Cold and Charisma (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Sixteen

"I don't wanna play this anymore." Riley said, rolling over on the carpet to lay on his back, throwing his deck of cards to the side. He put a hand on his forehead in aggravation. I couldn't help but grin.

We had been playing board games for a few hours– from candyland, to go fish, to even chess; and to nobody's surprise, Riley beat me at all of them. I didn't mind it though, I never really had a competitive streak.

I wasn't letting Riley win, I played fair and square– the truth was, Riley was just naturally good at everything. Soccer, board games, and especially at hating me.. Now that was something he excelled at.

It just seemed like the more I learned about Riley, the more interested I grew. How was it that someone could be so perfect? As if his looks weren't good enough, his ability to be good at everything he did was the cherry on top. I couldn't help but to admire him as he laid in front of me on my carpet.

I sat with my back against my dresser, with one knee up, staring at him as he continued to groan loudly. "I don't see why you're so bored, Riley, you beat me at everything." He got up, and rolled his eyes, "That's why it's so boring, it's because I beat you at everything."

In my mind I recalled the time I won that one versus one soccer match against him, almost thinking about bringing it up just to make our conversation a bit more light-hearted, but I don't think he'd find that funny. Sure, I was better than him at soccer, but man was he good at card games.

I watched Riley, still sitting there with a mix of frustration and boredom on his face. "You know, you're really good at everything you do," I said casually, unable to keep the admiration out of my voice. "Makes it kind of hard to compete."

He glanced at me briefly, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, well, it gets boring when there's no challenge," he muttered, his tone flat, but there was something in his voice that made me wonder if he didn't mind the attention.

I leaned back, letting the quiet settle between us. Maybe he didn't show it, but I couldn't deny it— watching him like this, it was hard not to feel a little... something.

"You know, this was fun. I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime, Riley." I said, smiling at him kindly. I set down my deck of cards, and watched him, waiting for a reply. "Of course you wouldn't mind, you're fucking obsessed with me." He said, irritated.

He wasn't wrong, but it's not like I could admit that. "I'm not obsessed, I just.. Wanna be friends. That's all." I said, my smile unnerved. He scoffed and grimaced, "Like that's ever gonna happen."

I shuffled a little closer to him, still keeping my distance so that it wouldn't be too obvious.

"You know," I started, trying to keep my tone light, "I don't really get it. You're good at everything, you're always so... confident. But you never talk about yourself. What's that about?"

Riley's eyes flicked to mine for a second before he groaned and looked to the side, "Great, here we go. Another one of your weird, nosy questions. I'm not your fucking friend, Archer."

I couldn't help but chuckle a little, despite myself. "I didn't think you were," I replied, trying to keep it casual. "I just don't get why you keep people at arm's length. I mean, you're obviously capable of a lot— so why the wall?"

Riley shot me a sharp glance, his voice flat as he muttered, "Not everyone wants a friend, okay? Maybe I'm just fine on my own."

I paused, a small frown tugging at my lips. "But you're not fine, are you? Not really. You push people away, but there's got to be something you care about."

He didn't answer right away, and for a moment, I thought he wouldn't. Finally, with a frustrated sigh, he muttered, "Maybe it's just easier not to give a fuck."