Chapter 14: 9 - People happened

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"What are you doing here?"

"Picking you up for school, obviously," Ridge tells me, opening the passenger side door for me, while sitting in the car.

In the morning, while I was getting ready for school, I got a text from him saying to meet him outside my house once I'm ready. To say that I was confused would be an understatement because we did not talk about this last night. And then I realised - the dare.

"I have my own car, you know. And I passed all the driving tests so I could've come to school on my own. You didn't have to pick me up." I roll my eyes at him, throwing my bag in the backseat, along with his.

"But then I wouldn't be the perfect boyfriend, right?" He grins at me cheekily, starting the car.

I roll my eyes at him yet again. Hope my eyes are still functional after a few months of spending time with him. "Shut up and drive."

"Yes ma'am." He salutes and starts driving. I switch on the music system, connecting my phone, without asking him before doing so. I go through my playlist before clicking on the song I've been listening on repeat for a while.

Waterbed by Hearts and Colors

The song starts crooning through the speakers. I turn up the volume and start singing along with the singer. Ridge turns to me astonishingly before asking, "You know about them?"

Surprised, I turn up the volume down before grinning. "Yep, my favourite. You like em too?"

"Definitely. This song is one of my favourites." He grins, singing along with me. Ridge is the only person I know who knows about them. And for some reason, it makes me very happy to know that we have similar tastes in music.

Looks like I found my soulmate!

And that's how we reach the school - singing all of our favourite songs at the top of our lungs.

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Ridge and I walk inside the school together, ignoring the stares, comments and glares we are receiving from everyone around us. People really need to get a damn life. Like seriously, don't you have a test to study for? Or homework to do? I see a group of girls glaring at me, whispering something amongst themselves.

Shaking my head, I take hold of Ridge's wrist, urging him to move fast, pulling him with me. "Walk fast, or I'll kill someone right here."

"Woah, woah woah. Slowdown sweetheart, this is not a marathon. Besides, a pretty face like yours would not look good in a prison cell, so keep your killing urges to yourself," He mutters, weaving his fingers with mine, pulling me towards the staircase where all of our friends usually are.

"Ugh, I just hate people so much. They are so annoying. Like, mind your own fucking business cunts," I hiss, glaring at everyone around us. Everyone gets the memo that I'm not in a good mood right now so they immediately look away and get back to their own tasks.

"Hey guys." Trish's excited voice greets us when we reach them. Everyone except Neil and Ashton is present here.

"Hey." I mutter grumpily, giving everyone a small smile. I try to, at least.

"What happened to her? Did you do something, Ridge?" Erica asks him, completely ignoring me and my sulky self.

"People happened," he answers, before adding, "And I didn't do anything Erica."

Everyone laughs at Ridge while Trish and Erica come to my side, both of them putting their arm around my shoulder. "Let's get to class. We have the same one."

"Hey. Don't leave without me, I'm in that class too," Bruce whines, getting in step with us. Ridge just shakes his head, a small smile gracing his lips.

"I'll see you guys later. I have History," he grumbles and then he walks away, whistling to himself.

"So, where are Ashton and Neil? Didn't come to school today?" I ask them.

"They both are in the music room, practicing for a song. They have a competition coming up. It happens every year actually. It's called, "Show us what you got". They have been winning the singing competition for 5 consecutive years, so both of them usually start practicing around this time every year even though the competition is in February," Erica answers as we continue our walk to our class.

"Oh." I nod my head. I didn't know that they were into music. Guess you learn something new about everyone everyday.

"So, do you guys participate in the competition too?" I ask, looking at them.

Bruce scratches the back of his neck, his cheeks turning the deepest shade of red. "Uh, actually yes. The painting competition."

"You should see his paintings Lydia. They are so beautiful and marvellous and amazing and just wow," Trish exclaims, grinning like a loon. And then they say that they don't like each other.

"I'm not that good," he mutters, rolling his eyes, sliding his hands in his jeans pocket. "You're just exaggerating."

"Shut up. How many competitions have you lost till date?" Erica asks him, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Uh, none."

"Exactly. So shut the fuck up and accept the fact that you're good at something," she affirms. "Now let's go."

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"So Lydia, do you know about Ridge's competition tonight?" Ashton asks, popping a fry in his mouth.

Currently, all of us are in the cafeteria as it is the lunch period. I stab a piece of potato with my fork before putting it in my mouth, savoring the taste. One thing's for sure, the food here is very, very tasty.

"What competition?" I ask, confused.

"It's a street race, that happens every month downtown. I race, I win and get the money. Simple." Ridge answers, lifting his shoulder up in a slight shrug, twirling his fork around his bowl of potatoes.

My eyes light up in excitement. I've always loved these things. I used to go to these events with my friends even before I shifted here. The atmosphere, the adrenaline rush and the boys were always a beautiful sight to behold. Not the boys now, but the rest is pretty much better and amazing too. "So, I'm joining you, right?"

He chuckles at my excitement. "If you want to. I mean, the place is not exactly safe, especially at night so...."

"Oh shush, I'm coming. Are you guys coming too?" I turn in my seat, looking at them expectantly.

Everyone nods their head in agreement.

"Obviously," Bruce responds. "We go there every time to support him." He pats Ridge's back, giving him a smile.

"So, at what time are we leaving then?" I ask, before adding, "Because you know, I gotta make plans for sneaking out and all. Because if my dad finds out, he'll accompany us too. He's more into these races than I am. And trust me, that's not an option."

"Then bring your dad too." Ashton pipes in, drumming his fingers against the table, smirking.

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm kidding," he mutters, rolling his eyes at my stupidity.

"We leave at 10. I'll pick you up," Ridge interrupts, looking at me. "Just meet me at the end of the road so that it's easier for you to get out of your house."

"Oh, this is gonna be fun." I grin, nodding.

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"Dad, you look a little tired. Why don't you go get some sleep? It's getting late." I suggest, hoping that my plan works. Also, dad looks really tired and exhausted, so sleeping early is probably a good option right now. I'm a good daughter, okay?!

"I just have to finish this draft, then I'm done," he tells me, not taking his eyes off his work papers. He lifts his hand up ro rub  his eyes as he flips through the pages. "I've got an important meeting tomorrow so I need to get this done today."

"Look at you dad, you're over working yourself. You have bags under your eyes. You look sleep deprived, so you need some rest. Please just go. You can finish it in the morning," I insist, walking towards him.

He looks at me, then back at his work, then back at me. "Okay. Okay. I'm going."

"Good. I think I'll have an early night too," I grin, squealing internally.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

"Okay. I'll just put Whis to sleep. Good night dad," I whisper, leaving his study.

I move down the stairs, looking for Whis to see him sleeping in front of the fireplace. Smiling, I bend down in front of him, running my fingers through his fur. "Good night buddy."

I run upstairs to check on my dad. I stand right in front of his bedroom door to find him in his bed, not asleep per se but about to fall asleep. Grinning, I get inside my room and wait for him to fall asleep. My dad's a heavy sleeper so it's going to be an easy task sneaking out. To pass time, I scroll through my social media, looking at everyone else's posts.

What can I say, I got nothing else to do!

After almost half an hour of dying of boredom, I check the time, 9:07. Great, I have an hour. I decide to take a quick shower. After I'm done, I wrap a towel around myself and go to my closet to pick an outfit for the night. I decide to wear a black crop top underneath a black leather jacket paired with black ripped jeans. I complete the look with a pair of black boots and blow dry my hair, making sure I make least possible noise. I apply some minimal make up and then grin when I look at myself in the mirror.

Hot.

I pick up my phone to check the time.

9:52 p.m.

Wow. Time flies by.

My phone pings, indicating a text. It's from Ridge.

Ridge

I'll meet you there in 5 ;)

Me

Cool. I'm leaving.

For emergency purposes, I put a pocket knife and some money in the back pocket of my jeans. You never know. When I know I'm done, slowly and quietly, I walk out of my room, shutting the door behind me, making as less noise as possible. I walk downstairs, and take a deep breath when I reach down. I walk quickly, taking the spare house keys and hurriedly get out of the house. When I'm done, I grin. "Wooh!"

Walking down the road, I observe my surroundings. It's quiet. Really really quiet. Ive always liked silence. Smiling like a lunatic, because I'm very excited, I put my hands in the pocket of my jacket and walk a little faster. I notice the silhouette of a bike and a guy, standing beside it, a little far away. Must be Ridge. When I reach there, I look at him. He hasn't seen me yet. He's wearing a black shirt underneath a black leather jacket with black jeans.

We match. Yet again.

I grin up at him. "Hey handsome."

"Hey beautiful." The corner of his lips lift in a smile, as he notices my presence. "You ready for the ride?"

"I am. Hope you won't disappoint me." I wink in a suggestive manner, stepping forward leaving very little space between us. "I have very high expectations from you."

He smirks. "Well, we aim to please Ms. Herrington, so why don't you jump on the bike so we can talk about the ride you were talking about while riding this baby."

My eyes automatically turn towards his bike. It's the latest model of Suzuki Hayabusa, sleek black and such a fucking eye candy. "Holy shit!"

"You sound really impressed."

"This the 2019 model, right?" I ask, my eyes stuck on the beauty. I've always wanted one of these but unfortunately, my dad's not that flexible since I'm not eighteen yet. "It's so beautiful."

"You sure are full of surprises Lydia Herrington," He comments, his eyes holding a different emotion and he has a genuine smile on his face.

"Well, you wanna know more? Stick with me for a while." I shrug my shoulders, not really paying attention to him and his words, because I'm busy admiring this black beauty.

"Oh, I plan to. Don't you worry."

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Street racing or street fighting?