Left or Right

Chapter 22

James's POV:

Riley and I were at our spot in the woods, the same woods I had held a surprise party for Ri when she first got back and I wanted to show her how much I appreciated her being here.
We held hands, strolling along the grass beside one another. Honestly, it feels amazing being able to call her mine again. I don't deserve her. She's beautiful, talented, sweet, kind . . . but I have her. And I'm never letting her go again.

We get to our spot which was a tree which had fallen down, and we sit ourselves down on the branch of the tree after helping each other to climb up it, Riley using my knee to haul herself up. Once we both get up on there, she reaches over to rests her head on top of my lap, making me smile as I move my hand to the back of her head to begin stroking my fingers through her hair.
"It's cold," she whispers with the slightest giggle. As soon as she says it, I shuffle around a bit and remove my zipper hoody from off of my shoulders before wrapping it over hers, making her smile up at me softly.

"Better?" I question. She chuckles and nods.
"You always know how to make everything better," she laughs, making me join in with her until our laughter dies out into the wind. 

It was pretty quiet right now and hardly anyone was around but that was because no one really tended to come here. It was what made it mine and Riley's spot.
The first time I had found her here, she was on her own. I had just witnessed an argument between my parents and she had just had an argument with her parents. We weren't together back then but we were preparing for Regionals.
I think the moment I found her in these woods was the first time we ever truly connected and she opened herself up to me.

"Can I ask you something?" she whispers, causing me to hum in response. She takes a moment to put together her words before she lifts her head up once again and moves her hands to link together with mine. "Do you believe in first loves?" she asks, making my brain falter for a moment as I try to figure out an answer to her question before I click my tongue in thought and nod.
"I believe in love at first sight," I tell her. She shakes her head softly and plays with my hands absent-mindedly. 

"Who was your first love?" she asks me tenderly, causing me to pause and think for a moment. I love Riley, of course I do. But she wanted a true answer, so I was going to give her one.
"A girl who went to my school when I was ten," I tell her, causing her to tilt her head to the side, a soft smile on her lips.
"Really?" she asks gently and I nod my head.

"Her name was Leila. I was ten, I never really knew what love was, to be honest. No one knows at that age but when you grow and you look back, you realise things you didn't necessarily know before. With Leila, she was sort of my 'will she or won't she?'," I tell her, making her nod as she chuckles softly.
"When I wasn't at home because my dad was working and my mom was focusing on bringing up Piper since she was still a toddler, I would head over to Leila's. We used to dance together a lot and we were like the best of friends. The sort of love I had with Leila wasn't exactly a romantic one. It was more just a friendship. I loved her until she was taken away from me to go to some posh private school the moment we left primary," I explain, to which she sighs.

"That's cute, you know," she replies, a soft smile on her face.
"She was the only one who could relate to being given no attention at home, so we turned to each other and would choreograph dances like no tomorrow. It was the only way we could let out our feelings."
"I totally get that," she whispers, nodding her head slowly. I smile at her before she rests her head on my shoulder and I lean my head over the top of hers, our hands still locked together and fingers intertwined.

"Do you . . .?" I begin to question, "believe in first loves?"
"I do," she whispers with the nod of her head. She closes her eyes and remains curled up by my side whilst sat on the tree, then she continues talking. "I think that first loves are the best kinds of loves out there. And sometimes if a first love, romantically, is the same as your last love, then that's true love. And only a few people get to experience true love."

She lifts her head up and then turns around to look at me before biting her lip, waiting for me to reply. As I look into her eyes, I shake my head, licking my lower lip whilst continuing to hold onto her hand.
"I totally agree," I whisper, making her smile softly before we both lean in to press our lips together softly.

"I still love you," she tells me in a whisper, her nose brushing against mine. "I never stopped."
"I still love you too," I say back, my voice just as gentle, then I close the gap between us one more time.

. . .

When we get back home later that afternoon, Riley laughs at my previous joke after I had made fun of her snort, but she only snorts again, mixing it in with her giggle. Somehow, it only seemed to make her cuter.

"You better stop it," she chuckles, nudging me in the ribs as we make our way through the front door to enter the house.
When we do, I remove my arm from around her waist. We hadn't told my parents about us yet, not even Piper, and I don't think Riley wanted them to know just yet either. No matter how long I have to wait for them to know, I'll keep it between us and A-Troupe. I can't lose Riley again when I've only just got her back.

She takes a look around for a moment before realising that no one was around, so she cups my cheek in her hand. 
"Movie night in my room?" she asks, stroking my skin softly. 
"Sure, I'll meet you up there in, say, two minutes?"
"I'll be waiting," she smiles before pecking my lips softly and then leaving my touch to run upstairs, a soft grin on her face.

I smirk to myself, turning around and entering the kitchen to grab a couple of snacks for the two of us. However, as soon as I open the cupboard containing all the goodies, there's then a loud scream that takes over the whole house.
As soon as I hear it, I drop everything and speed up the staircase before entering the bedroom, catching Riley in my arms just as she stumbled and was about to fall down. She clings onto me tightly, her face contorted with fear and it's when I look up that I realise why.

He was sat on her bed, looking right at me with a scowl on his face.
The guy who must be Nate . . .