retrospective || riley hayes life's riddles fic

mutual loathing

i was really tempted to name this chapter "gay?" 
sigh
tw/use of a slur, not in an insulting way, brief mention of suicide/brief suicidal thought 
riley pov obvs 
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     There'd been no classes on the first day, so we all cleared off the grounds after our run-in with the new kid. It's not like we were skipping classes, so I guess it's okay. Andre had a basketball game he wanted us to go to, so naturally, we had to get there half an hour early. We were the first ones there because nobody actually cares enough about a small club vs club basketball match.

    Andre was wearing the jersey he'd been wearing during our brief time at school for the match; the proud number eight on his chest matched well with his eyes.

   Me and Forrest sat in the audience seats, which were almost completely empty apart from us. "This is boring already," I sighed, rummaging through the small bag I'd brought with me. "It hasn't even started yet," Forrest laughed - I can not stress how much warmth his laugh carries. A few other people had arrived.

   I took a book I'd picked up a few days ago out from the bag, opening it up at the bookmarked page. "Ugh, of course you're reading."
"What? Is it bad that I have interests?"
"Noo, but you don't just have 'interests', you have nerdy interests."
I closed the book again, turning it over into its back. "Here, read the blurb. Maybe you'll like it."
"I don't read."
"Or.. You haven't found the right thing to read yet!"
"Yeah, no, I don't read." He pushed the book back towards me, leaning across and resting his head on the chair in front of him.

   "I didn't even know Andre played basketball. I thought he just wore the jerseys to look cool."
"Well you aren't wrong. But yeah, there's a lot you don't know about him."
"Oo, mysterious. And you do know?"
"Yes, I'm his best friend, of course I do."
"Do you know why his eyes are red?"
"What? Oh, he was just born with them like that. That's what he told me anyway."
There's a lot you don't know about him.

    I copied Forrest, resting my head on the chair next to the one he was using. "Uh, Riley?" Forrest cleared this throat awkwardly, "Were you okay last night? You looked bothered, then you just ran off.. me and Andre were both kind of worried.."

    "Hah! Andre, worried?" Forrest's worried expression didn't falter. I took the hint, losing my amused look. "Yeah, I was fine. I just overreacted. I.. guess I had a lot on my mind."
Forrest hesitated.
"You can talk about it. If you want to," he said.

     There was a whistle, and the players (Andre included) appeared on the court. I zoned out, waiting for the match to end.

***

    "You guys can head on back to the school!" Andre yelled up at us after the game had ended. His team had won, which was cool, I guess. He looked really happy.

   "Congrats!" Forrest cheered back down to him. He gave him a thumbs-up, before rushing over to the rest of his team. "Of all days for a match, why the first day back at school?" I asked as we walked out into the cool air. Outside the small sports centre where the match took place was a big, busy road. "It's not like we have any classes," he said. 
"Still!" 
Forrest giggled, covering his mouth with his hand. I looked away, my face flushed at the abnormally cute sound. 

   "Riley?" I glanced back at him. He had his arms down idly by his side. "Yeah?" Suddenly, his face cracked into a grin. "Bet you can't catch up to me." 
"Wha-" He sprinted across the road, cutting in front of a car. "Forrest!" 

   I looked around desperately, before chasing after him. "Sorry!" I yelled to the driver I'd ran in front of. I tried to keep track of the green-haired boy in front of me; he ran pretty quick. "Hah, you're too slow!" He taunted.
"You're so childish!" I laughed, speeding up. We cut through a crowd of people, running down the street. We passed the book shop, both too busy to even glance in its direction.