Riley's Box

Epilogue

It was soon the final day of school before the summer, and power could be found in every single one of Eric Reos' steps, as he made his way down the corridor towards me. His expression was perfectly controlled and confident, his hair was less controlled, a dark dishevelment on top of his head, but Eric didn't seem to mind it. 

"Hey, Erico. How are you doing?" I asked him. 

"I'm doing good, Ruby," he said. "How are you?" he asked me. 

I felt my mouth twitch. 

"All good," I said. "So, what have you been up to? Terrorising seventh graders?" I asked.  

At my question, Eric's lips quirked into a smile. 

"Not this time. I've actually just spent some time in the art class with Susie. She's teaching me how to use oil paints," he explained. 

"That's awesome!" I said, with an amazed expression. 

"Thank you," he said. "My counsellor told me that it would be good for me to find a new hobby, and I knew just the person to go to, to help out with that." 

Susie really was a great friend. 

"I don't often find that I can talk to many people about what goes on up here. I like to keep things to myself, most of the time," he said, pointing to his head, "But you and Susie have been great friends to me, so thank you. It does make me feel much better to know that I don't have to feel so alone at times. I wanted to congratulate you, also, for being a part of the student council. You've been a great help to us." 

I felt my eyes brighten with happiness. 

"You're welcome, Eric," I said. "But I'm really only there for the chocolate." 

His eyes grew larger. 

"I'm kidding!" I said with a grin. 

He released a soft laugh. 

"See you around, Riley," he said. 

"See you, Eric," I replied and watched him wander away down the hall, before I made my way towards the first of my end of term classes. 

~*~**~*~

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and I'll admit it, I may have cried a little bit. I knew that I wasn't leaving school just yet, but I was going to miss seeing everyone all the time. 

Nevertheless, I knew that there would be plenty of opportunities for us to meet up with each other over the holidays, and I looked forward to that prospect. 

"In an ideal world, I could just stay here all the time," Jason said, turning my attention to him. 

We were currently relaxing on the grass in my backyard, staring up at the clouds above us, trying to work out which clouds looked the most like chickens or bunnies or sheep...

"That one is definitely a butterfly," Jason pointed up at the sky. 

"One day, we'll find a place to live together," I blurted. 

Jason returned his gaze to me. 

"Really? You'd like that?" he asked me. 

In truth, I would love that. 

"Of course!" I nodded. 

"You seem happy," he said. 

"I am happy, Jase. Are you?" I asked him. 

"With you? Always," he assured me. "If there's ever a reason that you aren't happy, though, let me know. I want to be able to fix that." 

"Trust me, I'll let you know if I'm ever not feeling happy. I expect you to do the same," I said. 

He nodded in agreement. 

"Will do, Riles, will do," he said. "You make me so happy, though. You always have," he continued, with warmth behind his words. 

Jason rolled onto his stomach, so he could look into my eyes again. 

"You have the cutest smile," he said. 

"That's you!" I replied. 

"I'm cute?" he asked, placing a hand to his chest. He grinned. 

I chuckled. 

"Yes. You are. Now, stop. I'm going to blush," I said. 

"What a shame," Jason said, moving closer to press a gentle kiss against my lips. 

I reached up to move my fingers through his hair, as I kissed him back. 

"What's going on in your head?" I asked him, as he drew back from the kiss momentarily. 

"I'm thinking about how good this summer is going to be," he said. 

"Yeah?" I asked him. 

"Yeah," he said, as though there was nothing that could ever change his mind on that matter. "I love you, Riley Ruby." 

"I love you too," I replied. 

~*~**~*~

Over the past few months, my life had seemingly changed in every conceivable way, but one thing, one person, would remain constant- Jason. He would always be there for me and I knew that I always wanted to be there for him, too. He was my best friend and I knew, without a doubt, that I would always look out for him. I would always care about him and it felt so good to know that he felt the same way for me. 

The two of us had seen so many new and intriguing things over the last few weeks, and our lives had certainly changed as a result of that, but we had saved the world! It was hard not to grin when I thought back on that fact, honestly. 

Letting my parents know where I was going for the day, I rushed out of the house to greet Jason with a bright and friendly grin. 

"Hey, Jase," I said. 

He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me in a hug, lifting me off the ground a little as he did so. 

"Ready for our road trip?" he asked me. 

"You know it," I replied. 

I knew that this was going to be an amazing trip already. Call it intuition. 

"I'll get to draw loads and spend time with you and eat and spend time with you and-" 

Jason silenced me with the sweetest of kisses, and I kissed him back more intensely, glad that I would always have him. 

"I love you," I said, drawing back from the kiss for a second. 

"I love you," he said, bringing me closer to him again to press a gentle kiss to my forehead. 

"Let's go, Jase," I said. The excitement of the upcoming road trip was getting to me, I'll admit it. 

Jason nodded in agreement and went to sit down in the car. 

I wandered over to the passenger door but paused for a moment, as I saw a familiar golden-haired boy walking on the other side of the road. 

He waved to me, a smile forming on his lips. 

I smiled right back.