The South Side

Chapter 8

Ryder sat on the couch with a plate of his lap, poking at the food with a fork. Besides the fact that the plate looked like a mess, it was practically untouched. Ryder felt bad wasting food, but after all that had happened, he was not hungry.

Just like he said he would, Rick had brought some food from the kitchen. He had said it was some type of sandwich with chips, but Ryder was barely listening. Rick seemed to have noticed and quickly left Ryder to give him some space.

Five minutes? Ten minutes? Twenty? Ryder did not know how much time had passed as he sat there, nor did he care. Everything seemed pointless. He just sat there, poking at his food. 

The room was quiet, surprisingly quiet seeing as how this was a back room of a bar, but Ryder did not question it. He was glad it was quiet. He did not think he could handle anything beyond that. However, that silence suddenly came to an end. The door was slammed opened, hitting the wall. It was a miracle nothing fell from the sheer force of the impact.

"What kinda bullshit is this, Rick!"

Ryder heard her voice before she even entered the room, and it sounded pissed. She stomped straight into the room. It was clear she was on a mission. Rick must have also thought the same seeing as how he was right on her tail.

"Calm down," Rick said, clearly trying to placate the enraged woman, "It won't be too much longer. Don't you have any patience?"

"Patience," the woman laughed, "Patience is for pussies! If anyone with two sense had patience, then I'd currently be a housewife with no voting rights!" 

At this point, Rick and the woman were standing face to face in the middle of the room. After looking for a few moments, Ryder realized who the woman was. Jade! Although it had been a brief interaction, Ryder still remembered how she looked, and now that he did not find himself on the floor in her presence, he was able to get a good look at her.

Standing next to Rick, Ryder realized how tall she was for a girl, probably hitting about five foot eight, and it was clear that Jade embraced that from head to toe. Her wavy hair was cut into a short bob, and now that the lighting was better, it was evident that she dyed it a vibrant jade green to match her namesake; it was messy and wild, falling into her face, but it just suited her all the more. Her eyes, on the other hand, were a stormy blue, which could easily be mistaken for grey. It contrasted greatly from her olive skin, but they still complimented each other perfectly.

Her clothes were no different, looking like they were tailored just for her, which coming from Ryder was a lot, seeing as how most of his outfits were designed just for him. She wore a torn up white crop top of a band he surprisingly did not recognize. It hugged her skin perfectly, showing her toned stomach. On top of the crop top, she wore a leather jacket. Style-wise, Jade's jacket was similar to his, but that was where the similarities ended. The jacket was extremely worn to the point that his jacket would look brand new in comparison. It was covered in a variety of patches, pins, and buttons; it was even decorated in spray painted symbols. It was beautiful and artist, and just by looking at it, Ryder could tell each aspect had a story to go along with it. Her trousers were just as charismatic. They were worn down even more so than her jacket, covered in rips and stitches, both of which were clearly not original.

Ryder quickly snapped out of it after Jade turned her head his way. After a few moments of awkward eye contact, Ryder decided to speak up. "Umm... hi?" He said with an awkward wave.

Jade continued to stare at him and proceeded to call to Rick without breaking eye contact. "Rick, who is this?" She asked.

"The kid's name is Jackson," he responded lazily, "Poor kid got stuck in Sue's truck. We're babysitting him."

Jade snorted, "Babysitting? I can see that."

"Hey!" Ryder piped up, "What's the supposed to mean?"

Jade looked into Ryder's eyes, clearly amused, and repeated what Rick had said earlier. "You look like a walking wallet."

"Oh," was all Ryder could respond with. He really did not know what else to say. It was clear as day that he was an outsider. He had never imagined that he would find himself in a completely different world. A stranger within the very city he called home.

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A/N: I'M ALIVE! A ZOMBIE! BRAINZZZ! Anyways, I'm back and will hopefully post chapters more often. ALSO! While I was gone, I created a new concept. I called it "The Songverse," a series of stories that all take place in the same universe. Some stories intertwine more than others, but I have high hopes.

Word count: 781
Date chapter finished: 3/8/2024
Date chapter published: 3/8/2024