Hey babes! Back with the second and final chapter of this little story. I was originally going to wait a little longer, but I figure we could all use another little pick-me-up after the latest episode. So here you go!

Enjoy!

Pulling his car up in front of Riley's house, Mac lets out a breath and shifts the gear into park. He shuts off the engine but leaves the keys where they are, taking a moment to just sit and think. The team had wanted him to join them for a party after they all got changed out of their uniforms, but there's only one place he wants to be right now.

Celebratory pizza and movies had become a thing after he joined the flag football team in middle school and was excited from the first win but beyond exhausted from actually playing. So Riley suggested pizza and movies at her house so that he could relax and recover from the game but still have some fun. That first movie and pizza night was just him and Riley because Bozer was sick, but they made sure to include him in the next one. And then it became a tradition that they all look forward to when football season rolls back around. Whenever the team wins a game—even if they don't win because none of them would ever pass up movies and pizza—the three of them will converge at Riley's house and engage in one of their favorite traditions.

Though he is disappointed in himself for letting their tradition get sidelined since the start of this school year while he was dating Desi. It's not that he doesn't like hanging out with them, because he always does, but Desi usually wanted to go do something after the games, so he always said yes, promising Riley and Bozer that he'd hang out with them soon. But Desi consistently ate up all his free time, not allowing him many opportunities for his friends that have been there for him through every good and bad thing that's happened in his life. Which is why he's glad that he's able to spend time with them tonight, just the three of them hanging out and enjoying each other's company.

Sometimes Riley's stepdad Jack will join them if they're watching an action movie, but usually, it's just the three of them. 'The Three Amigos' as Jack had taken to calling them not long after he started dating Riley's mom.

Mac had been wary of Jack at first, but only because Riley was. This man was a stranger suddenly dating her mom so she was overly cautious and protective and made things difficult for him right away. And so naturally, Mac was overly cautious as well. But it didn't take very long for Jack to win him over. He loves his grandpa, and appreciates him for sticking around to take care of him after his dad left, but Jack's the one who started doing all the things with Mac that his dad should have done. Jack introduced him to football, taught him how to drive, taught him how to shave, tries to give him advice, and does all the other things with him that dads do with their sons. So yeah, Jack won him over very quickly.

And she's never said it out loud to him, but Mac's pretty sure that he's the reason why Riley warmed up to Jack as quickly as she did.

Movement in his peripheral has him turning his head. He smiles brightly when he sees Riley making her way down the porch steps and toward his truck. Manually cranking the window down, he folds his arms and rests them in the opening, setting his chin on top as he looks up at his friend. "Hi."

Riley smiles, hopping off the sidewalk to stand in the small space between the side of his truck and the curb. "Hey. You coming inside at some point or are you gonna just keep sitting in your truck like a creep?"

"No, I'm coming. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

He shrugs. "Nothing in particular. Have you guys decided on a movie yet?"

"Bozer keeps trying to force us to watch some weird, super obscure film that he claims is a masterpiece."

"And what do you want to watch?"

Riley shrugs, resting her hands on the outside of the door and leaning forward. "I don't know. Just not that."

Mac chuckles lightly. "Alright, well, why don't I come inside and be the deciding factor?" He gently pushes the door open so he doesn't accidentally hurt Riley, and then rolls the window back up. He grabs his keys as he climbs out, locks and shuts the door behind him, and then joins Riley on the sidewalk.

"You really think you can do that?" Riley asks him as they start the short walk up to her house.

"I can try."

"Well good luck," she says, turning around and walking backward. "Bozer is being extra stubborn with movie night right now."

Mac snorts. "This coming from the queen of stubbornness."

"Hey!" she shouts as she laughs, pointing a finger at him and playfully narrowing her eyes.

Mac laughs with her, the sound of her being so carefree and happy instantly lifting his spirits. Well, to be fair, just being in her presence can lift his spirits when he's having a less than stellar day. Maybe it's because she's one of his closest friends and is always there for him without question whenever he needs her. Maybe it's because she knows what he's thinking most of the time before he even does. Maybe it's because he loves her.

Yes, he loves his best friend, as more than just a friend. He honestly doesn't even know when it happened, it sort of just crept up on him over time, but he knows for a fact that he loves her. She's always there for him, trusts him completely without hesitation, helps him whenever he's working on a new contraption that isn't working how he wants it to, and so much more. It also helps that she got immensely more beautiful in the few years since they entered high school. She's always been pretty, he's known that since they were six, but then high school happened and Riley became gorgeous. Most noticeably to him being that she has a figure now, one that she has no problem showing off from time to time. And he'd be lying if he said he hasn't found himself staring at it once or twice since he first noticed it. But he always tears his eyes away as quickly as possible. The last thing he needs is for her to catch him staring at any part of her body..

He's tried as hard as he can to ignore his feelings for her because he knows that she doesn't see him that way, but it's been difficult. He loves being around her, probably way more than anyone else in his life, probably even more than Bozer. And that's saying a lot, considering he and Bozer have been friends since they were in diapers. He didn't meet Riley until a few years later.

As he's walking toward the house, Mac clocks the exact moment Riley's heels collide with the front porch step, knocking her off balance. He quickly closes the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her from colliding with the pavement or the steps and injuring herself.

The only thing he doesn't account for is her hands landing on his shoulders to help with balance, bringing their bodies very close together.

So now he's alarmingly aware of how good she smells—it must be her coconut-scented lotion—and how soft her body feels under his hands. Sure, he's held her close before when they've hugged or cuddled close during movie nights, but this is so much different. He can't quite explain it, though. Doesn't think there are enough words in the English language to explain how he's feeling at this very moment.

It'd be so easy for him to close the last little sliver of space between them, to cross that unspoken invisible line in their friendship. To just try it and finally know what it's like to kiss her. But he knows she doesn't feel the same way, and that she'd probably never forgive him if he did something like that without her express permission. So he doesn't move. He just stays there, his palms starting to sweat and his eyes locked onto hers like the rest of the world has stopped spinning.

"Hey! You two coming inside?"

Standing carefully, Mac helps set Riley back on her feet, his hands lingering on her waist for a moment longer than they probably should. It's a bad habit that he really needs to break if he's going to keep trying to get over his feelings.

Dropping his hands quickly, he wipes them on the fabric of his jeans, and then turns to smile tightly at his friend. "Uh, yeah, Boze. We're coming."

"Good. Because I have this insanely good film I want you guys to check out."

Mac shakes his head as he follows Riley up the porch steps. "Sorry, Bozer. Not tonight."

Bozer's eyes narrow in Riley's direction as she steps into the house. "I cannot believe you. You've already turned him against me. What did you say to him?"

Riley laughs quietly, her eyes darting quickly to him, and then she shifts on her feet and looks at Bozer again. "All I did was tell him the truth about the movie you wanna watch."

Mac nods as he joins his friends on the front porch. "She's right. No crazy, obscure indie films tonight, Boze. Maybe another time. I think what we need right now is a classic feel-good comedy."

Riley grins, raising a hand in the air. "I second that. And we all know I have plenty to choose from. I'll be back in a moment, so you boys go make yourselves comfortable while you wait." She gestures to the living room and then disappears upstairs to her bedroom where she keeps her favorite movies.

Mac steps inside with Bozer right behind him and immediately moves toward the couch that's practically calling his name. After a night of playing football and being dumped for good, he's glad to be able to spend some much-needed downtime with his friends and relax on one of the most comfortable couches he's ever had the pleasure of knowing.

The cushion sinks next to him and he turns his head, smiling at his best friend. "Feels good to be hanging out like this again."

Bozer smiles and nods. "Indeed it does."

"And hey," Mac says, "I'm sorry I didn't come with you and Riley to that film festival on Wednesday."

Bozer waves him off. "It's alright."

Mac shakes his head. "No, it's not. You're my best friend, and I've been neglecting spending time with you. And with Riley."

"Seriously, man, it's fine. You've got a girlfriend that you need to spend time with too, I get it."

Mac sucks in a sharp breath at the reminder of the night's earlier events and he pulls his lips in tight. "Yeah, well, Desi and I broke up."

Bozer rolls his eyes and lets a quick, disbelieving laugh. "Uh-huh. Like I haven't heard that one before. Whatever happened between you two will blow over and then you'll be back together in a few days."

Mac shakes his head. "No, not this time. We're done for good."

Bozer raises a brow. "For real? You're done? You're never getting back together with her?"

"No, I am not."

"Do you...wanna talk about it?"

Mac lets out a heavy breath, relaxing into the couch the best he can. "No, thanks. Maybe later."

Bozer nods. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you need."

"Thanks, Bozer," he says with a smile, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "You truly are a great friend, and I promise we will be hanging out a lot more now."

Bozer smiles. "Glad to hear it. And uh, real quick about this whole…you being single now thing...does that mean you're finally gonna make a move?"

Mac sighs heavily, hanging his head and closing his eyes. He really should have known better than to tell Bozer about his feelings for Riley after he'd realized them. Yes, he trusts Bozer to keep his secret, but his best friend can also be a bit of a meddler, always asking him if he's going to ask Riley out every time he and Desi would break up. His best friend is nothing if not persistent in his efforts to push him to be with Riley, even though Mac knows that Riley doesn't see him the same way. And he has to learn to be okay with that and not let it consume him for the rest of his life.

Lifting his head enough to look at his friend, he gives him a pained smile. "I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? You're single again, Mac. Which means you're completely free to go after the girl we both know you really want to be with."

Mac shakes his head, sitting back and running his palms along the fabric of his jeans. "Even if I want to be with Riley, and I do, I can't ask her out. Doing that would put our entire friendship in jeopardy and I can't lose her as a friend if things didn't work out between us. No, it's better that she and I just stay friends and hopefully what I'm feeling for her will go away over time."

"You're sure? Because you don't have to give up completely right now. You never know what could happen."

Mac furrows his brows at his best friend. "Wait, Bozer, do you know something I don't?"

"Okay, I found a few options that I think might be fun for us to watch tonight," Riley's voice enters the room followed quickly by her body, saving Bozer from answering Mac's question, but the words linger in Mac's head. Riley moves around the side of the couch to stand near the TV across from them, a stack of DVDs in her hand and a wide smile on her face. "And at Mac's request, they are all comedies."

Mac smiles. "Appreciate it." He takes a deep breath and shifts a little on the couch. "So, what choices do we have, then?"

"No," Bozer says as he stands up and approaches Riley. He takes the DVDs from her with a narrowed gaze. "I'll pick. You two always do that annoying thing where you have a silent conversation with your eyes and end up ganging up and outvoting me. So I'm making the decision this time and neither of you gets a say in it."

Riley holds her hands up in surrender and then slowly backs up across the room. The backs of her legs hit the front edge of the couch and she falls down right next to him as she lets out a breath, her bare arm just barely brushing against his.

Normally Mac wouldn't have a problem with this, with having her sit so close that she's practically on top of him; it's happened many times over the years they've been friends. But Bozer's words are still playing on a loop in his head and he can't help but think about the possibility of experiencing something more than just friendship with Riley. Of getting to hug her as much as he wants, or kiss her at any and every opportunity, even just holding her hand in the hallways so everyone knows he's with the most amazing girl at their school.

Sure they're only juniors and there's no guarantee that a romantic relationship between them would last past graduation, but there's also a chance that if they don't do something about it now then they'll miss their shot. If she even feels the way. He's pretty sure that she doesn't, but Bozer's words are making him think. A lot.

"Earth to Mac. Hello?"

He's jolted back into reality, mentally chastising himself for getting lost in the warmth radiating off Riley's body and letting his mind wander. "Hmm?"

She smiles. "Something on your mind?"

He opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying to find an answer. He could tell her the truth, tell her that he has feelings for her. But it might not be the best time to do that with Bozer in the room.

So he just smiles back. "Nothing important."

"Okay. Well, I'm here if you ever wanna talk. You know that, right?"

He smiles softly down at her. "I know. And I promise I will take you up on that if I ever need to."

She nods once. "Good." She shifts on the couch to settle deeper into it and ends up sitting a little closer to him at the same time.

Mac sucks in a sharp breath at having her even closer, but he tries to be as calm and relaxed as he can about it. He doesn't want to make things weird between them.

Bozer's words keep running through his head even as his friend sits down on the other side of Riley, squishing her even closer to him, and the movie starts to play. Would asking Riley out really ruin their entire friendship completely and cause irreversible damage? Or could it possibly be one of the best things to ever happen to him?

Letting out a heavy breath, Mac falls down onto the edge of his bed, his head hanging as he rests his forearms on his knees. His suit jacket lies next to him, ready to be put on, practically mocking him. He doesn't know if he has the energy to do all of this tonight. He'd been mostly excited about going to homecoming when he thought he'd have a date for it, even after he and Desi broke up earlier in the week he thought they'd be back together in time for the dance. That's usually how it went, they'd break up for a few days at a time but would always come back together. Except for this time.

So now he's feeling pretty pathetic knowing that he'll be the only guy on the football team without a date to the dance. If he even decides to still go. He knows Bozer is excited about going since it's their first school dance as upperclassmen. He just doesn't think he'll be able to maintain the same level of excitement that his friend will throughout the night. He's going to try, of course, he just doesn't know how well it will work.

Voices from downstairs alert him to the fact that Bozer is here now and chatting away excitedly with Mac's grandpa. Which doesn't give him very long until Bozer comes up to get him unless he gets downstairs first.

Chancing a look through the window in front of him, the edges of his lips quirk up when he sees Riley lying face down on her bed, papers spread out all around her and a textbook open in front of her. He grabs his notepad and a black marker off his nightstand and sets them in his lap. He scribbles a message to her on the paper like they've been doing since he came up with the idea when they were younger, and holds it up when he glances up to see Riley watching him. YOU GOING TONIGHT?

She gives him half a smile as she writes something on her notepad and then holds it up. NO, STUDYING.

Mac flips to a new page and scribbles a new message. WISH YOU WERE! The message earns him a real smile from Riley and he counts it as a victory. Anytime he can make her smile or laugh is a win in his book. He lets out a heavy sigh and drops the notepad, grabbing his jacket as he stands from the bed. If he doesn't go downstairs now, Bozer will come up looking for him.

As he makes his way toward the door, he stops by his dresser and hesitates. He pulls open the top drawer and pushes aside his socks until he finds the folded-up paper he's been keeping there for what feels like a lifetime now. He picks it up and holds it carefully, staring at it for a moment before sliding it into the inside front pocket of his suit jacket and making his way out of the room. Maybe he can stop by Riley's after the dance and finally tell her how he feels. Maybe the exciting atmosphere of the dance will rub off on him and allow him the courage he needs. But knowing him, he'll probably chicken out at the last second, just like every other opportunity he's had to tell her since he realized what he was feeling.

When he reaches the lower level of the house, he smiles when he sees his grandpa and Bozer standing in the living room talking and laughing, Bozer's date standing at his side with a small smile. Mac slips his jacket on and does up the buttons as he joins them. "You two sound like you're having fun."

"Mac!" Bozer exclaims, turning toward him. "It's about time. Thought I was gonna have to come up there and get you."

Mac laughs quietly. "Well, I'm down here now and we can finally go." He looks to his grandpa. "I think the dance should be over around eleven, so I'll be home sometime after that."

Grandpa shakes his head with a small smile. "Don't worry about your curfew for tonight. It's a dance, have fun, maybe go out with your friends after. Just let me know if you're going to be home late."

Mac smiles. "I will. Thanks, grandpa." He steps forward to hug him quickly and then heads out the door with Bozer and his date right behind him.

As he approaches Bozer's car sitting against the curb, he can't help but stare at Riley's house for a moment, debating whether he should just go over there right now to tell her how he feels and then ask her to be his date for the dance. But if he does that then there is a strong chance he'll chicken out before he even makes it to the porch.

So after the dance, it is, then. When he's hopefully worked off some of these nerves on the dance floor.

The drive to the dance is filled with music from the radio as well as Bozer talking about whatever comes to his mind. Mac will chime in here and there to keep the conversation going, but it's mostly Bozer that does the talking about whatever new indie films he's into. Thankfully Bozer's date, a girl from their science class, doesn't seem to be too turned off by Bozer's excitement over movies.

Once they arrive at the school, they find a space to park near the middle of the lot, and then the three of them are out of the car and heading toward the doors leading toward the gymnasium where a line of students is already formed waiting to get inside.

Mac takes a deep breath as he moves, running his hands down the front of his shirt and straightening out his suit jacket. He just barely hears the paper in his pocket crinkle and he thinks about Riley again.

Though, to be fair, some part of his brain is always thinking about Riley. Ever since he realized his feelings he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her. Part of him feels bad that he was dating Desi while having feelings for Riley, but he figured that the best way to get over Riley was to actually try and move on. But look how well that turned out for him; he's dateless at a high school dance and is still painfully pining after his best friend.

Eventually, they reach the table sitting just inside the doors where staff members are collecting tickets that were pre-purchased and also allowing last-minute ticket purchases. Thankfully he and Bozer already purchased their tickets when they were being sold in the cafeteria at school. Also thankfully, Desi was already holding onto her ticket so Mac didn't have to go through that awkwardness of asking her if she still wanted it.

Checking in at the front table is easy enough and then they're walking inside to join the rest of their classmates at the dance. They're met immediately with the familiar sounds of the most popular songs right now blaring through the sound system. Most of the student body in attendance is out on the floor dancing and having a good time, while others are lingering around the edge with drink cups and small plates of snacks.

Within seconds, Bozer disappears onto the dance floor with his date, the two of them immediately jumping around to the upbeat tempo.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Mac runs a hand through his hair and looks around. He spies some of his football teammates with their dates, but the last thing he wants to do is be that extra wheel. Bozer's busy with his group. He catches sight of Desi a few feet away with her date, Evan, and he's only mildly surprised that he doesn't feel angry anymore. He's happy that she's with someone she seems to really like, he's just sad that it had to be at the expense of their relationship. Though, they didn't have a very healthy one when he thinks about it; given the number of times they broke up and got back together, and how much time they spent arguing over the littlest things. So it's probably good that it ended when it did.

Realizing that he's not going to have as much fun as he'd hoped he would have at this dance, Mac turns to make his way back toward the exit to just sit outside, but then stops short. His breath catches in his throat when he sees her making her way through the crowd of students, a small smile instantly tugging at his lips.

Riley looks beautiful, beyond beautiful even, in a solid black dress with very little beading that hugs her upper body nicely and then flows out just a little from her waist, stopping just below her knees. Her hair hangs down her back in its natural curls, a look that he's always loved on her, and she has a pair of black heels on her feet.

He goes to take a step forward when a hand on his arm stops him. He turns his head just enough to see Desi looking at him with half a smile. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Mac."

He lets out a breath. "Thank you, Desi. Now, if you don't mind, I need to go and do something I should have done a long time ago." He doesn't spare her another look or word as he turns back in Riley's direction.

He starts moving toward her, narrowly managing to avoid running into passing students, and then stops when he's standing directly in front of her. He doesn't say a word, his mind running a mile a minute trying to put all of his thoughts into something more cohesive that she might understand.

Standing across from him, Riley gives him a shy smile as she pulls out a folded sheet of paper and opens it, holding it up for him to read. I LOVE YOU.

His heart leaps in his chest, a wide smile pulling at his lips, and he's so glad that he thought to grab that folded-up paper from his dresser. He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls it out, unfolding and displaying it for Riley to see, his own message of I LOVE YOU scrawled across it in blue ink.

Letting out a breathy laugh, Mac closes the space between them and pulls Riley into a hug. He wraps his arms tightly around her, breathing in her familiar scent of coconut, and gently rocks them from side to side. Nothing feels better than having Riley in his arms, her own arms wrapped securely around his torso and her head nestled perfectly in the crook of his neck.

Pulling away after a moment, Mac keeps his arms around Riley as he smiles. "Does this mean you'll stay at the dance with me and be my date?" he asks hopefully.

Riley smiles back. "It means you can take me out tomorrow night on a real date and I'll highly consider being your girlfriend. And yes, I'll also stay at the dance with you."

Mac knows he's grinning from ear to ear. "Well then in that case, would you care to share a dance with me?"

"I'd love to."

Mac happily leads Riley out onto the dance floor, his arms returning to her waist while hers snake up around his neck. He pulls her closer to him, basking in the feeling of having her in his arms like this.

"Hey, Riles? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What made you come to the dance? You said you were gonna stay home and study."

Riley lets out a breath. "I was, honestly. But then when you left I saw that note I wrote sitting on my bed and it made me think. And so I decided to finally take a chance with telling you how I feel, on tonight of all nights."

Mac smiles. "Well, I'm glad you did. I was actually going to come to your place after the dance if I hadn't chickened out by then, and tell you how I feel too."

Riley's eyes light up. "Really?"

Mac nods. "Mm-hmm. But somehow...somehow this is so much better than telling you at home."

"I completely agree." She shifts on her feet so they're closer, tilting her head back to look up at him. "I love you, Mac." She lets out a breathy laugh and smiles. "Wow. That feels great to finally say out loud."

Mac beams. "I love you too, Riles." His heart leaps in his chest. "You're right. It does feel great to finally say that." He shifts on his feet, his heart beating a little faster. "Hey, would it...would it be okay if I kissed you right now?"

Riley's smile widens and she nods. "It would be more than okay."

Dipping his head, Mac slides his lips over Riley's, a spark igniting throughout his body the second they connect. This kiss is slow and chaste, almost tentative, but so incredibly perfect at the same time. Everything about this night is perfect. So much more perfect than he ever thought it would be. He doesn't care right now where their relationship might end up, because all he's focusing on is the present, and he's finally where he belongs.

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also. If you're not already aware, a bunch of us on twitter started campaigning right after the cancellation news dropped, trying to get CBS or some other network to give us at least one more season (even just 6-10 more episodes or a 2-hr tv movie) of MacGyver to get everything wrapped up nicely. We've got a hashtag and a petition and more stuff, so if you're curious, just let me know and I can give you more details.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!