A/N - Hey everyone! So this is my Jyder story. It's something that I have wanted to get out of my head and start writing for awhile now, and I finally decided to start it. I hope it doesn't suck too much, but I haven't written fanfiction or almost anything in a few years. I have a lot of this story planned already, so hopefully update gaps won't be too long. When my semester ends in May I'll have even more time. This is mostly gonna be Jake's point of view but I'm gonna add in some Ryder when it's necessary to the plot and when I feel like his voice needs to be heard. Anyway, enjoy! Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
Jake POV
Man, I would have rather been anywhere but here. It was a Friday night, and I was wasting my time sitting in the bleachers at some boring ass football game. I had much better things I could have done that night to occupy my time, like playing a video game.. or sleeping.. or.. okay, fine. I didn't have much of a life. But I hate football. I hate most sports, actually. I used to play baseball when I was younger, but I'd never find out if I was still any good at it because most of the jocks in this dumbass town hate me for no reason. It's cool though.. I really had no desire at all to get back out on any field. I preferred the loner lifestyle I became accustomed to over the years.
I was literally only there because my girlfriend was a cheerleader, and she insisted that I go to all of the home games. When I tried to politely decline that offer, insisting turned into begging, and when that didn't work begging turned into arguing. She seemed kind of pissed and upset, and I definitely didn't want to lose my girlfriend over some dumb fight, so I eventually caved. But Kitty seemed like the assertive kind of girl who would yell and whine until she got her way, so I let her know that there was no way I'd let myself turn into one of those whipped boyfriends. She didn't like that, but I had to speak up or else attending football games would soon turn into carrying around pink handbags and spending hundreds of dollars on jewelery.
When I realized that there was no way I'd be able to get out of going to the game, I asked my friend Marley to go with me. She was a sort of cool chick, but she definitely had a thing for me. Kitty didn't like that I spent time with Marley, and especially hated that I got her to tag along with me for the game. I explained to her that I wasn't gonna sit in a crowd of bleachers and walk around the field by myself, but I did understand that she had a point. If I was dating someone and they were always chilling with someone who liked to flirt with them, I'd have a problem with that too. But Marley's kind of flirting was subtle. I could always tell when she was doing it, and it was definitely there; I just had to look under the surface for it. I feel like it was more of an accidental thing on her part. Sure, Marley wanted me, but she was too innocent and nice to actually be a boyfriend stealer. And I did kind of sing a romantic Aerosmith-Britney Spears balled thing with her and let her borrow my leather jacket, so I guess that means I led her on a little.
Marley was totally cute and nice to spend time with, but even if I was single I wouldn't have went for her. I had just joined Glee Club and she was the only person I knew in there. I really didn't have friends at all, and even though I genuinely enjoyed being a loner, it was nice to have a friend. I don't really warm to people easily, so I wasn't gonna start hitting up the other Glee kids to chill right away.
"Can you see Kitty from here?" Marley eventually asked me, I guess trying to start conversation.
"Kind of.. But we can move closer if you want," I replied, not really minding either way.
"Sure, do you want to go for a walk?"
"Yeah, totally." I was definitely up for that; I needed to stretch my legs out. We'd spent almost half the game sitting in the same section of bleachers, and I also needed Kitty to see me so she'd know I was there.
We stood up and made our way down, me in front and Marley following close behind. There wasn't a lot of leg room because it was so packed. Apparently the Titans were up against some big rival, and I guess it was considered fun to watch them get their asses kicked. I mean, that's what I assumed was happening since a lot of people on the red side started boo-ing and yelling. I guess the other team got a touchdown or something. I heard a loud buzzer go off and then some guy announced over the intercom that half time was officially starting. Thank god Marley and I got out of there, because half time probably meant everyone would start getting up and walking around.
It was a few minutes into the break. We had walked around about half of the field by that point, and Marley asked, "Do you want something to eat? I think I'm going to go to the snack stand real quick."
"Nah, I'm good. I think the Cheerios are doing some routine soon, so I'm gonna go watch Kitty."
She nodded and I walked off on my own. I sort of noticed the Cheerios walking onto the field for their dance, but soon got distracted. This guy that I was totally crushing on walked right by me, and my eyes couldn't help but follow him. His name was Ryder Lynn, and he looked even hotter in that sweaty football gear than he did in the school hallways. On the first day of classes he accidentally walked in on my math class, thinking he belonged there. It sounds kind of cheesy, but from the moment I saw him I couldn't look away. He was tall and built, he had amazing hazel eyes, and I just liked the way he carried himself. He seemed pretty cool and chill, and confident but not cocky.
I know I was supposed to be watching my girlfriend cheer, but this was my moment. I had to go talk to Ryder. What were the odds of him walking right by me without any of his idiotic friends around for once? ...It was like destiny or something. I wasn't one of those creepy bisexual guys who liked to get all up in straight dudes' business or anything, but I'd regret it later and hate myself forever if I didn't give it a try.
He was talking to Coach Bieste who didn't seem too happy with him, and he didn't seem too happy at all either. I definitely didn't want to bother him if he wasn't in a good mood to begin with, but when his conversation ended and he began walking back in my direction, I couldn't help myself. He walked right past me, and before I could stop to think about what I was doing, I called out, "Ryder?" walking up to him slightly.
He stopped in his tracks, turning around and stepping closer to me. He scanned me up and down, looking kind of pissed off and very confused. "What, are you gonna mock me now too?" he asked with a sarcastic tone to his voice.
"Huh? Uh, no.. I was just gonna say hi..." There was an awkward pause. Shit, this was not how our first encounter was supposed to go. "Why would I be mocking you? Who's doing that?" I asked.
"Like, the entire team. Did you not see my fumble out there?"
"Dude, I don't even know what that means. I don't know what a fumble is..." I trailed off, almost giving up.
Ryder chuckled a bit, not that he seemed happier or anything. "Basically, I gave away a touchdown for the other team." So that explained why all the fans got pissed right before halftime, I guess. "So if you don't know anything about football, what are you doing here at the game?"
"My girlfriend's a cheerleader."
"No kidding? Who?"
"Kitty Wilde," I said with a sigh.
"Oh sweet, she's pretty cool."
I nodded slowly, looking down. "Yeah, totally...So, what position do you play?"
"Quarterback, but uh, I should probably get back to the locker room. Half time's almost over. But it was totally cool talking to you! Uh, wait, I didn't catch your name."
A smile started to creep up my face, and I saw him grin a little too. "Jake."
"Cool. I'm Ryder," he replied, flashing a full-out smile. "I'll totally see you around dude." He gave me one last quick nod before running off toward the other side of the field.
The conversation started out rough, but I was more than satisfied with how that turned out. I would definitely be seeing him around like he said. I don't know how, but I was determined to make it happen. I came back down to earth and walked toward the snack stand to find Marley.
She was sitting at one of the benches by herself with a basket of fries when we spotted each other. "Hey, did you see Kitty's sky split? That was awesome!" Marley was confused at my sudden change in attitude, but it didn't really matter to me. All I cared about from that moment onward was that I got the chance to talk to Ryder Lynn. I told you it was cheesy.
Before I knew it, Monday rolled around and completely kicked my ass. I missed all of the alarms I had set on my phone, and my mom worked the overnight shift so I ended up sleeping in big time. She got home at around nine in the morning, yelled at me to wake up, and rushed me off to school before I missed too many classes. It didn't really matter because I skipped a lot of them anyway.
I got a detention for being late, which wasn't anything new, but it did mean that I'd have to show up late to Glee Club. It didn't really matter. I loved singing and dancing, but I knew Schuester wouldn't give a shit.
I walked into the choir room hoping nobody would stare at me as I arrived because I was late. I hated having all of the attention on me; it's just not my style. To my surprise, everyone was kind of doing their own thing and rehearsal hadn't even started yet. Blaine was sitting alone with Sam, looking kind of depressed. Tina was sitting at the piano playing some notes while Artie and Unique sang along with her. Marley was sitting quietly by Brittany, Sugar, and Joe who seemed to all be gossiping. I walked toward them and pulled Marley aside.
"Hey, I didn't think you'd be here. You weren't in gym today."
"I slept in and got detention," I answered. "So what's going on? Where's Mr. Schue and why haven't we started yet?"
She pointed in the direction of his office, which was connected to the choir room with a currently shut door separating them. "He's talking to some old looking guy. He was crying or something...I don't really know what's going on."
Before I could continue I noticed Brittany get up and walk over to the piano. She shooed Tina and the others away and sat down on the base of it. "Okay everyone, listen up!" she started.
I went to go sit down with Marley. She wanted to sit near the front row but I preferred the back, and she follow me there instead.
"So, as you should all know, this Friday is my birthday! Lord Tubbington is throwing a not-so-surprising party for me, and it's gonna be huge!" A few people cheered, specifically Sugar. "I want to see all of your wonderful faces there, even you newbies." I looked awkwardly at Marley, assuming that we were the 'newbies' Brittany was referring to. I was pretty sure Unique was new to the club too.
"You're each allowed to bring one person as your plus-one to ensure that this party doesn't get too out of hand. It starts at seven and will last pretty much all night! Any questions?"
Sam shot his hand up eagerly and asked, "Yeah, is there gonna be alcohol?"
"Yes, there will be! Your enthusiasm is appreciated Sam!"
Oh god...I wondered what this group of rejects would be like drunk.
"So is this going to be like the time we all got our drink on in Rachel Berry's basement?" he asked again.
Wait. These guys actually have partied before?
"Yeah, totally! And as you're gonna find out at practice later, Lord Tubbington has also decided to invite all of my friends from the football team and the Cheerios!"
I rolled my eyes. I used to drink a lot back in the day, but I've been trying to stay sober for a few years now, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna break that for a party full of stupid jocks who hate me anyway.
"Wait...I thought you just said you didn't want the party getting out of hand. Why are you inviting like a third of the school?" Tina asked.
"Shut up Tina," Brittany replied totally nonchalantly. "You really should have raised your hand. "Any other questions?"
Tina crossed her arms, and at that moment Mr. Schue walked out of his office with that guy he was talking to. All of a sudden everyone freaked out and huddled around the guy whose name was apparently Finn Hudson. I heard things being said about joining the army, and old Glee competitions. Mr. Schue started to begin explaining our weekly assignment when Brittany interrupted, saying, "Oh and Finn! You totally better be at my party on Friday night too!"
Schuester started talking about ideas for this year's fall musical and handed everyone a list of possible play choices. I don't know why we were talking about this during glee time...it wasn't drama club, and we sort of had a competition to start prepping for. I hope being in Glee Club didn't mean we had to audition for the show, because I was definitely not down for that. I'd consider signing up for stage crew, but that's only if I had no choice.
That Finn dude suggested the musical Grease, and everyone seemed to agree. I don't know who he was, or why he had that kind of authority, but whatever. It wasn't my problem.
I just sat back, tuned everyone's annoying voices out, and daydreamed about possible future scenarios with a certain Ryder Lynn until I was free to go home for the day.
