| Sunday ~ October 31st. . .
It was sometime past two when Riley met up with Michelle at the public library on the second floor towards the back. Michelle was sitting at a round table right by the ceiling-to-floor windows overlooking downtown traffic and next to row of tall bookshelves on the other side for further privacy.
It was Halloween day and nearly every inch of downtown outside was covered in black, white, and orange decorations with an unlimited supply of carved jack-o-lanterns that bore a variety of different expressions. Some people were already dressed in their choice of costumes while others were still out trying to purchase the last bags of candy to give out.
"Hey, M." Riley greeted as she approached the table stacked with textbooks from school. She took a seat as Michelle waved in response with a smile.
"Where's your other half?" Michelle joked, referring to Jay while flipping through her binder that consisted of notes from their English class.
Riley rolled her eyes and pulled out her own items, then blew out of a breath of slight annoyance. "Ever since Craig asked Jay to that party, she's been a little... occupied lately, to say the least. It's like she doesn't have time to hang with me anymore."
Michelle looked up and met her eyes, giving her a look of understanding. "I've been there. I used to have a friend like that and I eventually had to ditch that friendship." From her words, she could see Riley appeared uncomfortable at that option. "I'm not saying that will happen to you two; I just get what you're saying."
She propped her cheek against her hand while a pencil rested between her index and middle finger. "I just didn't really peg her as the type to ditch her best friend for a guy, especially one that's known to be a hoe."
Michelle twisted her glossed lips to the side as she absentmindedly drew random squiggle lines at the top of her paper. "I've known Craig since elementary school and he's honestly a nice guy."
Riley crossed her eyes causing Michelle to laugh before she spoke again, "No, really, he is. I just think he's surrounded by the wrong crowd ever since he joined the football team in middle school, then started gaining traction his freshman year. Now he's a star quarterback and he's getting girls left and right."
"That's what I mean. He uses that to his advantage and I don't want Jay getting hurt." Riley sighed, staring at her open English book.
Just simply looking at the text blocks printed across the pages was giving her a migraine. She had enough of school at this point and was ready for winter break, but she needed the extra help and notes from Michelle since she fell asleep several times in class. Not because she was tired, but the class was just boring as hell.
"I see what you mean." Michelle agreed as she leaned back in her chair and stretched her back after sitting leaned over her homework for about thirty minutes before Riley arrived. "I hope she's careful, too. But if Craig still has an ounce of his dignity left, he would treat her with the respect she deserves. He's not exactly a pig like the others."
"His actions say otherwise," Riley mumbled, then sighed.
"I know, I know. He's made some really stupid mistakes, but he'll come around hopefully. Maybe Jay can open his eyes and finally show him that being a prick isn't exactly the lifestyle he wants to lead." The prongs in her binder loudly snapped open as she took out some of her notes and handed them to Riley.
"Thanks." She said and Michelle smiled her welcome.
It was quiet between them for several minutes as Riley copied down the things she didn't have in her own notes and double checked to make sure she had everything she needed. After a while, Michelle broke the silence.
"So, how's everything going with Javen? That's his name, right? The dirty blonde-haired, blue-eyed dude." Michelle asked and Riley nodded with a half smile.
"Everything's okay, I guess. He's always texting me to see what I'm up to and stuff." Riley said as she handed the notes back.
Truthfully, the constant blowing up of her phone from the text messages was a little irritating. She liked her me-time and she could barely spend time on herself without Javen sending her text every few minutes or even calling her. Not only that, her mind was consistently on Mr. Jackson, and him only.
Her thoughts had no room to spare for Javen or any other guy in her life right now besides her deceased brother. There would always be just a tad left for him.
Michelle knitted her eyebrows but she didn't add her two cents. "Well, I overheard that he asked you out on a date. Are you going?"
"Yeah." She shrugged halfheartedly, tapping her pencil against her notebook. "I don't really plan on going alone though. I was thinking about a double date or something."
"Oh, that's cool." Michelle nodded to herself and busied herself with her school supplies.
Riley propped her chin onto her hand again as she watched her. "What about you? Are you seeing anyone?"
A small smile slowly crept onto Michelle's face. "Yeah, you could say that. We're in the talking stage, too, right now."
Riley's face lit up with an idea. "Hey, maybe we could all triple date or something like that. What do you think?"
"Maybeee..." She drawled, sounding unsure and shrugging her shoulders. "I'll think about it." Michelle quickly changed topics before Riley could further question her. "I've also noticed you're Mr. Jackson's assistant. How's that going?"
Riley couldn't suppress the grin on her face and Michelle raised her eyebrows in surprise. "It's going really good. I enjoy it."
"Uh-huh. You two became acquainted pretty well." Michelle smirked, causing Riley to blush and roll her eyes. "I still can't believe you two hugged. So many girls at school would fight you for that opportunity."
"Boys, too." Riley laughed to herself, clearly remembering the his first day on the job and how obvious some of her male classmates were ogling his perfect backside. "I don't understand how it's that possible for one man to have that much beauty. He's so stunning."
"Someone's sprung." Michelle teased in a sing-song tone, similar to how Jay would tease her.
"I am not sprung, he's just really handsome and sweet. He actually helped me with my calculus when most teachers would've just dismissed my struggles or give me some bullshit advice." Riley felt her mind drifting off to him once more. "He's honestly one of the best teachers without even trying."
Michelle playfully narrowed her eyes as she stared at Riley, her arms folded across in front of her on top of the table. "You like-like him."
Riley bit back her smile and looked down at her notes, pretending to look over them. "And here we go. You're starting to sound like Jay."
"It's obvious you like him!" Michelle exclaimed with a laugh, suddenly hearing someone shush her. She rolled her eyes and lowered her voice. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Girls get a crush on their teacher every now and then, that's nothing new. You have a little innocent crush on Mr. Jackson, no biggie."
"But weren't you the one that said he possibly," Riley's face screwed up at the term. "masturbated to me or whatever? So what's going on with him, then?"
"He likes you, too." Michelle thought back to Mr. Jackson's face and laughed under her breath. "Honestly, that was just a wild guess. I don't know what he did or what his brother was hinting at. But all I know is, the look he gave his brother was enough to let me know that he did or said something pertaining to you."
Her face flushed from the thought and she sheepishly played with the pencil in her hand. "I mean... we are getting a little close. Like, we're just getting to know each other better."
A glint of mischief sparked in Michelle's light eyes. "I bet."
"Not like that, M!" Riley scoffed, but still had a little smile on her face. "I still don't know much about him, but it's nice talking to Mr. Jackson about anything other than just school. I get to see a glimpse of who he really is besides just a Sex-Ed teacher."
"Well, if I had the same chance as you, I would be doing the same thing you are."
Riley thought back to Jay and chuckled. "And if Jay had the same opportunity, she'd probably jump his bones first."
Michelle laughed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can definitely see her doing something like that. But me as well. I'm not exactly innocent as you."
Riley cut her eyes at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why does everyone say I'm so innocent? I'm just like anybody else."
"Shut that up." Michelle sucked her teeth before she quietly laughed, shaking her head.
"I am!"
"Girl, I've known you since freshman year and the one thing that made me like you was that you were so damn funny because you did the most exaggerated reaction whenever somebody mentioned something sexual. You had me in tears at one point and almost got me kicked out of class."
"Sex is just not that appealing to me. I find it overrated." Riley mumbled to herself.
Michelle slyly smirked. "It's going to be so ironic when the Sex-Ed teacher finally turns you out. It won't be so 'overrated' then."
Riley's mouth gaped open just a tad. "Why do y'all keep wishing that on me?"
"So, do you not want it to be true?"
"I mean, I wouldn't mind, but-"
"See!" Michelle had a goofy grin plastered on her face as she bounced giddily in her seat.
"You know what?" Riley closed her English book and began packing her stuff. "We're done with this topic. You and Jay have been hanging around each other for too long. She's already influenced you. You sure she's not your other half?"
"Yes, I'm sure. You two have been joined at the hip since forever." Michelle snickered and started putting her things away as well. "Hey, you busy tonight?"
"Nope, I'm free. Finally. It's nice to have my weekends back." Riley breathed out a sigh and arched her back to stretch her muscles.
"You want to come over and watch scary movies? My parents are taking my little brother to one of those church's trunk-o-treats things and I'm gonna have the house to myself for a few hours."
"Sure." Riley shrugged and stood up, placing the strap of her bag onto her shoulder. "We should stop by a store and grab a bag of candy. I'm craving Tootsie Rolls."
Michelle opened her mouth but quickly snapped it shut, leaving Riley to give her a suspicious stare. She tittered at her own joke. "I was going to say something slick about Mr. Jackson soothing your cravings, but I'm not."
Riley chuckled and shook her head. "Let's just go."
🌹
"Damn, how many bags of candy does one need on one day of the year?" Michelle asked in astonishment, her hands on her hips as she stared at the mostly bare candy aisles.
"Apparently the whole store." Riley's shoulders sagged and she pouted at seeing only the most unpopular candy choices left for her to choose from. "Ick."
"I think I saw some more candy down this way. Let me go check." Michelle said before she walked off.
Riley slowly moved down the aisle, occasionally picking up small bags of candy to observe only to put it back down seconds later. She continued browsing, her face contorted in disappointment. Just as she reached the end of the aisle, she almost bumped into a hard chest before stepping back in time.
"We really need to stop meeting like this." The familiar voice chuckled and Riley looked up to recognize Mr. Jackson.
He was dressed in usual attire of black slacks and a cute green button-down shirt while wearing his glasses. Riley couldn't get over how good-looking he was with and without the glasses.
"Agreed." She giggled to herself as she looked down to see a few bags of candy in his arms. "Stocking up on candy, too, huh?"
He nodded with a smile, his glasses slightly slipping down. "They weren't easy to find, either. I usually buy some candy a few weeks before Halloween gets here. I'm a little behind schedule."
He tried to adjust the bags in his arms to fix his glasses but Riley took it upon herself to do it for him.
"Here, allow me." She reached up and pushed the glasses back into their rightful place.
"Thank you." His cheeks warmed before clearing his throat. "What are you up to? You're buying candy for the little ones as well?"
"Oh, no. My greedy self came to buy myself a bag of candy." Riley said, glancing back around most of the bare shelves. "All the candy I wanted are gone, though."
"What kind do you like?"
She shrugged. "I like most candies. But I've been craving Tootsie Rolls all day. The big, fat kind they sell in the shiny aluminum."
"Oh, yeah. I know what you're talking about." He adjusted the bags again and Riley could see a nice size pack of Tootsie Rolls sticking out of his arms. "I found the last pack. You can have it if you like."
"No, but I appreciate it. You've found it first and-"
He shook his head. "It's okay, Riley. I got plenty other candy the kids and I can choose from. Here, take it."
Riley shyly bit her lip and took the bag from his arms. "Thanks, Mr. Jackson."
"It's no problem." He softly smiled, then nodded his head toward the register. "Come on, I'll pay."
Riley furrowed her eyebrows as she walked with him up to the front. "You don't have to, I got it. It's only a small bag."
"Exactly." He chuckled as he placed the items on the belt and took the bag from her hand to add it to the rest. "I don't mind, Riley. Really."
Michelle walked up after spotting Riley, not even realizing Mr. Jackson was standing there. "Hey, Riley, I couldn't find any Tootsies. Maybe we can try another store." Her face looked nothing short of surprised as she met Mr. Jackson's gaze. "Oh, h-hey."
"Hello." He politely greeted and chuckled at her sudden shy nature. He didn't know why he had that affect on most girls and women. "Michelle, right?"
"Yes." She smiled, moving up to stand next to Riley. "It's nice seeing you again."
"Like-wise." He grinned, turning to the cashier when she told him his total. He quickly paid for it and let her bag everything but Riley's candy. He picked it up and handed it to her. "Here you go."
She thanked him again as she took it and he gave her a subtle wink as he grabbed his bags.
"Do you need help?" Riley asked him as he grabbed about three or four bags.
"Oh, no, I got it. But thank you again." Another smile ghosted his lips and they followed him out the store toward the parking lot. They stopped right by Michelle's car.
"So, you girls aren't going trick-or-treating this year?" He asked them and they shook their heads. "Usually, I'll still see twenty-year-olds still walking the streets to get some free candy."
"Don't get us wrong, we love free candy." Riley lightly smiled before it slightly faltered. "But almost two years ago, we lost a classmate on Halloween night. She was out with her siblings when some guy accidentally ran her over. We haven't really gone out since then."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Michael frowned. "I think I heard about that on the news. I understand your decision on staying inside, I don't blame you."
Both girls sighed before Riley spoke again. "Well, I hope you have fun tonight. Be careful with the crazies out here."
"I always am." He chuckled, opening his arms to give her a hug. She immediately settled into his warm embrace and almost didn't want to let go.
He smiled, then gave Michelle a hug, too.
"I'll see you girls at school tomorrow, right?"
"We'll be there." Riley promised.
"Good. Oh, and if you need any more help on your calculus or anything else, I won't mind helping." He said and her smile widened.
"Okay, Mr. Jackson. I really appreciate it."
"No problem. I'll see you girls later."
They exchanged goodbyes and watched him walk across the parking lot toward his red Camry. Riley noticed Michelle's sly smile and internally prepared herself for the banter to come.
"Spill the details. How did you two run into each other?" Michelle asked as Riley walked over to the passenger side.
"It's nothing serious, M." Riley chuckled as she got into Michelle's car and opened her bag of candy. Glancing over at Michelle, she still saw the same look. "Oh, goodness."
"Spill." Michelle grinned and Riley rolled her eyes before rehashing the brief run-in. "I was looking for some tootsies, then boom- I ran right into him. Why am I always running into his chest?" Riley wondered aloud before biting into the thick chocolate candy after unwrapping it. "These run-ins can't be fate, can they? Is the Universe trying to tell me something?"
Michelle slowly arched an eyebrow. "Um... I don't know. I guess so. What are the odds of running into Mr. Jackson outside of school-related stuff?"
Riley shrugged as she slipped into a daydream trance. "He's so adorable, M. And sweet. His hugs are so... hearty."
"Yeah, his hugs are nice." Michelle chuckled in agreement as she started her engine. "But maybe I shouldn't have brought up how you two ran into each other. You're starting to slip into La-La Land."
Riley lazily smirked and lolled her head to look at her friend. "Sorry. That's what chocolate does to me."
"The candy or Michael?" Michelle quipped and Riley laughed.
"The candy, girl, the candy."
(A/N: Sorry again for the extremely long wait, and thanks to those who were patient and supportive. Writer's block and life can be a bitch. I won't be able to update weekly as I planned, but there will be at least one update per month. 💕)