The Popularity Project

Chapter Twelve - Lightning

Chapter Twelve - Lightning

When I arrived at the house, instead of going inside, I made my way around to the back. I ran down to the beach as I had the previous day. This time, however, I felt more broken. Ryder's words mix with Damien's, and after a while, I can't remember who said what. I just let the words play over and over in my head, forgetting the speaker. I focused on the words and how they shatter me.

The tears relentlessly stream down my face. I watch the calm ocean and let it hypnotize me. The fears diluted and I began to process my thoughts again.

Why did Ryder do that to me? He may not know about my trust issues, especially when it comes to males, but his actions were still uncalled for and immature. We connected this morning, over the pancakes. The way he leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. I guess I was wrong about him. He is an arrogant ass, as he put it, and I wouldn't let him be rude to me again. I have taken enough crap from boys.

"Hey, you know you're soaking wet right?" An unfamiliar voice startles me. I turn around and see the owner of the voice. Of course it's a boy about my age who is, like Ryder, insanely attractive. Was the universe mocking me?

"Oh, yeah." I look down to see my body soaked. Then I felt the rain dropping large droplets of water on my head. How did I not notice it was raining? I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I looked at my watch and it read 2 o'clock. Wow time flys when you're thinking about every mistake you've ever made in your miserable life. A tiny part of me wondered if Ryder was looking for me at Gemma's.

"Here I have an umbrella and there is a pavilion a couple of minutes from here with towels." He smiles at me kindly. I contemplate his offer.

It seems, I walked quite far from Gemma's. I can't even see the house anymore. The rain began pouring harder, each drop becoming almost painful.

"It rains really hard around here." I mutter as I stand up from the sand. The boy who found me was tall, like six foot something. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked like the traditional beach boy, and had a charismatic smile.

"Yeah, no kidding!" He laughs and we make our way to the pavilion. I stand uncomfortably close to this stranger in order to avoid the pelting rain. He doesn't seem bothered by my stance.

We managed to make our way through the storm and safely found shelter under the empty pavilion. I saw lightning in the distance. Thunder followed shortly. Being this close to the water, the mysterious man and I were in danger of being electrocuted.

"We should find some towels and go inside." The man shouts to me through the roar of the ocean and claps of thunder. After agreeing with him, he leaves in search of people and towels. I began to worry about Gemma, what if a window breaks or she wakes up and goes outside to find me? I hope Ryder's theory is true, and she stays unconscious until tomorrow.

"The staff room is empty, I found some towels in there. We should go now, though. It's not safe out here." He gestures to the room. I feel worried about his motives. The nervousness takes control of my actions, and my legs lock in place.

"Are you sure there's no other way? I'm not completely comfortable about being locked in a small room with a man I do not know." I say hesitantly. He grunts in agitation. He obviously didn't anticipate my unwillingness.

"My name is Finn and I really don't want to get struck by lightning. Perhaps you do, and that's fine, but once I lock that door, I'm not going to open it again. There are various metal objects in there and if I open that door multiple times, who knows what could happen." He speaks quickly and grabs my hand, hauling me to the room. I rip my hand from his tight grasp.