After leaving Bryson in the diner, I called Emmy, filling her in on everything. She scoffed at his excuse. I didn't blame her because I had done the same thing. It just seemed unreal. Why would Tamara drug him? I knew she was pissed at him, but wouldn't she have come after me instead, like she usually did?

The next morning, I fought with myself. Should I get up for school, or should I stay in bed all day? I finally decided on going to school. I knew Angela would give me an ear full if I didn't. I knew she wanted what was best for me, and at this point in time, getting good grades to go to college was best for me.

Nothing seemed to be going in my favor this morning. The hot water tank decided to shit the bed, so I had a full head of messy hair to deal with. Angela wasn't able to make coffee because we apparently ran out. She was running later than usual, so we couldn't have breakfast.

My stomach growled as I made my way out to my car. God help me if my car breaks down. I unlocked the door, sliding into the drivers seat. I slipped the key into the ignition, and my baby started with ease. I sighed in relief as I threw my backpack into the passenger seat and took off down the road.

When I got to school, Emmy was waiting for me by her car. I pulled into the spot next to her, throwing my car in park and getting out. She looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep. She had bags starting to form under her eyes, and that was very unlike Emmy. She would have thrown a fit on any other day.

"Hey," she said. Something was definitely up with her. She didn't give me one of her quirky lines like usual.

"What's up with you?" I asked, concerned for her well being.

"Bryson stopped by the house last night after you left him in the diner."

"Oh boy. Didn't go well I take it?" She shook her head.

"Not at all. My dad and I ganged up on him. Needless to say, he was not a happy camper by the time he left." I chuckled, glad that he was getting what he deserved. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess, other than the fact that nothing be was going right this morning." I told her everything that happened and all she did was laugh. The bell rang, signaling it was time to go to class, so Emmy and I went our separate ways.

~~~~

I sat in chemistry, waiting for the teacher to join us. Kids around me were talking in their cliques about the college party they had gone to this weekend. I rolled my eyes, knowing it was probably the same party that I had attended for a brief moment. The teacher came into the room looking a little frazzled. I looked at the clock. It must have been because she was running later than usual.

"So sorry, class! I was in the office getting paperwork done. We're going to have a student teacher for the next few weeks. I would like to introduce you to Matt," she said. When did he come in? I knew exactly who Matt was. Matt was one of Bryson's friends. One of his friends that didn't like me. It didn't matter now though, right? Matt made a short introduction before the teacher told him to pick a seat to watch for a while. The only empty seat was next to me, of course. Matt took his seat, listening to what instructions the teacher had given us. She handed out a worksheet, probably so she could finish whatever paperwork she needed to.

"Well well. Look at you Riley," Matt said. I rolled my eyes, not wanting to deal with his shit. "You've become an attractive young lady." I turned to him, shooting daggers from my eyes.

"It's only been a few months since you've last seen me, Matt. I haven't changed that much." He sighed, scooting a bit closer.

"Why so bitter, sweet cheeks?" I scoffed.

"Sweet cheeks? Really?" He laughed, making the teacher look in our direction. He shot her an apologetic smile before turning back to me.

"Too soon?" I rolled my eyes, looking back down at my paper. "Psst, Riley," matter whispered.

"What?"

"Let me take you out for dinner," he said. I looked at him, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Why?"

"Because I want to get to know you better. I know what happened to you and Bryson. I'm sorry. Let me help you get your mind off of it." I thought about it for a bit. Matt was right. I did have to get my mind off of it, and he wasn't bad looking. He had lost weight since he went off to college. His slim facial features made his blue eyes stand out more, and he had a very nice smile.

"Fine, I will go out to dinner with you." He flashed me a smile.

"Tonight?"

"Sure."

"Great, I'll pick you up at six." With that, he let me finish my worksheet.

~~~~

"He what!?" Emmy says excitedly.

"He's taking me out for dinner," I repeated.

"He has gotten cute," she said, placing her hand on her cheek.

"Yeah," I say, taking a bite out of my burger.

"You know that he got one of Bryson's girlfriends to cheat on him?" I looked at her, confusion written all over my face. "Not like you'll be doing any cheating." She smirked.

"We'll see how it goes," I state, looking at my food.

"Don't let what Bryson did get to you. There are better guys in this world, and you never know, Matt might just be one of them. College could have changed him." I nodded, setting my burger down.

"You're right." She smiled, nodding.

"I'm always right," I chuckled, throwing a fry at her.

~~~~

After school, I headed straight home. Angela was still at work, and I figured the hot water tank hadn't been fixed yet. I went to my room, pulling out a nice pair of dark skinny jeans, a pink silk tank top, and a pair of black boots to finish the outfit. I slipped into my clothes and headed downstairs. I flipped through the channels, searching for something to watch to kill the time. I settled on American Horror Story reruns.

I had gotten so caught up in the show that I hadn't realized it was six until I heard a knock on the door. I glanced at the time, silently cursing the amazing show, and flipped the tv off. I grabbed my jacket, opening the door.

"You look beautiful," Matt said, causing me to blush.

"Thanks. You clean up nicely yourself," I said, taking in his gelled up hair, his blue button down shirt and black jeans. He smiled as I walked outside, locking the door behind me.

The drive was short, filled with a lot of small talk so we could get to know each other. Matt was really interesting.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm not just taking you out to dinner," he said. I looked at him with confusion on my face.

"What do you m-" my sentence fell short when I saw the lights of the Ferris wheel. "Oh my god," I said, getting way too excited.

"Someone sounds excited," Matt said, chuckling.

"I love the carnival!" Matt pulled into a parking space, coming around to my side to open the door. I smiled at him as I got out.

"Where to first?" He asked. I shrugged. Everything about the carnival was my favorite.

"How about we go on some of those cheesy rides they have." Matt smiled, holding his elbow out for me. I wrapped my hand through his arm and we made our way to the Tunnel of Doom.

~~~~

"That was the worst ride ever," I moaned as we got off the Tunnel of Doom. They had very unrealistic "monsters" that popped out at us throughout the ride.

"You're telling me," Matt laughed. He pointed to another building.

"Freak show?" I questioned as I read the sign. "Why not," I said, shrugging my shoulders. We made our way over to the freak show building.

"Five a person, please," the man told us.

"This better be good," I whispered to Matt who only laughed at my comment. He handed the man a ten dollar bill and we entered the building. The hallway was dark, but you could see the light from a room at the end of the hall. When we got closer to the room, there was a sign on the door frame that read "bearded lady". I pointed out the sign to Matt.

We walked into the room, and I had to cover my mouth to contain my laughter. Standing before us was, in fact, a bearded lady. She wore a red dress with a matching head piece. She looked like a twenties casino performer. We didn't stay in this room for very long. The lady wasn't doing much more than brushing her beard.

We made our way down another hallway that led to another room. The sign read "woman with two heads". I chuckled, knowing that it couldn't be real. We walked into the room, and I gasped at how realistic this woman looked. Both heads looks real. They were both talking and reacting to the crowd.

"I bet they're conjoined twins," Matt said. I nodded in agreement.

~~~~

We spent another twenty minutes or so checking out the rest of the rooms. After the woman with two heads, we saw the worlds smallest girl and then a guy that was tattooed up to his neck, and he had short arms. Then there was the guy with "lobster hands".

"How real do you think they were?" I asked Matt.

"I'm not sure. It looked pretty realistic to me. Either that, or they have a damn good makeup artist," he said, causing me to laugh. "You hungry?" He asked. I nodded and we made our way to the many food stands that surrounded the grounds.

~~~~

"Can we go on the Ferris wheel before we leave?" I asked, trailing behind Matt. My feet were starting to hurt from walking so much, and I was tired. It was close to eleven o'clock, and I knew the carnival would be closing soon.

"Yeah, let's go there now," he said, walking over to the ticket booth. He got us each a ticket and we went to stand in line. Luckily there wasn't anybody in line. Most people had left earlier. We entered the car and waited as the guy closed our door and hit their button. I was practically leaning over the side of the cat as we were going up. I loved to be able to look over the carnival and see all the lights. Not only that, but you could see the lights from the close by cities. It was definitely a site worth seeing.

When the car came back down to the bottom, Matt and I got out, deciding to call it a night. We thanked the guy for letting us go, and we made our way back to Matt's car. When we got to his car, I propped my feet up on the dash and reclined my seat back as far as it would go.

"Tired?" Matt asked with a laugh, causing me to look at him.

"A little bit," I said, looking out the window as we drive back to my house.

Angela's car was now in the driveway, so Matt had to park on the side of the street. He got out of the car, once again opening the door for me. He walked me to the steps.

"Thank you, for tonight," I said, making eye contact with Matt.

"Not a problem. It was fun, I hope for the both of us," he said with a smile. I nodded, leaning in closer to him.

"It was definitely fun," I said, placing a kiss on his cheek before waving goodbye to him and going inside. I went up to my room, texting Emmy everything that happened. Once I got into my pajamas, I jumped into bed. It didn't take long for sleep to take over after such a great night.

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Over 2000 words! I'm so proud :)

Did you guys catch my American Horror Story reference when they were at the carnival? I recently just finished the fourth season, and I'm so in love with that show!

What do you think of Matt?

If you're enjoying, don't forget to comment and rate!