You're Joking...Right?

19

DONOVAN'S POV
Ally wanted all of us to go ice skating, so we agreed to it and headed over to a rink that we knew would be pretty empty. After renting skates, Ally and Quin went off on their own and skated, then Ethan grabbed Riley and dragged her. She seemed so scared and Jack was laughing as she yelled at Ethan.

"Ri doesn't know how to skate." He told me.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, when she was younger, she went rollerblading and fell really hard, so she's scared."

"So, why'd she come?"

"Go ask her."

"Sure." I smirked.

I skated over to her and Ethan and took her, but she wanted to stop first.

"You good?" I chuckled.

"I hate skating."

"Come on, I'll teach you." I offered.

First, I let her hold onto my arm as I skated and she relaxed, then I faced her and held her hands as she got the hang of it. When she did, I let go and watched her skate and she was fine. Once she could skate on her own, I held her hand as we skated and she seemed so much calmer, but I think something was still wrong.

"Jack told me that you're scared of skating."

"I fell as a kid and I crashed and burned."

"So why'd you come today?"

She blushed and looked away, so I turned so that I was facing her.

"Tell me." I smiled.

"It's embarrassing." She giggled.

"Come on, it's me." I encouraged.

"That's why I came."

"That was smooth... And I'm embarrassed that you're smoother than me."

"Shut up!" She laughed.

She skated away from me, but I caught up and held her hand again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled.

For some reason, I knew Riley was hiding something, but decided against pressing further. Then, she almost fell and screamed as she clutched onto me, causing me to laugh. After a while, we went to eat and I talked to Ethan.

"Is it just me, or is Riley off?" I asked.

"She's off."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She shuts down and barely lets anyone in."

"But... Why?"

"That's just Riley. One minute she's happy, next minute she's lost in her thoughts. We learned to just let her be since pressing her for information makes her push people away."

"How can I fix that?"

"Just... Just be patient with her."

"Alright." I smiled.

Then, I was hit in the face with a balled up napkin, then turned to see Riley laughing.

"She's back." Ethan whispered.