Eyes On The Prize

9 | James

The following morning was one of the most tedious things I have ever had to experience, the boys and I were walking through the square that afternoon in the hope that we would get home a little sooner. College this morning was not all fun and games like you would assume
The boys and I had a sub which meant he was a lot more strict then our usual teacher

"What's our plan now?" Eldon asked making all of us share a look
"Sleep" we all said before bursting out laughing

We started passing the higher end stores walking through the square, the ones that all the Barnard students would be wasting their money in
They had a certain level of standard for their clothes that the usual shop we would shop at wouldn't manage
Our clothing isn't the best but it manages just great, there's on the other hand has to be the highest of degree

"Look who it is" Hunter teased nudging me to look up, the moment I did I was met with Riley stood by the window in one of the shops
Now I knew this shop. It just happened to be the one my mum used to work in, she loved that place like no tomorrow but after the whole shift in dynamics in this town. She wasn't welcome anymore
Riley stood there looking over dresses completely oblivious to the world around her, but from the look on her face whatever she was looking at was not satisfying her 

"Where are you going?" West asked making me smirk in his direction before I headed straight into the shop

Nobody else was really around, you had a few old ladies here and there, the odd worker tending to them while Riley looked through the racks of dresses aimlessly. With one final huff she sat down on one of the chairs in defeat before pulling out her phone 

"Penny for you thoughts?" I asked making her jump slightly before looking up at me
"What are you doing here?" She asked locking her phone offering me her full attention
"Well you've got most of the square gawking at you from the window, figured I'd come and save you. You know damsel in distress sort of thing?" I asked making Riley chuckle
"Since when was I in distress?" She asked crossing her arms across her chest

"I mean, that sigh has enough baggage to make you have to pay for two bags on a plane" I said making her roll her eyes

"Why are you looking at gowns anyway?" I asked looking over at the rack she had been looking through
"It's nothing" She said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear
"Doesn't seem like nothing" I explained

"We have a ball at Barnard this weekend and I'm yet to even get a dress. I hate the idea of dressing up to please others" Riley explained keeping her head bowed
"So simple solution, don't dress for them" I said coming into the room more and taking a seat next to her
"They all have their own opinion on what I should wear and I despise all of it" She said pulling at the bottom of her dress
"And what do you want to wear?" I asked but she shook her head
"It wouldn't matter even if I did have an opinion. That is what I'm meant to be wearing" She said nodding to the mannequin in the middle of the room

As soon as I saw that dress, it was obvious it was probably the most expensive piece in this room. The colour shifted from a dark pink to a beige and then back. It was covered in the most intricate lace detailing. 
I reckon had it been anyone else looking at this dress, they would have been jumping to where it 

"How about we try that one on. Then we'll go from there and find you something you want to wear" I said making Riley look at me biting her lip slightly
"I have to wear that James" She whispered but I shook my head
"You don't have to do anything" I said nodding at her 

She didn't say anything else, instead she shrugged again making me chuckle, I stood up taking both of her hands into mine pulling her up
"Come on Cinderella. You shall go to the ball" I said earning a giggle from Riley 

--

At this point, Riley had tried on almost every single dress in this store or at least that is what we thought. She's gone from pink to black all the way back to a bright red
"I hate them all" She pouts sitting down in the dress that she had just tried on. I chuckled watching as all the tulle of the dress bunched up around her the moment she took a seat
"Yeah this shop just isn't it Ri" I said making her look at me titling her head lightly 

"Ri?" She said making me shrug as I stood up again looking at the one rack we hadn't even touched 
"It's cute" i said making Riley roll her eyes as she tilted her head back in defeat
"I'm just going to have to suck it up and go with the dress they want" She said looking back at the mannequin

"What about this?" I asked picking up a dress. Riley looked at the dress with a raised brow before looking at me
The dress was a dark green, lace covering the top half while the rest flowed gently. It wasn't big and poufy, it was slim fitting. The opposite to what they wanted from her  

"I like it" She smiled rising to her feet taking the dress from me heading back to the dressing room that was probably almost full with discarded dresses that didn't met Riley's rebellion 

I looked out of the window to see Piper and her friends in the middle of the square, they tend to spend most of their time there. Ever since The Next Step shut their doors, the likes of Piper and Brody end up hanging out here
Piper ends up dancing with her friends in the middle of the square
While our brother Brody ends up causing some sort of trouble around here

"What do you think?" Riley's voice called making me turn around 

The moment I turned around, I couldn't help but smile. She had look great in all of the dresses she had tried on but this one was different. I don't know if it was down to the smile that she had paired with the gown but she look beautiful 

"It's alright, but Cinderella, can you dance in it?" I asked holding out my hand to her but she shook her head
"I won't be dancing at this ball. It's basically an evening full of meeting people, making business deals etcetera" She said but I kept the same look on my face not moving my hand for a second 

Riley rolled her eyes at me with a light giggle as she gently placed her hand in mine allowing me to bow to her before she curtseyed causing both of us to laugh
I gripped her hand lightly pulling her closing placing her hand on my shoulder while mine went around her waist as we began to move to the music playing in the store 

I looked down at Riley to see her big brown eyes looking at me with a glimmer of innocence, like she couldn't ever do anything wrong and I don't doubt that 

But the longer we stayed in this position the closer we seemed to get until I could feel her breath against my lips 
I smiled watching as a small smile played on her lips 

"Is everything okay in here?" A voice called making both Riley and I snap apart 
Riley had put enough distance between us that it felt like the last 5 minutes never happened...