"Wait, Jen! I see River and Ren." Keanu exclaims, stopping his steps. Jennifer peers into the shops window as well.

"Oh, do you want to say hi to them?" She inquires, smiling at the two in the shop. It was a cute sight, and she too wondered if they became an item.

"Yeah, just real quick." Keanu mutters, walking into the store. Usually, the chiming of the bell would've caught Ren's attention, but she was so absorbed with her conversation with River.

She didn't bother noticing Keanu.

Keanu stood a feet or two away from his best friends, but Ren kept talking about how amazing Wally West was, while River asked about Changeling's diet.*

It wasn't until Jennifer greets them that they bothered to turn around.

It was odd though, their reactions were bizarre.

River smiled, except it seemed that the aura he had went from calm to awkward. Ren wasn't much better, and Keanu KNEW her smile was strained.

"Hi guys, didn't expect to see you here." Ren greets, grasping the Teen Titans comic in one hand, while her other hand was still attached to River's.

"Um, yeah! We were heading to Ryan's record store, and Keanu happened to see you." Jennifer explained with a small smile, but it felt a bit faux.

"That's cool. I was just shopping with River! Right dude?" Ren revealed, looking at River with a smile, and Keanu wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Yeah, Ren needed some fresh air. She was feeling a bit down." River said, but then felt regret once he realized what he revealed.

Ren seemed a bit nervous, flashing a big grin, "But I'm fine now! River has been really helpful!"

"Are you sure, Renny?" Keanu asked, not buying the false grins. He knew his best friends, and they weren't trying their best at lying.

"I'm fine–I swear." Ren calmly said, but from the look in her eyes, Keanu knew not to push it anymore. He'll ask later, perhaps when neither River or Jennifer were around.

Jennifer felt a bit awkward, "Well, it was nice seeing you guys."

While she was close to River and Ren, she wasn't nearly as close as her boyfriend was. Jennifer could sense tension and it made her anxious.

"Yeah, we'll see you two lovebirds later." River muttered, heading towards the checkout area. Ren made one last smile, before walking off with River. What Keanu noticed, the whole entire time, their hands had been intertwined.

He wasn't sure how he felt about it, even hours after Jennifer left and he was back in his room–alone. At first, the idea of dating Jennifer seemed great, but he wasn't too sure about it now. Suddenly, he was gaining cold feet, second thoughts, and bitterness.

The relationship with Jennifer was at its early stages, with it only being three months ago when he had asked her out. It was moving a bit too fast, and he was unsure about everything.

He wanted to talk to Ren. So, he tried.

"C'mon, please pick up." Keanu muttered, dialing the telephone by his nightstand. It rang a few times before a sleepy soft voice answered.

Keanu didn't realize how late it was now, but he didn't care. He needed to hear her, and hear her answers.

"Ren, it's me." Keanu greeted, it was a mumble, but she heard it.

"Dude, Keanu, it's like midnight." Ren sleepily complained, which made Keanu grin a little.

"Yeah, well you've stayed up way later before." Keanu pointed out, feeling a bit restless. He wanted to know what was going on between her and River.

"I guess, so what's up? You haven't talked to me much lately." Ren asked. Her mentioning their lack of seeing each other kinda stung.

"I'm sorry, Ren. Y'know how Jennifer is, it gets hard finding time for friends and her." Keanu replied, a wave of guilt came across him. He didn't mean to abandon her.

He knows how Ren is. She's shy and bit reclusive, and friends are hard for her to make.

"It's fine. I had River, so it wasn't as bad. I wasn't alone." Ren spoke softly, but Keanu felt his stomach churn at mention of his other best friend.

He wanted to get rid of the feelings washing over him, but it was useless. The turmoil of negative emotions consumed him, warping everything around him.

"Oh. I'm glad. He's a good friend–I love him." Keanu replied. It wasn't a lie, he really did love River. They were best friends until the end, his ride or die.

But so was Ren, and it made it so much harder.

"Look, I love talking to you but I have to go. Don't be a stranger, Keanu. Please talk to me." Ren pleaded, sounding a bit more melancholy than before.

"I'll try. I love you too, Ren." Keanu said, but deep inside, he wasn't sure if he meant as friend or as something more.

"I have to go." Ren stuttered out and the line went dead. She never said "I love you" back and it made Keanu feel a bit more crushed.

Then the guilt came back, but it was over Jennifer. He shouldn't be feeling this way about Ren if he has Jen, but he did. The turmoil made him want to scream and shout.

Maybe he should talk to Alex about this tomorrow.

"Hello?" A groggy voice answered.

"River, if I asked to come over right now, would you?" Ren asked, and she was angry at the sound of her voice cracking. She was livid over her stupid feelings towards Keanu, and she wished they would go away.

She felt weak, and it was a feeling she hated to death.

"Hey, what's wrong Ren?" River asked, blinking off the sleepiness. Concern had laced his voice, and he was awake now.

"He called me." Ren choked, tearing up. She felt utterly ridiculous for crying about this.

"Hey, hey. l'll be there soon. I'll just sneak out." River reassured. His voice helped soothe Ren a bit.

"I'll be waiting." Ren replied. He knew she was still crying.

"I know." And with that, he hanged up. River hurried to slip on a pair of ratty converses and headed out through the back door of the house. His parents wouldn't notice, and if his siblings did, they wouldn't mention it.

Ren needs him.

Author's note:
* I figured River would be curious about Changeling/Beast Boy because he can shape-shift into any animal. Plus, Changeling doesn't consume meat at all and I figured River would find that relatable.

Other than that, thank you for reading! Please leave comments and a vote. I apologize for any grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.