Hey babes! Back with a new story for ya! This is the first of two chapters that I was inspired to write a little while back after rewatching the music video for "You Belong With Me" and since Lucas is in it, my mind immediately went to MacRiley. So here we go. It's loosely based on the video, because I took a few liberties, obviously, and expanded on the story a little. So here you go. Hope it helps lift your spirits before tonight's episode and in light of a certain sad announcement.
Enjoy!
Letting her bedroom door swing closed behind her, Riley drops her backpack on the carpet and falls face down onto her bed with a heavy breath. Just another year and a half and then she'll be done with high school for good and she can go on to whatever the next chapter of her life will be. Most likely college, she just has to decide what type of school is best for what she wants to do with the rest of her life.
Rolling onto her side, she reaches down over the side of the bed to dig her cellphone out of her backpack. She reaches around blindly, forgetting momentarily which pocket she had shoved it into earlier.
"Ri? No crazy coding until your homework's done."
Riley sighs heavily at hearing her stepdad's voice echoing through the hallway. "I know." Pushing herself up so she's sitting on her bed, she quickly checks through the messages on her phone, finding a few from one of her best friends, Bozer, containing mostly random jokes that he thought she'd enjoy. But there's nothing that requires her immediate attention.
Tossing her phone aside, she leans down to grab her backpack, hefting it up next to her on the mattress. Homework is the last thing she wants to be doing right now; she much prefers spending her hours teaching herself to code.
Unzipping the bag, she pulls out her textbooks and spiral notebooks, eager to just get her homework done and over with. The sooner she's done with her homework, the sooner she can do just about anything else. Thankfully she only has a couple of assignments, but one of them is for history and requires her to read an entire chapter of the textbook before completing the assignment.
She's flipping through pages when there's a soft knock at her door. She sighs and barely glances up. "I'm doing my homework, Jack."
The door creaks open and her stepdad's face appears around the edge. "I know, honey, I trust you."
"Then why do you always remind me to do my homework?"
"Because it's my job. And we both know your mom would rip me a new one if I didn't."
Riley chuckles and nods. "Yeah. She would."
"Speaking of your mom, she just called to say she's gonna be late tonight so it's just you and me for dinner. What are you in the mood for?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. You pick."
Jack shakes his head, stepping inside her room. "No, see, last time you said that, and I picked, you got all...annoyed by what I decided on for dinner."
She levels him with a look. "That's because it was some obscure restaurant that gave us, and multiple other people, food poisoning."
He holds his hands up. "In my defense, I had no clue about that little...snafu. You know I'd never poison you on purpose."
She gives him a small smile. "I know. So, how about Chinese?"
Jack smiles, clapping his hands together. "Alright, that's what I'm talking about. Decisions being made, that's what I like to hear. We've still got another few hours until dinner, so I won't place the order just yet, but am I getting extra fortune cookies?" he asks with a raised brow.
She nods. "Yes. Please. Boze will be crushed if he finds out we had Chinese and I didn't get him a fortune cookie."
"Right on. I'll let you know when it's here. Keep working on your homework in the meantime." And with that, he's out of her room and back to whatever he was doing before.
Focusing her attention back on her textbook, she leans back against her headboard, doing her best to get comfortable. If she's going to be stuck reading for who knows how long, then the last thing she wants is a giant knot in her neck from sitting wrong. Of course, that doesn't stop the words from starting to blur together the longer she reads.
Glancing up from her textbook, her eyebrows furrow together when she sees how dark it is outside. How long has she been reading? It can't be that late because Jack would have already called her down for dinner. He'd never let her miss out on Chinese takeout and forcing her to watch Die Hard.
Movement in her peripheral catches her attention and she turns toward the large window next to her. She leans forward a little more to get a better look and frowns at what she sees. Her other best friend since basically forever, Mac, is pacing the floor of his bedroom right in front of his window. His cell phone is pressed against his ear and his other hand gestures wildly as he talks. He has a deep frown on his face and she doesn't need to hear the conversation to know who's on the other end.
It's been this way for months now, ever since he started dating the captain of the Dance Team, Desi Nguyen at the end of last school year. Riley wishes that Mac could see how wrong they are together, but he's just so oblivious. And no, it's not just because she's crazy in love with him, but because Desi doesn't treat him right and doesn't understand him or his mind. Desi's not a bad person, necessarily, there's just something about their relationship that doesn't sit right. And she's not the only one who thinks it.
Eventually, Mac's phone call ends and he's sitting on his bed right in front of his window as well—they had decided on the furniture placement when they were kids—with a dejected look on his face. It makes her sad to see him like that, he's always been one of the happiest people she knows.
Reaching over to her nightstand, she grabs her large notepad and the black marker next to it, pulling both into her lap. She quickly scribbles a message across it large enough for him to read across the space between their houses YOU OKAY?
She holds the sign up when he looks at her, offering him a sympathetic smile as well. Then she brings the notepad down and flips to the next page, waiting for him to write a response. She could just as easily call him, but this is their favorite way of communicating when they're both at home, all stemming from the time she was grounded as a kid and Mac still wanted to talk to her but obviously, neither of them had phones yet. So he'd rigged up some crazy pulley system between their windows to deliver her a large notepad and marker. It's their thing.
Looking up, she sees the message he's holding, a half-hearted smile on his face. TIRED OF DRAMA.
SORRY :(
He just shrugs and then dips his head.
Her heart aches for him, it really does. She hates seeing him like this, and it's been happening more and more lately. He doesn't deserve everything that Desi puts him through for seemingly no reason at all.
Looking down at her notepad, Riley takes a deep breath and then flips to a new page. She hesitates only for a moment before writing a new message in big letters across the page. I LOVE YOU.
When she looks up again, Mac's curtains are closed. She lets out a heavy breath and holds the message up anyway. It would be her luck. When she finally finds the opportunity to confess her feelings to him, he's not even paying attention. It's probably better this way anyway, keeps their friendship intact and less awkward than it already is with her not knowing how to act around him some of the time.
Tossing her notepad aside, she falls back on her bed and lets out a frustrated groan. She's frustrated for a multitude of reasons, many of which involve her blonde-haired, blue-eyed best friend that she's madly in love with. She never thought she'd be someone who falls in love in high school, always thought she'd be much older when she did, but then Mac happened.
She'd always thought he was cute when they were younger, but then high school happened and he got...hot. Like, unfairly hot. His hair is a little shaggy because he still refuses to cut it, but he's filled out and gained quite a bit of muscle from the years he's spent playing football. It just hit her like a ton of bricks one day when they were hanging out that she's in love with him. It's not just his looks that she loves about him, though, it's so much more than that. Every single little thing about his personality made her fall in love with him and she fell so, so hard. And it sucks because she knows he doesn't feel the same way.
Knowing she's not going to get any more reading done with her mind racing and only thinking about her best friend's sweet smile, big brain, and caring heart, she figures there's only one thing left to do; dance. The perfect thing to hopefully take her mind off everything. She just needs a distraction.
Standing from her bed she crosses to her desk and sifts through the stack of CDs she has there, searching for just the right one. Once she finds what she's looking for, she slips the disc into her CD player, turns up the volume, and lets the opening notes of the first song fill the space around her.
Almost instantly she's transported back to her childhood, to much easier times, when she and Mac would be dancing around in either of their rooms or even their backyards when it was nice enough weather. They'd have music blasting from a CD player and both be singing at the tops of their lungs. Sometimes Bozer would be there with them too. But it was always her and Mac. Best friends since the summer before first grade when she and her mom moved to town and ended up living next door to the MacGyver's.
Dancing around like no one else is watching, Riley sings along to the lyrics of the song without missing a beat or forgetting a single word. She knows this song by heart, could sing it straight through from beginning to end even without the music playing. Because that's what happens when you're obsessed with the Backstreet Boys at nine years old and force your two best friends to listen to their music on repeat with you for days on end.
Spinning around as she sings, Riley grins when she sees Mac watching her through his halfway pulled back curtain, a smile on his face. This wasn't necessarily her goal when she put her music on, but she's not mad about it. She stops spinning and just dances in place while continuing to sing.
By the time she finishes, she holds her arms out wide and then takes a slow bow. When she stands back up Mac is clapping and laughing. She bows again as a laugh escapes.
"Riley! Food's here."
"Coming!" she calls over her shoulder. She grabs her notepad and marker, scrawling a message and holding it up to the window. DINNER & DIE HARD
Mac smiles, scribbling a message onto his notepad. HAVE FUN
Tossing him one more smile, she turns and makes her way out of her bedroom, grabbing her phone and shutting the light off as she goes. She's not that excited about watching Die Hard again for what feels like the hundredth time, but spending time with Jack is usually fun. As far as stepdads go, she got a pretty good one.
Hopping down off the last step, she smiles as she walks into the living room to see Jack setting out the food on the coffee table, the opening menu for Die Hard already loaded on the screen.
"Food smells good," she remarks, falling onto the couch and pulling her legs up under her.
Jack turns to her and smiles. "It most certainly does. Now, are you ready for the greatest movie of all time?"
She snorts, leaning forward to grab one of the containers. "You ask me that every time we watch this. Yes, I'm ready."
He holds his hands up as he sits. "Alright, just gotta make sure." He grabs another one of the containers and leans back, swiping the remote off the side table. "Everything all good with your homework?"
She shrugs. "For the most part."
"Riley..."
She sighs. "It's fine, Jack. I'll finish my homework before I go to bed, promise. I just needed a little break."
"A dance break?" he asks with a teasing smile. "I heard your music going. Makes sense you were dancing around up there, though, I don't think Larger Than Life would have worked very well as study music."
She shrugs again and then takes a deep breath as she shifts on the couch. "Can we watch the movie now?" she asks, hoping that he'll take the hint. He's usually pretty good at knowing when she doesn't want him to pry anymore about something.
Thankfully, he understands, and simply nods his head and then hits 'play' on the remote control.
Relaxing back into the couch as the opening of the movie starts, she digs into her Chinese food and lets her mind get lost in the film. The perfect distraction from her constant thoughts about her best friend.
Book lying open in her lap as she sits on one of the benches along the sidewalk, Riley lets her eyes skim over the page. It's nothing too exciting, and she can hardly stay focused because she'd rather be doing anything else. She's not into books the way other people she knows are. She enjoys them from time to time when she wants to read them, not when she has to. Being forced to read a book for whatever reason takes all the fun out of actually reading for her.
"Riley."
Looking up from her book, she smiles brightly when she sees Mac approaching her, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. "Hey, Mac."
"Hey." He sits down next to her, turning slightly so he can look at her better. "What are you reading?"
"Just the book for English class we were assigned last week."
Mac nods. "Ah. I haven't started yet. Is it any good?"
She raises a brow. "You haven't started reading it yet?"
He chuckles. "Hey, it's not my fault that it's hard to focus on stuff. But you know I always get it done."
"Yeah, luckily." She breathes deeply and shifts a little on the bench, closing her book and turning to look at him. "So what brings you by my bench?"
He smiles, raising a brow. "Your bench?"
"Well, I was here first, wasn't I?"
"Alright, I guess it is your bench, then. You tell me first, though, what has you sitting out here reading a book when I know for a fact you'd rather be in your room coding?"
"Blame Bozer," she tells him, letting out a breath. "There's an all-day amateur film festival happening in the next town over and he begged me to go with him. He's picking me up and figured I'd try to get some reading done while I'm waiting. Why the festival is happening on a Wednesday instead of the weekend, I have no idea."
Mac's brows furrow slightly. "He doesn't want me to come with?"
Riley hesitates. "I mean...he does. But you always seem to be too busy whenever he wants to do stuff."
"Oh."
Riley shifts a little on the bench. "Do...do you want to come with us?"
Mac lets out a breath. "I would love to. But Desi's—"
Riley shakes her head, her lips pulled in tight. "Say no more. I get it. You've got a girlfriend, you need to hang out with her."
"But you and Bozer are my best friends. I should make time to hang out with you guys." He reaches out and brushes a piece of her hair behind her ear that must have been shaken loose a moment earlier. He pulls his hand back quickly and smiles sheepishly. "Sorry."
She smiles back, her heart beating rapidly inside her chest and she prays that he didn't see her stop breathing for that small moment. "It's fine." In reality, it's not fine. He's done stuff like that before over the years, but it's gotten so much worse for her ever since she realized her feelings for him. Now her entire body always feels like it's on fire whenever his hand brushes against her arm or his hand lingers on her back when they're in the school hallway. And it's starting to get unbearable. But she loves him too much to stop spending time with him whenever the opportunity presents itself. And she's his friend first and foremost, so she can't just stop being around him.
Before she can say anything else, the sound of tires crunching on asphalt grabs her attention and she turns toward the street. She can't help the frown when she sees Desi sitting behind the wheel of the car with the passenger window rolled down and a smile on her face.
"Mac, let's go." The girl's smile falters. "Oh. Hi, Riley."
Riley smiles tightly and raises a hand in greeting. "Hey, Desi. Where are you guys headed?"
"To the mall," Desi answers back in a clipped tone, her lips pursed together. "Mac, come on."
Out of the corner of her eyes, Riley sees Mac standing from the bench and taking a few steps toward the edge of the sidewalk.
He glances at her and gives her a small smile. "I'll see you later, Riles."
"Yeah, see you later." She watches as he climbs into the passenger seat of Desi's car, pulling the door closed behind him. She has to look away, though, when Desi wraps her hand around the back of Mac's neck to pull him into a kiss.
Sometimes Riley thinks the other girl knows about her feelings for Mac, but she can't be too sure. Desi's never said anything, and she doesn't know if she would if she did know.
By the time she turns back, Mac and Desi are long gone, and Bozer's pulling up in front of her. The passenger window is already rolled down and she can hear the faint sounds of the radio spilling out.
"Hey, Riley."
She tries her best for a smile but it's strained. "Hey, Boze." She stands from the bench and steps down off the curb to climb into the car. She settles herself in the seat, pulls the door closed, and leans back.
"Wanna tell me what's going on?"
Riley lets out a heavy breath, tilting her head enough to look at her friend. "Desi and Mac."
Bozer nods. "Ah. What was it this time?"
"He and I were talking and then Desi pulled up so they could go to the mall. Then they started making out and I...well, you know." She gestures vaguely, knowing that he knows exactly what she means.
Bozer sighs heavily. "Girl, you know I love you, you're one of my best friends, but I hate seeing you like this. Why don't you just tell Mac how you feel?"
She shakes her head quickly. "No, I can't. He's happy with Desi. I'm not gonna get in the way of that. Whatever I feel for him...if I just continue to ignore it, it'll probably go away eventually. After high school's over and we go to different colleges, it'll fade. Then it won't hurt whenever I see them together."
"But what if it doesn't fade?" he asks. "What if it just keeps growing?"
She lets out a heavy breath. "Then I'll deal with it if it does. But for now, I don't want to think about either of them."
Bozer nods. "Alright. No problem. We can certainly do that. One epic film festival coming right up."
Riley sinks in the seat a little and tosses her feet up onto the dashboard with a smile. She can always count on Bozer to cheer her up whenever she needs it. Even though he had a small crush on her when they were kids, he quickly got over it and now he's one of her best friends, practically her brother. Sometimes she goes back and forth on whether she's closer to Mac or Bozer, but deep down she knows it's Mac. He's her number one. And even if her feelings for him never go away, he will always be her number one.
Tugging her jacket tighter around her to help against the cool evening breeze, Riley shifts in her seat to see the game better. It's their school's homecoming game so naturally, she's there in attendance with Bozer, both of them decked out in spirit gear to support the team. She's never missed one single game since Mac joined the football team in middle school. All through elementary school she never thought she'd see the day when Angus MacGyver joined a sports team since he's always been more about math and science.
But then Jack came into their lives when they were ten, right after Mac's dad walked out. Jack had immediately taken Mac under his wing, which Riley thinks is partly because Mac is her best friend and Jack was still trying to win her over at that point.
But Jack would toss a football around with Mac outside casually whenever Mac would get a little too lost in his head—something he does quite often—and eventually he started teaching him the basics of the game.
Mac picked up on it all pretty quickly because of how smart he is, and got really good really fast. And then when they entered the sixth grade, with encouragement from Jack and a signed permission slip from his grandpa, Mac tried out for flag football. He made the team and then kept playing all through middle and right into high school. He was even skilled enough to make varsity as a sophomore, something that doesn't happen often.
He gained a lot of popularity as a sophomore on varsity, but he never forgot her or Bozer among all the attention he was getting. He would still attend weekend movie nights with them instead of parties with his teammates, and the three of them would always eat lunch together instead of Mac sitting with his teammates.
But along with his popularity, came Desi. Riley doesn't hate Desi. She seems like a genuinely good person, Riley just hasn't spent enough time with her to be able to form a more solid opinion. Though part of that could be that Desi has been monopolizing all of Mac's time since they started dating and he never seems to have time for her or Bozer. They still hang out here and there, but it's not how it used to be. She misses it. She misses him.
Focusing her attention on the game, she leans forward, her hands clasped together tightly in anticipation. She can hear Bozer mumbling to himself from beside her, something he always does whenever they watch one of Mac's games. But all she's paying attention to is Mac down on the field, watching as he runs across the field toward the end zone, his arms outstretched for the football that's soaring through the air.
Seconds later, the entire stadium bursts into cheers, Bozer's arms pulling her into a hug from pure excitement. Riley grins as she watches Mac's teammates lift him onto their shoulders in celebration.
Mac has his helmet already off, raising it into the air as he cheers along with the crowd.
Riley can't help the laugh that escapes at the sight, knowing how happy he is that they won the game. He may still be a science nerd at his core, but Mac always puts his whole heart into anything he does, including playing football.
Just as she's getting ready to move out of the stands and toward the stairs so she can go congratulate Mac, she sees him pause at the edge of the field. Her brows furrow tightly and she follows his eye line, her heart sinking for him when she sees Desi practically draped over one of Mac's teammates.
She waits and watches the scene. She wants to look away to give them privacy, but she also can't look away because her heart is breaking for her best friend. She sees the way his face falls and then turns to hurt and anger. She watches as he confronts Desi, but they're too far away and there's too much noise for her to hear what's being said.
Their conversation doesn't last long, and then he's storming off toward the locker room, ignoring his name being called by the other guys on his team.
"Hey, Bozer," she speaks up, turning toward her friend, finding him still celebrating the win with a couple of girls standing near them. She laughs lightly and then taps his shoulder to get his attention. "Bozer."
He spins quickly toward her. "Huh? What?"
"I'm gonna head down to the locker rooms to check on Mac."
Bozer's brows furrow. "Is everything okay?"
"I don't think so. But I'm gonna go find out for sure. Meet you at the car?"
He nods. "Yeah, yeah. Go check on our boy."
She squeezes his arm with a tight smile and then pushes her way through the crowd of spectators in the direction of the stadium stairs. She moves down the concrete steps carefully, bobbing and weaving through more people on her way to the locker room entrance. She sees Desi out of the corner of her eye but thankfully manages to avoid running into her.
When she reaches the locker room door, she pulls it open and silently thanks whoever's listening that the rest of the players are still on the field celebrating. Which means Mac's going to be by himself and they won't have to worry about anyone listening to them talk. If he even wants to talk. He doesn't always, but she's there for him anyway. Even if it's just to sit silently.
"Mac?" she calls out as she moves inside the locker room, peering around the different corners and moving closer to where the lockers are. "Mac, I know you're in here." She finally reaches the locker area and finds him sitting on the long bench between the first two rows of lockers. He's bent over, his arms resting on his legs and his head down, his helmet barely being gripped in his hand.
Letting out a quiet sigh, she slowly approaches, sitting down next to him and resting a hand on his back. He doesn't jump, doesn't move, just sits there. She rubs his back a little and then reaches down to grab his helmet, carefully taking it from him and setting it aside.
"She started seeing him while we were still together."
Riley barely manages to catch what he says, but when his words register, she decides then and there that she does hate Desi now. But she doesn't say anything. Knows that she needs to let Mac lead the way this conversation goes.
He turns his head to look up at her with tears in his eyes. "She said she didn't know how to tell me." He swallows thickly, sitting up straighter. "I don't know how I could be such an idiot. The signs were right there in front of me and I missed all of them."
Those aren't the only signs you've missed, she wants to say. But she bites her tongue. Now's certainly not the time for that.
She shifts a little on the bench, watching Mac carefully. "You know it's not your fault, right? Whatever Desi did is on her. You can't blame yourself."
He sighs heavily. "I know. I just...now that all of this has happened, I'm starting to wonder why I was even with her in the first place. Like, I know I should be upset that she was cheating on me, but I think I'm more upset that I wasted so much time dating her. I don't think I ever loved her like I thought I did."
"You don't?"
He shakes his head, looking at her. "No. I tried to, but she didn't make it easy. I'm just so tired of relationship drama. I think I might swear off dating until I get to college. I know I only have a year and a half left of high school, but it honestly might be best."
Riley swallows, fighting back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. In the back of her mind, she knew there was no chance of her and Mac being anything more than friends, but to hear him swear off dating completely until college just makes her sad.
"Riles? You okay?"
She breathes deeply, shaking her head quickly and wiping at her eyes. She gives him a strained smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just sad for you. That you're going through this right now. You just won the homecoming game, you should be ecstatic right now."
"And I am, trust me. But please don't let my problems consume you, okay? I don't want that for you."
Her smile softens. Even when he's hurting he's still thinking of others. "I promise."
He lets out a breath. "Good. Now, if you're up for it, I think I could really use a Riley Davis hug right about now."
Riley smiles as she scoots across the bench to get closer and wraps her arms around his torso. It's a little tougher with him wearing his football gear, but they manage. His arms encircle her shoulders, pulling her close, and she lets herself get lost in his embrace. It's one of her favorite places to be, her safe space.
The sound of feet against the floor and voices shouting excitedly breaks them out of the moment.
Riley slides back enough to look at him, keeping her arms around him for just a little bit longer. "Celebratory movies and pizza with Bozer at my place?"
He smiles. "That sounds perfect."
"Great. Bozer and I are gonna head out so we'll meet you there." She stands from the bench and turns to walk away when his hand around hers stops her. She looks back at him, taking in the soft look on his face.
"Thanks, Riles."
She smiles softly, giving his hand a small squeeze. "Anytime, Mac. You know that. I'm always here for you. No matter what."
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!