Since Jasmine had made it a habit to spurt out random information about Remy, it wasn't that hard to find him. But there was no way things would go as smoothly as Jasmine had imagined. Ryder had no idea how to start small talks, and Remy had no desire to be around anyone. This resulted in Ryder just watching Remy from afar, feeling like a creep, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Whenever it was possible, Ryder would mutter a hi at Remy, who would just nod once before going in his merry way.Remy didn't have any bad impression of Ryder. Actually, he didn't have any impression at all since he had met her just twice. All he knew was that this girl had some sense in her brain and would help him escape Jasmine's claws. As for what happened that Saturday, he didn't know what to think of it. At least Ryder didn't throw punches at random.Still, for both of them, it was a bit weird to just suddenly start a conversation. What would they even talk about?Ryder felt depressed. She was doing th

Even though what happened back in the bookstore angered Ryder to death and crushed all the high hopes she had for finally getting an accurate idea of what Midnight looked like, by the time the sun sank into the horizon, she had waved away all these dark feelings. All that was left, unexpectedly, was anticipation. By this time the backyard had already started to look more decent, the first steps to transforming it into a garden, already taken. Henry helped her earlier to plant the grass seeds, using this opportunity to take credit later when the garden was finished. Seeing that she would need his help, later on, Ryder had long since tolerated this childish behavior of her father. The original idea of the garden being her gift to her mother, turned into THEIR gift to Michelle. Since Henry was paying and helping, it was only fair to do so. Yet, Henry couldn't understand why his daughter was developing such a bad habit of staying in the backyard until late at night every single night. He

Ryder knew very well that after that night when she tried to trick Midnight into revealing his identity, he wouldn't dare even look in the bookstore's direction, let alone set foot inside it. This was also proved by the worker whose hostility was on another level, blaming Ryder that her crush hadn't shown up ever since she appeared. The poor girl was burning up from the desire to kick Ryder out of the bookstore, but her employer, an old lady who had a bad habit of getting into conversations with everything that breathed, had taken a liking to Ryder because she would listen to her rants and occasionally buy a book or two.Yet Ryder still hoped that she might be lucky one day, so she didn't want to give up.Aiden almost swallowed his tongue to prevent himself from swearing at loud upon hearing this. That fucking Boner Boss again. Because of that fucking bookstore Ryder had dodged him countless times."Why are you going there again?" Why aren't you staying with me? Your new, fresh out-of-

When the two got in the car and drove away, Ryder felt that she had wronged Aiden with her negligence and felt like she had to explain herself. "I'm not used to getting up early on weekends and mom forgot to wake me up. I'm sorry."Aiden who was still trying to digest all that action he just witnessed, muttered a soft 'mhm'. "It's okay. You didn't take long getting ready."Seeing that Aiden was calm and didn't appear to be annoyed, Ryder relaxed, but the reality was far from that. Aiden felt like he had seen a side of Ryder he had never seen before. The girl was a walking catastrophe and unlike the girls he knew, she didn't even brush her hair on the first date. Her hair was just simply too messy. The hair brush that was supposed to be used on her hair, ended up switching jobs and became a weapon in Mrs. Quin's hands.Aiden had since long noticed that Ryder was too casual about her clothes and appearance, but this was their first date. Isn't she supposed to be a bit more thoughtful? In

Upon seeing that she had arrived one hour later than the usual time she and Midnight meet, Ryder had fallen into a depressed phase, wanting to curse but didn't know who to blame and to whom her curses should be directed. If only she had arrived an hour earlier... if only the tow truck didn't take so long... if only the car didn't break down... Ryder even wished she had never agreed on going out with Aiden, but when she remembered the bad mood the young boy had been in throughout the whole week, she just sighed in defeat and hated herself for having such thoughts.But she couldn't help it. Every time she imagined Midnight looking for her from behind the fence, waiting for her to pop out of nowhere as usual... holding the present he promised to give her tonight in his hands... seeing that she wasn't there, not a single light on in the backyard... her heart ached and felt like someone was squeezing it in their hands mercilessly. Did he have an umbrella with him or did he get wet? What if