I was not expecting for Ryder to attempt to become closer to me, to stand with his words when he said that we'd always be best friends.
I knew it was just me, and if I wanted to complete the list, I'd have to do it myself.
I should've know better.
"Oh my fucking God, Alice you sleep like a damned dragon," I heard Ryder's groans of protest as he continued to shake me.
I grunted lowly, letting my arm fly and smack Ryder in his face- at least I hope it was his face, my eyes weren't open.
He cried out in shock, obviously not expecting an arm to come flying at him. "Alice I swear to God if you don't get up in 30 seconds I'm dumping a bucket of cold water on you!"
"You don't even know where the- how'd you get into the house?" I changed mid-sentence, coming to the understanding that Ryder Thompson was in my bedroom- and under the comforter I was wearing an old t-shirt and panties.
"Never mind how I got into the house! Just know that if you don't get up and get to school in 15 minutes you're missing the start of third period," he said pointedly, starting to poke me in the side.
Now that got me up.
I twisted in my wrinkled, white sheets so I faced where I was being poked and opened my eyes. It was a sight for sore eyes, Ryder was kneeling on my floor, elbows slumped on my bed, chin resting on his arms with his beautiful brown curls tumbling onto the bed.
I'd kill for hair like that.
"What do you mean miss third period Ryder?" It was only morning, and still, Ryder found the simplest ways to test my limits.
"I mean, it's ten, and we need to get to school, c'mon," he said this so calmly, without worries I would have never of thought he was talking about how we were three hours late to school.
I narrowed my eyes at him, "So not only are you making me late, you do realize you're making my sister late as well," I swung my light brown legs from the bed, standing and passing Ryder to walk into the bathroom.
I wanted to cry, Ryder smelled so good.
"Actually," he started, "I dropped her off on time, but we both decided it was time you slept in a while," he waltzed into the bathroom after me, taking some time to fix his curls that were in disarray.
I was nervous now, not only was he in my house and dropped off my sister to school on time, did that mean he also saw the mess of my dad? "And my dad?"
I had a strict routine. I got up at 6, make a quick breakfast for my dad and gave him his pills before he dragged himself to work, mind numb to emotions, simply working his life away. We all managed with that schedule, it didn't take much for me to ensure things wouldn't go wrong.
His eyes softened as he looked at me in the mirror, "He seems worse than I remember."
Of course Ryder knew about my dad, my father that drank to drown his sorrows, the one who didn't much interact with anyone, the one that tried to bond with his girls, but failed.
"I think since Angelica looks so much like Mom, it's harder for him," I said, pulling out my toothbrush and wetting it.
Angelica was a splitting image of our mother, deep auburn hair, hazel eyes, and a cute heart-shaped face. They were both beauties.
He remained silent, lifting his hand to weave his fingers through my hair, "It'll get better one day."
I broke our eye contact to focus on brushing my teeth, vaguely aware of Ryder turning his back to lean against the counter, stare at the towels that were hanging on the wall. "Alice, it's not like I enjoy the view and all," he gestured to my t-shirt and underwear. "But I don't think it's appropriate, you being my tutor and all," he trailed off.
I spun on my foot, speed-walking to my bedroom, cheeks bright tomato red. I cannot believe I forgot that. It just slipped my mind. It had to slip my mind when I was with Ryder of course. I pulled on a pair of sweats and then headed back to the bathroom to finish up.
"I hate you," I said as I passed him in the hallway.
"No you don't, you looove me," he shot back in a sing-song voice, walking into my room without a care.
I grumbled at his figure, shutting the door to the bathroom, still annoyed as I peed.
***
We got to school halfway through third, and I was even more annoyed. I shot daggers at Ryder as he cheerily skipped into the campus, winking at our campus supervisor, Eileen.
"Alice, you should know better," she warned, wagging a finger in my face.
I shrunk back, "I know," I agreed, my stomach twisting in nervousness. I hated being late, I hated walking into class and all eyes were suddenly on me.
"See you in fourth," he winked, turning his face to me briefly, before entering his class that was coincidentally right by the parking lot.
I sighed, speed-walking across the campus to my own class, APUSH, holding my various textbooks tight against my chest.
Balancing the books in one arm, I twisted the door open, flushing as I felt the eyes fall on me, my rushed appearance.
The teacher looked wholly surprised, "This is the first time you've been late to my class and you come here ten minutes before the bell rings," he shook his head, "who would've thought?"
I muttered a quick apology to him, shuffling through the rows to my usual spot, that now, I noticed, was right next to Eros.
He was feverishly taking notes, barely paying attention to the group of girls that were shamelessly staring at him, the unattainable God of the school, dark, brooding, and borderline dangerous.
We lived in a small town- most of our parents had grown up together, much like my parents and Ryder's, but, Eros was the exception. His parents weren't from here- his family wasn't from here, and all we really knew about Eros was that he transferred here a year ago and lived with his grandmother.
It was as simple as him transferring into our school sophomore year that caused an uproar in female hormones, and as it became evident Eros didn't really talk to anyone besides Ryder, he became our unattainable God.
I thought it was ridiculous that there were so many labels in the school, but that's just me.
The bell rang sooner than expected, and then I realized sheepishly, I walked into class 40 minutes late, of course I'd think the class wasn't long.
As I left the classroom, I was bombarded by Claire, her curls tied neatly in a bun atop her head, and a tall redhead standing next to her, just as bubbly as Claire was. Claire bounced on her toes, holding a yellow binder in one hand, a matching yellow water bottle in the other.
"Thank you for the notes!" Claire squealed, hugging me tightly, pressing the textbooks I held in my arms harshly against my chest. "You really saved me there, and guess what? I got a 98%, best score I've ever gotten on a history test," she beamed at me, "you really are the best!"
I nodded to Claire, flustered, and adamant on getting to my class on time. "It really wasn't a bother Claire, I'm glad you got a good score!"
The redhead addressed me, albeit more calm than Claire, "I suppose you really are the best tutor the school has," she stuck out her hand as we walked down the hallway, Claire and the girl slowed their strides to match with my normal ones that were obviously shorter due to my obviously shorter legs. "I'm Luna Cole, one day I may need your services."
I smiled at her, extending my hand to grasp hers, "Alice Black. My services are always available to those who need help."
"So," I could've recognized Claire's gossip face anywhere, and if we were being completely honest, I adored it. Claire was an adorable person. "How'd the session go with Ryder?" She giggled.
"Uh," I scratched my head, recalling the almost scarring night, the little work we managed to get done, "it went as you'd think it'd go. Ryder got distracted a lot but we made some breakthroughs."
"Do you think you could introduce me to him?" In comparison to Claire's flamboyant personality, she said this hushed, almost embarrassed.
I neared the doorway of my classroom and turned back to them to smile briefly, "Of course I will," and watched them retreat to their own class.
I wouldn't go so far to call Claire my friend, she came to me when she needed things, and that didn't really bother me, for the most part, I was fine with people needing things from me, I had to ability to, so why wouldn't I?
My gaze landed on the two boys that sat in the corner, one doing homework, and one staring at me with a eyebrow raised.
"Making friends Alice? I thought I was all you needed?" Ryder called across the room, as I walked down the row I sat at.
"That's Claire," I said back, "you should, what do the kids say these days? Slide into the DMs," I winked at him, and he laughed, and I swear, in that moment, I believed when he said we'd always be best friends.
***
"Ice cream?" Ryder asked me when I got to his car after school, a hand resting on the steering wheel casually as I swung my heavy book bag into the car and clumsily pulled myself into the big truck.
"Sure," I answered, gaze focusing in the parking lot, curiously watching Claire and Luna walk to their cars, laughing and smiling.
For a moment, I wondered what that was like, having a friend, having a friend to laugh like that with.
"That's Claire," I pointed out, stretching my hand across the dashboard.
His gaze followed my finger, focusing on the tall brunette I pointed out, squinting slightly. "She's cute," he commented cheekily, "she wanted me to do what? Slide into her dms?" He laughed.
"Mhm," I responded, feeling the car rumble to life under my body as Ryder began to pull out of the parking space. "What ice cream place are we going to?" I hummed, watching in the rear view mirror as the school became smaller, and unexpectedly, the ocean became larger and larger.
"Sandy's," he answered, sneaking a glance at me, "do you remember Alice? Maria used to take us all the time when we were younger."
Yes, I did remember, I remembered the days where we were nothing more than chubby kids running on chubby legs, eating ice cream that melted while we ran across the sandy beach.
The small building came into the view, small, quaint, and completely undiscoverable. This wasn't a typical high school hangout, and I would've never expected for one of our most popular boys to hangout here- where I didn't think anyone really came.
I studied at home, but a lot of my tutoring sessions were hosted in coffee shops found in downtown, cool and chic and hip- I hadn't been back to this ice cream parlor since I was a kid.
"I didn't know this place was still open," I said, climbing out of the truck after he parked in the empty parking lot, minus the two cars parked right in front.
"Definitely still open Alice, though, most of the residents that come here are definitely senior citizens though and come earlier in the morning," he replied, walking up the rubbled path holding open the glass door for me.
I nodded my head in thanks while walking in, my eyes scanning the glass building, the glass building that provided incredible views of the beach, and faintly smelled of warm waffles. "Well ain't this quaint?" I murmured to myself, walking on the black-and-white tiled floors up to the large ice cream counter that contained more ice cream that I thought I'd ever see in my entire life.
"Ryder!" I turned my head to see Aria, the owner of the parlor come bustling out of the door from the back, "I hope you're not here to distract Eros, he's actually busy today."
He came up to stand behind me, chuckling lightly, "I swear Aria, I didn't know he was working today, Alice and I just came for an after school snack," he pushed me forward, so I was practically falling over the ice cream freezer.
Her eyes fell on me, her smile widening, "Well I'll be damed. Alice Black, I haven't seen you since you were a chubby little five year old, what happened to that girl?" She brushed some of the graying hair out of her face, leading over the counter.
"I grew up Aria," I laughed awkwardly, tugging on my shirt, unsure what to do. "Eros works here?" I asked during the pause in conversation, waving a light hand to the rest of the parlor.
She nodded, and Ryder peered over the ice cream counter, finger trailing over the glass. "Ryder pleaded that I hire him when Eros first moved here, and it's Ryder that distracts Eros from work almost every single day."
At the mention of his name, I suppose it was inevitable Eros would come through the door in the back. I didn't expect however, to see him the way he was.
He kicked open the door, his back turned to us momentarily, the label of the store 'Sandy's' written on his shirt in a fancy cursive font, dirty and rugged with wear. He spun, holding a white bucket in his hands, the muscles in his arms flexed, hair ragged and expression confused. "Did I hear my name?" He asked, his eyes taking into account who was there.
As his vision fell on me, his lips settled into a firm line.
"Eros, that bucket stays in the back! And what's it filled with?" Aria demanded, rushing over to him, taking the bucket from his hands, "Two years working here and you'd think you knew how this place runs," Aria muttered, pushing the door open, "help them won't you?" She mentioned as she disappeared.
My eyes fell back on him, as he messily wiped his hands on a cloth, "I know Ryder's order by heart, what's yours Alice?"
I don't know why, but as he directed his words to me, my name on his lips, my cheeks burned. "I-I'll have one scoop of chocolate chip," I stuttered.
Eros opened the freezer, arm dipping inside as I spoke, scooping what I supposed was Ryder's order, two scoops of Rocky Road.
"Funny," Ryder hummed as he reached over the counter for the ice cream Eros was offering him, "you and Eros get the same thing."
I reached over the counter, retrieving the cone from his hands, our fingers brushing slightly. "I'm sure we have much more in common than ice cream and grades," I replied, following Ryder to the cash register.
"I highly doubt that," Eros replied, rolling his eyes, though I swear there was a twinkle in his eyes.
And despite this being the second time I saw Eros, right from the start I understood he'd consume my entire being.
***
hi friends! it's i, iceteashti, aka, ashti, or ash-tea as my wattpad name displays. i hope you enjoyed dis chapter, it's one of the more pure chapters, and i suppose that's why i enjoyed writing it so much! pls vote & comment, tell me who your favorite author is :)
xx
all my love