Loving Someone

I will be waiting for you_5

The coming days were days of torture as well as pleasure for Aria.

Aria and Ryan went about the school gathering information on the graduating classes as well as doing spontaneous interview with some of the students. They did not talk to each other unless it was regarding the project and related topics. The committee had set up a workstation in the editorial room, where everyone reported in with their most recent progress. Besides gathering raw materials, Aria and Ryan were supposed to link them all up to write articles on the graduating classes. Therefore, they had to spend time together everyday after school to sort things out.

For the past few days, Aria saw a different side to the Ryan she knew. He was dedicated to his work and very resourceful. He knew all the right places to look for materials that will ultimately spice things up. Having a natural talent to liven things up around him, they got very interesting results from the interviews that were carried out. Besides affection, Aria knew she respected him more.

Unknown to Aria, she also showed a different facet of herself during the research. She was a competent partner to have around, which in Ryan's mind, ideal. She knew what was in Ryan's mind even before he finshed speaking out his thouhgts, for she was also thinking the same thing. She did things with dedication that was parralelled to Ryan's, never leaving any loose ends. When she worked, she did not spend time in concealing her true nature. She spoke brilliantly on her thoughts and even when Ryan contradicted her, she defended herself with solid reasons.

One day, they were walking down the hall together after finishing their work. The hall was empty saved the two of them.

Aria grew increasingly uncomfortable being so close to him, so when she saw her locker, she quickly thought up an excuse. "I need to keep some books. You go on without me," and without waiting for a reply, she dashed to her locker.

She was so nervous that she fumbled with her lock. After successfully dialing the code, she tried to open the locker but the door just wouldn't budge. Mumbling under her breath, Aria bang the door loudly for a few times, venting her nervousness in the process.

Suddenly, Ryan came up beside her and bang the upper corner with a fist. Silently, the door swung open. Smiling softly, Ryan said, "Remember? No brute force. Just apply it at the right place."

Aria looked into his smiling eyes and thought back to the first day she arrived at this school. Before she managed to catch herself, she said, "I would never forget."

She saw his eyes widened and confusion settled in. At that, she sprang to life. She quickly glanced away and dumped her books into the locker. After slamming the door shut, she dashed away, calling back to Ryan without turning, "See you tomorrow!"

She did not turn when Ryan shouted after her.

She could not afford to have Ryan confused. She had to have him absolutely certain that the rude and obnoxious Aria was just who she really was.