TABLE FOR TWO
Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or the characters or locations associated with the show.
A/N: This was originally my double date story with Riley & Zane and Anya & Owen but a funny thing happened while I was writing it. I realized that this story was really much more about Owen and Riley. That it was their relationship that was in the most need of repair, so in the second draft I removed Anya and Zane and this is what I came up with. Hope you like it.
(*Athena-verse, means it's in continuity with my other stories.)
Riley Stavros entered The Dot and began looking for his friend Anya Macpherson and her date Owen Milligan.
"Hey Riley." Owen called from behind him.
"Hello Owen." Riley replied as he turned around to see Owen sitting alone in a corner booth near the door. Riley slid in across from Owen and gave him cautious smile. He sat there a moment before asking. "Where's Anya?"
Owen a gave him a wary smile in return and said "She's actually running little late but she texted a few minutes ago and said she'd be here soon."
"Oh." Riley said and frowned involuntarily, Owen couldn't help but chuckle. "Zane's going to be late too." he added and was then at a loss as to what to say next.
A few days ago Anya had approached Riley and Zane at school and invited them to join her and Owen for dinner and a movie. She meant the invitation to be a peace offering of sorts. A neutral way to get Owen, Riley and Zane all in the same place so they could hopefully bury the hatchet and begin with a fresh start. Anya desperately wanted her boyfriend and her best friends to be able to get along so that she no longer had to keep them in separate parts of her life
Riley was skeptical. He and Owen had a lot of bad blood between them and although he was happy that Anya was seeing someone, he wasn't sure if he could ever be more than polite to Owen.
Zane however, was very excited. He and Owen also had some unpleasant history between them but he seemed willing to try and make peace with Owen. Not only for Anya's sake but for Riley's as well.
"You two used to be friends Riley, wouldn't you like to be friends with Owen again?" Zane asked.
"Not really." Riley said and regretted it as soon as he saw the pained expression on Anya's face. "Look, I don't mean to be an ass about this but Owen was a first class jerk to both of us. I know neither of you could have forgotten all the crap he put us through." Riley told them.
"Of course not." Anya replied. "But Owen is...different now, more mature and even tempered. He can also be very sweet when he wants to be. He's just not the same person he was before."
"That's good." Riley said. "Like I told you at my birthday party, if he makes you happy and he treats you well then I'm all for you guys being a couple. I can be nice to him when he's around you, but I just don't know about actually trying to be friends with him again."
"People can change Riley, but you'll never know that if you don't give them a chance to prove it." Zane said.
Riley sighed and rolled his eyes.
Anya looked defeated and Zane looked impatient. He felt another pang of regret and worried that he might be slipping back into his old stubborn ways. After all, with what he was currently going through with his parents, he could sympathize with Anya's situation. He knew first hand how hard things were when your family or close friends didn't like the person you were in love with, especially without really giving themselves a chance to get to know him.
"What does Owen think about all this?" Riley asked.
Anya looked up, whatever she had expected Riley to say it wasn't that. "Well, truthfully he said he was fine with it but he didn't think you'd agree to it."
Riley considered that for a moment and then said, "I guess that settles it then." Zane and Anya exchanged a look as Riley continued. "You and Owen name a time and place and Zane and I will be there."
"Really?" Anya exclaimed before grabbing Riley for a hug. "Thank you,thank you thank you! I promise you won't regret this. Owen has changed."
"We'll see." was all Riley said.
Now Owen and Riley sat together in a corner booth at The Dot with nothing to say. That wasn't exactly true though. They both had a lot to say to each other but neither of them was sure how to begin so they just sat there in silence until Owen spoke up.
"So I heard you finally told your parents you're a homo." Owen said.
"More or less." Riley said evenly.
"Is that why they kicked you out?" Owen asked.
"Actually, I moved out." Riley replied.
"Oh. Don't you think it's weird, living in the same house as your boyfriend and his parents? I mean, who does that?" Owen asked.
"Lot's of things seem weird to me." Riley said flatly. "Like you and Anya for example. She's beautiful, kind, intelligent. Doesn't it strike you as odd that she would choose to be with someone like you?"
"Well you can't choose who you love." Owen smirked. "Isn't that what you guys are always saying?"
Riley smiled but there was very little humor in his expression. "You guys? And by that you mean...?"
Owen looked at Riley "Do you really want want me to say it?"
"Sure, but a bit of advice, choose you words carefully." Riley glared at Owen.
Owen laughed. "Same old Riley."
"We both know that's not true, otherwise I would have already drug you sorry ass across the table." Riley said with grin.
"That's probably true, although I have been training with Julian and Drew. You might not be able to manhandle me so easily anymore." Owen said as some of the tension evaporated.
"Well let's try not to test that theory just yet, anyway." Riley said casually. "What's your game Owen, why did you come here tonight?"
"I came because because Anya asked me to. She's not happy with a lot things that are going on right now, especially the fact that she feels like you and I can't be in the same room together without a fight breaking out." Owen explained.
"So far so good." Riley said. "Anya's happiness is important to me too, that's why I'm here. That and I'm more than a little curious about you."
"How so?" Owen asked.
"Why Owen, all that stuff with me and Zane, not to mention the stunt you and Fitz pulled with Adam Torres. What makes you such jerk?" Riley looked at his former friend with genuine curiosity.
Owen sighed and rubbed his temples. "What do you want me say Riley?"
Riley laughed bitterly. "Forget it,man. If you really have to ask then that pretty much says all there is to say. Tell Anya something came up and I had to cancel." Riley started to leave.
"Wait." Owen said. "Don't go yet, please."
Riley sat back down and waited. Owen took a deep breath before he began to speak. " I messed up, I did a lot of stupid stuff that I'm not very proud of but it's not like you were a saint either, you know."
Riley tensed. "If this is your idea of an apology..."
"Would you just listen." Owen interrupted. "Just hear me out. I'm not trying to bust your chops but you decked Sav and Sam and me on more than one occasion. A lot of people still remember what you called Fiona and you and I both tied Drew Torres to that flagpole. You didn't seem to have a problem with me then. If you remember, we were actually pretty good friends at one time and then things changed."
"Of course they did." Riley replied. "Because I changed. I'm not proud of those things I did but I tried to make up for them. That's why I took anger management. That's why I apologized to Sav and Sam and Fiona. After the hazing I owned up to what I did to Drew and I was punished for it, don't you remember that?"
"Yeah but you never apologized to me." Owen countered.
"It's not like you ever gave me the chance." Riley said.
"So all this was just my fault, huh?" Owen asked. "All the gay jokes that you laughed at with me, all the gay jokes that you told yourself. All the times you bragged about being with Anya or Fiona. All the lies you told me throughout our so called friendship, that was because of me?"
Riley started to protest but stopped himself. He had hoped that he could get Owen to explain his actions and now that he was, Riley realized that Owen may have been acting out because he was... hurt. Owen may have been ignorant and mean to a certain point, but Riley also remembered the good times that he and Owen had shared. Lunches here at The Dot, trips to the movies to see the type of mindless action films that they both loved, conversations about girls and sports and cars. Riley remembered that before he had come out as gay he was a loner, he preferred to keep to himself and that was another thing that he and Owen had in common.
Riley had kept to himself because he had been afraid to let anyone get close, afraid that they might see the real Riley Stavros. At the time Riley was so insecure, he felt that if anyone really knew him they wouldn't like him or that they would judge him. That's why Riley would always strive to be the best, to be the star athlete and date the prettiest girls, so that everyone could see the version of himself that he thought he wanted to be. It was easier to pretend to be someone else, instead of actually being himself.
Maybe that's what Owen did too. Riley had eventually learned that almost everyone had some type of insecurities. Whose to say that Owen didn't feel as repressed as Riley had. Maybe it was easier for Owen to be the big, tough jock, to be cocky and over confident to make up for something he felt he lacked. Maybe that's why Owen and the "same old Riley" had always gotten along so well, because they were both afraid to just be themselves and it was easier to hide together.
"Owen, I'm sorry." Riley said and Owen seemed shocked. "I'm sorry I hurt you and I'm sorry I lied to you."
Owen began to speak but nothing came out, he just sat there in stunned silence starring at Riley.
"I wasn't lying to you out of spite. I couldn't even be honest with myself, let alone anyone else. I locked myself so deep in the closet that I thought I would never be free and part of the reason I did that was because I was afraid I'd be treated just the way you treated me. Teased, rejected and ridiculed by my so-called friends. It took me a long time to get comfortable in my own skin and by the time I did, it didn't seem like you were interested in being my friend anymore."
"Riley, you were my closest friend and I was the last one to find out that you were gay. Did it ever occur to you to just tell me truth?" Owen asked with genuine emotion in his voice. No sneering, no smirking or false bravado. For the first time since they had known each other Riley could actually sense vulnerability in his former friend.
"Owen if I could have told you truth I would have." Riley said honestly.
Owen sat there collecting his thoughts before that familiar smirk returned to his face. "Wow, so I guess we're having a moment here or something, huh?"
"I guess we are." Riley smiled.
Owen's demeanor became serious again. "Riley, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. You didn't deserve it and neither did Zane. Truth be told, I was kinda jealous of him."
Now it was Riley's turn to smirk. "Really?" Riley asked raising an eyebrow in jest.
"Not like that." Owen said sternly but he couldn't help but crack a smile. "We were close and then Zane comes along and suddenly it's like I don't exist. I know I didn't make it easy for you, but I felt like you should have at least tried to talk to me. It felt like after all the good times we shared, that it was like I didn't matter to you anymore."
"I know it may have seemed like everything was fine" Riley began, "but believe me, I was in a tough place in my life. I was going through a lot and I had to get through that before I could deal with anything else. By the time I was ready to deal with other people, it seemed like you had moved on without looking back. So, I did too."
"I'm sorry for that. I could have tried to be more understanding but at least we have a chance to put things right now." Owen said.
" I really hope we can. I've realized that I'd like to be friends again, and I know it would make Anya happy." Riley stated.
"Yeah, I'd like that too. So, are you excited about playing for Eastern this fall?" Owen replied changing the subject. Apparently there had been enough talking about emotions for awhile, which was fine with Riley.
"You know it." Riley grinned. "What about you? Anya said the other day that you want to get a coaching certificate."
"It's something I'd really like to do. You know I love sports and I'm pretty good with leadership and stuff." Owen said smiling with enthusiasm. "I was thinking about what you did when you were captain of the football team, the zero tolerance policy on homophobia?"
"Yes?" Riley asked.
"I think that was a good thing. It might make it somewhat easier on a gay athlete to be more open, to feel like he's part of the team. When I start coaching, I think I'll adopt that policy for my locker room too." Owen said.
Riley smiled. "I think that's a good idea."
"Yeah, but I'm never gonna try and force my guys to wear pink practice gear though." Owen teased.
" I don't know, it seemed to work when I did it. Besides, you would've looked awfully cute in pink." Riley smiled slyly.
Owen tensed and starred at Riley a moment before Riley wiggled his eyebrows at Owen and then burst out laughing. Owen sighed and smiled. "Dude, you can be such jerk sometimes."
A/N: Well what did you think. It's a little ambitious I know and it does seem to grant Owen a little more depth than what he has been portrayed to have but when I was trying to find his "voice" for this story I was faced with two choices.
One: Owen is an evil one dimensional bully who hates and fears everything that is different.
Or,
Two: Owen is a immature, slightly ignorant teenager who is still trying to figure out who he is and how he feels.
Of the two I think I made the better choice, or least the stronger choice for me to write to.
Time wise, this story takes place during Chapter 8 of The Death Of Riley Stavros. It's set after Owen sees Riley kissing Zane at Degrassi but before the end of the story. I was actually doing a little foreshadowing with Alli's comment to Owen.