Chapter Ten: Lunch

AN: Hey guys! I have so many ideas with this story, its annoying me all day long, because I just wanna write them all down! Thanks for the reviews! If you have any suggestions on how you want the story to got, I would be happy to include them in the story. On with the chapter!

Stella's POV

I came to school the next day quietly. We had just gotten to our lockers when Wen came up to me. "Look Stella...we're really sorry we didn't hang with Ray. It was really rude of us. Could you please forgive us?" I grinned. What Ray had told me last night made sense to me. I would forgive them. "Yeah Wen. I'll forgive you." I quickly changed the subject and said, "Hey, where's everyone else?"

Wen looked uncomfortable when I said that. "Um...they're sort of...um" He scratched his neck. What the hell was going on? "Wen! Come on tell me!" But he didn't have to tell me. Because right across from me, I saw Olivia, Charlie, Mo and Scott talking to Ray, who was looking uncomfortable. I rolled my eyes.

Walking up to them I stopped behind them. I wanted to hear what they were saying. And I couldn't believe my ears. They were all awkwardly standing there, slowly asking Ray dumb questions like what his favorite color was.

I laughed and pushed Charlie aside so I could get to Ray. They were all surprised that I was there. I grabbed Ray's hand and said, "Please stop torturing Ray, your making me uncomfortable talking like that. Now if you don't mind, we have to get to class." And I turned to Ray and I pulled him towards the class, but then I looked back and winked with a grin so that they would know I forgave them. They looked relieved.

"Well that was weird..." Ray said. I laughed and said, "I know."

After class, Ray and I walked to lunch. We sat down at a different table today, so that I could help Ray make a friend. I had a plan. We had sat down next to Lyle and his AV club friends. Lyle was cool, and I had hoped that he would understand that Ray wasn't a "Mudslide jerk" anymore.

"Hey Stella!...Hey Ray..." he said. Okay good, he had acknowledged him. Lyle seemed to know something was up, but he tried not to show it. Ray grinned at him and looked at me with a look that said, "Why are we sitting here these dudes hate me". I shook my head and gave him a look that said, "No they don't, just act like yourself." Lyle seemed to be having a conversation with his friends and they actually included me and Ray in it.

They were talking about who knows what (I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation topic, I was too busy making sure Ray was having a good time) and Ray was laughing and smiling all throughout lunch. And Lyle and his friends seemed to like Ray, and caught on very quickly that Ray was a new person.

The bell rang and I smiled. This was probably the best lunch ever. I looked over at Ray and he smiled. He looked relieved. I didn't need to say anything. I knew Ray liked having new friends. And I knew they were friends that he liked.

After school, we walked home. We did our homework and mom had ordered pizza. The twins and dad and all of us came down to eat, and it was one of the best meals we ever had. Not the food, (I mean, the pizza was awesome) but the family dinner. It was the first time we all laughed and smiled and talked about school and other stuff. It was the first time I had enjoyed family dinner. Usually Ray and I would have our own conversation while everyone else did their own thing. Or, Ray and I would grab our dinner and take it upstairs. But tonight, it was different. Tonight, everyone talked. And I'm pretty sure it was because of Ray.

That night, Ray and I talked on the roof for hours. I remembered when he kissed me on the cheek, just the night before. The stars were out today, and we stared at them for what seemed to be ages. Ray held my hand, he didn't say anything, but I was pretty sure he was thanking me. I grinned. And I finally realized something.

I was in love with Ray Beech.