Heaven // Ryan Tedder

Chapter Eleven; Somebody To Love

Ryan walked down the busy sidewalk, a pink paper bag in his hands, and music playing through his earbuds. The sun shone on his face as he headed for the restaurant, eager to make another one of his coffee deliveries that he had done for the past three days.

Today, he was rather excited to see Janelle again. His hope was, now that he had her number, they could start talking more and maybe become friends.

Or more, he thought to himself, but bit his lip, shaking off the thought. He needed to take this one step at a time. He had only just gotten her number. He needed to be patient, still, although he was almost one-hundred percent certain that she was the one.

He looked down at the bag in his hands, a small smile on his face. He had gotten her donuts today, since she had mentioned them yesterday. He only hoped she really liked chocolate, considering that he had gotten her a mocha every day, and today, a mocha and two chocolate donuts.

As he came up on the restaurant, he made a mental note to ask her what else she liked, so he wouldn't bore her with the same thing daily.

He bit his lip, trying to contain his excitement to see her as he reached for the door handle, only, he stopped when something caught his eye.

He watched through the door as a tall, dark haired man spoke to Janelle, holding her hands which currently held the handle of a mop. She bit her lip when he finished talking, before saying something that caused him to smile.

He said something else, and she smiled a bit, blushing as she brushed her hair behind her ear. Directly after, the dark haired man lifted his hand, brushing back another strand of her long, dark brown hair.

Ryan backed up a bit, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of him.

Seeing the woman he had fallen for beside someone else, it just didn't make him feel right. He had only just met her, and he knew he shouldn't have feelings so strong, except, this was the first time he had truly fallen in love. And there she was, standing next to a man that probably had a better chance of having her than him.

Ryan looked down at the bag in his hands, swallowing, before he just dropped it on one of the outdoor tables. He jogged off quickly, his head spinning as he made his way through the crowded sidewalk.

She wasn't even yours to begin with, he thought to himself. You hardly knew her.

No matter what his head told him, his heart still continued to break at the thought of not even having a chance with her. She was everything he had ever wanted. She was perfect.

He should've just listened to Brent. He should've listened to Zach. He was so stupid. He should've known that it was too good to be true.

In only a matter of a week, he had managed to fall for a woman he barely knew, so hard that he felt his heart break just seeing her with another man.

Don't jump to conclusions, he told himself. He could be a friend for all you know.

No. He brushed her damn hair behind her ear. And she blushed! They can't only be friends. Give it up.

Ryan let out an exasperated sigh, dropping himself down onto a bench beside the sidewalk. He buried his head in his hands, running his fingers through his dirty blond hair.

What was he thinking, becoming so obsessed with this woman? He knew nothing about her, apart from the fact she liked coffee. And donuts, perhaps.

He sighed again, looking up at the bright blue sky, squinting the slightest bit when the glare from the sun hit his eyes.

Brent was right; He was only getting his heart broken again and again. When would it end?

Ryan sat there, staring at the sky as people passed by him. He didn't pay them any attention, though, he was too deep in thought.

What he really needed was someone to talk to. Someone who knew what he was going through.

Brent, he thought to himself, before biting his lip.

That meant he'd find out that Ryan was lying the other day about not rushing into a relationship. Was he really willing to tell him that?

He could always call Drew, but he didn't know about the relationship situation yet, even though he could give Ryan some sympathy. With Eddie, he did know about Ryan's past few girlfriends that had left him, so he could just tell him that it had happened again, although, that meant that there would be yet another white lie that Ryan had to cover up. He could also call Zach, but the same with Brent, he'd have to tell him that he lied to him, even though he didn't see Zach being as upset about it as Brent would, considering that Brent was the first person to tell Ryan that he should be patient and quit dating random women in the first place.

By the time half an hour passed, Ryan realised that he had sat there pondering who to call for all that time, and he still hadn't come to a conclusion of who he could spill his heart out to right now.

For all he cared, someone could come sit on the bench beside him and he'd make them listen to him vent. Anything to get this off of his chest.

Instead of waiting for that, though, he stood, deciding that it'd be best to go home. Maybe he could rest, or play the piano. Anything to keep his mind off of Janelle.

He began to walk home, his head down and his hands in his pockets. He was sure he looked miserable, since he sure felt it. Through all of the commotion going on in his brain, there was one thing he could think clearly.

He really did need to take some time for himself.