Not Us, Not Ever

6. Forgiven.

   This is Riley Chatham. Say Hi c:

        ~(A/N)

        Today the temperature was killer. I wore basketball shorts and a  tank top. I went to school, skipping out on a full breakfast and went to school with only an apple. I didn't feel like spending this morning with my parents. I felt like they were gonna glare at the back of my head or yell at me the whole way there. I saw the guys, plus Lily and Jacob sitting in the normal place. Riley was smiling and playfully punching Hunter until he saw me. We all took turns saying hello. I noticed Riley was wearing a long sleeve flannel. It's too hot for that. What the hell, Ry?

        "Riley, coach wants us early." I lied, but I need him alone.

        "What for?" He asked. Then sudden realization hit him, "Oh, nevermind."

        "Why does coach need you two?" Hunter asked.

        Since, I'm terrible at lying, I left Riley to give the answer, "Our equipment. The coach wants us to check and see if they're still okay. Some gloves might be ripped, our metal bats might be dinged, I wooden ones might be chipped or close to breaking, etc, etc."

        "Oh, want help?" Evan asked.

        Riley shook his head, "Olly and I should be okay. Thanks."

        "Speaking of Oliver," Lily said. I hadn't realized she moved to sit Jacob's lap. Ah, lovebirds. "You're here way early than ever."

        "Oh, yeah. I skipped breakfast. And walked here. I didn't feel like getting scolded or yelled at by my parents this morning."

        "Why would you get yelled at by your parents?" Hunter asked.

        "I pissed them off yesterday. I'm already on punishment for sneaking out and coming home drunk so my punishment can't get any worse. I came home fifteen minutes late and when they tried to confront me when I finally came in, I blew them off."

        "Now why the hell did you do that? And skipping breakfast today was the worst thing you could have done today." Oh no, I can do worse. "Practice is going to kill you." Evan said.

        I shrugged, "Not if my parents kill me first."

Our conversation went on and Riley wouldn't say anything directly to me. I feel so horrible for calling him what I did. It was completely uncalled for. But the thing is, I think I scared him by accident. Me saying that word might have scared him into believing I actually was straight. Which would only make him shit himself even more because the.. events prior to me offending him have made the situation worse.

        The bell rang. Everyone said their "goodbyes" and their "see yas", but Riley stayed quiet and got up. I caught up to him, but as soon as I was next to him, I saw a single tear that freshly fell from his eye. He saw me in his peripheral view and quickly wiped it. "I assumed you were gay. Those things you said in the stadium.. You were drunk and silly." Oh, no. What did I say? "I should have took that into account. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but.. can you keep it to yourself, what happened yesterday?" He sounds so pained. I was too focused on the sorrow in his voice, that I hadn't realized he asked me a question. He turned around to and stopped walking, "Can you?" he asked again,  but a bit louder. I nodded in reply. I didn't have words.. Even if I did, I couldn't use them. Seeing Riley cry isn't easy to see.. Especially when you're the one who caused them. I wanted to apologize now, but it would lose it's value if I do it before class. Why did I have to be such a dick in the first place? I went the whole day without saying a word to anyone. Teachers didn't even call on me. I kept thinking how horrible I was to him. He probably regrets the day he met me.