The Popularity Project

Chapter Seven - Fine Dining

"Vivian, wake up!" Gemma's voice calls up to me from downstairs. "You have a visitor."

A visitor? I check the time on my phone, who the hell would be visiting me on a Sunday morning at eight o'clock in the morning? I groan and pull myself out of bed. My hair is still a salty mess from swimming in the ocean with Ryder last night. I sigh and try my best to ignore my appearance and join Gemma and the unexpected guest downstairs.

"Hey honey," Ryder's voice chirps at me happily. I look around for another guest and he lets out a laugh. "C'mon, you gotta get dressed before we can to breakfast."

"Why are you here?" I raise an eyebrow and walk into the kitchen where Gemma is scrambling eggs.

"To take you to breakfast, obviously." He follows me into the kitchen and steals the orange I pick up from my hands. "No, no eating. I'm taking you to a fancy breakfast, now go and get dressed."

I sigh, and give him one last wary glance before retreating to my room and turning on the shower. I step in and scrub my hair to the point where I am surprised I haven't gone bald. I run conditioner through my long hair and start shaving my legs slowly. A fancy breakfast? What is planning and scheming?

I wash my face and rinse the conditioner from my hair and shut off the water. After wrapping a towel around myself, I step out of the shower and brush my teeth.

When I return to my room, Ryder is laying on my bed, tossing a baseball Ollie caught for me at a game when I lived here. I ignore him as he ignores me while I rummage through my closet looking for something descent to wear. I haven't had a chance to fully unpack yet, only a few dresses, shirts, shorts, and shoes.

"You said fancy, right?" I turn around and raise an eyebrow at him.

"Unless you just want to hit a diner?" He continues throwing the ball up in the air. I watch as it goes up, then falls down and his hand catch it at the last moment before it would hit him in the face.

"I love diners," I pull out a pair of jean shorts and a black crop tank top.

"But you still should dress up," he smiles and wiggles his eyebrows. "We are going somewhere nice after."

"Aren't you going to clue me in?" I ask while I search through my closet some more, finally finding the perfect outfit. A white strapless crop top that works almost as a bra, a high-waisted flowery skirt, and chunky platforms. (See picture in media center).

"I could, but that would ruin the surprise," he stops throwing the baseball to give me his full attention. "Don't mind me."

Ryder's eyes travel up my towel covered body and I roll my eyes. "Either close your eyes or go downstairs to hang out with Gemma."

"I'll stay here," Ryder raises his hand slowly and covers his eyes with it. I see his fingers part slightly as he peeks through at me. I roll my eyes again and throw a decorative pillow that was on the floor at him. He laughs and uses the pillow to obstruct his vision of me.

"Happy?" His voice is muffled from under the pillow.

"Joyous," I retort and pull on the outfit quickly before he gets impatient. "You can look now." I say once I've gotten dressed and started brushing through my long red hair. He places the pillow on the bed and sits up, regarding me in the mirror.

When I pull out my makeup case, he stands from the bed and grabs the bag from my hands. "You're perfect, you don't need to put that shit on your face, okay? Let's go," he tugs me toward the door.

"Wait, I have to use the bathroom," I slip my hand from his and take a step closer to the mirror. "I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes?"

Ryder slowly nods his head and sighs, turning away from me and retreating down the stairs. I watch him for longer than necessary, then open my makeup bag and pull out a light eye shadow, black liquid eyeliner, and mascara.