hall that led to the main part of the gym and Ryan dropped my hand once more to hold them open for me.

The cheers coming from the students was enough to blow my eardrums to bits. Ryan walked in afterwards and the crowd went wild. He smiled over at me and gestured for me to walk onto the court with him. My hands were covering my ears, but I still understood what he was saying, and shook my head no.

We stood awkwardly, gesturing to each other for a few seconds, until I looked up to see us on the big screen. I knew that saying no to Ryan was futile, so I ended up giving in to his scene.

They gave him a mic and we walked to the center of the court together. I still had my hands over my ears as Ryan spoke into the device, in hopes of calming everyone down.

Once the crowd mellowed out a little bit, Ryan began to speak.

"Uh, I don't even know where to begin everyone!" He stated, blushing and smiling from ear to ear, "I'm not really one for speaking to large groups of people, but I feel like I know you guys so maybe it won't be as ha—"

"I LOVE YOU!!!"

A girl shouted at the top of her lungs from across the gym, and I knew it had to have been pretty loud for us to hear it all the way over here.

"Love you too Lucy," Ryan replied, waving into the big screen camera and mouthing the words 'call me.'

Everyone went wild again and Ryan tried desperately to shut them up. I was still standing off to the side behind him, feeling awkward and out of place.

"Guys! I was joking, settle down!!!"

One of the players in the football section stood up and put a bullhorn to his lips.

"SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!"

"NO WAY!" Ryan shouted into the mic, turning crimson on the spot, "SIT DOWN TONY!"

The violent pumping of his fist got everyone even more riled up until Ryan couldn't avoid it any longer.

"Alright, alright!" He agreed, "If I slip up and say something I'm not supposed to, it's Tiny's fault— I mean TONY'S fault... Sorry Tony, I forgot that's just what they call you in the locker room!"

Laughter filled the stands and even Tony was doubled over with glee. Ryan looked to me for approval, and took a step back so that he was directly by my side. His hands shook as he brought the mic to his mouth once more. As calm and collected as he seemed to be on the outside, I could tell he was more nervous than ever on the inside.

I didn't have time to think about my actions before my hand placed itself on his back to comfort him. I felt as he took a deep breath, and some of his tension was relieved.

"Well, I guess I should start off speaking to everyone by saying thank you..."