Thank you so much for the reviews and such. And shout out to those who guessed what was wrong with Riker in the last chapter. ;D You're awesome. So, we've got some ship names being thrown around. Anyone want to add to my list and I'll pick a favorite? I've got a few.
As for this chapter, one of the major events was something inspired by pictures taken by the band a few days ago. I thought it was adorable then and it definitely deserves to be written. As for rest of the chapter, we see a bit more about Riker's every day life. And a growing relationship between them.
Let me know what you think! Enjoy!
"I can't believe he's letting you go today," Rydel gushed the next day as they piled into my car. It was their first day of school and I figured since we were neighbors, it was a good idea for us to go together. Besides, I had spent the last day with the two of them and had quite grown to like them both.
Riker looked annoyed by what Rydel said, but didn't comment. One thing about her I learned was she couldn't take a hint very well. "I mean, I'm glad. You deserve to go like the rest of us, but come on…"
"Rydel, enough," he snapped. His expression softened. "Please."
Rydel got out first a few minutes later, running up to Laura as they compared the schedules of their days, smiling and laughing their responses. She would spend most of her day with my best friend because they were the same age. Much like how Riker was in all of my classes but one. I glanced at him as we neared the building, trying to read his behavior. "Are you nervous?"
"Nervous about germs and infections," he joked weakly. I smirked at him. "But no, not really. I don't mind it. It's still pretty early in the school year, so I don't think anyone is really going to notice me." His expression changed. "And if I can help it, they'll never know a thing about my condition."
I noticed he was caring a large bag with him and I tried to look inside. "What's that?"
"My medications," he explained. "The only way my mom and dad let me go to school is if the school keeps an extra stock on the shelves for me at all times."
"Oh." I stared down at the bag. "It looks full."
"There are a lot of medications I'm on," he muttered. "More than I'd like to take daily, but it's not exactly my choice."
"Well, either way, you're here," I said. "And I'm glad."
He smiled back at me and we made our way through the halls to our first class. The day started out pretty normal, for me and I was going take a chance and say for Riker as well. He was a bit more on guard about little things. He was always using hand sanitizer every class we went into, but he had explained it meant that everything stayed clean for him. It was one of the biggest hazards of not being home schooled with CF. There were germs everywhere and catching a bad cold, or something even worse meant he would be sick for weeks on end. These were things that I had learned was just life to him.
When school was over, I headed home to change and get ready for work, leaving the two of them at their house and myself in mine. I ran up the stairs and jogged into my room, throwing around things until I had everything, stopping when I saw Riker in the window of his room, music playing loudly as he danced around. I was glad he had no idea I could see him right then, because it was priceless. It made me laugh and it made me happy to know he wasn't letting events get the better of him.
With a smile, I headed off to work.
Much to my surprise, my day there was slow. No customers seemed to be interested today, and I spent the majority of the time on my phone, researching things about cystic fibrosis.
Riker had given me a brief description of what he went through, but reading others stories and facts in detail sent shivers down my spine. There were so many different drugs and methods of therapy for the disease, and the most heartbreaking part of it was there wasn't a cure.
That made me the angriest. Riker would die from this eventually.
I shut off my phone, blinking back tears, staring off into the distance. How was that fair? How could something like that exist in the world?
"Time to close up," my boss said to me and I forced myself to stand. I decided I didn't want to face reality just yet. I took a left turn instead of my exit, heading towards the beach. It was late, and the sun was starting to set, but I didn't care. I needed a moment alone, just me and my thoughts without the chance of anyone interrupting.
Sitting on the beach always calmed me. The waves and the smell of the ocean were enough for me, enough to remind me about the beauty of the world in its own way, and forget about everything else for a while. No one else was here because it was dark and it was just me, the sand, and my thoughts.
Riker's condition was literally breaking my heart.
I almost fell asleep an hour in, and I knew eventually someone would notice I was missing, so I decided I should probably head home soon. But the way the ocean seemed so peaceful and calm, the light from the moon reflecting over it, I had to wonder if he'd ever seen it before. The beach that is. When it was honestly at its finest, no one swimming or surfing, no one screaming or playing games.
"I need a life," I thought out loud, shaking my head.
"Where is Riker?" I asked the next morning from the car, as Rydel ran out of her house, scrambling with her books, and trying to run a comb through her hair at the same time. Oddly enough, she made it look effortless. The girl plopped down in the seat beside me and offered a sad smile.
"He's not feeling well," she explained. "Don't take it as it sounds. It happens a lot. It's mainly the reason my parents want him home schooled, because he always ends up missing too many days. But he refuses." She threw her brush into her bag as we took off, and I drove quietly. "Oh, he wants to know if you can get any work he misses today. Since you're in the same classes and all."
I nodded, smiling at her. "Sure. So how do you like your classes? Laura driving you insane, yet?"
"No," she laughed. "She's definitely wild. I mean, I can be pretty crazy, but she's definitely crazier than me. I like her though. Back where we used to live in Colorado, a lot of the girls didn't really like me all that much. I spent more time with my brother if he needed it then my friends, so they were all tired of waiting around for me. I like that about you two. You don't seem like them. I guess they were all superficial."
"Laura doesn't know yet," I reminded her. "But I can't see her having a problem."
"Well, that's up to her." She sat quiet for a moment. "I knew from the moment I met you that Riker's condition wouldn't bother you at all. He spent hours worrying about telling you, or how he'd have to tell you eventually. I said with him, you can't exactly hide something like that for long, and that he might as well get it over with. He might have admitted to having a crush on you. But I totally didn't just say that." Her grin widened.
Rydel was waiting my reaction and it was hard to keep from smiling. It was definitely an odd friendship to start, how close I already felt to him, and how much I already knew of him in the three days I'd known him. "Well…"
"Oh, just say it," she laughed. "You like him too."
"I do," I admitted. "Laura was the first one to say he was my type when she saw him, and then everything sort of just happened. I don't really know much about him, so right now it's just a crush. But who knows?" That much was a lie. I had spent the entire night before at the beach, and at work thinking about him. But if she knew that, she'd never leave me alone.
Her eyes lit up. "Oh, I can change that."
"Rydel," I warned. "I know for a fact that I don't like when people get involved, and I'm going to guess that he doesn't like it either."
She just rolled her eyes. "It's more fun that way," she argued.
We pulled into the parking lot, and she nearly bounced out of the car. Her eyes were wide with excitement and it was clear that I was going to have to watch what she did when I was around her brother from now on. She was officially in matchmaker mode.
After school, I headed home with both girls in the back of my car, and since we were all off that day, a shopping trip was being planned. "I really want to find a Halloween costume too," Laura gushed, throwing her hands dramatically over my seat. "We need something totally scary this year. Last year, we did barely clothed and this year… I want to… look scary."
"Good explanation," I teased with a smile. I nodded my head though. I never did any of the more revealing outfits anyway, they weren't my style. I was thinking of dressing up as maybe a character from one of my favorite TV shows this year, but it was a harder feat. It involved making my own costume and while I would say I was creative, I didn't think I was that creative.
"What about you, Rydel?"
"I was thinking about something simpler," she admitted. "Like a vampire, or even like a mummy."
It went quiet in the car. "You know… there is a very easy way to make a homemade mummy costume," I said with a grin. "And cheap."
"Oh, really?"
"Toilet paper!"
Laura rolled her eyes, "Well, that could work, but I want something else. You guys can roll around in toilet paper, but I want to really scare someone."
"You're as scary as a puppy," I told her, shaking my head. "Hate to break it to you."
She shoved me as we got out of the car, and headed towards Rydel's house. The girls went straight to her room and I made my way toward her brother's, figuring I'd drop off the work he missed and say hello. Along the way, I noticed some of the pictures that decorated the halls. A younger, much shorter Riker smiled back at me from years ago, his eyes still twinkling with young wonder. He even had what looked to be like freckles. Rydel was in many of them as well, always hugging, or holding onto her older brother. The two came as a pair, even as children. I enjoyed that about them.
He was sitting in bed with a book and what looked like a cup of tea when I walked in. His expression immediately lit up, despite the lack of color on his face and it was a good feeling to know that I gave that feeling to someone.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
He slid out of the bed and walked over to me, grabbing some of the books and dropping them on the desk next to him. "I'm alright," he said with a shrug. "I woke up with a fever and that set my parents off. So into bed I was forced."
"Oh," I answered with a loss for words. He sat back down on the bed, putting his book away and taking a sip of tea. He watched me with careful eyes and a slight smile. Self-consciously, I felt my hands go to my face. "What?"
"Nothing," he assured me. "I'm… nevermind."
I gave him a look and sat down next to him on the bed. "Any exciting plans for the evening?"
"Not really. Maybe a movie marathon or something. With Halloween so close, I figured why not get scared shitless?"
I thought about Laura and Rydel who wanted to go shopping, and weighed my options. He probably would spend the night alone with the TV, while we had fun at the mall, trying on different outfits and laughing with each other. It wouldn't be fair to leave him here and he definitely wouldn't be allowed to come with us. Maybe shopping could be held for another day.
"How do you feel about toilet paper, Riker?"
He had laughed when I asked him the question, but an hour later, was laughing even harder when we attempted my plan. The girls had agreed to stay home with us, and we were going to spend the night with horror movies, hot chocolate, and pizza. And we couldn't forget the toilet paper. Rydel and I were currently wrapping up Laura, who would be the easiest to perform the task on because of her height. She kept giggling each time it got closer to her face, and we ourselves were having a hard time keeping smiles off our own.
"This is ridiculous," she laughed. "Rydel, your parents are going to be so mad when they come home later and notice all the toilet paper is gone."
She shrugged, her eyes showing she didn't really care. The girl seemed to not really worry about things like that and my guess was she happened to be good at talking her way out of situations. Especially when it involved her brother and his happiness. It was her reasoning which kept Laura from leaving, and her idea to order the pizza. Money wasn't of object, and fun was the biggest and most important part of anything she did.
"Get me another roll, Riker!"
He did as he was told, coming back with several as Rydel danced along with the music we'd put on. The horror movies in the background weren't exactly being watched, and that was okay. It wasn't as if we needed the nightmares they would bring.
Before I could make another comment, I felt something dart around me, and in seconds, my legs were wrapped with the white paper. "Riker!" I snorted. "Hey!"
He giggled as he ran circles around me, going much quicker than we had with Laura. He had it at my face within a couple minutes. "Now we put the mummy into the ground," he said in a deep voice, tossing it over my face, except for my mouth, but including my eyes.
"How am I supposed to see?" I shrieked playfully.
"I'll guide you," he whispered into my ear, and I felt his hands around my waist, leading me into the living room where the food and drinks were. We stopped just before the couch, I thought and he was still giggling at my costume. "This has actually been a lot of fun."
"Who knew?" I asked.
"Thanks for a great night."
"You're welcome. Thanks for not thinking I'm completely out of my mind."
"Why would I ever think that?" he teased.
I couldn't see him because of the toilet paper, but I could almost feel his smile. I put one on my face too, glad the thing was hiding my blushing cheeks.
He chuckled and I felt him walk towards me. With no time to prepare myself for his lips meeting mine, and despite the fact that I was covered in toilet paper, he kissed me.