That Idiot

Half an hour later, Ryan pulled his car in front of 'Hello! Cupcakes' bakery, turned off the ignition and stepped out of his car. When he looked up, Ryan saw Violet waiting for him. Their gazes met and Violet flashed a smile at him.

For a moment, Ryan was stunned.

Seeing the smile on Violet's face made him realize that the girl in front of him was quite pretty.

The smile on her face was light and breezy. 

It felt as if everything around him was moving on slow motion.

His heart skipped a beat as he watched Violet walk in his direction. 

"Ryan? Ryan Chen? Hello?"

Ryan finally snapped out of his trance once Violet waved her hand in front of his face. He blinked once and lowered his gaze, realizing he was in a trance.

What's going on?

Ryan wondered if he was to tired from work. Otherwise, why would he start thinking about Violet's smile?

"What happened to you?" Violet asked. "Why are you in such a daze?"

"It's nothing." Ryan cleared his throat. "The sun is a bit too hot today."

Violet raised her head and squinted to adjust her vision before turning to Ryan again.

"You were in such a hurry," Ryan commented. "Are you excited to get your phone back, or are you just excited to see me?"

Violet scoffed. She rolled her eyes, seemingly annoyed with Ryan. "Of course, I'm excited to get my phone back." She stretched her hand, expecting Ryan to give her the cell phone. "You have it with you, right?"

Ryan slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "Of course, I have it with me," he replied.

"Thank god!" Violet said as she reached for her cell phone. She finally breathed in relief as her eyes landed on her phone. "Ryan. You're a lifesaver. Thank you."

Ryan pursed his lips as he saw the smile on Violet's face. He knew that Violet was happy to get her phone back. But the voice in the back of his mind told him it would be better if she was happy to see him.

Finally, his eyes fell on the phone strap attached to Violet's phone. 

It was the phone strap with a cupcake charm attached to it.

Looking at it finally put Ryan in a better mood.

Meanwhile, Violet scanned through her phone and noticed that she had two messages and five missed calls. All were from her brother. Violet glanced at her wristwatch and noted that she would be late for picking up her brother. "I need to go now," she said to Ryan. "I'll see you tomorrow,"

Ryan nodded. "You're going home?"

"No," Violet said with a smile. "I need to pick up my brother at the airport. God. I'm going to be late."

"Well," Ryan hesitated. "I could give you a ride?" 

His brow furrowed slightly. Ryan could not understand why he was offering to give Violet a lift when he had plans to go home and rest after a long shift at the hospital.

"No, that's alright. I didn't want to be a bother. I bet you have other plans."

"I'm off work and I didn't have any plans. I could give you a lift." 

His heart skipped a beat when he realized that Violet was going to decline his offer. "You won't be a trouble. Come on." Ryan went to the passenger side and opened the door for her. "Get in. My mother would nag me for hours if I didn't do this."

Violet hesitated briefly. "Alright then. Since you have nicely offered."

Ryan snorted as he watched Violet slide into the passenger's seat.

Violet glanced at her wristwatch a few times. Seeing that the traffic was not as congested as she thought finally put her at ease.

…

"I haven't seen your brother before," Ryan commented as the two were walking towards the arrival hall where Violet's older brother was supposed to meet them.

The two of them have been in a fake relationship for a while. 

Violet had met Ryan's sisters but Ryan had never met Violet's older brother.

"He's not home most of the time. My brother is a writer for a traveling blog. So, he travels a lot," Violet explained. "He left for G Country a while ago."

"What does your brother look like?" Ryan asked as he watched Violet stand on her tiptoe to look for someone.

"Slightly tanned skin, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes," Violet described. She craned her neck, looking for a sight of her brother. "He's very tall. We should notice him right away when he walks out from the arrival hall."

Ryan nodded as he joined Violet to search for her brother.

"Oh! There he is," Violet said, pointing towards a tall man with dark brown eyes. She pulled Ryan's hand and marched towards her brother. "You're back!" Violet exclaimed as she pulled her brother into a hug. "How's your flight?"

"Fine," Jace replied halfheartedly. He looked up at the sight of a man behind her sister. "Who's this?"

"Oh," Violet looked at Ryan. "This is Ryan. He's my..."

"Is he that idiot Mom and Dad set you up with?" Jace said, cutting her off. He gave Ryan a look over and grimaced. It was clear that Jace was no fan of him.

Ryan scowled. He was not happy with the way Jace was looking at him. Ryan could tell that Jace did not like him a bit.

This was their first meeting.

Ryan could not understand why Jace was being this unfriendly to him. 

"What is he doing here?" Jace asked.

He thought that Violet would come to pick him up alone. He did not expect that his sister would show up with Ryan.

"Ryan gave me a lift and came with me to pick you up," Violet explained. "So, be nice, Jace," she warned. She turned to Ryan again and whispered. "Just ignore my older brother. He can be quite annoying sometimes.