𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧
𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐰𝐞'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.
waterloo road, series 3 episode 1

Riley slowly walked down the stairs, drowning out the sound of the radio with her headphones as she walked further into the kitchen and to the cupboard.

"Oh! Would you look at that you can wake up when your alarm goes off," Tom teased with a soft smile. The blonde gave him a sarcastic smile followed by a fake laugh.

"Oh and would you look at that I can also get ready on time," she gestured to her uniform which she hated.

Chlo reached up to the cupboard and passed her little sister a bowl, Riley placing it on the side as Chlo then went and got the cereal off the table. The blonde grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with orange juice before grabbing the cereal off the side and began pouring it in her bowl. Tom came up beside her to turn the radio off since it was Mr Rimmer talking about the girl's mum's death.

"Tom? Me and Donte. We've been talking," Chlo started while standing next to Riley, the latter quietly sighing about what was about to come out of her sister's mouth next..

"Well I hope it was about how hard you're going to work this year because in half an hour's time is when the graft starts. You make your mum proud eh? You get your A-levels and the whole world opens up to you," Tom told her while putting the lid on the jam so he could put it away. Mika shuffled towards her sisters and gave Chlo a pointed look so Riley subtly pushed her forward.

"About getting married," Chlo finished her sentence, moving closer to him.

"Come back to me in ten years time and we can discuss it then, okay?" Tom asked, putting the plates in the sink.

"It's what we both want," Chlo continued, trying to convince him that their marriage would be a good idea.

"Chlo, your 16 stop talking daft," he told her, with a sigh.

"I'm old enough to," she replied defensively.

"Look the truth is Chlo, Donte Charles is... well he's an idiot. I mean albeit a nice idiot but you'll find that out when you grow up."

"I am grown up and we love each other," Chlo shouted and stormed off making Riley roll her eyes and Mika put her cup down. "And you don't want to come to the wedding? Fine."

"Oooo so grown up," Riley teased at her sister's dramatics.

"Do you believe that?" Tom asked the other two girls and Riley just shrugged her shoulders and continued eating her cereal.

Riley went upstairs to get her blazer when she went into Chlo's room.

"That wasn't exactly what me and Mika had in mind when we told you to tell him you know?" Riley said to her sister.

"You should have told him the truth," Mika said.

"I did, you heard me," Chlo said, zipping up her make-up bag.

"The real truth is he's going to be in pieces when he finds out," Mika told her.

"You know how much I want Tom there this afternoon, but do you really think he'd come?" Chlo asked the two. "He doesn't take me and Donte seriously."

"I still can't take you seriously," the blonde commented.

"Riley, you're fifteen. You can't take anyone seriously," Chlo sighed.

"Promise me you'll tell him," Mika asked, giving Riley a look to silently tell her to shut up.

"I promise," she promised, holding her pinkies out for both her sisters to loop theirs with.

"And you really love Donte?" Mika asked just to confirm it's what she really wanted.

"More than anything," replied Chlo.

Riley and Mika then sat on Chlo's bed while she showed them her dress. "That's nice," Riley complemented with a smile.

"You are going to look so beautiful," Mika said to her younger sister. "Today's gonna be great."

When the Grainger's and Tom got to school Riley, Mika and Tom were walking into the building whereas Chlo stayed with Donte.

"I really hoped she'd grow out of him," Tom said to the girls.

"Maybe you should have a proper talk with her. I mean she's not an idiot. She loves him for a reason," Mika told Tom and Riley agreed.

"I'll try to catch her at lunch," Tom said.

"Yeah good luck with that mate," Riley mumbled. "Ow!"

"Shut up," Mika hissed in her ear.

"What? You really think that them getting married is such a good idea. I mean I love Donte but come on, Mika I just know something will go wrong."

"You could be wrong," The blonde pointed out.

Riley hummed, "Could be but my gut feelings are never wrong. I'm telling you right now something will go wrong."

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

There was a new system at school since Izzy Redpath's death. The new system being the students had to get their bags searched before they could go into the building properly. Riley was getting her bag searched by Miss Haydock when a boy wearing a hoodie tried to push past but was stopped by Mr Lawson the new deputy head, "Bag."

"Get off me who do you think you are?" the boy asked.

"Your worst nightmare son. Hand it over!" Mr Lawson shouted.

"What's your name?" Mr Lawson asked as he searched the boy's bag that he reluctantly gave up.

"Bolton Smilie," the boy replied.

"You want to have a bit of a clear out Bolton. You're carrying too much junk lad" Mr Lawson said, making Riley laugh as Miss Haydock passed her bag back with a smile that the girl didn't know whether it was a pity smile or a smile because she heard her laugh again and then walked through the same door Bolton had since she was going that way.

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

Sitting in Mr Lawson's maths lesson the girl had never been more confused.

"The pyramids at Giza, the UN building in New York, the Mona Lisa, daisies, Mondrian's New York, the Parthenon in Athen's and pineapples. Why am I showing them to you?" he asked.

"Is it coz you're mad sir?" Damon said, earning laughs from the class.

"Close Damon but..." Mr Lawson started.

"Is it coz we take them on holiday?" Damon asked again.

"Do you normally take a pineapple on holiday with you?" Riley asked him.

The boy shrugged in response and said, "No."

"Then it's not the answer, idiot," Riley sighed.

"You pillock!" a boy said to him.

"You big muppet," a girl said to him.

"Idiot," a different girl said to him.

"I don't mind what you come up with as long as you come up with something alright?" Mr Lawson said to the class.

"All the things I've just shown you are about numbers".

"Sir but it's a pineapple," Damon repeated.

"But you see that's why it's so flipping interesting," he said and then wrote on the board the numbers 1.618 making Riley even more confused.

"Phi. Sometimes known as the Golden Ratio. It's a number you'll find in all of these things I've just shown you. Going right back to the construction of the great pyramids. Which incidentally have a base to height ratio of 1.6. Now I know what you're thinking 'who's this bloke? we're in the bottom set all we do is adding and taking away!. Well not anymore. This is where it all starts coz everything you see around you and I mean everything if you look hard enough, you'll find maths in it," Mr Lawson said. Riley didn't do anything that lesson which wasn't a surprise since her mum's death her school work has slipped massively.

"Right, remember homework- to work out that sequence of numbers. There's a code in there somewhere. Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to break that code," Mr Lawson said to the class as the bell rang. Riley threw her book and pen into her bag and slung it over her shoulder and walked out knowing full well she learnt absolutely nothing from that lesson and that she wasn't going to do the homework.

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

It was now lunchtime which meant Chlo, Riley and Mika were all in Donte's dads limo on their way to go see Chlo and Donte get married. The girls changed out of their uniforms into their dresses. Mika passed the two of them their flowers.

"Is that alright?" Chlo asked her sisters, passing her phone to them.

The message to Tom read "Me and Donte are getting married. I tried to tell you. Chlo X" after reading it both girls shrugged their shoulders and Mika passed the phone back to Chlo.

Riley walked behind Mika and Brett as they walked in.

"Ladies and gentlemen we're here as you know to celebrate the marriage of Donte and Chlo as they commence a new chapter in their lives together. Before I begin however, tradition dictates that I should ask if any person has any legal impediment to this marriage?" the priest asked as Tom burst through the doors.

"What the hells going on?" he asked.

"Tom?!" Chlo exclaimed.

"This is illegal. She's only 16. She needs permission," Tom argued.

"I've got permission from my dad" Chlo told him, showing him the letter their dad wrote.

"Donte's got permission coz I'm his dad," Clarence said to Tom.

"And you are?" the priest asked.

"Wha- Mika, Riley you two and all?" he questioned the two.

"Can someone tell me who this person is?" the priest asked again.

"What, me? I'm nobody" Tom said walking away.

"I do," said Chlo.

"And do you, Donte Charles, take Chlo Grainger to be your lawful wife?"

"I do," said Donte.

Mika and Brett threw confetti over the two as they walked out with their marriage certificate in hand. Riley and Mika watched as Tom grabbed Donte by the collar and pushed him against the wall.

"Tom!" they exclaimed.

"And you wonder why they didn't tell you?" Clarence asked Tom.

"Donte's my family and he's going to be living with me," Chlo said.

"No way, your mum would go spare," Tom said to her.

"She left the house to me, Mika and Riley. We can do what we want so if you don't like it you can find somewhere else," Chlo said to him.

"You know what? I give up. I concede defeat. It's pretty clear you don't want me in your life, Chlo. I'll pack my things," Tom said while walking away. "And you, you'd better flaming well look after her."

"Go after him Chlo. Talk to him," Mika said to her.

"It's him that's got the problem not us," Chlo argued back.

"For god sake I love you both I really do but seriously go fucking talk to him because I refuse to lose another parent," Riley shouted at Chlo and Donte.

"We'll be alright babes, I'll move in tonight," Donte said to Chlo.

"Will you take me and Riley home please Brett?" Mika asked.

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

Once they had gotten home Riley listened from the living room as Tom was getting his stuff to move out and Donte and his dad were moving Donte's stuff in.

"I want you here," Mika said, running down the stairs after Tom.

"Me too," Riley popped her head round the door.

"Nothing has changed. I'll just be living somewhere different. You know you've always got me," Tom said to them looking between them.

"You can't leave us living with Donte Charles!" Mika exclaimed with a scoff.

"There's nothing I can do," Tom said while making a move to open the door.

"You two want this place? You can have it coz we're not staying here. Not without Tom," Mika said for herself and Riley.

"Mika please don't be like this," Chlo begged and turned to Riley. "Not you as well I can't lose you both."

"We'll be alright. It's just us two now," Donte said to Chlo.

"I know I just want us to all be together," Chlo said while following Tom out.

Riley was laid in her bed when she heard the front door close which meant Tom and Chlo had come back in. The blonde was half asleep when she felt her bed dip meaning someone had laid next to her.

"Mika?" she called out.

"Yeah it's me," Mika answered.

"I really miss mum," Riley said to her sister.

"Me too. Now come on let's go to sleep," Mika said to her sister but the girl didn't sleep instead she turned on her back and stared at the ceiling.

"Go to sleep," Mika told her.

"How did you even know?" She asked.

"Because I know you,"

"Fair enough," Riley chuckled.

"What's up?" Mika questioned.

"There was this boy this morning he barged me and pissed me off a bit" Riley replied.

"Name? Oh my god, does my little Riley have a crush?" Mika asked again, sitting up slightly.

Riley turned her head to look at her sister, "No I don't he seems like a twat and he's called Bolton."

"Sounds like the boy version of you then. You're a twat for no reason," Mika laughed.

Riley looked at her sister with mock offence, "No! When I'm a twat it's for a good reason."

"Yeah okay sure it is Riles. Go to sleep," Mika told her yawning.

"Go to sleep, Riles," Mika whispered into the dark room knowing her sister was still awake.

"I don't think I'll be able to live without her, Mika," the blonde whispered back, her voice cracking.

"We'll be alright, okay. Me, you, Chlo and Tom we'll all be fine. I promise," Mika squeezed the girl's hand.

"Okay," she whispered, holding her sister's hand even tighter. "I don't think I'll be able to do this without you, Chlo and Tom, losing your mum is bad enough but I can't lose any of you as well."

"Neither of us are going anywhere and neither is Tom or you."

"Promise?" the girl held her pinky up.

"Promise," Mika entwined her pinky with the younger girl's.