Quick Author's Note

Thanks again, sorry if I hadn't acknowledged everyone who reviewed, but as I said, every comment is appreciated! Keep em coming, I love getting feedback. Thanks again to everyone! Luv yah 3 (P.S. I kinda altered Bender a little bit this chapter but he's gonna be back to his same rebel self in the next few chapters, I promise!)

I came back to the library to discover that Brian was all the way the other side of the room, sitting at his desk with a frightened stare at Riley. She, on the other hand, was in her assigned spot, filing away at the desk. She didn't bother to look up at me as I made my way towards Brian. When we were out of her earshot, Brian motioned for me to come close.

"Whatever you two did in there, it made her go on a rampage." He whispered in my ear. "She started crying in the hallway, and Vernon came out to check on her. She was screaming at him and all this stuff. He helped her back in here, but whenever he tried to touch her, she just yelled at him. Then, she just sat down at the desk and got out her nailfile."

I was puzzled at this. She went on a rampage? Suddenly, she started reminding me of Allison. I hadn't spoken with Allison since that certain Saturday. Apparently, she and her family moved to Columbus to find her a new doctor. I knew she had issues, but it was somewhat depressing to hear that she wouldn't be back.

"She's probably PMS or something." I concluded, even though I knew that something else was going on. "Watch, I'll get her to talk."

Brian looked at me as though I were crazy. "And get your head bitten off? Fine by me, just don't say I didn't warn you."

I stood up from my squatting position and made my way over to Riley. Even though my boots made a slight squeak as I walked, she still didn't acknowledge me at all. I walked in front of her desk, jumped up on top, and sat on it.

"What's up with you?" I asked, turning on that familiar rebel attitude. "Brain Drain tells me you had a spaz attack. Are you mental or is it just that time of the month?"

Riley looked up at me, her eyes still glistening with the remnants of tears. She shook her head, sniffled, and went back to carving into the wooden desk. I rolled my eyes and went on.

"Look, if it was because of the whole kiss thing in there, no one except you and I know about it. It's no big deal. Just get over it. We've got almost another hour of this hell, and if you're going to mope and cry then rid us of your presence and do it in the bathroom."

The sound of the sharp file against the wood was starting to agitate me more and more. I hated it whenever people didn't listen to me. I was so used to it at home that I thought if people outside my house don't listen, then I might as well go ballistic on their ass. Before she could saw at the desktop anymore, I grabbed the file from her fingers and broke it in half.

"God, will you freaking listen to me?" I shouted, finding her gaze into my eyes eerie and uncomfortable. "Why are you acting like this? Is it because of the whole dare thing? Why the hell were you so uneasy about kissing me?"

"BECAUSE," She began, standing up and slamming her fists on the desk. "I'm not allowed...I'm not allowed to even be alone with a guy...,"

The image of an overprotective father scolding his daughter for going on a date came into my mind as Riley went on.

"Do you really wanna know the truth, Bender?" She asked with teary eyes. "I live with my dad and my brother. My mom divorced my dad when I was born. You know why? Because he raped her. I was born because my father is a rapist. He got custody of me, so he can do whatever the hell he wants with me. The same for my brother. The reason I'm not allowed to go on dates, to go to school dances, to go to football games, or even to the mall...I'm not allowed because they think I'm their...their property."

I could feel my face burning red while my insides went freezing cold. I could barely think...all I could do was listen to her go on and on, reliving horrible memories because I had to bring them out.

She slammed her fist on the desk again. "And when you grabbed my arm like that, like this," She took my arm with her small hand, squeezing it with all her might. "...it reminded me of my family...and I got scared. I'm still scared...I don't like that feeling, I don't like knowing that after school is over, I have to go back there...back home. And the only thing that keeps me going...is reminding myself...that there are probably people out there who have it way worse...

"The reason I haven't been to school...it's because I tried to run away...but my dad caught me. I was so...so close...I had my foot right on the gas pedal...but he found me...and the bat," She imitated the action, holding an imaginary baseball bat above her head, then thrusting it down in front of her. "...the bat came through...through the windshield and it hit me in the shoulder. It was shattered...I screamed, but...no one heard me. Not even my dad...and he was right in front of me the whole time."

I was dumbfounded. I glanced at Brian, who shared the same disbelieving look that I sported. My palms were sweating profusely, and my pulse was speeding fast. Suddenly, something inside me clicked at that moment. I felt something...it felt like a ray of light shooting through my eyes.

"I know that feeling."

"...you do?.."

I nodded. "I know what it's like to scream, and to have no one hear you." She cried a little bit, burying her face in her hands for a moment. I put my hand on her shoulder, hoping to soothe her pain. Brian remained quiet, being the polite and sensitive guy I knew he was deep down.

In those moments of pain, I came to realize another thing. No matter what teenager, no matter the group, stereotype, or clique, parents were the problem. The same went for Andy, Claire, Allison, Brian, me, Riley, and so many others. And even though we all blamed our parents, vowing never to imitate their ways...we know that someday, when we're parents, we're inevitably going to do what they did. Not all the time, but it's hard not to copy your parents.

Riley sniffled again, breaking me from my thoughts, and wiped the tears from below her eyes. She bit her lip as she glanced around the room, catching Brian's stare. With a light smile, she turned around to face him.

"You can move back over here. I'm not devil-touched all the time."

Brian returned the smile and chuckled slightly. "For a minute there I thought you were going to pull out that file and stab Vernon."

"Well, I didn't do that," She admitted, looking at me for a moment. "But I hope he's still able to have children after that kicking I did."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise, asking, "You kicked Dick in the family jewels? Don't be sorry if he can't have kids 'cause the last thing the world needs is him spawning little Vernons all over the planet."

We all shared a hearty laugh and eventually got to talking. I had to admit, I was a little more comfortable in this small group than I was the last Saturday detention with the others. I hadn't known anyone there personally before then, only by reputation. It had gotten easier to talk with them as the day rolled on, but fights would erupt every now and then. Each one was probably caused by my teasing on Claire. It was just sort of fun to annoy her. I had to admit, the princess looked hot whenever she was agitated.

At around twelve, Vernon came in and gave us permission to eat lunch and buy drinks. Riley volunteered to get the sodas from the machine down the hall, leaving me and the dork to eat alone for awhile.

He pulled out his brown paper sack and stuck his hand inside, rummaging around for his food. He took out a sandwich, a little bag of chips, and a box of Mike and Ike's candies. Pushing them towards me, he smiled and reached back in only to pull out the same thing for himself. I looked down at the food gratefully.

"Uh, thanks, man." I replied, patting him on the back.

"I had to come prepared." He stated, taking a bite of his sandwich. "So...tell me what went on in the bathroom."

Glancing around the room to make sure that Riley wasn't in sight, I pulled out a couple chips and told him the whole thing. He wasn't as confused I had was know that he knew why she had been so strange beforehand.

He took another bite of his lunch. "Did you like it?"

"Hmm...it was–," I stopped myself short as Riley entered the library with three cans of Cherry Coke in her arms. Hoping to disguise the conversation, I said to Brian, "And that's how I went to jail for hijacking the mayor's Porsche."

Riley looked like she could care less what we were talking about as she set the pop cans down on the desk, taking one for herself, and sitting in her own seat. She took out her lunch from her messenger bag nonchalantly and began to eat. I smiled to myself as she pulled out a few Twizzlers.

She must've seen me staring at her because she looked back at me with her eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" She asked, going back to her meal.

I shrugged. "You like Twizzlers?"

"Well, would I be eating them if I didn't?" She grinned a little bit before nodding and leaning back in her chair. "They're my favorite candy. Do you want one?"

I couldn't help but remember the kiss, her trademark taste. I couldn't believe how sappy I felt. This wasn't the same John Bender that had entered the school this morning with a shitty attitude.

Riley cleared her throat and asked, "Well? Do you want one or not?"

"No thanks, I already had some today."