Ryan's POV
My uncle was of course mad I sneaked out to the party he'd told me not to go to. He gave me a speech and I pretended to listen. As punishment, he said I had to now work on Fridays and Saturdays. That meant I worked Monday-Saturday. I hated it of course and protested. He didn't want to hear a word I said. I was so mad I didn't even feel like showing up to work on Monday at all.
Monday started out okay. The tension in the house had dissipated a little. My uncle gave me a lift to school and I appreciated it. He said he would see me later at the store and I just nodded. I still hadn't made a decision on whether I would show up at all.
"Ryan my man, how are you this lovely morning?"
I turned around just in time to see Pete put his arm around my shoulders. The rest of the guys were with him. We were standing at the lockers before first period.
"Hey guys", I said.
We bumped shoulders.
"Wicked party you had man", I said to Pete.
"You disappeared on us!" he said.
"Oh I know where he went", Bolt said. My breath caught in my throat. Did he see me with Rainier? "How was that Gina chick?" he said.
I almost visibly sighed in relief.
"She was okay", I said simply.
"Don't be shy man. The girls aren't here!" It was Jason.
I shrugged. "She was alright, not the best thing I've tasted".
The guys laughed loudly, garnering a couple of stares. Truthfully, I could vaguely remember my time with Gina. I'd been heavily intoxicated by then. I wasn't even sure we had sex.
"How many have you tasted?" Bolt asked.
"A couple", I said.
The guys all started laughing and making noises like it was a big deal. They seemed to be envious. I guess they were getting tired of being tied down by their girlfriends. I had slightly exaggerated the truth. I hadn't slept with a lot of girls. I could count all of them on one hand. I wasn't easily tempted by sex.
"Hey Ryan, walk with us", Pete said after all the hype.
"My class is the other way", I said.
"Yeah, we just wanna say something where we have a little privacy", Pete said.
He started walking, pulling me with him. The guys followed. We found an empty spot in the corridor near a class.
"What's up?" I said when we stopped.
"Remember what we talked about on Friday?" Pete said.
I cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"We've decided on what you should do", Jason said.
"Now now, not all of you at once", I said showing my annoyance. I was eager to know what they had in mind.
Pete chuckled, but then he grew serious. "We want you to get a book for us".
"You've met Rain right? Tall guy with long wavy black hair? He's in your class", Jesse said.
Where on earth was this going? Did they know what happened between us? Did they know how I felt- correction- had felt about him?
"Yeah", I nodded.
"Of course you do. I saw you with him at the party", Pete said.
"Yeah, I know him", I said.
"We want you to get his book, precisely a notebook; blue cover with stickers from adventure time", he said.
I frowned. I knew that notebook. It was the same one he'd torn his drawing out of, the same drawing I had on my bedroom wall. I made a mental note to throw the drawing in the trash when I returned home.
"Why?" I asked.
"You don't need to know for now. Just get it", he said.
"I'd like to know why you want it", I said adamantly.
"Just get it. I expect it at lunch", he said.
With that the bell rang. The guys left me just standing there. The first thing that came to my mind was, whatever reasons the guys wanted Rain's book for, they weren't good ones. If they were, they would have just gone to him and asked for it.
They'd tasked me with getting it for them, which wouldn't be so hard. But could I do it knowing whatever they were planning to do was going to harm him? Of course I could. He meant nothing to me. As far as I was concerned, he was just another guy. No, scratch that. The guy had accused me of trying to rape him. It was a surprise he hadn't laid charges on me. He wasn't just another guy, he was an enemy.
Whatever the guys were planning on doing, I was going to assist them any way I could. I wasn't going to do it to become part of their little group. I was only returning the favor to a guy who'd embarrassed and outward insulted me.
I went to class long after many students had left the corridors. School wasn't important to me anyway, so it didn't matter if I was late. It mattered to the teacher though. He made a snarky comment when I entered. I felt like cussing him, but decided against it. The last thing I needed was my uncle being called to the school. I'd given him enough grief the last couple of days. He needed to rest a bit. His blood pressure needed to lower significantly before I struck again.
During class I thought about how I'd get Rain's notebook from him. We had second period, which was chemistry together. There was no way we were going to sit close to each other. I didn't even want to see him.
Second period came. I entered the class long after everyone, much to Mr. Calloway's irritation. I saw Rain from the corner of my eye as I walked to my seat. His sister was whispering something in his ear. They were talking about me. The nerve! If I'd had any doubts about taking his book, they were extinguished then.
I sat behind Rosaline. As I listened to the teacher, I got bored. I poked Rosaline and she turned to me. I started a random conversation about the weather and winter coming. Rosaline was too nice not to reply.
"Cyrus, zip that pipe of yours", Mr. Calloway said.
"Sorry sir", I said.
I listened for a few minutes, but got bored again. I poked Rosaline again.
"How long have you been dating Jesse anyway?" I asked, a little too loud I guess.
"Cyrus, Laurent, change seats. In fact, these are your permanent seats from now on. All these chit-chatter is irritating", Mr. Calloway said.
The last time I was in that class Rain's sister and I had been forced to change seats because her and Rain had been talking. I couldn't help but frown. I was going to sit behind that freak for the rest of the school-year? No way!
"Sir, I promise. I'll keep quiet", I said.
"Me too!" Rain's sister said quickly.
"I don't want to hear it. Switch now", Mr. Calloway insisted.
I huffed. Feeling defeated, I stood up from my seat. Rain's sister did the same. I took her seat shortly, landing on it hard. Rain didn't even turn.
The teacher continued teaching. I noticed that Rain's sidebag was on the floor, too close to my feet. He seemed to be concentrating hard. I looked down at my feet. I could...
"Spot quiz. Get out your books", Mr. Calloway said.
I did as the other students did, wondering what the quiz was even about. I'd had too little chemistry classes to know anything. Actually, I probably should have known the stuff, repeating a grade and all.
There was silence as everyone focused on the quiz. It didn't even seem like anyone was breathing. I was baffled and didn't even care. For all I knew, I had never seen any similar questions before.
I looked down at my feet. I knew Rain was concentrating on his answers, perfect time to get his notebook without him noticing anything.
I dropped a pencil and bent down. I didn't have to unzip his bag, it was open. I slid a hand in. There were only two notebooks in there and a textbook. I knew the kind of book I was looking for since I'd seen it. I saw it in the bag and pulled it out quickly. I resumed my seat, putting the book under my butt. I pretended to concentrate on my work for a while.
A few minutes later Mr. Calloway asked us to hand our tests in. The bell rang after that. I put Rain's book in my bag quickly and walked out of class like I was rushing to the next.
I didn't go to the next class. I walked to the bathroom and walked into a cubicle. Before I gave the book to Pete, I wanted to know what was in it. What was so special about it that Pete wanted it?
I opened it slowly. The first few pages were drawings, beautiful drawings. The boy, as much as I hated him was an artist. He definitely had a wild imagination. Where on earth would he conjure the idea that I wanted to rape him?
His drawings weren't just pretty, they were deep. He didn't draw superheroes or flowers. He drew eyes that seemed to look through you, faces that weren't only beautiful but scary at the same time, falling mermaids, jungles that drew you to them, abandoned houses and a lot others. There were happier drawings, but these also seemed to have a deep meaning.
What could Pete do with drawings?
I noticed Rain signed his drawings: Rainier J Laurent. I remembered seeing that signature. He'd signed the drawing he'd torn from the book. That almost made me smile, which I chastised myself for. He wasn't supposed to make me smile, he was the enemy. Who knew what he was up to? He was probably still scheming how he'd destroy my life.
I got annoyed with the drawings, so I paged quickly.
Towards the end there wasn't any drawing. There were just words. I read.
Julie knows. I wanted her not to know, but she does. She knows the monsters I see. Deep down she wishes she would see them too. A problem shared, is a problem halved. That's just how my sister is. I can just see it when she looks at me. Mom and dad don't know. Julie agreed not to tell them. But that means she's going to be their eyes and ears. I hate the scrutiny.
The entry stopped there. What the fuck? What was he talking about? What did he mean he saw monsters?
I turned a page.
Dub, dub, dub, dub, dub. Who am I to disagree that he's cute? Sometimes I think he can see what I'm thinking, which is weird. This is too stupid. I should probably listen to the teacher. Dimples. Isn't it weird they give me butterflies? Look at them!
I stopped reading. It was clear I was reading random thoughts. Something caught my eye though.
Frenchie. He calls me Frenchie. I suppose it's not so bad. I think I like it. I think I like him. I like a stranger. How can a stranger make me feel like this? Why am I even writing about it? He...
The entry stopped, like he'd been interrupted. I just sat on the toilet seat and reread the entry. He was talking about me. He was talking about me! Rainier was talking about me. I was the one who called him Frenchie. My lips curled into a smile and I remembered my dimples, which were no doubt showing.
He liked me?
The word 'like' kept reverberating in my head. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Rain liked me. Correction: he had liked me. That entry had surely been written before that little incident between us. He wouldn't have reacted that way if he liked me.
Somewhere deep down a little bird of happiness had been preparing to take flight. Rain came down on its wings, forcing it to stay on the ground.
I read more entries about things I couldn't even begin to understand. Some of the entries were written in what I presumed was French, and I barely understood a single word in French. Most of the French entries kept repeating the name Tristan.
It looked like the notebook also functioned as a diary.
There was another entry that caught my attention.
I don't remember the last time I was on a date. Oh wait, I do. I shouldn't remember it, but I do. No Rainier, this isn't about that. So...am I excited? It took guts for him to ask me out. I still remember the big smile. What am I doing on Saturday? Going on a date. I am. I should. Sebastian is nice. I already said yes, so why not this Saturday? I don't have anything planned anyway. Why do I...
The entry stopped. It was the last one. I thought about everything I had just read. Rain saw monsters, he had liked me and he was going on a date on Saturday. That was all I could remember anyway.
I didn't really know how I felt about everything. I didn't get to think much about it because the bell rang. It signaled lunch time. As I walked out of the bathroom, I decided I wasn't going to give the guys the book. It had his personal thoughts in it. Despite what had happened between us, I felt his thoughts belonged with him. I already felt bad about reading them myself, though I had gained some insight.
I decided I would return the book to him anonymously. When I left the bathroom I held the book in my hands, deciding to put it in my locker before he found me with it. I thought I'd just run to my locker and slip it in real quick. It was a mistake.