Cold and Charisma (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Five

I stood on the woman's porch, lasagna tray in my hand, with a big, charming smile. On the outside, I looked perfectly fine– but the inside? That was another story. I've always hated people seeing me as a bad person, no matter who they were. I was determined to get on her good side, no matter what.

My hand raised from my hand as I mentally prepared myself. I knocked on her door, feeling the coldness of the wood meeting my knuckles. I stood still, unmoving, and the smile on my face didn't falter, not even for a second.

I had to make things right this time. My foot tapped against the porch, and I examined my surroundings, waiting for someone to finally open the door.

"What do you–"

Fuck.

I nearly dropped my lasagna tray, my eyes widening as I took in the sight before me. There stood Riley, looking disheveled yet undeniably cute with his blond, tousled, bed-rumpled hair. He was still in his school uniform, his usual tired and gaunt expression now transformed into one of surprise—and not the good kind.

"You fucking freak! You followed me home!" He lashed out on me, his voice growing louder with every word. The look on his face was of pure hatred, his face once again scrunched up with disgust, but now, it was harsher. Wait, would that mean– oh shit.

Everything seemed to make sense now. The woman from earlier was his mom. Her thick Russian accent should've given it away– but I was too panicked to think. And now, it all made sense. Fuck, he probably thought I was an obsessed stalker– but I didn't even know! The words seemed to be caught in my throat for a bit, until I realized that I had to say something.

"Riley, wait, let me explain–"

Without letting me speak, his hand quickly went to the door handle, ready to slam the door in my face. Before he could, I put my foot in the frame, making sure he wouldn't close it on me.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"I didn't know this was your house–"

"Bullshit!"

"Riley, I'm not leaving until you let me explain!"

"What do you want from me? It's already bad enough that you followed me everywhere at school today!" He was partially right– I did follow him around, but that was only during break! The look of anger on his face almost made me laugh. My expression of shock slowly contorted into a smile, and it was obvious that the sudden change surprised him

I couldn't help it though– I found him oddly endearing, especially when he looked like he'd just woken up. The way he would get so worked up over just seeing me, and the way he would knit his eyebrows together, and–

"Are you gonna tell me or are you gonna just stand there smiling like an idiot?"

His comment only fueled my intrigue, making my grin curve upward even further. "Right, sorry," I chuckled lightly and shook my head, "This is for your mom." I handed him the tray with a grin, which he looked at for a few seconds. While he looked at the tray, all I could look at was him.

"How the fuck do you know my mom?" He said, eyes still lingering on the lasagna. He didn't take it from me, and instead made me continue to hold it as we talked. "My dog accidentally ran into her earlier, so to make up for it, I came back to bring her–"

Riley sneered at the lasagna skeptically. "Is that supposed to be some kind of apology? Looks more like a punishment." My smile never once faltered, and honestly, I couldn't even be mad that he had just insulted my mom's cooking.

"Well, I can't promise it's gourmet, but it's the best peace offering I could come up with," I said with a chuckle, trying to ease the tension with a friendly remark. Like always, he rejected my attempt by letting out a scoff of disbelief.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that," Riley retorted dryly, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "If you don't want it, then at least give it to your mom. I'm sure she's tired from moving boxes all day so–"

"Why do you care? If you want me to give it to her that badly, then I'll give her the damn lasagna," his gaze traveled from the tray to me, eyes still cold, "but what I want is for you to leave." He said, emphasizing the 'I'. A chuckle escaped my mouth, and my grin turned into a smile.

"If you ever need anything, Riley, I'm always here." My smile radiated a genuinity that I hoped he would be able to see, even through his cloud of hate. My foot left his door frame, giving him the opportunity to close the door. Like usual, he scoffs loudly, before slamming it shut.

Any sane person would act back just as aggressively, with the same amount of insults and venom as Riley, but I didn't. Not because I was holding myself back, but because I found it hard to even be mad at a face like that, no matter how feisty he got.

By the time I'd reached the sidewalk, I realized that I was still holding the tray of food. I guess my dog was going to have leftovers after all.

–

My back hit the bed with a thud, and I let out a groan. Today had been so weird—first Riley, and then his mom. What's next, his dad? I rolled my eyes and sighed. Most days were the same: go to school, smile, wave, be respectful. But today was entirely different, like I'd entered a new universe.

To get my mind off everything, I decided to go on my phone. There was nothing interesting, just a few texts and some new videos. I needed a distraction, but it was hard when all I could think about was him.

God, why couldn't I stop thinking about him?

This wasn't like me–

At all.

I'm the type to put on a friendly face and remember names, but his? His was different. It was like something I could remember no matter how much time passed. You know those people you meet and can't seem to forget, even if you've only known them for a second? For me, that person was Riley.

I tried not to let it get to my head too much—I barely knew him. He just seemed interesting; he caught my eye, that's all. Not many people do that, since everyone in my life has always been nice to me. But him? He's horrible to me—and I like it.

As I lay in bed, scrolling on my phone, a sudden thought popped into my mind. Immediately, I sat up, back against the headboard, and started typing his name into the search bar. Riley Latch, was it? No—Riley Lackcock? Definitely not.

Riley Lachkov.

The results came up as quickly as I typed his name, and I tapped on the link to his profile. Riley Lachkov. Besides his username, everything else was in Russian. I couldn't make out a single word, except for an emoji: the flag of Russia.

I guess the kid's passionate about his country. He had almost no social media presence except for one singular picture of snowfall in Moscow, next to an apartment building, which I presumed was his.

Besides that, nothing else. Even his profile picture didn't have him in it—instead, it was just some graffiti art. A smirk tugged at my lips. He was already so mysterious, so feisty, so secretive. This just furthered my intrigue.

I couldn't help but stare at the screen, my mind swirling with questions. Who was Riley Lachkov? Why did he act the way he did? And why did he captivate me so much? I closed the app, tossing my phone aside, and lay back down, staring at the ceiling.

Sleep was out of the question. I tossed and turned, trying to shake off the thoughts of him. It wasn't just his behavior that intrigued me; it was the way he made me feel—confused, challenged, and strangely alive. My life had been on autopilot for so long, and now, here was this boy who flipped everything upside down.

Whatever– he's just all up in my head because I'm letting him be. Maybe I should get some water and try to sleep, I have school tomorrow anyways. I stand up from my position in bed, and I walk across the hall. Even during my walk to the kitchen, I couldn't help but think of him some more. More than I'd want to admit.

Who are you, Riley?