Hi guys, sorry I've taken so long to update, uni work has been building up. I hope you enjoy this chapter- it's evidently not as crazy as the last one but it has some hopefully exciting and key moments!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the character's, merely the plot.
Ryder made his way to English class with added purpose on Monday. He hadn't managed to catch Marley all day, but she obviously couldn't avoid her desk partner in the lesson. He arrived and went into the fast filling classroom and noticed that she was already there, tapping her feet anxiously under their table, clearly feeling awkward.
"Hey there Little Miss Alcoholic," he murmured teasingly into her ear, coming up from behind her. She jumped, glanced momentarily at him, then looked away, sighing heavily and closing her eyes with a grimace. He chuckled, and took his seat next to her, before she looked at him with a frown.
"…I'm so embarrassed…" she moaned, causing Ryder to roar with laughter. "I can't believe you saw me like that…I can't believe I got like that…"
"How much do remember?" Ryder asked curiously, determined to get to the bottom of her comment before she had fallen asleep.
"Not too much. It's all very blurred…I do remember you carrying me home, if that's what you mean…" she replied with a sigh. Ryder guffawed again, and Marley allowed herself a small bashful smile, deciding it would probably be better to laugh at herself.
"Do you remember how pissed your Mom was?" Ryder inquired, with a grin.
"Oh yes. And even if I didn't, I would have known by the yelling she gave me yesterday, once my horror hangover from Saturday had subsided…" she told him, with a telling expression.
"Oh yeah? What'd she say?" He asked. Marley sat up straight and put her hands on her hips.
"Marley Rose, how dare you be so irresponsible?! You could have been taken advantage of! You could have been killed! You could have choked to death on your own vomit!" She screeched, playfully mimicking her Mother's voice and tone. The pair fell into a fit of giggles, until they were both shouted at by an exasperated Miss Holliday, who wanted to start the lesson.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The bell rang, signifying the end of English and the end of the school day, and Miss Holliday dismissed her class. Ryder and Marley walked leisurely towards their lockers to get the rest of their things before going home. On the way, Ryder realised that, with no teacher to interrupt his interrogation, now was the perfect time to further question her.
"So…" he started. "About Friday night…do you remember what you said to me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk.
"I…said a lot of things I'm sure I'll regret," she replied, looking very pointedly at her feet in an attempt to avoid eye contact with him.
"Yeah, but I mean…specifically before you fell asleep you said…that you should have said yes…to going on a date with me…is this ringing any bells?" He asked, mentally crossing his fingers.
Marley didn't reply verbally, but the way in which she scrunched up her face and turned bright red did all the talking that was required. Ryder grinned.
"AHA!" He shouted, making her jump yet again. "So you do remember!" He exclaimed triumphantly, as she stood mortified before him.
"I…" she started, but didn't know what to say to counteract his suggestion. After all, he was right; she had said it, she had remembered it and she had meant it. Eventually, she managed to form some sort of reply. "I'm such an embarrassment to the human race," she groaned.
"No you're not Marls!" Ryder protested. "Ok- I mean, getting trashed to the point of needing carried home, that was quite embarrassing," he chuckled, as Marley frowned, "but…what you said…that wasn't embarrassing at all. Or if it was, then I'm guilty of the same embarrassment, aren't I?" He justified. Marley simply raised her eyebrow bashfully.
"Look, what I'm trying to say is…we both know full well that I want to go on a date with you. And now we both know full well that you want to go on a date with me. So-"
"So what?" she interjected, feeling awfully self-conscious at the way Ryder was pulling her feelings apart. He could read her like a book.
"So…you think you should have said yes, well here's a second chance. Will you, Marley Rose, go on a date with me, Ryder Lynn?" He asked, looking deep into her bright blue eyes.
Marley bit her lip nervously and paused, thinking for several seconds, then nodded, with a shy smile.
"Really?" he asked quietly, almost in slight disbelief. She nodded again. "Awesome!" He exclaimed, feeling like he had just won the lottery. "Well…shall we say this Friday? I mean we can discuss it further later on in the week but…"
"Sure," Marley said, her shy smile now having transformed into a beaming grin. "Friday sounds great." They both simply smiled at each other in pleasant silence for a few seconds, before she spoke again. "Well I should probably get going…my Mom's gonna be waiting for me and if I put a toe out of line after last Friday I will almost certainly be grounded for this Friday…" she sighed.
"Well we sure can't have that!" Ryder grinned. They said goodbye, and he watched Marley hurry off after getting her things, before quietly punching the air in celebration.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Marley had been trying to think of a way to tell her Mom about her plans with Ryder for a while. On the one hand, Marley was about to go on her first ever date, with the first guy who'd ever really liked her, and she'd ever really liked too, and she wanted to share that excitement with her Mom, but on the other hand, she knew that her Mother would be dead set against it being with Ryder Lynn, and might even try to stop her from going. Ryder had gone up slightly in Millie's estimations since last Friday's debacle, but Marley knew that she definitely would still hate the idea of them dating.
Late on Thursday evening, Marley finally decided that she couldn't keep such a big milestone in her life a secret from her Mother –the most precious person in her life- for any longer, and knocked on Millie's bedroom door just as she was getting ready for bed.
"Come in sweetheart," came her Mother's familiarly cheery voice, from the other side of the door. Marley entered, and sat on the end of her Mom's bed, whilst Millie sat at her small dressing table.
"Hi Mom," she said nervously.
"You okay hun?" Millie asked, never failing to detect any difference in her daughter's tone or emotions, however slight.
"Yeah, I just…I have something to tell you. It's a good thing," she added, when her Mother furrowed her brow.
"Tell away sweetheart," Millie said with a small smile, turning to face her daughter since it was probably important.
"Well uh…" Marley stuttered timidly. "I kind of…have a date tomorrow night…" Marley finished, and to her surprise, was immediately pulled in for an excited hug from her Mom.
"Oh my baby girl!" Millie shrieked, her voice rising an octave higher than usual. "My baby girl all grown up and going on her first date, how sweet!" Marley pulled herself away from her Mother's tight clutches, and tried to process her bizarrely positive reaction. She had thought she would freak.
"So," started Millie, after regaining her composure. "Who's the lucky young man?"
Marley froze, and her eyes widened in shock. Really? She thought. Mom really doesn't know the answer to that question? The naivety, she thought, did explain her elated outburst, but she continued to sit still and stare at her mother with a 'seriously?' expression, and it very quickly dawned on Millie who the lucky young man in question was.
"Oh no, hun." She started when she realised, the disappointment etched in every word. Marley sighed loudly in frustration, and was just about to speak, when her Mother cut her off.
"You promised me you wouldn't get any more involved with that boy Marley! You promised me!" she started, her voice raised. Marley winced, they never fought, partly because it brought back painful memories, and partly because they were that close. Millie continued. "How many times do I have to tell you, he only wants one thing from you! Sweetheart I know what it's like to be with someone who's only bad for you, you know that too! Look, I understand why you have a crush; he's handsome, he's popular, he's funny, but you're only going to get hurt-" Millie was cut off from a surprising and rare outburst from her usually quiet daughter.
"You know what Mom, I'm sorry, but…you're wrong this time! Ryder likes me, ok. He understands me-"
"Oh Marls don't be so naïve. Every guy pretends they 'understand' a girl they want to get in with-"
"Mom stop!" Marley yelled, angry tears now streaming down her reddened face. "Stop being so judgemental…you're basing him off of a stereotype and nothing else! You know, just cos a guy wears a Letterman jacket, and is popular, doesn't mean he just wants to…you know. And aren't you forgetting he might as well have saved my life last weekend? You said it yourself! And I'm not the naïve little girl you think I am anymore, Mom, I'm not stupid, okay…I know that Ryder has a…colourful…past, but he's changed! Maybe even because of me…look, if I thought that he was going to treat me badly I wouldn't have agreed to go out with him! And I'm 17 years old, you can't control me anymore! What is your problem? What, just because Dad hurt you and left you bitter and alone you want to ruin things for me?!"
Marley stopped as soon as she'd realised what she had said, and clamped her hands on her mouth. Millie looked visibly shaken, and looked away from her daughter, rubbing her arms and clenching up out of impulse.
"Oh God…Mom I'm sorry I didn't mean that…" Marley said, her voice breaking ever so slightly.
"I know you didn't hun. Come Here." Millie whispered, opening her arms and beckoning her daughter to come and fill the gap in between them. Marley obliged and wrapped her own arms around Millie's neck.
"I'm so sorry," she whimpered again. "That was a terrible thing to say…"
"You were angry Marls, it's ok-"
"No it's not ok!" Marley said firmly, scolding herself, more than anything. "That man…that pathetic excuse of a husband and Father hurt us more than anything and I used him to score a point over you, that's a terrible thing to do!"
"You weren't thinking straight Marls. We all lose our heads sometimes and say things we shouldn't."
The two stayed in that position for a little while, before Millie pulled away slightly, and spoke softly.
"You're really sure about this boy, Marley?" she asked. Marley looked her in the eye, and sniffed.
"Yes. I am." She said simply. Millie looked like she was thinking for a minute, then sighed.
"Then you two have fun tomorrow night." She replied, with a small, reluctant smile. Marley simply looked at her, the surprise evident in her expression.
"Really?" she asked quietly.
"Yes." Millie affirmed. "But if he tries to steal anything more than a kiss from you, you kick him to the curb and don't speak to him ever again, you understand me?"
"I understand," Marley giggled. "Oh thank you Mom, thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed, pulling her Mom back in tightly for another hug.
"Good night Marls, you'd better get your beauty sleep before tomorrow," she joked. "Besides, it's school night." Marley grinned, and obediently went to her own bedroom, but before going to sleep, popped on Facebook and, seeing that Ryder was online, typed him a quick message.
'So I told Mom about our date tomorrow…' she typed, not having to wait long for a reply.
'How did she reakt?' Replied Ryder.
'Not great…then we had a huge fight…then I said something really mean…then we made up…then she said I could go…so I guess it turned out ok in the end!'
'Marley Rose has a mean streek? Whooda thunk it?' He joshed. 'So…were stil on for me piking you up at 6 then?'
Marley giggled, before typing out her final reply before going to sleep.
'We're still on :D Good night, Ryder x'
'AWESOME :D night marls x'
With that, the two logged off to go to bed, but neither got to sleep too soon, as they were both too excited about what lay in store for them tomorrow night.
You like? You no like? Tell me below! So guys, Ryder and Marley are going on a date! Woo woo! And we see another side to Marley and Millie's relationship… And there may just be something exciting happening in the next chapter, and not just their date, that's all I'm saying :p
To my lovely reviewers:
Ember411: Haha, you might be right! I'd love to see the newbies drunk in an episode like 'Blame it on the Alcohol' :p Here is your update my dear :)
TeaAndGlee: Aww thanks so much! Haha, I love drunk Marley too, she's a mischievous one :p Here is the update, sorry it took a little longer than usual.
Gleeatic713: Don't worry I love the craziness, haha! Oh thanks, you're too kind. Hmm the waiting just got one hell of a lot shorter, that's all I'll say :p
Savannaramirez35: She's learning to deal with him, I think! Yeah, I hated the Klaine, but Marley and Ryder standing next to each other was a small consolation…they seemed to have more background moments than Jarley in 5x02, as well. Here's the update :)
Guest: Thanks so much for all your reviews! People like you who review every chapter are my faves :p I hope the kiss is worth waiting for, I don't want to disappoint you or any other readers! You might find out very soon, hehe
PS. Is anyone still on cloud nine after another great Jennoist day yesterday? :D
Thanks again for reading,
Lauren xxx