Loving Someone

I will be waiting for you_8

It was only at night in her bed that Aria got a wake up call.

She was in such a painful torment, images of Meg and Ryan in a happy embrace of requited love kept flashing in her mind. However, this thought was not one that hurt her the most.

The most painful thought was that Ryan would never know about the love she had for him. Ryan would never know the number of nights she had dreamt of him, or the number of times she had doodled his name in her notebook.

Aria thought back to the kiss she shared with Ryan. Surely a kiss that read a nine on the Ricter could not be a faux. Aria touched her lips with her fingers, remembering the heated look in Ryan's eyes.

A question nagged at her, begging for an answer, what was it that Ryan wants to meet her for?

Impatient now, she flung back her covers and sat upright on her bed. She was wrong to think that her love was cheaper than Meg's just because it was not longer than hers. She was wrong to think that she's not the kind of girl for Ryan, shouldn't the kiss indicate at something?

Aria had made up her mind. She would go look for Ryan tomorrow and tell him his feelings. Even if she ended up making a fool of herself, at the very least she would have an answer.

Even as she slept, Aria had the sickening feeling that she may be too late.

***

Aria found Ryan by his locker the next day. Before she lost her will and courage, Aria ran up to him.

"Hi," she said.

Ryan turned around, looked at her for a moment then said, "Oh, it's you."

Aria's stomach plummetted at his nonchalance.

Turning back to what he was doing, he said, "You didn't come yesterday."

Smiling weakly, Aria apologised, "I'm sorry. You must have waited a long time."

Piercing her with a hard look, Ryan said, "Actually, I didn't."

Realising the reason he had not waited, Aria rushed on, banishing the image of Meg from her mind, "Can you please meet me at the same spot after school today?"

"Why?" Ryan asked, a wary look in his eyes.

Plastering a bright smile on her face, she said, "You'll know when you come."

She quickly turned and ran, before an after thought struck her. She threw a look over her shoulder, catching his confused look, then shouted back at him, "I will be waiting for you!"

***

After school, Aria quickly went to the garden beside the back gate. The garden was empty, not surprising as everyone had rushed home.

She looked at the plants, the tree, the sky, to avoid thinking how traitorous she was to Meg. But she couldn't help it. She knew if she didn't take this step, she'll regret it the rest of her life. Even for the price of losing a best friend. It's just a hunch she had, Ryan was special.

Aria stood on one spot, waiting for Ryan to come. She gripped her fingers, butterflies dancing in her stomach. She felt very much like a bride on her wedding day, but from the way she was waiting, she might as well be the groom.

A second ticked away, then minutes, later, hours. Aria did not move from her spot. Her feet and back ached, but not as much as her heart with each passing second. She refused to register the fact that Ryan would not turn up, that all her feelings were actually one-sided. Her firm stance on the ground revealed nothing of the turbulent emotions in her.

Suddenly the thunder rumbled, dark clouds rolled in. Within seconds, the sky split open, and rain poured down.

The cold harsh rain triggered Aria, making her crumbled to the ground. The impact she made with the ground shook her to the core. Her hands clawed at the grass, her shoulders shaking. The tears that had been inside her poured out, very much like how the rain fell. Aria howled her pain and despair, thumping the ground with a fist.

Though the rain started down harshly, it gentled now, washing away her tears. It was as though the rain pitied her, washing away her tears was its only way to try to heal her.

But no matter how gentle the rain was, Aria was indifferent to this. Only one thought etched itself in her mind.

Ryan did not come.

-THE END-