I Realize. |l.s.|

VII

November 27, 2018

"You better fill me in on what happens with Jade," I warn Zayn.

"Only if you talk to me about Ryan," he reasons. I can see he doesn't like Ryan, which I'll admit sucks, but I guess it's sweet how protective Zayn is. "I'm seriously gonna miss you, though."

"Yeah, me too," I frown, hugging him tightly. I walk out with him while he puts his suitcase in the trunk of his car. 

"Call me if you need anything, yeah? Take care of yourself."

"You won't even be gone a month," I roll my eyes. It's not as easy as it sounds, being alone in a giant house for that long. I'm just glad I have Ryan. Im supposed to be picked up for a date in a couple of hours, which will take my mind off of my brother's absence, thankfully. I wave to Zayn even when his car is out of sight, before I head inside to shower and get ready.

When Ryan lets me know he's here, I head out to his car and open the door, getting in. "You look nice," he says.

"Thanks babe," I blush. "You look good too."

"Do you mind if we make a quick stop?" He asks once we're on the road.

"Uh, I don't mind." I know what kind of stop he needs to make, and a pit in my stomach forms like always when he stops in front of sketchy places. This time, it's the back of a chain of stores. It's dark now, and I never have confidence that he'll come back unharmed.

"I'll be right back. Lock the doors, alright?"

"Yeah," I say quietly, giving him a small peck without so much as leaning forward, before he gets out. I never forget to lock the door. He comes back fifteen minutes later, which is far too long in my opinion. My nails are bitten for the first time in over a week, which is proof of my nerves for him. I unlock the door and he gets in the car, not a scratch on him.

"Ready to go?"

"Rye," I sigh, shaking my head. He starts driving without my answer to his question. "You know I'd never stop you, but are you sure this whole dealing thing is a good idea? It's dangerous."

"Louis, I know what I'm doing," he shakes his head. "You know I can hold my own in a fight and I'm not even dealing hard stuff. There's no danger, I promise."

"Okay," I nod. "I'm sorry, I just worry about you. I care a lot, Y'know?"

"It's cute how much you do," he smirks at me. "It's just a little annoying of you not to trust me."

"Yeah. I won't doubt you again. I'm just being paranoid."

"Let's not think about this any longer," he huffs. "It's a happy night, right? It's about you and me."

"You're right. I love you," I smile, taking his hand and placing it in my lap, vowing to myself that Ill never let go.

"Love you too."

November 28, 2018

It's Monday when I have to return to school from the small break. It was fun while it lasted, but now I'm back to my regularly boring routine. Not that being at home is much better, but I'm comparing now to when I had both Zee and Rye with me. 

Classes go by even more agonizingly slow than usual, which puts a damper in my mood. I decide to get out of maths, which happens to be my least favorite subject, by going to walk around and use the restroom. With the hall pass in-hand, I step into the room, only to be greeted by Ryan and another kid. I can tell it's an exchange by the bag of white powder in the freshman's hand and the wad of cash in Ryan's. I keep walking slowly, afraid of interrupting anything.

The kid spots me first, looking pale and nervous. This must be his first time buying drugs. It's a faze everyone seems to go through in high school. I never did, though. I never really had to pay, I only started using them when I started dating Ryan. Speaking of, he turns to me, a grin taking over his face.

"Hey babe," he smiles, before turning to the freshman. "You can go, he won't snitch." The boy runs off, and I watch him leave. Ryan walks over and takes me in his arms, giving me a hungry kiss, before his mouth moves quickly to my jawline. I laugh.

"Easy, Rye. I've gotta get back to class soon, I've already been taking laps around the halls."

"Alright," he backs off. "Jesus, you look hot right now. You sure you can't spare a couple extra minutes."

"I can't," I sigh. "I promise I'm all yours when you pick me up, though. You know my place is always free."

"You always know what to say," he shakes his head laughing. "I'm off now. You've got your test today in Science, right?"

"Yeah, after lunch."

"Good luck. Tell me how it goes?"

"F'course," I grin, and he leaves me alone to do my business. I make it back before my absence is noticeable, and lunch comes around before Science. The quiz is online, so when I finish just before the bell, I still have time to receive my score. It's a 68%.

"Louis, could I please speak with you?" My teacher asks. I nod, walking up to her with my bag pulled over my shoulders. "I'm gonna need you to be honest with me. Have you studied at all for this unit?"

"Yeah," I lie easily. 

"Well, you might want to find a tutor, then. I could assign one to you, if that would make it easier," she offers kindly.

"I can get it up, I don't need a tutor," I shake my head.

"Well, between your multiple low test scores and your countless missing assignments, I think this is your last chance to pick it up before you lose your shot at a high grade for the first semester. You know how important it is to your final grade."

"Okay, I'll work on it," I nod. I won't actually work on it.

~~

Thoughts? Questions? Complaints?

I promise you, just trust the process, it will get better. I'm trying to write this, as the first book was such a hit. Also, I'm almost to 100k reads, which is insane, so thank you!