Him - Ruel Van Dijk

Fifteen

Sunday - 12:59 pm

I stand two stairs down, frozen in shock for a few seconds before I come back to my senses and I walk down the rest of the way, trying to convince myself in my head that the lanky boy standing at the door isn't who I think he is.

"Isla, there you are!" Mom says as I stand beside her, face to face with our guests. "This is Kate," I hug the blonde, middle-aged woman that stands furthest in the house, "And this is her husband Ralph," I hug the serious looking man that stands in front of me, "And this is Coco." I hug the blonde girl that I already knew as Coco, having had Emma show me pictures of her previously.

"And I'm sure you already know my son, Ruel," Kate speaks before my mother can. I blush and immediately start to feel the regret of my choice of hoodie. Mom nudges me, expecting me to respond.

I clear my throat. "Um, yeah. I guess I do know who he is." I try to look anywhere but at Ruel, but find it much harder to do than you would think. He doesn't look too fazed by his mother's comment, but he still stands awkwardly.

"Well, I have some snacks in the kitchen that we should tuck into," Mom says, and after a response of "lead the way" from Ralph, she turns and walks to the kitchen, guests in tow.

30 minutes later, I still sit awkwardly to the side of the conversation on the couch, knowing that it would be rude to leave to my room. My mother sat beside me, and Coco sat on a single chair on my other side, Ruel across from me. He was watching the parents talk, a slight look of boredom on his face. Then again, he could probably list many other things to do at this moment than sit in a room with me.

I wasn't really paying attention to the conversation that was being held until I heard my name.

"Isla's quite a fan of your son, Kate." Mom laughs. I feel my cheeks heat up and I stare at my lap, playing with the sleeves of my hoodie.

"Have you been to any of his shows?" I feel the question is aimed at me, so I look up to Kate, trying to ignore the stare from the teenage boy.

"Yes, I have," I reply shortly.

"And what did you think?"

"I thought it was very good." I make eye contact with Ruel and try to sound more confident than I feel. The corners of his mouth twitch upward slightly, but he still wears the same bored expression.

"How close were you to the stage?" The boy asks me, taking me by surprise slightly, having this be one of the first times that he's spoken.

"Front row actually. I distinctly remember you staring at me for a few minutes."

"I wasn't staring," He retorts, "I was looking over the crowd and I happened to look at you."

"Mhm, sure," I reply, slightly intrigued as to if he actually remembered me, and if he did - why? He rolls his eyes.

+

A/N:

What are your thoughts on this book?

I personally feel like it's improving somewhat, but it might just be me thinking that

I'm going to try and update as much as I can in the next two weeks, so expect a few more chapters to come out soon.

Pls vote and comment

x