Cold and Charisma (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Twelve

"But you have to admit, it was pretty funny." I nudged his elbow playfully, looking down at his face, all contorted into a grimace. "No it fucking wasn't." Riley said, as he tried rubbing the spilled liquid off his suit jacket.

On the way back to the parking lot, a little boy had run into him recklessly, spilling apple juice all over Riley's uniform. He looked so adorable, face all scrunched up as he tried to dry his jacket.

"You're right, it's not, I'm sorry." My chuckling died down, and I moved closer to him, hoping he wouldn't notice my subtle move.

The wind gusted through, carrying the sharp, salty chill of the ocean and making the night feel even colder than before. The weather always turned brisk at the beach after sunset. The waves crashed against the shore, their sound mixing with the rustling of the palm trees.

It was getting pretty cold, and I knew that I couldn't let Riley walk back to my car wearing a wet jacket– and wearing none at all would be even worse. I thought about it for a moment, staring at him while I did so. How could I let someone like him catch a cold?

I thought about it; a sick Riley, nose all pink, and face all flushed, sniffing softly and sneezing quietly, his sassy attitude dimmed down due to his tiredness. For a moment, I almost smiled at the thought.

"Here, give me that," I grabbed his suit jacket from his hand, holding it in my left hand while I took my own off with the other, "I don't want you getting sick. Take my jacket, you can wear it until we get back to my car."

With his jacket draped over my shoulder, I took mine that I was holding and draped it over his shoulder, my fingers grazing his shoulder momentarily. I would be lying if it didn't make me feel something. I can't name the feeling though.

Riley looked up at me with furrowed brows, once again judging me, "I don't need your jacket. I can take care of myself." He said. 

Despite his words about independence, I saw his pale hands clutching onto my jacket, not letting it fall off his small frame. I almost laughed, but kept it in.

Instead, a small smile played on my lips. I couldn't help but want to help him, which was obvious since that's all I've been doing for the past week. I didn't need gratitude, or anything in return, just having him here with me was enough.

My suit jacket basically enveloped his small figure, the hem of it reaching down to his mid-thigh. I never realized it before, but under the dim lighting of the flickering lamps, I realized that the navy blue of our school uniform really complimented him. It went well with his honey blond hair, and his light blue eyes.

"I should've never agreed." He snarled, eyes glued to the dark street in front of us, while mine were fixed on him. A chuckle escaped my mouth, and I shook my head at his words, "Well, even if you think so, I'm still glad you did," I said, my tone sincere.

"Why? Why are you glad?" Riley snapped, finally looking up at me with a look of annoyance with his lips slightly parted. "Are you glad that you're just an annoying asshole who can't leave me alone?"

I found it so cute how he shot me insults, words full of venom, while his small hands continued to clutch onto my jacket. I could never take his words seriously, no matter how harsh they were.

"I'm glad because you make things interesting," I said with genuine warmth. "And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Even when you're being all harsh, you still make my day better. So, I guess I'm sticking around, whether you like it or not." I shrugged, my gaze steady.

Riley scoffed, clearly unimpressed. "Yeah right," he said, kicking a small rock out of the way. "Like I could make anyone's day better. All I've done is insult you, and you don't even care."

He was right—I didn't care. His insults didn't bother me. I just smiled and laughed, unaffected by his harshness. He intrigued me in a way I couldn't quite explain.

"That doesn't matter to me, Riley," I said with a chuckle. "What matters is that you're here, and I'm not going anywhere."

He groaned in frustration. "Ugh, you're really not going to give up, are you?" Riley said, shaking his head. "You must be really determined or just really stupid."

"... Then I guess I'm stupid." I smiled softly at him, my gaze returning to the street ahead.

–

He looked so pretty.

When I turned my head and saw Riley asleep beside me, wrapped in my jacket, I couldn't help but smile. He looked so peaceful and serene. How could I wake him when he looked so calm? I took in every detail—his long lashes, his small hand clutching my jacket, his cute little nose.

His usual grimace was replaced by a soft innocence, a look I only saw when he was asleep. His pink lips, usually full of sharp words, now just let out soft snores. I almost preferred him asleep—no insults, just the face of someone I found strangely captivating.

I hesitated to wake him, knowing his calm demeanor would quickly turn back to disdain. But I had to do the right thing, so with a sigh, I tapped his shoulder gently. "Hey, wake up, we're here." I glanced out the window at his house. The lights were off, and the driveway was empty.

He softly grumbled and turned his head to the side, facing away from me. I pursed my lips together for a second, before tapping on his shoulder again. "Riley, wake up. We're at your house."

He mumbled some incoherent words before finally turning to face me again, eyes slowly fluttering open. As he slowly regained consciousness, he realized where he was. His eyes shot wide-open, and soon enough, that familiar scowl reappeared on his face.

"What time is it?!" He rummaged through his pockets trying to look for his phone, but in doing so, realized that he had my uniform jacket sprawled out over his chest. In an instant, he threw it at my lap, and scoffed. If only he knew he was the one who put it there in the first place.

I chuckled and smiled at the sight of him so panicked. I looked down at my watch and said, "Calm down, it's only nine." and gave him a reassuring smile. "Great, that means that I've been stuck with you for six hours." Riley said, grimacing.

He managed to find his phone, and before I knew it, I heard the sound of him opening the door. He threw his backpack over his shoulder, gripping onto one strap. I bit back a laugh, shaking my head. "Guess time flies when you're having fun, huh? Need any help getting inside?"

Riley shot me a glare. "I don't need anything from you." Once he was out of my car, he slammed the door shut aggressively and didn't bother to look back. I looked at him and watched as he jogged up the steps of his porch, and rolled my window down to say one last thing.

"I had a great time with you, Riley. We should do it again sometime." I shouted, my arm resting on the window sill. A smile crept onto my face, and all I could do was stare at him in awe. He turned around for a quick second, and rolled his eyes.

Even under the dim lighting of his broken porch light, I could see his beautiful blue eyes, as well as the hatred that was contained in them. Even so, it didn't make me any less interested in him. Nothing could.

"I'd kill myself if I ever had to be stuck with you again." He said, his back facing me as he fiddled with his keys. A chuckle escaped my mouth, and I shook my head, "Good thing you have me around to make sure that'll never happen."

Once again, my enthusiastic reply seemed to just annoy him further, and I watched as he finally found his keys and quickly rushed inside his house, slamming the door behind him. 

A part of me felt disappointed because he wasn't here with me anymore, while another part of me felt ecstatic that I even got to be with him in the first place. I sat in the car, soaking in the silence left by his absence.

Things felt brighter with him around—the sun seemed warmer, the world more vibrant. I leaned back, thinking about the day's events. I didn't want to leave his street, didn't want to be far from him.

I knew I needed to get some rest for tomorrow. After all, I'd be dealing with Riley again, and I needed all the energy I could get.