The Fire In Me (Ryder) (COMPLETED) 1 ✔️

Chapter One Looking Bad-ass

Pretty girl- Maggie Lindemann

​​      I lean against my bike with a cigarette between my fingers. It is dark out, and I have my hood covering my face. This is me preparing, and by preparing, I was smoking to calm my nerves. Yes, I know smoking is terrible, don't go all wild on me, but I could die at any moment. Literally, I put the cigarette to my lips for a long drag before inhaling and letting it out again.

     I glance around the area when I spot him walking in my direction; his buzz-cut brown hair is fantastic on him, and his beautiful bright, piercingly blue eyes shine out in the dark. I've always thought he was good-looking, with his broad shoulders pushed back and his tight dark green shirt bringing out his big arm muscles. He wore dark jeans with black tennis shoes, and suddenly I wished I was eighteen so it wouldn't matter if I dated someone who was twenty-eight years old when I was only sixteen.

     Damn the law. Why torture me? How can they keep me from such a hot, kind person who is miraculously single? He smiles as he gets closer, revealing his perfectly white teeth. His lips look so smooth and soft. Damn the law! My eyes roamed over his dark tan skin that I could barely see in the dark, but the street light a couple of feet away helped with that problem. Curse the world for showing me a beauty I can't have.

     "Looking badass." He says, standing in front of me. His smile fades slightly. "Why are you smoking? You only smoke when you're nervous." Why does he have to pay attention and make this so much more complicated? I sigh and shake my head.

     "Something feels off tonight," I say in almost a whisper as I look around, moving only my eyes. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling, and my nerves are slightly up." It wasn't a lie; I trusted him as he trusted me, so I knew I could tell him when something was up. Recently though, my nerves at the last couple of these episodes have been up a little, but nothing has happened.

     "Are you okay? Are you sure it's not-" he says, as I shake my head.

     "It's not." I say, taking another drag of smoke before slightly turning my head and letting it out in the other direction.

     "Ryder." He says sternly, but I roll my eyes and straighten my back. "Maybe you shouldn't-"

     "Don't you dare say what I think you're about to say." I say in a cold, stern, killer, calm voice. He studies me wearily and thinks, deciding on what to say.

     "I may be older than you, but sometimes you scare me and make a shiver run down my core." He says as I find myself smiling while throwing my cigarette down and smashing it with my foot to put it out as the smoke. Some smoke travels back up, the wind hitting my nose and making me turn the other way. I know I smoke, but damn, I hate the smell of it. The smell is awful and disgusting, and it makes me feel sick. Weird, right? I know.

     It's not like the smell of gasoline. I like the smell of gasoline almost to the extent of love when it's faint, but when it's too strong, it can also make my stomach turn. Okay, I know what you're probably thinking right now. It's not like I go up to gasoline and shove it in my face to smell it! No, I'm not that weird.. and I'm pretty sure that could kill... but anyways, if I'm filling up a car gas tank and I happen to smell it, it smells good. Hey, don't judge me.

     "Is it starting soon?" I ask, only wanting to get out of this open area. I hated being out in the open. I always feel like I'm being watched. It's ridiculous, and I hate it. Why the hell would someone be watching me anyway? There's nothing to see here. They can go on their merry way.

     "That's why I came out here. Everyone's gathering around, getting ready. I figured you should too." I nod.

     "Thanks, Roscoe." Walking side by side into the alleyway, we round the corner and enter a big open space. We needed the space. People were gathering around, about thirty or more. Some people are boxers, some managers, some are friends supporting their friends, and some just want to see a fight and bet to make some money. That's just how it goes around here. Everyone here knows the rules, but if you're new, you'll learn quickly.