A/N: Hey, I'm back. School's been super busy. I'm on the last couple weeks of the semester so things are piling up, but I am not abandoning my stories. I finally got around to finishing this chapter. I didn't fit in everything I planned, but I think this is a good one nonetheless. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter Nine
Marley's POV
"Thanks Mrs. Rose." Katie grabbed her cafeteria tray. "So, what's the deal with you and varsity drama king?" It had been two days since we had made our song selection, and Katie had managed to fit in seamlessly with the other girls in the club, so I shouldn't have been so shocked when she began the inquisition.
"Who do you mean? Sam?" I was, so I did the only thing I could think of: played dumb.
We sat down at our usual table, the others already in place. Katie sighed. "No! Although you and Sam do have some tension undoubtedly." She looked over to Unique. "Help me out here."
"So you noticed too?" Unique smiled. "Okay Rose, no putting it off any longer. What's the deal?"
"I don't know what you mean." I smiled and shrugged.
"You and Ryder!" Tina stepped in. "Is there something there or not?"
I said nothing. What could I say? Ryder and I had barely said two words to each other since the weekend, which I didn't count since they weren't exactly on our terms.
"The way he looks at you, Marley, you'd think you were the only girl in that choir room." Katie said.
"He's a jerk."
"That may be sweetheart, but you could do a whole lot worse."
"It's too complicated between us." I scoffed. "Besides, he's taken."
Katie laughed. "Honey, one thing I can teach you is guys are never taken until you take them. "
Unique grinned. "Ohh Katie, you got style girl."
"Thank you for the compliment." The blonde smirked.
"Alright, " I leaned forward. "Let's say I did buy in. Where would I even start?"
Katie and Unique looked at each other laughing.
"Leave that to me darling. By the time my reinforcements are called in, he'll have no choice but to swallow his pride and talk to you." Katie grinned. "Trust me."
"Just talk to him." Tina said. "Between that and new girl's meddling, you'll have your bestie back in no time."
I found myself smiling. I guess I didn't realize how much I missed the thought of being back on speaking terms with the guy I used to call my best friend, and honestly even though the thought of Katie, Tina and Unique's brand of meddling made me uneasy, I was kind of excited to see the results.
Ryder's POV
"Yo Lynn, can I hitch a ride later?" Jake caught me in the hall outside of Kennerly's algebra class, a class that I hadn't even realized we shared until he bribed a kid with a twenty to switch seats with him so we could talk. "My mom has the car all day."
"Yeah, it's fine." I walked in step with him. "You give any thought to the songs I sent?"
"I think they're alright. None of them really stand out." He shrugged. "We'll figure it out later."
"Who's going today?" I asked. I never thought I'd be asking that question about glee club. "For the duets?"
"I think Katie and Marls." Jake replied. I could already see him tensing up. Clearly this whole talking like friends thing would take a while to get used to for both of us.
"Wonder what they'll come up with." I smiled.
"What's the deal with you two anyway?" Jake asked. "You and Rose?"
I stopped. What gave him the right to ask that? I'd been trying to forget that there was even a history between us, especially with what had happened to Haley at Breadstix yesterday.
We sat at a table, Haley already having managed to make me forget about what had happened earlier by asking me about my "probation". "So you're stuck making friends with those losers for two whole weeks and singing showtunes?"
I shrugged. "It sucks, but it's not that bad."
"Not that bad? You're kidding right?" Haley said. "You spent all of last year trying to get out from that."
I rolled my eyes as the food arrived. "Being nice isn't gonna kill anything Hale." I grabbed a breadstick.
Haley smiled, but for some reason it made me uncomfortable. "You're such a saint."
I narrowed my eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're too nice for your own good babe." She leaned over going for a kiss, but stopped short as her face lost all color. "I'll be right back!" Then she ran into the bathroom and didn't come out for thirty minutes.
"Hey, you okay Dude?" My attention snapped back to Jake who was currently snapping his fingers in front of my face.
"Oh...yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded, the words sounding hollow to my own ears.
"Alright…" Jake said. "Not to sound like a chick or anything, but spill."
The bell interrupted any further questioning. Thank god.
Jake and I walked into the choir room to see Marley and Katie already set up in the front of the room. Marley wore a wide brimmed black hat keeping her eyes downcast as Katie pursed her lips donning a veil which she covered her face with.
"What song do you think they're doing?" Sam asked.
I shrugged. There were a few songs I could think of that matched those costume choices, hard to narrow them down. Then the music started. They had chosen a bare arrangement, involving a simple piano part. It made the song eerie.
[Katie]
Two black Cadillacs driving in a slow parade
Headlights shining bright in the middle of the day
[Marley]
One is for his wife,
The other for the woman who loved him at night
Two black Cadillacs meeting for the first time
And the preacher said he was a good man
And his brother said he was a good friend
[Katie and Marley]
But the women in the two black veils didn't bother to cry
Bye, Bye Bye, Bye
Yeah they took turns laying a rose down
Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground
He's not the only one who had a secret to hide
Bye bye, bye bye, bye Bye
Two black Cadillacs, two black Cadillacs
[Marley]
Two months ago his wife called the number on his phone
Turns out he'd been lying to both of them for oh so long
[Katie]
They decided then he'd never get away with doing this to them
Two black Cadillacs waiting for the right time, right time
[Katie and Marley]
And the preacher said he was a good man
And his brother said he was a good friend
But the women in the two black veils didn't bother to cry
Bye bye, Bye bye
[Katie]
Yeah they took turns laying a rose down
[Marley]
Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground
[Katie and Marley]
He's not the only one who had a secret to hide
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Yeah yeah
[Marley]
It was the first and the last time they saw each other face to face
They shared a crimson smile and just walked away
And left the secret at the grave
[Katie and Marley]
And the preacher said he was a good man
And his brother said he was a good friend
But the women in the two black veils they didn't bother to cry
Bye bye, Bye bye
Yeah they took turns laying a rose down
Threw a handful of dirt into the deep ground
He's not the only one who had a secret to hide
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We all looked around at the end of the song. The guys in the room seemed particularly uneasy, myself included. That song alone is enough to make any guy nervous, but with Marley at the helm, I was especially intimidated. It had been a long time since I had heard her sing anything and I had forgotten how good she really was.
"Wow." Before I could stop myself I was speaking. "That was amazing Marls."
She looked at me then, a deer-in- the headlights look: wide eyes and a mouth that opened and closed in surprise, even as no words came out.
I noticed out of the corner of my eye as Katie jammed into her. "Say something."
She smiled." Uh… thanks…"
I caught myself smiling back even as a voice in the back of my head shouted stupid move. I still remembered Striker's warning and as it played back in my head, the smile faltered, any words I was going to say sliding back into my throat as it jammed shut. All I could do was nod. The contact was broken as quickly as it had been made.
I still watched as the realization sunk in, Marley's smile fading as she turned away heading in the opposite direction sitting next to Katie with a sigh.
"What was that?" I glanced down to see Eli, looking at me curiously. "You look like you just broke a law."
I nodded. Eli didn't realize how on point his words were.
Marley's POV
I found my gaze drifting back to Ryder. It stayed there even as we were dismissed. He ran from the room, his eyes on his phone. I wondered what had happened. Curiosity got the better of me as I followed.
A war was going on inside of me as apparently my mind, the more sensible part anyway, finally caught up with what I was actually doing. Was I crazy? I must have been. No, it was just the old instinct from before. I wasn't crazy. It had never been wrong before.
Ryder stopped in front of the girl's bathroom as he pulled out his phone typing frantically. Okay, it was now or never.
"Is there a reason you're trolling the girl's bathroom Ry'?"
He jumped nearly a foot as he turned. "Marley…what the hell, you followed me!"
I nodded. "You jumped up so fast, I thought something happened."
He shook his head. "Everything's fine."
I pursed my lips. "Ryder-"
"Ryder!" I was interrupted by the door to the girl's bathroom swinging open as a swirl of McKinley red threw herself at Ryder... Haley West.
Ryder shrugged, or what I assumed would be a shrug. "Haley, are you okay?"
"I am now. I think it passed." she replied pulling herself back from Ryder's hug. "Hi," She grinned looking at me even as her grip on Ryder tightened.
"Oh, Hale," Ryder said. "You've met Marley Rose right? She lives across the street."
She still had that grin plastered on her face. "Can't say I've had the pleasure. Nice to meet you sweetie."
I smiled back, but my eyes were narrowed slightly. She was sizing me up. I could just tell. "So you're the famous Haley? It's so great to meet you finally!" A little exaggerated, maybe. But when you're dealing with a lioness, you have to do everything so they don't eat you alive.
"I can say the same about you Hon."
Okay, was it just me or did the number of endearments just go up? This girl sure knew how to play sarcasm. Ryder looked between us with an expression that bordered on constipation. It was the same look I had seen him wearing countless times before when his brother and I picked fights and he was torn between breaking it up and telling.
"So, we're gonna go…" Ryder grabbed Haley's arm. "It was nice talking to you again Marley."
"You too." I replied. I could barely get the words out before Haley was dragging Ryder away. My first instinct had been correct. I was totally crazy.
A/N: Okay, so Ryder actually paid Marley a compliment. Marley initiated contact, but Haley put a stop to any progress. Next chapter, Jake and Ryder with the duet, Haley and Ryder, More with Marley and Eli, possibly some Kitty. The Lynn family begins noticing Haley's signs and possibly the bomb drop. Song suggestions for Jake and Ryder? Give me some ideas for that and for what you want to see next.