"What's up with you two?" Riley asks as he looks over at Toby and me.
"We're snuggle buddies," we say at the same time.
Connor shakes his head. "You guys are so strange."
"I try," I state, making them all laugh.
"So Emily, we have school on Monday. Do you want me to help you around since we're in the same grade?" Riley asks.
"That would definitely be helpful, thank you," I say with a smile.
"No problem. Anything to help a new friend. Maybe we'll be in a couple of classes together," he suggests.
"Maybe. So, what's the first movie?"
* * *
"Emily, wake up," somebody whispers. I open my eyes and lift my head from Toby's lap.
"How long was I out?" I ask.
"About the whole movie," Connor tells me. I yawn and rub my eyes.
"Well, I'm going to bed. Taking an early jog tomorrow morning," I say.
"What time?" Riley asks.
"Around five, why?"
"Maybe I'll join," he says. I nod and walk to my room without another word. I collapse onto my bed and fall asleep immediately.
When I wake back up, I lift Tank off of my stomach and quickly get dressed. I tie my running sneakers and grab my iPod before walking into the kitchen. Getting a water bottle from the fridge, I stretch my legs to wake me up.
"I'm ready when you are." A hand lands on my shoulder, and, without even thinking, I grab it and pull his arm forward before taking my other hand and putting it on his neck. I push his neck, making him start to circle around me, and I pin him to the counter, his back facing me while his head is turned to the side. When I see that it's Riley, I sigh and let him go.
"Don't scare me like that!" I whisper-shout.
"What the hell was that for?!" he whispers back.
"I'm half asleep, and somebody sneaks up on me. What do you think I'm going to do?" I ask.
"I don't know, jump? Yelp? Just glare at me? I didn't expect to be pinned to the kitchen counter," he fumes.
I roll my eyes and walk out of the house, starting my music. No Such Thing by John Mayer blares into my ears, and I start my jog. Riley appears by my side and falls into step with me. He pulls out one of my earbuds.
"What happened back there?" he asks.
"You scared me, that's all," I state.
"No, you had special training to react that quickly," he says.
"My cousin was a cop, okay? He wanted me to learn self defense," I say, and I put my earbud back in before running ahead of him.
I get back to the house in about two hours, and I notice that Riley's already there. He's sitting at the breakfast bar with a bowl of cereal.
"You, my friend, are in better shape than me," he says, pointing his spoon at me.
"Yeah, I like to be in really good shape. Makes me feel better about myself." I sit down next to him before saying, "No hard feelings about this morning, right?"
"Right. Like you said, you were half asleep and frightened. You'll have to teach me some moves, though. It could really help when I'm mobbed by teenage girls," he jokes.
"Yeah, maybe if you want to break their arms."
"Break who's arms?" Connor asks, walking into the kitchen.
"The fans," I say before Riley can try to cover himself up.
"Riley, why would you want to do that to those poor people?" he asks him.
"I don't! Emily pinned me against the counter this morning because she knows self defense," Riley explains.
"Yeah, right."
I stand up and walk over to Connor before jabbing the muscle in between his shoulder and neck to temporarily paralyze it. I then take his other arm, pin it behind his back, get a hold on the back of his neck, and pin him into the counter.
"Told ya."
