That boy on the other side of the room kept on looking at her – she knew he was looking at her, because every time she looked back up at him, the boy would duck his head with a smile, pretending like he hadn't been looking at all. But he had been – Marley could tell… and she wasn't used to guys looking at her like that.
She looked up at the boy again and he was staring at her, still. He didn't look away this time – his smile just got brighter. And his smile was really cute.
He was really cute in general actually.
Marley smiled back at him and looked back down at her notebook, where she should have been taking notes but instead was drawing love hearts with Ryder + Marley written in the middle.
The boy who kept on looking at her (who was still looking at her, Marley could just see) was really making her nervous, and Marley hated to think about it but she was sure that that boy had a crush on her.
There was no way she could confront him about it or even talk to the really, really cute boy because of Ryder – no one was going to be better for her than Ryder.
Her teacher was still droning on about something, and Marley wasn't bothering to pay attention. Neither was anyone else – and that brown-eyed boy wasn't either obviously.
It was only Tuesday morning – the first period of the day – and Marley knew that she would be seeing that cute boy around school a lot more.
The really weird thing was, though, that she had never seen him around here before. Why was she only just noticing him now? Was he actually a new student? Or was it because he was paying attention to her now that she noticed him?
A bell rang through the room and everyone stood up at the same time, hurrying to get out of the room. Marley smiled to herself and gathered up her things, tracing her fingers over the little R+M she'd written on the top of her pencil case.
Just as she was about to pick up her reading book, a hand snatched it out from under her. Marley looked up and there stood the boy from the other side of the classroom. He was observing the cover with a small smile on his face. "Looks like… a good book." He said, flipping it over and reading the blurb.
Marley smiled at him and slid out of her seat, standing against the desk, right in front of the boy. "It's not just a book about two people floating in space – trust me."
"Hm." The boy shrugged and handed the book back to Marley, smiling right at her.
Marley felt herself grow nervous… but why was she nervous? There was no need to be nervous around someone who just obviously wanted to talk to her, right? He was just someone who just wanted to have a good conversation! There was no point in getting nervous!
Marley smiled back at him and quickly ran out of the classroom, using the door that went into the B corridor of the school, instead of going through the A corridor which lead her right to the classroom she had to go to next.
That boy was making her stomach flip inside of her. Why? Marley asked herself. Why was he making me nervous? I mean, he's cute and everything but… I couldn't have a crush on him while I've got this thing going on with Ryder. We're going somewhere… at least I think we're going somewhere. Or maybe we're not – maybe I'm in love with him and he's not in love with me.
She crashed into a window ahead of her. She wasn't looking where she was going, and she crashed into the fogged window.
Marley let out an agitated groan and bent down, collecting her books again and scooping them up into her arms.
Things were getting too complicated in her life. She needed to figure out where she stood with Ryder because last night – holding hands as they watched the sun go down – obviously meant something to the two of them. It wasn't just a friendly thing. Marley hoped at least.
She looked both ways down the corridor before walking with her head down. Marley Rose was too confused, and she had no idea what to do about Ryder any more. Especially with that new boy in her life, who she knew she would be seeing a lot more of. And she didn't even catch his name.
{x}
Tuesday morning hadn't been too bad – he's snuck out of the house as normal, he walked to school as normal and had stayed on the school grounds for a bit and hung around the same area as the teacher doing the morning duty.
The bullies had yelled things at him but they hadn't gone anywhere near him and hadn't touched him at all. Ryder felt really lucky not to be beaten up for one morning.
He'd been shoved a little into the lockers, but besides that… he was fine. He still had a lot of bruises from yesterday but he hadn't any new cuts. The only thing wrong was the pain he felt in his lower back from the night before, when his Dad had shoved him into the dining room table.
It was after he and Marley had watched the sun go down together – holding hands and sitting so close together it made his heart speed up to think about. After he'd come home from the cliff, he'd gone home expecting his parents to be passed out on the couches like they always were… but they weren't.
They were waiting in the kitchen for him to get home (and, of course, they were drinking and swaying as they stood there). He remembered the moment he had seen them both standing there – Ryder remembered feeling his blood run cold.
So that hadn't been a good thing that had happened yesterday, but at least Ryder and Marley were moving along slowly… at least, he thought they were. They were holding hands last night, after all – that had to have meant that she liked him back. Ryder just hoped that that was the holding hands thing had meant, and not just some stupid friendly gesture between the two of them.
As Ryder stood by the door of his class, he watched a couple skip down the hallway, hand in hand. They were both smiling at each other as they walked, barely paying attention to where they were going.
They're holding hands, Ryder thought, this obviously means that holding hands is a romantic thing, and by me and Marley holding hands… it meant she likes me back, right?
Ryder laughed at himself and leaned backwards, slamming his head against the wall behind him. He was being stupid. Why would Marley like him as more than a friend? He meant nothing to anyone, why would he mean something to Marley? The most beautiful girl in the world would never think of him as important.
The more he thought about his low level of importance, the more he felt like just giving up. Not just on Marley, but on life. The idea of killing himself had always been in the back of his mind. He knew if he got the chance, though, he wouldn't be able to do it – he wouldn't want to leave Marley behind.
However important he wasn't, he couldn't give up on life. Not now anyway.
He and Marley had to get together one day – and that one day would come soon enough. Hopefully.
{x}
The day had passed in a blur, and the only part that she really did remember was seeing that boy again. He had passed her table at lunch, he had two rows behind her in Maths and he had smiled at her as she walked out of the building in the afternoon. And she still didn't know his name.
Marley didn't know what to do about him. He was cute and all, and seemed really sweet but she was still crazy for Ryder.
You can't let a stranger make your feelings for Ryder drift away – you really like him, Marley. You're an idiot for not making your move on Ryder, too, but let's not forget that you really like Ryder. He's your man, not some stupid stranger who you barely know.
Marley nodded to herself, agreeing to her own thoughts.
She was kicking a rock along the footpath with a smile on her face – she couldn't wait to go and visit Ryder that afternoon, after she had gotten home. Today she had decided to take her dog, Truman, who Ryder had only seen once – the day that they met each other.
As Marley turned the corner to her house, she felt her smile grow as the afternoon sun shone on her face. She hoped that Ryder was walking up to the cliff-face now, looking at the sun like she was and just thinking of her.
The sun was their thing – it was like a symbol for their relationship kind of. Not exactly a symbol but it was the thing that brought them together.
Marley ran up the path to her house and saw her dog sitting behind the fence, panting and watching happily as Marley ran up to him. She reached her hand through the fence to pat Truman's head. "Hello baby!" Marley whispered, getting onto the dog's level. Truman began to lick her face and he barked, panting again at Marley. "Do you want to go for walkies?"
The dog stood on his hind legs and rested its paws against the middle bar on the fence. Truman barked again and his tail wagged frantically.
"Okay, I'll go get the lead." Marley pushed her hand through the bars and pet her dog's head softly before darting off into the house, anxious to see Ryder again.
{x}
Marley was late – at least, he thought she was late. She was taking longer to get there than usual. He was just excited to see her again because just the sight of her made him so happy. She was so beautiful and so sweet and Ryder was just crazy for her – she was perfect in every way possible and it was impossible to not thing she was amazing.
Ryder heard a dog barking in the distance and he turned around to face where the noise was coming from, praying that it wasn't another person who had found his and Marley's secret spot – this was their spot and no one was going to take it from them.
As the dog emerged from the trees with a red leash behind it, Ryder recognised the dog immediately. It was Marley's dog! The one who she had brought the first time they had met! Marley smiled as the dog ran in a circle and tried to bite at its leash, obviously wanting to run free.
Marley appeared from the trees a couple of seconds later, tugging on the leash wrapped around her hand. Ryder felt his heart speed up at the sight of her face. Her smile was just beautiful and so were her eyes… Ryder let out a shaky breath and ran his hand through his greasy hair.
"Hey Ryder!" Marley shouted, waving up at him and pulling the dog along. He heard her say, "Come on Truman, Ryder wants to meet you again."
Ryder smiled at Marley and her dog and felt his heart flutter at her – she was so beautiful and so sweet… God, why can't I just have you?
Marley fell down next to Ryder and pulled her dog in close to her, kissing it's furry head. Ryder looked right into her eyes and felt his smile grow – and it felt so weird to have his smile so big because smiling was something he never did.
"Ryder, this is my dog, Truman," Marley looked down at Truman and grinned. "Truman, this is my best friend, Ryder." Marley looked up at Ryder and smiled. Ryder could see the light blush covering her cheeks.
Truman barked, and Ryder flinched back slightly before laughing at the happy dog. "Does the bark mean he likes me?"
Marley smiled at him, "Yeah – it means he loves you, Ryder."
Just like I love you, Marley Rose, Ryder thought, sheepishly reaching his hand out to touch the dog's head before flinching away. He couldn't touch the dog's head because he was kind of afraid of the bulldog – even though Marley trusted it enough, he just couldn't seem to.
"Oh, well, I love the dog, too." Ryder said, staring right into the dog's little brown eyes.
"Truman's the greatest, aren't you baby?" Marley said to dog, rubbing it's head roughly and pressing a kiss to the side of the dog's face, just below his ear. Truman barked again and Ryder flinched backwards, afraid of the dog's loudness.
"Do you want to go play, Truman? Then you can come back to me when it's time to go, okay?" Marley pressed another kiss to the dog's head and took his lead off of it, letting the dog run free, back into the bushes.
"Your dog is cute." Ryder shrugged at Marley with a small smile.
"Yeah, he is really adorable." Marley looked back at her dog, who was sniffing in the bushes.
Ryder gave Marley a soft smile and looked towards the sun, which was still bright and high in the sky. He glanced at it for a second before looking back at Marley, who was also admiring the sun right in front of her eyes. "Don't stare at the sun too long, Marley. It'll hurt your eyes."
Marley laughed and looked back at Ryder, "I know that, yeah. Like on that episode of Neighbours where the eclipse was happening and Kyle looked at the sun too long and became blind. That has always scared me."
"Oh, okay." Ryder nodded at her and looked at the space between their knees – it was at least two inches between them, maybe even three. It wouldn't have taken much, actually, to reach across and kiss her right on the lips.
And he thought about it – he really did run it through his head a billion times before shuffling backwards slightly. He couldn't kiss Marley Rose.
"Anyway Ryder, how was your day?" Marley asked, putting her hands in her lap and smiling over at him.
Ryder shrugged at her and crossed his arms over his chest, despite how much his biceps hurt when he did that. "It was… it was alright, I guess."
"Did anything happen? Like, um, did they bully you anymore?" Marley asked, anxiously wringing her hands together and giving Ryder a concerned glance – was she really that worried about him?
"They always bully me, Marley," Ryder sighed and looked at the clouds in the sky, watching them float slowly, "did you really think that they'd stop for a day?"
Marley sighed like Ryder and looked away, down at the ground right in front of her feet. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry, Marley, it's fine." Ryder ran his hand through his hair and let out another, large sigh. "I just… kind of want it to stop." Ryder gave a quick sheepish glance at Marley and gave her a weak smile.
Marley returned the smile and reached over, touching his hand lightly, which was resting on his leg limply. She took his hand in hers and linked her fingers through his. "How can I help, Ryder? Is there anything I can do for you?"
Ryder looked at their hands and felt his heart pound in his chest. The electricity ran up his arm like a lightning bolt and lingered there, and Ryder wondered if Marley felt it, too. Was her heart beating just as fast?
"There's really nothing you can do besides just… be there for me." Ryder smiled at her, his heart still pounding. He couldn't believe that they were holding hands! And Marley was the one who had let them hold hands!
Maybe she could have liked him back…
Marley fidgeted awkwardly, her hand still gripping Ryder's hand tightly. "Why don't you move schools? Wouldn't that be the best thing for you to do?" Marley frowned at him, her eyes almost pleading him. "I mean, you could move to my school! You could be my friend, and I would be there for you all of the time!"
Her voice cracked. Only slightly. Ryder heard it, and when he gave a closer look, he saw the little drops of tears in her eyes. Why is she crying? What reason does she have to cry?
"It's not that easy, Marley. I can't just get up and leave." Ryder could feel his own hands shaking as he that, and he quickly looked down at his and Marley's intertwined hands only to find his hand shaking hers as well, only slightly.
He heard Marley swallow and then cleared her throat. "Every night, twice bright." She simply said, shrugging at him softly.
"What?"
"In Under The Dome, the book, two of the characters are talking and that's one of the character's mottos – it means that with every night, there will be a brighter day." Marley smiled, and Ryder saw her blue eyes light up.
Ryder felt himself smile again. Every night, twice bright. He really liked that… and he believed that maybe it would start happening. Maybe one day things really would start to get better.
With Marley in his life, things were getting better than they had always been but maybe they would finally get so good that nothing in his life was pulling him down. Ryder was waiting for that day to come.
"That's nice, Marley." Ryder said, gazing up at the sky once again – it was turning slightly darker. The blue sky was turning an orange-y shade of blue, and the clouds had that pretty orange glow that Ryder loved seeing. It really was magical what the sun could do.
"It is nice, isn't it?" Marley grinned brightly and gave Ryder's hand a tight squeeze, which sent another lightning bolt into his arm. "I'm glad we're friends, you know? Like… we can talk to each other about things. I really think you're a great friend, Ryder."
Ryder felt himself smile – still a foreign feeling, even know he was doing it a lot lately. "You, too, Mar. You're a great friend to me." And you'd be an even greater girlfriend.
Marley stared right into Ryder's eyes and Ryder stared right back, his breath being taken away by the beautiful bright blue iris' of her eyes. They were just so beautiful, and he wanted to tell her that her eyes and everything about her was beautiful… but he couldn't say anything.
Almost as quick as a flash, Marley had leaned across and pecked Ryder on the cheek. Ryder had thought she was going for his lips, but she quickly moved to kiss his bruised cheek and that was almost as good.
She kissed my cheek, oh my God. She kissed my cheek. She must like me, right? She kissed my god damn cheek.
"That's because you're brave, Ryder." She said in a hushed voice. Ryder could see the light pink blush covering her cheeks. Had she just called him brave? Had she just given him a kiss on the cheek?
It seemed all too weird to be true.
"Um, thank you?" Ryder raised an eyebrow at her and chucked quietly. He couldn't believe this was happening – she called him brave.
Marley laughed at him – oh God, her laugh is beautiful – before Marley leaned across again and pecked his cheek again, her lips staying on the bruised skin for a little bit longer than the first time. Ryder felt his cheek begin to tingle right where she had kissed him. "You're an amazing person, Ryder, and you deserve so much more than you have."
Ryder smiled and gave her hand one tight squeeze before looking towards the sun in silence. Marley caught the drift and looked at the sun again, too. And there they sat in silence, watching the sun go down with their hands intertwined, both unaware with the fact that they both really shared the same feelings for each other. Just like the night before.
{x}
Those new Glee spoilers have been killing me on the inside, so I'm turning to writing fanfiction to get rid of my sadness. (That's why it's been less than a month since I've updated, woo!).
I hope you all liked this chapter, and thank you for reviewing in the last chapter - I'm really glad you're enjoying this fanfiction! It means the world to me, and your lovely reviews are such nice things to read :) Thank you all so much!
TeaAndGlee ~ Ah, don't worry - there will be a real kiss soon enough! And they will be together soon, trust me (hopefully I can write it okay oops). I'm sorry I'm killing you, but aw you're too sweet. I can't believe that something I've written is the highlight of someone's day - it's unbelieveable. I love you, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reviewing on the last! You're amazing! xx
Guest ~ Yes, I'm sorry it was a dream :( I just felt like being mean. But it's okay, I can make you a promise - not too much from here on will be a dream sequence! :) You might be right, you never know. Thank you so much, you're so sweet. Thanks for reviewing and reading - you're the best xx
skycaro ~ You really love this fanfiction? Oh my God, that is amazing! I'm so, so glad you love this. I hope not too many of your neurons died over the days I didn't update. I love Ryder and Marley's cuteness, too aha. Thank you so much for reviewing and reading - you're so lovely and amazing. Thank you again! I hope you liked this chapter xx
Jennoist-OTP ~ An almost kiss, yes - soon it'll be a real kiss, trust me. One of them will get enough courage to ask the other soon, don't worry. Thank you for reading and reviewing! You're amazing xx
Ay, thank you all again for being so lovely and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I love you all!
-Camryn xx
