It was now Monday. The rest of the weekend I decided to relax a little. I've always been out so I thought I could use a break. Rolling out of bed, I manage to stumble to my closet and pick out an outfit. I pull out a red flannel, with black skinny jeans, a beanie, and black pumps. After putting on perfume and some mascara, I head downstairs to eat breakfast. While munching on a granola bar, the doorbell rings.
Opening the door, I stare with a confused look on my face.
"What? Not happy to see me?" Ryder teases.
"Of course I'm happy to see you, I'm just confused as to why you're here." I tell him.
"I'm going to drive my girlfriend to school, of course."
"Oh... That makes sense. Let me just grab my things and then we can go."
I run over and grab my bag, say a quick goodbye to Nemo and head out the door. Ryder opens the door for me, and I say a quick "Thank you," before he runs over to his side and sits down, starting the car.
We arrive at school, sharing nice conversations the whole way. When we park, heads turn, interested to see who was lucky enough to be the one getting driven to school with Ryder. He gets out of the car, and rushes to my side, opening the door for me. Once I stepped out of the car, everyone stared in shock. Ryder just took my hand and lead me inside to my locker. Once I get there I am greeted by Brooke, who shooed Ryder away, but not before he can sneak a kiss on the cheek. Brooke was wearing a cute off the shoulder floral top, with a white lace skirt that had a golden belt with it. She topped off the outfit with cute pink heels and nicely curled hair.
"Hey, how are you and lover boy doing?" Brooke asks as I get my books out of my locker.
"We're doing great actually..." I say dreamily.
"Ew, snap out of it Ave, you look like a lovesick puppy." Brooke scolds, snapping a finger in my face, making me flinch away.
"Fine, but I bet you and Connor are the same way." I huff, slamming my locker shut and stomping away dramatically to my next class.
We walk to class, sharing a light conversation the whole way. First period class went by smoothly, but during second period, I found myself in the hallway, heading towards the nearest bathroom. After doing my business and checking my reflection in the mirror, I start walking back to class. I'm about a couple doors down from the classroom, when a hand reaches out and pulls me into the janitors closet.
I scream and thrash around, scared that I'll be beaten up again. The closet door shuts and locks, leaving me trapped in a dark closet with a random person.
"Listen up, I'm not here to play games. When you get home today, you will find your precious baby Nemo gone. That's right, your fish will be gone. The only way to get him back, is to give me Ryder." The voice threatens.
"Oh really? What if I go home right after this... Huh? Will Nemo still be gone?" I question sassily. Realizing what I just did, I face palm myself.
"Wow, stupid girl... Ryder will be mine!"
And with that, the person gets something hard, and whacks my head, leaving me knocked out in the janitors closet.
*Voice from SpongeBob* Two Hours Later...
Waking up, I rub my head and take in my surroundings. Still in the stupid janitors closet. The memories flood back into my mind and I figure out who threatened me. Natalia. I jump up, but regret it since my head starts pounding. I stumble out of the janitors closet and hold my head in pain. What time is it? I wonder... Looking at a clock on the wall, I see that it's lunchtime. Once I reach my locker, I open it, and a note falls out.
You tell anyone about what happened in the closet, and Nemo will be dead meat. Break up with Ryder by midnight, and the fish will return back to where I got him.
Xoxo - Your Worst Nightmare
Crumbling up the paper and throwing it on the floor, I sigh and grab my lunch box. Walking to the cafeteria, I think of ways I can dodge the situation... I mean, there can't be any way that Natalia actually was able to break into my house and fish-nap Nemo, is there? I just shake my head and walk into the cafeteria. As soon as I walk through the door, I hear footsteps run towards me, and someone pulls me into a hard chest. Smelling the cologne, I sigh in relief once I realize that it was just Ryder.
"Where the hell have you been Avery?!" Ryder worriedly asks me, seeming to be slightly angry.
I pull away from the hug.
"I can't tell you..." I reply honestly.
"Why not? I sat through about half the day worried sick as to where my princess was... Do you have any idea how much I care about you?" Ryder rants furiously, taking my hands in his and looking me in the eyes.
I nod my head in response, and pull him with me to our lunch table where Brooke and Connor were giving each other worried looks. Ryder just pulls his hand out of mine roughly and stomps away, while I sadly look down at the table, sit, and try to eat.
________*Ryder's POV*________
I stomp out of the cafeteria, furious that Avery didn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on. Running my hands through my hair, I pace back and forth down the hallway where the lockers are located. Walking up to Avery's locker, I find a crumpled piece of notebook paper. Opening it up, I read:
You tell anyone about what happened in the closet, and Nemo will be dead meat. Break up with Ryder by midnight, and the fish will return back to where I got him.
Xoxo - Your Worst Nightmare
Furious, I rip the paper up, and throw it in the trash. I find myself running back to the cafeteria. So, that letter was the thing keeping Avery from telling me what was going on? But, who wrote it?
_________Avery's POV_________
I play with my salad, my appetite completely gone. Connor and Brooke ditched me a few minutes ago, probably because they couldn't get me to talk. I hear someone sit down across from me, but I keep my eyes glued to my salad.
"Avery." Ryder's deep voice surprised me.
Looking up, his piercing blue eyes stare deep into my brown ones.
"Avery." Ryder says again, but his voice turning hard.
"What."
"I know what happened. I saw the letter... I'm not going to let a desperate girl destroy our relationship." Ryder tells me, meaning every word.
"I know... I didn't know what to do! She is going to kill Nemo... I can't let that happen! But I also can't stay away from you either so I don't know what to do!" I rant, my eyes watering.
"Don't worry baby doll, we will figure this out." Ryder reassures me with a soft kiss on the forehead.
The rest of the day I was an emotional wreck. I was constantly jittery, afraid to go home and find that Nemo is actually gone.
Once the last bell rings, I jump out of my seat and head straight to my locker, pretty much shoving everything in my backpack. Walking outside, I see Ryder leaning up against his car waiting for me. As soon as I get close enough, Ryder kisses my cheek and opens my door for me. Right when Ryder gets buckled in, he speeds all the way back to my house, eager to see if Nemo has been fishynapped as well.
In a few minutes, we are parked in my driveway and running up to the front door. I unlock it in record timing and fling the front door open.
There, sitting on its usual table, is Nemo's fish bowl... Empty.
"Oh my God, she actually did this!! I can't believe Natalia is crazy enough to do this! Isn't this a felony? She could go jail!" I exclaim.
"Natalia won't get away with this Ave, I have a plan..." Ryder promised, his tone turning dark.
"What's it called?"
"Mission Finding Nemo. This is what we'll do."
And for the next couple of hours, me and Ryder came up with a plan to get my fishy back.
A/N:
Hello my fellow fishies!! IM BACKKKKK! Sorry I haven't updated in so long... Guess I had writers block, but I have a few things planned ;)
Xoxo - Batman