Some Kind of Wonderful (sequel to Give Me the Greenlight, Mr. Clifford)

Ch 12 - A 5SOS Reunion

Bored. As. Fuck. And pissed off. That's how I felt for nearly another week. I had the opportunity to hang out with Kenzie and Mason, but I knew I wouldn't have been the greatest company. Being basically ignored by Ryder was making me moody. I had never in my life been angry with him, until then.

I'd given Ryder more than enough time to deal with whatever his problem was. I got it. Our kiss messed with my head and emotions, too. The last thing I wanted was for it to interfere with our friendship. As amazing as it was, I was willing to pretend it never happened if that's what it took; If that's what Ryder wanted. But I still had to talk to him to know if that was the case. I was going to confront him about it at our birthday celebration at his house, seeing as I never had the opportunity to be with him any other time.

I actually beat Ryder to his house that day, as the barbecue was to start right after school. The rest of our families were already there. Catching up with everyone made me forget for a little while that I was on a mission, even when Ryder made his appearance.

Calum looked really great. It was obvious he had been taking care of himself and I was proud of him. He asked me if Ryder and I had used the beach house any. I told him yes, that we had only recently gone there twice, and promised him it was in the same shape as he left it.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I trust you two to take care of it. Even if I end up moving back here, you're still welcome to use it any time."

"I hope you stay, Uncle Cal. We've missed you."

"Me, too, Katesby. Me, too," he said, bending down to kiss the top of my head. "Hey, what's up, Ryder," he said, spotting Ryder approaching behind me.

They gave each other one of those manly fist-bump, one-armed hug greetings. "It's good to see you, Uncle Cal."

"You, too, buddy. Katesby was just telling me you've been to the beach house recently. I'm glad someone has been able to enjoy it."

"Uh, yeah. We've gone surfing, and... stuff. Thanks for letting us use it."

"Anytime. I mean that." Then Calum was called away by our dads and Luke, to the pool house. They were dragging equipment outside. We were getting ready to witness a 5SOS reunion, right there in Ryder's back yard.

Ryder started to follow Calum, but I grabbed his hand. I wasn't letting him get away from me, even if I had to physically drag him somewhere private. "Ryder, please talk to me." With those words I felt the burning formation of tears.

He took a long look at me and reluctantly said, "Alright. Let's go inside." He led the way to his room, still holding my hand, and shut the door behind us. "Should I go first, or should you?" he asked, letting go of my hand and placing his hands on his hips, looking impatient. But he was standing very close to me. Definitely closer than he had been in over a week.

"You, I guess. You're the one who seems to have a problem," I said, probably in a more accusatory tone than intended, crossing my arms across my chest. I felt a tear escape and roll down my cheek. But I was being too stubborn to wipe it away.

"You know what? I do have a problem. And the problem is that I'm in love with my best friend. Tell me exactly how I'm supposed to deal with that, would you?"

And... more tears. How was I supposed to respond to that? I assumed that the issue stemmed from his feelings about me, but I never expected him to just blurt out that he was in love with me.

"Ryder," I whispered, because the tightness in my throat wouldn't allow me to speak any louder. I took a deep breath to compose myself and find my voice. "What's so terrible about that? Why are you ignoring me? It hurts."