Part 2 as promised!

Enjoy :D

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I thought the next time I would see Ryan would be on Sunday but I completely forgot that I was going to see him just the next day when we had American lit together.

The second he walked into the room my heartrate shot up. But before taking his seat, he handed Mrs Jones a stapled document that looked like the optional extra-credit essay she'd given me and him. With everything that's been going on recently, I had opted out of doing it. I was surprised that he completed it, not because I didn't think he couldn't (I knew he was more than capable of it), but because I knew how exhausted he already was after the French oral. Ryan wanted to become an editor-in-chief, so I guess he was probably trying to get as much credit as he could for his English and literature subjects. He looked like he'd been up all night getting it done.

That oral was on Monday and it's only Wednesday today...he hasn't had a break!

There was only 1 Bumblebee in this class, but we couldn't take any chances. And I knew Ryan had spotted her watching us like a hawk before he chose to sit 2 seats in front of me.

The lesson began and I was content with peeping over at the back of his head every now and again, until I saw it suddenly disappear.

What?!

I craned my neck to the side and saw that he had leaned over his desk a little and was using his arm as a pillow; he'd fallen asleep.

I felt my heart squeeze tight. I was half-concerned that he was so tired he'd dozed off in class, and half-overcome by how adorable he was.

"Hey Mrs Jones, Haywood is asleep!" Tyler Murphy (Mr Swag-pants) piped up from the back row. He never paid any attention to anything so I have no idea how he noticed that.

"Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious Mr Murphy." Mrs Jones responded frankly, and continued on with her spiel about literary devices.

"Aren't you going to slam your book on his desk to wake him up?" Tyler continued, unsatisfied with her response.

"Keep your voice down Tyler. No I'm not going to do that, we're going to let him keep sleeping." She answered back.

Bless you Mrs Jones, for letting my angel keep sleeping peacefully.

"How come Haywood gets to sleep in class, but when I do it I get a book slammed next to my ear..." He grumbled loudly as the class snickered at him.

"Maybe if you actually did some work in this class I would cut you some slack, but until then I will continue to find larger and heavier books to slam down on your desk." She rebutted dryly without missing a beat, as she nonchalantly turned the page of the book in her hand without looking up.

We erupted into laughter and I was pretty surprised that Ryan wasn't woken by our rowdy classmates. He must have been that tired.

As soon as I had noticed Ryan had conked out for quite a while, I began to take extra-detailed notes; I didn't want him to miss out on anything. I raised my hand multiple times to ask questions, gaining confused stares from the other students and Mrs Jones alike; I normally couldn't be bothered.

Class ended as the bell rang, indicating it was lunch time. And as usual, everyone jumped out of their seats and raced out the door. But today they ran just a little faster because Prom tickets were going on sale and the first 70 people to buy tickets would get automatically entered into a prize draw.

"Jane can you please clean the board and turn off the projector, I have a meeting to rush off to and I'm already running late." Mrs Jones asked the Bumblebee just as she had almost escaped out the door.

"But Mrs Jones I'm supposed to be in charge of selling Prom tickets, I don't want to waste my time cleaning the classroom when it's just going to get messed up again next period." She argued back futilely. Her voice was high-pitched and whiny and by the way Mrs Jones' brows furrowed crossly, I could tell she found it just as irritating as I did.

"Miss Crawford," Mrs Jones began tersely "I understand that you have extracurricular activities but that doesn't mean – "

"I'll do it." I chimed in quickly. Everyone had just about left, so not only did I not want to have to witness Mrs Jones' wrath, but Ryan was still asleep and I wanted him to be able to rest for a little longer. There wouldn't be another class in here for an hour.

Both Jane the Bumblebee and Mrs Jones were a little stunned but then threw me equally grateful looks. Jane fled before I could change my mind anyway.

"Keep this up Ava and you'll be getting a very long, glowing college recommendation letter from me. You're turning over a new leaf I see." She smiled at me, gesturing to my outfit; I was wearing a f*cking cardigan, something I'd sworn I'd never wear. Luke had burst out laughing when he saw me wearing it this morning, in all its grey, oversized, comfy glory. I hit him when he said I was losing my edge and turning into a marshmallow.

"Uh, yeah something like that." I replied before she also raced out, closing the door behind her.

With a sigh I began the task ahead of me. I took my sweet time as I cleaned the board, switched off the projector, and turned off the lights. The blinds were already down and covering the windows, so there was only a small amount of light streaming in, but enough to see clearly.

I walked over to Ryan's table with the intention of gently waking him up, but once I saw his beautiful sleeping face, I decided to indulge myself just this once; I sat at the desk right next to his and watched him sleep.

Just for a minute...

Yes, I am aware of how creepy that sounds. But as I nestled my head into my hand with my elbow propped up on the table, I sighed; I was honestly mesmerised by this boy before me.

I reached out to tap his shoulder but for some reason I hesitated, my fingertips faltered, and I ended up gently brushing a lock of his hair from his forehead.

'You're being really creepy Ava' I told myself. And yet I just wanted 30 seconds more. I didn't know if I'd have a moment like this to just gaze at him as much as I wanted.

He looked so peaceful sleeping there, his cheek squished a little against his forearm as his head lay against it. It caused his lips to form an irresistible little pout, and my own lips tingled at the thought of pressing them to his...

No, I couldn't! I couldn't be that bold...could I?

'Hurry up and leave him to sleep already' I chastised myself.

I shrugged out of my cardigan and carefully covered his shoulders with it like a blanket. Then I slipped my notebook into his backpack along with a note telling him not to rush to return it.

Alright now you can leave!

And yet I lingered.

There was something keeping me here. There was something about being alone with him with lights off, and no-one to disturb us; time seemed to stand still, and it was like we were hidden away from the rest of the world.
There was something about this moment that made my chest tighten, made my heart stop and splutter. Something that made me shy, made me blush, and made my skin prickle with awareness.

And suddenly, I couldn't bear to keep these feelings inside any longer.

I crouched right beside his desk so that we were on the same level, face to face. He wouldn't know, but I would, and that would be enough for me. For now, at least.
I leaned in closer, my heart was beating out of control and I considered backing out.

'He's asleep, he'll probably think he's dreaming.' I reasoned with myself. One more look at his face was all the confirmation I needed to go through with it:

"I love you Ryan Haywood." I whispered tenderly, breathlessly, so quietly the words almost couldn't be heard.

I love you; those 3 little words that I had always failed to say.
And then, swept up by every complex emotion I was feeling in that moment, and with all the courage that love can give a person, I did something crazy:

I leaned forward, closed my eyes, and kissed him.

It was a short kiss. Soft and sweet. But nevertheless I felt flushes of heat pulsing down my spine, all the way to my toes. As I pulled away, I was struck by the reality of my bold move, and I quickly grabbed my bag and left. I ran out of the classroom, adrenaline coursing through my veins, before I could see whether or not he suddenly woke up and realised what I just did.

Did I really just tell Ryan I loved him and then kissed him like he was Sleeping beauty!?

Nevertheless, an irrepressible grin spread across my face as I ran through the hallways, nearly knocking a couple of freshman over.
I did it. I finally told him...even though he hadn't actually heard me.

Think of it as a practice confession. Who cares, I was actually able to say it!

There were still tough times ahead, and obstacles for me to overcome before I could tell a fully conscious, wide awake Ryan that I loved him. And when this competition is over (and I've beaten Melissa's sorry ass), I was going to run straight into his arms and never leave his side.

My will to fight was renewed and strengthened and I thought about what Rose said again, but this time in a different light; things weren't going to work out if I just sat around waiting to see what the future would be. No, I was going to take fate and destiny and all the rest into my own hands. I am going to make things work, or go down trying.

Just you wait and see Melissa, your dirty tricks aren't going to work this time!

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WASN'T THAT CUTE???
But the big question is: was Ryan awake or not?

Ava has found the strength to beat the crap out of Melissa, but a person who plays dirty tricks....always has a couple more up their sleeves.

A lot of drama still to come!

Please be proud of me that I updated on time >_<
And as always, PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT.
I really love comments, even if you just give me a smiley face :)

Take care,

Cerise xx