“I took my time and observed Ryder Kingscott - the legend, the most envied, desired, talked about, etc., guy in school - mutating before my eyes into Ryder Kingscott, the ... possible stalker?”

“Before I knew it, my daily schedule had started to look a lot like this:Monday: Woke up, thought of Ryder; went to school, stared at Ryder; had lunch with J, gaped at Ryder; went to PE, brooded over Ryder's absence; went home, thought of Ryder; took a drive "accidentally" passing by Dave's Garage, spied on Ryder; came home, thought of Ryder; had dinner, no appetite due to lack-of Ryder; went to bed, tossed and turned thinking about Ryder.Tuesday: See above, with minor adjustments.Wednesday: Ryder wasn't in school, my world collapsedThursday: Same as Monday and TuesdayFriday: See above.Saturday: Nightmarishly long, boring. Drove by Dave's Garage twice, hoping to see Ryder.Sunday: See above, minus the drive-by. But, yay, tomorrow I'll see Ryder in school! God bless Mondays.”

“Guess where that left me? That's right: between Ryder, my boyfriend, who hated Lucian with the proverbial fiery passion and J, my best friend, who wanted Lucian around, so, basically in hell.”

“What game is this, Ryder?" I asked frostily. "What are we playing at here?"Shrugging, he replied "It's not me who's playing. I'm not the one who's wasted the last two weeks trying to make up her mind. Not the one who's asking about other people or has second thoughts about something as innocent as a kiss.”

“I love how you look at me."[...]"And how's that?" I asked, blushing on cue.His lower lip curled in that mischievous way it did."Like you're having a hard time deciding between my lips and this blueberry pie. And I know nothing comes between you and this pie."I giggled. "Very observant. Wonder which one will win?”

“Okay, so maybe it was unexpected freedom of being able to get up-close and personal with him without having every inch of me quivering in pain that was doing the talking, but still. I couldn't remember ever experiencing freedom like this before: the warm sun, the caressing wind, his body warm and solid beneath my arms, a perfect blue sky above us. Clichéd? Maybe, but guess what? Also about as close to perfection as anyone can hope to get. Happiness can be so absurdly simple sometimes.”

“How could you be watching me the whole year?" I asked, sensing my eyes bulging, but unable to control it. "I think I would've noticed."His smile widened. "What, you mean, since you where always checking me out?”