Chapter 2
Ryan paused for a moment, his ears tinged with a faint blush.
He handed me the pen, sounding a lot friendlier than before.
"What's the big deal? It's not like we made out or anything," Ryan said.
After that, Ryan started helping me with my math problems every day.
He was super focused when explaining, breaking down complicated formulas into easy steps.
Sometimes, he'd draw a goofy smiley face next to my mistakes and write, [Such a dummy.]
I'd look at his ELA test papers, full of mistakes.
I'd say, "Hey, want me to help you with it? There are some easy hacks for those questions."
But he'd just shove the paper back into his drawer, his tone going cold again.
"Nah, I can't stand memorizing vocab," he said.
I let it go.
I just left my notes on the corner of his desk and went back to grinding through practice problems.
When the midterm results came out, I ranked second in the grade, right behind Alex.
Jessica strutted around the classroom, clutching Alex's award certificate.
She finally stopped in front of Ryan to show off.
"Alex got another award. If you put in as much effort as he does, maybe your grades wouldn't be so bad," she said.
Ryan stared at his paper; his expression grew stormy.
He didn't say a word all day and didn't even bother with lunch.
During the evening session, I pulled a sandwich out of my bag and set it on his desk.
"I just grabbed this from the cafeteria. You should eat something," I said.
He hesitated for a few seconds, then finally unwrapped it and took a bite.
After finishing, Ryan finally spoke up, sounding a bit reluctant.
"Didn't you want to help me with ELA? Let's start tomorrow. I want Jessica to see I can get good at this too," he muttered.
I gave him a small smile and nodded. "Alright."
From then on, we slowly grew closer.
Ryan stopped acting distant around me.
He even started bringing me milk without me asking.
Back then, he used to do all this for Jessica.
I didn't say no to any of it. I happily took it all.
After we finished studying tonight, Ryan suddenly said, "It's getting late. Let me walk you home."
My heart dropped.
I couldn't stop the memories flooding back, the fear from my previous life, when Ryan cornered me in the dark.
But I kept my cool and nodded.
As we walked out of the school gate, we bumped into Alex and Jessica.
Jessica's eyes went cold the moment she saw us together.
She tried to walk into me, but Alex reached out and stopped her.
Ryan stepped forward, putting himself between Jessica and me.
Jessica's face was full of disbelief.
"What's going on? Why are you protecting this bitch?" Jessica snapped, glaring at Ryan.
She wrapped her arm around Alex, planted a kiss on him, and then dashed off.
Sure enough, Ryan's face turned pale as a sheet.
He muttered a curse under his breath and stormed off.
As I watched their backs disappear, my lips curled into a cold smirk.
This was just the beginning.
They owed me, and I was going to get it all back, piece by piece.
The next day, Ryan was absent from class.
I silently copied down the key points the teacher highlighted for him.
But just as I finished, I heard the scrape of a chair behind me.
Jessica walked over to my desk, her voice icy. "Emily, you're feeling pretty smug, aren't you?"
I looked up at her, putting on a confused face.
"I don't know what you mean," I said.
"Drop the act, Emily," Jessica snapped.
She snatched the notes from my hand and slammed them down hard on the desk.
"Just because Ryan's protecting you, you think you can walk all over me?" she sneered, "Let me tell you, even if I don't want him, someone like you doesn't even deserve to be near him."
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Ryan about to walk in.
I shot back, "Jessica, that's not what real love looks like. If you actually cared about Ryan, you wouldn't keep him around as your backup.
"But if you don't even like him, why are you hanging onto him and not letting anyone else get close?"
"You seriously think you can boss me around?" Jessica shot back, her eyes blazing.
She totally lost it. She ripped my notes to shreds and then snatched the water bottle off my desk.
She twisted the cap open and splashed the whole thing right over my head.