Lucas Ryan Versus - Madison Daniel Page 0,19

awkward silence began to fill the void between us. I shuffled in my seat nervously. I felt bad. Surprisingly, my arm began to tingle and Ripley came to life inside my head.

~ Lucas, you should accept her invitation. ~

I should? I responded back with only my thoughts.

~ Yes. ~

Why? She said she needed to take things slow. I think the fact that I have an all-powerful dragon living inside of me is just a bit too much for her.

~ You’re wrong. ~

How would you know?

~ Because I believe. ~

With a huff and a slap on my desktop, I snapped out loud, “Don’t start that again!” Olivia looked at me with shock. Quickly, she glanced down at my tattoo along my arm and smiled.

“What’s Ripley saying now?” she barely whispered.

“Umm…nothing…” I said, embarrassed. She locked her eyes on mine and tilted her head my way as if to say, ‘stop lying to me’. I shrank in my chair a little before finding my courage again. Maybe Ripley was onto something. Why would she be upset that I refused to come to the dance if she didn’t still have feelings for me? I held my breath and slid closer to her.

“Maybe I could stop by the dance for a few minutes.” Her face lit up a little at my words.

“Really?”

I nodded my head yes, and asked, “Would you save me a dance?” Her eyes spun with anticipation.

A playful smile crawled along her lips. “Maybe.”

Time slowed down and I felt my heartbeat in my cheeks. Olivia always seemed to do this to me. I returned a goofy smile and leaned back in my chair. I could’ve lived in that moment for at least a week but like the rest of my day, things were about to get complicated.

“Are you two done?” Someone asked disgusted from the back of the classroom. “I understand detention is supposed to be a punishment, but listening to you two lovebirds is just plain painful!”

Olivia and I whipped around to find Rory McConnell, the school’s worst bully. Red hair, pimples, bad teeth, all wrapped in a leather jacket and attitude. He was one of my regulars. A bully you could set your clock by. Looking into his bloodshot eyes, I knew two things. He hadn’t slept in a while and this would surely suck.

“How’s it going, Rory?” I said, sarcastically. He cracked his knuckles and stood up.

“Shut up, Lucas! If I wanted to hear anything from you, I’d smack it out of you!”

“Calm down, we’re already locked up in this room for the next hour. Maybe we should try getting along,” I helplessly tried to reason with him. It was a waste of time.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” he roared. With a stomp of his booted feet, he made his way toward us. Olivia immediately jumped in front of him.

“What’s your problem, Rory?” she scolded.

“You and the nerd are my problem,” he said, with his eyes stabbing me. Man, when would these bullies get new material? “I’m here to serve my time, not watch a couple of idiots play the Dating Game!”

Olivia shoved herself into him only inches from his face. “Call me an idiot again. I. Dare. You.”

“Ha, ha, ha, are you serious?” Rory wiped his mouth in anticipation and stared past Olivia directly at me. “You really gonna let her fight your fight, Lucas?”

His words made my blood boil. The lines of my tattoo warmed with a dull glow as Ripley dared to make an appearance. I quickly hid my forearm behind me as I turned to face him dead on. His eyes focused harder on me. Olivia placed a hand on my chest, firmly.

“Lucas, no. He’s not worth it, not today.”

“He’s the only one who’s in trouble, Olivia,” I smiled, and snapped my fingers behind my back. Ripley spun to life inside my slightly opened fist, tiny and fierce.

“Bring it on, geek!” Rory taunted. I nodded to Olivia just as she noticed my coiled fist behind me. She looked unsure but slowly backed out of the way. Rory didn’t waste another second. He lunged forward with teeth clenched and dirty fists pushing outward. I gulped a large piece of oxygen and closed my eyes. Instantly, I shot my arm in front of me and slammed my open palm into his chest. A puff of blue and black smoke painted his T-Shirt and lower neck.

“Ahhh!” Rory hollered, before falling silent. His body immediately flew backwards landing back in his chair at the desk he had previously