The chapter is dedicated to my real life best friend :D Ms. Jay who helped me a lot about this story. Wafa, here's the credit ILY ~ :D 

(UN-EDITED)

6th 

**

I was late — if Riley ever showed up.

I didn't know why, but I had a good feeling he'd show up — which was why I had been running all the way from the volleyball court to the place where we've met yesterday. 

The sun was descending, giving the ocean a sheen like liquid gold. On the beach, a few remaining families were congregated on towels near the water along with a couple of sand castles about to be swept away by the rushing waves. Terns darted in and out, hunting for crabs. 

I stopped for a few moments as I panted for breath, and sweat was trickling down my face. I knew this was ridiculous, but the last thing I wanted is showing up late. I didn't want Riley to think I was toying him or something. 

I tilted my head, looking over the spot — and there he was. Even with his back facing me, I knew it was him. And I was even sure when I saw Goggle — standing by his side. 

A huge grin stretched across my face absent-mindedly as I looked at him from far. I knew he'd come — I knew he didn't hate me. Being a hopeless romantic as I always had — I felt truly happy, and that weird sensation formed in my heart again.

I sped up my walk towards him, ignoring that I was still panting for breath. All I wanted was to be there, and talk to Riley. 

"Hi," I said, flopping down next to him, panting for breath. I turned my eyes to him, and noticed that he was scowling. "Am I that late?" I asked, biting my lips. 

He shrugged. "Yes. But I was actually enjoying the silence without you," Riley said, nodding. 

I smiled, "Sorry," I said apologetically. "But it's not my fault actually. I was here much earlier, but there has been, er, an accident."

"Accident?" He looked a little taken aback. 

I sighed. "I went to watch some volleyball game. But then — um, the ball knocked me down. So then I passed out for a few seconds." I told him what happened. 

He laughed. "Why it didn't surprise me?" 

"Shut up," I said, faking hurt. "It hurts. But the guy who was supposed to guard the ball apologized to me. And he seemed to regret it."

He asked me, still grinning. "What happened then?"

"I told him I was fine — and my head is actually strong like steel — and he doesn't have to worry about me. Then I realized I was late — so I ran all the way here," I said, stretching my legs forward. "The end."

Riley nodded, and he'd stopped laughing at me. "Well, your head is really strong like steel. That's why you're weird."

"I take that as a compliment. Being weird is cool."

He chuckled, shaking his head — and I found myself staring at him again when he laughed. 

Riley then turned his eyes to me. "I wonder what you look like," he suddenly said, frowning in confusion. 

I grinned, tapping my finger toes in the soft sand. "Well. To be truth, I look like Megan Fox," I joked, laughing. There was no way in hell, I'd look like Megan Fox. 

Riley snorted. "I don't believe that even for a second," he said,and he was probably rolling his eyes under those sunglasses. 

I laughed. "Okay, okay. I have green eyes which my dad said is big, and round. Then I have dark brown hair, and it's quite long — and sometimes bushy. I've also got chubby cheeks which my brother always said, it reminds him of dumplings," I paused, trying to think of something more about myself.

"Hmm, what else? Ha, I'm petite — I prefer that word more than short but still, I hate this. And for your information, I'm only at your shoulder." I told him everything.

"Shortie." Riley mocked, smirking evilly. 

I pushed his shoulder lightly. "I know, I know. Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes. "I used to be really fat, like really fat. But my brother said that I got thin - so I don't know if it's true or not,"

"What's your current weight?" Riley asked, interrupting me again. 

"Hundred sixteen pounds,"

"Oh. That's heavy."

"Riley!" I screamed, pushing him again. He gave a breath of laughter, and I had to laugh — I just had to. 

He did laugh a lot today, and of course, his sentences were much longer than usual. I couldn't be happier about it — I'd never thought he'd even care to listen to what I say. 

And then I wondered why everyone hated him so much. Like the other day, when a stupid guy called him a freak. What did he do till he deserve all this? I've only known him since yesterday — but I already felt comfortable around him, and not forgetting he was funny. 

I fixated my eyes to look at him. "So, what do you think I look like? Flawless? Gorgeous? Beautiful?" I asked him excitedly. 

He hummed for a moment, probably imagining how I look based on my descriptions. Then he said, "Shrek. You look like the green, cartoon Shrek."

My jaw dropped, and my eyes widened. "Riley! How could you?" I exclaimed, faking hurt, but he was already smirking. "I do not look like Shrek!" I stated seriously. 

Riley laughed again; a hearty, cute laugh that I didn't think has been heard by anyone for ages.  "From your descriptions, yes. You do look like Shrek. I can't think of anything else." he said. 

I rolled my eyes, shrugging. "Is there any hope I'd look like Megan Fox?" I asked while I was trying to hold myself from laughing along with him. 

His laugh was really infectious. 

"Zero."

"Meanie, jerk." I shrugged, letting out a grunt. It was a few seconds before I asked, "What's your eye color?"

"Why'd you want to know?"

"Nothing. I'm curious, and I told you what I look like. And then you told me I look like Shrek. I think it's fair enough if you tell me your eye color,"

"I'm not telling you. I think, it's the only thing you don't know about me. You're such a stalker." Riley mimicked, stroking Goggle's body. 

I shrugged. "Whatever. Not that I care anyway,"  I said, lying to him. I'd been trying to figure out his eye color since the day I met him, and it kept bugging me. 

Well, everything about Riley Flynn was bugging me, even. 

Then we both didn't say anything. Except it wasn't an awkward kind of silence, one where I wondered if I should make conversations or wondered what I could say to him. 

It was the nice kind of silence — the one where you just enjoy the company. 

"It's getting dark," I said, breathing out, looking around the beach. There was only a couple of people left, mostly surfers who were packing up their things. 

"It's always dark," Riley muttered, and his eyes were looking directly to the ocean. "And will always be."

"There's always hope, you know," I said, looking at him. "Even when it seems impossible."

He didn't add anything else, and we just sat there, enjoying the sunset, and the sound of waves crashing on the rocks — and just for a split moment, I wasn't thinking about everything that had happened in my life.

*

There was no English the next day — so yeah. And to be honest, school was a little boring without that class. It's not that I missed Riley, and his smile and ...

Oh, shut up brain!

It's just — I missed Ms. Gail's class. She was a good teacher, and English was actually one of my favorite subjects. 

Yup — that was why it was boring that day. 

"Seriously? You actually went to the beach with him? With Riley Flynn?" Reese asked, squealing as I told her everything  when we're on our way towards my locker after lunch. 

I nodded, grinning. "Yup. But that's the good news. Are you ready to hear the bad news?" I said, opening my locker with my eyes looking at her.

"What?"

"A volleyball knocked me down yesterday," I said, sighing. I placed my Math's textbook into the locker. "I went to watch some volleyball game, and then a volleyball that came out of nowhere hit my forehead."

"Ouch."

I nodded, laughing. "Tell me about it. Luckily, there's this guy who helped me." I said, mentioning the cute-light-brown-haired-guy that I met the other day. 

Reese then got excited. "Really? Is he hot?" 

I laughed sheepishly — yeah, that guy was hot and all. "I don't know. Well, maybe. He's a good volleyball player." I answered, taking out a Chemistry textbook out of my locker into my backpack. 

"Oh. He sounds hot."

"I know." I said, and we both laughed. I closed my locker, and slipped my backpack into one shoulder. Then I wondered for a second — where Riley was. I haven't seen him on that day, and it was really odd actually. 

I caught myself looking around — but there was still no sign of him. Maybe he didn't come to school, sick or something. But he looked okay yesterday, so it was pretty impossible that he got sick. 

I know, I know —  I shouldn't have cared like this. 

"Ellie? What are you looking for?" Reese asked, waving a hand in front of my face. She then looked around —  putting on a confused look. 

I let out an awkward chuckle, clearing my throat. "Oh. It's nothing. Ha-ha. I was just, er, looking around the building. Trying to get used to it." I explained, hoping she wouldn't ask more about it. 

She nodded — and she got back to her excited mood once again. "So, tell me about this cute volleyball player. What's his name?" Reese asked, cocking her eyebrows playfully at me.

"Um, I don't know. I never asked. After he helped me, I sort of ran away from there," I said, shrugging  as I recalled the jogging session towards Riley. "But I guess, he's studying in this school. Some of his friends look familiar."

Reese sighed, probably disappointed that I couldn't provide her more info on the cute volleyball player. "Well. Maybe," she agreed, pausing for a few seconds. "Hey, maybe if you meet him again he'll know you!" 

I shrugged. "I doubt it. I think he's this kind of popular guy who doesn't talk to anyone other than his friends." I stated. 

"Really?" said a guy's voice that's deep, friendly, and most definitely not Riley's. 

We both turned around —  and a very familiar guy was standing behind us with his arms crossed on his chest. His blue piercing eyes were looking right at me. 

My jaw dropped, and I turned my eyes to Reese — only to find she was looking at me too. I flicked my eyes back to the guy. "Um, hi. I didn't see you there." I said, biting the inside of my cheek. 

"Yeah. You were so busy talking about me — and uh, our little accident," He said, forcing a smile. "Sorry." he finally added. 

I held up both my hands. "I'm not angry or anything, really. I know you have no intention of hurting me," I said truthfully, laughing a little. 

He nodded. "Yeah, but still.." he trailed off before he stretched out his hand. "I'm Aiden," the cute-light-brown-haired-guy finally revealed his name. 

I took his hand, shaking it awkwardly. "Hi, er, I'm Ellie," I told him, and turned my eyes to Reese. "And this is my friend, Reese."

Aiden shook hands with Reese — who seemed to be very surprised since he showed up behind us. Maybe she knew who he was. 

"So... How's your head?" Aiden asked, rubbing his forehead. 

I laughed. "Nah, it's okay. I told you it's strong like steel."

Reese shot me an obnoxious look — yeah, I know, I know. 

Aiden surprisingly laughed. "You kept saying that since yesterday, you know. I'm starting to believe it." he joked. 

I just laughed, not knowing of what to say. It was the first time a guy had ever spoken to me — or technically, intending to have a conversation with me.

No, no, Riley doesn't count. I was the one who always started our conversation. He's just so — ah, forget it. 

The bell rang, much to my relief actually. It was so terribly awkward that someone as hot as Aiden tried to talk to me. Plus, I didn't want him to ask where I was from. 

I didn't want to talk about Lenoir. Ever. 

"What class do you have after this?" Aiden asked casually, giving me one of the smiles that could melt every girls' heart in this world. 

"Um, History." I answered, smiling like an idiot. 

Aiden's eyes lit up. "Really? Well, me too," he said in a surprised tone. "What a coincidence."

Great. Just great. 

Reese turned her eyes to Aiden before it turned to me. "Well. I have Physics," she spoke, giving me a this-is-your-chance look. 

I shot her don't-you-dare-leave-me-alone look — and we both was sort of exchanging glares for a few moments. 

"I'll see you after class, Elle. Bye!" Reese said excitedly, waving a hand at me. "It's nice knowing you." she said to Aiden.  

Aiden smiled, nodding. "You too." he said while I was trying my best to grip Reese's arm, stopping her from leaving me. 

Unfortunately, she managed to overcome my strength, and then she was gone from there — walking backwards, smiling at me all the time. 

I. Couldn't. Believe. This. 

I turned my eyes back to Aiden as Reese disappeared from my sight. He was still smiling — which made me feel so awkward. 

"We should really get to class," I said, breaking the silence, forcing a smile. The hallway was almost empty, making things worse for me. 

"Yeah sure," Aiden agreed, sweeping his hand to let me walk first. I smiled sheepishly, and we started to walk to our class. 

In cliche' stories — the heroine would usually feel very happy, and nervous that she got to walk with probably one of the hottest guys in school. And then they'd feel attracted to that guy, and then bla bla bla. 

But seriously - this has been just seriously wrong for me. 

"So, I've never seen you around before," he started, flicking both his mesmerizing blue eyes to me. 

"Uh, yeah. I just transferred here two days ago." I answered, my hands were holding the straps of my backpack so tightly — because he was dangerously close to me. 

"Oh. Cool."

"Yeah."

He chuckled. "I've been looking for you around the school, you know. I knew you must be studying here because you came to the beach yesterday,"

I tilted my head to look at him. "Really? Why?" I asked, frowning in confusion. Why in the world was he looking for me?

His eyes were everywhere but on me. "Er, I just wanna say sorry for yesterday." Aiden replied, running a hand through his hair. 

I sighed, smiling. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?" I joked, shaking my head. "My head is-"

He cut me off, "Strong like steel? Yeah. I got it."

I laughed - yeah it was pretty stupid. Damn. I should've figured something smarter than that. 

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. "And it's not every day, I always got lucky to have met someone pretty like you." Aiden stated, looking at me so tenderly that it actually me feel so — special.

*

What — what did he say?

I stared at him with wide eyes — putting on a very obnoxious look as I was so confused. Stupidly, I started to look around for the girl who he just called pretty — and I found out no one was around us. 

Oh, and then I realized I was the one who he called pretty. 

And this was one occasion when I just couldn't hold back a blush. 

"Me?" I asked, squealing. Aiden nodded, and he was still wearing that insanely cute smile. "Pretty? Really?"

He laughed. "Really, really."

The blush rose in my cheeks again, and I couldn't stop it. For a moment, I wondered how I looked at this point — maybe like a beet-root, I guessed. Or maybe worse. 

I laughed sheepishly, trying to ease the tension inside me. "Yeah right," I blurted, shaking my head. "And it's not every day, you met someone whose head's strong like steel!"

I knew it was not the kind of thing, I should say — even as I was saying it, but by then it was too late. 

I wanted to slap myself in the face — then turn to dust. 

He laughed, though, like I just made a good joke. "Yeah. That one too," Aiden chortled, winking at me. 

My cheeks turned warm, and pink again — and I gulped at how dangerously close he was to me. My heart raced at the thrill of having someone like him interested in me. 

Aiden. I bet he was like, the quarterback or something. He just emitted that kind of social standing —  the confidence, the winning smile, the way he carried himself. It all screamed Mr. Popular, and Mr. Player. 

It made me wonder why he was walking with me, talking to me.

I sighed in relief as I saw the History class — and truthfully, I've never been this excited to learn History. When I was about to put my hand on the door knob which looked nicer than ever — Aiden stopped me. 

"Wait," he said, standing in front of me — blocking my way into the class. "I need to ask you something."

I waited. 

"Can I see you again?"

**

Do you like the chapter? Well, it's my favorite actually. I love writing Ellie-Riley's beach moment :D And then we have Mr.Hottie Aiden :)) 

And yes, English is my 2nd language. That's why my grammar is .... Atrocious? lol. Point out my mistakes as much as you want! But don't just say 'You have grammar error' because I don't even know where I was wrong!! :P 

Comment and vote are very much appreciated! :D

Love,

Bella~