Here we go! I hope everyone who was confused will be less so now... And we have a surprise! Riley gets his own chapter!

Disclaimer: Thine most holy characters of James and William belong to Lady Cassandra. My own poor soul be not worthy enough to possess of them.

Chapter: Riley

Riley waited, as agreed, outside the Institute. He didn't know when Belle would come out, but he had time to kill. As luck would have it, shortly after daybreak the doors swung open and she hurried out, sliding her arm into a thick jacket; the wind was bitingly cold. He smiled at her, taking in her spray of dark curls and big green eyes, just as he always did; he loved beauty, and Belle was absolutely gorgeous.

Something seemed off about the way she kept her head down, and when she reached him he realized what it was. Her hair was tangled, like she had forgotten to brush it, and there were dark circles under her eyes, which were slightly pink and swollen. She looked heartbroken, like everything in her world had come crashing down.

"Belle? Belle, what's wrong? Tell me," he urged, taking her hands in his.

She shook her head. "Not here," she whispered hoarsely in a voice weak from tears. "Anywhere but here."

Riley led her to the park, where there were only a few people due to the abysmal cold front. He sat her down on a bench and angled her chin toward his face with a hand that seemed too big next to her delicate features. "What's wrong?" he repeated, feeling like his own heart was rubbed raw.

He had been in love with Belle since the day he met her. His first impression of her was that she was the most amazing girl he had ever met. As time went on, he realized he was wrong: she was the most amazing girl anyone had met, could ever meet. She had never seemed to return his feelings– if she even knew how he felt– but that didn't faze him. They had eternity, and he was confident that she could learn to love him.

"Everything," she mumbled, avoiding his gaze. "Everything is wrong."

"I can't help if you don't tell me why you're so sad," Riley said gently. She met his eyes then, her own full of tears.

"Promise not to judge me?"

"I promise."

"Okay… Last night, well, evening, when I got back from the Lightwoods' house, Jem and I had a cup of tea. We– we kissed for a bit, he pulled away and… And he– he–" She choked, tears spilling over onto her cheeks. Riley wiped them away.

"What did he do? What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"He told me he loves me," Belle whispered like it was the worst thing in the world. Riley thought he could point out the fissure line where his heart had cracked in two. 'Cause when a heart breaks, you know it don't break even, he thought sadly. He tried to smile, failing in a spectacular fashion, but luckily she didn't notice.

"Well, that's good, isn't it? He loves you. It's great," he said in a horrible cheery tone that did not belong to him. "You'll be happy together."

At that, her head snapped up and she stared at him incredulously, mouth hanging open. "Don't you know me at all? This is awful! I didn't want this!"

Do you not want it because you love someone else? Is it me? What I want to know, Belle, is if you love me the way I love you. "Why?"

"I don't– I can't– We shouldn't– God, my love life is confusing!" she moaned, drawing her knees up to her chest and burying her face in them.

He put a comforting hand on her back. "Tell me everything. Why is your love life so confusing? Maybe– maybe talking about it will help."

She raised her head slowly, looking down. "You should know," she began, and Riley felt his hopes rise. "The night we confronted Camille– when I was talking to Magnus– he said that you… cared for me. More than as for a friend."

He bit his lip. "I don't know what to say to that, other than yes, it's true. I care for you deeply."

She jumped up, staring at him angrily. What did I do? "Not you too!" she shouted. "What about me is so desirable?"

"You're clever, you have a great sense of humor, you're beautiful–"

She laughed humorlessly and threw herself back down onto the bench, as far away from Riley as she could get. "Who cares what I look like? Why does that matter, of all things? Am I just a pretty face, nothing else?"

"You know that's not it!" Now he was getting agitated. "Yes, we like to look at you, but that's not why everyone loves you!"

"I hate being pretty. No one will take me seriously. Life would be easier if I–"

"If you what? Yes, life would be easier if things went the way they were supposed to, if everyone loved each other, if things were equal and fair but they're not. We have to go on what we've got, and you've got quite a lot to offer." Belle was quiet, which he took to be a sign that he had won the argument.

"I'm not that clever. My sense of humor is no better than anyone else's."

He threw his hands in the air. "Why do you always do this? Why do you refuse to see what the rest of us do? Why can't you just admit that you're incredible and move on?"

"Because I'm not! Because I'm no better than anyone else, and I don't deserve all this attention! Because there are a thousand people– a million– better than me that Jem could be happy with! I don't deserve him," she added in a whisper.

Ah. They were getting to the root of the problem. "That's why you were upset that he said he loved you. Because you think you don't deserve him. You think he can do better. Why not tell him that, then? Tell him to move on."

She said nothing. "Oh," Riley said as it dawned on him. "You love him, too."

"Of course I do. He's amazing. I can't tell him he should be with someone else, because–"

"Because you think it would break you in half to do it. You're afraid he'll agree with you and find another woman to love. You know that if he did that, you would die from the pain of it all."

She looked at him in wonderment. "How do you know?"

"Experience," he said darkly. "Look, if everything I've heard about Jem is true, he doesn't care about your past. He doesn't care what you've done. He only cares about the here and now. He only cares if you love him now. Anything before that is irrelevant."

Belle nodded. "I guess… And then there's Will…"

"Will?" he asked, shocked. "What happened with him? Don't tell me you love him, too?"

"No, God no. We're… friends of a sort, but I don't know… Sometimes I catch him looking at me when he thinks I can't see, and the expression on his face… He's so hard to read, and I know he'd never to admit to anything that would hurt Jem, but I'm worried that he cares for me, too."

"Your love life is confusing." She smiled a little for the first time. "I'd say you forget about Will and focus on Jem. If Will wants something to happen, he'll make it happen. Don't worry about him. Now, any other guys I should know about?"

"Gabriel and I are just friends. I'm one hundred percent sure he doesn't like me like that. Do I know any other guys? Oh, Magnus. No, nothing there." She stood up. "I think we're quite done here. Home?"

"Your home, not mine." Riley looked over to see more tears running down Belle's face as they walked. "Oh, no, I've made you cry again."

"It's not you, it's just…" She sighed. "Nothing. It's nothing. Just… thanks."

He nodded in a "no problem" way. He hesitated before asking the question he needed the answer to. "You know I care for you, but… I assume you don't feel the same?"

"No, Riley, and I'm sorry for that. I do love you, but… as a friend." They arrived at the Institute, where Belle reached up and kissed Riley's cold cheek. "Thank you," she whispered, and slipped back into the Institute as Charlotte walked out, looking confused,

I should have known. What an idiot I've been, to think that she could ever love me. Oh, Belle, I hope you're happy with him, I do, because if I can't make you happy someone should.

Chapter: Belle

After she got in from meeting with Riley, which– despite all her fine words– didn't make her feel better, Belle crawled into her bed and refused to move. She lay in bed for three days, getting up only to use the bathroom, which, being adjacent to her room, meant she didn't have to see anyone. She had locked the door, and no matter how often people came to knock and beg her to come out, she wouldn't.

"Jem, I can't see you again," she whispered in a rehearsal to herself. "I can't love you the way you want me to. I am not nearly as good a person as you think I am, and we shouldn't be together. You should be with someone who deserves you, someone who won't break your heart one day… You deserve perfect, Jem, and I am anything but." Just saying the words to herself made her want to cry, but she couldn't. The pressure was constant behind her eyes, and her throat felt like it was clogged, but she couldn't cry. Maybe it was the knowledge that she was speaking truth.

On the third day, she lay in bed staring at the door when she thought she begun to hallucinate. Unless she was very much mistaken, the doorknob had started to spin before it emitted a puff of smoke and was still. The door swung open and Will waltzed in, looking furious.

Despite the anger on his features, he spoke gently. "Sorry, but you need to leave this room. You are to come downstairs and eat something, and you are not to return here after. If you wish, you don't have to see anyone, but you will come."

"Will I?" she said in a voice hoarse from three days disuse.

"Yes, you will."

"And if I refuse?"

"I am under orders to carry you down."

"Whose orders?"

"My own. Let's go." He picked her up carefully, and she didn't even bother to struggle. She sat limply in his arms, resting her cheek against his shoulder. Will carried her into the kitchen and sat her down in a wooden chair with a plate of food in front of it.

"Did you make these?" Belle asked, poking a pancake with her fork.

Will snorted. "Sophie did. I can't cook."

She thought about Will being under his own orders, unlocking her door with a rune, carrying her downstairs and forcing her to eat. She thought about his kindness, surprising as it was, and she was finally able to release the built-up tears she had been hoping to shed. She put her head in her hands and sobbed, crying for Will and his unwarranted sweetness, Jem, refusing to give up on her, and Sophie, making her food even when she would have been fine on her own. Mostly, though, Belle cried for herself, furiously deciding she had been quite stupid in refusing to love Jem.

Will put a tentative hand on her back. "Are you all right?"

She turned and threw her arms around him, not caring that his shirt would be soaked through with tears. He stroked her hair and let her cry, making soothing little noises of comfort.

"I– I'm sorry," she apologized with a hiccup a few minutes later. "I haven't been able to cry in a few days, and I needed that. You didn't have to…"

"If Jem cares for you, I will treat you like I do him. And he cares very much for you. I can't let you starve."

"Some people would."

"I had no choice. You're in love with my best mate. I have to make you presentable, at least. Come on, then, eat. If you want to see Jem after, I'll take you to him. If not… I'll still take you to him. You two need to talk."

Belle smiled despite herself. "Will… I owe you one."

"Yes, you do."

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