Littleton Colorado, July 31st 2005

Sunday, 1:05 p.m.

Iris's P.O.V.

It was kind of hard for weeks because my ankle was sprained, but I managed. Riker was being more clingy than usual, and would barely let me lift a finger. For instance, my parents were going to a town a few hours away and had Riker baby-sit me because they wouldn't be home until late at night.

Well, I wanted to get up and get some juice and before I could even get my foot off the couch, Riker jumped up and said, "You want juice, don't you? I'll get it!"

And before I could even breathe, he sat back down with my favorite juice poured into my favorite cup. I was seriously starting to get worried about him because he would treat me like I was about to break any second. So, after he insisted on carrying me up to my room, I sat him down on the bed and asked him what was up.

*Flashback*

"Riker, whats up? You've been acting really weird lately."

He refused to look me in the eyes. I put my hand on his shoulder and he finally looked back up to me.

"I, I don't know." He said with a frustrated sigh.

I took a deep breath and said, "Ok. Well, you've been acting very...on edge, around me."

His fists were balling up and clutching my sheets and then letting go. That's how I knew he was mad, frustrated, or worse, both. I grabbed both his hands and held them up into mine. I smiled the biggest and brightest smile I could and all he could do was give me a tiny grin in return. I sighed in defeat and yanked on his arms until we were both lying down on the bed. I got on top of him and started tickling his sides until I got one solid laugh out of him. I flipped back over on my back and he turned onto his side to look at me. He had his head propped up on one arm and just stared at me.

I smiled and said, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?"

His features hardened a little and he said, "I couldn't protect you."

I suddenly got really frustrated and said, "Really? Riker, what happened, happened. You have to let it go."

He looked into my eyes with uncertainty sparking in his. He looked back and forth between my eyes and said, "You're just saying that. What if you're really mad at me for not being there sooner?"

The look on his face tore a piece of my heart out. I wrapped both arms around his neck and brought him down in a tight hug. "If I was really mad at you, I would most definitely let you know."

He chuckled a little and buried his head in my neck saying, "I know you would."

He fully laid down by now and wrapped his arms, very gently, around my middle. I got aggravated again and jerked up. He sat up with me and said, "What? What did I do?"

I looked over at him annoyingly and said, "Stop treating me like I'm going to break or something!"

He looked amused and said, "Well, what do you want me to do? You have bruises on top of your bruises now."

Just then my eyes widened in realization. "Crap!" I said as I got up and hopped over to my bathroom.

He came over with me and said, "What's wrong this time?"

I looked at him through my mirror while I was looking for the little blue jar. "Mom told me to put that cream on my bruises again before I went to bed." I finally found it and Riker snatched it from me and started unscrewing the cap.

I looked at him confused and he said, "Well, turn around." My eyes widened and I pushed him out of my bathroom and locked the door. I slipped on my bathing suit top that I use for putting the cream on and opened the door.

He stood there with red cheeks and said, "Yeah. That was probably a good idea."

I laughed and turned around, holding my hair up. He started massaging the cream into my bruises and it stung. Way worse then last time. I started squeaking and biting my lip in pain. My eyes were watering now and I was wiping them furiously with my free hand. He got done with the back and turned me around. He saw the tears in my eyes and frowned.

"I'm sorry. But it's gonna help."

I smiled a watery smile and nodded. He gave me one in return and started rubbing more cream onto my stomach. He finally got to the bruise on my jaw and gently rubbed it in. His fingers lingered there for a second and he pulled me into a gentle hug.

We stood there for a minute and he said, "Was it a mistake?"

I pulled back and said, "What?"

He looked me into my eyes. "The kiss. Should we not have done it?"

I looked at him softly for a moment. He seemed regretful, like he was sorry for doing it. I pulled him over to my bed and sat him down. I hopped over and grabbed my guitar. I sat down on the floor and he laid down on his stomach on my bed. I started strumming "Kiss Me" by Sixpence Non The Richer. I sat there singing in what could have been the most beautiful voice I've ever heard myself sing in. Maybe it was because I was singing with raw emotions. Riker was lying with his head in his hands and the room was dark. My blinds were open and the moon was the only lighting. It almost felt to romantic for comfort. But I quickly pushed that thought to the back of my mind and focused on my playing and singing. I strummed the last notes and looked up at him. His eyes were dim but in more of a love struck way. He had no smile on his face but you could tell he was happy. He pushed my hair back behind my ear and kissed me on the cheek.

I put my guitar down beside me and got up to go into my bathroom. I shut the door and put my pajama shirt and stuff back on. I walked over to my bed and we got under the covers. I heard a car pull up and the headlights flashed into my room. He got off my bed and gave me a kiss on the forehead before walking out of my room without a word.

*End of Flashback*

Riker's P.O.V.

She told me not to beat myself up about it. She told me that she was all right with it. Then, why am I still so mad at myself for not being there? I need to talk to someone besides Iris about this. I've already been up for two hours thinking about this. I decided I needed to talk to my mom and dad about this. I walked downstairs to see everyone but Rydel there.

"Where's Rydel?" I asked.

My mom looked up from where she was reading a magazine on sowing and said, "She went to Iris's house."

I nodded and looked over at my dad. "I need to talk to you and mom about something important."

They nodded and got up. Dad led us all to his study. The walls were a dark green with a mahogany desk and big bookshelves that reached the ceiling and were jam-packed with every book you could imagine. I sat down on the big leather chair while dad sat at his desk and mom sat on his desk.

I sighed and said, "It's about Iris."

Mom looked at dad and they both nodded. Dad then stood up and kneeled down beside my chair. "What about her?"

I sighed and said, "She told me not to beat myself up over what happened at the ball, but I can't help but feel like it was my fault that she got hurt so bad."

Dad looked over at mom and said, "Well, I think you just feel guilty because you promised you'd be there for her all that night. You have to remember though; Gerald knew what he was doing. He knew you'd have to leave her side eventually. But you did the right thing going after her. And I think she held her own out there pretty well."

I nodded and looked down. "I couldn't be there for her at her old schools when she got hurt. And she won't even let me do anything to help her when she gets hurt at our school. I want to feel like a man and help her. She just won't let me though."

Mom chuckled and I looked over at her. She hopped off his desk and sat on the arm of my chair. "Honey, I don't know if you've noticed this but, she's definitely not like most girls. She doesn't exactly need a boy, or a man, to help her. She's very independent, and she's not about to let anybody take that away from her. If she needs it enough though, there's not a doubt in my mind that you'll be the one she turns to for help."

I smiled a little and said, "I know she's not like most girls. That's why I love her..."

I looked over to my dad and he said, "Have you sorted that out yet too?"

I sighed and nodded saying, "We've decided that we'd wait until we were older and just enjoy the time we have together being best friends."

Mom smiled and said, "I think that's a wise decision. You only have a few short years being a kid Riker, make em' count."

I nodded and got up to go out, but before I could, my dad called me back and said, "There is one more important thing I think you should know about though..."

I looked over at mom and she was just barely holding back a huge smile. I motioned for him to continue and he said, "You all have been playing in the basement for a while now... so I've decided to sign you up as a band for the Summer Music Festival that goes on before school starts."

I yelped and ran over and tackled him in a huge hug. I went over to mom and gave her one too before running out the door and down the hallway. Barely getting my sandals on before running out the door and down the sidewalk to Iris's house.

Iris's P.O.V.

Rydel came over at around noon saying she had some awesome news to tell me. I was sitting on my bed strumming my guitar when she burst through my door and body slammed me on the bed.

"Delly" I groaned. "What was that for?"

She shot up like a bullet and started squealing, "Daddy signed us up as a band to play the Summer Music Festival that goes on the day before school."

I shot up to and said, "Oh my goodness! That's amazing! Wait, before school? So like, next week?"

She nodded and I shot up running around the room getting my purse/ backpack and my emergency credit card.

"Rissy? What are you doing?"

I pulled on my black converse and fixed my hair in the mirror. I was wearing some jean capris and a pink and green plaid button up shirt. I looked back over at Rydel and said, "Come on! Lets walk to town!"

She looked confused and said, "Why?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "So we can get matching outfits for us and the boys! That way we'll look like an actual band."

She smiled and nodded, jumping up and pulling me out the door. On our way out the door, I shouted to mom and dad saying, "We're gonna walk to town and get some stuff."

My mom popped through the archway and said, "Alright, be careful. Do you have money dear?"

I nodded saying, "Yeah I have my credit card."

My dad then popped up next to her and said, "Keep it under budget, okay?"

I nodded and opened the door, only to be tackled into a hug by Riker.

"Geez, kid! You scared me!" I said returning the hug.

"Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!" He said over and over again.

I laughed and said, "Our band is performing at the Summer Music Festival next week!"

He pulled away from the hug and said, "Awe! How did you know that already?"

I pointed to Rydel and he glared at her mumbling, "Women..."

I laughed and said, "Come on! We're going to town to get matching outfits so we look professional."

He nodded and said, "Okay."

I turned around and shut the door. Looping my arm through Rydel's, we walked down the sidewalk and around the corner. We lived about five blocks away from a bunch of cute little shops and restaurants, so we usually walked everywhere we went. Rydel and I were chatting about our outfits and what we could pick out for the boys.

We decided that Rydel and I would wear our black and red tutus with a white t-shirt for me and a black one for Rydel. We would do our own hair and make up. We weren't sure what the boys could wear, so we were just going to wing it.

We reached one little vintage clothes shop called "Back in Time". When we moved here, my mom and I went into this store and I loved it instantly! The clothes were super cool and really cheap. We walked in and the bell above the door rung. A lady that worked here greeted us before saying that she'd be around if we needed help.

Riker was trailing behind Rydel and I the whole time. We were literally ripping clothes off racks and flinging them over our shoulders so Riker could catch them. After about five minutes, I looked over and laughed at Riker. You could just barely see the top of his head. I dragged him over to the fitting rooms and starting sorting out outfits. I picked the first one and handed it to him. He nodded and went into a dressing room to change. Rydel started sorting out more outfits while we brainstormed a set list.

"Well, we should definitely do 'When I Come Around' by Green Day, and 'Sk8er Boi' By Avril Lavigne. We could always go back to my house and look through all our CD's to find more songs. "

By that time Riker came back out in the first outfit and I quickly said, "Yeah, that sounds good."

I looked over and he was wearing a red button down shirt with pockets on the front and black suspenders with dark washed jeans and converse. I looked at it for a minute and told him to turn around. He did and I looked over to Rydel and said, "Well, what do you think?"

She looked over to me and said, "It's good, but it needs something else..."

I nodded in agreement and started looking through the pile of clothes we had. I picked out a black tie and vest and handed it to him saying, "Here. Take the suspenders off and put the tie and vest on."

He said "okay" and went back in to change.

We picked out the other outfits for Rocky and Ross then sat down. Riker came back out and the outfit looked way better. I jumped up from the chair I was sitting on and walked up to the mirror behind him. I looked his outfit over and said, "Do you have any red converse? They would look way better."

He nodded and I told him he could go put his regular clothes back on. He went in to change and threw the other clothes over the door. I caught them and gathered our stuff up to go pay. We paid and walked out of the store and back down the sidewalk. We were walking past the park when I heard someone whistle. I looked around and saw a group of really familiar looking boys. The one that whistled at me, or Rydel I wasn't sure, had spiky dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. They were definitely punk because they were wearing all black clothes and army boots. I think they may have even been wearing eyeliner. They were spray-painting designs on the skate ramp.

The boy started whistling again and pointed at me while he was talking to some of his friends. I felt Riker run up next to me and put a hand on my back motioning for me to move on. I started walking faster and when the group of boys were out of earshot I looked to him and said, "Who was that? They looked really familiar."

He looked a little angry and said, "That's Rodrick Carter, and they're the group of punk skater kids at our school. Apparently they have a band too, called "Paralyzed"."

I nodded and said, "Are they playing at the festival too?"

He nodded and we reached their house. We opened the door and walked inside. As we were taking our shoes off he turned to me and said, "They're jerks, Rissy. I don't want you hanging around them or anything. Especially since Rodrick seems to have a thing for you..."

I nodded, even though I wasn't too sure about it. I mean yeah, they looked like jerks, but how does he know if that Rodrick guy likes me? And, I'm not so sure he can tell me whom I can hang out with! He doesn't own me! I quickly wiped that thought out of my head. Was I really thinking that Riker was like that?

He was probably just looking out for me. And besides, he said he loved me. We also said we'd wait though. Does that mean that we can't see other people?

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see a concerned Rydel. "Are you alright? I can basically see the wheels turning in your head." She said with a laugh.

I shook my head, as if I was clearing my thoughts and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about songs to sing."

She nodded and grabbed some bags and headed down stairs. Rocky, Ross, Ryland, Mark, Stormie, and Riker were all sitting around talking about what we were going to do for the festival. I set the bags down on the arm of the sectional and said, "Rocky, Ross, we decided that we wanted to match for the show so we got you some outfits."

They jumped up and started picking out what they wanted. Rocky picked a black button down shirt with a red tie and a fedora, so he would match me. Ross picked out a red t-shirt with a black jacket. They went to try them on, and I must say, they looked adorably cute.

"We are not cute!" They chorused at the same time.

Did I say adorably cute out loud? "Yes, you did, and before you ask, yes. You said that out loud too." Riker said.

I looked around the room and breathed saying, "Wow, I must not be myself today..."

Everyone laughed and we grabbed our gear to start playing. I started out just singing.

Yes two in one! Woohoo! I'm on a roll today! I figured I'd upload today as well to make up for the last couple of weeks. If I have time, I'll upload tomorrow too! Thank you all for your support!

And just a reminder, I'm not the author of this lovely story. R5inmysoul (Lizzie) is. I just edit stuff:)

Lots of love!

-Lora & Lizzie