Unbreakable Rules (Too Many Rules Book 3)

by G. L. Snodgrass

  Every tick of the clock seemed to hang in mid-air for half the morning. Every minute was an hour. I needed to talk to Hailey. I needed to know if what had happened between us the other night was real or had I imagined everything. Or worse, misread it.

  A sickening thought occurred to me. Maybe she was just being nice. Maybe she hadn’t enjoyed herself as much as I had. Was Friday night for real?

  I couldn’t know until I talked to her in person.

  At last, the bell rang. I gathered my books and waited at the door for her.

  “Do you have a second?” I asked, rather proud of myself that I sounded semi-normal.

  She turned to Bri and lifted an eyebrow. Bri rolled her eyes, then laughed. “Sure, I’ll catch you later. Watch your back,” she said as she left, her head shaking back and forth like a bobble head toy.

  The hallway felt like wet cement as we both tried to maneuver our ways through the crush of students.

  “How are you doing?” Hailey asked with a smile as her hand came up to gently touch my arm.

  “Me? I’m doing great. How about you? What did Bri mean about watching your back? Are you okay?” Suddenly the thought of Hailey in trouble sent a surge of adrenaline through me. Nothing was allowed to bother her, nothing.

  “I’m fine,” she laughed. Somehow, I was pretty sure she could read every thought I had. “Some of my former friends think I’ve betrayed some kind of secret societal trust or something. It’s like I gave away the secrets of the kingdom or something.”

  She laughed again and shook her head. “Screw ‘em.” Then without warning, she took my hand.

  Yes, life was cool. Way cool.

  .o0o.

  Hailey

  Ryan was so cute. I mean, wanted to eat him up cute. He was wearing a flannel shirt, unbuttoned, and not tucked into his jeans. The man could learn. I’ve got to give him that.

  But, it was more, a strong, quiet confidence seemed to surround him. I don’t know why, but when I was near him, I felt as if the world was settled. Things were in balance. I realized I was being ridiculous. It had only been one date and I was already writing our names in the sky. But, there was just something that told me this was right. This was what life was supposed to feel like.

  We reached his first period AP Trig class, but he kept walking. In fact, he walked me all the way to my psychology class and then opened the door for me. Like I said, cute.

  “Do you want to meet for lunch?” he asked.

  My heart jumped, things were moving fast. I knew I should be slowing things down. It was only lunch. But, this was telling everyone we’d rather be together than with our friends.

  It all seemed so stupid, the rules and expectations. Besides, I had an obligation.

  The hopeful look in his eyes tore at me, but I really couldn’t ignore the paper. Mr. Sinclair was depending on us.

  I frowned up at him, “I’m sorry. I’ve got to help with the paper. We’ve got to finish it up, today.”

  “Oh. Okay, I understand,” he said. He didn’t frown or pout. I really think he accepted what I said without looking for an alternative meaning or making any kind of judgment. How refreshing. A girl could grow to like being treated like this.

  But still, I felt bad about disappointing him. Besides, I wanted to spend time with him.

  “How about we eat out in the quad tomorrow. Brown bag it?”

  He smiled and nodded his head. “Sure, that sounds great.” He paused a moment as he stared down into my eyes. It was like being held in a tender embrace. I could have stood there forever, but the warning bell rung.

  “I guess, I’ll see you around,” he said as he took a step back. The look of loss in his eyes was priceless.

  I smiled up at him. Except for homeroom and lunch, we wouldn’t see each other all day. We traveled in different worlds. We didn’t share any classes. It was going to be a long day.

  “If I don’t see you, meet me at my car after school. Okay?” I asked.

  “Sure. Why?” he said with a confused frown.

  “Because I want to see you, you idiot,” I said as I gave a quick squeeze to his arm before hurrying into class. Ms. Johnson insisted we be in our chairs before the bell rang and I was already going to be late.

  Ryan stepped back to watch me into class. At the last second, I turned and hurried back to him. Reaching up, I quickly kissed him on the cheek and gave him my best smile.

  His face lit up with a smile a mile long and ten feet deep.

  The boy had made my day special just by being there.

  .o0o.

  Ryan

  The cafeteria was as noisy as usual. The same cliques as always, the same buzz of teenage hormones and earth shattering angst. God, I couldn’t wait for high school to end.

  I thought of what that would mean with Hailey. She would be going off to college probably to the east coast. I’d be at the UW.

  Suddenly the world didn’t seem so perfect. Now, finally, I had met someone. Someone unbelievably perfect and it was all going to end in a couple of months. It was enough to make a guy question the meaning of life.

  Sometimes, life can be so unfair.

  I paid for my food and headed to Nerd corner. My mind was lost in thinking about Hailey and college as I approached our tables. The solid stares of discontent and disdain brought me up short.

  Really? Now, they were upset? I could understand the nasty looks from the Celebs. I’d taken their prize Queen. Or, at least, that was how they saw it. But, my people? How couldn’t they be happy for me? Besides, it was only one date.

  Meagan looked at me as if I’d just erased her hard drive. Scrubbed it clean. Howard just shook his head. Even Tony seemed disappointed in me.

  My insides tightened up a bit, then I thought about what they were upset about. Hailey Martin.

  Little did they know that I’d dump the lot of them on the side of the road for a few more minutes with Hailey Martin. Especially, if they were going to treat me like this.

  Even young Amy looked as if I’d killed her favorite puppy.

  “So, where’s your girlfriend?” Meagan sneered. “Too embarrassed to be seen with you?”

  I laughed, “Careful Meagan, you claws are showing. It’s not a pretty look,” I said.

  Mark almost choked on his burger, then patted me on the back. “Don’t listen to them, big boy. They’ve only been your friends since second grade. No need to care what they think.”

  I looked over at him. Was he going to give me a hard time about this, as well? He knew what Hailey meant to me. Why couldn’t they see how important this was? Why all the hassles?

  Sitting up straight, I looked at each of them. My friends, my tribe.

  A few of them shuffled uncomfortably in their seats, but most of them defiantly returned my look. As if daring me to try and justify my actions.

  I studied them for a moment and then said, “Get over it.”

  That was it. Nothing more needed to be said. I was the King of our tribe. If they didn’t like it, they could go find somewhere else to be.

  The table remained quiet for a moment as they processed my statement. I think they really expected me to apologize or, at least, try to justify my actions.

  Well, to hell with them. If they didn’t like it, tough.

  Tony was the first to accept it. He shrugged his shoulders, then resumed eating. Howard was next. Soon, everyone else returned back to normal. All except Meagan, she continued to stare at me with cold eyes.

  At last, she grabbed her tray and left, using her shoulder to wipe something from her eye.

  “Why is she so upset?” I asked Mark.

  He just looked at me and shook his head. “Idiot, you wouldn’t understand.”

  I chose to ignore him and focused on finishing my meal. If I hurried, maybe I could meet Hailey outside of the journalism class and we’d have a few minutes together.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ryan

  It was one of those beautiful Northwest spring days. A warm
sun, piercing blue skies. The kind of Northwest day that made your heart hurt. The cool breeze brought a faint scent of new life. Everything full of promise and new beginnings.

  The quad was full of kids. All trying to get as much sun as possible. We didn’t get enough days like this, we needed to soak up as much vitamin D as possible.

  The place was crowded with noisy laughter. But, Hailey and I were in our own little world. We sat cross-legged on the grass sharing things from each other’s lunch bag.

  She liked fruit. I liked hard boiled eggs.

  It was weird how I didn’t feel nervous around her anymore. How I could talk to her without my tongue becoming tied in knots? I don’t know why things were different, but they were.

  “So, are you missing your friends?” she asked suddenly. Her eyes had grown concerned as if she was worried about something.

  Why would she worry about me missing my friends? Did I say something that made her think I was regretting being here with her? How could she even think that? I went over in my mind every word we had said to each other, but couldn’t find anything that would lead her to believe that.

  “No, why?”

  She hesitated for a moment. “It’s just that you’ve sat with your friends every day since the first day of ninth grade…”

  “You noticed where I sat?” I asked teasingly. “Who knew that Hailey Martin was keeping track of my whereabouts?”

  She laughed and slapped my arm. “You know what I mean.”

  I decided to give her a break. “No, I’m not missing them. They’re big kids, they can handle life without me telling them what to do.”

  She smiled, then returned to her apple.

  “What about you?” I asked. “Would you rather be with your friends?” The thought sent a dagger to my heart. I held my breath as I waited for her answer.

  She absent-mindedly waived her hand. “The ones that matter, understand, the ones that don’t understand don’t really matter.”

  We smiled at each other for a moment. It was sickeningly sweet and I loved every moment of it.

  It had been like this for two weeks. It couldn’t last, could it?

  “Did you hear?” Hailey asked. “Lance Johnson asked Bri to the Prom. Finally. We didn’t think he’d ever ask.”

  “No, I hadn’t heard,” I answered.

  She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, then slowly shook her head as she focused on her apple.

  I might not be the smartest person around. But, it doesn’t take a ton of bricks falling on me to get my attention.

  “Um … Did you want to go to the Prom?” I asked. My heart raced. Had I just asked Hailey Martin to the prom? What universe had I fallen into?

  She paused for a moment, then said with a sweet smile. “Ryan Hardy, did you just ask me to the Prom.”

  All I could do was swallow heavily and nod my head.

  “I would love to go with you. I thought you’d never ask. You sure left it to the last minute. It’s only two weeks away.”

  “Great,” I said. It was all I could think of as my mind ran in a thousand different directions.

  “On one condition though,” Hailey said with that sweet smile of hers. I had learned that when she smiled like that, she was letting me know everything was okay. And, that I would do anything she wanted.

  “I get to go with you to pick out your tux.”

  “What? You don’t trust me?”

  She laughed. “Ryan, do you really want to go rent a tux by yourself, or worse, with your mom? Or would you rather spend the day with me telling you what to do?”

  When she was right, she was right.

  I accepted her condition and we fell back into a comfortable silence. Obviously, she was thinking about what she was going to wear and what she was going to tell her friends.

  All I could think about was the fact that the Homecoming Queen was going to the Prom with the King of the Nerds. Me. I couldn’t believe it. My life was barreling along at a million miles a minute. Just a short while ago, I had been quietly eating lunch here on the grass. Now, I was taking the most beautiful girl in the world to the prom.

  Life was pretty great.

  .o0o.

  Hailey

  Shopping with Ryan was pretty cool. Just hanging out with Ryan was cool. I didn’t feel that nervousness or hesitancy I normally feel around boys. With Ryan, it was different. Comfortable, easy, fun, and exciting, but comfortable.

  My butterflies still got riled up. That electric spark was still there when we touched. But, it was different now. I didn’t fear it disappearing. I didn’t worry about what others would say or think.

  This was Ryan. This felt right. Nothing else really mattered.

  We walked through the mall hand in hand. He leaned over and whispered, “I think I want a sky blue tux. What do you think?”

  I gasped for a second, then realized that he was kidding. The big jerk had gotten me. I slapped his shoulder and pulled him towards the tuxedo shop.

  It was the only one in town and we were late in the process. If they didn’t have what we needed, then we were going to have to go to Seattle.

  “What do you really want?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Truth?” he asked. “Conservative.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Heaven forbid you stood out or anything.”

  He laughed, “What about you, what are you wearing?”

  I smiled. “You’ll have to wait to see.”

  I had found a killer burgundy dress that was going to be a knockout. I couldn’t wait for him to see me in it. But, it would wait until Prom night. Some surprises were best flavored with anticipation.

  The clerk approached. A young woman with a sexy haircut and a dress a little too tight. But, on her, it worked. A little shiver of jealousy ran up my spine when I saw her check him out and nod approvingly.

  Ryan was oblivious of course. Another point in his favor.

  “Prom?” she asked.

  No, a trip to the international space station, I wanted to answer, but bit my tongue.

  The clerk pulled out a tape measure and started running it across his shoulders as if he was hers.

  ‘Get a grip,’ I told myself. She’s just doing her job.

  “Let me guess, classic, conservative?” she asked.

  Ryan smiled and nodded. It was as if he’d found a fellow someone who understood his soul.

  “Over here,” she said as she led him to a rack of black tuxedos. She started pulling out several different suits, holding them up to him, then shaking her head before reaching for another.

  What was I? Chopped liver. How had this woman taken over so easily? Why was Ryan letting her?

  “Ah yes,” she said as she held a suit up next to his chest. “What do you think?” the woman asked me, as if suddenly deciding to include me as an act of kindness.

  Before I could answer, she turned and smiled up at Ryan. “Go try this and we’ll see. It will give us an idea of what we are dealing with.”

  Ryan took the suit and stepped into the changing room. The clerk immediately disappeared back to the register to finish some paperwork.

  ‘This isn’t about you,’ I reminded myself as I silently tapped my foot while I waited.

  My mind wandered to the last few weeks. Who would have believed that I would be going to the Prom with Ryan Hardy? Who would have believed my insides would become this excited over a boy?

  I spent every free moment thinking about him. My body ached to be next to him. I found myself daydreaming about what it would be like growing old together.

  Ridiculous, right? I had it bad. Bri said I was losing it because school was coming to an end. Either that or I had a brain tumor.

  My eyes clouded over as I stared off into the distance remembering our kisses. Thinking about …

  “What do you think?” Ryan asked from behind me.

  I turned and my world stopped. Damn, the man looked good. Sexy. Confident. In control. All the things that could make a girl's knees go weak.<
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  The tuxedo emphasized his wide shoulders. Tapering down to a narrow waist.

  He raised an eyebrow in question. But, I couldn’t find the words to express what he did to my soul. God, he was good looking. And, he was mine.

  I smiled and nodded. “Yes,” I said. As if that was all I had to say.

  The clerk returned with that silly smile of hers. I could tell she liked what she saw. I couldn’t really blame her. The man looked scrumptious.

  She adjusted the shoulders and checked the fall in the back. All the time nodding her head in approval.

  She stepped back and joined me in admiration.

  “A tall man makes a tux look so much better, don’t you think?” she said in aside to me.

  All I could do was nod in agreement.

  “We will take it,” I said before Ryan could change his mind.

  “Good,” the clerk said. “It won’t even need any alterations. You can take it today if you want.”

  “And a burgundy tie, if you have one?” I said.

  Ryan looked on, lost. Decisions were being made without his input or concerns. I didn’t care. He was wearing that tuxedo to Prom and every girl there was going to eat her heart out.

  Within minutes, we had what we needed and were out of the store.

  “That was easy,” Ryan said with a confused expression on his face. “We’ve got all day, what do you want to do?”

  “After seeing you in that tux. I can think of a something I’d like to do.” I smiled up at him and wiggled my eyebrows.

  The look of surprise and hope that flashed to his eyes was priceless. It made my insides shiver.

  “But,” I continued, “It’s still a little early in our relationship. So we should probably go bowling instead.”

  His eyes lost their shining hope for an instant, to be replaced instantly, by a deep frown.

  “Bowling?”

  “Yes, bowling,” I said as I looped my arm through his. “It’s probably the only thing I can beat you at.”

  He continued to frown for a moment as if trying to process something.

  “Relationship? Are we in a relationship?” he asked.