Ryan Williams - Hero To Zero (Part I)

Ryan tucked into his toast as he watched his mum rush around the kitchen trying not to laugh. 'Where are the damn things.' She yelled. Ryan shrugged hiding a smile. Ryan's Mum darted across the kitchen looking for her keys when she heard the sound of keys in her coat pocket. 'Bloody things have been there the whole time.' Ryans mum leaned across and gave Ryan a massive kiss on the cheek. 'If I get another phone call from your sc- '. Before his mum could give him an ear bollocking Ryan butted in wiping the smile from his face  'I promise I'll try my best to behave'  Ryan's mum gave Ryan a look as she rushed off as if to say I hope so. ‘Good luck in your match today love’ she yelled before shutting the door.



The front door shut and a few moments later Ryan heard his mum's £100,000 range rover roar out the driveway. It was once his dad's but it was one of the many things his mum won in their divorce. Amy, Ryan's older sister was at the bottom of the stairs but she appeared to be talking to someone. Ryan leaned to the side to get a better view out of the kitchen. 'Last night was fun phone me later' Amy said with a person's arms around her. 'Totally will' the tall figure said. Ryan didn't recognise him but he was a lot older than Amy that much was clear. Amy leaned in and exchanged a lengthy kiss with the much older guy leaning over her. Ryan sat up straight and shook his head looking disgusted 'Pedo' he muttered. Amy's mysterious friend had left and she was now walking into the Kitchen dressed in her school uniform'.



Ryan shook his head and had a look on his face which clearly annoyed Amy. 'If you've got something to say please say it' Amy said looking into Ryan's soul. 'You spent the night with a grown man he probably has kids and a wife you're thirteen Amy I bet he liked the uniform to probably gave the pedo a kick'  Ryan smirked. 'He hasn't got kids he's a teen and if you even think about telling mum I'll let her know where you were last night' Amy replied pouring herself a glass of orange juice. 'I'm not a snitch and you know that' Ryan replied sounding confused. He was pretty sure no one saw him sneak in last night. 'Your skirts a bit short don't you think your boyfriends gone you can pull it down now' he added smiling. Amy was ignoring Ryan or so he thought. Amy placed a half drunk glass of orange juice on the table and flicked the glass.



'Whhhhyyyyyy' Ryan cried out wiping his trousers desperately. 'These are my only clean pair' he added. 'Were your only clean pair and see you at school don't forget to clean the glass off the floor' Amy said smiling grabbing Ryan's last piece of toast as she headed towards the front door.  'Bitch' Ryan said under his breath not wanting Amy to hear. Ryan had cleaned the glass in less than a minute but his trousers would take much longer to dry at this rate. There was a knock at the door. Ryan could tell who it was by the way the person knocked and the chitter behind the door and also the blurry outlines behind the glass on the door of two boys in black blazers. It was his best mate Luke and one of his close mates Kieran. He opened the door and gave them both fist bumps exchanging a quick awkward glance with Kieran.



'You still wetting the bed' Luke said bursting into laughter. 'Don't take the piss' Ryan said inspecting how bad the wet patch really was. Kieran joined in mimicking Ryan 'Don't take the piss.'



Luke chipped in before bursting into Laughter 'literally.'



'He's got lipstick on his cheek to' Kieran said almost dropping to the ground.



Ryan turned away as he had no comebacks and didn't want to be late he rushed upstairs to get his school bag. He quickly headed to the bathroom and washed his face scrubbing his cheek and wiped his black leather vans trainers with some wet tissue which had some sticky orange juice on it.



Ryan took a long look in the mirror smiling at himself. Ryan had one green and one blue eye due to him having heterochromia iridum. His hair was slicked back and well brushed he had a smooth soft and thick moustache. His fingernails were short and clean, it was clear he was someone who looked after himself. After a quick spray of perfume he found in the bathroom he bolted down the stairs.'Let's roll' Ryan said using his bag to cover his wet patch.



'You got your boots and that' Luke asked looking at Ryan as the 3 boys walked down the road. 'Course mate' Ryan replied. 'If you never had that attitude and anger problems you'd be at a pro club' Kieran said.  'Maybe, we've got Kingsdale today ain't we'. Ryan asked. Kieran and Luke both nodded. 'Semis mate all they've got is that that massive Nigerian defender'  Luke said.



'Fuck sakes, I remember him had his hands all over me  in that friendly at the start of year 7 he's at least 19 must be one of those illegal immigrants who lied about his age he ain't 12 but I'll beat him for pace anyday if he grabs me I'll just milk it and dive'. Ryan said.



' I'll probably be playing left back ' Kieran said. ' Left back on the bench ' Ryan said exchanging smiles with Luke, before Kieran had a chance to reply, they approached the school's gates. Hundreds of children walked into Summersmith Secondary School, it wasn't the best school in England but it wasn't the worst. The school buildings were fairly new, there were two parts to the school split by a zebra crossing Key Stage 3 and 4 were split. Key Stage 3 consisted of years 7 to 9 whilst 4 consisted of 10 and 11.



Each key stage had their own dining hall, play areas ,an astro turf pitch used for football, an indoor sports hall and of course buildings for lessons. Some pupils stood by the key stage 3 gate turning off their phones and others removing jewelry some were using the time they had to just gossip and make noise seeking attention. Across the road there were a gang of boys on bikes talking. Oscar hayes was one of them in year 11 Ryan remembered  asking him for permission to ask his current girlfriend Zara Hayes out earlier on in the year.



Zara was Ryan's dream girl despite the fact he'd only met her earlier on in the year they got on really well and instantly clicked. She was very smart, funny and had blondish brunette hair similar to Ryan's and she had bright blue eyes with nice shaped lips. She rarely ever wore makeup and if she did it was a little bit she kept her nails natural which Ryan loved she was also very fit and had a great body. He disliked nail varnish it was one of the many things that put him off alongside fake hair and girl's that smoked and drank. He also never kissed girls on the lips as it put him off. He always told his mates on his wedding night his wife would be getting nothing more than a quick peck when he was told to kiss the bride.



There was 5 minutes until the bell rang for tuition. But some people in Ryan's tutor group were already in the classroom his group used in the mornings. Some were finishing off homework others just starting. Ryan walked in with Luke, Kieran wasn't in his form group. Ryan and Luke always sat at the very back table near the radiator. Ryan was relieved when he felt the radiator and it was very warm. Ryan was now grinding on the radiator trying to not get burnt but also trying to dry his wet patch as quickly as possible he had around 10 minutes until tutor time ended.



'So you gonna tell me about Chad's party' Luke asked copying Ryan's History  homework. 'Who has a party on Sunday a day before school' Luke added. 'Don't copy it word for word, anyways yeah it was decent his parents left late it was last minute ,I think I got drugged though the-' Before Ryan could finish his sentence. Isobel Woods taped Ryan's shoulder. Ryan turned around but struggled to maintain eye contact with Isobel who looked him dead in the eye. 'When you've finished dry humping the radiator can we have a chat'  Isobel said. ' I can talk now it's more or less dried anyways ' Ryan said falling into his seat. Luke nodded in agreement inspecting Ryan's trousers.



Isobel pulled out a seat from the empty desk besides Ryan and Luke and sat down in front of the boys. 'Ryan you have 6 minutes to explain yourself or I'm going straight to Zara and you know exactly what I'm talking about' Isobel said with her legs crossed in front of Ryan and Luke. Luke stopped writing and was getting a good look at Isobel's legs, if he was trying to be discreet he was doing a bad job but Isobel had all her attention on Ryan.



* A day earlier - 21:44 Sunday *



' You can go just be good ' Zara said. Ryan smiled with his iphone attached to his ear. ' What you ain't coming ' Ryan asked slipping into his grey nike trainers. ' I've got a cold and a ton of homework to do and it's almost ten ' Zara said sounding weak. Ryan ran his fingers through his hair looking at himself through his mirror ' I wasn't even sure if I was gonna go I mean it's pretty late '



'Just be good and don't stay out too late love you ' Zara said blowing a kiss. ' You more ' Ryan replied blowing a kiss back. 'Alright shoo now' Zara said ending the call.



Ryan threw his phone on his bed and sneaked out his room. More or less all the lights in the house were off this meant Ryan's sister Amy and his mum were asleep.

Ryan checked his pockets making sure he had his keys before sneaking out the front door trying to keep noise to a minimum. Ryan took a quick look at his reflection on his mum’s black range rover parked in the entrance to the house.



Chad lived not too far from Ryan. They went to different schools but everyone from summersmith sort of knew each other. They'd played on the estate together for years and attended the same primary school. It was a five minute walk or in Ryan's case a two minute mixture of jogging and sprinting. Ryan was at the end of Chad's road but could hear the noise the party was generating.



Ryan made his way inside Chad's house there was at least 20 people outside some were drinking and some even making out some just being drunkenly loud. Ryan was pretty sure he could smell weed to. Ryan almost bumped into an older looking guy as he made his way inside. The music was loud and there were drinks everywhere. Ryan didn't drink but he knew he'd look cool holding a drink and pretending to drink it. It didn't take long for him to find a drink he picked up a half drunk beer bottle and bounced his head to the music.



Ryan went into the kitchen and saw a tray of brownies there was only a few left. There were two girls in the kitchen eyeing Ryan. 'They're nice' one of the girl's said pointing to the brownies. Ryan had a girlfriend but smiled at them. It was just a smile anyways Ryan thought. Ryan ate a few brownies and one of the girls eventually stopped him. And began talking to him. Ryan picked up the beer bottle he found. 'Woah you drank all of that' one of the girls asked. 'Third one' Ryan replied trying to sound cool. Ryan felt as if the girl was trying to force herself onto him. 'You've got really nice eyes' the girl said. 'What's your name' Ryan asked. 'Call me Mia' the girl replied she was almost right in front of Ryan. 'Look Mia you're an amazing girl but I have- have-' Ryan struggled to finish his sentence and began giggling. Mia turned to her friend and exchanged smiles. Ryan barely knew what was going on and kept giggling his eye site was now a bit blurry and his head was spinning.



Mia had led Ryan into a dark room upstairs the only light was coming through a window. Ryan was now sat on a bed with Mia beside him feeling him up and whispering in his ear. Ryan flinched as Mia's hand touched his parts and began giggling even more. 'I can't' Ryan said through the giggles. Mia placed a finger on Ryan's lips. Sound was now apmilfied for Ryan and he felt like he was floating. 'What you doing' Ryan asked as he felt Mia tug his tracksuit bottoms. 'Relax' Mia said in a soft voice.



Ryan heard the door open but wasn't fully aware of what was going on, mia had gotten  up and wiped her mouth looking into the doorway. 'Are you fucking kidding me' a familiar voice rang out. It was Isobel Woods Zara's best friend. She was with Kieran her boyfriend a close mate of Ryan and he rushed to his aid. Kieran tapped Ryan's cheek 'Snap out of it mate ' Kieran said. 'I hope you're not buying his bullshit' Isobel said looking down to Kieran who was in front of Ryan. 'I've got to get him home' Kieran said looking at Isobel who looked disappointed. ' He'd do the same for me' Kieran added. Mia had slid out the room with a smile on her face.



*23:14 Sunday*



' If you're mum asks where you were just say you got nervous about tomorrow's game and went for a late night jog' Kieran said pushing Ryan towards his front door. Ryan unzipped his tracksuit bottom pockets and pulled his keys out and managed to open his front door after a few attempts.



He went straight to his room trying to be quiet slipped off his nikes and collapsed onto his bed.



*



' That's the honest truth of all I can remember ' Ryan said eyeing Isobel. Isobel didn't look convinced. ' I think you're full of bull Ryan Williams and you don't deserve Zara just wait until her brother hears about this ' Isobel said getting up. Ryan's heart sank. 'Isobel' Ryan said with a lump in his throat  ' can you at least let me tell Zara ' he added. ' You have until the end of lunchtime.. either way I'll be talking with her at the end of the day' Isobel replied going back to her table.



' I really loved her mate and I messed up ' Ryan said with his head buried in his two hands. Luke looked at Ryan but didn't know what to say, he eventually came up with 'I can come with you, if you want to explain it to Zara.'



Ryan shook his head ' I've got to do it alone mate, I knew I shouldn't of gone alone to that stupid party'.



The bips eventually started beeping, signalling the start of lessons.



Ryan enjoyed History it was one of his favorite lessons,but he had a lot on his mind as he sat beside his best mate Luke more or less in every lesson and this was one of them. Isobel woods sat in front of the two and it was awkward for Ryan when she turned around. Ryan thought she purposely did it to make him uneasy.



Mr Hunt clapped his hands to get the classes attention. Mr Hunt saw Ryan never had eyes on him and appeared to have his eyes down. Luke saw Mr.Hunt was about to start on Ryan and nudged him. 'Something bugging you Mr Williams' Mr.Hunt asked Ryan. I'm about to lose a girl I love in a few hours and her brothers going to be paying me a visit I've also got the year 7 school football team depending on me Ryan thought to himself but all he could say was 'Sorry Sir just a bit tired'.



' Mr.Williams would you be kind enough to answer the question on the board ' Mr.Hunt said with everyone in the classroom turning towards Ryan. The question on the board read : What caused World War 1? ' We're waiting' Mr.Hunt said leaning against the classroom door. Ryan wasn't sure why Mr.Hunt disliked him he always did his homework and behaved fairly well he'd  usually talk here and there in lesson but that wasn't a good enough reason to constantly be picked on Ryan had a feeling it had something to do with his sister as Mr.Hunt always mentioned Ryan's surname. He began answering 'The assas- Ryan was interrupted by Mr.Hunt signalling him to stand up. Ryan stood up and carried on eyeing Mr.Hunt. 'The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his pregnant wife sophie, he was the heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary, the assassination was planned by a serbian terrorist group called the Black hand' Ryan said.



Mr.Hunt smiled as he nodded as if to say I'm impressed. It made Ryan smile a bit to, but his smile disappeared when Isobel turned around and gave him a dirty look. Ryan had lost count of how many dirty looks Isobel had shot at him in this lesson alone. Ryan was now back in his seat and the lesson continued.



' Textbooks someone hand them out ' Mr.Hunt ordered dropping a mountain of textbooks at the front of the class. Isobel backed out her chair and her chair hit Ryan's toe. Ryan knew it was probably an accident but regardless Isobel was provoking him and he didn't know how much more he could take. Isobel was now handing out the textbooks.



'Here you are Lukey' Isobel said handing Luke a textbook. They exchanged smiles in the process.  Ryan stuck out his hand but Isobel had dropped his text book on the floor beside him and acted as if it slipped out her hands. Ryan went to pick up the book and was pretty sure he saw Isobel kick it a bit as she walked off. Ryan didn't make a fuss of it but was boiling up on the inside.

He diddn't know how much more he could take and as he watched Isobel walk off.

(Hero To Zero) End of Part I