Storms and Rains: Ryland Storms

Page 7

R: Hey. Can I get your number?

Me: Yeah

I gave it to him and he texted me immediately.

R: Why is your hair black???

Me: It's for an upcoming movie.

R: Oh. Is it for The Hunger Games?

Me: Yeah.

R: Nice. When do you start shooting.

Me: Tomorrow is the first day.

R: Cool. TTYL

Me: Bye.

The next day, I was driven to set and it was gonna be a long day. I was tired by lunchtime and went live. I was complaining about how I was hungry, but couldn't get lunch. I was getting my hair redone and the directors were fine with me showing everything since word had spread that the movie was happening. A few minutes later, Ryland came to the studio and walked over to me. He handed me a bag of McDonald's and I smiled.

"Thanks," I said and he nodded. My hair and makeup were finished, so I was eating and Ryland stayed for a bit. He had to leave and I let him go. "Bye," I said and he smiled.

"Bye," he left and I was left alone with the live. I ended it and got back to acting as soon as I finished eating. I was exhausted at the end of the day and went to my room, quickly changing. I collapsed onto my bed and there was a knock on the door. I looked to see Ryland. I closed my eyes and felt him come over.

"Thanks for the food."

"Mh-Hm. Um... How was your first day?"

"Exhausting."

"I bet. I had just come by to hang out with Aidan."

"Cool," I yawned and Ryland pet my arm. I fell asleep and woke in the morning to go to set again. Ryland brought me food again and did that for the next week. I finally had a break and Ryland offered to take me somewhere. "Sure. Where are we going?" I asked with a smile.

"You'll see," he laughed and took me to a flower patch. I giggled and looked at him.

"Catch me if you can!" I yelled and ran with him after me. I didn't have anywhere to go at one point and Ryland caught up to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I panted, laughing. I pulled him to sit and we both lied down on the field, next to each other. I rolled onto my stomach and smiled. "Let's talk about something. Anything."

"How about how Qdoba is better than Chipotle."

"I'm sorry. We can't be friends anymore if you prefer Qdoba over Chipotle." Ryland laughed and fixed his hair.

"I like when you laugh," he said. "And smile." I looked away and blushed a little. Lucky he didn't see it. "We should head back," he said after a bit. We got food on the way back and ate in the car. We were getting closer to each other and I was getting more comfortable around him. But I didn't know if that was good or bad. I mean, he was my high school bully and I should hate him. "Is it just me or is there an awkward silence?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Anything. How long have you been friends with Aidan's friends? " Ryland asked.

"Since high school. Aidan used to bring them over after school and stuff. That's all, " I shrugged. We talked for a while and then Ryland drove us to the hype house. We were in his room and Ryland looked at me.

"What do you wanna do?" he asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"Really? Just say something. Literally anything."

"You live here. You choose."

"Don't be annoying!" He said and I went quiet.  "Just say what you wanna do."

"I literally don't know, Ryland," I said.

"Then go home. You're useless, I don't want you here, and you should never come back!"

"And those are the words of a gentleman?" I asked and walked away. I went down and everyone gave me a look. I left and went home. I went in and sat next to Aidan who was in the living room watching TV.

"Hey, Aidan?" I asked.

"Hm?" He asked.

"Can we talk?" I asked and he looked at me completely serious.

"Yeah," he said and turned the TV off. "What's wrong? Is it about Ryland? What did he do?"

"Um... I'll start from the beginning. Remember when I'd come back from high school and was in a bad mood or was acting off?"

"Yeah. I was constantly worried and curious."

"Ryland used to bully me every day in High School. He'd push me around, shove me into lockers, he even locked me in one. He'd trip me, he stole my diary, and he did so much more as well. He got the entire school to hate me and the girls were the only ones that stuck by my side. They got bullied too, but they didn't care. Ryland ruined part of my life. And I was just with Ryland now and he called me useless and yelled at me a little. It was just like the old days. For once, I thought I was getting closer to him, but I was completely wrong. He decided to just push me away again and I feel like if I get close to him again, I'm just gonna get more hurt. So I think I would never see him again."

"I don't want you seeing him again. The next time he comes by, his ass is getting beat by Gavin, Cody, Daniel, and I."

"Aidan..."

"No! I don't want to hear it. I know siblings always fight and you and I don't. But that's because I'm supposed to care about you. So no one is allowed to be rude to my little sister except me. Got it? So you did the perfect thing talking to me. Because I won't let him bully you ever again."

"Thanks, Aidan," I hugged him.

"You're welcome. Now watch TV with me," he smiled, immediately changing his personality.