A/N: Hello Readers. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. It was quite fun to write. I do like feed backs on things I can improve on. But thanks again for reading and I've got a picture for Dante. Right now, to the right is Maria. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

     Ryan Voulder! No fukcing way was he just standing there staring down at me and with more of a wider stare then I had. My eyes then made it's way to his letters men jacket. Ohio State Football. This was not happening, not now. He didn't look the same from High School. His built was quite muscular and his height was taller. His dark brown eyes were probably asking the same questions. He was actually handsome. Pretty clean shaved and his smile showed a hint of his pearly whites. Ryan fucking Voulder! 

[Flash Back]

     "Oh come on Eryn. Your seriously thinking about saying yes to him?" I stared at Jamie who had her full attention on me. I rolled my eyes but not trying to answer. She didn't give in,

                        "He's not cute. He's a bench warmer on the football team and hitting puberty missed him." It was like Jamie to be truthful and rude all at once but in a way she was right about him. He wasn't even an average Joe. He was below average. Same height as me and a branch was bigger then him. But he was the sweetest guy I knew. Smart and funny. Did looks really matter? Jamie grunted, "GOD! You're going to say yes to him aren't you?"

                          "Oh how bad could it be? It's just a damn dance. Plus, being a freshmen doens't leave your options open quite much. It's not like I'm going to marry him."

                                "No! But it's going to haunt you for the rest of your life. I don't think I can hang with you. It would totally ruin my reputation. You cannot go with Ry-" she stopped because Ryan had walked up to us. His greasy blond hair was slicked back and he smiled at us with a braced face and small pimples that covered his mouth. His jeans were raised just a bit from his ankles as if he was waiting for a flood. His white buttoned up shirt was untucked and he sat across from me,

                               "Hey Jamie!" he said and Jamie rolled her eyes, "Hey Bench Warmer." she replied and I elbowed her in the side as she gave me a What-did-I-say look. She stood up, "I've lost my appetite. Catch you at Practice Ms. Green." she bellowed as she walked away. I shook my head at her and then looked at Ryna who was now staring back at me. I smiled,

                               "Hi Ryan." I said just to be nice. He went red as he said hi back. For just a quick  moment we were silent but he broke that silent when he asked,

                                   "So I was wondering if you were up for the Homecoming dance next weekend? If you don't want to it's okay. It's just a dance. It's not like it's going to change our lives or even change our friendship. It's-It's just a dance and if you're not planning on going, that's also fine. It's only that I was hoping that maybe we could hang out. Just as friends of course and-" I had to stop him before he continued on with other matters that weren't relevant to the subject,

                                   "Hold on Ryna. I'll go with you." I quickly said and he stopped then his face went blank as his eyes widened,

                                    "Really? You'll really go with me?"

                                    "Yes I will. Sounds fun and this will be my first dance anyways." He smiled big and let a relief of breath out. Jamie might have been right about the outside appearance of him but his inner self was more attractive. He was just sweet and it wasn't like he was in love with me. Granted I've known him since grade school that's all we were. Just friends.

        At practice I let Jamie know I said yes and she wasn't too happy about it.

                                      "Great! An open invitation for him to ask you on every dance possible. You do know he really likes you right? He's like that weird kid who followed Helga from Hey Arnold. That's how he is. Next thing you know he'll be proposing to you."

                                       "Your quite dramatic today. Were just friends and friends going to a dance isn't a crime." I hit an incoming ball that was served to me and Jamie hit it to the setter who just hit it over the volleyball net.

                                        "Your so right. Going out with Creepy Mc Creepy is not a crime. So what happens after the dance? What if he tries to kiss you?" she asked. I didn't even want to answer that because I knew he wouldn't try to . She waited for my answer and I just changed the subject,

                                           "Are we going to meet at Marlo's place?" Marlo was the guy she was going with. He was captain of the LaCrosse team and a senior. These days if you were seen with a senior you were in. Popularity didn't really matter to me. I was a freshmen for crying out loud. Who cared? 

                                             "I guess. Is Bench Warmer coming to meet us too?"

                                             "No! He's going to have his mother drop him off to the dance and meet us there. YEAH he'll meet us too." I answered sarcasticly. She rolled her eyes at the reaction and hit the volleyball over the net. Through the whole practice that's all she complained about was me going to the dance with Ryan. She really didin't like the guy and I didn't see why. Yeah, he wasn't the handsome type that she was use to but darnit, he was still a pretty cool guy. Ryan didn't fit the category of most of the guys at school because he didn't care too much for that. He was simple and sweet. He was smart and he wasn't afraid to be himself. That was one of the reasons I liked the fact he was a close friend. 

             A day before the dance Brody had bought me a nice casual dress that went all the way to my feet. The emarld color matched my eyes perfectly and the black heels weren't too tall for me to walk in. Xena was the one who did my make-up and hair the day of the dance. When Brody caught site of how I looked he raised his brow,

                          "Um- Why does she look like that?" he aske'd Xena.

                          "What? Stunning?"

                          "Yeah, that! I don't want this Ryan guy trying anything with you, do you understand me?" he asked me and Xena hit him inthe rib, "Oh hush. It's a dance not a date. Now go get the camera so we can take a picture of them when he arrives." Brody gave her a teasing smile as she walked out of the living room. A knock at the door let me know it was Ryan and Xena answered it,

                             "Well don't you look handsome Ryan." I heard her say from the entrance hall. When Ryan walked into the living room his eyes widen at me and then he smiled, "You lo-look stunning!" he said and I smiled back at him. He looked good himself. His black suit and green bow-tie matched me perfectly. He walked over with a beautifully done carsage for my wrist, "Thought this would look really nice on you." he said and Brody walked into the living room, his eyes glared on Ryan. Xena took the camera from Brody as Brody now stood in the front of Ryan,

                               "You have her back by 9:00." he bluntly said.

                               "Oh well the dance doens't end until 9 sir!"

                               "Seems like you'll have to leave early." Brody said. Xena hit Brody in the stomach again, "Don't mind him. Be back by 11:30 and now I need a picture of you putting the carsage on and Brody go get the boutonniere in the fridge." Brody gave Ryan one last evil look before going to the kitchen. After too many pcitures were taken of Ryan and I Brody had driven us to Jamie's house. He pulled to the curb and stopped Ryan,

                                "If she doesn't look like she does now coming back I'll kill you." Ryan nodded constantly before exiting the car. He then smiled at me, "Have fun baby girl. Use that pepper spray just in case." he said and I looked at him confused,

                                     "What pepper spray?" I asked.

                                     "I slipped it into your purse. Have fun!" he said and I shook my head as I got out of the car. Ryan held his arm out for me to lock with my arm, "Are you ready ma' Lady!" 

                                        "I am, thank you. And by the way, you look handsome." I said and he blushed. We walked up to the door of Jamies home. Jamie was in a black short dress that was laced with white lacing. She looked stunning and her date Marlo had a black suit and a white tie. His dark black hair was slicked back as his nice tan made him look nicer. Since he could drive, we all got into his red Charger. He drove to the homecoming.

            The dance was of course crowded but music had played loud in the Hotel where the homecoming was held. Jamie ignored that fact that Ryan was even there. We walked into the dance hand in hand. Marlo had Jamie, me and Ryan sit with his buddies from the LaCrosse team. Each guy at the table had a beauty queen at there side and there first stare was on Ryan. His hair was still greased back and his pants still was above his ankle. The women whispered between eachother and would look at me and Ryan. Women at school were just gossipers anyways. I could care less what they were saying. We danced to a few songs that we liked and he wasn't a real good dancer but I endured it. The night was long and yet quite fun. We both decided to go out to the back where it was set up just for the dance. We stood near the balcony of the hotel as he leaned in on the railing of it. The air was nice and refreshing. 

                             "Great dance." I started. 

                             "It is. Thank you for coming with me." he said, now staring at me. 

                             "Thank you for asking me to come. I have to say I'm having a great time."  he stared at me for a moment and then smiled. Then he leaned in just inches but stopped, "Would you pepper spray me if I kissed you?" I raised an eyebrow but then let a half smile spread, "No." I answered and he finished leaning in as he set a soft kiss on my lips but very quick and then pulled away, "Your something special Ms. Green. But You've been a great friend. I get to leave knowing I have an awesome friend in New York." 

                           "Leave?" I asked.

                           "My family is moving to Ohio. My father was offered a job there so he took it.."

                           "When do you leave?" I asked.

                            "Monday. You should come visit sometime." he said again. I smiled at him, nodding at him. After the dance we hugged good bye. When Monday came around he had gone. He really was a great friend and I hadn't told Jamie he kissed me. But the kiss was a friendship kiss. 

[Present Day]

      That was so long ago. A month after the dance was when Brody's vampire incident happened. But here he was standing in front of me. His blond hair silky slick and his smile more different then I remembered. No braces. No pimples. No greasy hair. This was not the Ryan I was use to. I recognized him because he hadn't really changed in the face but the maturety of his looks made him look handsome. He knew exactly who I was because he threw his arms around me in a hug,

                               "Eryn!" he said exciteldy. Before I even hugged him back he was pulled away from me in a flash and I watched in shock as Connor now had his forearm at Ryans neck. Ryan was up against the wall and I was already forcing myself between Connor and Ryan, "Connor what are you doing?" I said trying to pull him away. Connor didn't even notice I was there as he glared up at Ryan. His eyes were darkened and I've only seen that look once; Against Penelope. He didn't even budge when I tried to push him off of Ryan but I was surprised when I seen from in the back of us when the guys in the Ohio jerseys were now out of there seats and heading towards where we were but then from in the back of the bar I watched as Caine, Troy, Kenny, Greg and Maria all jumped from over the bar and then ran at the incoming guys, who out numbered them, and was prepared to fight.  

       A  tall fair skinned man who walked in with Ryan was just in the back of Connor and grabbed him by the shoulder, throwing him off of Ryan as Ryan went to his knees, choking to get a breath in. Connor was obviously quicker then the guy who threw him off and grabbed him from the side and tossed him on a table. The breaking of the table didn't phase the man as he got back up and ran at Connor but from out of nowhere, Drayden had already tackled him to the ground as Connor looked at Ryan, his eyes blazing with anger. A huge fight had broken out with the Ohio people and Connor's pack. All I seen now was Maria and another woman fighting each other. Caine had thrown a few of the guys out of his way. Greg and Kenny were taking care of another guy and Troy had two guys to fight. Any other creature in the bar just moved aside. Jared was now trying to see what was going on. Brody was helping out to fight off some of the guys on Caine and Gina just tried to stop it all. One thing I now knew; Ryan was a damn werewolf.

      Connor now made his way towards Ryan, who was now catching his breath. I put myself between he and Ryan, "Connor don't."

                       "Out of the way Eryn." he growled but before I could denie his access to Ryan, Ryan had already flung himself towards Connor, trying to punch him but Connor dodged it as Ryan flung past him but catching himself before falling forward. Connor grabbed Ryan from behind and tossed him towards the dance floor and now mixed in with the chaos in the bar. Gina was now on the main floor trying to grab Brody but I watched as he hit a few of the guys off of Caine. It had gotten really out of hand and before I could run to stop anything someone grabbed my gently from behind,

                         "Not a good idea!" Arty said and set me down on the stool. He then drank the fulll beer in his hand then tossed the empty mug at a wall as it shattered. I watched as he made his way through the guys and girls fighting. His targets; Connor and Ryan. When he reached them since Connor had Ryan at his neck again, Arty grabbed the both of them by the collar. Compared to Arty, Ryan and Connor both looked like little rag dolls in Big Reds hands. 

                            "Both of you call off your packs." Big Red demanded and the both of them didn't budge. Arty sighed and then I gasped as he then set the both of them by the neck in his hand. To my surprise they both did as they were told and chaos had simmered, now staring at Arty. After Arty was satisfied he dropped both Connor and Ryan and then looked over at me, "I needed another drink and obviously these brutes had to ruin my mood in this bar." He then looked at Gina, "I need a beer." he annouced as he walked over to his stool. Everyone just stared at him and then back at eachother as Brody spoke up, "TAKE THIS SHIT OUTSIDE!" He said looking over at Connor. Brody and Gina then walked back to the bar as Connor looked at me. I stood up from off of the stool and ignored his stare and walked over to Ryan, who stared at me walking to him. 

                                   "You and your crew OUT!" I said pointing out towards the exit. Ryan scrunched his brows together and was about to reject but thought about it and looked at Arty, who stared back at him with a I-DARE-YOU-TO-DISOBEY look. Ryan looked at his friends and stared at them for a moment until the guy who had been fighting Drayden nodded and the started for the door. The others followed as Ryan stared down at me, "So-"

                                   "Not Now. Just go!" I said cutting him off. He gave me a hurt stare but obeyed and walked out with his crew. The place was trashed. Tables broken, the floor filled with broken glass and holes in walls. Connor's pack was breathing hard and they looked messed up. Maria was trying to fix her hair as she sat down on one of the chairs that wasn't broken. I then walked over to Connor and he had a distraught look on his face,

                                      "Eryn, that-" he had started but I quickly smacked him across the face and his eyes widened at what I just did. My hands fell to my side and I forced the tears to hold back,

                                        "No more fighting!" I said. He didn't break our stare, "Eryn . . ." I didn't let him finish and I walked away from him. Made my way out of the exit door and found Ryan outside. He was leaned up against a big red Dodge truck and he looked up when he sensed me. He stood up straight, "Eryn I didn't mean to-"

                                        "Ryan. About what happened in there, I-" I started to apologize for Connor's behavior and he stopped me, "Don't worry. I know who he is and I didn't know you belonged to him. I probably shouldn't have attacked him like that becuase he could of easily killed me." He chuckled at the thought and I knew this wasn't the same Ryan I remembered. He wasn't the sweet guy anymore. He wasn't going to back down on anything. He just smiled at him, "It's probably best if you guys go then. My uncle-" I started and he chuckled a bit,

                                            "I thought he looked familiar. We've got lots to catch up on obviously." he didn't dare look away. He smiled at me as I gave him a half smile and then he sighed, "Alright then. I better get my guys out of here. Maybe we'll catch eachother soon?" his hopeful words made me shake my head, "Not too soon. But maybe in the near future. Right now I need you and your guys to get going." He just nodded and I watched as his guys started to pack up into there cars. He said good-bye to me and I waved back at him. I then walked back inside and was surprised when I caught site of Maria wiping blood from Connor's brow. Instently my jealousy tendency kicked in but I forced it back as Connor looked up to see me. As if caught in the act, he quickly stopped Maria from wiping more blood from his brow and he stood up from off his chair. I didn't know I was still staring at them. I was thankful when Brody brought me out of my thoughts,

                                           "Eryn!" he said and I looked over to him and glared, "I'm going home." I said and grabbed my keys from off the key holder then walked back out of the bar. I let the bar close behind me then started for my car. The sound of the bar door opening again made me turn around and I was surprised when it was Caine and not Connor. Even mad at the whole incident I still wanted Connor to have walked out of the bar. I hated when my womenly teenager side came out. Caine made it to my side,

                                          "Connor wants me to go with you." he said. I looked at him and sighed, "Whatever."

                                            "You can't blame him for being the way he is. The way that guy hugged you was more then a hug." he admitted. I glared at him, "How can you tell what his intentions were?"

                                            "Were wolves and it's quite easy to sense it on other wolves." we both got into the car.

                                           "The reaction was over the top don't you think?"

                                          "No! Connor held back." he said and I raise an eyebrow, "What?"

                                         "He could have easily killed that wolf. Seeing how you protected that guy Connor cooled it. It didn't mean he wasn't going to teach him a lesson." I had started the car and was now thinking about what Caine was saying. Ryan had said that Connor could have killed him if he wanted to. We were on the road towards my home now and it was quiet for a bit. Caine was a bit too quiet for me. Maybe the slap wasn't necessary but I was so angry. Then seeing Maria and Connor together made me clench my hands on the steering wheel. Caine must have noticed my clenching becuase he asked,

                                      "Are you okay?" I looked over at him and he gave me a confused look.

                                      "I'm fine!"

                                      "About the whole Maria thing. Don't worry about her. He loves you without a doubt." he assured and I looked ahead of me at the road. Talking with Caine was a relief sometimes. I just smiled to myself when he said that Connor loved me. I knew this but sometimes my doubtful mind tend to sneak through.