Stand And Be Strong

Riley’s P.O.V.

I had seen Dan a lot less and was spending more time with Casey like we used to in the good old days. Today, we had plans to go see Magic Mike at the cinema.

“Hey, are you ready to go?” I asked her. She had just gotten home from her lunch date with Max and we were supposed to go out after that. Instead of replying, she just gave me a look like she was guilty of something. “What did you do?”

“I may have accidently invited Max to come with us…”

"Casey! Can't you just tell him no? I don't want to be the awkward third wheel" I told her. The last thing I wanted was to sit through a movie while Casey and Max made out next to me.

"I would but he's kind already waiting for us outside..." she bit her lip.

"Fine then, just go with him. I'll stay here and watch TV or something."

"What if I call Matt or Chis or someone to come with us? Then you won't be alone" she tried.

"Fine, I guess" she dialed a number in her phone and went across the hall to get Max. Seconds later, they both appeared in our living room.

We left for the movies, stopping to pick up Matt on the way. "Is that Dan's car?" Matt asked, passing by a black BMW.

"Maybe he came to see a movie with Chris or someone." I said.

Max shot him a look before speaking, "yeah, someone". I didn't think it meant anything, so I kept walking.

We bought our tickets and popcorn and went to find our seats. Max kept playfully covering Casey's eyes, which was kind of cute. She and I were commenting back and forth on their 'costumes'. Matt just kept telling us we should have gone to see another movie. He looked uncomfortable by the end.

When the movie was over, Casey and I followed the guys into the lobby, since they wanted drinks. There were tables with chairs set up around the food vendors so you could sit and have something to eat while you waited for your movie to start. I found us one of the tables and waited for the three of them to get back.

They each returned with a beer and Max brought an extra for me. I thanked him and he sat down with us.

We were all laughing, caught up in a conversation, about our high school days, when I noticed someone familiar across the lobby, near the bathroom. It took me a minute to realize it was Dan and he was now mid-kiss with a red headed girl.

"What are you looking at?" Casey asked. I quickly tore my eyes away so it didn't look like I was staring, although I was. She followed where I was looking and then she saw them too. "Oh".

I had asked Dan if he wanted to hang out numerous times but he was always busy. I didn't know by 'busy' he meant he had a new girlfriend.

"I'll be right back" Max said with a smile standing up from the table. Thankfully, Matt changed the subject to something other than Dan.

Dan's P.O.V.

Tracy didn't leave after one week. Or two. She started tagging along with me everywhere I went. She would invite herself to parties and the movies. I felt bad, so I let her.

Today, she invited me to the movies. I had no other plans so I agreed. It was weird. It's almost like we became closer since she's been staying with me, despite our issues in the past. I was starting to actually think we'd be okay as friends. I guess I didn't really have a choice since she was living with me now.

We ended up going to see the avengers and it was actually pretty fun. I bought the tickets and she got the popcorn. "So did you have fun?" she asked as we walked out of the theater.

"Yes, surprisingly I did" I told her.

"See I'm not as bad as you think" she smirked as we walked through the lobby. She stopped outside the girl’s bathroom and told me she had to go. Before she went in she suddenly turned back to me, threw her arms around my neck, and gave me a long, slow kiss. I didn't kiss her back. I couldn't, Riley flooded my brain. But for some reason, I couldn't push her away either.

"Don’t.... Don't do that again" I said, once she pulled away and I was able to think again. She just winked at me and sauntered off into the girl’s bathroom.

I leaned my head back against the wall I was leaning on and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in. "what are you doing?" I heard and my eyes snapped back open.

It was Max. He didn't look mad, just confused. "I don't fucking know" I rubbed my hands on my face. "Why are you here?" I asked. Instead of answering, he pointed behind him. Riley, Matt, and Casey were seated at one of the small tables near the food.

"Did she...." I trailed off, running a hand through my hair. He knew what I meant and nodded. She saw us kiss. I felt my face heat up and looked up at her. Her eyes met mine and the smile faded from her lips. Well, I've royally fucked this up, haven't I?

"She kissed me", I explained, "It’s complicated. Tracy and I are not back together"

"Don't explain it to me" he said before raising his hands and walking away.

Riley's P.O.V.

I was a little bummed out by the time we got home. It wasn’t so much the fact that he kissed her, I mean I could get over my little crush, but he didn’t even tell me he was seeing someone. I thought we were close, even though we haven’t seen so much of each other, we were good friends.

I made myself some tea and laid down on my bed. I pulled up my laptop and logged into tumblr. I wasn’t really in the mood to go out anywhere tonight, so why not just be lazy in bed? I ended up falling asleep at some point.

When I woke up, Casey had already left for breakfast with Max. There was a not taped to the fridge telling me where they were in case I wanted to join. Casey and Max were together. Dan and his redhead were together. Chris and Matt each had their own girlfriends. All there was left to do was call Josh.

He agreed to meet me at the mall in a few hours. He seemed relieved that I called. I guess all his friends ditched him too. We just kind of walked in silence for a while. We were never the closest of the group. He asked if I was hungry, so we stopped off at the food court. We sat down at a table, eating our burgers, and somehow we got involved in a conversation about music with the people at the table next to us.

Josh really seemed into the girl. She was really pretty. Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes. I think her name was Claire. Meanwhile, I was talking to her friend, making small talk to pass the time. His name was Lucas. I learned that Lucas was Claire’s younger brother. He was eighteen, like me, and she was 21, one year younger than Josh. They seemed to really hit it off.

We must have been sitting at this food court for over 2 hours. Josh was having a really good time talking with Claire and Lucas wasn’t so bad either. He actually was really nice. When Josh’s phone buzzed, telling us he had to go to work, Lucas wrote his number down on a piece of paper for me. I thanked him and promised to call and Josh and I walked out to our cars in the parking lot.

When I got home, Casey was sitting on the couch watching a movie with Max. I said hello to them both and went in my bedroom so they could have some time alone.

-------------------------------------------------

Around an hour later, I heard the door to the apartment close and shortly after that Casey came in my room. She had an awful, serious look on face. I closed my laptop and she layed down at the end of the bed.

“Casey, what’s wrong? Did you and Max get in a fight?”

“No… but how good are you at keeping secrets?” She asked and bit her lip.

“Pretty good I guess” I told her, I assumed she was just going to tell me that she was in love with Max or that there was a sale at some store or something.

“There’s some things you should know… about Dan” she said. Now she was beginning to scare me. Casey didn’t like to gossip, so the next thing out of her mouth couldn’t be good. “There’s a lot of things that you don’t know about him, things he doesn’t want you to know, but first you need to promise me something. Promise you won’t get mad that I didn’t tell you sooner and also that if you see him again you pretend you have no idea…”

“I promise.”

“well, for starters….”