Riley was lounging in the lobby of building she was rooming in. She had her long hair with purple in curls, she was wearing a black tank top that was tight and a pair of bright blue yoga pants. She had a boxing match later and wanted to be comfy before and after it. She was listening to music while reading for her Spanish class. While doing this she was leaning on Ben. The rest of the gang were dressed similar to her and they were all just chilling on the large comfy couches. Ben had his arms around her as she leaned on his chest to read. Sometimes they both thought that they were more than friends and at other points they just did not know. Riley was getting sick of it. This was how her and Lucas were. He assumed she knew how he felt, he assumed that he was taking her to semi-formal. He assumed a lot and Riley did not want to have the same thing happen with Ben. If she was being honest with herself she really cared for Ben, she thought that she could even love him. She never thought that she would like of anyone else the way she thought about Lucas but she did. She was falling for the very guy she was using as a pillow. Riley tried to find the moment in her mind that she knew that she was falling for Ben. She knew that it was always building. He was always there to talk to, he was there helping her learn in a lot of her classes, he was there cheering her on. He was the voice in her head saying that she could do something that she never thought she could. He made her happy and confident. She decided that she needed to talk to him about it. She needed to find out how he saw their relationship. Were they friends, or were they more. Would he want to be more? She was only going to be a freshman; he was a sophomore. He could drive, he was smart, hot, and kind. Even though Riley was working on herself, and she knew that she was much more than she ever thought she could be. The Bully's words from last year, saying that she wasn't good enough, that her friends only hung around for pity started to creep in. Her friends telling her to quit cheer before she got hurt. That crept in
"Hey you are thinking too hard and I don't think that it has to do with Spanish... I can hear you from over here." Ben interrupted her thoughts.
"Oh sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff that happened this year." Riley said back.
"Well from how hard you were thinking; I don't think it was good." Ben observed
"No... no it wasn't good." Replying quietly. As she said this Ben carefully moved her so that he could look her in the eyes.
"What is it Riley, I don't like seeing you like this. It's like you are in pain." Ben pleaded he needed her to tell him. Although he knew that she could fix her own problems he liked being there. He wanted to help her. He cared so much for this brown eyed beauty that he needed her to be okay.
"It's nothing to worry about Ben… really"
"it's not nothing, if you look like the world was just laid down on your shoulders it is not nothing. It is anything but nothing." Ben countered.
"Really Ben..." Riley started
"No tell me, I can help. I want to help." Ben pleaded again. Just then the clock chimed indicating that it was time for Riley to get to the ring.
"Look we have to go if you still want to watch me fight… how about we meet at the lake after 7 and we can talk then. I will tell you everything okay?" Riley got up while she was saying this and picked up her gym bag.
"Okay but this is not over." Ben said as he got up and followed her down to the ring. "Just whatever it is that upset you, clear it from your mind. I need you to concentrate on the fight tonight. I can't have you getting hurt."
"Okay, one hundred percent of my thoughts will be on the ring. I promise."
Time jump to after the fight.
Riley was running off of adrenaline still when she met up with Ben later. The sun was starting to come down, sun set would be in thirty minutes. Riley was excited, she had won another fight. This girl was good there were some close calls. In the ring they did the tap count and not knockout. So even if she would be sore from the punches and kicks, she didn't suffer many bruises. She was currently in a white lace summer dress with sandals, she had a swim suit on underneath in case they went of a swim. Ben and her decided to meet separately and she was swinging looking at the lake while she waited for him to join. She was trying to figure out what to tell Ben, and how much did she want to tell him. She didn't want him to see her as a "little plant" as her friends did but she wanted to tell him everything. He helped her through so much already without knowing. He encouraged her, helped her talk it out before her and Vanessa (the girl across the hall) did, so that she didn't seem harsh but firm on her needing to turn the music down at one in the morning. Although she didn't want a knight in shining armor he was one to her. He just didn't know, he didn't know how much he helped her, and he didn't know how much she cared for him. She was interrupted from her thoughts when a pair of arms wrapped around her, and stopped her in mid swing. Without having to look she knew it was Ben. Was it bad that she knew him by his arms? Was it a sign that they were meant to be?
"Hey there" Ben said as he walked in front of her. He held out her hand so that they could walk together. He was wearing dark jeans that had rips in them and a bright green V-neck shirt. That shirt made his eyes and muscles pop.
"Hey" Riley replied back. She looked into his eyes and got lost.
"So, what happened earlier?" Ben asked "what has you so worried?"
"Getting right into it are we?"
"Yeah, I am worried Riley." He stopped and turned so he was facing her. "Talk to me… please?"
"Okay… okay, how about we sit on the pier and talk" Riley suggested. They walked over and sat. If the conversation wasn't about to get so important she would have giggled. It was like they were on a date and had the perfect view of the sunset. Normally that would cause her to be a bundle of nerves. However, her nerves had more to do with knowing she had to tell him everything, then the idea of it being a date.
"Okay so, you know how a few weeks ago when we came here, you asked why I wanted to come?" Riley started.
"Yea, you said that you needed a change." Ben replied.
"So there is a reason that I needed a change. So here it goes. And don't interrupt me while I talk about this, it's going to be hard enough…. Promise?" Riley asked as she looked up at him. Ben's eyes looked worried, he looked like he had the weight of the world on him at that moment.
"I promise" Ben replied. At that moment he never wanted to hold her as badly as he did.
"So last year when school started, I started getting these awful messages. It started with these nasty notes in my locker. Some would say that they hated my outfit… which is silly like who cares if everyone likes what I wear right? But they got worse, and instead of being notes in my locker somehow they got my number and started messaging me hateful notes. Some would say that they only reason I did so well was because my dad taught me and no one wanted to fail his daughter. That it had to be an embarrassment for him to have such a stupid daughter. Another said that they couldn't believe that my mom was my mother. She was a powerful fierce attorney and she had a lack lust daughter someone that couldn't stand on her own feet. Then I got one saying that my friends were just there out of pity that my parents had to have paid them off. Some would say that they hated me being happy, that I didn't deserve it or anyone in my life that they wanted to stomp my face in to get me to stop smiling. Some got even worse than that but they always ended in some form of threat." Riley paused a moment, she was starting to cry as she was remembering all of the hatful things that were said to her.
"Riley." Ben started
"No…no no interruptions okay?" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and he nodded for her to go on. "So I hadn't thought about it since I stood up the person. My friends at home found out, and had me confront them. The sad thing is though even though the messages stopped, the things they said are still in repeat in my head. I haven't thought about it though in a while, but my thoughts ran away from me earlier… so what I was thinking about that made me think of the bully was you." Riley said she could tell that he was about to interrupt again so she put her hand over his mouth to stop him. "not you in the sense of I think you are a bully. You are the opposite of that actually. But I was thinking today that over the past few weeks, you have come to mean a lot to me. And I don't want to play any guessing games. Sometimes I feel like we are together and other times I don't know. And I was thinking that I really like you, I haven't felt this way in a long time and I really care about you. But I was thinking that you couldn't care about me in the same way that I care about you. Now I don't want this to lead to us not being friends because it will be hard to stop feeling like this but I can so that we can stay friends." Riley started to ramble
Ben knew that he had to stop her, did she really think that he wouldn't like her? He went to stop her rant by talking but she wouldn't stop. So finally her pulled her closer so that she was sitting in his lap and he was hugging her. This action got her to stop talking. "You are a crazy girl Riley Matthews if you think for one moment that I don't care about you. I really like you to, and I want you to be mine. Will you be my girlfriend?" Ben peered down at her.
"Wait what?" Riley started.
"I care about you" Ben talked over her. "I have been going mad every time I think about you, every time I am close to you. I just want you to be mine. I will do everything in my power to make you forget about that bully and what they said to you. I need you to know that I care so much and I hate that someone was hateful to someone as amazing as you are. I will make you know how much I care, and how much you are loved by everyone here. I know that it can be hard to get that bully out of your head. But we will… we can do it together." Ben said as he looked into her eyes.
Riley knew in that moment that Ben was something special. He was helping to get her forget the Bully before he knew about it just by celebrating her successes with her. She was so happy that he liked her, that he cared about her. She may have thought that it was a crazy idea to have someone like him care about her but he did.
"So Riley I am going to ask you again… will you be my girlfriend?"
"Yes… yes I would love that Ben." Riley said as she pulled him into a hug. At that moment the sun started to set, and they moved a little closer. Ben pulled out his guitar, she didn't even notice that he brought it with him and he started to play it and sing to her while they soaked in the view. This was a moment that neither of them would ever forget. This was also the first thing that she would write to Maya tonight. She had a boyfriend, a very perfect boyfriend.
When your legs don't work like they used to before
And I can't sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?
And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're seventy
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty-three
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Well, me - I fall in love with you every single day
And I just wanna tell you I am
So honey now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are
When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades
And the crowds don't remember my name
When my hands don't play the strings the same way (mmm)
I know you will still love me the same
'Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen
And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory
I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe it's all part of a plan
Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes
Hoping that you'll understand
That, baby, now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
Thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are (oh ohh)
La la la la la la la la loud
So, baby, now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
Maybe we found love right where we are
Oh, baby, we found love right where we are
And we found love right where we are
Riley,
I can't believe that my little plant grew up and got herself a boyfriend. I knew that you two were going to be something when I saw you at the café. Although I think in the two seconds that I saw you before you had to leave I was more astonished by you having purple hair on the bottom. But wow that look is great on you. You looked so fierce and happy. I can tell that the camp is doing great things for you and I am so happy that you are doing great. I need pictures, I want to see that talent. I want to see what you are doing out there, and I want to see all of these hidden talents. I know that they may not have stayed hidden if I was more supportive like you are with me. I know that you said that you forgave me but I needed to say that I am sorry again and that for now on I am here for you.
I am here for you however you want. I can let go a little so that you are more independent I am okay with doing that. But you have to promise me one thing. You have to let me help when you need it. It's okay to ask for help sometimes. So don't forget that is what I am here for. I am here for you to lean on, even though I think that Ben will be there too. This is okay with me, he looks like he can handle himself, and he can handle you.
So when you wrote about that you said that you wrote that you talked to him about the bully. I thought after you confronted her that she left you alone. Did she not, was she still going after you? Are you okay? Please let me know what I missed. This next year I will be more in tuned I think I spaced this year and as your best friend that can't happen and it won't happen again.
So I told the guys (all of the guys) that you were dating Ben and as to be expected Farkle was happy (and Smackle they are still dating and are as cute as ever), Zay looked worried and Lucas who knows. He said that he was happy that you are happy. Other than that not much has changed I am trying to paint one of the water fountains in the park. But I can't get the water right, I took a picture and sent it with this. What do you think? What can I do to make the water move?
Oh before I forget we are all coming up in two weeks since your parents can't come. Farkles parents have business up that way and are getting a hotel and we will take a bus in. By we I mean the whole gang. Farkle, Smackle, Zay, Lucas, and I. I can't wait to see you
Love you bunches,
Peahces.