Hello! Welcome Back if you read on. Thank you for doing that BTW.

Feedback is welcomed and I really hope that you like it.

Disclaimer: I want to own Glee, but alas I do not. I also do not own the characters.

Ryder's POV

Ryder had never believed in soulmates. It wasn't always like that but he had grown accustomed to it. Before he was born, his mom and dad got divorced and he currently lived with his mom in Lima, Ohio. But he had grown apart from his father and his mom hadn't dated in a long time, at least not successfully. He believed his mom deserved the best and if she never had a soulmate, then to Ryder they would never exsist.

When Ryder was in first grade he was making a play-doh "R" when a small girl with brunette hair and big blue eyes approached him. She was breath-taking. The first thing she stated to him was that he had brown hair. He wanted to laugh but he didn't think it was an appropriate time. So he confirmed her statement and offered her his extra play-doh that he actually needed to make his "R". All she did was stare at him, and to be honest he didn't know why, but he was getting a little creeped out.

But then she sat down across from him and he handed her the clay and throughout the rest of the day they were connected at the hip, Ryder was right there next to her at snack time when they shared apples and animal crackers, at nap time when they laid their blankets next to each other to when Ryder and Marley found out they were on the same bus.

He was getting ready to go to the bus to sit with her, but a girl with bright blonde hair in a ponytail stopped him in his tracks.

"What's your name?" She asked. But her voice was so high-pitched that it made Ryder cringe. "My name is Catherine, but they call me Kitty" Ryder was so uncomfortable around her, the complete opposite from how he felt when Marley was next to him.

"…Ryder" he replied hesitantly. He didn't like this girl and if he stayed too long he would miss the bus and Marley. But when he moved to go, he ended up knocking over her backpack that was settled on the floor, throwing her pencils every which way. Kitty started to cry so he hurriedly picked up everything and ran out to the bus. Only to find that she was sitting with a boy he met named Jake. He liked Jake but he thought that Jake was rude and as he walked past Marley and Jake he tried to stare her down to make her feel bad, but he couldn't.

The next day he forgave her.

In third grade, Ryder was upset over being in a different class than Marley. He ended up being in the same class as Jake and Kitty and that was practically torture. They would make fun of the kids that got better grades then them, and the kids who were dumber than them too. Kitty would try to make Ryder join them but he wouldn't let himself turn into one of them.

When he got on the bus later that day he didn't see Marley. All he saw was a brunette girl curled up in the fetal position that was balling. And then it clicked that it actually was Marley. He sprinted through the bus aisle until he got to Marley and his seat, then he cautiously sat down.

"Marley…" he questioned quietly. "Please talk to me. You can trust me. I promise" Ryder begged for her to open up until she flung herself into his arms and stained his new shirt. He could care less about his shirt, Marley was his best friend and he listened to every word she spoke.

By the end of her speech, Ryder's blood was boiling. It was people like Jake and Kitty that made Marley cry. And not even that, but she was older than her! It was taking almost all of Ryder to not freak out right then and there but he had to stay calm for Marley's sake.

When Ryder got to Marley's house he got her the cookies that they had made yesterday and a glass of milk. It was then and there that he realized that he cared about Marley, in that way. He was going to freak out right then and there. But he couldn't. If he did that, than Marley would and she was the most important thing right now.

As he walked into the room, he looked at Marley with new eyes. She looked prettier and nicer, HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE? When he left he started to scream into his pillow.

He freaked out, knowing she probably didn't like him back.

If Ryder was being completely honest, he was in love with Marley since he was in first grade. And he always promised himself that he would never hurt her, by accident or on purpose but this was going to break her heart. It had already broken his.

The news he received from his mom that morning was going to crush any chance of being with Marley that he had built up for the past five years. He knew that they were only thirteen and that that was really young to start a relationship, but a guy can dream right?

"We're moving back to Miami"

How can five little words, mean nothing on their own, but change someone's life forever? Ryder would say it was impossible. He knew better than that. He knew that anything was possible when Ryder realized he liked Marley in that way. He couldn't just leave Marley in the dark. And he had planned to tell her that Thursday in March.

But that was the thing. He planned to, but he never did.

Ryder knew that Marley was pretty close to her dad. However, he also knew that her dad wasn't close to her mom anymore, and that their relationship was slowly breaking. But Ryder never expected that her dad would do this.

When her dad left Marley, she called as soon as she understood what happened. The first thing Ryder did was run to her house to comfort a crying Marley. She was almost consoled, when the phone rang with the caller ID as "blocked number".

The news was heart-breaking, and Ryder was more nervous now than ever. In hindsight, his reaction was pretty selfish. Instead of worrying about Marley, he was worrying about how he would tell her that he was moving. But that related back to Marley and how she was doing so it was not as selfish, right?

He could tell that Marley was suspicious about Ryder's reaction. But he dodged the questions that Marley asked with ease. Until he couldn't avoid the truth anymore. He had to leave in two days and he felt terrible about leaving Marley in the dark for so long but he couldn't do that anymore. It was going to hurt like hell. But it would hurt Marley more if she found out by people she didn't know.

When he finally did tell her she didn't take it well. He promised himself that he would never hurt Marley but standing there watching her running away crying because of his news, killed him inside.

That Saturday all he did was pack his suitcase and try not to cry. He wasn't a cry baby but he sure didn't have an ice cold heart either. He knew that Marley was mad at him for not telling her sooner but he couldn't leave without saying goodbye, and doing something else first as well.

When he kissed Marley, it felt right. Like all the time he heard her talking about soulmates was true. He would always tease Marley on her belief of them but in this moment, he couldn't help but think that what she said had some truth to it, to all of it. As he admitted that he was in love with her, he just hoped that she would say those three words back, and when she did he knew that he had to leave. Not because he lied, because if he stayed any longer he wouldn't let himself leave.

As the plane took off, Ryder tried to look for Marley's house but no matter how hard he looked he couldn't find it. Now, it didn't matter if she loved him back because he was going to be 1,000's of miles away but Ryder knew that he would find a way to be with her.

After all, Ryder believed Marley was his soulmate.