I Can't Cope (COMPLETED)

Chapter 43 - James

I look down at Riley, knowing I can recognise when her walls are up - which they are now.

"Will you give me just a couple of minutes?" I ask hopefully. Her face relaxes for a moment and she sighs quietly. What? Just because she's not my girlfriend doesn't mean that I don't still pay attention to her.

"Yeah, fine, whatever." she mutters, holding the hem of her top. She's looking in a bad way, to be honest. Like, seriously, do I have that much of an effect on her? I'm not exactly the greatest guy to be around, she can get over me.

I take hold of her hand and lead her to the side.

"Move your hand away from me please." she says monotonously. I let her hand drop. "Anyway, what is it?" she says, her eyes reluctant to meet mine.

"It's my mum's birthday next weekend, so we're inviting your family over. I was just kind of hoping you wouldn't mention anything about us..." I trail off, gesturing at me and her.

"You think I want to talk about how you've completely humiliated me?" she replies, her voice cracking. I swallow. Damn, why's it so hard to see her upset? I've got Michelle, why do I even think about Riley's feelings anymore?

"Um, well..." I mutter. "You'll come, right?"

"I'll be forced to."

"Okay..." I say. "Well, um, tell them about it please."

"They're away, I can't."

"Oh."

"But anyway, don't let me keep you, go back to duets with your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Oh really? Does she know that?" she says, glancing over at Michelle.

"Riley, please don't be like this..."

"Fine then, I'll just stop talking to you..." she says, walking out of studio A. I sigh and walk back over to Michelle.

"Finished with... all that?" she says gesturing at the place me and Riley were just standing.

"Um, yeah I guess."

"Good. You don't need her James. You left her for me, don't forget." she says, smiling sweetly. "Let's work on our duet, we're totally going to win."

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An hour of rehearsals later, Riley still hasn't returned. Glancing over at her cubby, I notice it's empty. But I don't think she brought anything anyway. I can't say I was paying attention then, I was distracted by the fact Hunter's now back. I mean, that's really great, the boys are finally all back together. But something still doesn't feel quite right...

"Let's go to my house now James." Michelle says, linking arms with me. I'm not exactly a 'linking arms' kind of guy, but I go along with it, because it makes Michelle happy. And Michelle's my girl now, so I have to keep her happy.

I glance around the car park as we go towards my car. I mean, I don't know what I'm looking for, it's not like Riley would still be here... Why am I even still thinking about her? Our... break-up, whatever it was, was the thing I wanted so I could get a break from her. You said you didn't like being with her James, you said you didn't care about her feelings, you can't go back on it now so don't even consider it.

Michelle's so different to Riley, in a good way. She's bubbly, confident, flirty - just the kind of girl I'm into. And to be honest, I've always known we've had a thing. She's like the non-annoying version of Beth, and that's great because she adores me. It's not stressful being with her, I can do anything and just not have to worry about it.

When we arrive at her house, she gets out straight away, leaving me sat behind the wheel. I find myself drumming out a beat on the steering wheel, singing one of the band's tunes in my head. It usually relaxes me, but today there's still something disconcerting in the back of my mind. Just stop thinking, James - like Riley said, 'go back to Michelle'.

I get out of the car and walk up Michelle's driveway. Her house is huge. I guess her dad's transfer from Wisconsin paid a lot, that's why they chose to move here. And I'm definitely not complaining. I mean, Michelle's hot, and she's just... good to be with, I guess.

"Hey, James, let's go inside." she says as I reach her.

"Yeah, okay..." I reply distractedly. She leads me into her lounge as we go inside, looking up at me after we've both sat down.

"You're ready for our audition tomorrow, right?" Michelle says.

"Yeah, I guess." I reply, still not paying her full attention. My mind's still full of those thoughts I never dealt with after Riley left my house several days ago. But you need to stop thinking about her James, the girl you think you miss isn't the girl you broke up with... Riley changed.

My thoughts are interrupted by the feel of Michelle's lips on the corner of my mouth. I smile slightly and turn my face towards her, wrapping my arms round her slim waist. Maybe this is the kind of distraction I need. Maybe I just need to make things with Michelle better in order to forget about Riley completely...

I kiss Michelle back deeply, loving that I finally have someone to do things like this with. Because Riley's walls barely ever came down, and I'm not the type of guy who'd waste their time trying to climb over to the other side. Riley's previous problems, whatever they are, are hers and if she wouldn't tell me about them, that's her fault. If things go bad, she can hardly blame me.

Michelle places a hand on my thigh and moves closer to me, kissing me even harder. Suddenly she springs back and looks towards the door.

"Umm, hi." she mutters. The figure standing out of sight comes into view and I realise it's Michelle's mum.

"Hey, Mrs B." I say casually. I guess, by Michelle's reaction to her intrusion, she doesn't know about our thing. Michelle stands up and looks at me.

"Oh, um, this is James, the guy from dance..." she says to her mum. I decide to walk over to her and smile.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"You too." she replies briefly and walks out of the room. Michelle turns to me and laughs.

"I don't think your charms work on my mum, James."

"They did on Riley's mum." I mutter. Michelle moves closer to me and places her hand on my arm.

"James, forget about Riley. Seriously. You weren't meant to be with her, why else would you prefer spending time with me?"

I sigh, sitting back down again.

Why do I keep having second thoughts about all this?

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There's chapter 43! Sorry it took longer than expected to get it up :)

Is James regretting his decision? What will happen at his mum's birthday party? How much longer will Riley go on being the way she is? Will Michelle make James forget about Riley?

Please continue to read, comment and vote, as always, it's very much appreciated ;)

Oh and also, please go follow my good friend tnsheartsx who recently got hacked and can't get into her old account, her story so far is really good, and I'm not just saying that because she's my friend ;) she honestly deserves so many more followers!

Btw, the next chapter will be up tomorrow, I'm keeping this story moving :)