gummies and cigarettes

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
—
As soon as the bell rings, Ryder is out of her seat and out the door, completely missing the pencil she left on her desk. 
Austin, however, quickly grabbed the utensil and followed behind her. 
"Hey! Excuse me?" 
Scott and Stiles share a look as they watch him follow her. 
Scott turns to his friend, "What the hell is he doing?" 
"There goes his social life."
"Black shirt!" Austin calls out, ignoring the skeptical looks he got from other students. 
Ryder pauses her steps, glancing down to her shirt and rolling her eyes slightly, moving to the side so she isn't in the middle of the hallway. 
"Hi. I'm sorry—" He starts, smiling softly as he finally got her attention. 
She glances around nervously, "What do you want?" 
"You left your pencil." 
"Thanks." She mumbles, taking it and going to walk away only for him to step in front of her.
"I'm Austin." 
"I heard." She answers, avoiding eye contact as she begins her walk to her locker. 
"What's your name?" He asks, walking behind her. 
"Ryder." 
"I like your name." 
She looks him up and down, "I like your shirt." 
Austin smiles brightly, "Thank you—"
"I'm lying, i hate it." His smile drops, "Stop talking to me."
"Did i do something to upset you?" He frowns, not understanding why she was being so rude to him. 
Before she can answer, the person next to sighs in exasperation. 
"Excuse me?" 
Ryder turns, "What?" 
"I'm Allison. I'm sorry to bother you—"
"What do you want?" Ryder asks, once again. It seemed like she would be repeating that question a lot this year.
"Do you mind helping me? I think I got a bad locker." Of course she did, the girl had the locker Ryder had her freshman year. She couldn't stand having to fight with a piece of metal every morning before class. She thanked god they moved her down a couple. 
Ryder huffs, moving past the girl to help her. 
After successfully opening the wonky locker, Ryder moves back to her own, grabbing her cigarettes and textbook. 
"You probably shouldn't be smoking in school." Austin says in a low voice, glancing around in hopes a teacher doesn't see her. 
"She probably shouldn't be smoking at all. Give your lungs a break, Ryder." Lydia says, walking up to Allison. 
"You're hilarious, Lydia." Her voice filled with sarcasm before the act dropped completely, "Go drown." 
The green eyed girl rolls her eyes, turning to Allison, "That jacket it absolutely killer. Where did you get it?" 
"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco." Allison answers shyly.
"And you are my new best friend."
Thats absolutely fantastic. Another person for Ryder to avoid. Not that she minded, she quite enjoyed the game of 'avoid the school bullies', to a certain extent of course. 
"Hey, Jackson."
As soon as she hears his name, Ryder is drowning out the conversation, making sure she has everything she needs before slamming her locker and walking away, Austin right on her tail. 
The two make it outside, away from prying eyes, but still close enough to see the lacrosse field. 
"Hey, so I—"
"No." 
Austin's brow crease, "No?" 
"No, you shouldn't be talking to me." She quickly elaborates, speeding up her walk. 
"Well, you shouldn't be smoking, it's not good for you." 
Lighting her cigarette, she turns to him, an odd expression on her face, "Where on my face does it look like I give a shit?"
"Right there." He points to the side of her mouth where her lips quirked up. 
Ryder hums, her head turning to the sound of Coach Finstock's whistle.
The crunching of a bag catches her attention. She would've ignore it but the sound was so loud she wouldn't be surprised if he caught someone else's attention. 
"What the hell are you doing?" 
Austin shrugs, "I missed lunch. Want some?" 
The girl glances at the gummies he pushed towards her. "I'm all good." 
Austin nods, settling down in the spot next to her. 
"I didn't say you could sit next to me." 
"I'm sorry." He says, still not moving away. The girl side eyes him but doesn't say anything. 
The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Austin's eyes glancing to her hand, perking up at an opportunity to start a conversation. 
"I like your tattoo." 
Ryder frowns, confused at the sudden compliment, "What?" 
He stops his chewing and points to her hand, "Your tattoo, it's cool. How long did it take?" 
"A while, considering it's not just on my hand." 
His eyes travel from her hand to the rest of her arm when she moves her sleeve slightly, giving him time to take a small peak. His eyes sparkle as he gushes over the ink.
"That's so cool."
She hums, "You've mentioned." 
Austin winces at her bored tone. Sighing softly before speaking up again, "I have a tattoo." 
Her brow raises in interest, "Yeah?" 
"Yeah." He nods, "Granted... it isn't as big as yours, it's still there." 
Placing his gummies on his lap, Austin lifts up his sleeve slightly to show the small snake wrapped around a needle on his wrist. 
"Cute."
"It is not cute." He scoffs jokingly, "It's manly."
Ryder finally looks at him, the smile on his face is enough to have her smiling back slightly. Her brown eyes locking with his blue ones before she's shaking her head and focusing back on the field. 
She couldn't do it. 
It's only a matter of time before he sees her just like everyone else. The guy just moved here. Last thing she needs is to ruin his reputation before he even has one. 
Then again, it didn't seem like he cared.