Chapter Twenty – But You, On The Other Hand, Are

Ryan had decided to follow Amy to the library during lunch, in hopes to try and talk to her. What she was going to say, and how she was going to say it, she didn't know. She figured she'd just go with her flow like she always does. But I always end up talking in circles, she thought.

She sat at a table behind Amy, and had managed to so far be unnoticed. She watched the other girl, who appeared to be studying. Ryan was one of learning through observation, and she could tell Amy wasn't studying. She was trying to make it seem like she was studying. Ryan could tell by the constant shift of her body and back and forth page turning that she wasn't.

Ryan pulled out a notebook and opened to a random page. She pulled out a pencil and just started to doodle. To talk to her or not to talk to her, that is the question. Since when is my life a Shakespearean play? Ryan didn't even notice she had doodled Ephram's name across the entire page, putting their two names together in every way possible.

"I never imagined you to be the kind of girl who did that."

Amy. Shit.

"I… I…" Ryan stuttered, trying to pick one random excuse that started floating in her head. "Yea, I was lost in la la land." Good one, she thought.

Amy sat down in the chair across from her. "Ephram has that effect on people."

"You would know," Ryan said. Inside voice! What happened to inside voice? Ryan pressed so hard onto her pencil that the point snapped.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Ryan began running the pencil between her thumb and index fingers of both hands. You've never been one for sugar coated things, tear her apart, her inner voice said. "I think you do." She paused for a minute, as that inner voice kept shouting. "In fact, I know you do."

Amy felt her pulse quicken and the anger boil. Don't let this girl beat you. "Oh really, how would you know? You've been here a whole two months. The only person you really know is Ephram. I bet you don't even remember my last name."

"As a matter of fact, Abbott, I do," Ryan replied angrily. "Look, I followed you here to talk to you. I don't want to fight with you. Face it, we're going to have to get along."

"What makes you think that?" Amy said. "What if Bright, Colin, and I just stopped hanging out with you?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow and simply said, "Now, do you really want that to happen?"

"I still don't know what you're talking about." Amy sat back in the chair and crossed her arms.

"Fine, don't believe me," Ryan said, "Maybe you'll listen to Bright."

"He doesn't know what he's talking about either."

"Oh really? What makes you say that?"

"As you may have noticed, my brother isn't exactly the smartest person in the whole world."

Ryan snapped the pencil. "That's the exact opposite of what you said this morning."

She's got you. Amy sighed in defeat. She leaned forward and put her head down on her hands. "I just can't lose my best friend."

Ryan suddenly got an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. She remembered being in the same position anytime Jared had a girlfriend. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you guys were that close. I knew you were close, but I didn't know there was a best friend title on that."

"I didn't either," Amy confessed, "Until he got a girlfriend."

"I've been there," Ryan said. "Look, I'm not going to take up all his time. Trust me, I can't handle that. I need time alone just as much as anyone, probably more so. He's always going to be there."

Amy's facial expression softened. "Can you promise that?"

"I don't have to. You know it's true," Ryan replied. "It's Ephram."

And with that Amy nodded, and saw the sincerity on Ryan's face. In the silence, the two girls made an agreement. To protect the one of the most important people in their life, and the same one they were both on the road to falling in love with … if one already wasn't.