Say You'll Stay (R5 Fanfiction)

Chapter 21 - Shoplifting

"Look, before you say anything, I want you to know that I've been a complete asshole and I'm so sorry. I really don't want to lose you," Riker rushed out as soon as he saw me.

"I know you're sorry, and I am too. I overreacted a little and it was uncalled for. But Rik, you have to understand that I can't forgive her this easily. What she did was just unforgettable," I told him and he looked like he was about to cry. I sighed reluctantly and said,"but if you trust her so much, I'm willing to give her another chance. But only for you,"

He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. "I'm so glad. She's so nice now, just wait and see," he said, while I nodded into his shoulder.

"I'm still really sorry," he apologised again.

"Don't be," I smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Oh, how I missed this.

We spent the next hour just catching up on each other's lives. I told him about my exams, how much I hoped I would pass, hanging out with Ed and Charlie and our trip to London. He, however, spent most of his time talking about Chloe. I tried not to scowl everytime I heard her name, but I really didn't like how close they seemed to be getting. Seeing Riker's smile and hearing his laugh made me smile too though.

I sipped my coffee slowly, pondering over whether to tell him about Adrian or not. I decided against it and changed the topic to their upcoming album.

"So how's songwriting going?" I asked.

"Good, except we're kind of stumped for ideas. We want a song that's different but awesome," he replied.

"Wow, that's really specific criteria," I said, sarcastically, making him laugh.

"I mean, like one of those songs that you can listen to again and again and never get bored. Something that's not cookie-cutter popstar, but not totally crazy indie either, know what I'm saying?" I nodded, understanding what he meant.

We carried on talking about music for a while. I spoke excitedly about how excited I was to go to NYU and start my musical theatre training, but the more I spoke about it, the sadder Riker looked, however much he tried to hide it.

"Hey, I've still got 2 weeks," I said comfortingly, reaching for his hand across the table and intertwining it with mine. "And it's not like we have to break up. You guys will be coming there on your tour, and we can see each other on weekends, and we can Skype. Nothing's going to change,"

"I hope not," he smiled solemnly and kissed my hand.

***
"Please come, it'll be fun!" Rydel pleaded.

"Yeah, and you said you'd give her a chance," added Alexa.

"Charlie?" I asked.

"I'll go if you go," she replied.

"Ugh, fine," I conceded. "We'll meet you guys at your house in half an hour,"

I put down the phone and headed to my bedroom to get changed. I put on a pair of jeans, and a floral print blue top.

"Ready?" Charlie asked as I emerged from my bedroom.

"As ready as I'll ever be,"

We got in the car and drove to the Lynch's house, as I tried to mentally prepare myself for a day of shopping with Chloe Rodriguez.

As soon as we got there Chloe came running up to me saying, "Jessie, I'm so sorry for what I said the other day. It was totally uncalled for and I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me, not just for that but for everything. I was a complete bitch to you and you didn't deserve it. And look at you, even after everything I did you're still so nice and I know what I did must have hurt you so much but I'm so sorry," she rambled on for a good minute of so and by this point she was crying. I saw Riker behind her, and he nodded, urging me to forgive her.