There's Always A Plot Twist | Wattys 2023 ✓

17| The Caterpillar

Arlo spots Riley before she does, honking his car to get her attention.

Admittedly, he feels slightly ashamed smiling to himself when he sees her jump but not enough to stop.

It was obvious to everyone from day one that the two of them had an undeniable chemistry but just like every spark, theirs was the beginning of a larger flame, one that has already grown past the point of wildfire.

"So were you just sitting outside my house waiting for me to show up or...?"

Arlo doesn't mind her snarky jabs, in fact, her teasing only lures him in more. "Can we talk?" he asks, passing off a nervous smile for a friendly one.

"About?"

"I wanted to apologise about the other night. You were right."

Riley's expression softens, the tension in her shoulders visibly dissipating as she exhales. "Open up, I'm coming in."

Arlo unlocks his car door, reaching over to the passenger side to pick up the present he has laying on the seat. "I got you something."

Riley shakes her head but takes the large box from him, knowing that he won't quit until she takes it from him. "Boxing gloves?"

"I realised getting hit by you would feel better than being trampled by your words."

Riley laughs, unable to stay completely mad at him. "Oh my god, you are such a jerk." she retorts, holding the gloves like glass diamonds.

"Figured I'd start committing to the role, since you hate me so much." Arlo chuckles, drumming up a beat on the steering wheel with his thumbs until he summons up the courage to get serious. "I'm sorry, for making everything so complicated between us."

"You didn't do it alone remember."

Riley's smile upsets Arlo, making him feel that she isn't taking him as seriously as she should. "I know I've hurt you, that seriously was never my intention...I just had a lot going on, and I'm not trying to use my baggage as an excuse-"

"-no, I get it." Riley interjects, her coiled hair bouncing as she shakes her head. "Everything with your dad happened and I wasn't there."

Arlo licks his lips, averting his eye away from her at the mention of his father. "She was there for me. Amber was my ride and die when everyone else...and now I'm hurting her too."

"Arlo." Riley calls, noticing the way he turns away from her to hide his tears.

"Fuck." he whispers, wiping both eyes in one swift motion once Riley tries to console him. "This is not how this was suppose to go."

"Nothing ever is with us." Riley tries, feeling disappointed when she fails at lightening his mood.

"I love Amber, but I want you, Riley. I want us to be real again instead of always sneaking around."

"Well you know what you have to do to get what you want." she replies after a long minute of silence. "You can't have your cake and eat it...not anymore."

They wrap things up with five minutes of no talking, simply sitting and watching people walk by in pairs or with their dogs. 

"You going to the festival later?" Arlo inquires, peering over at Riley as she types furiously on her phone.

"Actually..." Riley finishes her text before sliding her phone into her bag. "I think us girls are going to have a girls-night-in."

"Oh." he replies, unable to mask his disappointment.

"For Kenna, she's just been going through a lot lately."

"No, of course, yeah..."

"Yeah..." Riley echoes, wondering if he can hear the lie as it comes out. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

Arlo nods once, staring straight ahead as he adjust his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "I guess so."

Riley stumbles out of the car, walking all the way up to her front door without looking back.

Once safety inside, she slides down the front door, grasping at her chest as she focuses on levelling her breathing.

She thought she could stomach the idea of being the person she has become but perhaps she has bitten off more than she can stomach.

The girls-night-in is her half-baked idea, figuring the only way to protect herself from her relationship issues is to isolate from the outside world.

If she was here alone then no doubt her friends would try their hardest to drag her out to the festival. She could fight them for at least a few hours but eventually she would crack.

Plus Lain was going to be at the festival and the thought of entertaining him whilst still lingering on the love of her life wouldn't be fair to anyone involved.

A sleepover would allow her to run from all her troubles and give her a few hours to make up her mind.

"What they hell do you even want?" she whispers, her hair rolling down her leg as she hides her face.

Meanwhile, after a few hours getting ready for the festival, Asante wonders into Freddie's room, purposely not knocking on the door since he knows he hates that. "Are you ready yet or...hello?"

Freddie reveals himself from behind the far side of the bed, getting up off his knees, noticeably not wearing a shirt or anything on his torso. "Let me see your hands."

"Why?"

"Because having broken hands would be the only good reason you didn't knock my damn door." he retorts, reaching for the abandoned towel left on the bed and using it to dry his damp black hair. "What do you want?"

Asante's eyes follow Freddie across the room, biting down on his molars as he analyses him. "What were you doing under the bed?"

Freddie stalks towards Asante, his vanilla scent reaching him before he does. "Did you come up here to bother me or did you actually have something to say?"

"Whatever is going on with you...you know you can talk to me right?"

Freddie smirks, finding the irony in his words to be slightly grating. "And what about you? You find out Kenna was your sister and you tell no one."

"That was, is, different."

Freddie rolls his eyes, fighting back the urge to share more of what he really thinks. "You know what, I can't do this with you right now."

"Do what? What exactly are we doing?" Asante tilts his head, finally having enough of Freddie's grouchy attitude. "All I've done is take your crap for two seconds too long."

"Come on Ash, you're not that dense."

Asante holds his breath as Freddie leans in only to to reach around him and open the door wider.

"Whatever, be ready in ten, we'll be downstairs waiting." Asante scowls, walking out of the room without waiting for a reply.

"Bet." Freddie shouts after him before slamming his door shut.

Then, after regretting kicking him out instead of asking for help, Freddie hits the exposed brick wall.

His closed fist quivers as he pulls it back, revealing fresh cuts and scraped that bleed scarlet red.

Freddie looks up at the clock on the wall, feeling the hands of time whispering down the back of his neck as his own time starts dwindling down by the hour.