pull me back | a drag me down spin off

【sixteen】

My stomach anxiously turns as I finish tying the shoelaces on my converse. Inhaling a deep breath, I grab my car keys and get ready to head to UCLA. Riker personally invited me to another lacrosse game, and this time I'm not pretending like I don't want to go. Truth is, there's nothing more that I want than to cheer him on in the bleachers. Plus, he looks sexy as hell in his uniform so that's a happy plus.

The intense make out session we had at the random underground bar hang out has been flashing in my brain. It was hot, heavy, and flipped my insides. I have no idea what this crazy relationship is going to turn out to be. He doesn't date, I'm not too fond of the idea anymore, so maybe this casual fling will be good for us.

Instead of pondering the depths of 'what could be,' I decide to shake off my running thoughts and head downstairs. As I walk down the steps, I practically run into uncle Duke at the bottom.

"Jesus, kid. Stop scaring me." He lets out a husky laugh.

"Stop scaring me." I send him a teasing smile.

"Where are you off to? Don't you know the rules by now?" He shakes his head in slight disappointment.

"Riker's lacrosse game. I'm not going to sneak around anymore, I'm going to be in a safe environment and I'll come home the second the game is over. I'm trying to work my life around your insane rules." I clear my throat and look down.

"Riker, huh? So, the date the other night went well?" He raises an eyebrow up.

"Pretty well, actually." I simply nod and try to hide my blush.

"What flavor ice cream did he get? I feel like he would order something basic, like toffee." He makes a disgusted face.

I pause for a moment, my brain trying to scramble as many flavors in my head as possible. "He's a vanilla type of guy. You know, very plain."

"Such a shame, he should be into rocky road or something good at least."

"Rocky road is Cameron's favorite flavor." Wow, I hate myself for saying that out loud.

"And you say you and Cameron are just friends." He sighs and shakes his head again.

"We are, but it's just.." I pause again. It's just what? Complicated because we kissed? Intense because we're investigating my family's weird past that is integrated with bank robbers?

The thought of the masked phantoms allows me to remember what Sarah James mentioned. The newspapers. I need to find actual written evidence of what was printed in the news during the time of the robberies. Who else better to ask than somebody who has been on the news scene for decades?

"Who cares about Cameron, I actually have a question for you." I speak up.

"Are you going to ask me how I really feel about Riker? Because he seems okay, just a little too wild for my taste."

"Please, you're going to tell me you weren't wild back in the day?" I almost laugh at the thought.

"Again, not about me."

"I know my mom was pretty wild, and my dad for that matter. Why didn't you approve of good old Grayson Dolan for Savannah Jacobs, anyway?" If he wants to pull the 'Riker is bad card,' than I'm using my own tricks and comebacks.

"What was the real question you were going to ask me?" He's quick to change the subject.

"Where can I find archived newspapers from the past few decades?"

"By past few decades you mean-"

"The eighties, or nineties." I add in the eighties to throw him off guard. He can't know I'm still digging around for the masked phantoms.