A/N: Thanks to all who read; special thanks for whose who reviewed or added this story to their story alert list. Subtle things like that make a world of difference. I'm grateful. The disclaimer is always the same; I don't own them. Nor the songs "Cure My Tragedy" or "Cherry Pie". As always, enjoy the drama, of which there's plenty in this chapter, hehe.

Chapter Four:

Cure My Tragedy

Riley managed to get through her first month back at Spenser Academy. She had a lot on her plate, to say the least. Between Logan, homework, a semi-social life, and constantly fighting with Pogue over what was best for "their" child, she was exhausted.

The rest of the covenant, however, was clearly a godsend to Riley. Reid kept her laughing, even if it was at his pathetic attempts to get in her pants; Tyler had no problem watching over Logan while she needed to do homework; Caleb helped her with said homework on a nightly basis.

They formed a schedule, as reliable as the sun rising in the morning. After class, Tyler and Reid would walk her to her locker then to her car before they left for swim practice. She went home, played with Logan for an hour and a half before Tyler came home with Caleb right behind him. Tyler would then take over babysitting duties for his ever-grateful twin while she and Caleb went to the dining room, where they would successfully complete that night's homework. In return for his help, Riley would cook dinner for everyone. After she and Caleb cleaned the kitchen, they would spend an hour together before he would finally retire to his own house.

It was a fucked up family, but hey, who was she to complain? She got to be the mother, the friend, the sister, and the student without worrying one pillar of her life would fall down.

Unfortunately, she started catching herself staring at Caleb more and more. The way he smiled lazily when he was tired, the way his eyes lit up when he played with Logan, how affectionate he was towards the toddler, how his eyebrows came together when he was in… So she noticed a few things about him.

Alright, so she noticed everything about him.

"This can't be good," she kept repeating in her head; she hadn't even realized until Caleb waved a hand in front of her face that he had been talking.

"Hello in there, are you still alive?" he joked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, sorry," she blushed, "What'd you say?"

"I asked you if you wanted to go to Nicky's tonight," he repeated.

It was a Friday night, already around 9 o'clock; they'd finished their daily routine a few hours ago and now, with Logan asleep, the twins and Caleb sat together in the den, watching television.

"I.. can't. Logan," she declined politely.

"Mom's home and he's asleep, sis. She'll watch over him while we go out," Tyler said, eager to get his sister out of the house. He knew she needed other interaction, to see her friends outside a classroom.

"Alright," she surrendered, "Lemme get changed."

"Hurry up," Tyler called after her, as she ran upstairs.

She came back a few minutes later, with a short black skirt and a red v-neck shirt that had a blurred black logo on the left side.

"Ready, boys?" Riley smile, barely peeking her head into the room before turning on her heel, grabbing her jacket and purse before heading out. Tyler drove his hummer, but Riley took up the passenger seat in Caleb's mustang.

"I don't know if I've ever said it," Riley started after listening to Caleb humming for a while, "But thank you."

"We're friends, Ly. It's what we've always done," he reminded her.

She hadn't expected to feel the blush on her face, but she was starting to think she wouldn't be able to help herself either way.

"You're a sweetheart, Caleb," she told him honestly as he pulled up to the bar.

For once, the eldest Son couldn't think of one thing to say; Riley took that as a window of opportunity to leave the car.

"C'mon, boy, I need someone to dance with!" she yelled back jokingly, seeing that he was still in the car while she was already at the door.

His smile returned and he walked in behind her.

Riley draped her jacket over the back of a chair surrounding the table that Pogue, Kate, and Reid had claimed for them. Dropping her purse into the seat, she offered both Kate and Pogue, the only occupants of the table at that time, a small smile.

"How's Logan?" Pogue instantly started the questioning session.

Inwardly, Riley groaned. This happened every time they were near each other. They could no longer hold a conversation without the name of Logan in it. Normally, she would never mind talking about her son, but it got old that everyone in the world had to hear about it.

"He's fine. He's at home, sleeping," Riley replied, rummaging through her purse for a few quarters.

"And here you are, in a bar," Kate snipped.

Riley could understand where Kate's hate came from. However, that didn't mean she had to deal with it. Especially when Riley had told anyone who asked that some guy she went to school with in California was actually the father of Logan. The shit she did to protect his sorry ass.

Before she could respond, Pogue jumped in.

"We need to talk, Riley," he told her, telling her with his eyes it was urgent.

She acted like she was seriously contemplating it.

Then her face broke out in a grin and she shook her head; "Nah, I'm good."

Pogue instantly went into attack mode, but the second Kate gave him a look, he dropped it.

"Haha, pussy whipped," Riley chuckled, got up, heading over to the foosball table.

Without letting her head talk her out of it, Riley grabbed the front of Caleb's shirt, pulling him towards her.

She gave him her best smile to match his confused smirk; she held up the two quarters for him to see.

"C'mon, Danvers," she said jokingly, pulling him along with her towards the jukebox.

He laughed, shaking his head. She let go of his shirt as she felt him put his hands on her waist, letting her steer him through the crowd.

Being an avid fan of 80's hair bands, she chose "Cherry Pie" by Warrant before starting to dance with Caleb. They were probably dancing closer than what was originally intended, but neither would start to complain.

Pogue knew Riley well enough to know exactly what she was doing; she knew he had a mean jealous streak in him and she loved bringing it out.

The second he saw the way his "brother" was dancing with her, he felt his blood boil. Kate followed his gaze and turned back, glaring straight at him.

"If you're really that jealous over it, maybe you're with the wrong girl," Kate told him, giving him a shove on his shoulder before grabbing her bag and fleeing the bar.

"Kate! Wait!" Pogue called after her, but shrugged a shoulder as she stormed out. He knew he should chase after her. Yet he stayed in his chair, staring at the two bodies that had not even an inch of space between them.

As the song ended, Riley smiled and hugged Caleb closely to her.

"Thanks for the dance," he told her.

"Anytime," Riley looked up at him, but saw something weird in his eyes. It wasn't the usual friendliness. It was something serious.

"Oh.. shit," she cursed in her head; she knew what was going on when Caleb's eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips then back again. He was clearly asking permission.

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words would come out.

"Hey guys, wanna play a game of pool?" came from beside them.

Riley would've gladly hugged the hell out of Reid at that point. He saw the grateful look on her face and smirked before giving her a slight nod, a sign that he understood that she needed to get away.

"Sure," Riley accepted before Caleb could protest. Her voice came out softly, like she was scared. Which she was. The last time she had a relationship with a Son of Ipswich.. well, we all know what happened there. And she was so much closer to Caleb than she had ever been to Pogue.

It wasn't that she was scared of kissing Caleb. It was that she was scared of not being able to stop herself for much longer. The tension was getting thicker.

Tyler, Reid, Riley, and Caleb played a few rounds of pool before Pogue finally made an appearance.

"Riley," he called to her, instantly putting a damper on her mood. She stopped laughing at some ridiculous thing Reid said towards her and turned her attention to Pogue.

"Yeah?" she returned, clearly uninterested in whatever he had to say.

"Can I talk to you?"

He was trying harder, she'd give him that.

"Do I have to listen?" she countered. Maybe she was spending too much time around Reid and Tyler.

Pogue rolled his eyes, her sarcasm irritating him.

"Ly, please."

Pogue Parry never pleaded with a girl to talk to him. That caused Riley's ears to perk up and a smirk come across her face, knowing she held the control in this situation.

"Alright, two minutes," she returned, handing her pool stick to Caleb, who slyly brushed his fingers against hers. It may have been close to 80 degrees in the bar, but shivers ran up Riley's spine.

Pogue and Riley stepped outside, neither talking. Riley leaned against a railing while Pogue seemed to be rehearsing what he was going to say in his head.

"What's going on, Pogue?" she wondered, sitting on top of the rail and crossing her legs. She was already bored and didn't want to deal with him. She wasn't prepared to deal with him, not in this lifetime.

"Look, I want Logan to know I'm his dad," Pogue blurted out, causing Riley to glance up quickly from staring at her shoes.

"What?" was her first reaction, then she got a hold of more words, "But won't that fuck up your picture perfect life?"

Alright, she was still a little bitter.

Pogue sighed. This wasn't the way he pictured the conversation in his head. But Riley never ceased to amaze him, that was for sure.

"Don't you think I've thought about what this could do to my life? My relationship with Kate, my family, my reputation, my future," Pogue listed.

Riley raised an eyebrow.

"If this is your way of convincing me you should be let back into my life, you really suck at it."

So Pogue tried again.

"He's my son, Ly. How can you possibly think I'd be okay with staying away?"

"You seemed fine when I told you. I believe the words 'abortion' and 'adoption' came out of your mouth more than once," Riley remembered, tapping a finger against her chin. Yup, definitely way too much time spent with Reid and Tyler.

"I was 15, Riley," Pogue could feel his anger rising, so he stopped for a second to gather his thoughts.

"I want to know him and I want him to know me. I can be a good father."

"What about all those worries you had earlier? Kate, your future, all that bullshit?" Riley asked, part of her wondering if he was gonna try to kiss him again. At least from her position she could give him a swift kick to the jewels.

Pogue shook his head.

"What I was trying to tell you was it doesn't matter. I could care less what anyone thinks. I can still go to college next fall. My family will understand. And if Kate loves me as much as she claims, she won't bat an eye."

"Wow. You really don't get women, do you?" Riley sighed, slipping off the rail gracefully, "You have a child, Pogue. There's a person out in the world that you helped make, that's half you. That's not exactly a great thing for your boyfriend to have."

Pogue shrugged; "Little I can do about that now."

"Alright, Pogue. But there's some conditions to this," Riley started, but Pogue cut her off.

"I know. No coming back and forth in his life. Keep my promises. Be good. I get it, Riley."

"And," Riley held up a finger to keep him from interrupting again, "no more making moves on his mom. You can't just kiss me, Pogue. We have a child together, but that's it. I don't want to be your girlfriend again.'

Pogue didn't know if it was her honesty, or the blatant rejection, but Pogue's heart hurt. But what could he do? She'd obviously made up her mind.

"Alright. Deal."

"Good. Come around tomorrow for dinner. I need time to explain things to him first," Riley set up.

"That's fine," Pogue nodded, making it a mental note, "Thank you, Riley."

"You're welcome," Riley said, stepping over to him carefully and giving him a friendly hug, "But if you break my son's heart, I'll break your neck."

Even though he doubted she could ever one-up him in an actual fight, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was dead serious.

He just nodded in response.

Riley walked back inside after the talk with Pogue, finding the rest of the Sons still at the pool table.

"Hey," she greeted them, smiling wide.

"Everything alright?" Caleb asked softly as she stood next to him.

"Mm-hmm, yeah," she took a big breath, "We're going to tell Logan tomorrow."

"Wow," Tyler was, by far, the most surprised. He knew it would take a lot for his sister to allow Pogue back into her life, even with a kid together. Then again, Riley was always the most brave person he'd ever known.

"Yeah. Lots of drama gonna happen in the Sims house tomorrow night," Riley predicted.

"I'll be sleeping in the dorms tomorrow," Tyler announced, getting a chuckle from Riley.

"It'll be fine," Riley sounded like she was trying to convince herself rather than the others.

"Do you still want me to come over to help with your French homework?" Caleb asked, lining up his shot.

"Yeah, absolutely. I'll owe you big time if I pass that test on Monday," she returned.

"Oh hell, I'll teach you then," Reid interjected, sending a wink towards Riley; she pretended to gag, making Tyler and Caleb laugh.

"Go hit on some other poor high school girl," Riley told him, nudging him in the shoulder.

"I just can't, Riley," Reid started, overdramatic as he placed a hand over his heart, "Honestly, you're the only M.I.L.F. for me."

Riley contorted her face to show her disgust.

"Oh, icky. I'm gonna have to shower after that one."

"Need help?" Reid offered.

"Ok, seriously! My God. We are getting your neutered," Riley stated, laughing as he looked absolutely horrified.

"C'mon, Ly, I'll drive you home," Caleb offered, putting an arm around her waist.

"Alright, sure," she returned, letting him keep hold of her as they walked to the other side of the bar, getting her purse and both their jackets.

Looking around, Pogue could be seen talking to one of their classmates near the bar. He caught her stare. He seemed surprised when she gave him a genuine smile, which he returned.

"Let's go, gorgeous."

Riley followed Caleb out of the bar, waving two fingers towards Reid and Tyler.

"Have fun tonight?" Caleb wondered as he parked his car in her driveway.

"Yeah. It's just what I needed."

He smiled, leaning against the headrest.

The silence in the car wasn't uncomfortable, but both wanted to say something to fill it either way, hoping the tension would go away.

"Even if Pogue fucks up royally with you and Logan, you'd still have me, Tyler, and Reid to help out," Caleb immediately grabbed her attention by his sudden outburst.

"I know. You guys have been great," she returned, her voice a bit quieter.

They were quiet before finally Riley couldn't take it anymore.

"Were you going to kiss me after we danced?"

Her words surprised them both; usually, she wasn't that straightforward.

"Yeah," Caleb admitted.

"Oh," she commented, looking outside her passenger window, "I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Because of Pogue," Caleb added onto the end of her sentence.

She almost gave herself whiplash by how quickly she turned her head to look at him.

"Pogue? No, I mean for Logan. He's going to know that Pogue is his father. I don't want to confuse him by having Mommy's boyfriend around."

"Ly, I'm here every day. I'm sure he gets it by now," he told her gently.

It was true. Though she didn't want to admit it, Logan always seemed happier with "'Leb" around.

"Probably" came her response, though it was so quiet, she wasn't sure he heard it.

"Don't worry, Ly. I'm not going anywhere," he promised her.

She knew he wasn't lying. She'd known him for years and knew he couldn't look her in the eye if he lied.

"I should probably get inside. It's really late," she stated the obvious, though it was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow."

She opened her door and tried to hide her disappointment as she got out of the car. When she went to put the key in the door, she felt a hand grab her upper arm. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

But before she could question it out loud, Caleb's lips crashed onto hers. She didn't think twice before she responded, kissing him back.

"Bye Riley," he told her when they finally parted some time later.

She couldn't speak, or move for that matter. All she had was one thought.

"Oh, I am so screwed."