(Ryan) For the mildly Inspiring (Ross)::22::

Time was going by too slowly.
At exactly 6:50 am every morning Heather would wake up, put on some sweats and go for a jog. She'd return home just before eight, change, grab a poptart or piece of toast and head off to school.
It was 6:45, and I had been sitting on her front porch since just after four. I hadn't slept. I couldn't sleep. I felt horrible but excited at the same time. My hand had developed a mind of it's own and kept reaching up to rest the tips of my fingers on the exact spot Ryan's lips had grazed hours before. When I shut ym eyes I saw the image of him looking out the window, the headlights to my fathers car reflecting in his dark eyes and holding my concentration. I'd feel his hands on my shoulders and his breath on my lips, and then I'd see Steph.
And all the happiness I had felt from remembering that look in Ryan's eyes would evaporate and all I could see was the hurt look that would be on her face if she knew.
Heather came strolling out her door quietly, her back facing me as she pulled it shut so gently noone would hear. She turned around, letting out a loud gasp and placing a hand over her heart as she saw me.
"Jesus, Aron. What the hell are you doing here?" She looked me up and down and then frowned. "And what were you doing before? You look terrible."
"Can we skip school today?" I asked her.
She stared at me, eyeborws raised. "You, Aron Taylor, want to skip school?" I gave a weak nod. "Wow. This must be important. Can it wait until after my jog?" I made a sad face and she sighed "If I don't go for one every morning I feel stiff and fatigued."
I agreed to let her go for a jog first, quietly making my way into her house and waiting in her room for her.
Heathers room was always a place I felt safe in. Her mom had a knack for capturting warmth in design. She had dreamed of being an interior decortator, but instead found ehrself working as a nurse. It paid better, she told me.
The entire Sampson house was painted in shades of indigo and cream. But Heathers room was the exception. She and her mom had worked on it together. It was a dark pruple, with light coloured hardwood floor and a big black rug in the middle of the floor. Her bed was covered in light blue bedsheets with piles of useless pillows ranging in shades of blues and purples and a few whites. She had a few pictures on the walls, all black and white and either of abstract imagery or friends.
It radiated her personality and surrounded you with a feeling of comfort, which was exactly the thing I was in need of.
"Alright, spill." Heather commanded, collapsing in a tired mess onto her bed beside me.
"I did something bad."
She turned her head to look at me. "Okay. How bad are we talking here?"
I sighed. "Bad, bad. It involves a certain boy."
She sat up, pushing a wisp of hair out of her face. "Brendon, or Ryan?"
"If it was Brendon I wouldn't have been up all night waiting for you, I'd be at his house arguing with him."
She nodded, pulling her legs up onto the bed and crossing them. "So what did you do to Ryan? OR..with Ryan?" She wagged her eyebrows but stopped once she saw that I wasn't mood for that sort of humor.
"Well, I guess I didn't really do anything-"
"So what did he do?" She leaned in a little bit, her eyes glowing with interest.
"Well...I guess he didn't really do anything that was that bad. It's just a far from good situation."
Heather stared at me before shaking her head. "Alright, you are not making sense right now, and I'm really tired. So get to the point."
I took a deep breath, fiddling with the edges of my sleeves. "Ryan came over yesterday. No, it was the day before that. Anyways, he was telling me about you and Spencer and how he didn't want to hang out with you guys and be the third wheel, so he invited me but I didn't want to do that either so he invited me to his housse"
Heather raised her eyebrows. "Well that's a very forward move to make with your ex-girlfriends best friend."
I nodded. "So, I went. I mean, originally I declined but he did those puppy eyes and you've seen Ryan, he has the most amazing eyes in the world, so I agreed."
Heather gasped "You slept with him."
"I did not sleep with him." I hissed. "But the whole night was sort of weird. He was quieter than usual. And we went for a walk and we were so close together we keot brushing hands, and I'd move over an inch but somehow we'd end up brushing hands again."
Heather had this amused look on her face but remained silent.
"And then when my dad got there my jacket got stuck on the doorknob, and we both leaned in to fix it and clunked heads, and my forehead really hurt, so he kissed it better, and then we were just staring at each other and he had this look in his eyes and then all of a sudden he's leaning in, and then my dad honked the horn and he took his hands off my shoulders and pulled away." I stopped, taking a breath for the first time since begining that part of the story and looking at Heather.
"He had his hands on your shoulders?" I nodded. "And he kissed your forehead?" I nodded again. "I'm not seeing where the bad thing is."
I groaned "He tried to kiss me!" I whined.
Heather frowned "Isn't that sort of what you've been wanting?"
"I think he likes me."
"Again, is that not what you've been hoping for?"
I sighed, stretching out my now numb legs to try and get some circulation running. "But Steph and I got this argument, as you know. And I spent the whole time convincing her he didn't feel that way. I mean, I've been hoping he'd feel this way, that's not a secret." I stopped, glaring at her as she agreed with me. "But I didn't think it would happen this soon. Not after Steph and I get in this huge fight and I tell her he doesn't see me that way."
Heather smiled sadly, patting my leg. "I know that right now all you're thinking about is how hurt Steph will be," She paused. "But this sin't your fault."
I stared at her. "How is this not my fault! I am the reason this happened. I decided to be his listener instead of Stephs. I lied to her. I hurt Brendon so that I could always have a chance with Ryan. I was selfish, and now look at the mess I made!"
"Alright, first off lower your voice a few decibals." Heather instructed. "And secondly, this isn't a mess." I rolled my eyes at her.
"Seriosuly Aron, it's not. Look, Steph and Ryan were adorable together, yes. But they didn't work out. And maybe she's upset about it and still pining for him, but he isn't. Spencer mentioned it last night, Ryan had feelings for Steph, but she wasn't the right girl. She didn't want to be involved in the family situation, and they didn't have all that much in common." She stared at me, letting her words soak in before continuing. "And Brendon, he'll move on. He may be slightly bitter towards Ryan, and maybe he gets bitchy with you, but in the long run he'll be thankful, because you didn't settle for him and you set him straight with how you felt before anything happened." She let out a big sigh and pulled her hair out from her ponytail. "And as for last night, you should not be feeling bad. You were there for him when he needed someone. You guys have been hanging out a lot, you understand him, you have a lot in common. You can't help the way you feel about someone. Mayeb that doesn't make you feel any better, but it's the truth. Steph will probably hate you for awhile, but if you guys are as good of friends as you claim she'll get over it and realize that if you and Ryan make each other happy and work together. And if she doesn't, well thats her loss."
I still wasn't feeling any better, and that was obviosly shown on my face.
"Aron, do not feel bad about this." She demanded. "Ryan and Steph didn't work. They've both said that. He's said he wouldn't get back together with her multiple times. They had their happy days together, and now they're over." She gave me a half smile. "This isn't a bad thing Aron."
I nodded, allowing a smile to tug on my lips. "And maybe I'm over analyzing it. Maybe he isn't feeling that way about me."
Heather laughed, patting my head. "Sweetie, from the stories I've been told, Ryan hasn't seen you as just as friend for awhile now." She smiled at me, walking to her closet and grabbing some clothes and throwing them at me. "You go shower and change. We'll still skip, because despite this now calm exterior you're wearing I know that the sight of Steph will break you." I nodded, picking the clothes up. "And then you can hear all about my night with Spencer."
I let out a small laugh, sending her one last smile full of gratefullness before leaving the room.
I don't even have something witty to put here.
Sorry to dissapoint you.