the next step au's

call him (jiley)

He hated it.

He hated what everything between them has come to.

He hated having to knowingly share her. Whether or not it was physically, the emotional part was way worse than anything she could have done with this guy.

He hated how she did not even try to hide it anymore.

At first, each time when people brought him up, Riley just shrugged it off, playing it cool, as if her whole chest just didn't get set on fire just by hearing his name.

She even spoke normally about him, everytime. No one would suspect anything at all.

Not even he himself noticed at first, but then he saw the pattern.

He saw the way Riley would act whenever he would start talking about him.

Normally, she was always a little annoyed, no matter what people did, even he, her own boyfriend, had the feeling like he was annoying her, like she did not approve of anything he did, like she did not believe he could do it. Like she did not support him.

It hurt. But that was the only way he knew her.

Sometimes she would even snap at him. Even if he just did a little thing wrong, she would end up yelling, and storming off, not wanting to speak to him for hours.

But they never broke it off. Somehow, each time they found an agreement. Like it wasn't even bothering her that much that they had a fight, or like she didn't care much about it.

All in all, she was rather cold towards everything.

But that was the only way she's ever been with him.

Then he started noticing it.

At first it was just a small thing, he even told himself that it was nothing. That his mind just made that up, because he was anxious and overthinking all the time anyway.

But then it happened more often. And after some months she didn't even seem to hide the obvious anymore.

Her whole persona changed whenever someone would bring him up.

She softened.

It was like someone turned the person who always seemed to be annoyed and over-judgemental with him, into the most caring person on the planet.

She would sigh, and drift away, almost.

Of course, Riley denied it each time he would bring it up, but he knew that there was something.

Something no one spoke out, but everyone knew was there.

And it seemed like everyone around them knew about it.

But everyone was just too nice and unwilling to hurt him to address it.

He tried to ignore it at first, but after time, he got annoyed.

He tried not to bring anything about him up, but the less he would bring him up, Riley would do it.

It happened more frequently lately, and that was when he noticed that he needed to get everyone out of this cicle, even if it would break his heart.

Even if he would have thrown years away, running after one girl, who was obviously in love with someone else, it would break him. Tear him apart. But he had to do what was right.

He had to do what would make Riley happy.

And he would probably be much more happy too, without having to deal with having a girlfriend who was in love with another guy.

In time.

"Riley, we have to talk.." He said, one day after work, as he walked into the kitchen of the apartment they shared.

"Hm.. whats up?" She asked, not looking up from the recipe she was reading.

"I notice it." He started off. "I notice how you sigh whenever someone brings him up."

She froze, finally looking up to him.

"What- What are you talking about?" She finally said, looking back down, to keep reading the recipe in front of her, or so she pretended to do.

"I notice how you talk about him. I notice how you accept everything he does. You soften up, you get lighter, whereas you feel like you are sinking with me. Like you drown while you're around me." He said, looking straight into her eyes.

He knew this would be coming, one day or another. How could he ever think she was going to settle for him, when she could have him.

"I know how you feel about him. I know that you think about him everyday. I'm aware that he is your whole life. That you basically live on and on just to hear his name, or what he is up to, how he is doing. I notice, I do. I notice how you become another person while you talk about him." He spoke.

"No- I.." She said, as she looked up at him, her eyes widened in shock.

"No, Riley. Your happiness comes first for me. Call him. Go on. Please. Tell him how you feel." He went on, a small smile on his features, his hand ran through his black hair. "Do it. I just want you to be happy, and if he is the one to make you happy, then that is okay with me."

A small smile appeared on her face, and it seemed like finally, her soft side was showing to him as well, after years of being with her.

She nodded, taking her phone out of her pocket and walking outside onto the balcony.

Riley went through her phone, looking for his number.

Her heart skipped a beat, as she read his name.

Her breath got a little more rapid now, and she was scared that she might start stuttering once he would pick up the phone. But she had been waiting for this for so long.

Chickening out was no possibility.

Finally, after about ten minutes of staring at the screen of her phone, with his name, she called.

Her heart raced, she wasn't sure if this was even healthy.

She felt like she was about to explode any second.

"Hello?" Then she finally heard his voice.

For the first time in such a long time, she heard him.

"H-Hi. James?" She said, her stuttering mainly caused because her breath got stuck into her throat.

"This is Riley." The girl added a second later, as she was finally able to breathe again.

She felt at ease.

Finally.

-ok so i thought about making a second part to this?????? idk????