Chapter 1

Marley sat there, staring into Ryder's eyes. "Ryder, I, I can't." She looked away, shyly, and got up from the couch the two had been sharing.

"Don't go," Ryder said, standing up as well and taking the girl's hand.

"I have to. This isn't fair to Jake. I came over to study, and now that we're done studying I'm going to go. My mom is expecting me home anyways." She grabbed her book bag from the kitchen table and left the house.

There Ryder was again, so close yet so far to finally having Marley in his arms. What he had wanted ever since he had set foot in McKinley High.

Ryder's mom walked into the living room, holding a tray of cookies clearly meant for himself and Marley. She was surprised to see only him sitting on the couch."What happened to Marley?" she asked.

"Nothing. We were just done studying," Ryder explained, biting his lip.

"Well, I'm very happy you were studying. And so will your father. Your grades have been improving, and your dyslexia is getting better." She gave him a little tap on the shoulder and left the room, leaving Ryder all alone again.

He stared down at his Biology assignment, the letters all jumbled up like a spider web. For some reason when Marley was here, his dyslexia went away. But when she was gone, it was back again, worse than ever. During school, it was a constant struggle for him. Marley wasn't always there beside him. And by the looks of it now, she never would be.

Marley drove home frantically, wanting to get away from the situation with Ryder as quickly as possible. The guilt weighed her down like a ton of bricks. She loved Jake. She loved him, and she couldn't do anything to betray his trust. There was something about Ryder though, something she didn't want to admit to herself. She parked her car in the driveway and walked into the modest apartment her and her mom shared.

"Hi Mom." Marley walked over to where her mother was, at the stove as usual, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Marley. How was the studying with Ryder?" Millie asked, turning around to face her daughter.

"It was good." Marley looked down at the ground, not wanting to share any details about how it had ended.

"It's a good thing you're doing. You're really helping him."

Marley couldn't help but smile when her mother said this. "Thanks Mom. I love you."

"Love you too, baby." At that, Millie went back to cooking, trying out new recipes that would satisfy the kids of McKinley.

Jake Pukerman paced around his room. 5:30. An hour and a half until he was set to meet Marley for dinner at Breadstix. "Marley, Marley, Marley." He shook his head, thinking of his girlfriend. She drove him crazy sometimes. He walked over to the nearly empty closet and picked out some khaki pants and a polo. If he was going to do what he was planning, he had to look the part.

He had picked out the ring a while ago. He had just been shopping with his brother Puck, and he saw it. It just kind of shot out at him. There was no possible way that he COULDN'T get it for Marley. After the Valentine's Day fiasco, when it had actually been Ryder picking out all of the gifts for Marley, he had to show her that he knew how to make a girl feel special. Tonight would be the night when he was going to do that.

Marley twirled in front of the mirror in her bedroom in her brand new, long, pink dress. Was she even skinny enough to wear it? She placed her hands around her waist. Don't do this to yourself, Marley. Hopefully Jake will like it, she thought. She turned towards her nightstand and saw the blinking red numbers of the clock. 6:45. She threw some last minute make-up into her purse and was back out into the car again.

After driving through the dark streets of Lima, she pulled up into the small driveway of Jake's house in Lima Heights. Deep breath. Marley went up to the door and knocked, starting to walk away as Jake answered it, pulling her in for a kiss. They stayed there for a while, until Jake pulled away, staring into Marley's eyes. She scolded herself for remembering looking into Ryder's eyes just a few hours ago.

"Ready to go?" he asked, offer ing her his arm.

"Sure," she answered, taking it.

They ended up in the small parking lot in about 15 minutes, and Jake once again offered Marley his arm.

"We have a reservation," he told the hostess once they were inside.

She sat them down at a small booth near the back of the restaurant.

"This is perfect," Marley whispered.

"Wait until we get the unlimited breadsticks and salad," Jake teased. Marley laughed.

The couple sat and waited for some sort of waiter to come up, and Jake became tired of waiting. He walked over to Marley's seat, kneeled down on one knee, and took out the small ring box he had been holding in his pocket.

Marley clearly shocked, tried to get Jake to stop. "Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, "Marley, this isn't a proposal." Marley, clearly assuming that it was a proposal, blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh," she said.

"It's a promise ring. A promise I'll be faithful to you forever. You make me a different person. Since I've met you, I've kind of dropped the bad boy persona. No more anger, no more 'too-cool-for-school.' I love you Marley." Jake looked up at her, staring into her ocean blue eyes that make him melt every time.

"Jake, I don't know what to say." Marley held back tears. "I love you too." Jake slipped the ring onto Marley's bony finger and planted a passionate kiss on her lips.

Ryder sat in his room, tossing his stuffed soccer ball towards the ceiling again and again. Wait, wasn't Jake supposed to meet Marley tonight? And give her that ring? Even though Ryder had tried to talk him out of it. He walked over to his desk, picked up his cell phone, and dialed his friend's familiar number.

"Hello?" Jake answered.

"Hey, it's Ryder."

"Hey Ryder. What's up? it's kind of late." Ryder looked over at his alarm clock. Midnight.

"Sorry, I was just checking in to see how your date with Marley went. You know, with the ring and everything."

"It went really well. She's actually here right now." Ryder heard Jake click the speaker button.

"Hi Ryder!" A familiar voice cooed. Marley was there? Right now? His stomach dropped.

"I've got to go guys. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Ryder hung up the phone, placed it back on his desk, and forcefully kicked the bedpost. It was settled. He would do anything he could to get Marley to love him.