Hey! I got a couple reviews saying I was copying. I said in Chapter One, that it was basically word for word of Jenny Han's story. And I can't tell you if Austin or Ally are gonna end up together, but it is in the Austin and Ally tag, so ;0 you'll have to keep reading. But there will be some Ally and Riker, I don't own anything. This chapter is a little Riker/Ally, but this is an Auslly story so don't stop reading.

Chapter Twelve

A few days after we shared Twizzlers at the movies, Riker announced, "I'm gonna teach Ally how to drive stick shift today,"

"You mean it?" I said eagerly. It was clearer, the sun had come out and it was a perfect day for driving. It was Riker's day off work, and I couldn't believe he was willing to spend it teaching me how to drive stick. I'd been begging him since last year to teach me, Jack had tried and gave up after our third lesson.

Jack shook his head, "Do you want to die? Because Ally will kill you both, not to mention your clutch. Don't do it, I'm telling you as your friend."

"Shut up Jack!" I yelled at kicked him under the table. "Just because you're a horrible teacher…" Jack had refused to get in a car with me again after I'd accidently got a teeny-tiny dent in his car when he was teaching me how to parallel park.

"I'm confident in my teaching skills," Riker said. "By the time I'm finished with her, she'll be better than you'

Jack snorted. "Good luck." Then he frowned. "How long are you going to be gone? I thought we were going to the driving range."

"You could come with us," I offered.

Jack ignored me and said to Riker, "You need to practice your swing, dude."

I glanced at Riker, who looked at me and hesitated. "I'll be back by lunch. We can go after."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Fine." I could tell he was a bit hurt, which made me feel smug and sorry for him. He wasn't used to being left out the way I was.

We went out to practice on the road that led to the other side of the beach. It was a quiet road, there was nobody else out there but us.

"It's hot when a girl can drive stick," Riker explained. "It shows she knows what she's doing and she's confident."

I put the car into first gear and eased my foot off the clutch. "I thought boys liked it when girls were helpless."

"They like that too. But I happen to like smart, confident girls."

"Bull. You liked Trish, and she's not like that."

He groaned. "Do you have to bring that up again?"

"I'm just saying, she wasn't that smart or confident."

"Maybe not, but she knew what she was doing," he said, before exploding into laughter.

I hit him on the arm hard. "You're so gross," I said. "And a liar, I know for a fact you didn't even get to second."

He stopped laughing. "Okay fine. We didn't. But she was a good kisser. She tasted like Skittles."

Trish loved Skittles; she was always popping them in her mouth like vitamins. I wondered how I sacked up against her, if he thought I was a good kisser too.

I sneaked a peak at him, he must have seen it on my face, because he laughed and said, "But you were the best, Als,"

I punched him on the arm, and even then he didn't stop laughing, he just laughed harder. "Don't take your foot off the clutch," he said with laughter.

I was surprised he even remembered. I mean it had been memorable for me, but it had been my first kiss and it had been Riker. But the fact that he remembered, that made his laughing okay.

"You were my first kiss," I said. I felt like I could say anything to him in that moment. It felt like how it used to be between us before we grew up. It felt easy and normal.

He looked away, embarrassed. "Yeah, I know."

"How did you know?" I demanded. Had I been that horrible that he suspected?

"Um, Trish told me. Afterwards."

"What! I can't believe she did that. That jerk!" I almost stopped the car. I could believe it, but it still felt like betrayal.

"It's no big deal." But his cheeks were patchy and pink. "I mean, the first time I kissed a girl it was a joke. She kept telling me I was doing it wrong."

"Who? Who was your first kiss?"

"You don't know her. It doesn't matter."

"Come on," I wheeled. "Tell me."

We stalled out then, and Riker said "Just put your foot on the clutch and put it in neutral."

"Not until you tell me."

"Fine. It was Christi Turnduck," he said, ducking his head.

"You kissed Turnducken?" Now I was laughing. I did so know her; she used to live here year round.

"She had a big crush on me," Riker said shrugging his shoulders.

"Did you tell Austin or Jack?"

"Hell no, I didn't tell them I kissed Turnducken!" He said. "And you better not either! Pinky promise."

I offered him my pinkie and we shook on it.

"Christi Turnduck. She did kiss nice; she taught me everything I know. I wonder what happened to her."

I wondered if Turnducken had been a better kisser than me too. She must have been, if she taught Riker.

We stalled out again. "This sucks. I quit."

"There's no quitting in driving," Riker ordered. "Come on." I sighed and started the car again. Two hours later, I had it. Sort of, I still stalled out, but I was getting somewhere. I was driving, Riker said I was a natural.

By the time we got back, Jack had already left, I guess he got tired of waiting and went to the driving range by himself. My mom and Mimi were watching movies in Mimi's room. It was dark and the curtains were drawn. I stood outside their door a minute, listening to them laugh. I felt left out, I envied their relationship. They were like copilots, in perfect balance. I didn't have that kind of friendship, the forever kind.

I walked into the room, and Mimi said, "Ally! Come watch movies with us!"

I crawled into bed between them. Lying on the bed in the semi-dark felt cozy. "Riker's been teaching me how to drive," I told them.

"Darling boy," Mimi said, smiling.

"Brave too," My mom teased.

I snuggled under the comforter, he was pretty great. It had been nice of him to take me out driving when nobody would. Just because I'd banged up the car a few times before, didn't mean that I wasn't going to end up being an excellent driver like everyone else. Thanks to him, I could drive stick now. I was going to be one of those confident girls, the kind that knows what she's doing. when I got my license I would drive up to visit Riker, to thank him.

Now you know who Riker kissed.(: the next chapter is gonna be a long one. I hope you liked this chapter, review please!