holmes ➢ sequel to athena

Chapter Four

Riley and Athena Go Out with Christian and Elena

"Maybe leaving the house was not the best idea."

That was the only thought rushing through Athena's head as rain kept pouring outside the little shop they were trapped in, while Christian and Riley argued quietly to her right. Elena was standing beside her as she browsed through some clothes absentmindedly.

"Do you think they'll stop arguing?" she asked Athena in a low voice, shifting her eyes to the boys.

Athena felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl. Christian and Riley had been fighting for Athena's attention all day, leaving Elena out of everything. She couldn't understand why, though. Elena was smart and beautiful and hilarious- if anything, they should've been fighting for her attention instead. Actually, no one should be fighting anyone for anyone else's attention, but here they were.

Athena turned to Elena and frowned. "Riley's stubborn, and insanely jealous. He won't back down unless some catastrophic event intervenes."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Christian's the same way." After a moment of silence, Elena shuffled her feet and continued talking. "Look, I don't blame you for what's going on. It's Christian mostly."

Athena smiled. "Thanks. I don't really want this, to be honest. I just wanted to go to the park."

Elena giggled. "Well, if you still want to go..."

Athena shook her head with an amused grin. "We can't now."

They continued to look at clothes in a slightly more comfortable silence, while the boys bickered pettily behind them.

"Yeah, well, Athena and I have been dating a lot longer than you've even known her," Riley snapped.

That's when she'd had enough. "Alright, look. To put it simply, fucking stop. I could easily go through my day without either of you. I don't feel blessed because you're just showering me with attention. It's annoying and petty, and I hate it. I'm calling a cab."

"Athena, babe, I'm-"

Athena gave Riley a hard glare without saying another word. After a moment of Athena fumbling angrily with her phone, Elena spoke up. "I'm coming with you. We can go to the mall downtown."

The two girls shared a smile, then, while Athena called a cab to pick them up, Elena talked quietly to Christian, who looked like a wounded puppy. Ten minutes later, they had abandoned the boys and were chattering together in the back of a cab.

∞

"I just don't understand why you would entertain the idea that I would leave you for him!" Athena shot angrily to Riley, who was sitting beside her on her bed.

"Because! Every guy you meet basically dedicates his life to you! Do you know how hard it is to not get jealous when everyone is in love with your girlfriend?"

Athena rolled her eyes. "No, not everyone is in love with me. That's ridiculous. Besides, no matter how many people like me, I love you. I can't control other people's feelings, Riley. "

Riley but his lip and looked down. "I'm sorry, I just... You're so amazing, and now that I finally have you, I just don't want to lose you."

She took a long breath. "That's sweet, but I'm still mad."

At that, he wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I know what can make you a little more lenient."

She threw a nearby coin at him. "You dork, I'm not in the mood right now, but..."

They kissed.

∞

"Athena!" Riley yelled, barging into the front door. She and Sherlock were playing Cards Against Humanity when he did.

His loud footsteps pounded upstairs as she looked to the door expectantly, him only taking a moment to run recklessly into that one too.

"Athena! Guess what!"

She stood up. "What?"

He laughed lightly and hugged her, picking her up and spinning around as he did so. "I got in!"

"You got in?"

"Yep! I'm going to Uni!"

They laughed together, him spinning her around one more time and kissing her quickly. "I'm studying History."

She smiled dreamily at him and hugged him again. "I'm so happy for you, Riles."

Little did she know, this, amongst other things, would change everything.