The Bad Boy(Dare me)

CHAPTER 2:Sleepless Nights

"Come on Riley, you know you want this". I awkwardly shook by the corner. She got closer and closer until-

Riley jumps out of bed, sweating and panting for air. He clutches onto his knees as he recites his personal mantra in his head,"Relax Riley, she can't get to you". He pulls his cover over his head in an attempt to go back to sleep, which turns out futile.

After six hours of tossing and turning Riley finally gets out of bed and prepares for school. After showering he takes a good look at his reflection. His black curly hair is way out of control than usual and his emerald eyes lack their natural twinkle, they just look puffy and have dark circles around them. He sighs heavily and puts on his attire for the day, a white muscle tee and black ripped jeans. He finishes off the look by wearing black and white vans. He heads downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning mom," he says so as he grabs a toast from his mother's plate. This earns him a smack on the arm,"Don't be mean child, I made yours,"she points to another plate on the table. Riley just laughs and digs into his food. As much as he does not admit it,he enjoys the warm mornings he shares with his mother. "I take it you had a rough night?" his mom's face shows great concern. He shifts uncomfortably,"I'm fine mom." he tries to shut down the conversation. "Riley, just because you carry it so well doesn't mean it's not heavy," she tries to touch his hand but he quickly snatches it away. He drives off to school in his black Jeep Renegade.

Riley hardly focuses in any of his morning classes so he dozes off. Billy seems not to take it to the head but Tony, on the other hand, seems genuinely worried so he checks on him once in a while. He even takes down some notes and highlights the key points so it's easier for Riley to understand. Break comes around and almost all students head to the cafeteria. Riley forces himself to flash a wink here and there so people don't ask questions. They comfortably settle down and engage in useless chatter,"So Riles, did you have too much fun last night?," It takes all of his might not to punch him. He sometimes hates how insensitive his best friend can be. "I think I might be coming down with something," quickest lie he manages to think of. "Let's hope it's not something serious. Anyways I took down some notes for you," says Tony . "Thanks dude. I owe you, big time." Tony just smiles and bites away at his sandwich. "So I heard there's a new girl coming to our school," Billy says as he wiggles his eyebrows."Don't even think about, you're dating,no wait, you're married,"says Tony in a fit of laughter. They all laugh until Riley speaks up," Well Tony, looks like you got this one." Tony just shrugs and wipes some imaginary dust off his shoulder. They continue to joke around until it's time to head back to class.

Lessons go by quickly and Riley feels a bit better although he can't ignore the fact that he feels a bit sick. "Hey Downs, you're awfully quiet today," says Charlotte in a shy but teasing tone. Riley simply smiles and faces the front. He stays focused on the board until he feels tiny papers hit his face, he turns to find Charlotte tearing up more papers. "Are you high on something Char?" he asked in an amused tone. Charlotte simply shrugs and throws more papers at him. Riley throws some back and they laugh until some students clear their throats. The other students find it weird how Charlotte is so shy and quiet around them but super crazy when it came to Riley. Charlotte discovered that she's immune to Riley's charm but she can't help but feel comfortable around him because he seemed to put down his "bad boy facade". The bell rings for lunch and students spring out of their chairs as they head to the cafeteria.

As soon as they grab their seats, Billy begins with his usual tantrums about how his dad pressures him so much. Tony goes on to add how his parents took away his car for a week just because he got a 'B' on a Physics test. Riley dozes off seeing as he has nothing to say about his dad, that is until Chloe walks over to their table. He engages in useless chatter with Chloe until she brings up the whole dating issue."Come on Riley, you know you want it," she says so awfully close to his ear. Those words strike a nerve in him. He starts feeling all sweaty and finds it hard to breathe. Tony starts to panic as he empties his sandwich paper bag and hands it to Riley. He slowly regains his breathing pattern and rushes to the bathroom to wash his face.

" Keep it together Riles, we don't fall apart," he thinks as he stares at his reflection. The bell rings, and Riley rushes to PE.

"Riley man, take a break!" yells Billy from the bleachers. Riley simply ignores him and keeps on jogging to try and drown out the voices in his head. They are getting worse by the second but he won't give in. His body does though as he collapses to the ground. He is rushed to the nurse's office. He is examined and found that he just fainted and his body has not experienced any harm from the fall. His body is just exhausted and needs a lot of rest. Riley wakes up and is surprised to find himself in the nurse's office. Only; he's not alone. "Well Mr Downy-Downs, you are a hard man to find. I expected to find you in jail but this is anticlimactic."

"Well I'd be damned!"