Left or Right

Chapter 41

.James.

Later on that afternoon after watching Amanda's group routine she had been apart of, Riley and I decided to head in early only after dinner.
Everyone else had their minds set on going out for a bit and enjoying their time here but Ri and I both had an idea of how to have our own kind of enjoyment. 

We returned to her dorm room which was empty since the rest of the girls were all preoccupied participating in other activities and as we took in the presence of the empty bedroom, I smile as I stood beside her, holding her firmly by the shoulders as I stood behind her. 

"What do you say?" I whisper into her ear, pressing a soft kiss to her temple softly as I waited to hear her view on things.

No matter what happened between us, I was never going to be the sort of guy who would push her into taking part in something she wasn't sure on or refused to do. 

"We have a couple of hours left until curfew and there's no one else here but you and me," I say to her, my hands sliding down to meet the curves of her hips but I take in how her body jerks at just the feel of me touching her in such a way.
Acknowledging her reaction, I quickly loosen my grip, making sure not to trigger her. Maybe now wasn't quite the time, and I was okay with that. 

"Hey," I whisper to her gently, closing the door firmly shut behind me before she spins around on her heel to face me, looking into my eyes as she bit her lip. "We don't have to if you don't want to." 

I move my hand to hold her hand, lacing our fingers together until we were practically tied, then I lean forwards and rest my forehead against hers. "I'm okay with whatever you want us to do tonight," I tell her. 

She smiles at me warmly and reaches up to peck my lips for a second before we break away.
"Cuddles?" she asks, causing me to nod my head and kiss her once more. 

"Whatever you want, Ri," I respond, then without hesitation I grab her by the waist and pick her up, making her laugh as she buries her head into the crook of my neck until I throw her down on top of her duvet covers. 

I shortly join her, laying down by her side and I spoon her from the side, one arm wrapped around her waist, softly pressed against her stomach while my hand found its way to her hair for where I stroke her light locks subtly and carefully.

. . .

The next day of Internationals were the two small group dances to cut the number of teams down before it got to the semi-finals and finals stage. Riley stayed by my side for most of the day up until she and the girls were due to go on stage for their blindfolded dance.
It was a last-minute obstacle they had included only this morning and Ri and the girls had been rehearsing thoroughly all day while I sat there and watched, just as precaution to make sure nothing bad happened. 

Yet, only a few minutes before they were due to go on stage, I couldn't find Riley anywhere and the déjà-vu instantly hit in.
I knew she was here somewhere, it was just a case of me finding out where since she had only just gotten changed and done her make-up backstage. 

Making my way out from the wings to head towards the back where the curtains were, I look around in search of my girlfriend until my eyes landed on where she was stood further towards the back talking to someone I would have least expected she would be talking to. 

I knew she had stayed at his for at least one night after she had left mine when she wasn't feeling as okay as usual, and I knew he had a thing for her.
But that was a few weeks ago. This is now, so why on earth were they talking? 

I begin to approach them both, my eyes sealed on Harry sternly up until I reached Riley and I placed my hand on the small of her back.
"Everything okay?" I ask while she bit her lip, looking Harry up and down. 

I knew that look. It was the same look she always  had on her face a year ago back when she was talking to Charlie. A similar look she has on her face when she's talking about Nate.
I knew her and I knew something had been said to cause her to react in such a way.

She nods her head after a while, nodding her head before facing me, cowering into my side so her body was pushed up against my torso as she gives me a smile.
"Everything's fine," she mumbles, but even if it wasn't for the smile she had just given me which was clearly fake, I still wouldn't have believed her. She wasn't fooling anyone and especially not me. "Come on," she urges, joining her hand together with my own. "We're due on stage in a moment." 

"You go ahead, babe, I'll be right there," I say to her, making her look at me worriedly.
I shake my head, giving her hand a light squeeze before kissing her forehead. 

I knew her biggest worry wasn't the fact I was supposedly going to talk to Harry right now. It was the idea of her being left with the girls without me there.
But I would only be a couple of seconds and Michelle would be there too - those two were back to being the pair of best friends they'd always been before Riley left for Montreal. I trusted Michelle enough to know she wasn't going to let the girls say or do anything to her. 

"Okay," she whispers before I let go of her hand for her to walk towards the front, leaving me alone with the one brunette who couldn't seem to understand the concept of leaving Ri alone.
How many more hints will he need to be given until he gets it? 

It didn't take long to psych this guy out. His eyes studied my face as he stared at me. He knew I was bound to talk things out with him right now. I had done so in the past so why wouldn't I do so again? It should be second nature to him at this point.
"What was that about? What did you say to her?" I ask him, making him frown at me, scoffing.

"Nothing," he spits.
"Yeah, then why did she look so worried? What did you say to her because I know you said something." I near closer to him as he was backed up by the wall already. I wasn't leaving until I got an answer. "Tell me, dammit," I seethe, fighting the urge to physically push him for information.

"Why don't you ask Riley? I thought she told you everything," he huffs. I was about to counter that argument before he nodded his head up to where the girls were walking out on stage except for Riley. She was busy looking at me and I knew she wouldn't feel the motivation to go up there unless I was with her and kept my eyes on her the entire time.
"She needs you right now," Harry spits. "Don't waste time talking to me."

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew he was right but the reason I walk away isn't because of him, it was purely because of Ri. Kate hadn't wanted her to dance today and honestly, nor did I. But the girls couldn't do this routine without her. They'd choreographed it with her and they needed to include her. There was no backing out of it now.

"Go on, Ri. You've got this," I whisper into her ear, making her take a deep breath before walking out on stage to join the others as the crowd roared with a welcoming applause.

Their routine was definitely enough to have beat the first team and I know they would have won that round by a mile. 

But even when the scores are announced, I was hardly listening. My gaze was constantly switching between Harry and Riley, trying to suss out what they could have been talking about about...
Who started the conversation in the first instance?