Thank you so much for the reviews and favorites! Makes me very excited! Here's chapter three.
Early the next day, Gina spots Marley in front of her locker, talking and laughing with Jake. Gina nervously comes up to her and hands Marley her shirt back. "Washed and pressed," she says. "Thank you. I owe you."
"Oh, don't mention it," Marley says, taking the shirt back from Gina. Jake watches her with narrowed eyes, clearly still unhappy with their encounter on Monday. "Jake and I are just going to discuss songs for Glee club today. What do you think of this week's assignment? Isn't it great?"
This week's assignment for Glee club is "confidence." Apparently, Mr. Schuester wants to give his students a little boost of self-esteem before the upcoming Regionals competition. Brittany was quick to decide and had performed a powerful rendition of Britney Spears' Circus. She even brought her own whip to the choir room, much to Kitty's dislike for the familiarity with her Femme Fatale prop during superhero week. According to Marley, either Blaine, Tina, or Unique is going to do a performance today, and the three of them bound to make spectacular performances.
"You should not miss Glee club today," Marley is saying with a broad smile on her face. Jake remains silent throughout the conversation, looking away from Gina uncomfortably. Gina watches Jake and Marley's intertwined hands in thoughtful silence.
Marley is just going to blabber about Blaine's amazing performance at Diva week when Ryder appears. "What's up, dudes?" he grins at Jake and Marley. He and Jake high-five while Marley's eyes seem to twinkle at the sight of him.
When Ryder's eyes land on Gina, he goes a little rigid. He nods curtly, and Gina nods back.
"I was just telling Gina about everyone's performances during Diva week," Marley explains to Ryder. "I mean, it's a little like this week's assignment, right? Diva equals confidence."
"Yeah, yeah, totally," Ryder agrees, all the while never taking his eyes off of Gina's face. Gina shrugs and looks away, blushing a little.
"Let's get to class," Marley says excitedly, and pulls Gina away from the two bros. Gina gives Jake and Ryder one last look before disappearing around the corner with a very enthusiastic Marley.
"Dude, that girl's giving me the creeps," Jake murmurs as he and Ryder make their way to class. "I swear, she won't stop staring at me. Really? One insult and she's planning to kill me a hundred times?"
Ryder doesn't say anything for a moment. "Maybe not kill you," he says, more to himself than to Jake.
Jake gives him a sideway look. "What do you mean?" he stops Ryder. "Dude, you know something I don't, do you?"
Ryder shrugs. "Maybe," he admits. "But I'm not sure yet. So I'm not going to say anything to you."
Jake groans. "Come on, man," he says. "What is it? Spill it out."
Ryder shakes his head and walks away with a smile. "Later, dude," he says teasingly, and runs off to class, leaving Jake feeling even more annoyed than he already was.
Uh-oh! Ryder is being all mysterious! What secret of Gina's could he possibly know?