Pretty Please - Riley McDonough Fanfiction

Chapter 7

Avery's POV

As I walked to the classroom just in time, I noticed all the places were already taken, expect mine. I exhaled deeply. When I had left my house, I had hoped avoiding every conversation with Ellie. Apparently that was not going to happen.

I walked slowly to my place and sat down.

Ellie cleared her throat. "Avery?"

I didn't answer. I knew our fight was stupid, but I didn't feel like talking to her.

She poked my side.

I slapped her hand away.

"Avery, please?"

I kept my mouth shut. I was always the one who gave up too easily. Not this time.

Next thing she did was grabbing her phone and in a 20 seconds my phone beeped quietly. Was she kidding me? I wasn't even that mad at her. I just wanted her to come to me and say "I'm sorry for freaking out on you about band boys again". Was that too much to ask? This has happened before. I had worked in one big coffeehouse closer to my house, and when I had made friends from there, Ellie had come and scare them of with her band-obsession. I was not going to let that happen again. That time she hadn't even thought they were band members so this time it was even worse.

Ellie let out a frustrated sigh. I watched from the corned of my eye her tearing a piece of one of her notebook's pages. She picked up a pen and wrote something on it. Then she slowly slided it to my desk.

I gave up and folded the piece of paper open. "I'm sorry", it said.

Before I had a chance to stop her she gave me another folded paper.

I opened it too. "He probably isn't the Riley I know..."

I rolled my eyes and wrote "really?" and passed it back to her.

This time she leaned closer and whispered: "Yes. I just... I really love that Riley."

I smacked her arm, but smiled. She was so crazy.

"Ouch. Hey, c'mon, how cool would it be if you knew the Riley?"

"The coolest thing that has ever happened to us, ever!" I said voice full of sarcasm. I grinned at Ellie as she turned to look at me with a small smile on her lips.

"I'm forgiven?"

"Yeah", I focused on the front of the classroom again, "if you promise to never come and scare him off."

She shrugged. "Guess I can do that."

-

"Hey."

I lifted my gaze from the table I was cleaning when I heard a low, familiar voice behind me. I turned fully around. "Hey, you came!" That sounded a little too much like I had waited him all day – which I had – than I wanted.

A strand of hair fell in front of my eyes so I blew it away. It fell right back. I had already raised my wet hand, but then I felt Riley's fingers on my cheek, swiping it behind my ear. My breath got stuck in my throat. "T-Thanks", I stuttered.

He smiled. "No problem."

It was kind of annoying how someone was able to have such a beautiful smile.

Oh gosh. What was I even thinking?

"You want coffee?" I asked quickly to get my mind off his fingers on my cheek. I walked over the counter and faced him again. He was just looking at me with narrowed eyes. Hoping I didn't blush, I smiled.

He blinked and leaned on the counter. "Yes, the ones I always have, please."

We both stayed quiet as I started making the coffees. Maybe it was good. I could really use the last pieces of my concentration to not to pour coffee on my hands again, because that was not one of my brightest moments. I frowned at that. Why did it seem like Riley had already found out about my crazy friend and my terrible coffee making skills?

"Did you talk to your friend?"

I glanced at him briefly. "Yeah."

He stayed silent, and that's when I realized he wanted to know more but he was afraid to ask.

I opened my mouth again. "We worked things out. Kind of."

"That's good."

I sighed and gave him the coffees. "I told I would forgive her if she stayed away from you."

He raised his brows.

The blush I had tried to pull back didn't do what it was told anymore. I felt my cheeks heating. "Not like she's a creeper or anything. She's just really obsessed in her bands and it seems like she's not letting go of the idea of you being in a band."

"You really do hate bands, don't you?"

"No, it's not that." I didn't want him to think I was judging people by what they did. "I just don't understand people who are in love with people they've never met."

Riley muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like "mnmmhhmn" to me.

I didn't know if it was his interest in my relationship's healthiness that made his ask about our fight or what. Something seemed oddly familiar in him. It's probably only because you can't stop thinking about him.

I felt like I needed to call Sky and cuddle with him for a while to get rid of my strange emotions.

"So", he started to talk again, "what are you doing tonight?"

Why? Why would he care? Because we were friends?

Now I feel like I'm only overthinking stuff.

I took a deep breath. "I'm hanging out with my friends."

Ellie had called me after classes to ask if she and I and some of our other friends – yes, I had more friends, shocking, isn't it. I had said yes, mainly because I felt bad of first having a fight with Ellie and then ignoring the rest of my friends. I had wished I had been able to go home and watch a movie, maybe actually calling Sky but that idea was clearly doomed.

"Sounds fun", Riley said, leaving us with an awkward silence. He rubbed his neck and started to turn around to leave. Before that, a weird look appeared to his face but was gone in a blink of an eye.

"Wait!" I stopped him. What was that? "Why did you ask?"

"I..." He pressed his lips into a thin line. "I wanted to ask if you wanted a ride home, but you're probably going to be picked up by a friend."

I nodded. An unasked disappointment rose in my throat. I liked talking to Riley, but tonight everything had been so awkward since he had touched my cheek.

I shook my head to get some sense in me. It had probably only been weird for me. I had been silent and not even trying to start conversation the whole time he had been here. Now he probably thought I didn't want to be friends with him, which was not the case.

"How about tomorrow?" I suggested. "I have no ride home."

He started smiling and I started doubting if it was such a good idea after all. How could someone look that good? "That would be great. When does your shift end?"

"At seven." I couldn't keep myself from smiling back.

"See you then." His eyes shined when he turned around and walked to his car. I kept following him with my gaze. He had a great car. Unfair. I didn't even own a car.

After I could no longer see him, I stared at the door. Had I just done something really wrong or right?