A/N: Okay, enter: RILEY!!! He's so dreamy...I love his eyes...Anyway, he's in this chapter……..alot. YAY!

Also I don't think I made it clear in the story: Story is set 1 year after the movie. Kelsie and Melissa are in their sophomore year in college; they're on summer break during the story and visiting D.C. Also, the Treasure Trio is Ben, Abigail, and Riley - but I'm pretty sure you all figured that out on your own.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything about National Treasure-(I wish I owned Riley, though)-I do own Kelsie and Melissa and The Sweet Tooth Bakery (coming up in a later chapter)

Chapter 1

Kelsie made her way through the crowd to the back of the room. She turned and spotted Melissa waiting eagerly in line to speak to the now-famous Ben Gates and Abigail Chase. She smiled at her friend's excitement, and then retreated to the back of the room where there were fewer people.

Actually, there was just one person, sitting all alone and apparently deep in thought. Intrigued, Kelsie studied him. He was wearing a navy blue hoodie over a dark gray T-shirt, jeans, and Converse sneakers. He had messy dark hair and was wearing a pair of reading glasses. Kelsie recognized a fellow computer nerd when she saw one, and decided to take a chance and go talk to him. Besides, for a geek, he was pretty hot.

"Enjoying the party?" Kelsie asked as she sat down next to him.

"Huh-what?" He seemed startled, like he hadn't noticed anyone there. "Did you say something?"

She smiled. "I asked if you were enjoying the party, but I guess if you were thinking that hard, you probably don't even know there is a party." She turned to look at him and found herself looking into a pair of the deepest, bluest eyes she had ever seen. Shaking herself out of the little mini-trance those eyes put her in, she asked, "What are you doing over here all by yourself?"

He grinned. "You're over here, too. I could ask you the same thing."

"I asked you first." When he didn't respond, she sighed. "Okay, fine. My name's Kelsie Greene; I didn't really want to come to this thing, but my friend dragged me. Your turn."

He nodded in agreement. "I didn't want to come here either, but I didn't have a choice. I figured if I stayed in the back, I wouldn't have a bunch of people trying to engage in conversation about some stupid history stuff that I don't care about. I'm Riley," he finished.

Kelsie recognized the name, but she couldn't remember where she'd heard it before. She brushed the thought away; it didn't really matter. "So," she asked, "do you want to sit back here and hate history together?"

Riley shot a quick look at the other side of the room. "Well, technically, I'm supposed to be up there with Ben and Abi, but no one seems to have noticed that I'm not, so sure. Why not?"

Kelsie's eyes widened in surprise and excitement as she realized why his name sounded so familiar. "Wait. You're Riley Poole? The Sexy Sidekick from the Treasure Trio? Wait – I mean – oops..." She slapped a hand to her forehead, blushing furiously. She hadn't intended to let slip that she called him that sometimes. Not even Melissa knew she called him that.

Riley raised his eyebrows and leaned forward, grinning. "Sexy Sidekick, huh?" he asked suggestively. "Is that what people are calling me now?"

"Um, no...it's kinda just me..." Kelsie told him, still blushing. "I think most people know you as Ben Gates' friend, or the Computer Geek."

His face fell and he slumped back into his chair, crossing his arms across his chest defensively. "I'm not a geek," he muttered, scowling.

Biting her tongue to keep from laughing, Kelsie thought, 'He looks so adorable like that: practically pouting over a silly nickname!' She decided to change the subject though, and asked him something she had been wondering about for a while, now that she had the chance to ask him.

"I've been wondering about that tracking model you used to help Ben find that ship, the Charlotte..." she began.

"What about it?" Riley asked, curiously. He sat up straight again and looked at her. Once again, she was completely mesmerized by those eyes.

"Well, do you think you could show me how it works? I've been putting together something similar, but I just can't get everything to work the way I want it too. If it's not too much trouble, maybe you could give me a few pointers?" Kelsie realized she was rambling, but she kept talking. "Of course, I realize if you're too busy, but –" She trailed off when she noticed Riley laughing at her. "What's so funny?"

"I've been sitting here staring at the wall for the past hour, letting my mind wander and then trying to follow my own train of thought backwards to where I started. How busy do you think I am?" he asked, still chuckling.

"You do that, too?" Kelsie asked, excited. "My whole family thinks I'm nuts because I like to retrace my thoughts when I get bored. I thought I was the only person who did that."

"Yeah, no one really understands why I do it, either," Riley agreed. "Anyway, I have my laptop with me; it's out in my car if you want to come check out the program right now." He looked around at all the people discussing historical facts and events as they admired the documents displayed all around the room. "It's not like we'll miss anything interesting here."

Kelsie stood up. "Sure, I just need to let Melissa know I'll be going outside," she explained. She pulled out her cell phone and sent her friend a quick text message. "Okay! Lead the way," she said, and followed Riley through the crowd of people to the exit.

Riley held the door open for her and bowed. "Ladies first," he said grandly.

Kelsie curtsied. "Why, thank you, kind sir," she told him, struggling to keep a straight face. She stepped outside, but stopped when Riley burst out laughing. "Hey!" she said, whirling around. "What are you laughing at me for? That's not very nice!"

Smiling mischievously, Riley followed her outside. "I've changed my mind," he informed her. "I've decided being a geek is not so bad. It has its upsides, I guess." He laughed again.

Kelsie groaned, remembering the message printed on the back of her T-shirt:

GEEK IS SEXY

She glared at him. How dare he tease her like that, she thought. When he just laughed again, she mock-punched him in the arm and said, "Shut up!"

"Hey!" Riley protested, rubbing his arm where she had hit him. "Okay, you asked for it," he warned as he started chasing her around the grounds outside the Archives Building.

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