POV: Savannah
"I can't tell you how grateful I am to have gotten this job... This was only supposed to be a temporary thing, and I was never supposed to bond with you all in the way that I did, but I'm glad I got to stay, and I'm glad I got to spend time with such amazing people. I hope that I can come back one day, because I wouldn't be half the man I am today if I didn't have you all to open up to..."
Ryan trailed off and looked over at me.
"I'd just like to say that as of right now, I'm quitting. I am no longer your teacher, so nothing I say will go on my record, correct?" He asked, looking over to Mr. Novak who nodded his head in agreement, "Good, then I have some very important things to tell you all!"
Ryan clasped my hand and our fingers intertwined. His abrupt actions took me by surprise.
"I love you"
He dropped the mic from his lips and turned to kiss me. It wasn't even a kiss. It was a full on make out session in the middle of the gym. I pulled away from him before it got too out of hand, and looked up in the stands. Most of the girls were mortified, because they thought they'd have a chance with Ryan after he left. Most of the guys were clapping, because I guess they thought it was cool, and everyone else was just downright shocked.
I tried to pull my hand away, thinking that this was all for show, but when I released my grip, Ryan squeezed tighter. At that moment, everything sorta clicked for me. Ryan wanted me there with him, he wanted me to support him, because he was afraid of being alone... afraid of losing me... I clenched my hand again, and I could feel him slowly becoming less and less high strung.
"I met Savannah here in Vancouver when I was visiting my brother. Now, I know most of you follow social media and you probably already know everything about that situation, so I'm not gonna bore you with the details. The point is, I fell in love with her, and when I fell, I fell hard," he joked, bringing a smile to numerous faces among the crowd, and trying to relieve some tension, "but sometimes when you love something you have to let it go, for the good of you both..."
Ryan's palms were growing increasingly sweaty so I decided to slip my hand out of his, and wrap my arm around his torso. He returned the favor, and I laid my head on his shoulder. I could tell it was helping to know I was there for him because his body felt way more relaxed than it had before.
"Savannah is the love of my life," he said, smiling down at me with watery eyes.
I glanced at him and then over to the big screen. The tears that were forming showed up great, as did the redness in both of our faces. I lifted my head and kissed him in the cheek.
"If you have a problem with that, we can take it up outside after this is over," he joked, trying to refrain from crying as much as possible.
"I DO!" Tony shouted into his megaphone.
"Fight me Tiny!" Ryan said, dropping the mic and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt.
Tony laughed and jumped down from the stands. They were about the same height, and Ryan had some muscle, but Tony was a ripped 20 something year old football player, who could probably destroy Ryan with the flick of his wrist.
Tony walked up to Ryan and placed him in a head lock, which Ryan then somehow managed to slip free from. They joked around for a while, and ended up hugging it out. Tony made a joke about Ryan's little friend, which no one heard, and went back into the stands with a smirk on his face.
"You're just mad when you use a condom it looks like the thumb on a latex glove!" Ryan shouted back at him.
Laughter rang out through the gym and Ryan's face turned bright red again. I don't think he noticed how loud he was actually being.
"Who said I wear condoms?!" Tony blurted through the megaphone, following his question up with some provocative hip thrusts.
"I know I don't," Ryan said slyly into the microphone.
Now my face was red.
"That's how you get all these girls pregnant!" Tony laughed.
"Only two..." Ryan mumbled.
"I have a hard time believing it's only been Savannah and your wife. You seem too—"
"I know, I'm too 'well endowed,' but it's true," Ryan joked, "Don't talk about my children though for real Tony. I will punch you straight in the nose and mess up your pretty boy face"
Tony put his bullhorn down and raised his hands in the air to surrender. Everyone was still cracking up over their conversation, and I didn't know whether to laugh or curl up in a ball on the floor.
"Ok everyone, in all seriousness, I do love Savannah and yes, she was my student, but I knew her before I even got this job. When I first met her, I'm pretty sure she hated me... You guys may not realize it because for whatever reason, you actually think I'm cool, but most people hate my guts, and I get it! I used to be a good guy, then I took a downhill path, but now I'm trying to be a better man for my children. I've lived my whole life being hated. Hated by my ex wife, hated by my mom, hated by my step mom, hated by the entire step half of my family... The only love I've ever known is from my dad, my children, and from Savannah..." Ryan looked into my eyes and pulled me closer, "she's the only reason I'm not still a junkie who just accepts the fact that he isn't allowed to see his kids because of some lie that a no good whore told to a judge..."
He trailed off, trying to compose his emotions and remember that this was school, not therapy. After a few deep breaths, and staring intently at the floor, he proceeded to speak.
"Savannah helped me rediscover the man I used to be, and I'm so thankful to have had this opportunity to spend time with her. She was always there for me... even when I was a mistake to everyone else, and even when I did things to hurt her, she stood by my side..."
I hadn't even noticed I was crying until I felt a tear roll down my cheek.
"You are my everything Savannah," he claimed, gazing into my eyes and embracing me in a warm hug.
Before I knew it, the entire gym was giving a standing ovation for Ryan's speech, which turned into more of a rant, which then snowballed into a love proclamation in front of a large portion of the school.
He leaned in for a kiss and our lips connected. I loved him, and the fact that I had to see him go was chipping away pieces of my heart, bit by bit.
Ryan pulled away, thanked everyone again, and Mr. Novak took the mic.
"Mr. O'Donoghue will be staying in the training room for a while if anyone wants to say their goodbyes, or get a picture with him. Thank you all so much for your cooperation, and Ryan, you will be missed..."
Music and chatter filled the stands as Mr. Novak and Ryan bro hugged. Once their moment was over, I followed Ryan to the training room where we sat at a signing table and waited for each of the sections to be released.
One by one, I watched as people came up to Ryan, asked for hugs, pictures, and even signatures to remember him goodbye. I studied his body language with each person who he crossed paths with to sense how he felt about them.
For example, when Rachel Lynn asked for a hug, his reply was a solemn, 'sure,' which ended up being the only word he muttered to her, other than thank you. Whereas when Tony Acker made it to the table, Ryan's face lit up.
"Sup man!" Ryan said cheerfully, offering Tony a high five.
"Wassup Super Soaker!" He asked, slapping Ryan's hand.
I didn't even wanna know what that nickname meant, or how much of his personal life he'd actually shared with Tony.
"Hey call girl," Tony said quietly, looking over at me, "when's the last time Ryan hit that dial button?"
No wonder Ryan liked him so much, he was practically his twin.
"I'm joking," Tony smiled, reaching out a hand, "You deserve better than this guy."
I blushed, shook his hand, and looked over to Ryan. His comment about me had completely wiped the smile off of Ryan's face. Tony pulled out his phone and switch to the camera.
"Look, let's take one last picture—"
"No"
Tony looked over his phone at Ryan with confusion on his face.
"Oh my gosh, are you seriously mad about what I said? Fine, I'll just take a video with you"
Tony started recording, and he got Ryan's face in the shot with him a couple of times before Ryan finally just put his head down on the table.
"Go away Tony"
"C'mon, she knows it was a joke!" He insisted, turning off his phone, "That's what we do Ryan, we joke! Don't be like this..."
Ryan refused to respond, and Tony looked truly heartbroken, so I decided to step in.
"Ryan," I pleaded, grabbing his hand, "Take a picture with Tony. I knew he was joking and it didn't offend me at all—"
"It offended me..." Ryan insisted, looking up and into my eyes, "I've told him multiple times not to talk about anyone I love—"
"I'm sorry," he insisted, "Our friendship can't end like this though... You're making me sound really gay right now, but Ryan O'Donoghue, I will wait for you no matter how long it takes!"
Ryan couldn't conceal his laugh, and Tony looked over at me to flash a big thumbs up, accompanied by a toothy grin.
"Tony you might be!" Ryan joked, "not that there's anything wrong with being gay, but literally half of your Instagram pictures have me in them—"
"That's a lie," he assured me, "there's only like three out of fifty—"
"Look up his username"
"What's his username?" I asked.
"Tiny_Tt_Tony—"
"Shut up!" Tony said, shoving Ryan from across the table, "here let me just show you"
He pulled out his phone again and showed me his Instagram pictures
"One, two, three, and they're all in the same row. The only reason I have three with him is because I try to maintain a theme. I'm artsy like that."
Tony winked at me and Ryan stood up, "Come on Tony, get your picture and go"
They snapped a few photos together, and had a bro hugging moment.
"I'm so glad I never have to see your face again," Ryan said through tears.
"I hate you too," Tony insisted, his voice cracking mid sentence.
They both let go, said goodbye, and Tony walked away.
"I'm gonna miss that kid," Ryan claimed, sitting down in the chair beside me.
"Maybe you can visit him when you visit me..." I suggested, "because you have to come back sometime Ryan."
"I know," he said, draping his arm around my shoulders as another girl walked to the table and asked for a picture with him.