Chapter 3

Marley went into the boys bathroom and swung the door open. It was similar to when Ryder saved her life on the night of the Grease Performance. That was a time meant to be.

Marley kicked open the door of cubicle and saw Ryder in there. He had a knife in his hand and was slashing his skin in acts of self-harm. God, Marley didn't know one date could have such an effect?

"RYDER! STOP IT!" Marley pleaded, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?" Ryder dropped the knife. He let it clatter on the floor, sending drips of his blood on the toilet bowl. Then, he began to cry. "IT'S YOUR FAULT!" he screamed, "I AM GOING TO END UP NOWHERE IN LIFE."

Marley laughed. "And this is going to make everything better, is it?" said Marley, "Cutting yourself?" Ryder got out of the cubicle and said "Oh, cut the health crap, I've seen Evan Rachel Wood in Thirteen."

He then sat by a wall and sunk his head on the tiles. "Fine," said Marley, "But just listen to me, Ryder. Jake means nothing to me now, in fact he actually ended what we have or had. Now, I just wanna be with be you, because you're the amazing Ryder Lynn.

Ryder was touched. He even managed a smile. Marley grabbed Ryder's hand and put it on her face. Then, she moved in. Closer and closer they got. Inches away. Closing their eyes. Leaning their necks. Then, their two lips met and they kissed each other.

The kiss was passionate, unhurried, true. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Marley wondered if her heart was so happy that he could take it out and treasure it forever. After what seemed like forever, she pulled back slightly, resting her forehead against his shoulder. It was true love.

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It was hard to believe that two months had passed since Ryder and Marley had shared that kiss. Everything seemed brighter, happier. Jake had moved on and was now in a relationship with Kitty. Because of this, Kitty was a lot nicer to Marley and didn't pick her out on everything.

Ryder and Marley had decided to help each other. Ryder would always take Marley to Breadstix on a Friday night and order a large meal for both of them. Because Ryder had bought it, Marley would dig into her meal. Soon, she looked healthy and had gotten rid of her eating disorder.'

Marley had been helping Ryder with his dyslexia as well. Every day on the weekend, Ryder would come to Marley's house and would practice words and letters. Soon, his grades were improving. His D's became C's. His C's became C plus.' He soon got a B, a B plus, then before you knew it, Ryder had achieved an A minus in English, something he never thought was possible.

Every day was joyous for the two. "Hey, Marley," said Ryder. He came up to her locker at Lunch. Marley shut the locker on him and gave him an angry look. Then, she stormed away.

"Marley, what's wrong?" said Ryder. He ran after her and stopped her frozen. "Did I do something?" Then, Marley burst into tears. Then, she began to cry into Ryder's chest. Ryder pulled her in a hug and said, "Shh, shhh, shhhh, what's the matter?"

Marley brought her head up and said two haunting words. "…I'm pregnant." Ryder was shocked. His jaw dropped. His eyes widened. This was happening? She was pregnant?

"And am…I?" said Ryder. "Yes," said Marley, "Who else?" She began crying again. Ryder hugged her and comforted her. Her tears soaked his shoulders as Ryder's grasp kept her warm. "C'mon," said Ryder, "Let's skip school." They made themselves out.