Chapter 1.
"Mr Stevens, I am afraid to say that if you do not bring your chemistry mark up, you can not graduate nor play for the next game."
Principal Matthews says.
Nicholas shakes his head.
"Well, how do I bring it up, then?" He asks while combing his hair with his fingers,
"Well, I can get you a tutor for Tuesdays and Thursdays." Mr Matthews suggested,
Nicholas didn't really have a choice, if he couldn't bring his chemistry mark up, he couldn't graduate! And he couldn't play for the school's next football game.
"Fine," he says and leans back into his chair while he crosses his arms.
"Great. The tutoring will start tomorrow, and your tutor's name is Riley." Mr. Matthews says as he points to his door, Nicholas gets up and leaves.
The bell rings for the last period of the day, Nicholas is with the football team.
"So are we all heading out after school like we planned?" One of the players ask
"Can't. I have to go to tutoring" Nicholas says and rolls his eyes.
"Tutoring? For what?" Another play on the team asked.
"Chemistry," Nicholas says looking at his friends when suddenly
* Boop*
"Hey watch where you're going-" Before Nicholas could finish his sentence,
"Oh. My. God. I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there and I-" Before she could finish her sentence, Nicholas put his hand out, signaling her to stop.
"Hey, hey, It's alright okay?" he said, however his voice had not changed in the slightest.
The girl smiles. Nicholas feels something he has never felt before.
"Thank you" she quietly whispers and walks in the opposite direction of Nicholas and his friends.
After school, Nicholas could not stop thinking about her and his plan for tomorrow was to try to find her.
Chapter 2,
The next day, Nicholas looked at his phone. It was Thursday. His tutoring started today.
He sighed, he did not want to go to school today. But he wanted to find that girl he saw yesterday, she made him feel a way, a way nobody's ever made him feel.
She was gorgeous, she had long black hair, and she had a stud nose ring, but what caught Nicholas' attention was her smile, the way her smile was big and her eyes crinkled every time she smiled, which made him feel happy.
Unfortunately, Nicholas did not see her in the halls, she wasn't in any of his classes, and he was looking all over the schoolyard during lunch to try to find her. Yet, he didn't see her.
As the bell rings for dismissal, all the students leave except for a few, for tutoring. Like Nicholas.
He sighs and walks to the library. The school's library is huge, there are ladders on every aisle just so that you can reach any book you'd like, it's not too bright in the library, it's peaceful.
Nicholas sat at a table alone, waiting for his tutor. He had wished whoever would tutor him would forget it was today. However, they didn't.
There she was. The same girl Nicholas had been looking for all day, was this girl his tutor?
She had sat right beside him, Nicholas looked at her. She was beautiful.
"Hey are you-" Before she could finish
"Nicholas? Yup that's me" He said and smiled
"And you must be" he added.
"Riley" She smiled
"Riley Evans."
Nicholas smiled and so did Riley
"Nice to meet you, again," Nicholas said and laughed
"Oh yeah," Riley laughed and rubbed the back of her neck
"Again I just wanted to apologize for yesterday, I didn't see you and-" Before she could finish, she felt a hand on top of hers.
"Hey, like I said, It's fine," Nicholas said and smiled
"I see you have a little problem" He adds
Riley looks at him, raising one eyebrow.
"And what's that?" she asked
"You keep saying sorry" Nicholas laughed.
"Oh yeah, sorry-" Riley laughed, but Nicholas stopped her before she could apologize again.
"How about you stop apologizing, huh?" Nicholas laughed, and so did Riley.
"I'll try," She said and smiled.
And there it was again, that beautiful smile Nicholas was looking for all day.
Chapter 3,
"And that's how you find it," Riley says, dropping the pencil on the table.
"That's it?" Nicholas asked, surprised.
"Yeah trust me, once you get used to it it'll be easier" Riley laughed.
"You explained it better than my teacher did!" Nicholas laughed.
Riley smiles
"Well I'm glad you understand it now"
"Thanks again," Nicholas said and grabbed his bag,
"Of course, anytime," Riley said as she packed her stuff into her bag.
As Nicholas was leaving their table,
"Hey, Nicholas?" Riley called,
Nicholas turns around
"Yeah, what's up?" He asked and tilted his head.
"I- um, Could I get your number so that I can message you about the tutoring?" Riley asked very quickly and became shy. She looked at the floor waiting for his response.
Nicholas smiled in awe.
"Of course, here, let me write it down for you," He said as he took a pen from the front desk and wrote it down on a ripped piece of paper. Riley sighs in relief. As he gave her the piece of paper, he thanked her once again.
"I'll see you on Tuesday," Nicholas added and walked out of the library.
"Yeah of course," Riley said to herself and looked down at the paper.
Once Riley arrived home, she knocked on the wooden door. Her dad opened the door.
"Hey, sweetie how was school?" Her dad asked as he sat back down on the couch drinking his tea.
"It was good, I've become a tutor now. So I stay after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays" Riley said and walked up the creaking stairs.
"That's nice honey," Her dad said and put the TV back on to the show he was watching.
Riley walked into her room, dropped her bag by the door, and plopped down on her bed.
She took the piece of paper out of her pocket and dialed the number.
After a few seconds, someone on the other side answered.
"Hello?" a deep voice asked, Riley knew that it was Nicholas, by his voice.
"Hey Nicholas? This is Riley, your tutor?" Riley said as she got up from her bed to go grab her bag.
Nicholas smiled from the other side of the phone.
"Hey Riley, did you just get home?" Nicholas asked looking at the time. It was 8 pm, the sun had set at 7.
"Yeah," she laughed from the other side of the phone.
"I walk home since my dad usually has work" she added as she opened her bag and placed her notebooks on her desk.
"Hey, you know I don't mind picking you up to go to school and drop you home," Nicholas said.
"Oh no that's alright, I don't want to bother you-" Nicholas cut Riley off
"Hey no no, I insist. You're not bothering me in any way. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to going to school anyway." Nicholas laughed.
"Alright then," Riley said,
Nicholas bit his lip and punched the air.
"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow then?" He asked.
Riley laughs
"Sure, I'll send you my address."
"Alright then, You have a good night," Nicholas said
"Same goes for you," Riley says sitting back down on her bed and ending the call.
Nicholas smiles as he saves Riley's number.
Chapter 4,
The next morning, Riley wakes up early. She didn't want Nicholas to be waiting. So she woke up at 7 am and got ready for school.
She was currently on a kitchen counter on her phone, sitting at 8 am.
"Morning Riley," her dad says as he walks into the kitchen
"Hey Dad," She says and smiles.
"Aren't you going to be late to school?" He asks.
"Oh a friend going to come pick me up," She says as she finishes her granola bar.
Suddenly, Riley heard a car honk from outside her home.
"I better get going dad, bye love you!" She exclaimed and grabbed another granola bar for Nicholas.
Riley leaves the house and sees Nicholas and his car. He starts waving at her and she waves back.
"Morning Riley," Nicholas said as she got into the car.
"Morning Nicholas" Riley said and smiled.
As they were chatting on their way to school, Riley took out the granola bar.
"I- uhm, got this for you in case you were hungry," She said and looked at the window, not wanting to see how Nicholas would react.
Nicholas takes the granola bar and smiles
"Thank you," He says in a soft voice.
Riley turned around,
"Of course" She said and smiled softly.
Chapter 5
----Fast Forward to next Tuesday------
It was Tuesday, and the bell for dismissal had rung, everyone was leaving. But Nicholas.
Nicholas usually would have been dreading going to tutoring. But now, he was excited to go.
As he walked to the library, he saw Riley. She had a light blue sweater on, a bunch of jewelry on her arms, neck, and ears. And her black hair down.
She looked gorgeous.
She looked up and saw Nicholas and started waving at him.
Nicholas smiled and sat beside her.
"What do you want to work on today?" Riley asked him.
"Uhm, before we start tutoring," Nicholas said, rubbing his neck.
"There's this spot, I know. And I was wondering if you wanted to go after tutoring. I mean, it's fine if you don't-" Riley cut him off before he could finish.
"Of course, I'd love to go," She said and smiled.
After the tutoring session was over, Nicholas drove Riley to his little hideout,
It was a hill, the sun had set and it was nice and cool.
"Woah, this place is beautiful" Riley whispered.
"Come on, let's sit," Nicholas said and sat on the hill, and so did Riley.
"So, why did you bring me here?" Riley asked.
"Well, since you're my tutor forever now, I wanted to get to know you more," Nicholas said and smiled.
"Oh" Riley said and smiled.
"Well, this place is beautiful" she added.
"I know, I always bring my sister here every Sunday. Like a sibling day," Nicholas said looking up at the sky.
"You have a sister?" Riley asked and Nicholas nodded.
"Younger sister, her name is Christina"
Riley smiles.
"That's cute"
"Yeah I guess, How about you? Do you have any siblings?" Nicholas asked.
"Nope, It's just me and my dad. I do have my friend Isaac though" Riley said.
It was silent for a few moments.
"If you don't mind me asking, are your parents divorced?- wait. I'm sorry, you don't need to answer that-" Riley cut off Nicholas before he could finish talking.
"Hey its alright, My mom died 2 years ago from a car crash. It affected my dad and me badly. She used to be a nurse. She loved caring for the people around her, it always made her happy." Riley says looking into the sky
"Sometimes I miss her when I see mothers with their daughters," she adds.
Suddenly she feels a hand on her hand,
"I'm so sorry Riley, I didn't know-" Nicholas said.
"Hey it's alright, I never really told anyone about it. The only people who know are you and Isaac." Riley says.
"Well, I promise that I will not tell anyone," Nicholas said looking at her.
"Thanks, Nicky-" Riley stopped herself once she realized.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow and smiled
"Nicky? Is that a new nickname?" He said and looked at her, Riley was embarrassed.
"No, I'm sorry I-" Before Riley could finish, Nicholas put his arm on her shoulder.
"It's alright, that was cute if you ask me," Nicholas said and smiled at her.
"Oh shut it" Riley laughed and pushed his arm off her shoulder.
"Hey" Nicholas said acting offended,
"That's not nice, is it?" he laughed along with her.
"But really, I don't mind you calling me that." He said biting his lip.
"I kinda like it?"
Riley looked at him
"Really?" She asked.
"I mean, it's alright. I guess" Nicholas said shrugging his shoulders.
Riley smiled.
Then it hit her.
What if she liked Nicholas?
Chapter 6
The following Thursday, Nicholas sat at the table in the library waiting for Riley.
Riley walked in and smiled
"Hey Nicholas," she said and sat beside him.
"Hey Riley," He said and gave her a side hug.
"What are we doing today then?" He asked.
"We're going to finish the chapter that we were doing on Tuesday," Riley said and pulled out her notebook and the chemistry textbook.
Halfway into the tutoring, Riley was still focused on the book. However, she realized that Nicholas wasn't paying attention to the book.
"Nicholas, pay attention," Riley said
"I am," Nicholas said in a firm voice.
Riley looked up, he was already looking at her.
"On the book you weirdo," Riley laughed, trying to cover up her shyness.
"Who are you calling a weirdo?" Nicholas laughed as he poked her in the side.
"All right Mr Stevens, you asked for it," Riley said and closed the textbook.
She scooted her seat closer to Nicholas and started poking his neck. Giggles started pouring out of the athlete's mouth, trying to move back from her hand.
Riley's heart melted when she saw how soft he had gone.
Did Riley have a crush on Nicholas?
"QUIET" The librarian hushed the two.
They both looked at each other and laughed.
Chapter 7,
Riley was at Isaac's house, her guy best friend.
"So, you like Nicholas?" Isaac squealed as Riley told him about the hills, yesterday's tutoring session, and more.
"I think so, but I don't know. What if he doesn't like me back you know" Riley sighed and flopped onto Isaac's bed.
"Babe trust. I don't think I've seen Nicholas with another girl other than you. He has to like you for sure." Isaac exclaimed.
"I hope he does," Riley says.
"So how is it with you and George?" She adds on.
"OH MY GOD. THERES SO MUCH I NEED TO TELL YOU" Isaac practically screams from excitement.
Riley laughs. But she thought about it, what if Nicholas really did like her?
Meanwhile, in Nicholas' mind, he had been thinking about Riley. What if she liked him?
When it hit him, Nicholas had been sitting in his room all day, thinking about it.
"I like Riley" he blurted out.
"I like Nicholas" she blurted out.
They both fell asleep, hoping that they would confess to each other.
Chapter 8
A few days have passed and Nicholas wanted to ask Riley out today.
He sighed
"Todays the day," he said to himself and smiled
Today was the day he was going to ask Riley out. He had it all planned out for days.
The morning was the same, Nicholas came to pick up Riley.
As they were driving to school, Nicholas broke the silence.
"Hey Riley?" he asked
Riley turned her head to Nicholas
"Yeah?" she asked
Nicholas suddenly got nervous
"Uhm, do you want to hang out with me at the field during lunch?" He asked rubbing the back of his neck.
Riley smiled at the scene.
"Of course, I'd love to" She said as she watched Nicholas' shoulders fall from relief.
"Alright, thanks" Nicholas said with a wide smile.
Few minutes later, they arrived at school.
Nicholas couldn't focus in class, he never did. But today was different, he was so nervous. What if Riley said no?
Riley couldn't focus as well. She was so excited to hang out with Nicholas.
Chapter 9,
The bell had finally rung for lunch. Nicholas got up and ran to the field. Nobody was usually at the field.
Few minutes later, he saw Riley walk out of the school with her bag hanging on one shoulder and a book or two in her hands.
Nicholas smiled, So did Riley.
"Hi" Riley said in a whisper tone
"Hey" Nicholas said still smiling
"Why don't we sit?" He added and walked over to the part of the field that had shade due to a large tree blocking the sun and sat down, later on Riley followed him and sat right next to him.
After a few minutes of talking and laughing. Nicholas thought it was the perfect time to ask Riley.
"Hey Riley?" Nicholas asked, half laughing as well.
"Yeah?" Riley giggled.
Nicholas was lost for words. He totally forgot what he was going to say.
"I- uhm- How do people say this" He whined covering his face with his hands as he fell back.
Riley laughed.
"Just say it" She said, laughing.
"Okay okay," Nicholas laughed. He got back up and then took a deep breath.
"Riley. I liked you since the day we accidentally bumped into each other. I love your eyes, your smile and most importantly, your personality. Every time I'm with you, I feel safe and comfortable. And I want to always be with you, so. Riley Evans, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked and held his breath
"You don't have to say yes- sorry if it sounds like i'm pressuring you-" Before Nicholas could finish.
"Of course I do!" Riley exclaimed and jumped on Nicholas
Then he felt a pair of soft lips on his.
After Riley pulled away from the kiss, she looked away.
Nicholas looked at her in awe.
"Someone's shy" he laughed as her cupped her face.
"Watch it Stevens', I could destroy you right now" Riley said laughing. Nicholas looked at the position. She was straddling him and her hands were out, wiggling.
Nicholas' eyes widened.
"Wait wait!" He said laughing already. He grabbed her soft hands and pulled them towards him, causing Riley to fall softly on him.
"I'm sorry, my love" He whispered in her ear. Although, he couldn't see her face. Rileys blush had spread all away to her ears.
"What happened to all that big talk a few minutes ago huh?" Nicholas joked looking at his girlfriend.
Riley quickly turned to him.
"Alright Stevens, you could have saved yourself" Riley said and started wiggling her fingers to his sides.
Nicholas threw his head back laughing out loud.
"Rilehey nahaho"
Riley loved seeing her boyfriend laugh. His smile meant everything to her.
Suddenly Riley felt hands grab hers, and threw her on the ground. Now it was Nicholas' turn.
He squeezed her sides and watched as she melted.
He loved seeing Riley laugh, even better if he was the cause of it.
"Nihicky nahah" Riley said. Not realizing that she had called Nicholas by the nickname. Nicholas suddenly stopped.
Riley looked up confused.
"You called me Nicky again!" He cheered with a big smile.
Riley blushed.
"I did not-" Before she could finish her sentence. Nicholas kissed her.
Chapter 10
In the evening, Riley went to Isaacs house to tell him everything.
"So yeah, he asked me out and I said yes!" Riley cheered as Isaac and George were squealing for her.
"You two look so cute together!" George said clapping his hands.
Isaac laughed
George looked at him.
"Excuse me mister, who are you laughing at?" George asked with sas.
"Oh, i'm sorry your Royal Highness" isaac said sarcastically,
Riley laughed.
"Oh you're so dead now!" George said and grabbed a pillow from Isaacs bed and started hitting him.
"Riley help me!" He added. So, Riley did. She grabbed another pillow from the bed and started hitting Isaac with it.
"Hahaey! Iahm soaharry" Isaac said and grabbed the pillow George was holding.
"Apology taken" George laughed and gave Isaac a little peck.
"Ew you guys!" Riley said, fake gagging.
"Weren't you kissing the guy you were supposed to just be a tutor to!" George exclaimed making Isaac laugh.
"Oh shut up" Riley said and laughed with the two.
"Oh my god. What if we all went on a double date?" George suggested.
The other two agreed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A double date?" Nicholas laughed when Riley brought it up
"Yess! It would be so fun!" Riley exclaimed,
"Fine, where are we going?" Nicholas asked
"To the arcade"
Chapter 11,
Arcade
It's been a few hours since they had arrived to the arcade. Isaac and Riley stood beside a claw machine, talking about random things while George and Nicholas played this racing game.
"Yeah, I feel so much happier with Nicholas," Riley said
"Do you, now?" A voice behind her said.
Riley instantly knew who it was.
She turned around and there it was.
Her boyfriend
"How long have you been listening to our conversation!" Riley exclaimed and jokingly pushed him away. But Nicholas grabbed her hand.
"Long enough to know that you feel happier with me," He said and pulled her in for a hug.
"Okay, I'm going to leave you two love birds alone. I need to find my prince" Isaac said as he left the two to look for George.
Riley laughed and looked back at Nicholas.
"So... You feel happier with me ay?" He said and kissed her on the forehead.
"Maybe," Riley laughed and tried to get out of his hug.
"Hey" Nicholas said still holding her hand.
"What" Riley said trying to act mad
"I love you" He says.
Riley smiles.
"I love you too."