The Only Way ✓

22. The Approach

Camila

"Maybe next time you'll listen to me," I said out of breath and broke into laughter again. Ryder couldn't help but joining in. It was hard not to laugh. Ryder's chestnut hair, that he had delicately combed this morning was all plastered down on his face and his clothes pulled in different directions. 

"Yeah whatever, we both know that even if I did listen to you, it doesn't negate the fact that I'm just so irresistible," Ryder pulled the collar of his jacket. I broke into fits of laughter. One side of his collar hung loose, torn from the seam. Ryder muttered unintelligibly. 

"If you call hormonal teenagers tearing every article of clothing on you "irresistible"," I made air quotes, "then you're right. At least now they have a piece of you with them. It's not like they would clone you." I teased and he rolled his eyes. 

"I believe one of me is enough," Ryder took of his jacket. 

"You're right on that one. We're lucky it was just a few fans out there, we should have gone through the back though," I uttered as I pulled my own disheveled hair into a proper ponytail. He tugged a small strand playful before I slapped his hand away.

"Ouch...we safe and sound here aren't we. We're in the elevator, going to your apartment that you share with five other guys," Ryder spoke. I groaned at the mention of the five beings who I had been placed to live with. But my frustration was on one them specifically, Zayn. He knew how to tell you that he didn't like you without even speaking. 

"I see you're overjoyed to be living with them," Ryder teased, poking my sides. I nudged him away. Which didn't make a difference since we were both in a small elevator. 

"I would chose to live anywhere else but..." the elevator echoed with a ding and the doors opened, "here." I finished as I walked out the elevator back into what was suppose to be my home. 

"Home..sweet...home," Ryder strecthed his arms out and took a deep breath. 

"You don't live here," a voice muttered from one of the sofas. I didn't have to make my way over to the sofas to know that it was Zayn, probably sprawled out without a care. 

"No one asked you," I whispered harshly. I took a second to close my eyes and practice what Ryder had taught me a few hours ago. I let my senses do there thing and I was capable of registering every thing in the complex. Louis was actually the one laying down on the sofa while Zayn was sitting on the ground. Harry was cooking in the kitchen. I smelled the sweet smell of tomato sauce and basil. Liam was walking down the hall. There was one of them missing. Where could Niall be? Slowly my eyes fluttered open and only inches in front of me Ryder stood with his playful grin.

"Wonders, right?" He asked and I playfully pushed him back. Or tried to. I had underestimated my strength. He stumbled back. He looked at me and smirked.

"There's more from where that came from," Ryder composed himself and I'm sure he was answering to the rather surprised expression on my face. 

"What's he doing here?" Harry's voice carried away from the kitchen, hostility evident in his voice. I felt my jaw clenched. I didn't like his tone. I hadn't noticed that I had tried to flash out to him when I felt a strong grip on my forearm. I blinked a few times before I stared my way up the arm and was eye to eye with light gray eyes. Something about the color of his eyes made my throat close up. I couldn't understand the feeling. I knew those eyes. There was a familiarity to his eyes. I had changed from one trance to another with such facility it threw me off. 

"Camila...Camila...Mila, babe listen to me," my ears registered his voice, but my mind took his words like a blanket, eveloping itself in them. My eyes just stared into his. Something in me recognized that shade of gray from somewhere.