Chapter 27

"Ew! Get it off!" I yelled as I ran around the house, trying to swat a beetle bug thing out of my hair. "Ryder!" I screamed, swatting at my hair.

I heard his deep laugh behind me and his hands in my hair. I closed my eyes tightly until I felt him turn me around. "I got it out. Ruby, you can open your eyes now."

I slowly opened them and looked up at his amused eyes. So I punched him in the stomach. "Asshole."

It's been about a month since Ryder lost the championships. He finally got over his sadness after a week or two, and all our bruises, cuts, and wounds healed up more quickly than I thought.

I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders when Ryder had told me that the Silents were in prison and Enir Borshkaschov was locked away safely.

Ding dong.

"Who could that be?" I said happily and practically skipped to the door. When I opened the door with a huge grin, it immediately turned into surprise.

"George!" I exclaimed and wrapped my arms around him. He squeezed tightly and laughed.

"Hey Ruby!" then his eyes shifted to something behind me and a frown appeared on his face. I whirled around to see Ryder standing with him arms crossed and a similar frown on his features.

"Oh! Ryder, this is George, my friend back from Cali. George, meet Ryder. My neighbor and, friend."

They did one of those little grunts and nodded their heads. I frowned but Ryder walked back into the kitchen. My kitchen.

"Why are you here?" I asked when I showed George to the living room.

"Well, I was on school field trip here, and wanted to stop by since you told me your address."

"I'm glad you did." I said.

George's voice lowered. "What's that Ryder guy doing here? Are you dating him?"

"What!?" I said. "Hell no. We're friends, George. Just friends."

"He doesn't look like a good person..."

"George." I scolded. He pressed his lips together. "Behave. Please. For me."

He sighed and pulled me into a one arm hug. "Okay idiot."

When I walked into the kitchen, Ryder was talking on the phone but hung up quickly when he saw us.

The boys looked at each other like they were poison, and I giggled softly to myself. Why were they acting like this?

The doorbell rang again. "Ooh, I think it's pizza." I hopped off the stool and ran to answer the door.

This...George person was irritating me. I hated the way he talked, like he owned the world. And I hated the way he looked at Ruby, like he was getting ready to make a move on her. She was way out of his league, so I needed to tell him to stay away.

And mostly, I hated the way he breathed.

He should just stop in general in my opinion.

When Ruby left the kitchen to go get the pizza I ordered, George and I were left alone in the kitchen, the obvious hatred tension in the air.

"Why are you here?" I asked sternly.

He raised his eyebrows and scoffed. "Why am I here? I could ask you the same thing."

"I asked first."

"But I don't have to answer. Ruby's my best friend. You're not good for her."

"And what is good for Ruby?" I said.

"Definitely not you."

"Oh, so what you're saying is that a great person like Ruby shouldn't hang out with another great person, like me, but should rather hang out with old friends that are sore losers. Aka, you."

I saw George clench his fists and purse his lips sideways. He opened it to speak but thankfully Ruby came back in.

"Hey guys! I got the pizza." She said and looked between George and me.

"Sounds great." I said without losing eye contact with George.

We ate in silence, the only person speaking being Ruby trying to ease what she called, "Awkward first time meeting each other" silence.

Ruby's best friend. care for her more than this California beach head.

After dinner, George had to leave to go back to his hotel since he was catching the first flight tomorrow morning. I watched as Ruby said goodbye and kissed his cheek lightly. My anger instantly fired up but I kept myself from decapitating him.

I went back inside and watched some TV in her living room.

"Boo!" I jumped and knocked my head with what I think was a chin. I heard Ruby yelp in pain and she slumped to the ground behind the sofa.

"Shit!" she said and I rubbed my head. "What the hell Ryder?"

I looked over the couch as Ruby stood up to sit by me. "Sorry." I apologized.

She started to laugh and I soon joined her. We were laughing like idiots and until our smiles hurt our face.

"Scared of a girl now are we?" She joked.

"I wasn't the one who decided to scare the shit out of someone."

She giggled and she laid her head on my shoulder. Her soft brown hair brushed my neck and I breathed in the scent of her lavender shampoo.

Then I heard her breaths slow down to a few a minute, so as carefully as I could, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to her room.

She felt perfect in my arms, just lying there so peacefully. Her eyelids were closed and I saw each individual eyelash. I felt her warm breathing on my chest.

Setting her down on her bed, I kissed her forehead softly.

"Sweet dreams, Ruby."