Author's Note: I wish Kitty and Ryder would have gotten together on the show. I think they could have really benefited/improved each other. That, and I like how honest Kitty was with Ryder when he admitted his sexual abuse as a kid. That was obviously a huge moment for him and that fact that she took the time to speak him with and show he's not alone shows Kitty has the ability to be a genuine friend. I want more of them in season 5.
Ryder Lynn scanned the backyard and grimaced. The green landscape was covered in beer bottles, streamers, pool toys, and bits of food. Thank God it wasn't his yard. His PhD daddy wouldn't be impressed if he came home from his weekend in the Alps to find this mess. Ryder tipped his head back and drank the last drops of beer. It wasn't his brand, but it did the trick. The party goers were starting to look more entertaining. Or maybe that was just because they were getting in their underwear and jumping in the pool.
It was strange to think he had been away from the place he called home for a year. Nothing had changed, as expected. Ryder's brown eyes flickered to the girls in their bras splashing each other. He considered joining in, but then thought otherwise. He earned his Illinois letterman jacket. He wasn't about to get it soaked.
The college freshman leaned back against the pillar of one of his old friend's patio and wondered if Marley decided to come. He knew she got an invite, since everyone from their graduating class did. He remembered her being added to the Facebook conversation a while back but hadn't spoken to her. Since quitting glee club after Regionals his junior year, his relationship with the pretty girl changed. They were never too close to begin with, mainly because Ryder promised Jake to keep a safe distance from her, but when he left and took his spot on the top of the high school pyramid, it felt different. Girls talked to him more, he was invited to all the parties, but it never felt right. He kept expected Unique or Sam to show up at one of the parties. Granted, Sam was invited, he just never went.
Thinking back on high school made Ryder's stomach churn. He was glad those years were behind him. Now he was on full scholarship and getting a business degree. What could be better, right?
"And here I thought they reserved this party for cool people only."
Ryder turned his head to see Kitty Wilde standing beside him with a red plastic cup in hand. She had on that smirk and snarky eyebrow raise that made his stomach twist like it used to in glee club. She wasn't wearing much, at least not in his books. She hadn't gone swimming, but her tight white dress had speckles of water on it and her blonde hair was damp as it fell down in waves. He forgot how pretty she was when she wasn't all dolled up.
"Then what are you doing here?" he shot back. Ryder inwardly grimaced. Not one of his better comebacks. Apparently much hadn't changed since high school in that regards.
Kitty chuckled. "Ryder, Ryder, Ryder, so innocent. It's the party of the summer, do you think I would miss it?"
"So I'm right, you weren't on the guest list."
The former cheerleader shrugged. "Not technically, but coming as someone's date isn't forbidden," she pointed out.
Ryder smirked. "Who'd be crazy enough to take you as their date?"
Kitty pointed with her hand that held her glass to one of the jocks from high school. "It turns out being a cheerleader still has its perks out of high school." The hazel eyed girl leaned back against the pillar beside him and took a sip of her fruity drink. "So tell me Ryder, where's Mike and Molly's daughter?"
Ryder squinted as he tried to remember who got that horrid nickname. "You mean Marley? I don't know, ask Jake."
"Jake's not here you idiot, or else I would. He's in New York with his loser brother in that horrendous complex in the Bronx. He's probably got flees by now."
Ryder smirked. "It sounds like you visited him once or twice."
Kitty shrugged. "Once, just to see how he was doing. I got out of there as fast as I could, let me tell you."
Ryder chuckled. "I'm not surprised. You always did like the better things in life."
"I still do," she winked. "Nothing less than the crème of the crop, Ryder."
They watched their fellow partiers consume more alcohol as the night went on, laughing as people were thrown into the water. Someone did a cannonball and sprayed the pair. Kitty squealed and tried to hide while Ryder's protective instincts kicked in and he shielded her with his jacket as best he could. When the water settled, Kitty stared up at Ryder. Her lashes were doused with water and the red lipstick she had been wearing was smudged a bit and his mind started to wander to when she like liked him and he almost like liked her too. He tried to remember why he hadn't gone to lunch with her when she asked that one and only time but got distracted by how she was pressed against him.
Before he could say anything, she took a step away from him. "Sorry about your jacket."
Ryder glanced at the fabric. It got most of the water, but it wasn't that bad. He shrugged it off and placed it over her shoulders. "You're gonna freeze," he explained when she tried to take it off. He watched her shoulders sag then her arms slip into the sleeves. It hung past her waist but he had to admit, it looked fantastic on her. He licked his lips. She looked away and took a sip of her drink.
"So where are you going to school now?" he asked as he leaned back against the pillar, his black t-shirt soaking up the droplets of water.
Kitty folded her arms and took another sip. "Harvard."
Ryder's eyes widened. "Seriously? Wow that's—good for you. What are you taking?"
"Biochemistry with a minor in Environmental Studies," she stated. Her gaze flickered towards him. "You?"
Ryder swallowed the lump in his throat. "Uh—just business. I've got a full scholarship at Illinois State."
Kitty smiled and he was almost positive it was a genuine one. "I'm proud of you Ryder, a college man at last."
He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't expect it from me?"
She shrugged. "My expectations have been proven wrong multiple times."
"Oh? Like when?"
Kitty shook her head and took another drink. "Just take my word for it, alright Son of Frankenteen?"
Ryder dipped his head down so she couldn't avoid his gaze. "Your high school insults won't work on me Wilde, start talking."
She blinked, looking around him for some form of escape. She glanced at her drink. "Oh would you look at that, no alcohol. I'll be right back!" She spun on her heel and made her way for the patio doors but Ryder was fast on her heels.
"You can't avoid me Kitty. We're not kids anymore," he said as he followed her into the crowded kitchen. They were shoved into each other and in the process his hand took hold of hers. She had no choice but to drag him along till they found something for her to drink.
"We weren't kids when we met Ryder, and you're right, we certainly aren't them now," she stated as she rummaged through the cabinet for a bottle of something.
Ryder found a bottle of beer and popped the cap for her. "Exactly. You're one of the only people I wanted to keep in touch with when we graduated. I'd like to actually talk to you about serious stuff."
Kitty rose from the floor and glared at him. "Then why didn't you?"
"Didn't I what?"
"Why didn't you keep in touch? Why did you quit glee and avoid talking to me, to us? I thought we were friends?"
He could see from how glossy her eyes were getting that the questions she asked were not spur-of-the-moment. Ryder wondered how many nights she spent thinking about him, or how many times she wished he'd called. Was it about as many times as he did thinking about her?
Ryder opened his mouth but nothing came out. He sighed. "Kitty, it's-"
She shook her head. "Forget it Ryder. It doesn't matter." She freed her hand from his and started weaving her way through the crowd without the beer.
Ryder glared at her retreating form. "Kitty I swear to God-" he muttered some curse words under his breath as he tried to catch up with her. She made it to the staircase that led to the second level of the house when he finally caught up with her. She was up a few stairs when he grabbed her hand.
"Kitty Elizabeth Wilde you are not running away from me!"
She gaped at him, likely wondering how he knew her middle name, before she tried to free her hand. "Ryder Lynn let go of my hand right now or I swear to God I will call my daddy and he will be here faster than you can say Sweet Baby Jesus in the manger!"
Ryder grip tightened. "You want to know why I quit glee? Because I couldn't handle it. I couldn't handle having all these people who cared and worse, I couldn't stand losing trust in them. So I quit. And I stopped talking to you because every time I looked at you I saw everything I wanted in a girl but I knew I couldn't have you so I just cut you off. I told myself that it was better this way, and that if I wanted what was best for you I'd let you go. I'm a self-sacrificing moron, alright?"
Kitty stared at him, and after realizing what he said, he was glad the music was so loud. That declaration was best made behind closed doors. But the young woman heard him. For a moment, he thought she would come running into his arms but he could see from the hardness in her gaze that it would not come easy.
"Yeah, you are a moron. You're a huge idiot!" She wretched her hand from his and ran up the stairs. He followed, thankful for his football practices that made climbing the lengthy flight of stairs so easy. He managed to slip inside the bathroom right behind her and locked the door behind him.
"Oh my God, what are you doing? Get out!" she screamed
"Not until you start being honest with me. Ever since I met you there's been this fog around you. One minute you're sweet and the next you're a complete jerk and for once, I want you to stop pretending and just be you, like you were at Breadsticks when you told me what happened to you as a kid." Ryder stepped forward, forcing her back against the sink. She looked around the small room and, after realizing there was no way out, sighed.
"You want to know what other expectation I got wrong?"
Ryder nodded. It was a start.
She crossed her arms and stared at her high heeled feet. He was surprised to see her so—shy. "That you would date me. That you were some kind of golden boy who was going to drag me from the hole I buried myself in and that we would be this—this perfect couple who fought like hell but loved each other more than anybody in the whole world. I thought you would save me." She raised her gaze and he was startled by the anger that lay behind them. "But you turned out to be just like all the others—Jake, Puck, Danny, all of them—you were just another boy wrapped up in tin foil trying to be somebody you weren't and when you stopped talking to me, I realized that no one was going to save me but me. So now I'm going to Harvard and I'm going to be a successful person and you will have to part of that success because you chose some stupid internet girl who turned out to be a transvestite of all people and-" Ryder cut off her rambling with a kiss.
He felt her tense up but he didn't pull away. His hands pressed against her hip bones, dragging her closer to him. After a few seconds her body slacked and he felt her lean closer. Her arms draped around his neck and her tongue snuck past his lips.
Ryder wasn't exactly sure how long they stayed locked in that bathroom. Thankfully there was another washroom on the main level and most people were too drunk to make it up the stairs. When the two finally pulled apart, his lips were puffed up and she ended up perched on the vanity. When he got a look of himself in the mirror, he laughed. Her lipstick had rubbed off on him. She placed her thumb over his bottom lip and attempted to get rid of the mess she made but instead he kissed the appendage.
"Massachusetts is kinda far from Illinois," she commented, running her fingers through his spiked brown hair.
Ryder shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. I'm not going back till the fall."
Kitty nodded. "What happens then?"
He leaned forward and kissed her slowly, his hands coming up to cup her cheeks. She was breathless when he ended the kiss. "We figure that out later. Right now, I wanna get out of here."
Kitty smirked. "Your place or mine?"
"My parents are gone till Monday."
She chuckled. "It feels like we're in high school all over again," she muttered as she slid off the sink. Ryder took her hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze.
"Yeah, but we're doing it right this time."
Kitty squeezed his hand back. "Right."
They weren't missed at the party for the rest of the night.
