Kisses of Fire (boyxboy)

Chapter 47 - Break Up

I'm nervous for you guys to read this...
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When he had finally gotten out of the stall, Cooper had concluded he needed to break up with Riley. River was right when he said using her was selfish, and it wasn't fair to either of them. When River asked how Cooper would feel if he was dating Stella, he almost started boiling at the thought of it, and that's when he knew he had to end it soon.

So the next day at the movies, when Cooper met Riley, he was hesitant to tell her while also trying to find the words. He had practiced all morning but it barely helped.

"Riley, um," and so started his stuttering, "I...don't really know how to, uh, say this but...," his hands began to get sweaty as he fiddled with them, also being unable to meet her eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned, which made Cooper feel even worse.

Letting out a nervous laugh, he rubbed the back of his neck, wanting to get this over with. "Yeah, no, I'm good, what I'm trying to say is...," He couldn't say it, and it was bothering him because this is what he wanted—she wasn't who he wanted anymore.

"Just say it, Cooper," she said reassuringly. What was also frustrating him was that she wasn't getting the hint what he was trying to do.

"I think we should break up," he blurted out finally, "Well, actually, no, we need to break up."

Her face dropped, and Cooper instantly started to feel nervous, not knowing how she'd react. "Oh," she sounded sad but nodded understanding. "Okay, I understand." He felt like a big weight had been lifted up off his shoulders until she spoke again. "Did you still want to see the movie? I mean, we already paid for the tickets so...,"

Looking at her stunned, he was stumped. "Um," He knew he should've waited, to tell her for this very reason. "Yeah, sure."

"Okay, I just have to go to the bathroom, but I'll meet you in there." She sounded fine, so Cooper figured she was; after all, she did want to break up with him before.

Cooper just nodded and dragged his feet to the theatre and sat in his seat, beating himself up for the bad timing.

Sitting through the movie with his now ex-girlfriend that he constantly forgot about was on his list of top 10 things he never wanted to do again. He couldn't even tell you what the movie was about, and when it came time for her brother to pick her up, all she said was 'see you in school' and left. This was the worst day for him and he was praying for something good.

Afterward, he walked around wasting time, not ready to call his mom to pick him up. As he walked past all the stores, he couldn't help but think about all the people that didn't like him, and the list was starting to grow too quickly. The thing was, he didn't care about all those people except one. He would admit to keeping last night's argument in the car going because he didn't want to leave, but that turned out be a bad idea. He had never seen River be so mean, and just like his anger, Cooper didn't think he could get to that point. Usually, he was patient, and although he added fuel to their dumb arguments, he never got carried away and spoke to Cooper like that.

Right now he wanted to forget about it, and at the moment, he didn't even want to think about River, but everything was a reminder of him. The smell of his cologne was everywhere, and it made Cooper even sadder seeing a small bookshop that reminded him of the bookstore they first started hanging out at. He felt the urge to text him but didn't dare, not wanting to bother River more than he already had. Cooper understood what River said when he mentioned taking a break for a few days, but it didn't stop him from feeling like they had broken up completely, and he would be lying if he said he didn't shed one or two tears in the school bathroom that night.