Chapter Four: Ryan is a Heartless
The next day Ryan got to school, everything seemed a bit out of place. Usually he was Mr. Invisible, but some how today everyone was talking about him and looking at him pointing and making eye contact. This felt so weird to Ryan he thought he was going crazy, maybe there was some rumor going around he thought. Whatever it was made him uncomfortable and he ran towards his first hour class.
Thankfully the class was empty and he could finally relax.
"What is up with everyone today? It's like I'm today's new celebrity or something," thought Ryan.
"Ryan Edge, please report to the library," went the intercom.
"What now?" Ryan asked aloud.
Ryan left his stuff on his table area and walked out of the class with his headphones in his ears. As Ryan walked towards the library, he noticed it was crowded in the hallways leading towards the library. He decided that he couldn't get through so decided to turn back, but as he turned back he noticed at the corner of his eye that the people in the hallway all moved to the walls. It looked like the story about Moses and his water splitting ability.
"This...is...so...weird," thought Ryan as he walked through the hallway.
When Ryan got into the library, he noticed that it was pitch black. He turned around to leave, thinking he was in the wrong room, but the door shut and locked. Ryan, now not knowing what to expect next, walked in complete darkness looking for one of the tables. As he was walking, tripped on something and landed face first onto the floor.
The lights flickered back on and someone helped him up.
"Hey, you okay?" asked a familiar voice.
"Yeah, I just tripped. Nothing to worry about," Ryan said as he opened his eyes and saw that it was none other than Brian himself which caused Ryan to freeze.
"What's wrong, you look like you've seen a ghost," laughed Brian.
"W-What are you doing here? This place was empty when I got here," said Ryan.
"I was here all along. I fell asleep because you took too long getting here," said Brian. "Then I heard someone fall and I woke up."
"Wait, you were waiting for me? What do you want from me?" asked Ryan.
"Yeah, I was waiting for you because someone said that they would tutor me," said Brian.
"When did I say that?" asked Ryan.
"Yesterday, when I asked you after my interview," said Brian.
Ryan thought back and remembered that Brian did ask him.
"Oh, I guess you did ask me. I guess I wasn't paying much attention," said Ryan .
Brian just laughed and took out his book and piles of homework.
"This is going to be a lot of work," said Ryan. "Do you not do your homework?"
"Well with school, football, and work, I don't think I can do homework unless I want to get rid of sleep," said Brian.
"I guess you're right. Brian, I have a question," said Ryan.
"What?" Brian said finishing some of the homework he already started.
"Why is the library deserted? The library is usually full of nerds playing video games," said Ryan.
"Oh, I reserved it just for us. I can't concentrate when there's a bunch of people here," said Brian.
"You reserved it?" asked Ryan.
"Yeah, is it so weird to reserve a room for some peace and quiet," asked Brian.
"It kind of is. I guess you're kind of some celebrity to everyone in this school not just the students," said Ryan. "Because regular kids can't do this, we have to use our headphones if we want peace and quiet."
"Oh, I thought that's just how it was," said Brian.
"Why do all the cute guys have to be so dumb," thought Ryan.
Ryan looked over at Brian's homework and noticed that they were already finished.
"It looks like you already know what you're doing, why do you need my help?" asked Ryan.
"Well the truth is, is that I can already do all this stuff I just needed to ask you some stuff, that's all," said Brian.
"Hmm I guess Mr. Popular can't possibly get caught talking with me," thought Ryan.
"So what do you want to talk about?" asked Ryan.
"Well...um...I heard a rumor about you being gay, is that true?" asked Brian.
"Is that really a question?" asked Ryan. "I'm leaving."
"No, wait. Don't go, I'm just...I don't know you just don't seem like the type that would be interested in other guys," said Brian.
"The cute ones really are dumb," thought Ryan.
"Look, if asking me if I am gay is all you want to know then the answer is yes," said Ryan. "Now if you don't mind I have to get to class."
"Wait, I--"
Before Brian could finish, Ryan slammed the door into his face. Ryan walked to the Mrs. Hartfield's class and noticed that all his pictures that he took of Brian, yesterday, were posted all over the room with numbers posted on them.
"Oh Ryan, you're here can you help me pick the best three pictures for the paper?" asked Mrs. Hartfield.
"Okay, but why are the pictures on the wall?" asked Ryan.
"Well you, the photographer, went picture crazy yesterday," said Mrs. Hartfield. "And we're only allowed two or three pictures for his page."
"Great, he even gets his own page. This boy is getting on my nerves," thought Ryan.
"That still doesn't explain the numbers--"
"Those numbers represent which pictures the girls who came in here voted on," said Mrs. Hartfield. "I'm far too busy to do all of this myself. So I need you to get the top two or three and give them to me."
"What about the other ones?" asked Ryan.
"Do what you want with them, burn them for all I care," said Mrs. Hartfield.
"Selling them sounds like a better idea," thought Ryan.
"Mrs. Hartfield, do you know where--"
Ryan wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into someone.
"Hey watch where you're going!" yelled Ryan.
"Sorry, I was looking for someone," said the man.
"Well it's obvious that this person isn't here. The only people in this room are Mrs. Hartfield and me," said Ryan.
"Well, maybe you're who I'm looking for. Can you take off you're hood?" asked the man.
"Who's asking? A cop?" Ryan asked picking up the pictures off the floor.
"No, it's me," said the man.
"Me? Wow that's a weird name," said Ryan turning his back to the man, walking into the copy room.
"Will you just look at me?" the man said grabbing Ryan`s hood.
"What's wrong--"
Ryan turned around and saw that it was none other than Brian.
"See, you are the one I'm looking for," said Brian.
Ryan walked to the door and closed the door.
"What do you want?" said Ryan.
"I want to apologize for--"
"For what? Being an idiot? You can't apologize for not having a brain," said Ryan. "Now if you'll excuse me I have some work to do."
"Ouch. That hurts, that really hurts. Why are you so heartless? You were fine yesterday, until you left abruptly actually," said Brian.
"You wouldn't understand," said Ryan. "You don't know me."
"Well I want to know, okay. You're the only friend I have at this moment," said Brian.
"What are you talking about? You have Jace and everyone in the entire school loves you. How can you not have any friends," said Ryan.
"I found out how Jace is around people and I can't have a friend that hates others who are different. And the people in this school? The guys only like me because I win them football games and the girls just like me for my looks, heck I don't even like Haleigh. We were just put together for looks, because people said we look good together. When we're not together, she's always with some guy probably doing stuff with him too," explained Brian.
"Wow...that's deep," laughed Ryan.
"Shut up," said Brian.
"Right, well how am your friend in the first place?" asked Ryan.
"Because you're the only person in this school I can trust. The only person that isn't fake," said Brian.
"Wow, that really means a lot to me Brian. Now what? Are we going to hold hands and frolic in the flowers?" joked Ryan.
Brian couldn't take it any longer with Ryan's heartless jokes so he pushed him against the wall and stared him straight in the face.
"Why are you so heartless? All I'm trying to do is find someone I can trust, find a true friend!" yelled Brian.
"Well I can see why people are so fake around you. If this is how you treat a person, then it's no wonder you have no friends!" Ryan yelled back.
"What did someone do to make you this way? Did someone hurt you?" asked Brian.
"Everyone hurts me and if you haven't noticed, you are too," said Ryan.
"Everyone gets hurt, that's the way of life," said Brian as he let go of Ryan. "That's what family is for. Friends will always come and go, but family is forever."
"Family? You really don't know me do you?" said Ryan.
"What are you talking about? How can you say such bad things about your family? They brought you into this life seems to me like you don't care about them," said Brian.
"MY FAMILY ABANDONED ME THREE YEARS AGO! You don't know my pain. I've been living alone ever since," Ryan said collapsing onto the floor. "They found out about me and kicked me out without reason, burning everything I owned. I lived with Kase for a year, then I found my own place."
"Oh...Ryan, I didn't know...I'm so--"
"Don't say it," said Ryan. "Don't say you're sorry. It won't do any good."
Brian walked up to Ryan, picked him up, and held him in his arms.
"What are you doing?" asked Ryan.
"You need this, I don't care what you say, you know you need this," said Brian.
Ryan didn't move. Things were moving too fast and he was shaking with fear. He didn't have anybody who treated him like this, only Kase. It felt weird to have a guy hold him like this even if he was a homosexual. Ryan didn't care anymore, he knew that whatever he would do to get away from Brian would end up in failure, so he did the next thing that crossed his mind and embraced Brian. Letting out all the tears that he'd been holding in.
"It's okay...just let it all out," said Brian.
"People always make fun on me in this school a-and they don't even know my p-p-past. This is only one of the things that happened to me, that I never want to remember," cried Ryan.
"Only one? How many are there?" thought Brian.
"I know what you're thinking Brian, only one? Well more things happened before and after I got kicked out," said Ryan.
"You're full of secrets and they're eating at you day by day, aren't they?" asked Brian.
Ryan held on to Brian's clothes tighter and Brian already knew the answer.
"I won't leave you," said Brian.
"You have to," Ryan said letting go of Brian.
"What are you talking about?" asked Brian.
"School starts in five minutes," said Ryan.
"Oh...you're a dork," said Brian.
"I try," laughed Ryan. "Now go, I have to get some newspapers made," said Ryan.
"You're too cute," said Brian.
"What did you say?" asked Ryan.
"Nothing, nothing, I said nothing," said Brian.
"I'm pretty sure you said that I was--"
"Nope, I didn't say anything," said Brian as he left Mrs. Hartfield's class.
"Straight guys really are weird. They can call guys cute and stuff without any meaning to it. But it felt nice," thought Ryan.
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"What did I just say? I didn't mean it, did I?" thought Brian.
Brian walked to the boy's locker room, dressed out and went into the gym where he made a close encounter with a group of people in the center of the gym. He walked closer and saw that everyone was staring at Jace, he had a broken nose and smelt like something real bad.
"Jace, what happened to you man?" asked one of the gym boys.
"I got--" Jace got cut short as he saw Brian standing in the crowed. "I got duty work at Simply Edge."
Everyone started busting out laughing and left Jace to wallow in his own misery. Brian also left and started to stretch.
"Pity...he has nothing anymore," thought Brian. "Pathetic."