𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶. [𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘢𝘶]

31

RICKY AND I walked back to the school to get our cars after our conversation on the hill. We were both a little on edge while walking near the school, just because of the killer.

"If we see them again, I'll punch them in the face." Ricky vows, his voice laced with amusement which told me he wasn't being serious. We were back at the school parking lot, walking towards our cars.

"What if the killer is a girl? You can't hit a girl." I reply, earning a side-eye glare from him. I mean, I wasn't wrong. You can't hit girls.

"I see my car." I point it out to Ricky, earning a small scoff from him. I turn to look at him with my eyebrows furrowed, confused by his sudden attitude. "What's with the scoff?"

"You need a new car. It's a piece of shit. The bumper is damaged." Ricky oh-so-nicely points out the poor condition of my car.

"Thanks, Sherlock Holmes. I didn't realize that." I roll my eyes, "Not all of us can afford a Tesla. I'm perfectly fine with my Mazda that I inherited from my mom."

"At least get your bumper fixed." We walk up to my car, Ricky examining my bumper. "Did you get in a crash?"

"I got rear-ended. It wasn't my fault. Also, not everyone is rich and can afford to get their bumper fixed." I argue.

"When's your birthday?" He asks, crossing his arms and leaning against my car. If he said any more about my car, I was legit going to run him over.

"February 20th, why?" I answer, confused by his question.

He nods in response before leaning off my car, taking a step away from it. "Noted. See you." He starts to walk away to go find his car, but I call out his name to stop him.

"Ricky, hold up." He turns on his heel, awaiting what I was going to say next. "Why did you ask me about my birthday?"

Ricky shrugs, a small smile growing onto his face. "Just wondering. Felt like it was something I should know." I raise my eyebrows a bit, not fully believing him. "You should come by my house later." Ricky suggests, changing the subject.

"Why?"

He shrugs once again. "I want to see you. I think my cat misses you." As soon as he mentions his cat, I start to smile.

As excited I was by the mention of his cat, it was what he said before that excited me more. He wanted to see me. I shouldn't think too much of it, but there was a part of me that wanted to read into that. He wanted to see me. Why? Does he like my company?

I don't know what happened today, but the feeling of knowing that there's now two people that carry my secret makes me feel so bonded with him. I feel like, connected to him. Or something. I don't really know what it is, but somethings different. I don't feel how I felt yesterday, or a week ago. Something changed.

I also don't know why I told him so easily. It didn't even feel like I was telling him a huge secret that if it got out, could ruin my life. It just felt like I was telling him something no one else knew. And I told him so easily, without hesitations. I could never even tell Gina, and she's my best friend. It's different with Ricky.