AN: Whew. WHEW. My goodness this chapter made me exhausted because, like all of you, I also want Ricky and Amy to meet and see where it goes, but you know, this is one of those stories that writes itself and I kinda just...encode for the characters. So, I hope you enjoy.


"So, do you like working for BB? Or is it just something you and your brother are expected to do?" It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and Ricky found himself lounging in Central Park with Amy beneath the shade of an old Willow tree. Her head rested against his chest as his hand drew lazy circles on her shoulder; the both of them watching the clouds pass by. He smiled at her question and turned to press his lips against her forehead, "A little bit of both. My brother and I are expected to take over the business, but…it's something that we like, something that we're proud of. My father and my uncle, well, this is their life's work and Ben and I have always wanted to honor that, I guess."

Amy snuggled closer to him, letting her arm snake across his chest as she tilted her head up to meet his eyes, "That's really sweet."

Ricky chuckled and slipped a hand across her cheek, "Ah well, I try." She laughed as he descended, his lips seeking out hers as she gripped him closer. He didn't think he could ever get enough of her and her kisses or the feeling of her legs tangling up with his. She was the first to pull away, propping herself up on one arm as she pushed him back down onto their picnic blanket.

"Try to remember, we're in a public place Mr. Underwood," she teased. "There could be children around."

He slipped his arm out from under her and laid it to rest beneath his head, the smile on his face slowly turning into a smirk, "If that's your way of hinting that you want to go back to my place, I'm all for it."

Amy rolled her eyes, slapping him playfully against the chest. "In your dreams, Underwood."

Ricky laughed, "Oh you have no idea."

Then he caught it, the slight downturn of her mouth as a laugh ghosted her lips and she looked out at the expanse of the park. He watched her eyes become glassy, signaling her thoughts leaving the shade of the tree and he shook his head at his testosterone getting the better of him. He moved to sit up and brushed Amy's hair behind her ear, "Ames, I'm just kidding. You know I would never pressure you into doing anything you didn't want to do."

Amy turned back to him and smiled, "I know, it's not that. I just…"

She reached up to finger the collar of his shirt, his own hand sliding down to caress her arm, "What?" he asked, "What is it?"

"I just like being with you. It's hard thinking about what it will be like when all I have left are dreams of you."

Ricky furrowed his brow and cupped her cheek, bringing her gaze to meet his, "Hey, so don't think about it. We're here now, that's all that matters."

Amy pursed her lips, obviously wanting to protest, but he wouldn't let her. He buried his fingers in her hair and brought her lips to his, choosing the best course of action to get her to stop thinking and just enjoy their day together.

He put all of his feelings for her into every kiss they shared, knowing that their days were limited, knowing that the end of summer was fast approaching. But he also knew that he couldn't let Amy think about it for too long, because she would pull away, she would limit their time even more and he didn't think he could stand it. He didn't even think he could stand leaving her at all. But all thoughts of that flew from his mind when she pushed him back to the blanket and her hair draped around their faces as their kissing continued.

He felt his entire body come to life, every neuron in his brain going at full speed as he tried to soak up every part of Amy and their relationship. When they finally had to pull away, for breathing's sake, Ricky could feel the fog around them lighten, his eyes fixed on her swollen lips and her tongue as it peeked out to moisten them. He chuckled and reached up to brush back her hair, holding it against her cheek, "So…you have dreams about me?"

Her laughter rang out like an angel chorus as she dropped her head down to his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her. It prompted his own laughter as he hugged her tighter and pressed his lips against the top of her head. But, more than that, it eased their tension. They were back to just being in the moment and he could only home to stay in it forever.


The slam of a locker door brought his thoughts back to reality, though he felt disoriented from the sudden shift. He looked up to see Jack eyeing him curiously, his English text book under one arm and his letterman jacket slung over one shoulder, "Dude, have you even been listening to me?"

Ricky sighed and shook his head, "Sorry man, I kinda spaced out."

Jack nodded, "I could see that. So, what's up? Are you okay?"

Ricky shrugged and pushed himself off the lockers, heading off toward their first class, "It's nothing, just got a lot on my mind."

The two continued down the hall, passing classmates and nodding in greeting whenever their names were called. Ricky turned to Jack and noticed him smirking in the direction of a few girls who had seemed to immediately clock them. They were smiling widely and offering suggestive glances, to which Jack responded with a smile of his own, but Ricky only snorted and shook his head. "I thought you were going to try and get back together with Grace?" he asked, pulling Jack's attention back to him.

Jack shrugged and laughed, "I don't know. I mean, a part of me does and a part of me wonders if it's really worth it. I mean, Grace and I have tried and tried to get our act together and something just keeps messing us up."

Ricky rolled his eyes, "You mean, you keep messing up."

Jack waved him off, "Man, whatever. Anyway, this is the first year that the both of us our single. Why not just enjoy it. Isn't one of the reasons you broke up with Adrian was to not be tied down? No more drama, just fun before college?"

Ricky didn't answer, remembering that he had told Jack that senior year was going to be better without Adrian and her drama. That he was looking forward to a lot of "last hurrah" moments with nameless girls from their school, but that was all before he had met Amy.

"Come on man," Jack said, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Just look around! Girls are just waiting for you to notice them. Why not enjoy it?"

Ricky sighed. News of his and Adrian's break up had spread and he could feel the lusty of eyes of Grant's female population following his every move and hear the teasing lilt in the sweet voices that called out to him. Only, he felt no interest in reciprocating. Under normal circumstances he would relish in it, even openly welcome them and try to take advantage of the opportunity of being single. Though, truthfully, he hadn't been entirely monogamous with Adrian anyway. But now, it all just seemed cheap.

"Things change man," Ricky said as they came up on their classroom. "What else can I say?"

Jack eyed him suspiciously, opening the door to classroom and shuffling in behind him. "It's that girl isn't it? The one from New York? Dude, I thought that was just a summer thing." Ricky glared at him and shook his head, he was not in the mood to talk about Amy with Jack. He honestly didn't feel like talking about Amy at all, he just wanted to talk to her. "Alright," Jack said, taking the hint, "Whatever, I'm just saying that you're obviously here and she's obviously there and there's nothing you can do to change that. Might as well, move on."

Ricky sighed deeply and took his seat, pretending to catch sight of something in the window of the door, "Hey, there's Grace."

Immediately, Jack turned around, knocking into his desk and causing the metal legs to screech against the linoleum floor, "What? Where?"

Ricky couldn't suppress the laughter and wiped a hand over his face, "My mistake. Must have been someone else, but looks like I'm not the only one that has to move on."

Jack turned back and fixed him with a pointed glance, "Not cool dude."

"No, but totally hilarious." Ricky held back more chuckles as Jack righted his desk and took his seat beside Ricky.

"Okay, whatever I get your point. Anyway, I heard Grace's stepsister moved in with them and Henry says she's cute."

Ricky rolled his eyes and opened his binder, just as the bell rang and students began to file in, "Jack, honestly?"

Jack sighed and shrugged, "Alright, whatever. Just thought you might be interested."


The day so far had been better than Amy expected despite the initial rough start. She found that she shared a lot of classes with Lauren, Madison, Alice, and Grace so she was grateful to have bonded with them the day before since it made the transition much easier. The only classes she didn't seem to have with any of them were Spanish IV and Biology, which left her feeling anxious. She wasn't exactly shy, but she also wasn't entirely graceful in social settings. "First day jitters,"

"What was that?" She jumped slightly and looked up to the familiar face of the boy she had met last night. "Ah, sorry," he chuckled, taking the seat beside her, "Didn't mean to sneak up on you like that."

Amy let out a breathy laugh, "No, it's okay. Um," she tilted her head to the side, "Ben, right?"

He smiled and nodded, "Yeah and you're Amy. It's nice to see you again." The two looked up as the bell rang and students began to find their seats, a balding man with a briefcase entered the room, twitching his nose and causing his moustache to sweep back and forth across his lip. He addressed the class, "Buenos diaz clasé."

"Buenos diaz, Sir." They all rattled off instinctually. He introduced himself as Señor Barboni and said he had been working at Grant for over twelve years. He was originally from Nebraska, but his grandfather was a Spaniard and when he had turned eighteen he had moved to his grandfather's village and lived with him for five years before coming back and getting his teaching degree. He had a deep voice, smooth and disproportionate to his features, but he had a dry humor that Amy could appreciate. Eventually, he got into the lesson saying that he wanted to assess where their Spanish writing skills were, seeing as their class would be predominantly reading and writing in Spanish.

"Find a partner," he called out, his voice slipping out of one accent into the other and Amy immediately bit her lip, she first turned to Ben, expecting to see him already partnered with someone else. He was the Junior Class President after all, but he was looking at her with a friendly smile.

"Partner?" he asked.

Amy smiled gratefully and nodded, "Okay. Thanks."

Ben shook his head, "It's my pleasure, really."

Amy was about to say something more when a girl approached the pair, her hair a tousled mess of wavy dark hair and her plaid skirt hugging her curves. "Hey Ben, I was hoping we could partner up? You know, like last year?"

Amy bit her lip and looked up at the girl, her gaze steady on Ben with a hopefulness that made Amy suddenly feel like she was intruding on a moment. Ben seemed to be just as surprised as Amy was, his gaze meeting Adrian's with a similar spark to it and they all sat there for an awkward moment in silence. "Ben, if you'd rather-"

"No," Amy's voice seemed to pull Ben from his stupor. "I'm sorry Adrian, but I already agreed to partner with Amy. Sorry," he tried to smile lightly, "maybe in another class?"

Amy pursed her lips and looked sheepishly at Adrian who didn't seem at all pleased with his response. "Sure," she breathed out, her eyes finally finding Amy's and causing a chill to run up her spine, "maybe another class." With that she left the two behind, heading toward the back of the classroom and Amy turned to Ben.

"You could have partnered with her, you didn't have to stay with me because I'm new and all."

Ben offered a tight smile and shook his head, "I promise, that's not it. You and I agreed first and I'm a man that honors my agreements." He leaned back in his seat and glanced at the back of the class, "Besides, you are new and someone I'd like to get to know. I already know Adrian."

Amy bit her lip and also glanced briefly at the girl who seemed to be visibly upset as she sidled next to a talkative redhead. "Ex-girlfriend?" she asked innocently, trying to lighten the mood. Ben chuckled and shook his head, "No. Actually she's the ex-girlfriend of my brother and even though we're friends, they just broke up and we're trying to figure out where everyone stands."

Amy's brow furrowed and swept her braid over her shoulder, "Hmm, sounds like a lot of drama."

Ben smiled and shrugged, "It's high school. What can you do?"

Señor Barboni called the class together again and set them to work writing introduction letters to their partner. Amy found the work enjoyable, the silence allowing her to breathe as she slipped into the Spanish she could remember. She explained herself as best she could on paper, glancing at Ben from time to time as he was the one she was writing to. He seemed like a very genuine person and she was glad that there weren't any lingering glances from him like the evening before. She didn't feel as if he wanted anything from her other than friendship and she greatly appreciated that.

But she did feel as if someone was watching her. She casually glanced around her, but didn't see any eyes turned in her direction. It wasn't until the bell rang and Señor Barboni dismissed the class did she find the source of her discomfort. As Amy slipped out of her chair, lifting the strap of her messenger bag onto her shoulder, she caught sight of Adrian, the girl that had wanted to partner with Ben, glaring at her. She bit her lip and turned away, deciding it best to just slip out of the class as quickly as possible, but Ben caught up with her.

"Hey Amy, wait up." Amy sucked in a breath and contemplated not slowing down, but he was already at her side as she exited the classroom. "So, what class do you have next?"

Amy sighed and tilted her head to glance at him, catching Adrian stalking out of the classroom in her peripheral. "Um," it took her a second to get her bearings before turning to her binder where she had slipped her schedule, "looks like I have a free period actually."

Ben grinned, "That's great, me too. You want to meet some people?"

"Uh…"

"Really casual," Ben assured her right away, taking her hesitance as introversion, "Henry, Alice, and I all have a free period now and we usually spend it in the band room with my brother and some of his friends. You're in band right? I thought Principal Turner mentioned that to me."

Amy nodded, "Yeah, I play the French Horn, but I don't get to join the band until next week after I've auditioned for a spot."

"Okay," Ben said, "well might as well get acquainted with the band room. So come hang out with us. What do you say?"

Amy bit her lip, unsure of if it was really such a good idea, but relented, "I guess I don't really have anywhere else to go."

Ben laughed, "That's the spirit."

"Hey Ben, are you heading to the band room?" The two turned to see Adrian striding toward them, smiling up at Ben, but her eyes were fierce, almost hungry and it made Amy wary.

"Uh, yeah. I'm going to introduce Amy to some people." Ben stepped a fraction closer to her and Amy suddenly felt very uncomfortable as both she and Adrian had noticed, the latter turning her intense gaze onto Amy.

"Right, Amy the new girl. Hi, I'm Adrian, we didn't get formally introduced before."

Amy smiled politely and held out her hand, "Nice to meet you."

Adrian squeezed her hand in a tight grip and smiled, "Welcome to Grant." There was a sickly sweet quality to her voice, assuring Amy that Adrian was less than sincere in her greeting. But Amy chose to emulate Grace in that moment and just act obliviously nice in return.

"Thanks," Amy smiled, taking her hand back and pulling her binder closer to her chest. She did not like the way this girl made her feel or the way she was glaring at her with a smile, but she couldn't really do much about it and she hadn't actually done anything wrong.

"Well, anyway," Ben finally interjected, "Like I said, I'm just going to introduce Amy to some people. I'll uh," he sighed, "see you after school?"

"Oh," Adrian responded waving him off, "no, I was heading to the band room also."

Ben furrowed his brow, "Don't you have Economics this period?"

"I've got some time," Adrian spit back, apparently not appreciating the way Ben was trying to brush her off. He wasn't exactly subtle, but, then again, neither was Adrian.

"He'll be there, Ades," Ben added.

"So?" Adrian really didn't seem to appreciate that comment and Amy instinctively took a step away from the pair. "He doesn't have claim over the band room. I'm a majorette, I have just as much right to be in there as he does."

Ben sighed and shook his head, "I know, of course you do and that's not what I meant. It's just…after last night-"

"I told you, it's fine. I'm over him and I can't keep avoiding places because he might be there." Adrian crossed her arms and glared at Ben, who at least had the decency to look sheepish at where the conversation was going. "I can't keep giving up things because of your brother, Ben." This she said in a softer voice and a softness in her eyes and Amy suddenly felt it again, the feeling that she was intruding on a private moment.

"Uh," Ben sighed, "Alright, if you say so. Just…best behavior yeah? It wouldn't look good as Junior Class President if I allowed the two of you to slug it out." He chuckled to try to lighten the mood and even looked to Amy for a little help, to which she smiled politely. But Adrian didn't seem to appreciate the comment either and sniffed, turning away from the pair.

"Right," Ben sighed, "So, Amy, tell me about yourself."

"Uh…" Amy chuckled and shrugged, "Not much to tell. I lived in New York and moved here to live with my dad and his family while my mom and my sister tour Asia."

Ben raised a brow, "Are they in a band? Would I have heard of them?"

Amy laughed and shoved him playfully, "No, my mom owns a business and does a lot of interior design work for international clients. Over the next year she's going to be doing a lot of traveling and so she took my sister with her."

Adrian finally turned back toward her and raised one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows as well, "And you didn't go because…?"

Amy sighed and shrugged, "I'm more of a homebody." She brushed back a few stray strands of hair that had fallen from her braid, "And I thought it'd be good to spend some time with my dad and my stepfamily."

"Yeah," Ben agreed, "Grace said you guys don't get a lot of time to hang out and that's it's been nice having you around."

Amy laughed and nodded, "It helps that Grace is so nice."

"Almost too nice, huh?" Ben added, which made them both laugh.

"So," Adrian interrupted, her face clearly expressing her lack of amusement, "that must have been hard. Leaving your home, your friends, your…boyfriend?"

Amy pulled back and turned away, the image of Ricky in her mind like a jab to the gut. "I-," she coughed, "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh come on," Adrian goaded, "A pretty girl like you must have left some lonely boy behind heartbroken in New York."

Amy bowed her head and suddenly found herself consumed by the memory of Ricky, "No, that's not how it happened at all."

"Oh," Adrian cooed, seemingly pleased with how Amy was responding, "So there was a boy?"

"Adrian," Ben warned, noticing Amy's discomfort. He turned the corner and pointed at a pair of large double doors, "Ah, here we are," he said, placing a hand on Amy's shoulder. "Come on," he said with a smile, "Henry usually brings baked goods from his mom for everyone to share. That's why we're allowed to hang out here, as long as we share. You like Snickerdoodle?"

Amy offered a tight smile and nodded, "Sure."

The three entered the band room to see Henry and Alice sitting amongst a group of kids passing a large tin around. They turned toward the new arrivals and immediately began waving them over, Alice waving at Amy, "Hey!"

Amy waved back and began to trek toward her friend, when one of the other boys in the group called out to Ben, "Good afternoon President Boykewich, sir!" At the sound of the name Amy stopped in her tracks, wide-eyed and in complete shock.

Alice who had been watching her suddenly stood, her face furrowed in concern, "Ames? Are you alright?"

Ben and Adrian who had stepped closer toward the group turned toward Amy as well, but only Ben seemed concerned, while Adrian eyed her suspiciously. "Amy?" he asked, stepping back toward her, "What's wrong?"

She looked at him in complete wonder, as if she was at a loss for words, but soon found her voice, "Y-yo-your last name is-" she couldn't bring herself to say it, she was suddenly incredibly nervous and felt as though her legs were going to give out.

"Boykewich," Ben supplied, "Like Boykewich Butchers. You know the brand?"

Amy didn't know how to respond, she instinctively took a step back as she tried to make sense of all the thoughts running through her mind when the door behind her was pulled open and a body slammed into her, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry—I didn't-" The voice trapped all of Amy's breath in her throat and she turned so quickly that she stumbled deeper into the arms of the boy that had just bumped into her.

She gulped as she met the familiar chocolate brown eyes that she had missed so much over their weeks apart and forgot how to breathe. But he hadn't, instead his arms gripped her tighter, as if he was grasping onto a fading dream and croaked out, "Amy?!"

She sighed into his hold and wanted to laugh, it was too unbelievable to do anything but laugh and breathe out his name, "Ricky."

And with that he crushed her to his chest, allowing her to sink into his arms as if she had never left. "God, I'm dreaming," he whispered, "I fell asleep in History and am dreaming aren't I?"

Amy chuckled and buried her face into his chest, "I don't know and I don't care. If you are, then just don't wake up. Please, don't wake up."


AN: Again, can I just say "WHEW!" Seriously, I'm sorry if some of you are thinking this story is too drawn out and not enough RAMY, but need I remind you that Secret Life kept us anxious for three seasons before Ricky and Amy got their stuff together. I think I'm allowed a few chapters to rebuild them. Anyway, I can safely say that Ricky and Amy will have quite a few romance rekindling scenes in the next chapter, but it won't be up until maybe closer to Christmas. Why you ask? Well, because I'm currently on Christmas break and am traveling to Manila to spend Christmas with my family here in the Philippines. I am not going back to the States this year which is...bittersweet to say the least. But I praise God that I'm not alone and that this is looking to be a good Christmas break. =]

So, keep an eye out for a Christmas present from me. And I wish you all a very VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And if the world ends on December 21st, it was a pleasure writing for all of you.