Since Her

Twenty-one

I had been trying not to show how much I had actually missed Riley when I saw her again.

However, I failed miserably. 

When I saw her in the distance, playing with her Gameboy again, I ran towards her and enveloped her in a bearhug. "You're here," I breathed out into her hair. 

Riley had chuckled and had wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me back. "Reversed Spiderman," she had begun, "-did you actually miss me?"

I felt a blush crawl its way into my cheeks as I pulled back, coughing slightly. "Uh.. n-no. What? M-Missed you?" I coughed, scratching my neck as a feeling of awkwardness dawned upon me.

Riley had smirked. "Sure. Whatever you say, Parker."

I knew that she hadn't believed me for one second. I was just so easy to read, it was kind of annoying really. Everyone could always sense how I was feeling, mostly because of my tendency to blush very quickly, and because I was a very, very bad liar. 

"Wanna go for ice cream?" she had asked me, taking my hand in hers.

I had to stop myself from choking on an answer, just because she had taken my hand in hers. A girl had never held my hand before. I was Parker Peterson, Grade A nerd, teenage dirtbag, and most formerly, a total ball of awkwardness. Girls weren't attracted to that. Well, usually, they weren't. 

"Sure, why not," I said, a slight smile on my face. It was kind of strange to go for ice cream in the middle of january, but who cares? I was always in for ice cream.

We began to walk towards the icecream-place that was close by, called Scoops. Riley still hadn't let go of my hand. I relished in that feeling. As we walked, I wondered if I should ask her about the things she had said about her family. But then again, maybe she didn't want to share that story. 

"Smiley..." I began, in a vague way to loosen her up a little bit. 

"Yes?"

"What - uh - what happened? With your family?" I asked softly. "I mean, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it... but... well... I. You know what, nevermind," I shook my head. I would only make things awkward between us, and I didn't want that.

Riley had stopped walking, and had stopped me in the process because I didn't want to lose my grip on her hand. Her blue eyes had assessed me curiously and afer a few moments, she had sighed. 

"I don't usually talk about my family," she had said, her eyes softening as she gazed into mine. "It's kind of a hard subject."

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. 

"You know what? Let's just get ice cream, and while we eat that delicious, cold stuff, you can slowly tell me. If you want." I added that last part, so she wouldn't feel pressured into telling me what was going on with her family. I didn't want her to feel pressured, I just wanted her to feel like she could tell me anything. 

I had never been someones rock before, if that made sense. I wish I was. I wish I could become Riley's rock. Her beacon of light. I wish she could trust me fully, I thought. 

Riley had looked at me with a slight smile. 

"Deal," she had said. Then, she had begun to pull me in the direction of Scoops, eager to get some of their delicious ice cream.

I had just been eager to spend some more time with her. I had really missed her, even if I hadn't wanted to admit it to myself...