RYAN. I rapped at the door afront me like a gentleman,but deep down I was getting impatient at the lack of response. I heard voices within and muffled sounds of footsteps. She better get this door open now. As if my thoughts were heard,the door opened. I was expecting a surprised looking Claire,but I got nothing like that. Instead,I saw an attractive teenage boy with a pleasant smile. He gave me a once over and a look of disapprobation crossed his face. He was definitely expecting someone else,so was I. "I need to see Claire" I said firmly. He furrowed his brows "Why?"I looked fixedly at him."You know what? Never mind" He said and turned his head backwards. "Claire, someone's here, said he needs to see you!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. I almost rolled my eyes. Is that necessary?He turned his head towards me, staring at me in a studying manner while I pocketed my hands to wait for Claire. His eyes dropped to the action and then went up to meet my eyes. He narrowed his e

RYAN. "Fuck,fuck,fuck" I cursed under my breath as I watched Claire walk away angrily. "Claire...." I called quietly, but she was already out of earshot but not out of the restaurant yet. I ran my fingers through my hair, regretting the words I said to her. The only solution to my problems is walking away right now. I fucked this up. I always fuck things up and I've done it again. "Well?..." I heard Cassie's high pitched voice."Well what?!" I snapped at her "Hey easy...." Roy's voice was soft and calming "A normal guy would go after her" Cassie chuckled "Did you forget Ryan is an abnormal guy?"Is that how even my close family members view me? My expression showed nonchalance to her hurtful words,but I knew within me that those words affected me. "I'm not abnormal" I blurted out, strongly disagreeing with her.I was conscious of the gawks I got as the words came out. "Geez, people,stop gaping at me" I rolled my eyes to feign indifference "I'm really normal. Why is that so ha

RYAN. I studied Claire's reaction as she scanned Wally's environment and I could see she was impressed. Her eyes had shone brightly like she was in a wonderland. She smiled adorably at me. "I love this place. It's so beautiful"It's been a while she gave me a smile as nice as that, I honestly miss that. Wally's party is just like old times, the settings is exactly like the high school one. The guy doesn't wanna grow up. "Wow, I love this party already" Claire commented beside me. I glanced at her face, she was grinning from ear to ear. Her pretty face was glowing and her white pearly teeth added to her beauty. I looked around me, I caught some guys staring lustfully at her while she's oblivious to their stares. I wrapped my hands around her bare shoulder possessively, surprising Claire and myself too. My hands got the unfamiliar light tingles I feel from making physical contact with her. It happened the last time I touched her too. Claire gave me a sharp questioning look, stif

RYAN. What do you do to stop a girl from crying?Nothing came to my head at first. Her tears affected me than I would like to admit. Everything about Claire is easily comprehensive and at the same time a puzzle. Seeing her cry moved my heart and for the first time in years,I felt a strange warmness within me. I stared at her inquisitively. Why the hell is she crying? Was I being too harsh on her or something? Or was it Brenda and her mean friends? I swear if the girls are the cause of her tears.... I stopped my thoughts from going darker to focus on Claire. When I'd noticed her shakiness minutes ago, I thought it was because of the cold from her soaked clothes,then suddenly, the childish side of her was shown right in front of me. Her tears kept flowing freely down to her smooth cheeks. After thinking of everything I could do to make her stop crying but couldn't find a single solution,I relaxed and didn't stop staring at her. I never knew a girl could remain beautiful even when s

RYAN.Today is Grandma Tessa's birthday. I was anxious as hell to attend the little party, I almost held Claire's hand for calmness. Yes, it's just a little party among family members, but that's what makes it a dreading party because I might as well be called 'the centre of attraction'. You see, I'm viewed as the black sheep of the family and in gatherings like this one I'm about to walk into,all attention is usually on me,like they're waiting for me to do something really bad at any moment. I had a lots of negative 'what ifs' roaming on my mind. What if Grandma Tessa is displeased to see me as her grandson? I mean, She's my granny,so I respect her a lot. What if she doesn't accept my gifts?What if my parents,especially my dad, suddenly remembers the shitty things I did in the past? I'm not exactly the son of the year, I'm certain I can never be one. Claire had voiced out compliments about each and everything in my parents house till I had to snap at her to stop. My edginess w