I met both Riley and Noah in middle school around the same time. I moved to this school district in seventh grade and didn't know anyone when I arrived. I spent the first few days sitting alone on the bench outside after I finished my lunch. Of course there's nothing wrong with being alone, but I began to miss my old friends... a lot. Apparently my desolation was beginning to become clear on my face because Riley decided to approach me on the fourth day of school.
"All alone, huh?" I looked up to see a cheerful looking boy with messy hair and pretty green eyes behind glasses standing in front of me.
I smiled back at him and said, "it would seem like it." He let out a laugh and sat down next me. He turned toward me and pulled his hand of his hoodie pocket and held it out to me.
"I'm Riley Stevens," he said while I shook his hand.
"Adeline Mitchell," I responded right before he let go.
This began our friendship that would last for years after. Everyday he would come sit with me on the bench and we would talk for the entire time we were outside. We bonded over music and movies and books, all interests that we had in common. We eventually found out that we had almost all of the same classes which we now like to attribute to fate. Riley and I became best friends by the end of the first month after we first met.
Not long after, I met Noah. He was the class clown of our grade and was also very popular. Not that popularity really mattered in middle school. He was friends with everyone and was also so nice to everyone who talked to him. Though I found his disruptions in class mildly annoying, I was always in awe at his kindness. He stood up to bullies and was friendly to those who appeared excluded from everyone else. Not to mention he was very cute, even then.
In one of the classes that I unfortunately didn't share with Riley, we had to get into pairs for a project. This was about two weeks into the year so I didn't have any other friends at the time, it wasn't until eighth grade when I became a cheerleader and as a result became "popular." Not that I cared about any of it, I just wanted to do something fun. Katie and Jenna weren't in my life until freshman year of high school. The point is, I didn't have any friends except Riley and so finding a partner seemed like the most dreadful thing in the world. But of course, Noah came to the rescue.
"Hey, wanna be my partner?" I looked over to my left to see that the one and only Noah Olson was sitting there, smiling brightly at me. I couldn't understand why he would ask me this, he didn't even know me.
"Um.. are you sure?" I didn't quite know how to respond. Not to mention that I was getting lost in his pretty bright blue eyes, so responding properly was difficult. "You don't know me."
He laughed and said, "No, but I'd like to. I always see you hanging out with Riley and he's a friend of mine. I figured that since he's not in this class, you would need a partner. Is that okay?"
I stared at him for a moment before letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding and said, "Sure, that would be awesome. Thank you." From then on, we were always partners in that class. We got to know each other pretty well and became good friends. Though he was never at the level that Riley was, he was a close second. We got even closer when I joined the cheer squad because he played football.
Eventually, Noah got the courage to ask to me homecoming freshman year and it was during our last slow dance that he officially asked me to be his girlfriend. Riley was there and he was so happy for me. Looking back on it, I think he was just happy that I was happy. I should've seen it sooner that he had feelings for me. I feel really stupid.
