Just Another Jiley Oneshot Book...

jiley in wonder-land

basically, it's oh I WONDER what would have happened if... etc. i pretty much re-wrote the show. more jiley for everyone yay. hope it's okaaay??

What If...

Deborah hadn't interrupted

He was sure his mother was trying to kill him.

Or at least seriously embarrass him. They both felt pretty similar at that point. Though, he couldn't tell which one was actually worse. At least if his mother did kill him, he wouldn't have to stand in front of Riley while she embarrassed and teased him.

First his mom had made such a big deal over him failing his math exam, and in true Deborah form, had pulled him from the studio. (It was a bit extreme if you had asked him, but to be fair, he kinda deserved it.) He already felt super guilty having to actually tell the team he was leaving, but seeing the look on Riley's face - nothing felt worse than that. He had let her down. And seeing her standing there looking so upset...

His mom's disappointment he could handle, he was used to that (school just wasn't his thing okay), but Riley's he couldn't.

Thank god for Michelle. He'd owe her big time for that one. At least there was a small glimmer of hope that he could go back (and hopefully patch up what was left of his relationship/friendship with Riley...)

Then when Riley had run out to talk to him, his mom would not stop being her usual embarrassing-self. (Seriously, why did she still try and do that thing where she would wipe non-existent marks off his face with her thumb? He was 16, not 6.) In fact, she seemed to have ramped up her embarrassing-ness especially because he was with a girl that he rather liked. She never acted that bad in front of West and Eldon.

At least Riley seemed to find it amusing. But he could tell that she was feeling as awkward with what was going on as he was. They'd been standing in that damn corridor for 5 minutes, and he really wanted to know what she had to say to him - clearly she had followed him for a reason. But he couldn't speak to her when other people were around. Namely his mother. She need to leave. Now.

He stared at her and tilted his his head, indicating towards the door. God, he hoped she picked up on that he really wanted her to go. He could deal with her teasing later, but just not in front of Riley.

Luckily, she took the hint. Thank goodness she was observant. Otherwise, it would have been another awkward 5 minutes...

"Ok, I'll see you in the car in 5 minutes. You kids have fun." She said, giving them both a wink for good measure. "It was nice to meet you Riley, you know you're very much welcome to come round any time that-"

"Mom!" He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Can you go now?"

That woman was as subtle as a punch to the face.

"5 minutes James." She reminded him as she headed back to her car.

He rolled his eyes again, turning back to Riley. "God, I'm so sorry about her."

She shrugged. "It's okay."

"And... about that whole math thing." He muttered guiltily, avoiding eye contact with her. He didn't want to see her disappointed look again. "I don't know what to do. Tell me, tell me Riley. What am I supposed to do?"

She sighed. All he needed was just the right motivation, and luckily for him, she had just the idea. "I have a proposition for you..."

He looked up at that, intrigued.

"If you get 70% in your next math exam, no less than a 70%... I will go on a date with you."

He bit his lip, trying to hide a smirk. Had Riley just basically asked him out? He had to pass his math exam now, that was all he the motivation he needed. A date with Riley was the perfect goal to aim for.