A/N: Well guys, Riley and Travis are finally gonna go on that date Riley
missed. What happens? Well...lots of things... Things go wrong with these
two on their first date just like it would anyone else (well...I assume
seeing as how I've never been on a date before....lol) Anyway, happy
reading! Enjoy!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ch 6: Realizations, Confessions and The First Date From Hell - 12/7/06 ~ Thursday ~ 11:45am
Friday....
Riley was starting to wonder about Travis. When he had said that they could just start over, act as if last week didn't happen she didn't think he meant they wouldn't go out this week. She was getting kind of worried though, he had cut the study sessions down to one, claiming that she was getting the hang of it and didn't need two days a week of tutoring in it. Riley knew this was a lie, however when she had gotten her Chemistry test back today. Right now, Riley Diane Brennon was hell-bent on finding Travis Anthony Strong. She was going to find out just what the hell was going on and why he was giving her the cold shoulder.
Riley soon found him outside, siting under a tree. However, seeing as how he was sitting on the opposite side from where she was facing, it took her a little while to find him. "Travis Anthony Strong!" She yelled, only half way to him.
Travis jumped, he hadn't been expecting anyone to full name him today. "How do you know full name?"
"I have a cousin. He likes to talk. Half the time I don't listen, but I did listen to what you three's full names are."
"Of course. You only hear what you want to hear."
"Lily Marie Randall, Robert Alexander McGrath, Travis Anthony Strong, and of course I know his full name....Ray Jamison Brennon." Riley rattled off the group's full names quickly.
"Right...I think you were yelling...."
"Right. You've been ignoring me for almost the whole week! You said we could start over, act like last week didn't happen! You're the one that said that! I've been waiting for what happened last week to happen again, seeing as how we are starting over." She paused to look him directly in the eyes. "So, mind telling me why you've been giving me the cold shoulder all week?" Riley sat down.
"I know what you were doing last week."
"What do you mean?"
"You said you would go out with me because you know I'm lacking in that..." He seemed to search for the correct word, "Department...Then, you don't show up." He shrugged, "It's fine. It happens all the time."
"No! You've got it all wrong! You remember that story I caught you reading in my journal when I had gone downstairs during that one break of one of our sessions?"
Travis nodded.
"You remember about where you left off, right?"
"You only had about five pages written."
"If you looked it all over really good, you'd notice I write the date and time on all my pages."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
Riley pulled out her somewhat tattered black notebook. On the front in white-out it said STUFF. She flipped it open and showed him the sixth page. The date was 12/6/06, the time on the page said 1:07pm, the last page's time said 7:25pm. "It has to do with practically everything."
Travis stared at the paper for a few moments before glancing at Riley. "So...you didn't....stand me up...you really did just...loose track of time...."
Riley nodded slowly. "Yeah..."
Travis was chewing on his lower lip. He'd jumped to conclusions and now Riley probably hated him for it all. "Do you...." He glanced at her, licking his lips, "Do you hate me?"
"What? No! Why would I hate you?"
"Well...it's just...I jumped to conclusions, I've been a jerk all week--"
"Travis...we're teenagers, we're both seventeen. In life, especially as a teenager, shit happens."
Travis shook his head and glanced up at her, "So...do you want to try it again, next Friday?"
"Sure."
"Let's start this over."
"Ok. So, you just pulled me aside, right?"
"Alright."
"What did you want oorrr...whatever?"
"You. Me. Dinner. Movie. Friday. Six-thirty."
"Are you asking me out?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, six-thirty, right?"
"Don't forget..."
They looked at each other for a few seconds and laughed.
~*~*~*~
12/6/06 ~ 11:45am
On the other side of the courtyard, Lily was leaning against a tree, arms behind her head, looked up at the clouds, through the openings in the tree she was under. She closed her eyes and never saw or heard the person come over to her. The person sat down next to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Lily jumped and let out a startled yelp. She sighed and punched him in the arm, "Ray! Don't do that!"
Ray rubbed his arm where Lily hit him. "Sorry, didn't know it would freak you out so much."
"Well....don't do it again..." She looked at Ray. He had that same nervous look he had that Thursday afternoon in November in the empty hallway. Although he was nervous, he didn't see quite as high-strung, though still pretty skittish. "What's up?"
"Nothing..."
Lily raised an eyebrow at her friend for several years. He was always really talkative but not today. For the whole day, Ray had been really quiet, and to be honest, Lily was a little worried. "Ray...what's going on? You've been really quiet....all day. You're kind of freaking me out."
Ray didn't really hear what Lily had said, he was too lost in his thoughts. He blinked and looked up at her, "What?"
"You've been too quiet today...you're freaking me out."
"Sorry...I've just...been thinking alot lately..."
Lily gave a mock look of surprise, "Ray Brennon, has been thinking? Good Lord, is the world ending?"
Ray smirked and shoved her lightly. "Hey! Shut up!"
Lily smiled. She had really been hoping that Ray would ask her out before Christmas break, she wasn't sure if that would happen though. Christmas break was starting in a week and three days. If he hadn't by now, maybe he didn't like her that way, maybe he just wanted to keep their relationship platonic.
Ray sighed. He wanted to do it, really, he did, but he just couldn't get the courage to ask her out. He'd been trying to do that for almost the three years. He closed his eyes tight and took a few moments to try and gather what he was going to say. He had to do it. If he didn't now, there may not be another chance.
However, before he could finish gathering his thoughts, Lily said, "Hey, I'll be back in a sec." She was looking over at a guy Ray didn't know as she said this. He nodded as she stood up and walked over to him. Ray watched from afar as the thought-to-be love of his life talked and flirted with him. After looking on for a few moments, Ray knew who the guy was. His name was Scott Mooney. He was somewhat popular, nothing much though, nothing like any of the jocks of the school, anyway. As Ray looked on he saw possibly the worst thing he could ever imagine: Scott leaned down and kissed Lily.
Ray couldn't bear to watch any more. He stood and walked away. He walked past Riley and Travis. Riley saw the look of pain all over his face, even in the two second flash that was provided as he walked by them. Riley looked at Travis, "I'll be back..." With that she ran off after her cousin. "Ray!"
Ray ignored his cousins calls for him. He wasn't about to explain everything to her. Sure, she knew that he liked Lily, but she didn't know how much he liked her.
Riley ran faster so she could catch up with Ray. She didn't know what happened but she knew it had hurt him. She called for him again, "RAY!" Riley chased after him until they reached just inside the school's big double doors. Ray stopped running, slammed his fist into the nearest locker, turned and slid down to the floor. Riley walked over and knelt next to him. "Ray...what's going on?"
"Nothing...it's...nothing."
"The Ray Jamison Brennon I know doesn't get this upset over nothing...What happened?"
Ray, who had his head on his arm, which was on his knees, lifted his head. "She kissed him...I waited too long...and...she kissed him..."
"What? Who? What are you going on about?" Riley sat down, her legs to the side, one on top of the other.
"Lily...she...kissed Scott Mooney.
~*~
12/7/06 - 11:46am
As soon as Scott had kissed her, Lily pulled away. "What are you doing?"
"I thought you liked me..."
"No...I'm sorry but...I'm interested in someone else..." She glanced back to where she and Ray had been. She saw Ray tear his eyes away, stand, and run off. She looked back at Scott, still watching Ray run towards the school "Look, I've gotta go. Maybe I'll see you later." Lily ran off towards the school. She ran up the stone steps, she tore one of the doors open and stood there, just inside the school building. She looked as Riley tried to figure things out, as she tried to comfort her cousin. He must have told her what happened, or what he'd seen of it anyway.
"Ray...I...I don't know what to say. She's been telling me that she--"
Lily ran towards them, "Ray!"
Ray looked up and saw Lily running towards them he put his head down, quickly whiped the few tears that had rolled down his cheeks and stared at the ground.
"Ray...will you let me explain?" Lily asked, skidding to a stop, and practically slamming down on the hard floor. Her legs were in front of her, on Ray's right.
"What's there to explain, Lily? That you just kissed Scott Mooney? There's not much too it, I don't really care to know the details."
"No, Ray...he kissed me. You weren't there long enough to see me pull away...."
Riley sat there and looked between the two. She was looking at Ray, waiting for his response.
Ray looked up, "Is there anything else?"
"I asked him what he was doing and he said that he though I liked him. I told him no, that I'm....interested in someone else..."
Ray looked at her, "Who...who is it?"
It was Lily's turn to stare at the floor now, she was blushing and didn't want Ray to see, so she let her hair fall around her face. "I...it's...um...well...he's...uh..." She stopped and bit her lower lip.
"It's...who, Lils?"
Lily swallowed and lifted her head just enough so that she could move her eyes to look at Ray. "Y-you..."
Ray was shocked beyond describing. This has to be some really great dream of mine....this kind of thing doesn't happen to me...ever... "Wha-what?" Ray managed.
"I...I like...you, Ray..."
He frowned, "Then...you...November...the...dance...the guy...was it...I mean...I..." Ray stumbled over his words. He didn't like not knowing exactly what he was trying to say.
Lily smiled, looking up at him, "Yeah...November, the Thursday before the dance....The guy that I was talking about....it was..it was you..." Lily could feel the heat rush to her cheeks as she said this. "So...then...at lunch that day...you were...you were...trying to..." She couldn't seem to find the words.
Ray knew that he himself was blushing at Lily's statement, "Y-yeah..I..I was trying to..." He swallowed, "Ask you to the dance..."
Lily wasn't sure what to say. This was all a little odd. She had never knon that Ray liked her...at all. "Ray..."
Ray lifted his eyes to meet her gaze, "Yeah?"
"Ho-how long have you...you know..."
"I..uh...ninth grade....you?"
"Uh...last...last year."
Riley looked from Lily to Ray, back to Lily, and again back to her cousin.
Lily stood up and the other two teenagers slowly followed. Riley turned to leave and go back to Travis. She had reached the double doors when she realized it was too quiet. She turned back and smirked and the sight. Ray and Lily were in a full lip lock. She turned back and left the building.
~*~
Riley had walked back to where Travis was.
"What happened?"
"Confusion. That's what. Lily was talking to Scott Mooney...he kissed Lils, Ray saw, he ran towards the school and missed Lils pulling away. They've made up and...more." Riley smirked.
"More? Did they finally getting around to confessing to each other?"
Riley nodded, "Yeah...and then of course, they kissed. And then I left. So...I dunno anything else."
"So, it was meant to happen, and it did....just like I said?"
Riley didn't know what else to do so she simply stuck her tongue out at him.
~*~
12/15/06 ~ Next Friday - 8:17am
Travis was walking down the hallway trying to find Robbie, Ray, and Lily. He soon found the three standing around, talking. He silently thanked God that they were all three at the same place.
"Hey Travis." Lily said when she saw him walking towards them.
"Lily...uh...guys..."
"We've been thinking...." Robbie started, "Maybe we shouldn't do RFR anymore. Maybe one last big goodbye show today...but...no more."
"You've been thinking, I think we should do it till our last year here..." Lily said.
"Yeah, I mean, it's just another year." Ray agreed.
"What do you think, Travis?" Lily asked.
"I don't know...But you can't do any kind of goodbye show today. I don't know if I can be at the studio today."
"What?" All three of his friends exclaimed.
"Why not?" Ray asked.
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I won't be there."
"What are we supposed to do? You're the one that does all the technical stuff!" Lily said.
"You can manage...or...just get on the air long enough to tell everyone you're...I don't know...but make something up about not being able to do the show today."
"Alright...fine." The three sighed.
~*~
12/15/06 ~ 5:46pm
Ray was really getting annoyed of his cousin right now. Why? She was making him sit in her room and tell her which freaking outfit looked best Isn't that what Lily's for? He'd thought. Well, how was she making him? A few weeks ago she'd found out about RFR, did some listening and figured out who was who. She said that if he didn't do this, Kim Carlisle would suddenly find something on the list of topics about RFR. Ray had asked just what that would be, which she responded with, "A list of who is who. You know, Question Mark equals Robbie McGrath, Pronto equals Ray Brennon, Shady Lane equals Lily Randall, and Smog equals Travis Strong." So that was basically why he was sitting here.
Currently, Riley was in a black tank top with some kind of Japaneese (or maybe it was Chinese, she wasn't sure) on it, a pair of light blue jeans with a studded belt, and black sneakers. "So?..." Riley said for what seemed like the millionth time.
Ray glanced at her and rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Whatever."
The seventeen year old girl stood with her hands on her hips, "Which one! This outfit, or the last one?"
"This one." Ray said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.
"You're no help! Go away!" She said, throwing a pillow at him as he left. The pillow hit the door as it closed and Riley flopped down on her bed. It wasn't exactly what you'd call rare for her to have a date, no, she was asked out all the time by guys at school. They were guys she didn't know or didn't want to know, but nevertheless they asked her out, and sure, she'd said yes to some of them. Those had all turned out to be really dull. But for some reason her date with Travis was different. She never really cared so much as what she wore and whatnot when she was going out, but tonight...well, come on! She had just made Ray sit through almost a whole hour of outfit changes!
~*~
12/15/06 ~ 5:48pm
Travis was pacing around the living room, muttering to himself. His mother, Cheyanne Strong, was sitting on the couch, watching her son. She wasn't sure what he was saying to himself, but she knew that with Travis, half of it was probably down-grading. Cheyanne sighed and stood up. When Travis had turned around, facing her again, she placed a hand on either of his shoulders. "Travis, honey, what's wrong?"
"I..I have a date..."
The elder woman smiled and nodded, "With that nice Brennon girl, right?"
Travis nodded.
"Honey, you're going nuts, and quite frankly, you're on the verge of pulling me in that nutty world of yours with you. Pacing back and forth and muttering to yourself for the past..." She glanced at the clock behind Travis, "Well, it's almost been an hour. It's not like you haven't been on a date before, son."
"I know but it's...it's different with Riley."
"You know she's a nice, sweet young girl, don't you."
Travis nodded.
"She doesn't smoke, or do drugs, or drink, or anything else that's illegal, does she?"
He shook his head. "No..."
"Then you need to stop pacing, definitely stop talking to yourself, and calm down. It's just a date."
Just a date... He thought, With Riley Diane Brennon...oh this should be a trip...
~*~
12/15/06 ~ 5:57pm
Travis grabbed his car keys and walked out the door. He got in his '72 Camero and back out of the drive way. He soon arrived at the Brennon house as found Riley sitting on the front porch, waiting for him. Riley saw Travis pull up and she stood. She started down the steps and turned, "I'm going out, see you later Aunt Marie!" And with that she ran to the car and hopped in the passenger's seat.
"Hi!" Riley was her usual, normal, energetic self.
"..Hi.."
There was silence as the car ride started. Riley broke it, she didn't like the silence. She turned on the radio and it just happened to be tuned to Radio Free Roscoe.
Shady Lane - "This is Shady Lane and we here at Radio Free Roscoe are sorry that we weren't on earlier, but Pronto, Question Mark, and I had to figure out how to work the controls here today."
Pronto - Can anyone guess why that is? ...No? Well, Smog decided he couldn't join us today.
Question Mark - I'm Question Mark and I'm wondering......What is Smog doing or where did he go that was more important than RFR?
Travis glared at the radio.
Pronto - I think I know where he is...
Shady Lane - And where's that, Pronto?
Pronoto - Oh, no where in particular but...I have an odd feeling that he might be with my cousin...
Question Mark - Well...that's interesting..
Shady Lane (rolls her eyes) - Well, while we debate where Smog is, you guys can listen to some tunes. Here's "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good" by Nickelback.
~Song plays~
"Robbie, what are you doing?" Lily asked.
"What? I'm not doing anything."
"That's not what you told us you were going to be doing today."
Robbie shrugged, "I don't know. It just seemed....right."
Lily rolled her eyes.
~*~
12/15/06 - 6:19pm
Riley had turned the radio off, seeing it was kind of bothering Travis. "So...Iii was thinking...I don't wanna go to Mickey's...."
"Where do you wanna go?"
"I don't know...I was thinking...maybe that new restaurant that opened up...I think it's called The...something..I don't know. I really don't care, I'd just rather go somewhere besides Mickey's..."
"Well, I gotta know where to go..."
Riley's eyes lit up. "I do! Take a right...here. Ok, now here a bit there's gonna be a fork in the road, go left."
Travis did as he was told and directed the rest of the way. In the end, he turned into a parking lot that was basically empty. Riley seemed more energetic than before.
"This is a really great place. It's....kind of fancy but they...don't try to do it over too much."
Travis glanced up and read the neon blue sign. It read: Stormy Nights He'd lived here most of his life and never knew about this place, how did Riley know about it? Oh well. The two teenagers got out of the car and into the restraunt. "Hey Tony." Riley said when they came in.
"Hey girl! I've missed you!" It was pretty obvious this guy was gay. "Whose you're friend?"
"Travis. And he's more than a friend tonight..." She glanced over her shoulder at Travis, "He's my date."
"Cool, cool. I need to find someone...oh well." He blinked, "Anyway, the usual table?"
Riley nodded, "Yeah...I like that table..." She and Travis followed Tony to the table in the back corner.
"So, like, do you guys need menus or whatever?"
Riley tilted her head towards Travis, "He'll need one, never been here before. Bring me one too...haven't been here in awhile."
Tony left and Riley looked at Travis, "So...what'd ya think so far?"
"It's...different..."
Riley rolled her eyes. "Typical Travis response."
~*~
12/15/06 - 6:54pm
When the two had ordered and the food arrived everything went fairly smooth. Or so Travis had wished. It actually went horribly wrong. The drinks had, of course, come first and a bit after they had arrived, Travis accidently knocked Riley's drink into her lap.
Riley's first reaction was, "Ahh Cold! Cold!" Then it was changed to, "Stain! Stain! New pants! Ahh! TONY WE NEED NAPKINS!"
After that it was disaster after disaster. When dinner was over and paid for, the two got in the car and sat there for a moment.
"Sorry about the...the.." Travis started, staring straight ahead.
"It's ok..."
"So...do you still wanna go for the movie?"
"Yeah....why wouldn't I?"
~*~
12/15/06 - 7:16pm
At the theater, they found out that the movie they had planned on seeing, was sold out. So were most of the other movies there. They ended up watching something else....
"So...what were watching...what's it about again?" Riley whispered as they found a seat.
"It's...a documentary about....ancient China." Travis was a bit hesitant since he knew that Riley wouldn't like it, in the least.
"Right..." She said as she sat down..
A little over half way through the documentary-movie, Riley was asleep. Her head slowly found its was to Travis' shoulder. Travis had kept stealing glances at her during the movie. He decided that he'd just wake her up so they could leave. "Riley..."
"Mmm..."
"Come on, let's just...get out of here...."
"Mmkay.."
~*~
12/15/06 - 9:22pm
They were in the car again. This time they were in the theater parking lot, but...that was really the only difference.
"So..." Riley said, turning in her seat to face her date, "What now?"
"I don't know..."
The two thought about it for a few minutes and Riley spoke, "Wanna...go for a walk or something?"
"Sure.."
So, they went to the park. The two walked around the huge reserve for awhile. About half way around it, however, the clouds opened up and the angels decided to cry. Yep. That's right. The angels were crying, this date was so bad. In other words....yeeep...it was raining and they were about a fourth of mile or so from the car. They both turned and broke into a run for the car. By the time they got to the car, they were both soaking wet.
"That went well..." Riley said sarcastically, teeth chattering.
Travis started the car and Riley quickly turned the thermostat from AC to the heater. "So...do you want me to just...take you home?"
"Yeah...I guess..." Then something popped in her head. "Take me home to the Pardise City, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. Take me home...." She sang the only part of "Paradise City" she knew.
"G 'N' R..." Travis said
"You like Everlast? Boston? Nirvana? Metalica? Third Eye Blind? Matchbox 20? Eagles? Beatles? Any other bands with the names of animals?" She rattled off band names.
"Yes to all of the above."
"Do you have any CD's in here?"
"Yeah, under your seat."
Riley got the case of CD's out and flipped through them. She looked up at him, "We're like...music soul mates!"
~*~
12/15/06 - 9:48pm
Travis pulled into the driveway of the Brennon house and cut the ignition. There was no sound other than the rain hitting the car. It was so dark out right now that you couldn't even see the rain, simply hear it. Riley wasn't sure what to do. She didn't exactly want to get out of the warm car just to get hit by the freezing rain, but she wasn't sure what she would say to be able to stay in the car. Riley licked her lips, "So...uh...what now..."
"I don't know, I guess..." He looked up at her and noticed that she was closer than she had been ten seconds ago.
Riley had no clue what she was doing. She had a vague idea of it, but nothing was concrete. Before either of the two knew anything else, they were just inches away from each other then....someone was tapping on the driver-side window. The two squinted through the heavy rain and saw who it was.
Go aaaa-waaay Raaaay! Riley thought. Damn him. Damn Ray. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Why? Why Lord? Why couldn't you just let me kiss him? Just this once? I really wanted to know what it was like....
Similar thoughts were going through Travis' mind as he cracked the window a little. "What is it?"
There was no answer.
"Ray, we can see you!" Riley yelled, completely annoyed. She didn't really want an audience when she shared her first kiss with Travis.
Still no answer. Had they both been imagining things, or was he just trying to fool them? They looked at each other and knew they were thinking the same thing. Riley shrugged and nodded towards the house, meaning "Walk me to the door?". Travis nodded and got out. Riley slowly turned around and opened the door, right when she dead Ray jumped out of nowhere. Now, normally Riley wasn't too easy to scare but she was a little spaced out and she hadn't been expecting anything at all. Riley screamed at an almost ear piercing level.
"Ow...ow...ow...Riley...that was my ear you just screamed in." Ray said.
Riley got out of the car, shut the door and started slapping her cousin. "Don't do that!"
Ray laughed but ran inside, for fear that his cousin might decided to stop slapping and turn to kicking instead. Riley stood there, arms over her chest. "Ooohh...I'm gonna kill him!"
Travis shook his head, he had to admit, Ray was probably in for some serious bruises for that one. He walked Riley to the door and they both just sort of....stood there, in the pouring rain, seeing as how neither of them had bothered to go up the steps onto the dryness of the porch. Riley stood up on her toes and Travis leaned down. They were just inches apart, yet again. Riley was half expecting Robbie or someone to jump out of the bushes behind Travis to ruin their near-kiss again. But nothing happened to ruin it. They kissed. Riley ran her hands up his face and into his hair, which she was currently playing with but suddenly, she backed away, her hands on his shoulders. She was completely speechless.
Travis looked a little uneasy. He wasn't sure why she'd broken the kiss like that. "Why did you--"
Riley's eyes were wide and she licked her lips before saying, "That was..." She went down to a whisper, "Amazing...." She said, rain sliding down her face, looking like tears. She looked at him and noticed the thin-ish black t-shirt he had on was now a bit see-through. She suddenly wondered if her black tank top was. She looked down and saw it wasn't...yet. She was on the first step to the porch. "Well...I should..uh..." She was on the second step, "I should...pr-probably um..get..get in the uh..." She was on the top step and with her left hand, pointing over her right shoulder at the door behind her. "The...uh...thing...here..the um...uh...thing that I...that I live in..." She was on the porch now. "You know...this...structure...thing...here...."
"The house?" Travis suggested.
Riley nodded furiously. "Yeah! I-I should pr-probably g-get in the...in the...house now...."
"Alright. I'll see you later, then?" Travis smiled.
She nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He has a really great smile...and his body is to die for...oh god...I-we..we have to do this again... She said just that, "We should do this again sometime!" She called.
Travis was standing next to the car now. He nodded, "Alright...Next time, then?"
She nodded. "Yeah...next time.." She was standing on the first step again as she watched Travis drive away, in the rain, getting soaked to the bone. She watched him until she couldn't due to the fact that he was out of sight. The next thing she knew, the door behind her was opening and she heard someone making kissy-kissy noises. Riley's attitude immediately changed. "Damn you, Ray!" Riley yelled as she turned on her heel, running up the steps and into the house. "You were watching, weren't you?"
Ray laughed as he ran upstairs. "Oh, Travis..." He tried to imitate a girl's voice. This only made Riley run faster up the stars. Ray was almost halfway down the hallway to his room when she entered it.
"You are soooooo dead Raymond Jamison Brennon!" Riley yelled after him.
And so ends the first date from hell.....and possibly life as Ray knows it.
~*~*~*~
Soooo...did you like? Did you like? Hopefully you did and you'll leave a lil present for me....no...not that...yes...a review! ^_^
Chapter 6 Preview:
Title - ?? No clue!
Basics: Don't know what I'm puting in it lol! Sorry guys!
Well....I don't have any clue what to do in the next chapter, if you guys have an idea, give it to me when you review, I'll take suggestions! ^_^
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ch 6: Realizations, Confessions and The First Date From Hell - 12/7/06 ~ Thursday ~ 11:45am
Friday....
Riley was starting to wonder about Travis. When he had said that they could just start over, act as if last week didn't happen she didn't think he meant they wouldn't go out this week. She was getting kind of worried though, he had cut the study sessions down to one, claiming that she was getting the hang of it and didn't need two days a week of tutoring in it. Riley knew this was a lie, however when she had gotten her Chemistry test back today. Right now, Riley Diane Brennon was hell-bent on finding Travis Anthony Strong. She was going to find out just what the hell was going on and why he was giving her the cold shoulder.
Riley soon found him outside, siting under a tree. However, seeing as how he was sitting on the opposite side from where she was facing, it took her a little while to find him. "Travis Anthony Strong!" She yelled, only half way to him.
Travis jumped, he hadn't been expecting anyone to full name him today. "How do you know full name?"
"I have a cousin. He likes to talk. Half the time I don't listen, but I did listen to what you three's full names are."
"Of course. You only hear what you want to hear."
"Lily Marie Randall, Robert Alexander McGrath, Travis Anthony Strong, and of course I know his full name....Ray Jamison Brennon." Riley rattled off the group's full names quickly.
"Right...I think you were yelling...."
"Right. You've been ignoring me for almost the whole week! You said we could start over, act like last week didn't happen! You're the one that said that! I've been waiting for what happened last week to happen again, seeing as how we are starting over." She paused to look him directly in the eyes. "So, mind telling me why you've been giving me the cold shoulder all week?" Riley sat down.
"I know what you were doing last week."
"What do you mean?"
"You said you would go out with me because you know I'm lacking in that..." He seemed to search for the correct word, "Department...Then, you don't show up." He shrugged, "It's fine. It happens all the time."
"No! You've got it all wrong! You remember that story I caught you reading in my journal when I had gone downstairs during that one break of one of our sessions?"
Travis nodded.
"You remember about where you left off, right?"
"You only had about five pages written."
"If you looked it all over really good, you'd notice I write the date and time on all my pages."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
Riley pulled out her somewhat tattered black notebook. On the front in white-out it said STUFF. She flipped it open and showed him the sixth page. The date was 12/6/06, the time on the page said 1:07pm, the last page's time said 7:25pm. "It has to do with practically everything."
Travis stared at the paper for a few moments before glancing at Riley. "So...you didn't....stand me up...you really did just...loose track of time...."
Riley nodded slowly. "Yeah..."
Travis was chewing on his lower lip. He'd jumped to conclusions and now Riley probably hated him for it all. "Do you...." He glanced at her, licking his lips, "Do you hate me?"
"What? No! Why would I hate you?"
"Well...it's just...I jumped to conclusions, I've been a jerk all week--"
"Travis...we're teenagers, we're both seventeen. In life, especially as a teenager, shit happens."
Travis shook his head and glanced up at her, "So...do you want to try it again, next Friday?"
"Sure."
"Let's start this over."
"Ok. So, you just pulled me aside, right?"
"Alright."
"What did you want oorrr...whatever?"
"You. Me. Dinner. Movie. Friday. Six-thirty."
"Are you asking me out?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, six-thirty, right?"
"Don't forget..."
They looked at each other for a few seconds and laughed.
~*~*~*~
12/6/06 ~ 11:45am
On the other side of the courtyard, Lily was leaning against a tree, arms behind her head, looked up at the clouds, through the openings in the tree she was under. She closed her eyes and never saw or heard the person come over to her. The person sat down next to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Lily jumped and let out a startled yelp. She sighed and punched him in the arm, "Ray! Don't do that!"
Ray rubbed his arm where Lily hit him. "Sorry, didn't know it would freak you out so much."
"Well....don't do it again..." She looked at Ray. He had that same nervous look he had that Thursday afternoon in November in the empty hallway. Although he was nervous, he didn't see quite as high-strung, though still pretty skittish. "What's up?"
"Nothing..."
Lily raised an eyebrow at her friend for several years. He was always really talkative but not today. For the whole day, Ray had been really quiet, and to be honest, Lily was a little worried. "Ray...what's going on? You've been really quiet....all day. You're kind of freaking me out."
Ray didn't really hear what Lily had said, he was too lost in his thoughts. He blinked and looked up at her, "What?"
"You've been too quiet today...you're freaking me out."
"Sorry...I've just...been thinking alot lately..."
Lily gave a mock look of surprise, "Ray Brennon, has been thinking? Good Lord, is the world ending?"
Ray smirked and shoved her lightly. "Hey! Shut up!"
Lily smiled. She had really been hoping that Ray would ask her out before Christmas break, she wasn't sure if that would happen though. Christmas break was starting in a week and three days. If he hadn't by now, maybe he didn't like her that way, maybe he just wanted to keep their relationship platonic.
Ray sighed. He wanted to do it, really, he did, but he just couldn't get the courage to ask her out. He'd been trying to do that for almost the three years. He closed his eyes tight and took a few moments to try and gather what he was going to say. He had to do it. If he didn't now, there may not be another chance.
However, before he could finish gathering his thoughts, Lily said, "Hey, I'll be back in a sec." She was looking over at a guy Ray didn't know as she said this. He nodded as she stood up and walked over to him. Ray watched from afar as the thought-to-be love of his life talked and flirted with him. After looking on for a few moments, Ray knew who the guy was. His name was Scott Mooney. He was somewhat popular, nothing much though, nothing like any of the jocks of the school, anyway. As Ray looked on he saw possibly the worst thing he could ever imagine: Scott leaned down and kissed Lily.
Ray couldn't bear to watch any more. He stood and walked away. He walked past Riley and Travis. Riley saw the look of pain all over his face, even in the two second flash that was provided as he walked by them. Riley looked at Travis, "I'll be back..." With that she ran off after her cousin. "Ray!"
Ray ignored his cousins calls for him. He wasn't about to explain everything to her. Sure, she knew that he liked Lily, but she didn't know how much he liked her.
Riley ran faster so she could catch up with Ray. She didn't know what happened but she knew it had hurt him. She called for him again, "RAY!" Riley chased after him until they reached just inside the school's big double doors. Ray stopped running, slammed his fist into the nearest locker, turned and slid down to the floor. Riley walked over and knelt next to him. "Ray...what's going on?"
"Nothing...it's...nothing."
"The Ray Jamison Brennon I know doesn't get this upset over nothing...What happened?"
Ray, who had his head on his arm, which was on his knees, lifted his head. "She kissed him...I waited too long...and...she kissed him..."
"What? Who? What are you going on about?" Riley sat down, her legs to the side, one on top of the other.
"Lily...she...kissed Scott Mooney.
~*~
12/7/06 - 11:46am
As soon as Scott had kissed her, Lily pulled away. "What are you doing?"
"I thought you liked me..."
"No...I'm sorry but...I'm interested in someone else..." She glanced back to where she and Ray had been. She saw Ray tear his eyes away, stand, and run off. She looked back at Scott, still watching Ray run towards the school "Look, I've gotta go. Maybe I'll see you later." Lily ran off towards the school. She ran up the stone steps, she tore one of the doors open and stood there, just inside the school building. She looked as Riley tried to figure things out, as she tried to comfort her cousin. He must have told her what happened, or what he'd seen of it anyway.
"Ray...I...I don't know what to say. She's been telling me that she--"
Lily ran towards them, "Ray!"
Ray looked up and saw Lily running towards them he put his head down, quickly whiped the few tears that had rolled down his cheeks and stared at the ground.
"Ray...will you let me explain?" Lily asked, skidding to a stop, and practically slamming down on the hard floor. Her legs were in front of her, on Ray's right.
"What's there to explain, Lily? That you just kissed Scott Mooney? There's not much too it, I don't really care to know the details."
"No, Ray...he kissed me. You weren't there long enough to see me pull away...."
Riley sat there and looked between the two. She was looking at Ray, waiting for his response.
Ray looked up, "Is there anything else?"
"I asked him what he was doing and he said that he though I liked him. I told him no, that I'm....interested in someone else..."
Ray looked at her, "Who...who is it?"
It was Lily's turn to stare at the floor now, she was blushing and didn't want Ray to see, so she let her hair fall around her face. "I...it's...um...well...he's...uh..." She stopped and bit her lower lip.
"It's...who, Lils?"
Lily swallowed and lifted her head just enough so that she could move her eyes to look at Ray. "Y-you..."
Ray was shocked beyond describing. This has to be some really great dream of mine....this kind of thing doesn't happen to me...ever... "Wha-what?" Ray managed.
"I...I like...you, Ray..."
He frowned, "Then...you...November...the...dance...the guy...was it...I mean...I..." Ray stumbled over his words. He didn't like not knowing exactly what he was trying to say.
Lily smiled, looking up at him, "Yeah...November, the Thursday before the dance....The guy that I was talking about....it was..it was you..." Lily could feel the heat rush to her cheeks as she said this. "So...then...at lunch that day...you were...you were...trying to..." She couldn't seem to find the words.
Ray knew that he himself was blushing at Lily's statement, "Y-yeah..I..I was trying to..." He swallowed, "Ask you to the dance..."
Lily wasn't sure what to say. This was all a little odd. She had never knon that Ray liked her...at all. "Ray..."
Ray lifted his eyes to meet her gaze, "Yeah?"
"Ho-how long have you...you know..."
"I..uh...ninth grade....you?"
"Uh...last...last year."
Riley looked from Lily to Ray, back to Lily, and again back to her cousin.
Lily stood up and the other two teenagers slowly followed. Riley turned to leave and go back to Travis. She had reached the double doors when she realized it was too quiet. She turned back and smirked and the sight. Ray and Lily were in a full lip lock. She turned back and left the building.
~*~
Riley had walked back to where Travis was.
"What happened?"
"Confusion. That's what. Lily was talking to Scott Mooney...he kissed Lils, Ray saw, he ran towards the school and missed Lils pulling away. They've made up and...more." Riley smirked.
"More? Did they finally getting around to confessing to each other?"
Riley nodded, "Yeah...and then of course, they kissed. And then I left. So...I dunno anything else."
"So, it was meant to happen, and it did....just like I said?"
Riley didn't know what else to do so she simply stuck her tongue out at him.
~*~
12/15/06 ~ Next Friday - 8:17am
Travis was walking down the hallway trying to find Robbie, Ray, and Lily. He soon found the three standing around, talking. He silently thanked God that they were all three at the same place.
"Hey Travis." Lily said when she saw him walking towards them.
"Lily...uh...guys..."
"We've been thinking...." Robbie started, "Maybe we shouldn't do RFR anymore. Maybe one last big goodbye show today...but...no more."
"You've been thinking, I think we should do it till our last year here..." Lily said.
"Yeah, I mean, it's just another year." Ray agreed.
"What do you think, Travis?" Lily asked.
"I don't know...But you can't do any kind of goodbye show today. I don't know if I can be at the studio today."
"What?" All three of his friends exclaimed.
"Why not?" Ray asked.
"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I won't be there."
"What are we supposed to do? You're the one that does all the technical stuff!" Lily said.
"You can manage...or...just get on the air long enough to tell everyone you're...I don't know...but make something up about not being able to do the show today."
"Alright...fine." The three sighed.
~*~
12/15/06 ~ 5:46pm
Ray was really getting annoyed of his cousin right now. Why? She was making him sit in her room and tell her which freaking outfit looked best Isn't that what Lily's for? He'd thought. Well, how was she making him? A few weeks ago she'd found out about RFR, did some listening and figured out who was who. She said that if he didn't do this, Kim Carlisle would suddenly find something on the list of topics about RFR. Ray had asked just what that would be, which she responded with, "A list of who is who. You know, Question Mark equals Robbie McGrath, Pronto equals Ray Brennon, Shady Lane equals Lily Randall, and Smog equals Travis Strong." So that was basically why he was sitting here.
Currently, Riley was in a black tank top with some kind of Japaneese (or maybe it was Chinese, she wasn't sure) on it, a pair of light blue jeans with a studded belt, and black sneakers. "So?..." Riley said for what seemed like the millionth time.
Ray glanced at her and rolled his eyes, "Yeah. Whatever."
The seventeen year old girl stood with her hands on her hips, "Which one! This outfit, or the last one?"
"This one." Ray said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.
"You're no help! Go away!" She said, throwing a pillow at him as he left. The pillow hit the door as it closed and Riley flopped down on her bed. It wasn't exactly what you'd call rare for her to have a date, no, she was asked out all the time by guys at school. They were guys she didn't know or didn't want to know, but nevertheless they asked her out, and sure, she'd said yes to some of them. Those had all turned out to be really dull. But for some reason her date with Travis was different. She never really cared so much as what she wore and whatnot when she was going out, but tonight...well, come on! She had just made Ray sit through almost a whole hour of outfit changes!
~*~
12/15/06 ~ 5:48pm
Travis was pacing around the living room, muttering to himself. His mother, Cheyanne Strong, was sitting on the couch, watching her son. She wasn't sure what he was saying to himself, but she knew that with Travis, half of it was probably down-grading. Cheyanne sighed and stood up. When Travis had turned around, facing her again, she placed a hand on either of his shoulders. "Travis, honey, what's wrong?"
"I..I have a date..."
The elder woman smiled and nodded, "With that nice Brennon girl, right?"
Travis nodded.
"Honey, you're going nuts, and quite frankly, you're on the verge of pulling me in that nutty world of yours with you. Pacing back and forth and muttering to yourself for the past..." She glanced at the clock behind Travis, "Well, it's almost been an hour. It's not like you haven't been on a date before, son."
"I know but it's...it's different with Riley."
"You know she's a nice, sweet young girl, don't you."
Travis nodded.
"She doesn't smoke, or do drugs, or drink, or anything else that's illegal, does she?"
He shook his head. "No..."
"Then you need to stop pacing, definitely stop talking to yourself, and calm down. It's just a date."
Just a date... He thought, With Riley Diane Brennon...oh this should be a trip...
~*~
12/15/06 ~ 5:57pm
Travis grabbed his car keys and walked out the door. He got in his '72 Camero and back out of the drive way. He soon arrived at the Brennon house as found Riley sitting on the front porch, waiting for him. Riley saw Travis pull up and she stood. She started down the steps and turned, "I'm going out, see you later Aunt Marie!" And with that she ran to the car and hopped in the passenger's seat.
"Hi!" Riley was her usual, normal, energetic self.
"..Hi.."
There was silence as the car ride started. Riley broke it, she didn't like the silence. She turned on the radio and it just happened to be tuned to Radio Free Roscoe.
Shady Lane - "This is Shady Lane and we here at Radio Free Roscoe are sorry that we weren't on earlier, but Pronto, Question Mark, and I had to figure out how to work the controls here today."
Pronto - Can anyone guess why that is? ...No? Well, Smog decided he couldn't join us today.
Question Mark - I'm Question Mark and I'm wondering......What is Smog doing or where did he go that was more important than RFR?
Travis glared at the radio.
Pronto - I think I know where he is...
Shady Lane - And where's that, Pronto?
Pronoto - Oh, no where in particular but...I have an odd feeling that he might be with my cousin...
Question Mark - Well...that's interesting..
Shady Lane (rolls her eyes) - Well, while we debate where Smog is, you guys can listen to some tunes. Here's "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good" by Nickelback.
~Song plays~
"Robbie, what are you doing?" Lily asked.
"What? I'm not doing anything."
"That's not what you told us you were going to be doing today."
Robbie shrugged, "I don't know. It just seemed....right."
Lily rolled her eyes.
~*~
12/15/06 - 6:19pm
Riley had turned the radio off, seeing it was kind of bothering Travis. "So...Iii was thinking...I don't wanna go to Mickey's...."
"Where do you wanna go?"
"I don't know...I was thinking...maybe that new restaurant that opened up...I think it's called The...something..I don't know. I really don't care, I'd just rather go somewhere besides Mickey's..."
"Well, I gotta know where to go..."
Riley's eyes lit up. "I do! Take a right...here. Ok, now here a bit there's gonna be a fork in the road, go left."
Travis did as he was told and directed the rest of the way. In the end, he turned into a parking lot that was basically empty. Riley seemed more energetic than before.
"This is a really great place. It's....kind of fancy but they...don't try to do it over too much."
Travis glanced up and read the neon blue sign. It read: Stormy Nights He'd lived here most of his life and never knew about this place, how did Riley know about it? Oh well. The two teenagers got out of the car and into the restraunt. "Hey Tony." Riley said when they came in.
"Hey girl! I've missed you!" It was pretty obvious this guy was gay. "Whose you're friend?"
"Travis. And he's more than a friend tonight..." She glanced over her shoulder at Travis, "He's my date."
"Cool, cool. I need to find someone...oh well." He blinked, "Anyway, the usual table?"
Riley nodded, "Yeah...I like that table..." She and Travis followed Tony to the table in the back corner.
"So, like, do you guys need menus or whatever?"
Riley tilted her head towards Travis, "He'll need one, never been here before. Bring me one too...haven't been here in awhile."
Tony left and Riley looked at Travis, "So...what'd ya think so far?"
"It's...different..."
Riley rolled her eyes. "Typical Travis response."
~*~
12/15/06 - 6:54pm
When the two had ordered and the food arrived everything went fairly smooth. Or so Travis had wished. It actually went horribly wrong. The drinks had, of course, come first and a bit after they had arrived, Travis accidently knocked Riley's drink into her lap.
Riley's first reaction was, "Ahh Cold! Cold!" Then it was changed to, "Stain! Stain! New pants! Ahh! TONY WE NEED NAPKINS!"
After that it was disaster after disaster. When dinner was over and paid for, the two got in the car and sat there for a moment.
"Sorry about the...the.." Travis started, staring straight ahead.
"It's ok..."
"So...do you still wanna go for the movie?"
"Yeah....why wouldn't I?"
~*~
12/15/06 - 7:16pm
At the theater, they found out that the movie they had planned on seeing, was sold out. So were most of the other movies there. They ended up watching something else....
"So...what were watching...what's it about again?" Riley whispered as they found a seat.
"It's...a documentary about....ancient China." Travis was a bit hesitant since he knew that Riley wouldn't like it, in the least.
"Right..." She said as she sat down..
A little over half way through the documentary-movie, Riley was asleep. Her head slowly found its was to Travis' shoulder. Travis had kept stealing glances at her during the movie. He decided that he'd just wake her up so they could leave. "Riley..."
"Mmm..."
"Come on, let's just...get out of here...."
"Mmkay.."
~*~
12/15/06 - 9:22pm
They were in the car again. This time they were in the theater parking lot, but...that was really the only difference.
"So..." Riley said, turning in her seat to face her date, "What now?"
"I don't know..."
The two thought about it for a few minutes and Riley spoke, "Wanna...go for a walk or something?"
"Sure.."
So, they went to the park. The two walked around the huge reserve for awhile. About half way around it, however, the clouds opened up and the angels decided to cry. Yep. That's right. The angels were crying, this date was so bad. In other words....yeeep...it was raining and they were about a fourth of mile or so from the car. They both turned and broke into a run for the car. By the time they got to the car, they were both soaking wet.
"That went well..." Riley said sarcastically, teeth chattering.
Travis started the car and Riley quickly turned the thermostat from AC to the heater. "So...do you want me to just...take you home?"
"Yeah...I guess..." Then something popped in her head. "Take me home to the Pardise City, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. Take me home...." She sang the only part of "Paradise City" she knew.
"G 'N' R..." Travis said
"You like Everlast? Boston? Nirvana? Metalica? Third Eye Blind? Matchbox 20? Eagles? Beatles? Any other bands with the names of animals?" She rattled off band names.
"Yes to all of the above."
"Do you have any CD's in here?"
"Yeah, under your seat."
Riley got the case of CD's out and flipped through them. She looked up at him, "We're like...music soul mates!"
~*~
12/15/06 - 9:48pm
Travis pulled into the driveway of the Brennon house and cut the ignition. There was no sound other than the rain hitting the car. It was so dark out right now that you couldn't even see the rain, simply hear it. Riley wasn't sure what to do. She didn't exactly want to get out of the warm car just to get hit by the freezing rain, but she wasn't sure what she would say to be able to stay in the car. Riley licked her lips, "So...uh...what now..."
"I don't know, I guess..." He looked up at her and noticed that she was closer than she had been ten seconds ago.
Riley had no clue what she was doing. She had a vague idea of it, but nothing was concrete. Before either of the two knew anything else, they were just inches away from each other then....someone was tapping on the driver-side window. The two squinted through the heavy rain and saw who it was.
Go aaaa-waaay Raaaay! Riley thought. Damn him. Damn Ray. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Why? Why Lord? Why couldn't you just let me kiss him? Just this once? I really wanted to know what it was like....
Similar thoughts were going through Travis' mind as he cracked the window a little. "What is it?"
There was no answer.
"Ray, we can see you!" Riley yelled, completely annoyed. She didn't really want an audience when she shared her first kiss with Travis.
Still no answer. Had they both been imagining things, or was he just trying to fool them? They looked at each other and knew they were thinking the same thing. Riley shrugged and nodded towards the house, meaning "Walk me to the door?". Travis nodded and got out. Riley slowly turned around and opened the door, right when she dead Ray jumped out of nowhere. Now, normally Riley wasn't too easy to scare but she was a little spaced out and she hadn't been expecting anything at all. Riley screamed at an almost ear piercing level.
"Ow...ow...ow...Riley...that was my ear you just screamed in." Ray said.
Riley got out of the car, shut the door and started slapping her cousin. "Don't do that!"
Ray laughed but ran inside, for fear that his cousin might decided to stop slapping and turn to kicking instead. Riley stood there, arms over her chest. "Ooohh...I'm gonna kill him!"
Travis shook his head, he had to admit, Ray was probably in for some serious bruises for that one. He walked Riley to the door and they both just sort of....stood there, in the pouring rain, seeing as how neither of them had bothered to go up the steps onto the dryness of the porch. Riley stood up on her toes and Travis leaned down. They were just inches apart, yet again. Riley was half expecting Robbie or someone to jump out of the bushes behind Travis to ruin their near-kiss again. But nothing happened to ruin it. They kissed. Riley ran her hands up his face and into his hair, which she was currently playing with but suddenly, she backed away, her hands on his shoulders. She was completely speechless.
Travis looked a little uneasy. He wasn't sure why she'd broken the kiss like that. "Why did you--"
Riley's eyes were wide and she licked her lips before saying, "That was..." She went down to a whisper, "Amazing...." She said, rain sliding down her face, looking like tears. She looked at him and noticed the thin-ish black t-shirt he had on was now a bit see-through. She suddenly wondered if her black tank top was. She looked down and saw it wasn't...yet. She was on the first step to the porch. "Well...I should..uh..." She was on the second step, "I should...pr-probably um..get..get in the uh..." She was on the top step and with her left hand, pointing over her right shoulder at the door behind her. "The...uh...thing...here..the um...uh...thing that I...that I live in..." She was on the porch now. "You know...this...structure...thing...here...."
"The house?" Travis suggested.
Riley nodded furiously. "Yeah! I-I should pr-probably g-get in the...in the...house now...."
"Alright. I'll see you later, then?" Travis smiled.
She nodded. She couldn't take her eyes off him. He has a really great smile...and his body is to die for...oh god...I-we..we have to do this again... She said just that, "We should do this again sometime!" She called.
Travis was standing next to the car now. He nodded, "Alright...Next time, then?"
She nodded. "Yeah...next time.." She was standing on the first step again as she watched Travis drive away, in the rain, getting soaked to the bone. She watched him until she couldn't due to the fact that he was out of sight. The next thing she knew, the door behind her was opening and she heard someone making kissy-kissy noises. Riley's attitude immediately changed. "Damn you, Ray!" Riley yelled as she turned on her heel, running up the steps and into the house. "You were watching, weren't you?"
Ray laughed as he ran upstairs. "Oh, Travis..." He tried to imitate a girl's voice. This only made Riley run faster up the stars. Ray was almost halfway down the hallway to his room when she entered it.
"You are soooooo dead Raymond Jamison Brennon!" Riley yelled after him.
And so ends the first date from hell.....and possibly life as Ray knows it.
~*~*~*~
Soooo...did you like? Did you like? Hopefully you did and you'll leave a lil present for me....no...not that...yes...a review! ^_^
Chapter 6 Preview:
Title - ?? No clue!
Basics: Don't know what I'm puting in it lol! Sorry guys!
Well....I don't have any clue what to do in the next chapter, if you guys have an idea, give it to me when you review, I'll take suggestions! ^_^