UNPROVEN Chapter Five "Run-In"

If you're loved by someone, you're never rejected, decide what to be and GO BE IT
-The Avett brothers

Recommend Reading Introduction to Unproven

DEFINITELY READ Prologue

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Grayson glanced back at the space the girl had vacated, his brows furrowing slightly. One of Andie’s friends, name unknown. Tough to put her on his list of potentials without a name. He inwardly scoffed. Tough to put on his list without knowing anything about her except she had really pretty eyes. The sun had caught them just right when he’d glanced her way and they were a light shade of green, almost translucent, and flecked with gold. Most likely contacts, he decided, and if so she wouldn’t make the list as it was the only striking thing about her. She was too petite for his taste, he preferred long legs and a good-sized rack. But he had to be careful about being too selective, all he needed right now was pretty, sweet, and moderately intelligent. His usual type generally thought too much of themselves for "sweet" to be one of their attributes. He pushed away from the car looking sideways at Brooke, the perfect teen model and the exclamation on his point. The only way she’d ever be sweet is if she were dropped in a pool of sugar.

He shook off the train of thought. “Winters, you going to the gym?”

“Yeah man, let’s get our game on!”

**

Ary spent the next few hours trying to catch another glimpse of Grayson before it finally occurred to her that since it was the last day of school he probably didn’t have any mandatory classes and was likely hanging out in the gym, so she snuck away from the girls on the pretense of using the bathroom and made her way in that direction.

Her legs turned into jelly as she got close enough to hear the squeaks of sneakers and the sound of a ball being bounced on the laminate floor, and she nearly lost her nerve. What would she do, sit on the bleachers and watch them play? Wouldn’t they think that was weird? Well, you’re almost there, you might as well peek in at least, pretend you’re looking for someone. She steeled herself and walked forward…Smack into a sweaty male chest as he burst through the double doors.

“Oh God, I’m sorry,” she stammered as hands gripped her arms to keep her from falling backward. She looked up and her body went into sensory overload while her mind went on hiatus. His brilliant blue eyes were inches from her face and his hands were touching her.

“They’re not contacts are they?” He asked.

She blinked at him in confusion.

“Your eyes, not contacts?” He prompted.

She shook her head unable to force words out of her lips.

“Hmm. Pretty.” He let go and she almost fell backward after all, having forgotten to regain her balance in favor of stupidly staring.

He steadied her once more, his lip curving as his eyes laughed at her. “You okay there…?”

She finally found her voice, though it came out in a squeak, “Yes, fine, sorry about that.”

“S’ okay, as tiny as you are you could have tackled me and I wouldn’t have felt it.”

A high-pitched giggle escaped her lips and she pressed them together tightly, noting the way he winced. “Sorry, I, um, it’s been a weird day,” she offered weakly.

“Right. Well, hope it normals out.”

She watched him walk toward the guy's locker room with a sinking feeling. The initial friendliness in his manner had disappeared with that last sentence and right before his expression turned mocking, she could swear he looked disappointed.

“Wait!” She blurted after him.

He turned slightly, brow arched once more.

“Are you going to the party tonight?”

He breathed a soft laugh and turned away.

“I’m not usually this clueless,” she pressed on, stopping him once more. “I swear. At least I hope not because I like to think of myself as fairly intelligent.” He turned to face her and cocked his head to the side as if listening for something in particular.

“It’s only…my friends and I are making a few changes, kind of a long story but suffice it to say we’ll be at the party and I for one will be extremely disappointed if you’re not,” she blushed slightly. “My name’s Aryanne, by the way.” When he didn’t respond she felt her own flash of disappointment and looked at the floor.

“Aryanne,” he said softly, bringing her head back up.
“I guess I’ll see you tonight.” He flashed a quick smile and disappeared into the locker room.

As she made her way back to the girls a smile tugged the corner of her lips until she was flat out grinning. For a few moments she worried that approaching him ahead of time was a huge mistake, but now? Now he knew her name and it would not be as awkward to approach him later. And he thought her eyes were pretty. Her smile stretched, drawing odd looks from the kids she passed.

“Whoa, what the heck are you grinning about? You look like a clown!” Andie laughed as Ary dropped in the seat next to her at their table in the library.

“I know, I can’t help it!”

“Why…?”

“I spoke to him. Actually, I ran into him, literally, and Oh my God he has the most beautiful chest, he was all sweaty…”

“Wait, wait, what are you talking about? Don’t tell me you’re melding your dream world with the real world now.”
A
ry slapped her arm, “Stop it,” she laughed, “I did run into him in all of his sweaty, muscular chested glory, he was coming out of the gym…”

“And why were you at the gym?” Andie cocked a brow.

Ary smiled sheepishly, “I wanted to see him. I just wanted to peek in, but he was coming out and almost knocked me over. He touched me Andie, his hands were gripping my arms and oh god I nearly fainted, I swear, and of course I went and babbled like an idiot before I got it together and asked if he was going to the party and he said he would see me there, actually he said my name, and the way he said it gave me goose bumps…”

“Goose bumps? Really?” Andie rolled her eyes.

“…and he said I have pretty eyes.”
That earned an eyebrow raise, “He said you have pretty eyes?”

Ary nodded smugly.

“Well, that’s something, definitely more of something than him saying your name.”

Ary gave her a look. “It’s the way he said it, not that he said it…you had to be there.”

“Uh huh. Well that settles it; he purred your name and complimented your eyes, definitely worthy of your virginity.”

“Oh, very nice,” Ary retorted, “and exactly who is worth that? It’s not as if anyone else has earned it.”

Andie sighed, “I know, but that’s because we’ve made it a point not to draw that kind of attention. I mean look at the way we dress, the way we wear our hair, the way we don’t wear makeup, we practically scream Hands Off. And guys our age want at least the hope of getting somewhere. Look, when we made this pact I thought that we might have done a little of something by now. Maybe it’s enough if we show up to the party with our new looks and get a little tipsy, maybe the whole sexual agenda is a bad idea.”

Ary stared at her, “Are you serious? You’re the one who made such a big deal of that part, in fact you made the other things seem secondary. You said if we were going to change our lives we should do it in a big way, just changing our appearance would not be enough.”

“I know what I said Ary,” Andie took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Okay. I just wish you would choose someone you could at least be friends with afterward. Amanda too, except at least with her she does have some experience. But you, you're going to get hurt by this, I know it, and I’m gonna feel like a complete shit for talking you into it.”

Ary shook her head adamantly, “No, you don’t have to feel guilty. I have my own mind, if I didn’t want to do this I wouldn’t. In fact, if it’s a no-go with Grayson than I’m not going through with it.”

Andie made a noise of the echh variety, “Fine, okay, let’s proceed as planned for now, we’ll see what happens later.”

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