Littleton Colorado, May 31st 2005
Sunday, 8:30 a.m.
Riker's POV
I woke up the next morning with only one thing on my mind, the kiss. Wow. It felt like electricity shooting up my arms and in my chest making me all tingly inside. If anything, it only made my feelings for her stronger. I am in such a deep hole. She's my best friend! I shouldn't have these feelings for her! But maybe I'm overreacting. I've never kissed anyone before. Maybe that's the feeling that comes with every kiss.
"Yeah, that's probably it!" The little voice in my head answered back. I smiled, got out of bed, and went downstairs. Mom and Rydel were making waffles. Today was going to be good.
"Hey baby, you're up early." Mom said when she saw me.
"Yeah, I smelled food." I said with a little chuckle.
Mom suddenly got that mischevious glint in her eyes. I swallowed. Something bad is going to happen. While she turned around to start cleaning out the batter bowl, she said,"So, Rydel told me something very interesting her and Rocky saw last night." She said it very non-chalant.
I decided that I would just play it cool. So I took a seat and put my butter and syrup on my waffles. "Oh? And what was that?" I said while sending a death glare to Rydel.
Mom turned back around and said, "Nothing. Just that you and Iris slow danced."
I inwardly sighed. I've never been more scared in my life. I smiled and said,"Well, she found saw that little dance thing we have for couples and her favorite song came on. So being the extremely dapper gentleman I am, I danced with her."
She seemed to buy it and said, "Well that was extremely sweet of you and I'm sure she appreciated it."
I finished up my waffles and drank my milk before standing up and putting my dishes in the sink. Just then, Iris walked in the house and came into the kitchen.
"Hello sweetie!" Mom said and gave her a big hug.
"Good morning Stormie! Everyone else still asleep?" She asked and took a seat next to me at the counter.
"Afraid so. Do you want any waffles?"
She smiled and said,"No thanks. I already ate." Mom nodded. Rocky and Ross came down then and immediately ran to give Iris a hug.
"Morning Rissy!" Ross said.
She gave a hug in return and said,"Morning Rossy! And Rocky!" She said with a secretive smile sent his way.
They sat down and I turned to Iris and asked,"So, what do you want to do today?"
She looked at me then over to Rydel and said,"Actually I was thinking me and Rydel could go shopping today."
Rydel nodded and went upstairs to change. I looked a little skeptical "Why? You hate shopping."
"My mom is making me buy a fancy new dress for some buisness party we were invited to tonight."
My mom looked up suprised and said,"You mean the Annual Association of Buisness Owners charity event?"
Iris sunk her head into her hands and said,"That's the one."
Mom perked up and said,"Well Riker, honey, we were invited to that too. Rydel's going to need a new dress too. I'll just drive us to the mall and we can go shopping. Let me call April and see if she would like to join us."
Iris immediately looked happier and nodded. She turned to me and said,"This is great! Now I won't be the only kid there!" I smiled and nodded. She then turned an ugly shade of green.
"What's wrong?"
She turned to me. "I just remembered, we won't be the only kids there." I nodded for her to continue and she said, "His name is Gerald White. He is nerdy and disgusting, but rich, so he thinks he's a god."
I scrunched my face up in disgust and said,"Well, we'll just have to ignore him the whole night. How hard can it be?"
Her eyes widened. "Riker, he's absolutely obsessed with me. He always trys to make moves on me. He has in the past becauseI've always came without a date."
I put a comforting arm around her shoulder and said,"Don't worry. I'll be your date tonight and if he even tries to pull any of that crap, he'll have to answer to Rocky and Ross and me."
She smiled and hugged me. "Thank you so much! This really means alot to me!"
I just shrugged."Hey, it's no problem."
Just then mom walked back in and Rydel came down the stairs with her purse. Mom turned to Iris and said,"April will be here in a minute. We've decided we are gonna give you a complete make-over!"
Rydel screeched and started jumping up and down screaming "Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Rissy your going to look like a princess!"
I looked over at Iris and she mouthed "I'm doomed!". I laughed and said, "Sorry."
She then turned to mom and said,"But, why?"
Mom got the mischevious glint in her eyes again and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, your mother doesn't want you to look so tom-boyish. So prepare for pink and sparkles."
I looked over at Iris and the look on her face said it all. I fell on the floor from laughing so hard and Iris jokingly kicked me in the side. I looked up at her and she had a matching mischevious glint in her eyes. She smirked at me and said,"Well, dearest Stormie and Rydel, Riker here just agreed to be my date so naturally we need to match."
I jumped up faster than you could say 'Green Day' and started shouting ,"No! No! No! There is no way I'm wearing pink!"
Mom looked at me and I could just see the lightbulb go off in her head. "That's a great idea! Riker, I already know which outfit you can wear too!"
I looked over at Iris who had her arms crossed over her chest and was smirking. I glared at her and heard a car horn.
"Oh April's here! Lets go girls!"
Iris kissed me on the cheek as she was walking out and her hand trailed over my chin as she did. "Payback." She whispered in my ear and I got chills all up and down my spine. She smirked and joined Rydel at the door linking their arms together.
Iris's POV
Rydel and I were chatting in the back seat of the car and were jamming to music while mom and Stormie brainstormed outfit ideas up front. I told Rydel all aout Gerald White and she looked disgusted. "Well, I'll stay by your side all night when Riker or Rocky or Ross can't. If he even comes within twenty feet of you, I'm sure Riker will kick his butt."
Stormie and April stopped their conversation mid-sentence and looked back to us. "Who are you two talking about?"
I looked at mom through the mirror and she started the story. "Gerald White. He's the son of one of Martin's and mine collegues from a different law firm. His family is filthy rich and snobby as can be, so naturally he thinks he's a god. Every year at this party he tries to make moves on Iris and it drives her nuts. She'd punch him in the face if she could."
Rydel and I snickered at that and Stormie looked absolutely grossed out. "Well, Riker will defintely not let that happen. And if he can't do anything Rocky or Ross sure will, they think the world of you Iris."
I blushed and laughed and said, "They're both so cute and funny. I think of them as my brothers."
Mom and Stormie smiled sweetly and Stormie continued,"Riker does too. He came home that day you met and started rambling on and on about how his 'new best friend is so pretty and cool and funny and awesome and brave'. I thought I'd have to smack him over the head to get him to shut up."
We all laughed and Rydel said,"You did."
I died laughing at that and by the time we reached the mall I was wiping tears from my eyes. We got out and mom said,"Ok, so how about you girls go off and search for dresses and me and Stormie will look for other stuff then meet at the food court in three hours?"
I nodded and mom gave me money while Stormie did the same to Rydel. We stuck it in our wallets and bounded off arm in arm to the stores. The first one we entered was called "Princess Palace." And it had alot of special occasion dresses in it. Rydel found one that was grey. It had a pleated skirt and wide, tweed, spaghetti straps with a pleated bodice and a black lace wide belt. We went over to the dressing rooms and she went in one to try it on while I sat in the small waiting area. She came back out and twirled in front of the mirror.
I squealed and jumped up saying, "Delly that looks bomb on you! You're completely getting it!"
She looked back at me with raised eyebrows and said, "Wow Rissy, where did that come from? You almost sounded girly." I got a terrified look on my face and she cracked up laughing. She changed out of the dress and paid for it.
We set back off into the mall and she said,"Well I've got mine. Now we need to find yours, then shoes, and we can hit Claires up for some accessories."
I nodded and we walked into a JC Pennys. We went straight for the prom dress section and started searching. I heard Rydel squeak from the other side of the clothes rack and ran over. She was holding up the perfect dress of my dreams. It was a strapless tafeta dress with a long pleated skirt that would drag the floor. It had a big black bow around the waist and it was a dark pink color. I had Rydel come into the dressing room with me so she could close it up in the back. We walked out and looked in the mirror. I was amazed. I looked beautiful. It hugged my waist just right, then flowed out, and the bodice fit me comfortably.
"Wow Iris. You look gorgeous." Rydel breathed out. "Riker's going to be speechless..." I faintly heard her mumble.
"Yeah. I feel beautiful." I said dazed. We went back in and I changed out of it. We bought it and went to a shoe store to look for shoes. Rydel found these gray high heels that had black lace around them and matched her dress perfectly. I found some black high heels that were strappy and had little gems on the straps. We bought them then headed into Claires. Rydel got a silver charm bracelet that had a heart with rhinestones in it and stars with diamonds in it. There was a matching necklace and she got that too. I got a plain diamond bracelet and a necklace that had 6 diamonds in it forming a little upside down pyramid.
"What about earrings?" I nodded and we started looking. Rydel found dangly diamond stars and I found a pair that had two strings of diamonds dangling down. We got a pack of fake nails to complete the look and paid. We were walking to the food court and were talking about our stuff.
"You should wear your hair up, Rissy." Rydel said.
I nodded and said,"And you should curl yours and pin half of it up with some pieces around your face."
She nodded and we spotted mom and Stormie. "You girls get everything you need?"
We nodded and I asked,"What did you guys get?"
We started walking to the pizza place and ordered a cheese pizza. We each got two pieces and started eating."Well, we each got a dress and shoes." My mom said.
Stormie nodded and took a sip of water then said,"I got some pink ties and vests for the boys so you and Riker could match."
I nodded and Rydel nudged me under the table. I nudged back and we started laughing to ourselves. My mom looked at her phone and said,"Ok, it's four now and the event doesn't start until 7:30, so that gives us three and a half hours to get ready. We can go back to our place and all get ready and just have the boys get ready at your place and meet us back at our house?"
Stormie nodded and said,"I'll work on the girls make up while you do hair?"
Mom said nodded and we walked back to the car. We carefully put our stuff in the trunk and drove back home. We jumped out and Stormie went back to her house to get the make-up and hair stuff while mom, Rydel, and I set everything up in mom's bedroom upstairs. Mom told dad to go get ready with the boys at their house and he grabbed everything and went over. Stormie came back with some make-up, curling irons, diamond clips, and mountains of bobby pins. Rydel and I sat on mom's bed and put our nails on. Then Stormie pulled me over to start on my make-up while my mom did Rydel's hair. She put foundation and light blush, then put a light amount of eyeliner on and pink shimmery eyeshadow with light mascara. She finished it off with light pink lipstick and I looked at my self in the mirror. It looked very natural and flawless. Rydel and I switched places. Rydel's hair was curly and half up half down, with diamond clasps in them. Mom started putting braids and curls in my hair then pinned them up with the diamond clasps. I looked over to Rydel. Stormie put light eyeliner and mascara with shimmery dark eyeshadow on and red lipstick. We were done and Mom and Stormie did their hair and make-up while Rydel and I were in the master bathroom carefully putting our dresses on so we didn't mess up our hair or make up. We finished putting on our jewelry and walked out. Mom had put on a yellow dress with a darker yellow band around the waist and went to the floor with white heels and pearl jewlery, while Stormie had on a royal blue dress that was sparkly and went down to a little past her knees and black heels and pearl jewlery too.
I heard the door open and close and said yell up the stairs, "You girls ready yet?"
Riker's POV
My brothers and I were all wearing a black tuxedo with a pink vest, white shirt, and pink tie. My hair was perfectly spiked up and so were my brother's. Martin called up the stairs and I heard April call back down,"Yeah! Get the camera ready!"
We laughed and Martin went over and took the digital camera out and got it ready. "Ok ready!" They came down the steps one at a time. Mom was first and she was wearing a pretty blue dress. Martin took a picture of her and dad. Then April came down wearing a long yellow dress. Dad took the camera from Martin and snapped a picture of them. Rydel came down next and everyone 'awed!' while dad took a picture of her. I heard the door open and close and saw Iris. She came down the stairs gracefully, holding the sides of her dress up. Her hair was pulled up in intricate braids and curls and her make-up looked flawless. Her dress was long and it looked beautiful on her. Everyone gasped and 'awed'. Her and Rydel took a picture together. Then I walked over and posed with her for a picture. I had one arm around her back and the other was holding her hand. We smiled and Martin took the picture. We walked out to our cars. Rydel and I would ride with Iris and her parents and, everyone else would go with mom and dad.
Iris and I were the last ones out and I kissed her cheek and whispered,"You look beautiful." in her ear. She blushed and we got in the car.
The car ride was silent. We got to the building and got out and walked in. It was a big ballroom that was dimly lit. There was dark red carpet everywhere and a stage for the charity event. There was a DJ booth up on stage and they were playing soft music while everyone conversed and walked around. Iris, Rydel, and I were stood in awe at the grand ballroom. Rocky and Ross and our parents came up behind us. I quickly felt Iris tense up. I looked down at her and mouthed,"What's wrong?" She shifted her back and forth from me to a boy coming up to us with his very rich looking parents.
"That's him." I heard Iris whisper. I grabbed her hand.
Gerald had on a blindingly white suit with a blue shirt and a white and blue striped bow tie. His hair was dirty blonde and he had grey eyes and glasses. His face was covered in acne and he was shorter than me and lanky. I tried to hold back a laugh and looked at Iris and whispered, "Thats him?"
She elbowed me in the ribs and said,"Shh and yes! Here he comes! Act natural." I put and arm around her shoulder and she leaned into me a bit. I smiled. Tonight was going to be fun.
Iris's POV
Gerald and his parents came over and I felt mom and dad whisper,"Oh, crap." I laughed a little and leaned into Riker.
Gerald's dad, Barton, smiled and shook hands with my dad. "Good to see you again, Martin." I could hear the fake politeness in his voice.
"Likewise, Barton. These are our new friends Mark and Stormie Lynch."
Barton looked over and shook hands with Stormie and Mark. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Barton and this is my wife Cecillia, and our son Gerald."
Gerald smiled revealing his braces. Mark cleared his throat and said," Nice to meet you too. This is my wife Stormie and our kids Ryland, Ross, Rocky, Rydel, and Riker."
I couldn't help but notice Gerald glare a little at Riker. He put on a very fake smile and shook hands with Riker. "Nice to meet you Riker. Are you here alone?"
Riker smiled and said,"You too Gerald. And no, I'm Iris's date."
He glared even harder and turned to me. "Well what a pity, I was hoping you would allow me to escort you."
I sarcastically smiled and said, "Yeah well, too bad, so sad."
I heard Rydel, Rocky, and Ross snicker next to me. Gerald tried to kiss my knuckles but I pulled them away. He smiled coyly and said, "Well, perhaps you may save me a dance then?"
I stared blankly back and said,"Maybe, maybe not. My dance card will be awfully full this evening."
He then turned towards Rydel and got a evil glint in his eyes, "Well, perhaps I can dance with this beautiful young lady."
I felt Riker tense up beside me and Rydel looked way beyond grossed out. She looked him straight in his ugly eyes and said,"Sorry, I'm not much of a dancer."
Gerald looked defeated for a moment then put the same cocky, overly confident smile back on his face and said,"Some other time then." He looked over at me and reached into his coat pocket pulling out a purple flower. "Here. An Iris for my Iris."
How cliché.
I took it, carefully so I wouldn't touch his hands. I looked over and Riker's face looked more red than the carpet we were standing on. Him and his family left and sat down at a table.
"Wow. 'An Iris for my Iris' how cheesy!" Rocky joked, mimicking Gerald's voice.
Everyone laughed and Ross turned towards me and said,"Your not going to keep it, are you Rissy?"
I shook my head and said,"Absolutey not! Besides, he gives me one every year with the same terrible pick up line."
I looked around the room and saw Brenda Mcknight. She was wearing a dark green and blue dress that was terribly tacky. She wasn't half bad looking, but had a personality to match Geralds. I smirked and said,"But I do have an idea for what I can do with this flower."
I dropped Riker's hand and waved at Brenda to come over. She nodded and pranced her way over to us. "May I help you?" She questioned a little rudely.
I smiled and said,"Yes. You see, my dear friend Gerald White asked me too give you this flower for him, and maybe, save him a dance?" I held the flower out for her and she quickly snatched it up.
"Really? He's the richest boy here! Why couldn't he give it to me himself?" She asked while sniffing the flower.
"Well, uh, you see he was just so distracted, by your beauty and beautiful dress that it made him nervous. And if he kinda ignores you all night or refuses to dance with you, he's just playing hard to get. Don't take no for an answer!" I shoved her off in his direction and everyone around burst out laughing. I turned to my parents who were still laughing quietly.
My dad patted my back and said, "Quick thinking. She gets it from me." We all laughed at that and Riker took my hand back in his.
Mom looked serious and said, "He's never been so forward before. Now Rydel may have to worry about him also. I don't want you girls going off alone tonight."
Rydel and I nodded and Mark spoke up saying, "If you can't be with one of the boys tonight, stick with each other okay? I only just met him and I already have a bad feeling about him."
We nodded. Riker then looked to Ross and Rocky and said, "Both of you stay with Rydel tonight and if he tries anything one of you come and get me, okay?"
They nodded and we set off to our table. We sat down and were served ice cold water and plates of steamed, lemon, fish and asparagus. I scrunched up my nose. I hate asparagus. I looked over at Rydel and she had the exact same look on her face. Basically the adults were the only ones eating it. I took a deep breath and cut off a small piece of my fish. I bit into it and almost gagged at the amount of lemon that was in it. I made a sour face and quickly drank my wine glass filled with water.
"Too much lemon dear?" My mom questioned. I nodded frantically and everyone chuckled. Thankfully that was only our first course. The second course was hot potato chowder and salad. I ate all my salad and soup and set my utensils on the plate to signal I was done. The waiters came by and took all our plates. While waiting for the next event to start I looked around the room. I immediately recognized the DJ as Jenna Smith. She was the DJ all the other times too. I smiled and waved at her and she did the same. She knew about the situation with Gerald and I so she wouldn't play slow songs until the very end. Unfortunately this time was different.
Riker's POV
I looked over to the stage when a man with a dark blue tuxedo came on. He walked over to the microphone, standing in the middle of the stage, and said,"We would like to welcome you all to our annual business owners ball and banquet. We will have a short award ceremony then we will start the dancing, so please try and stay awake!"
Everyone laughed and the awards began. The award ceremony lasted for about an hour with my parents and April and Martin winning two awards. It was now eight and the man walked off stage and the DJ girl started playing fast upbeat music.
Everyone at our table got up and started dancing. Rydel and Iris had a little dance off and they were doing really good. Rocky, Ross, and Ryland were dancing too and they were doing good. Ross even did a flip. Then this weird techno sounding song came on and we were all doing the weirdest dance moves we could. I won that one from doing my rendition of "The Sprinkler". All of us kids got tired so we met the adults back at our table and started downing our water. I looked over to the corner of the large ballroom and saw Gerald trying to get away from Brenda. I laughed and nudged Iris in the ribs. She looked over and started laughing. But I couldn't help the odd stare Gerald was giving her from across the room. It definitely wasn't lovestruck. It was more needy and longing. Just then a slow song came on and Iris tensed up.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
She looked over at me and said,"The DJ usually doesn't play slow songs this early."
We both looked over to the corner of the room and saw Gerald pratically running to us. I grabbed her hand and quickly stood up while motioning for Rocky to do the same. He grabbed Rydel's hand and April said,"What's wrong?"
I looked pointedly over to Gerald who was quickly making his way over to us and she nodded and got up with Martin while Mom and Dad did the same. We started slow dancing on the dancefloor with the other couples. I was gracefully twirling and dipping Iris when I looked over her shoulder and saw Gerald giving me a death glare. I spun us around so my back was facing him. The song was ending and another one was starting when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around with Iris still in my arms and saw Gerald.
"May I?" He asked gesturing to Iris.
He obviously wanted to dance with her. I looked back and forth between her and Gerald. I really didn't want to be rude so I said, "If it's okay with Iris." We both looked over at her and she looked up at me with worry in her eyes. She nodded slowly and I bent down to kiss her cheek. "Rydel and Rocky are both here and so are our parents. I'll be watching from the table with the others so don't worry." I whispered in her ear. She kissed my cheek back and delicately slipped her arm from my shoulder onto his.
He pulled her close and I heard an "oomph" from Iris. I gave him a look that clearly said,"Don't try anything" and walked back to our table with jealousy in my heart and stomach. I plopped down onto my chair and Ross looked from me to the dancefloor. "Why is he dancing with Rissy? I thought she hated him!"
I looked over to him and said,"There's just some situations you can't avoid, Ross. And he knows just what they are."
Ross looked mad but nodded. Ryland looked confused and said, "Is Rissy in trouble?"
I looked over to him and said, "I don't think so Ry Ry. Not yet anyways. But if you see him trying to get to Rissy you tell me okay?" He nodded and started playing with the napkins on the table. I looked back over to them and you could see how miserable she was. Maybe I shouldn't have let her go. I probably put her in more danger.
Iris's POV
I was getting nauseous from all the obnoxious twirling and dipping he's making me do. He definitely doesn't have Riker's grace or gentleness. His hand had mine clasped in a death grip and were sweaty. He needed a mint real bad too. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rocky and Rydel look over at us every once in a while. I looked over to Jenna and saw the sorry look on her face watching us. I suddenly got an idea. I unknowingly to Gerald led us to the corner where the DJ booth was and turned us around so Gerald couldn't see her. I got her attention and mouthed, "Play a different song!"
She looked confused and mouthed back, "What?"
I had to wait for him to spin me back around and mouthed, "Play a different song!"
She nodded and made a sound with her turn table, making it sound like the song playing had a scratch and put on "You Can't Touch This" By MC Hammer. I quickly walked back to the table with Rocky and Rydel. Riker stood up and ran over to me opening his arms.
I ran into him and he said, "I'm so sorry Rissy, I shouldn't have let him dance with you."
I just shook my head and said,"It's alright. There's nothing you could do without being rude."
We were back on the dance floor now with Rydel, Rocky, Ross, and Ryland dancing.
"How did you do that anyway?" Rydel shouted over the music.
"I know the DJ!" I screamed back.
I saw Brenda drag Gerald out onto the floor. I quickly just wiped it from my mind and had a good time dancing. My dress was getting hot so me and Rydel went to the bathroom. There was a little zipper around my knee's on the dress and we unzipped it and walked back out. She set it on my chair and continued dancing. After that song ended it was replaced by "Hella Good" By No Doubt. I screamed and started dancing. Riker grabbed my hand and started twirling me when we both felt a tap on our shoulders.
We turned around and saw Brenda and Gerald with matching smirks. "We were wondering if you two may be interested in a little dance off?" Gerald shouted over the music.
I looked at Riker and we both nodded saying, "Bring it!"
Everyone formed a circle and they went first. They were trying to pull off some weird looking moves with Brenda shouting in his ear the whole time. Everyone was trying not to laugh but you could hear Gerald's mom screaming, "You go Gerald! Get it!"
Riker and I rolled our eyes and stormed the stage pushing them out of the way. Riker held his hand out and I took it and spun into him. He flipped me over his arm and we started break-dancing. I don't know how but all our moves were in sync. We finished and let Gerald and Brenda back on stage. They tried to copy us but failed when Gerald couldn't lift her over him and they both fell. They quickly got up and ran away into the crowd. We walked back onstage and Riker started flipping me all over him while I did twists in the air. I heard everybody scream and we both did a dance move where you half flip landing on your hands and jump back to your feet over and over again.
We nailed it as the song finished and everyone ran up and high-fived us. We walked back to the table and sat down. Riker and Ross went over to grab some water while Rydel went to the bathroom. Mark and Stormie were slow dancing and Mom and Dad were talking to other businessman. Ross went to use the bathroom so it was just me and Ryland at the table.
I was really hot and needed fresh air. So I looked at Ryland and said, "Hey, tell the others I went outside to get some air ok?"
He nodded and said, "But what if that boy finds you, Rissy?"
I hadn't thought of that. I quickly looked around for Gerald and didn't see him. His parents were still here though. "Come with me Ryland."
He nodded and got up. I grabbed his hand and led us through the big crowd of people. We went out onto the little patio in the garden and sat on the railing that separated it from the garden.
"Rissy, Why is everyone so worried about you tonight?"
I looked over at him and said, "Because there is a boy here that is obsessed with me and tries to make moves on me and I don't like it. He's very dangerous Ryland."
He nodded and I looked through the glass doors and saw Gerald heading towards me.
DUN DUN DUN! Cliffhanger! I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm truly sorry. But I will upload the next chapter sometime next week because it's my spring break. Anyone going to Chicago on the Loud tour? I'll be there! All credit goes to Lizzie, I'm just the beta reader:)
Lots of love!
-Lora & Lizzie
