The next day was exactly as had been predicted. The kid, Ryan as he had introduced himself to be, did talk to me; non-stop. Since we didn't share hardly any classes beside last period, it was almost easy to avoid him for most of the school day, but when it came down to my last class he was right there at my desk again, eager for another chat. I wondered what he got out of harassing me the way he did.

"So, I was thinking," he was saying as I read the same sentence in a book three times without really reading it, "I know a really cool arcade not to far away and I bet you'd like it. If you're not doing anything after school we should go hang out." Ryan smiled hopefully.

Sighing, I turned away from my book. "Sorry," I said, aiming for politeness. "I have family stuff to do after school."

He frowned with disappointment. "You can't just hang out for a little bit? It doesn't have to be a long time. I just want to get to know you," he said.

"Nope," I replied. "I have a big group of people coming over for dinner so I have to clean, cook, entertain. I have way too much to do to be goofing off."

He looked confused. "Really? I heard from some of my friends that you only had a dad and that was it," he said.

I shot him a glare for catching me in my lie. "I'm too busy," I gritted out.

He sighed and rested his elbows on my desk. "I may be spoiled, but I'm not stupid. You're avoiding me and I can tell." He gave me a thoughtful look. "I just don't know why..."

I didn't give him an answer as I picked up my history book again and continued reading. This seemed to annoy him and he puffed at me before snatching my book out of my hands. I stood up, reaching for it. "Hey! Give that back!" I said angrily.

He held it away from me. "No way," he said. "If you're going to ignore me, then I'm going to pester you."

I glared at him. "If I'm ignorig you then it means I don't want to talk to you. So, give me my book and leave me alone," I said, reaching again for the book that was out of my reach.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "I think you just have a problem with people. You don't want to talk to anyone," he said.

"Maybe so," I snapped. "But that's none of your business."

I wanted to say more, but the teacher walked in and Ryan dropped my book back on my desk and hurried to his own. He sat down and smiled at the teacher good-naturedly. I balled my hands into fists and sat down at my desk again, keeping my eyes on my desk so I wouldn't stand up and punch Ryan in front of the teacher and the whole class. I stayed that way through the lesson and when it ended, I grabbed my things and stormed out of the room. I had thought Ryan would leave me alone and go annoy one of his other friends, but I was wrong and he rushed to walk next to me, just like he had the day before.

"So, since you're not doing anything, want to go to the arcade?" he asked, like he hadn't heard me tell him no already.

I opened my locker. "I said I can't," I told him.

He groaned, nonchalantly throwing his arm over my shoulders. "Yeah, and your excuse was the biggest lie I've ever heard; and Santa Claus is a pretty big man," he said. I rolled my eyes at his stupid joke as I closed my locker and headed for the front doors. Ryan frowned. "Please? I know you don't seem to like me, but I really want to be friends."

"You can want that for the rest of your life, but I do not want the same," I said, exasperated. "So, please leave me alone."

He pursed his lips and before I knew it he had snatched my backpack off my shoulder and bolted away. I stood there for a second in shock. Then I felt myself boil with anger. I took off after him and chased him through the neighborhood, shouting at him. I didn't watch where we were going, my mind was only focused on getting my backpack and then beating him the shit out of him with it. Ryan slipped through some fences and around half a dozen corners before he ran up to a house and whipped out a key. Just as I got to the front steps he pushed the door open and ran up some stairs. I didn't pause for a second, racing up after him and following him into a large room where he tossed my backpack into a corner and waited for me to go towards it. When I had, he shut the door and leaned on it, blocking any escape I may have had.

I picked up my bag and turned around with a sweaty glare. "What's your problem?" I asked, breathing hard through my nose.

He shrugged. "I'm used to getting what I want, so I just did what I had to do," he said simply.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"My place. My parents are probably still at work, so we have the house to ourselves," he said.

I frowned. "Doesn't that sound just great?" I muttered under my breath. "Why am I here?"

"Well, I can talk to you now without you having to put up your thick walls of distrust," he said, waving his hands like he was mimicking the thick walls he spoke of. He chuckled and gestured to the expanse of the room. "Go ahead and sit down. I have alot to ask you."

I noticed he sat on the floor in front of the door and crossed his legs. I figured it'd be faster to just give a bunch of lies to satisfy him than to try and leave without his approval. Though now that I thought of it, this could be considered stalking and kidnapping if I stretched the truth a little bit when I reported his ass to the cops. That wouldn't go over well with my dad though, I was sure, so I huffed and sat down in front of him, crossing my arms and glaring around the room to avoid having to look at him. "So, what do you want to ask?" I questioned.

He grinned, quite pleased with himself. "Considering how much you like to argue, I figured this would be harder."

"Whatever," I said. "What do you want?"

"Well, I want to get to know you. I want to know what kind of person you are." He leaned forward on his elbows with a curious glint in his eye. "From the second I first met you, I knew that you weren't the person you're trying to be. There's just something false about your whole character."

"I see," I said. I felt like a bug under a microscope and shifted uncomfortably.

He chuckled at my reaction and sat up straight again. "So, how about we do the fifty questions thingy. I'll start. What's your favorite thing to do?" he asked.

I hesitated, but answered truthfully. "I like to read," I muttered.

He grinned. "Cool! I don't read all that much, but I can enjoy a good book now and then." He gestured to me and continued, "Now you ask a question."

I thought for a second, but came up with squat nothing so I asked, "Favorite color?"

"Aqua. You?"

"Silver," I said.

I began to relax and have a little fun after a bit and I didn't even notice myself opening up. My answers became less and less forced and my questions became more and more curious. By the end of the conversation, I knew that his parents worked for the same company, he was an only child, his favorite word to use when describing an argument was "taxing", and that he used to have a fish named Peter. I didn't realize how much time had passed while we were talking until Ryan glance out the window with a frown and said, "Hm... It's getting late and my parents will be home soon."

I took a peek at the clock on his bedside table and saw it was almost 6:30pm. I was surprised by how quickly the time had passed. I started to stand. "I need to go. My dad is probably waiting for me," I said.

"You can't spend the night?" Ryan asked, his eyes like a puppy's.

I chuckled at his expression and shook my head. "Sorry, I'm not into sleepovers," I said, answering my last question for the day.

He made a exaggerated sad face, but he stood up and lead me downstairs anyways. "You can come over any time. I'm not usually busy," he told me.

I shrugged. "Sure," I said, and I was surprised to find I meant it.

Ryan asked if he could walk me home, but I said I was fine and headed back alone. The sun was just beginning to set; the sidewalk was getting darker and darker. It made me uneasy for some reason, so I quickened my steps, hurrying along the streets until I came to my dad's. As my dad's house came into sight my nerves loosened and I hurried inside, locking the door behind me securely. I was about to go to my room, when I felt an uneasy feeling I hadn't had in a while. I glanced out the front window out of instinct and my eyebrows came together. Someone was standing on the other side of the street, their hands in their pockets with their eyes trained on my dad's house. I squinted at them, trying to make out who it was. Unfortunately, it was too dark and they were nothing more than a black figure in the setting sun.

I shivered with a gut feeling and closed the blinds of the front door window. I didn't want think the person was important, but something about them made me feel tense and I made sure the door was locked before going up to my room.

*******

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