Riane had been texted where to meet her friends for lunch that afternoon. She went to the cafeteria to get her lasagna and had noticed Blake sitting amongst Adonia and her friends. He gave a motion towards her with his head to acknowledge her, but left her alone after that.
Heading behind one of the school buildings nearby, she found Dalen and Seth sitting together with burgers they had gotten from the school as well. It wasn't unusual for Seth to follow his friend's lead and get the same meal as him.
Sitting down on the steps in between them as that was where Dalen had patted the stair, they all began to eat their meals in relative quiet.
“You changed sides rather quickly this morning.” Dalen told his friend. He had been waiting to have this conversation with him, but had wanted Riane to be present for it.
He shrugged, “Riane made sense, and besides if I had gone with Julian I would have been stuck listening to his rants all day.”
“You two don't sound like you like him very much.” Riane had wondered during the day why his friends had chosen her over him.
“Julian is our friend, but honestly he kind of just showed up on the first day of school and spotted us standing together. He came up introduced himself and then just took over. Neither one of us knew what was going on and just kind of went with it.” Dalen explained before taking a bite out of his burger. “I should have gone with cheddar. This Monterrey jack is kind of plain, even with the peppers.”
“I told you.” Seth seemed to take a momentary pleasure in his friend's dissatisfaction.
“Mind if I pick your brains about him for a second?” She was afraid they would say no, but they both turned their attention to her though Seth was picking at his french fries. “Why is Julian like this? He always seems to be ready to blow at any moment.” Riane thought it was best to understand him in order to counteract whatever he had in store for her.
Dalen shrugged, “He is an intelligent guy who has no emotional understanding, I think. He views people as if they are tools and I thought he might be a sociopath, but I think he feels empathy towards others. I know he has it for animals. He loves them but his little brother is allergic.”
Seth agreed with a nod, “Yeah, he told us when he was younger he used to volunteer at the no kill shelter. When he went on his little walk about around the world, he came back and started just donating money to it. They have a plaque on the wall in the main hall dedicated to him.”
“So, there is kindness somewhere deep inside.” Riane mumbled to herself though it was loud enough for them both to hear.
“Maybe try puppy dog eyes whenever he acts like an ass.” Seth joked, but Riane thought of it more of a suggestion.
“I still don't understand his hatred towards women. Was he scorned or something?” Riane pour a couple packets of Parmesan cheese on her lasagna, before taking another bite.
Both men looked incapable of answering her question, but Dalen responded. “I have never heard anything, and believe me he rants about everything. Whenever he rants about women though, it's like he sees them as tools just like everyone else.”
“Maybe it's because he never grew up with kids his own age. That could have warped his brain. Being a ten year old around teenagers and not understanding that they are just talking trash.” Seth added.
“Hmm, never thought of it that way. Could be.” Dalen stuck out his bottom lip a little as he thought about it.
“You said that he is very good with women in clubs, right?” She watch them nod. “So, how come that doesn't transfer over to the girls he actually likes?”
“Self destruction? I think he might be afraid of a long term commitment and perhaps that means if he has feelings for someone he wants to make them detest him so it is unattainable.” Seth surprised them both by saying it.
“You are really insightful today, man.” Dalen was half teasing and half complimenting him.
Riane chuckled at the comment before noticing movement in the distance. The head that had been looking around the corner of the building quickly hid behind it, but not before she could tell that it was Julian.
“We are being watched.” Riane told them and motioned in the direction she had seen him. She was not worried that he had overheard them as he was some distance away.
“By whom?” Dalen asked as he looked towards the other building.
“Julian!” Riane called out his name. “We saw you! Why don't you come eat lunch with us?” She waited several seconds and no one made an appearance. “Guess he left.”
“Are you certain it was him?” Seth stood up from his spot on the stairs and laid his tray down before heading over to the corner. He looked around the area for a moment before returning, “ New looking cigarette butts are on the ground. If it was him, he chained smoked over there for a bit.”
Dalen rolled his eyes, “I'll talk to him after school. This is just ridiculous.”
As Seth picked up his tray and sat back down on the stairs, the figure reappeared but this time Julian slowly walked over to them.
“Don't make any sudden moves, you'll startle him like a deer.” Seth whispered and everyone chuckled.
Not giving any of them eye contact, Julian slowly lowered himself down onto a stair in front of Dalen. He had his hands in his pockets and said nothing, but it was obvious that he had been lonely without his friends checking in on him during the morning.
“Want some french fries?” Seth offered.
Julian looked up at his friend's tray and reached out to take a few before leaning back and slowly chewing on them.
Riane couldn't help but be endeared by him. He looked like a little kid who was scolded but still wanted to be part of the festivities even if he would pout while doing it. She understood though. That morning she had stolen his friends and he couldn't even manage one whole day without them. It seemed that he burned very hot but it was always quick to fizzle out.
“Did you eat?” Riane asked.
Julian glared up at her and seemed to be trying not to choke on his words. “No.”
She offered out her lasagna to him, “I ate half of it, but its good. Want it?”
He continued to frown as he took the tray from her, and used her fork to get the meal. He did not show any gratitude, but it wasn't what Riane was looking for anyway. She knew he wouldn't die from missing one meal and that he could afford to go to the cafeteria to get his own. This was about extending an olive branch and hoping he would accept it, though she didn't know if that would work at home. This felt like a university peace agreement only.
She was actually relieved as she had expected this to go on for weeks or months before he was too lonely. She also thought that Dalen and Seth might start feeling bad for him and take days to hang out with him instead, which would eventually lead to them hanging out with him all together and her being completely abandoned.
“We are going out for pizza later to celebrate.” Seth informed him.
“Celebrate what?” He asked as he stuffed his face with the meal.
“Riane's first day attending school in girl clothes.” Dalen explained before turning to her. “Speaking of which, how has your day been? Anything happen?”
She shook her head with a smile, “Not one word from anyone. All that fear and nothing happened. I am disappointed in some ways.”
He and Seth laughed, but Julian kept a straight face.
“Why even bother? You look better as a guy anyway.” Julian mumbled with a mouth full of food.
“I have always been denied this by my mother and then by myself. I want to see which one of these I really am.” She told him and he merely grunted at the response which she assumed was acceptance.
Riane found herself at home after a short pizza dinner with everyone. Julian had driven her home as Joe wanted to go over to Dalen's house. Upon arriving home, Nanette had commented about the two of them coming home together which only garnered a glare and an angry grunt from Julian before he charged up the stairs.
Entering the living room, she found Zack helping Bryce with some of his schoolwork which was slightly surprising to witness, but she said nothing as she sat down on the couch and pulled out her own books and laptop.
Nanette came into the room with a bowl of fruit and set it on the table, “A snack for your studying.” She told her. “Share with the boys.” Her eyes then turned to her youngest son. “Zack, you should offer to help her if she needs it.”
“The only thing I'll help her with; is showing her the front door.” He hissed with more venom and hatred then Julian had ever shown her.
“Zachary!” Nanette snapped.
“It's alright. I have very little work today and I can get it done rather quickly.” Riane didn't want to argue with him or see him get in trouble. “I was wondering if I could use the music room. I haven't practiced in a long time. My dad got rid of my piano, and I would love to play some. If it wouldn't bother everyone.”
“That would be lovely, and don't worry about being too loud it's relatively sound proof.” Nanette seemed to forget his son's actions all together. “When you feel you have practiced enough, you'll have to give me a performance.”
Riane giggled, “Sure, I will see about writing something in your honor.”
“Writing something? Well, that sounds exciting.” She smiled, “I'll let you three get back to your studies.”
As she did her math homework, she came across an equation that left her stumped and without thinking she texted the group chat to ask for help. Dalen was out with Joe, so he wouldn't respond and she knew that Julian wouldn't help her. That left only Seth, who had been sulking at the attention Dalen had been getting from Joe earlier.
“Uh, fuck if I know.” Was the reply she received from Seth almost immediately.
She sighed and replied back, “It was worth a shot.”
She decided to continue passed the equation and return to it once her mind was warmed up more. Looking across the room, she witnessed Zack sitting next to his brother as he mouthed assistance to him though she couldn't hear what they were saying. She didn't know if he normally whispered when helping or if he thought he was keeping her from his assistance. She doubted that her and Bryce were even doing the same subject, let alone the same level class with the same professor.
Another text came and she saw Dalen's reply. “Is this where you use the FOIL system?”
“No, that's algebra. This is precalculus.” She replied with a small smirk on her lips.
Returning her attention to her laptop, she continued to work for several moments and finally finished her sheet. It came time to return to the problem that stumped her and she quickly tried to give an answer as she decided she would just get that one marked as wrong.
Turning to a paper she had been working on for the last month, she began to do some more research on the housing market and her theory of how to assist it.
“You are doing basic graphs, right?” Julian's voice came from the doorway.
All three people in the room looked up to him, but none was more surprised than Zack who had firmly believed that his brother was on his side. He looked betrayed to see him help the intruder in anyway.
“Um, yes.” Riane replied.
“That's hard to explain via text.” He told her as he came over to the couch and sat down beside her. “It's easier if you watch someone else do it first, which you should have seen in class.”
“Math has never been my strong suit.” She informed him as he picked up her laptop and placed it on his own lap.
“What the hell is this?” He looked at the paper that was on the screen.
A smile came to her lips. “Oh, it's my paper about real estate crash and how to prevent from the bubble occurring again. It's exciting, I think...”
“I thought you liked music. Is this for a business management course?” Julian curled his lip. “Boring shit.”
“Well, it's my major.” She informed him before reaching over and removing the offending paper from his sight and opening up her math homework.
Julian went silent for a moment as he looked it over before slowly turning his head towards her. “These are all wrong. Do you even pay any attention in class?”
“How can they be all wrong?” She frowned and realized that Bryce and Zack were watching them from across the room.
“Well, obviously you did it wrong.” Julian snapped at her.
Nanette entered the room when she heard Julian's voice, but decided not to say anything when she realized that he was helping her with her homework. She did, however, decide to stand guard just in case Julian got out of hand.
Over the next hour, Riane practiced with him before he gave her back her homework and watched her as she redid everything. When she was done, he looked it over for her and handed it back with a slight grin.
“Good, you learned. I think you'll get a ninety two percent.” He stood from the couch and noticed his mother standing there watching him. His eyes lowered briefly before he turned back to Riane.
“Only ninety two? What did I get wrong?” She scrolled up and down on the laptop as she tried figure out her mistakes.
“I am not going to tell you, but don't change anything unless I tell you that's the problem otherwise you'll make the score worse.” He informed her as he hoped his mother was no longer behind him.
“Alright, thank you.”
He shook his head, “Whatever. I just didn't want my message tune going off anymore over this stupid shit.”
“Thank you anyway.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to leave but decided to ask one more thing of her. “If I go back to my room, are you going to send out another text over a topic or am I safe?”
She looked at her laptop for a moment, “Well, I have biology homework tonight as well.”
With a sigh, Julian tossed himself back on the couch beside her. “Let's see it.”
Nanette smiled gently at him though he didn't see, before she turned her eyes towards Bryce who widened his eyes at her with surprise. She winked at him before heading back into the hallway.
“What are you doing?” Zack asked from across the room, but quickly walked over to them and snatched her laptop away. “Why are you helping her?”
Julian stood up and yanked the computer away from him. “Go help, Bryce.” He held it out to her with one hand and when she took it, he shoved his younger brother which made him take a couple steps back.
“Julian!” Bryce snapped and jumped to his younger brother's rescue. He quickly put himself between the two of them with him facing Julian. “Keep your hands off him.”
“He didn't keep his hands off her shit!”
“It's alright.” Riane said meekly as she had never experienced the brothers act this way before and was worried about the outcome.
“He was wrong, and he won't do it again.” Bryce turned to Zack, “Right?”
Zack nodded slowly, “Right.”
After Riane finished her homework, she went to find the piano room. It wasn't hard to find the room across from the ballet studio and inside were many different instruments all in various shapes. It looked as if they had purchased the instruments for the children on a whim, and immediately they had been put down and forgotten.
Some were in cases and others were out in the open, leaning against walls or just on the shelves lining the room. Music sheets were still on the stands were they had been left during their last attempt to be played.
In a way the room was rather sad to look at for Riane. If her father had been a different person; this would have been her favorite room in their house. It might have even been her bedroom.
Walking over to the piano, she smiled as she sat down on the bench. It was a black grand piano like the one her father had purchased, but eventually removed from the house. Memories of playing with her mother swept over her.
Her mother had taught her how to play and she remembered playing when her father was in the room. He would smile and clap for her. She was certain that he had praised her for playing when she was young. There was a very small memory of her parents dancing together as she played a song for them. There had been happiness once between them, but one day it was gone.
It hadn't been more than a few months since she last played but somehow this felt different. She felt free to play it and not like her father would walk in on her to ask if she finished her homework. If she said yes, he would give her one of his own essay topics for her to write. Sometimes, she wondered if he disliked her playing it because of the memories it brought of her mother. Did he know how kindly she looked on those moments? Did it show in her face or her eyes somehow? He loathed any talk of her mother and it wouldn't surprise her if he didn't want her to even think about her.
Her fingers ran over the fall board before slowly lifting it up to reveal the keys. She looked them over and touched each one. A lightness lights her heart as she thought about every song she could think of to play. She couldn't decide what to play after so long away and then she smiled as she thought of the first song she learned.
Using only her index fingers, she began to play “Chopsticks” and laughed to herself as she played faster and faster.
She didn't notice Zack enter the room. He had come to do what Julian obviously was no longer willing to do, but he instead stood and watched. She was laughing, but she looked like she might start crying at any moment.
When she was done; she ran her hand over her pant legs and seemed to ready herself to play something else.
“Even I can do that song.” Zack hissed at her.
She startled briefly before looking up at him. “I haven't played in a long while, so I wanted something to warm up to. My mom taught me that as my first song. She and I used to play it together. Her on one side of the keyboard and me on the other. Want to try it?”
He simply stood by the door with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his lips.
“Come on. It will be fun, especially as we increase the tempo.” She used one hand to wave him over.
Dropping his hands to the side, he walked over to her and sat on the other side of the bench. He continued to give her the stink eye, but placed his fingers on the proper keys.
She started slow so he could remember how to play again and get his coordination going once more. However after a couple rounds of that, she increased the tempo and soon Zack began to smile as she giggled along with the song.
“Oh, you almost messed up.” She teased.
“No, I didn't.” He said as he hit the wrong key, but continued to smile as she increased the temp again until finally Zack could no longer keep up with her.
The two laughed when he put his hands up in the air to surrender.
“Too fast.” He chuckled. “Can you play real songs very fast?”
“I am a little out of practice, but I used to be able to play 'Flight of the Bumblebee' pretty quickly.” She looked down at the keys and then back up at him. “How long did you take lessons before you lost patience?”
He shrugged his shoulders, “Enough to learn chopsticks, but not much else. It's frustratingly slow to learn.”
“It takes a lot of practice, but if you enjoy doing it then it really isn't work at all.” She explained with a grin. “If you view learning the instrument as torture than maybe it is the wrong one for you.”
He looked around the room, “Most of these are my brothers' failed projects. My mom was always focused on the piano for me.”
“Do you want to try some of the others? They might not be the right size for you, but we can give them a shot.” She stood up from the bench and walked to the other side of the room.
“You can play all of these?” He asked as he followed behind her.
She nodded, “Mostly. I may not be a master, but I learn instruments very quickly. It is like they are my life blood. Whenever I was sad or lonely, I would play something and the music would take me out of the world into my own little garden that no one could bother me in. Other songs though can be a battle march for when something difficult is about to happen.”
“You can just listen to it though. It would have the same affect.” He began to open some of the cases to see what instrument was inside.
“It's different when you play it yourself. It is like you are announcing yourself and telling the world what is in your heart.” She watched him open a case. “Flutes are light and fun.”
“They are for girls.” He shut the case and heard her chuckle behind him.
He continued to look through them and close them as if none called to him. Though he never tried to actually pick one up and toy with it. His decision was based on what he thought of the instrument instead of how it made him feel when he played it.
Riane noticed this and picked up the violin. “Come here. Let's try this.”
“That's for country music singers' bands.” He grumbled.
She smiled and shook her head, “This is for whatever you want it to be for. You won't be locked into some predetermined bubble just because you believe they exist.”
Picking it up out of the case, Riane held it out to him and helped him settle it on his shoulder and showed him where his fingers should go. She didn't hand him the bow though and instead told him to pluck a few cords.
She told him which one until it was obvious he was playing “Mary had a Little Lamb” and he smiled at her.
A clap came from the doorway and Nanette stood with a smile on her lips. “Very good, Zack. Do you like the violin?”
He lowered the instrument down and frowned before putting it back in its case.
“We are trying out a few instruments and seeing if any of them sing to him.” Riane explained to his excited mother.
“Oh, that is wonderful. How many have you tried?”
“Other than the piano, this was his first one.” Riane noticed that Zack no longer looked amused in this situation.
“It's not like I am going to learn any of them. Don't get your hopes up. We were just playing around.” He hissed at his mother though he seemed to try to maintain a more respectful tone than Julian did.
“I never said anything to that extent.” Nanette realized that she might have damaged a bonding moment between the two.
Zack turned to Riane, “I can't wait until you leave. You really are making this house unbearable to live in.” He snapped before rushing out the door.
A warm fall turned to cold winter and the snow began to fall on Cerulean Harbor. Dresses and sweaters turned to pants and coats but inside the Swithin household the environment remained constant.
Julian remained cold and distant towards everyone though willing to help Riane in her studies. Zack would occasionally be caught watching Riane practice and though she had tried to convince him to play something he would always sulk away. He remained her most vocal opponent. Bryce had been kind in the last couple of months though he had not invited her anywhere since the party debacle.
Riane was the most changed, however. Her new style gave her confidence she didn't know she had and she was finally able to discover who she wanted to be, and not what someone else wanted from her. She was letting her hair grow out for the first time in her life and though it wasn't even close to shoulder length, it was getting near chin length.
She had learned not only from Nanette but videos online about how to do her make-up, which she now enjoyed putting on herself. She even liked when Nanette took her to the beauty and nail salon. It was fun to pick out new nail colors.
Never being allowed to do these types of things, she just naturally assumed they were stupid in order to not want them. However, now that she was confident and capable to do them, she looked forward to being a little girly from time to time.
Joe and Dalen had become closer and had even started calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, though they still both blushed whenever the other one said it. They were a sweet couple and Riane was happy that her friend was happy.
She hadn't talked to Blake and Adonia since the party, and slowly their missing presence was diminishing. She saw them both at school and her heart ached whenever she noticed them in the middle of a romantic moment, but she was beginning to let go.
Sitting in the car on her way to class, Riane held her phone in her hand as she waited for Dalen's daily text message about her coffee that he always bought the two girls in the morning. She knew he was only doing it for her because he was trying to be nice, but there was something in the gesture that made her slightly jealous of Joe.
Her phone beeped and she looked at the message, “He said they were out of hazelnut, so he got regular and put hazelnut flavored cream in it.”
“That will have to do, won't it?” Joe smiled as they made their way to the school.
Riane hadn't spoken to her brother or her father in over a month, though Deidra sent her messages every couple of days to check on her.
Things were going rather smoothly since she moved in. Her only concern was that Julian seemed to be very quiet at school and she would often catch him staring at Adonia, while she was watching Blake. She hadn't noticed before she moved in but since they stopped hanging out behind the gym due to the cold, she realized how much he actually liked the girl. She wondered how they knew each other and why he liked her so much. It probably had to do with wanting what you can't have as that seemed to be the way Julian would fall in love.
On occasion if they walked by them, Julian would hold Riane's hand. At first, she thought it was him trying to console her on the close proximity and the fact that Blake barely acknowledged her, however it became clear that he was trying to see if he could make Adonia jealous. As soon as they passed and he got no sort of recognition of the hand hold he would immediately drop it. Adonia had noticed a couple of times and had once looked back as if to make sure her eyes were seeing the truth.
She had then whispered to Blake who had turned to see it for himself. The way he looked mildly surprised and then shrugged his shoulder before saying something to Adonia had been rather painful to see. He hadn't been jealous at all.
Julian and Riane never discussed what he was doing and neither did Seth or Dalen. It seemed to be an unspoken rule that the act would be unspoken of.
Pulling up to the gate, Dalen rushed over to the car and opened the passenger side door to let Riane out, before handing her a paper cup of coffee with a plastic lid. He would then climb into the car briefly to give Joe her own cup and a quick kiss before sending her off to school.
Seth was waiting by the gate and as per usual the Swithin boys' car was behind her own. It pulled up as Riane gave the two men her greetings and thanked Dalen for the coffee once more.
Everyone was wearing thick coats with gloves and a hat to cover the ears. Riane's had a faux fur around the edge on her matching hat and gloves. The entire campus looked like stuffed bears due to the many layers they were wearing.
Bryce walked by and gave a greeting before heading over to his own friends, and Julian came to join them. Seth held a cup of coffee for his friend which Julian took and began to drink slowly. He complained about the cold far more than anyone else.
“So fucking cold today.” He mumbled.
“It's the middle of winter.” Dalen sighed before looking at Riane. “So, are you coming with us?” He gave her his best puppy dog face as she looked unconvinced. “It's winter break. Let's go somewhere warm, come on. Joe is coming and Seth is bringing a girl, and Julian is... well, he'll be there too. It will be lacking if you aren't there.”
“I don't think Julian wants me there.” She explained.
Julian scoffed, “Don't put words in my damn mouth. I said it would be difficult to get girls if they knew my fiancee was nearby.”
Seth brought his brows together, “Isn't that what she just said?”
“I didn't say she couldn't come or I didn't want her there. I just don't want her telling people we are engaged. Fuck, say anything honest and you people turn it into a rejection.” Julian snapped before looking annoyed that a couple people brushed passed him as he was standing in the shoveled walkway.
“I have also never gone on vacation before.” She took a sip of her coffee. “It would be very weird.”
Seth put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her neck playfully, before speaking into her ear. “No more talk, you are coming with us. It's a small island with a few other people, and you'll help me with this new girl. Alright?”
“Help you?” She questioned.
“Yeah, like be friendly to her so she doesn't feel like the odd one out since she isn't part of our group.” He began to walk with his arm still over her shoulder towards her classroom. Dalen and Julian followed close behind them.
Riane sighed, “Fine, but I refuse to wear a bathing suit.” She didn't know why she had said that but decided it was just her way to exert some sort of control. She loved swimming but it was scarey to in a swim suit in front of strangers.
He kissed her forehead before letting her go, which was something that he had been doing since learning she was a girl. “Bring one in case you change your mind.”
She groaned, “Fine.”
Dalen shook her shoulder, “It will be fun. I promise.”
“We'll see.” She mumbled before Seth was shoved out of the way and her hand was held by Julian.
He waved over at Adonia and Blake as they were heading off to class from where ever they were congregating in the morning now.
They both waved back at him as Riane sighed audibly and gave Dalen a look that told of her annoyance. He returned the look with an eye roll as it was very obvious what Julian was up to, but no one understood what his goal in all this was.
He dropped her hand when they got to her classroom. “Don't forget to turn in your homework.” Julian said softly before walking away from the group.
“See you at lunch.” She told the last two men before heading into the building.
Lunch time rolled around and Blake found himself sitting in the cafeteria with Adonia and her friends. When he arrived, he noticed Riane and her new friends sitting at the table in the corner. They had started to eat inside when it started snowing. He had also seen Julian go into his classes during the day to keep warm.
Sitting down he watched as Riane chatted and laughed with her friends. He had been giving her space as she had requested, but for a time lunch was easier with her out of sight and out of mind. Now, there was a constant reminder that she had just given up on their friendship. He felt betrayed and he felt jealous that someone else had taken his best friend.
“It's weird that he holds her hand whenever we see him.” Adonia said when she realized that her boyfriend was not in the conversation that her and her friends were having.
That seemed to bring his attention back to the table. Blake shrugged, “Maybe they are really dating now. It is hard to imagine that she would like anyone like that, but I guess I didn't really understand her anyway.”
Kalei swallowed down her cracker, “He could just be difficult to the general public. Like he puts up a wall but on the inside when you are alone with him, he is a sweet guy.”
“You have been watching too many rom-coms, Kal.” Parker teased. “That guy is a jerk through and through. If she does have a thing for him then there is something wrong in her brain.”
“Don't say things like that. She is his friend.” Kalei chided.
Parker looked over at Blake with slight horror in her eyes, “I am sorry. My mouth went before my brain.”
He shook his head, “It's quite alright.”
Adonia scoffed, “There is no way. This is a game that Julian is playing and she is the pawn. She couldn't go from liking someone like Blake, who is gentle and kind to that little monster.”
Blake did not like how comfortable she was admitting that Riane like him romantically, even though it meant she was secure in their relationship. It felt like a slight to his friend at times, like she was saying that Riane could never be with someone like him, which was a strange thing to be annoyed over.
“Well, whatever the situation, it is not ours to fix.” Blake spoke calmly before returning to his bowl of chili. “Nor should we discuss it. That only creates gossip.”
The girls nodded their heads and return to their discussion of their weekend plans, which more than likely would include him.
Blake, however, watched the table where Riane sat. Julian and she had their backs to him while Seth and Dalen sat on the other side. He tried to ensure that he didn't make eye contact with them, though he was certain that they had caught him in the past.
Julian didn't seem very boyfriend-like in those moments even if they were sitting next to each other. He didn't reach over to touch her and mostly he seemed to just be concentrating on his meal and not engaging in the conversation much.
Of course, he realized that he was doing the exact same thing to his girlfriend and his attention was on another person not a meal. He sighed audibly as he turned back to his chili which was getting colder by the moment.
“We could go see a movie.” Parker offered.
“We don't like the same things, and one of us would be bored the entire time.” Kalei told her as she continued to put together her cheese, salami, and crackers that she had brought from home. She preferred appetizers to actual meals. “I wish you and I had a boyfriend. We could have a couple night that would be fun, wouldn't it?”
Adonia clasped her hands together, “Oh, that would be so much fun.” Her eyes turned to Blake. “Let's invite Julian and Riane out for a couple's night, then we could really see the truth for ourselves. I mean if they say yes.”
Kalei and Parker looked annoyed that they had been left out of the conversation and simply returned to their meal.
Blake shook his head, “I am not interested in investigating them, Adonia. Besides, when did you turn into a wanna-be super spy?”
She frowned, “It would also give us a reason to see Riane that would be the more pressing issue, but I am dying to know the truth.” She pushed him with her shoulder. “Come on.”
Blake sighed, “If you want to go ask fine, but I am not going with you. I am giving her space.”
She jumped from her seat and hurried over to the table.
“Oh, please, no movie has ever said a jedi could do that.” Seth snapped, “Riane, he is lying to you. That only happens in video games.”
“Video games are canon.” Dalen snapped at him.
“Not since Disney bought them and said nothing was canon anymore.” Julian mumbled while staring down at his bowl of clam chowder.
Riane sat lost having never seen what they were discussing. She simply ate her chili and smiled as the three of them argued.
“Um, Riane.” Adonia approached and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. “Hey, hi!”
Riane turned in her chair to look at her, “Um, hi.” She hadn't been expecting this and instantly her gut clenched up.
“So, Blake and I were wondering if you wanted to go on a double date with us?” Her eyes looked hopefully, even if she was inviting Julian into her life which was a vomit inducing idea.
“Uh, what?” Riane had no idea what she was talking about.
“A couples' date night. You and Julian with me and Blake.” She continued to smile but tried her best not to look at the man beside her.
Julian sat up in his chair and placed his hand on Riane's shoulder. “Sure, we'd like to go on a double date.”
“We would?” Riane asked the man who had been giving her mostly the cold shoulder for the last couple of months.
“Yeah, it'll be fun.” He shook his shoulder gently, “Go on, say yes. She won't take my word for it.”
Riane frowned deeply at him before turning to Adonia, “Sure, Friday?”
“Great!” She clasped her hands together and hurried away as if she was afraid that they might change their minds.
“What was that about?” Riane turned to face him.
Julian smiled, “Hanging out with them gives me a chance with her and you a chance at him. It is a win win for us.”
“Oh, for fuck's sake, Jules!” Dalen barked. “You aren't seriously suggesting being friends with them in order to break them up.”
“That's messed up.” Seth added.
He shrugged his shoulders, “If they are that easily broken then they shouldn't have been together in the first place.” He turned his attention to Riane, “What do you say? I'll monopolize her and you'll get him. Before long, we both have what we want.”
Riane looked uneasy about the idea. “I have been trying to stay away from him so that I don't have any more feelings for him.”
“Is it working?” He watched her shake her head slightly, “You win either way, because either one you get him or two you get closure. So, what do you say? Partners?” He held out his hand for her to shake.
“I say he sounds like he has been planning this for a while now, and it explains the fucking hand holding. Don't follow along, Riane.” Dalen warned.
She thought for a moment before putting out her hand and shaking his own. “Partners.”
For the first time in a while, Julian gave her a genuine smile and turned back to his friends to talk about movies with much more enthusiasm.
Heading behind one of the school buildings nearby, she found Dalen and Seth sitting together with burgers they had gotten from the school as well. It wasn't unusual for Seth to follow his friend's lead and get the same meal as him.
Sitting down on the steps in between them as that was where Dalen had patted the stair, they all began to eat their meals in relative quiet.
“You changed sides rather quickly this morning.” Dalen told his friend. He had been waiting to have this conversation with him, but had wanted Riane to be present for it.
He shrugged, “Riane made sense, and besides if I had gone with Julian I would have been stuck listening to his rants all day.”
“You two don't sound like you like him very much.” Riane had wondered during the day why his friends had chosen her over him.
“Julian is our friend, but honestly he kind of just showed up on the first day of school and spotted us standing together. He came up introduced himself and then just took over. Neither one of us knew what was going on and just kind of went with it.” Dalen explained before taking a bite out of his burger. “I should have gone with cheddar. This Monterrey jack is kind of plain, even with the peppers.”
“I told you.” Seth seemed to take a momentary pleasure in his friend's dissatisfaction.
“Mind if I pick your brains about him for a second?” She was afraid they would say no, but they both turned their attention to her though Seth was picking at his french fries. “Why is Julian like this? He always seems to be ready to blow at any moment.” Riane thought it was best to understand him in order to counteract whatever he had in store for her.
Dalen shrugged, “He is an intelligent guy who has no emotional understanding, I think. He views people as if they are tools and I thought he might be a sociopath, but I think he feels empathy towards others. I know he has it for animals. He loves them but his little brother is allergic.”
Seth agreed with a nod, “Yeah, he told us when he was younger he used to volunteer at the no kill shelter. When he went on his little walk about around the world, he came back and started just donating money to it. They have a plaque on the wall in the main hall dedicated to him.”
“So, there is kindness somewhere deep inside.” Riane mumbled to herself though it was loud enough for them both to hear.
“Maybe try puppy dog eyes whenever he acts like an ass.” Seth joked, but Riane thought of it more of a suggestion.
“I still don't understand his hatred towards women. Was he scorned or something?” Riane pour a couple packets of Parmesan cheese on her lasagna, before taking another bite.
Both men looked incapable of answering her question, but Dalen responded. “I have never heard anything, and believe me he rants about everything. Whenever he rants about women though, it's like he sees them as tools just like everyone else.”
“Maybe it's because he never grew up with kids his own age. That could have warped his brain. Being a ten year old around teenagers and not understanding that they are just talking trash.” Seth added.
“Hmm, never thought of it that way. Could be.” Dalen stuck out his bottom lip a little as he thought about it.
“You said that he is very good with women in clubs, right?” She watch them nod. “So, how come that doesn't transfer over to the girls he actually likes?”
“Self destruction? I think he might be afraid of a long term commitment and perhaps that means if he has feelings for someone he wants to make them detest him so it is unattainable.” Seth surprised them both by saying it.
“You are really insightful today, man.” Dalen was half teasing and half complimenting him.
Riane chuckled at the comment before noticing movement in the distance. The head that had been looking around the corner of the building quickly hid behind it, but not before she could tell that it was Julian.
“We are being watched.” Riane told them and motioned in the direction she had seen him. She was not worried that he had overheard them as he was some distance away.
“By whom?” Dalen asked as he looked towards the other building.
“Julian!” Riane called out his name. “We saw you! Why don't you come eat lunch with us?” She waited several seconds and no one made an appearance. “Guess he left.”
“Are you certain it was him?” Seth stood up from his spot on the stairs and laid his tray down before heading over to the corner. He looked around the area for a moment before returning, “ New looking cigarette butts are on the ground. If it was him, he chained smoked over there for a bit.”
Dalen rolled his eyes, “I'll talk to him after school. This is just ridiculous.”
As Seth picked up his tray and sat back down on the stairs, the figure reappeared but this time Julian slowly walked over to them.
“Don't make any sudden moves, you'll startle him like a deer.” Seth whispered and everyone chuckled.
Not giving any of them eye contact, Julian slowly lowered himself down onto a stair in front of Dalen. He had his hands in his pockets and said nothing, but it was obvious that he had been lonely without his friends checking in on him during the morning.
“Want some french fries?” Seth offered.
Julian looked up at his friend's tray and reached out to take a few before leaning back and slowly chewing on them.
Riane couldn't help but be endeared by him. He looked like a little kid who was scolded but still wanted to be part of the festivities even if he would pout while doing it. She understood though. That morning she had stolen his friends and he couldn't even manage one whole day without them. It seemed that he burned very hot but it was always quick to fizzle out.
“Did you eat?” Riane asked.
Julian glared up at her and seemed to be trying not to choke on his words. “No.”
She offered out her lasagna to him, “I ate half of it, but its good. Want it?”
He continued to frown as he took the tray from her, and used her fork to get the meal. He did not show any gratitude, but it wasn't what Riane was looking for anyway. She knew he wouldn't die from missing one meal and that he could afford to go to the cafeteria to get his own. This was about extending an olive branch and hoping he would accept it, though she didn't know if that would work at home. This felt like a university peace agreement only.
She was actually relieved as she had expected this to go on for weeks or months before he was too lonely. She also thought that Dalen and Seth might start feeling bad for him and take days to hang out with him instead, which would eventually lead to them hanging out with him all together and her being completely abandoned.
“We are going out for pizza later to celebrate.” Seth informed him.
“Celebrate what?” He asked as he stuffed his face with the meal.
“Riane's first day attending school in girl clothes.” Dalen explained before turning to her. “Speaking of which, how has your day been? Anything happen?”
She shook her head with a smile, “Not one word from anyone. All that fear and nothing happened. I am disappointed in some ways.”
He and Seth laughed, but Julian kept a straight face.
“Why even bother? You look better as a guy anyway.” Julian mumbled with a mouth full of food.
“I have always been denied this by my mother and then by myself. I want to see which one of these I really am.” She told him and he merely grunted at the response which she assumed was acceptance.
---***---
Riane found herself at home after a short pizza dinner with everyone. Julian had driven her home as Joe wanted to go over to Dalen's house. Upon arriving home, Nanette had commented about the two of them coming home together which only garnered a glare and an angry grunt from Julian before he charged up the stairs.
Entering the living room, she found Zack helping Bryce with some of his schoolwork which was slightly surprising to witness, but she said nothing as she sat down on the couch and pulled out her own books and laptop.
Nanette came into the room with a bowl of fruit and set it on the table, “A snack for your studying.” She told her. “Share with the boys.” Her eyes then turned to her youngest son. “Zack, you should offer to help her if she needs it.”
“The only thing I'll help her with; is showing her the front door.” He hissed with more venom and hatred then Julian had ever shown her.
“Zachary!” Nanette snapped.
“It's alright. I have very little work today and I can get it done rather quickly.” Riane didn't want to argue with him or see him get in trouble. “I was wondering if I could use the music room. I haven't practiced in a long time. My dad got rid of my piano, and I would love to play some. If it wouldn't bother everyone.”
“That would be lovely, and don't worry about being too loud it's relatively sound proof.” Nanette seemed to forget his son's actions all together. “When you feel you have practiced enough, you'll have to give me a performance.”
Riane giggled, “Sure, I will see about writing something in your honor.”
“Writing something? Well, that sounds exciting.” She smiled, “I'll let you three get back to your studies.”
As she did her math homework, she came across an equation that left her stumped and without thinking she texted the group chat to ask for help. Dalen was out with Joe, so he wouldn't respond and she knew that Julian wouldn't help her. That left only Seth, who had been sulking at the attention Dalen had been getting from Joe earlier.
“Uh, fuck if I know.” Was the reply she received from Seth almost immediately.
She sighed and replied back, “It was worth a shot.”
She decided to continue passed the equation and return to it once her mind was warmed up more. Looking across the room, she witnessed Zack sitting next to his brother as he mouthed assistance to him though she couldn't hear what they were saying. She didn't know if he normally whispered when helping or if he thought he was keeping her from his assistance. She doubted that her and Bryce were even doing the same subject, let alone the same level class with the same professor.
Another text came and she saw Dalen's reply. “Is this where you use the FOIL system?”
“No, that's algebra. This is precalculus.” She replied with a small smirk on her lips.
Returning her attention to her laptop, she continued to work for several moments and finally finished her sheet. It came time to return to the problem that stumped her and she quickly tried to give an answer as she decided she would just get that one marked as wrong.
Turning to a paper she had been working on for the last month, she began to do some more research on the housing market and her theory of how to assist it.
“You are doing basic graphs, right?” Julian's voice came from the doorway.
All three people in the room looked up to him, but none was more surprised than Zack who had firmly believed that his brother was on his side. He looked betrayed to see him help the intruder in anyway.
“Um, yes.” Riane replied.
“That's hard to explain via text.” He told her as he came over to the couch and sat down beside her. “It's easier if you watch someone else do it first, which you should have seen in class.”
“Math has never been my strong suit.” She informed him as he picked up her laptop and placed it on his own lap.
“What the hell is this?” He looked at the paper that was on the screen.
A smile came to her lips. “Oh, it's my paper about real estate crash and how to prevent from the bubble occurring again. It's exciting, I think...”
“I thought you liked music. Is this for a business management course?” Julian curled his lip. “Boring shit.”
“Well, it's my major.” She informed him before reaching over and removing the offending paper from his sight and opening up her math homework.
Julian went silent for a moment as he looked it over before slowly turning his head towards her. “These are all wrong. Do you even pay any attention in class?”
“How can they be all wrong?” She frowned and realized that Bryce and Zack were watching them from across the room.
“Well, obviously you did it wrong.” Julian snapped at her.
Nanette entered the room when she heard Julian's voice, but decided not to say anything when she realized that he was helping her with her homework. She did, however, decide to stand guard just in case Julian got out of hand.
Over the next hour, Riane practiced with him before he gave her back her homework and watched her as she redid everything. When she was done, he looked it over for her and handed it back with a slight grin.
“Good, you learned. I think you'll get a ninety two percent.” He stood from the couch and noticed his mother standing there watching him. His eyes lowered briefly before he turned back to Riane.
“Only ninety two? What did I get wrong?” She scrolled up and down on the laptop as she tried figure out her mistakes.
“I am not going to tell you, but don't change anything unless I tell you that's the problem otherwise you'll make the score worse.” He informed her as he hoped his mother was no longer behind him.
“Alright, thank you.”
He shook his head, “Whatever. I just didn't want my message tune going off anymore over this stupid shit.”
“Thank you anyway.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to leave but decided to ask one more thing of her. “If I go back to my room, are you going to send out another text over a topic or am I safe?”
She looked at her laptop for a moment, “Well, I have biology homework tonight as well.”
With a sigh, Julian tossed himself back on the couch beside her. “Let's see it.”
Nanette smiled gently at him though he didn't see, before she turned her eyes towards Bryce who widened his eyes at her with surprise. She winked at him before heading back into the hallway.
“What are you doing?” Zack asked from across the room, but quickly walked over to them and snatched her laptop away. “Why are you helping her?”
Julian stood up and yanked the computer away from him. “Go help, Bryce.” He held it out to her with one hand and when she took it, he shoved his younger brother which made him take a couple steps back.
“Julian!” Bryce snapped and jumped to his younger brother's rescue. He quickly put himself between the two of them with him facing Julian. “Keep your hands off him.”
“He didn't keep his hands off her shit!”
“It's alright.” Riane said meekly as she had never experienced the brothers act this way before and was worried about the outcome.
“He was wrong, and he won't do it again.” Bryce turned to Zack, “Right?”
Zack nodded slowly, “Right.”
---***---
After Riane finished her homework, she went to find the piano room. It wasn't hard to find the room across from the ballet studio and inside were many different instruments all in various shapes. It looked as if they had purchased the instruments for the children on a whim, and immediately they had been put down and forgotten.
Some were in cases and others were out in the open, leaning against walls or just on the shelves lining the room. Music sheets were still on the stands were they had been left during their last attempt to be played.
In a way the room was rather sad to look at for Riane. If her father had been a different person; this would have been her favorite room in their house. It might have even been her bedroom.
Walking over to the piano, she smiled as she sat down on the bench. It was a black grand piano like the one her father had purchased, but eventually removed from the house. Memories of playing with her mother swept over her.
Her mother had taught her how to play and she remembered playing when her father was in the room. He would smile and clap for her. She was certain that he had praised her for playing when she was young. There was a very small memory of her parents dancing together as she played a song for them. There had been happiness once between them, but one day it was gone.
It hadn't been more than a few months since she last played but somehow this felt different. She felt free to play it and not like her father would walk in on her to ask if she finished her homework. If she said yes, he would give her one of his own essay topics for her to write. Sometimes, she wondered if he disliked her playing it because of the memories it brought of her mother. Did he know how kindly she looked on those moments? Did it show in her face or her eyes somehow? He loathed any talk of her mother and it wouldn't surprise her if he didn't want her to even think about her.
Her fingers ran over the fall board before slowly lifting it up to reveal the keys. She looked them over and touched each one. A lightness lights her heart as she thought about every song she could think of to play. She couldn't decide what to play after so long away and then she smiled as she thought of the first song she learned.
Using only her index fingers, she began to play “Chopsticks” and laughed to herself as she played faster and faster.
She didn't notice Zack enter the room. He had come to do what Julian obviously was no longer willing to do, but he instead stood and watched. She was laughing, but she looked like she might start crying at any moment.
When she was done; she ran her hand over her pant legs and seemed to ready herself to play something else.
“Even I can do that song.” Zack hissed at her.
She startled briefly before looking up at him. “I haven't played in a long while, so I wanted something to warm up to. My mom taught me that as my first song. She and I used to play it together. Her on one side of the keyboard and me on the other. Want to try it?”
He simply stood by the door with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his lips.
“Come on. It will be fun, especially as we increase the tempo.” She used one hand to wave him over.
Dropping his hands to the side, he walked over to her and sat on the other side of the bench. He continued to give her the stink eye, but placed his fingers on the proper keys.
She started slow so he could remember how to play again and get his coordination going once more. However after a couple rounds of that, she increased the tempo and soon Zack began to smile as she giggled along with the song.
“Oh, you almost messed up.” She teased.
“No, I didn't.” He said as he hit the wrong key, but continued to smile as she increased the temp again until finally Zack could no longer keep up with her.
The two laughed when he put his hands up in the air to surrender.
“Too fast.” He chuckled. “Can you play real songs very fast?”
“I am a little out of practice, but I used to be able to play 'Flight of the Bumblebee' pretty quickly.” She looked down at the keys and then back up at him. “How long did you take lessons before you lost patience?”
He shrugged his shoulders, “Enough to learn chopsticks, but not much else. It's frustratingly slow to learn.”
“It takes a lot of practice, but if you enjoy doing it then it really isn't work at all.” She explained with a grin. “If you view learning the instrument as torture than maybe it is the wrong one for you.”
He looked around the room, “Most of these are my brothers' failed projects. My mom was always focused on the piano for me.”
“Do you want to try some of the others? They might not be the right size for you, but we can give them a shot.” She stood up from the bench and walked to the other side of the room.
“You can play all of these?” He asked as he followed behind her.
She nodded, “Mostly. I may not be a master, but I learn instruments very quickly. It is like they are my life blood. Whenever I was sad or lonely, I would play something and the music would take me out of the world into my own little garden that no one could bother me in. Other songs though can be a battle march for when something difficult is about to happen.”
“You can just listen to it though. It would have the same affect.” He began to open some of the cases to see what instrument was inside.
“It's different when you play it yourself. It is like you are announcing yourself and telling the world what is in your heart.” She watched him open a case. “Flutes are light and fun.”
“They are for girls.” He shut the case and heard her chuckle behind him.
He continued to look through them and close them as if none called to him. Though he never tried to actually pick one up and toy with it. His decision was based on what he thought of the instrument instead of how it made him feel when he played it.
Riane noticed this and picked up the violin. “Come here. Let's try this.”
“That's for country music singers' bands.” He grumbled.
She smiled and shook her head, “This is for whatever you want it to be for. You won't be locked into some predetermined bubble just because you believe they exist.”
Picking it up out of the case, Riane held it out to him and helped him settle it on his shoulder and showed him where his fingers should go. She didn't hand him the bow though and instead told him to pluck a few cords.
She told him which one until it was obvious he was playing “Mary had a Little Lamb” and he smiled at her.
A clap came from the doorway and Nanette stood with a smile on her lips. “Very good, Zack. Do you like the violin?”
He lowered the instrument down and frowned before putting it back in its case.
“We are trying out a few instruments and seeing if any of them sing to him.” Riane explained to his excited mother.
“Oh, that is wonderful. How many have you tried?”
“Other than the piano, this was his first one.” Riane noticed that Zack no longer looked amused in this situation.
“It's not like I am going to learn any of them. Don't get your hopes up. We were just playing around.” He hissed at his mother though he seemed to try to maintain a more respectful tone than Julian did.
“I never said anything to that extent.” Nanette realized that she might have damaged a bonding moment between the two.
Zack turned to Riane, “I can't wait until you leave. You really are making this house unbearable to live in.” He snapped before rushing out the door.
---***---
A warm fall turned to cold winter and the snow began to fall on Cerulean Harbor. Dresses and sweaters turned to pants and coats but inside the Swithin household the environment remained constant.
Julian remained cold and distant towards everyone though willing to help Riane in her studies. Zack would occasionally be caught watching Riane practice and though she had tried to convince him to play something he would always sulk away. He remained her most vocal opponent. Bryce had been kind in the last couple of months though he had not invited her anywhere since the party debacle.
Riane was the most changed, however. Her new style gave her confidence she didn't know she had and she was finally able to discover who she wanted to be, and not what someone else wanted from her. She was letting her hair grow out for the first time in her life and though it wasn't even close to shoulder length, it was getting near chin length.
She had learned not only from Nanette but videos online about how to do her make-up, which she now enjoyed putting on herself. She even liked when Nanette took her to the beauty and nail salon. It was fun to pick out new nail colors.
Never being allowed to do these types of things, she just naturally assumed they were stupid in order to not want them. However, now that she was confident and capable to do them, she looked forward to being a little girly from time to time.
Joe and Dalen had become closer and had even started calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, though they still both blushed whenever the other one said it. They were a sweet couple and Riane was happy that her friend was happy.
She hadn't talked to Blake and Adonia since the party, and slowly their missing presence was diminishing. She saw them both at school and her heart ached whenever she noticed them in the middle of a romantic moment, but she was beginning to let go.
Sitting in the car on her way to class, Riane held her phone in her hand as she waited for Dalen's daily text message about her coffee that he always bought the two girls in the morning. She knew he was only doing it for her because he was trying to be nice, but there was something in the gesture that made her slightly jealous of Joe.
Her phone beeped and she looked at the message, “He said they were out of hazelnut, so he got regular and put hazelnut flavored cream in it.”
“That will have to do, won't it?” Joe smiled as they made their way to the school.
Riane hadn't spoken to her brother or her father in over a month, though Deidra sent her messages every couple of days to check on her.
Things were going rather smoothly since she moved in. Her only concern was that Julian seemed to be very quiet at school and she would often catch him staring at Adonia, while she was watching Blake. She hadn't noticed before she moved in but since they stopped hanging out behind the gym due to the cold, she realized how much he actually liked the girl. She wondered how they knew each other and why he liked her so much. It probably had to do with wanting what you can't have as that seemed to be the way Julian would fall in love.
On occasion if they walked by them, Julian would hold Riane's hand. At first, she thought it was him trying to console her on the close proximity and the fact that Blake barely acknowledged her, however it became clear that he was trying to see if he could make Adonia jealous. As soon as they passed and he got no sort of recognition of the hand hold he would immediately drop it. Adonia had noticed a couple of times and had once looked back as if to make sure her eyes were seeing the truth.
She had then whispered to Blake who had turned to see it for himself. The way he looked mildly surprised and then shrugged his shoulder before saying something to Adonia had been rather painful to see. He hadn't been jealous at all.
Julian and Riane never discussed what he was doing and neither did Seth or Dalen. It seemed to be an unspoken rule that the act would be unspoken of.
Pulling up to the gate, Dalen rushed over to the car and opened the passenger side door to let Riane out, before handing her a paper cup of coffee with a plastic lid. He would then climb into the car briefly to give Joe her own cup and a quick kiss before sending her off to school.
Seth was waiting by the gate and as per usual the Swithin boys' car was behind her own. It pulled up as Riane gave the two men her greetings and thanked Dalen for the coffee once more.
Everyone was wearing thick coats with gloves and a hat to cover the ears. Riane's had a faux fur around the edge on her matching hat and gloves. The entire campus looked like stuffed bears due to the many layers they were wearing.
Bryce walked by and gave a greeting before heading over to his own friends, and Julian came to join them. Seth held a cup of coffee for his friend which Julian took and began to drink slowly. He complained about the cold far more than anyone else.
“So fucking cold today.” He mumbled.
“It's the middle of winter.” Dalen sighed before looking at Riane. “So, are you coming with us?” He gave her his best puppy dog face as she looked unconvinced. “It's winter break. Let's go somewhere warm, come on. Joe is coming and Seth is bringing a girl, and Julian is... well, he'll be there too. It will be lacking if you aren't there.”
“I don't think Julian wants me there.” She explained.
Julian scoffed, “Don't put words in my damn mouth. I said it would be difficult to get girls if they knew my fiancee was nearby.”
Seth brought his brows together, “Isn't that what she just said?”
“I didn't say she couldn't come or I didn't want her there. I just don't want her telling people we are engaged. Fuck, say anything honest and you people turn it into a rejection.” Julian snapped before looking annoyed that a couple people brushed passed him as he was standing in the shoveled walkway.
“I have also never gone on vacation before.” She took a sip of her coffee. “It would be very weird.”
Seth put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her neck playfully, before speaking into her ear. “No more talk, you are coming with us. It's a small island with a few other people, and you'll help me with this new girl. Alright?”
“Help you?” She questioned.
“Yeah, like be friendly to her so she doesn't feel like the odd one out since she isn't part of our group.” He began to walk with his arm still over her shoulder towards her classroom. Dalen and Julian followed close behind them.
Riane sighed, “Fine, but I refuse to wear a bathing suit.” She didn't know why she had said that but decided it was just her way to exert some sort of control. She loved swimming but it was scarey to in a swim suit in front of strangers.
He kissed her forehead before letting her go, which was something that he had been doing since learning she was a girl. “Bring one in case you change your mind.”
She groaned, “Fine.”
Dalen shook her shoulder, “It will be fun. I promise.”
“We'll see.” She mumbled before Seth was shoved out of the way and her hand was held by Julian.
He waved over at Adonia and Blake as they were heading off to class from where ever they were congregating in the morning now.
They both waved back at him as Riane sighed audibly and gave Dalen a look that told of her annoyance. He returned the look with an eye roll as it was very obvious what Julian was up to, but no one understood what his goal in all this was.
He dropped her hand when they got to her classroom. “Don't forget to turn in your homework.” Julian said softly before walking away from the group.
“See you at lunch.” She told the last two men before heading into the building.
---***---
Lunch time rolled around and Blake found himself sitting in the cafeteria with Adonia and her friends. When he arrived, he noticed Riane and her new friends sitting at the table in the corner. They had started to eat inside when it started snowing. He had also seen Julian go into his classes during the day to keep warm.
Sitting down he watched as Riane chatted and laughed with her friends. He had been giving her space as she had requested, but for a time lunch was easier with her out of sight and out of mind. Now, there was a constant reminder that she had just given up on their friendship. He felt betrayed and he felt jealous that someone else had taken his best friend.
“It's weird that he holds her hand whenever we see him.” Adonia said when she realized that her boyfriend was not in the conversation that her and her friends were having.
That seemed to bring his attention back to the table. Blake shrugged, “Maybe they are really dating now. It is hard to imagine that she would like anyone like that, but I guess I didn't really understand her anyway.”
Kalei swallowed down her cracker, “He could just be difficult to the general public. Like he puts up a wall but on the inside when you are alone with him, he is a sweet guy.”
“You have been watching too many rom-coms, Kal.” Parker teased. “That guy is a jerk through and through. If she does have a thing for him then there is something wrong in her brain.”
“Don't say things like that. She is his friend.” Kalei chided.
Parker looked over at Blake with slight horror in her eyes, “I am sorry. My mouth went before my brain.”
He shook his head, “It's quite alright.”
Adonia scoffed, “There is no way. This is a game that Julian is playing and she is the pawn. She couldn't go from liking someone like Blake, who is gentle and kind to that little monster.”
Blake did not like how comfortable she was admitting that Riane like him romantically, even though it meant she was secure in their relationship. It felt like a slight to his friend at times, like she was saying that Riane could never be with someone like him, which was a strange thing to be annoyed over.
“Well, whatever the situation, it is not ours to fix.” Blake spoke calmly before returning to his bowl of chili. “Nor should we discuss it. That only creates gossip.”
The girls nodded their heads and return to their discussion of their weekend plans, which more than likely would include him.
Blake, however, watched the table where Riane sat. Julian and she had their backs to him while Seth and Dalen sat on the other side. He tried to ensure that he didn't make eye contact with them, though he was certain that they had caught him in the past.
Julian didn't seem very boyfriend-like in those moments even if they were sitting next to each other. He didn't reach over to touch her and mostly he seemed to just be concentrating on his meal and not engaging in the conversation much.
Of course, he realized that he was doing the exact same thing to his girlfriend and his attention was on another person not a meal. He sighed audibly as he turned back to his chili which was getting colder by the moment.
“We could go see a movie.” Parker offered.
“We don't like the same things, and one of us would be bored the entire time.” Kalei told her as she continued to put together her cheese, salami, and crackers that she had brought from home. She preferred appetizers to actual meals. “I wish you and I had a boyfriend. We could have a couple night that would be fun, wouldn't it?”
Adonia clasped her hands together, “Oh, that would be so much fun.” Her eyes turned to Blake. “Let's invite Julian and Riane out for a couple's night, then we could really see the truth for ourselves. I mean if they say yes.”
Kalei and Parker looked annoyed that they had been left out of the conversation and simply returned to their meal.
Blake shook his head, “I am not interested in investigating them, Adonia. Besides, when did you turn into a wanna-be super spy?”
She frowned, “It would also give us a reason to see Riane that would be the more pressing issue, but I am dying to know the truth.” She pushed him with her shoulder. “Come on.”
Blake sighed, “If you want to go ask fine, but I am not going with you. I am giving her space.”
She jumped from her seat and hurried over to the table.
“Oh, please, no movie has ever said a jedi could do that.” Seth snapped, “Riane, he is lying to you. That only happens in video games.”
“Video games are canon.” Dalen snapped at him.
“Not since Disney bought them and said nothing was canon anymore.” Julian mumbled while staring down at his bowl of clam chowder.
Riane sat lost having never seen what they were discussing. She simply ate her chili and smiled as the three of them argued.
“Um, Riane.” Adonia approached and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. “Hey, hi!”
Riane turned in her chair to look at her, “Um, hi.” She hadn't been expecting this and instantly her gut clenched up.
“So, Blake and I were wondering if you wanted to go on a double date with us?” Her eyes looked hopefully, even if she was inviting Julian into her life which was a vomit inducing idea.
“Uh, what?” Riane had no idea what she was talking about.
“A couples' date night. You and Julian with me and Blake.” She continued to smile but tried her best not to look at the man beside her.
Julian sat up in his chair and placed his hand on Riane's shoulder. “Sure, we'd like to go on a double date.”
“We would?” Riane asked the man who had been giving her mostly the cold shoulder for the last couple of months.
“Yeah, it'll be fun.” He shook his shoulder gently, “Go on, say yes. She won't take my word for it.”
Riane frowned deeply at him before turning to Adonia, “Sure, Friday?”
“Great!” She clasped her hands together and hurried away as if she was afraid that they might change their minds.
“What was that about?” Riane turned to face him.
Julian smiled, “Hanging out with them gives me a chance with her and you a chance at him. It is a win win for us.”
“Oh, for fuck's sake, Jules!” Dalen barked. “You aren't seriously suggesting being friends with them in order to break them up.”
“That's messed up.” Seth added.
He shrugged his shoulders, “If they are that easily broken then they shouldn't have been together in the first place.” He turned his attention to Riane, “What do you say? I'll monopolize her and you'll get him. Before long, we both have what we want.”
Riane looked uneasy about the idea. “I have been trying to stay away from him so that I don't have any more feelings for him.”
“Is it working?” He watched her shake her head slightly, “You win either way, because either one you get him or two you get closure. So, what do you say? Partners?” He held out his hand for her to shake.
“I say he sounds like he has been planning this for a while now, and it explains the fucking hand holding. Don't follow along, Riane.” Dalen warned.
She thought for a moment before putting out her hand and shaking his own. “Partners.”
For the first time in a while, Julian gave her a genuine smile and turned back to his friends to talk about movies with much more enthusiasm.