Marley sighed and looked down at her chipping nail polish. Sure, he was talented, popular, and she had to admit, really cute. But he was her best friend. And you weren't supposed to feel like this with your best friend, right? Then why couldn't she stop staring at Ryder?
This wasn't the first time she had gotten butterflies when he smiled at her. And she wasn't the only girl in school to have a crush on him. Have you seen him? He was GORGEOUS! But Marley never used to get like this around him. They'd been friends for years now, so why was she starting to feel this way now? It had all started last week.
They were walking home after school like they did every day. It had been an exciting day for both Ryder and Marley. They had scored the coveted lead roles in Grease. Anyways, they were laughing at cheesy inside jokes when Ryder said something that made Marley's heart swell. "So um Marls," He started. He never was good with words. "Congrats on um, getting the part. And for the record, I can't wait to kiss you."
So now here she was, acting like a total idiot around him.
"Okay guys, that's enough for today!" Artie called from the middle of the auditorium. They had been rehearsing for hours since school ended, and Marley couldn't wait to get home.
"Hey Marls. You ready to go?" Ryder asked her. She nodded silently. Walking home with him every day was becoming harder than she expected. He was fine, of course, since he didn't know, but Marley just felt awkward.
When they finally got to her house, he turned to her and smiled.
"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked, almost hopefully.
She nodded, still unable to say anything. Ryder noticed this and said, "Are you okay? You've been kind of quiet."
"I'm fine," She choked out. But he was still unsure. When he opened his arms to hug her goodbye, she just pushed right past him and into her house.
Well that was weird Ryder thought as he stood there, right where she had left him, outside her house.