I wake up in a strange place.
After blinking a few times, I realize I'm in Riley's apartment.
"Gooood morning, Riley!" I greet her.
"Um, hi," she starts. "You're making breakfast."
I glance over at her with a grin. "Yeah! I mean, I'm trying. I hope they turn out alright."
She laughs her adorable little laugh. "I'm sure they'll be fine. So...what made you come here last night?"
Do I tell you the truth or do I make something up? "Well, I got home from the after party-which was pretty awesome, by the way. You should've gone-at midnight. And Ben was up with Emma, trying to get her back down. Tucker was asleep on the couch, for some reason. So I grabbed a bowl of cereal and was about to go to bed when my mom comes in and starts bugging me. When she left, I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk to clear my head. Next thing I know, I was standing at your door. Sorry for barging in and waking you up." Okay, so it's not completely true. It doesn't really matter, anyway.
She shakes her head, "No, really, it's fine. I had trouble getting to sleep, too."
I turn from the stove and set the pancakes on the island. "Is everything okay?"
With a fork, she pulls one onto her plate and pours syrup all over it. Taking a bite, she shrugs, "I don't really know."
I shove a huge bite in my mouth. "Are you sure?"
"Well...I just have a lot on my mind." She glances up into my eyes.
"Riley, you know you can tell me anything," I remind her.
She stutters, looking for the words. "I...I don't..." I trail off.
I stare at her, concerned. "If you're having a problem, you can tell me. You know you can trust me."
She nods nervously and continue eating. "I know. I'll tell you later. It's just..." I try to quickly come up with an excuse. "Fitch."
"Fitch? I thought you broke up."
"It's complicated. Y'know, we broke up, but we might be getting back together. He called me the other day and said he was thinking about me, and I just think that we might be getting back together, but I'm not really sure it's a good idea, and..."
"Riles," I interrupts, keeping her from rambling on as she tends to do when she's nervous or stressed. "Do whatever you feel is right."
She pauses, then, "Thanks, Danny. Um, how are things with you?"
I sigh and take another bite. "Things are okay. The game last night was great, but, you were there, of course. Amy is okay. I mean, I like her a lot, but I don't know that it's gonna work out."
Riley says, "Oh! Why not? You seem so happy together!" but the sincerity doesn't reach her eyes.
"Things just don't feel right with her. Being with her doesn't feel as...easy as it should. Like you. Being with you is easy." Realizing how that might offend her, I continue, "I mean, our friendship is easy. Being around you feels natural. Easy. Uncomplicated."
She nods in understanding. I think to myself, I'm so glad you know what I mean. I wish I could just tell you everything, but you wouldn't see me the same way ever again.
We finish breakfast and I banishes her from the kitchen, doing the dishes as a thank you for letting me stay the night and for waking her up so late. When I finish the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, I look around for a reason to stay, but am unable to find one. I fold up my blanket, scrawl her a note, and head out quietly.
Riley,
Thanks for letting me stay here last night!
I did the dishes and cleaned everything up.
See you later, yeah?
Danny
It's not like I'm not going to see her later. I'll see her at the bar for lunch before practice, and tonight at the game. Just like almost every day. I keep telling myself this as I walk back to my apartment.
I can't believe I almost told her the truth at breakfast. I should've known something like that would happen. I don't even know why I went to her apartment in the first place. On the way home from the party, Amy called, annoyed with me over...something...I tuned her out after about thirty seconds. When I finally got back to the apartment, I changed into some plaid flannel pants and a plain white tshirt. I was sitting at the counter having a bowl of cereal when Mom burst in.
"Danny, what the hell is wrong with you?" She yelled, launching into a rant. Suddenly, I knew exactly what Amy had been chewing me out for.
I saunter into the locker room at the end of the second period, stoked after scoring the second goal of the game. Riley and Amy are both standing there next to Mom, who has Emma. The conversation is relatively short and sweet-them telling me how good I was out there, wishing me luck in the third period, the usual-but as they are seeing me back onto the ice, I kiss Amy, hug my mom, and kiss Emma, then go to hug Riley. I hug her, then she kisses my cheek. To me, it's a normal platonic thing for her. To Amy, it's a threat.
The rest of the game is fine, as far as I'm concerned. I score again, and we win 4-0, making this one of my best games in a while. In the stands, however, Amy is glaring at Riley; Ben is playing with Emma while he watches the action on the ice; Tucker is ignoring the drama and trying to pick up some girl sitting in front of him; Mom is eating popcorn like a fiend, waiting for Amy to attack Riley; Riley is sitting there trying to ignore Amy's death glare.
Down on the ice, I'm celebrating with my teammates. Up by my family, my girlfriend is resisting the urge to rip my best friend's face off.
"What is going on between you and Riley and Amy?" She pressed.
"Nothing! Mom! I swear!" I tossed my empty cereal bowl into the sink.
"Because I swear to you, Danny Wheeler, if you don't get this under control, I will."
"It's under control," I said, trying to sound as calm as possible.
"Is it? Because it seems to me that Riley finally has feelings for you, and Amy isn't thrilled about it because she knows how you feel about her."
"Riley doesn't have feelings for me. At least, I don't think she does." I briefly considered the possibility before pushing the thought from my mind.
"How will you know if you don't talk to her?"
"I have! I straight up told her, and she laughed in my face. She thought I was covering for Ben. And then I kissed her and she pushed me away...it was humiliating," I told her.
She wasn't having it. "Well, you need to try again."
"I don't wanna screw up our friendship..." I confessed.
"Do you love Riley or not?"
"Of course I do, but she'll never see me that way."
"What was that?" Mom asked.
"What are you even talking about?" I wondered aloud.
"I thought I heard...Nevermind. This conversation isn't over." She jabbed a finger in the air toward me and glared as she stalked out of the apartment.
I sighed and slouched off to my room. Laying in bed, my mind was everywhere but ready to go to sleep. After trying under the blankets, without blankets, fan on, fan off, door open, door closed. I made myself a cup of tea, and THAT didn't work. When my alarm clock beeped 1:45, I decided to go for a walk to tire myself out. I slipped on a pair of loafers and my winter coat and ventured out into the snow.
At almost two o'clock in the morning, the streets were almost completely deserted, especially in this bitter cold. I wandered down the street, past the bar and the café and the market, across the street to the next block. I didn't even realize where I was going until I was punching in the access code to Riley's building. When I called her, and by some miracle, she answered, I asked her to come let me in. She did, and I curled up on her couch. She covered me with the fuzzy blanket from the back of her couch. I rolled over and whispered the words. When she whispered them back, my greatest hope and fear were both confirmed.
I fell asleep confused and anxious and woke up feeling the same.
Hola amigos! Thanks for reading!
A slight note: please don't try to understand the timeline of this in relation to the Voicemail episode. I felt like that episode was in September, but then the Halfoween episode supposedly took place at the end of April, which would put this in June or July, therefore there wouldn't be hockey. However I wanted there to be hockey, and I do what I want, so I made this November.
Review, please! And tell me if the timeline conundrum bothers you, because if it bothers anybody too much, I might fix it somehow.
If you're reading this, I totally appreciate you. Thanks!