The Player And The Nerd •Jiley•

•PART 20•

•James pov•
It's been a few months now since the incident with the old school, getting transferred to my current school, and meeting Riley. Things weren't going too well for me right now, however i hope to get my act together fairly soon. Then i can go back to how i was before
.
(A/N james is 17 and riley is 16 still)

As the end of May came to a close, the school was busy with excitement. The school was having a prom night for all the students who were graduating on and moving to university or other educations. I wasn't going to Prom since i'm not leaving but i still had the right to be excited; after the summer break is over i'll be in the top year of the school which is always a luxury, and tonight there's a party being thrown. Hunter, Eldon and West were all supposed to be showing their faces which made me happy- i hadn't seen them in a while.

There was also someone else i hadn't seen yet today. Riley. I was happy that the older year were leaving, since most her bullies are in that year. That means Riley won't be hiding away or getting hurt anymore. There was still beth and another girl in my year, but without Emily the main leader they were hopeless. Riley would be safe, and i wouldn't have to spend time worrying...

•Riley's pov•
I got another punch to the stomach. Not from the girls at school, but from my own father.

It was clear he had been out drinking the night before; his hair was a mess, his eyes were red. Why was he punching me you may ask- well he found out about me skipping school a few months ago. It's clear that he isn't happy.

Another tear rolled down my bruised cheek as another blast from his fist was shot at my jaw.
"I-i'm sorry" i whimpered, in hopes that he would stop. My mum wouldn't have let this happen...but she wasn't in the house right now. Just me and him. Emily was at school which would have already started by now. But i...well i was getting beat by someone i once loved.

Someone i once called a father.

After he had finished with me and left for work, i ran upstairs to the bathroom while crying.

"I hate this house, i hate my family!" screamed while crying. I slid down the wall with a cold cloth on my swollen face and whispered barely audible. "I hate this life".

•James pov•
It was lunch time, and i was just sat in the hall fiddling with my pizza.

"what's up with you?" an annoying voice said. ugh Beth.

"nothing" i mumbled as i nibbled my pizza.

"oh okay then." she shrugged and walked off, leaving me in my own thoughts.

I hadn't seen Riley at all today which was odd. The school year was coming to a close, meaning that all delayed schoolwork was due in. I didnt think she'd be the kind of girl to skip school, she is a nerd after all...
—
it was Tuesday now; the final day before the summer starts. The last chance i had to see Riley and check she's ok.

Walking down the long hall, as i do every morning, i noticed her looking through her locker.

"Hey Riley" i said as i put my hand on her shoulder. Quickly she flinched, causing me to snap hand back to my side.

"Oh hi" she said, turning to look at me and twitching her lips into a tiny smile. She had a pair of shades on her eyes which made her lo k cute.

"Finally it's the last day of school!" i said excited to be getting to lie in every morning. She shrugged.

"i'm not that excited" she whispered.

"aw come on, i know you're a nerd and everything but it must be nice to ge-".

"Yeah i'm a 'nerd', yeah i still hate school, but that doesn't mean i'm ready to spend the next few weeks with my abu- parents.." she snapped while turning back to shoving books from her locker to her bag.

It was silent for a few minutes.

"Sorry" we both said in unison. She turned to look at me and we both laughed a little.

"i'm sorry for snapping like that" she mumbled embarrassed.
"and i'm sorry for bugging you" i said, genuinely feeling bad.
"it's fine" we both said at the same time again, causing her to giggle.

"Anyway, what class have you got first?" i asked.

"math" she said rolling her eyes.

"me too!" i said. wow, that's the first time i've ever sounded slightly excited about math.

"well let me grab the rest of my books and we can go" ...
—
Math was okay, we didn't do much work, and after i had drama which i loved. I had walked Riley to English after math so i hurried down there to meet her before break started.

"oh hi" she said walking out of class. I couldn't help but notice that she still had sunglasses on her face.

"hey, thought you might wanna hang out on our last break" i chuckled hopeful.

"sure" she smiled. We walked out to the yard and sat on a bench together.

"soo, i never saw you yesterday" i said, turning my gaze to her.

"i was sick" she said quickly.

"oh okay" i shrugged it off.

"so what plans have you got for the holiday?" she asked.

"well i'm going to the party tonight at Brads house, then later in the holidays i'm going away with my family" i smiles. "What about you?"

"oh nothing much..probably gonna be stuck in my room all day doing nothing". I could tell that she was sad but she tried to laugh it off.

"wellll, we could always hang out. Only if you want to though" i suggested, secretly crossing my fingers that she'd say yes.

"...sure, just give me your number and i'll call you some time?"

"okay great" i grinned while scribbling my number onto a scrap piece of paper and handing it to her.

We both smiled at one another for a while. I chuckled and grabbed the sunglasses off her face, wanting to see her eyes. But that's not what i saw...