Semi-edited (Kind of have to put it at this point, its tradition)

Also PLEASE READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END!!!

Song above is...Power Over Me by Dermot Kennedy (Love this song!)

Happy Reading Everyone!!! 

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Re-Cap: "I don't care about your baggage. You are amazing, strong, funny, clumsy." Riley laughed softly, her eyes filling with tears. "You are everything I have ever wanted." This time it was my voice that was soft.

My thumb wiped away a tear that rolled down her face as she leaned her cheek into my palm.

"So will you be my girlfriend? Officially?"

"I would love to." 

Riley

My face hurt from smiling so much. Literally nothing was going to get rid of this smile on my face. For the first time in months I felt happy, like really happy. And I knew exactly who to thank for making me feel this way.

I didn't even care that I had to get up early and that it was Monday. The thought of going to school actually made me excited. Excited for school was not in my vocabulary, yet here I was skipping to my car still smiling.

Going to school meant seeing Alex and after what happened last night I was excited yet nervous. The stupid voice in my head was rearing it's ugly head and planting seeds that maybe Alex has already changed his mind about us. That it all wasn't real.

I had to force myself out of those thoughts. Alex wasn't Mitch. He wouldn't do that to me. I hated that my thoughts immediately went there and the fact that they did made me hate Mitch even more. He's hurt me in more ways than I thought.

Just thinking of Mitch made my hands clench around the steering wheel. My hand protested, my red knuckles turning white with tension. I glanced at my hands and winced, slowly letting my grip loosen. My poor hands looked horrible.

They still had a few fading bruises from the last time I punched someone and now they were bright red once again after last night. And I still had a cut on top of my hand thanks to Rebecca and her clones.

I looked away from my hands and shook my head. No I wasn't going to think about Mitch or Rebecca. I wanted to think about Alex and the fact that he asked me to be his girlfriend.

Everything about our date was incredible. Picking fruit may have sounded boring it was far from that and I got to learn more about Alex and his parents for that matter. Then when he brought me to the drive in theater...I'm pretty sure I fell for him even more.

What guy goes through that much trouble for a date? Mitch never did. Never would. The fact that Alex put that much thought into it made the whole thing the best day of my life.

"Someone is in a good mood." A voice spoke beside me. I was too busy thinking back on our date to realize that I had parked and gotten out of the car. It was probably a bit frightening that I didn't even remember pulling into the parking lot.

"Oh my god Riley." Olivia basically yelled. She shoved Derek to the side to get to me. "How was the date? I want all the details!"

Looping her arm through mine she tugged us towards the school building asking a million questions.

"What did you guys do? Did you like the drive in movie? I may have given Alex the idea but he executed it himself. Did you guys kiss? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Liv's face was red from talking to fast and not breathing properly.

"Liv breathe, let Riley answer." Derek placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Sorry." She took a deep breath to calm herself before looking back at me. "So?" A glance at Derek told me he was waiting for my answers as well.

"The drive in movie was so cool." I smiled at her to let her know I didn't mind that it was her idea in the first place.

"Aw I wish I could have gone." Liv gushed. "What did you guys do before? Alex was so tight lipped about it."

As the three of us made our way to our lockers I told them all about the date. Everything from going fruit picking to running into Mitch at the diner.

"You ran into Mitch?" Liv belched. "God he's like a rodent you can't kill." My lips twitched at her comment.

"Did you really punch him?" Derek asked, an almost proud look taking over his face. I lifted my hand with a grin.

"Yep."

"Wow." Derek whistled. "We are making you a fighter day by day. Soon you'll have to come train at the gym with us." Surprisingly the thought of training with the guys to fight was appealing. I hated violence but it may not be the worst idea.

"Wait, you didn't answer the important question! Are you guys officially together?"

I opened my mouth to answer when the bell rang over head. With only a few minutes to get to class all the way on the other side of the building I shrugged. Deciding to tease Olivia I started walking backwards.

"I better get to class."

"Riley answer the question!"

"Sorry don't want to be late."

"Riley!" With a laugh I turned around and headed for first period. I knew me not answering was going to drive her mad until she saw me next period. Plus it gave me a tad bit longer to bask in the fact that no one but me and Alex knew the truth.

Feeling like I had a little secret I went to class in the best mood. I didn't even care about the looks or whispers people were saying when I walked in. I had a feeling everyone knew what happened at Monroe's Place last night. Small town things get around super fast.

I was kind of hoping Mitch would show up today with a nice bruise, curtesy of me. Maybe Alex was rubbing off on me cause I felt a bit smug about hitting Mitch. I finally stood up for myself. For once I wasn't the meek girl who let Mitch run all over her. And I had to admit...it felt fucking amazing. That was enough to have me not care what everyone was saying at the moment.

Class flew by and sooner than I thought I was walking towards Calculus. I knew as soon as I stepped through the door I knew Olivia was going to pounce on me. And I was proven right. The moment my butt hit my chair Olivia was on me.

"I will let this morning slide and only because you are going to tell me right now." Olivia was seated facing me, leaning forward so far she was practically falling out of her seat in anticipation.

The class was slowly filling up so I leaned forward myself so others wouldn't hear. Olivia held her breath as I opened my mouth.

"We are." Just the two words set her off. She squealed loudly and wiggled in her seat, drawing attention from the kids around us.

"Yes finally." I couldn't help but grin at her reaction. She seemed even more excited than I was. "I've been waiting for you guys for ages now."

"We've only really known each other like a month or so." I raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted you guys together from the moment we met at the bonfire." Liv waved me off.

"You didn't even know me."

"Didn't need to. I could tell from the moment I saw Alex look at you that you were perfect together. Now my plan of you guys being together and getting married and having kids is into affect."

"Getting married and having kids?" I choked. "We just got together yesterday."

"Just you wait." With a wink Liv turned back in her chair just as the teacher walked into the room. I shook my head at her words. Marriage and kids were too far into the future. Way too far.

As class started I tried my best to stay focused on what the teacher was saying but all I could think about was Alex. I wasn't even thinking about Olivia's words, no I was just thinking about Alex in general.

I felt my cheeks heat up at the memory of Alex dropping me off at home after our date. The way he kissed me like he knew he couldn't break me. He didn't act like I was some fragile doll. Everything about Alex I liked...a lot.

I was getting impatient wanting to see Alex. I know it hasn't even been 24 hours and that Alex even texted me this morning, but I wanted to see him. A small part of me couldn't help but think Alex probably regretted asking me to be his girlfriend. It was that stupid insecure voice that kept coming in.

"Riley." The sound of my name being called jerked me out of my thoughts. I looked around and found the classroom almost empty. "Done daydreaming about your boyfriend?" Liv stood in front of me, hand on her hip and eyebrow cocked.

"I-I." I was so engrossed in my thoughts I hadn't even realized class was over.

"Come on." I quickly gathered my stuff and went to her side.

"I wish I had someone to daydream about." Olivia huffed as we left the classroom. I knew I needed to tread carefully as I saw my opportunity.

"Is there no one you want to daydream about?" I asked.

"No...well." From the corner of my eye I watched as Liv nibbled on her bottom lip as she thought. "I guess maybe one person."

"Have you ever thought about this person being maybe more?" I slightly poked.

"Pretty certain it's all one sided." She said the last part in a sad tone.

"You never know. Sometimes people hide things because they are afraid of getting hurt."

"It's easier that way. I don't want to ruin anything." As we turned the corner I spotted a familiar person in front of us. Derek stood off to the side talking to another guy. The guy must have said something to make Derek laugh as he smiled. I dared a glance at Liv and found her already staring at him.

I watched as what looked like longing cross her face before it disappeared. The sight of it broke my heart. Liv looked so...helpless.

As we neared Derek I softly nudged Liv in the arm.

"You don't know if you don't try." As cheesy as the sentence was I meant it. Neither of them wanted to ruin their friendship or be rejected but one of them had to make the first move. Or they'd never know.

That was all I could say as we neared Derek. His eyes found us as he said bye to whoever he was talking to. Just like Olivia his eyes immediately went to her first.

"Hey girls." He greeted.

"See you in a bit." Was all Olivia said as she branched away from us and headed for her own class. She looked lost in thought as she brushed past Derek. He watched after her with furrowed brows.

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah just a lot of math homework." I lied. I hooked my arm in his and lead him towards the classroom. He kept his head turned watching Olivia until we disappeared into the room.

"Are you sure she's okay? She looked upset."

"Yeah I'm sure." Liv needed a few minutes to herself. I'm pretty sure the last person Liv wanted to see right now was Derek.

Derek didn't look too convinced but I kept a hold on his arm until we were seated. Seeing the concern written all over his face made me want to just slap him. Both him and Liv were so stubborn and blind to see the other was so in love. I just hope my words to Liv would give her the boost to do something about it. If not...well I planned on pushing them together myself.

"I didn't get the chance to say earlier but I'm happy for you and Alex." Derek said once the warning bell rang, his chance of running after Liv gone.

"Thanks." I ducked my head.

"You're good for him." The way he said it made my look up at him. "I'm pretty sure Liv has told you some things about Alex so you know the gist of it. I was there through all of it. Watched as he became a shell." The look that appeared on Derek's face made my heart ache.

"He threw himself into fighting. He only ever did that and take care of Harper. He barely existed. Then suddenly you showed up with him at the bonfire." I sat there quietly as he spoke. "I can't remember the last time Alex looked that happy until he was with you."

"The more you hung around the more the old Alex came back. He stopped acting like a dick and he even smiled. You brought the old Alex back Riley, so thank you." And I knew he meant every single word.

"He brought the old me back as well."

The rest of class Derek and I passed back a piece of paper back and forth playing Hangman. Each sentence got stupider and stupider as we went but I had to keep stopping myself from laughing. We almost got caught a few times but Derek and I just shared a grin before continuing.

Despite our game I still managed to pay attention to what Mr. Wittwer was teaching, even though Derek tried his hardest to be a bad influence.

"It was a horrible sentence."

"Was not. If you would have been paying more attention to it you would have gotten it."

"You do know class was still going on right?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Doesn't matter." He waved it off. "I still won."

"Doesn't count."

"So does."

"Does not."

"Does to!"

"Derek how the hell was I suppose to get 'Daenerys shouldn't have died in Game of Thrones.'. You do realize her name alone is hard." I deadpanned as I shoved the door open that lead outside.

"Not my fault you didn't use your letters right."

"I shouldn't count."

"You're just a sore loser." Derek went as far as to stick his tongue out at me.

"Is Derek finally admitting he's a loser?" A voice I've been dying to hear all morning suddenly spoke in front of us.

My head snapped to the side and a grin started to form on my face. Sitting there on top of our usual table was none other than my boyfriend. Boyfriend. It felt weird yet amazing to think of Alex as that.

"Hey I'm not a loser!" Derek glared at his friend but Alex didn't even seem to notice, his eyes solely on mine.

My feet moved on their own until I was standing in front of him. Somehow over night he seemed to get more handsome. Even just sitting there so casually he really did look like a model.

How does a guy like that like me? I couldn't help but ask myself. Alex was so out of my league it wasn't even funny.

"Hi." I breathed. I wasn't quite sure what I should do. Do I lean over and kiss him? Do we just say 'hi' and pretend we aren't together?

Everything I've learned or done in a relationship was with Mitch and none of that was real. I literally had no clue what to do in a relationship that wasn't started with a bet or that turned pretty volatile. I didn't want to over step any sort of boundaries with Alex.

I knew I was so in my head and needed to snap out of it. I needed to push past everything that Mitch did to me. Needed to learn that wasn't what a real relationship was like. That Alex would never be the same way with me.

"Hey." Alex greeted back. He barely said the words before he leaned forward and reached out. Confused I just stood there as he brought his hands out and grabbed the belt loops of my jeans, tugging me forward.

It all happened so fast it took a minute for my mind to catch up with the action. I was now standing in-between Alex's legs, his knees on either side of me, and his hands placed on my hips.

Seeing that he had me where he wanted me, Alex tugged me an inch closer until our lips softly grazed against one another.

As soon as I felt his lips on mine all the tension left my body and any sort of second guess flew right out. I brought my own hands up and placed them on his cheeks as I kissed him back.

Behind me I briefly heard the sound of gagging but ignored it, too focused on the taste of Alex. We pulled away from just a second before Alex kissed me once more. His hands were only on my hips but it felt like my entire body was on fire.

When we finally pulled away I was breathing heavy and my lips were tingling. Kissing Alex was....intoxicating. I'm pretty sure I could have stood here all day and kissed him and been content.

"I'm happy for the two of you but I don't need to see that." Derek gagged from behind us.

"Then leave." Alex shot back at his friend before he pecked my lips once more. "Hi." Every part of me felt flushed.

"Hey. How was your morning?" I asked.

"Boring but now I have the rest of the day with you."

"Yuck." Derek mumbled loud enough for the two of us to hear.

Twisting in Alex's hold I turned until I was leaning back agains this chest, his arms wrapped around my mind.

"What are you going to do when you get a girlfriend?" I questioned.

"Not make out in front of my friends."

"We weren't making out." I blushed.

"Yeah you were. There are children around here."

"You're only talking about yourself there D." Alex rolled his eyes. "I'm going to kiss my girlfriend whenever I want."

I had to bite my bottom lip to stop the grin from forming on my face at the way he said 'girlfriend'. It felt oddly...right coming from his mouth.

"Speaking of...where is Liv?" I suddenly asked, looking around.

"She wasn't here when I got here." I felt Alex shrug behind me.

"Maybe she went to get food." I supplied although I had a sneaky feeling Liv was currently avoiding a certain someone. I think my words really got to her.

"No she would have texted me that she was." Derek shook his head.

"She's probably just running late." Alex tried to ease Derek's mind.

"She looked really upset this morning." Worry etched onto his face. "I'm going to go look for her."

"Derek I wouldn't-" I started to say but he already hoisted his backpack higher over his shoulder and took off.

"You don't happen to know why Olivia isn't here do you?" Alex asked, his arms tightening around my middle. While he had a questioning tone in his voice I could tell he knew something was up.

"I..." Sighing I slumped back against him. "I may have said a few words this morning about taking a chance with someone she liked."

"Someone she likes...as in Derek?"

"I didn't outwardly say his name but I kind of...hinted that if she was feeling something for someone she should do something about it. Derek may or may not have been in our line of sight when we were talking."

"You do know they need to work it out for themselves, right?" Alex lowered his head to my shoulder, his breath fanning my ear.

"I know but sometimes people need a little shove in the right direction." I forced myself not to act affected by Alex being so close.

"They've liked each other for years, if they haven't confessed it by now I don't think they will."

"If they don't then I guess we will have to for them." I shrugged.

"We?"

"Yep you're in it now too."

"I don't want to be in it."

"Don't you want your two friends to be happy?" I asked, turning to the side a little bit to see his face.

"Of course but I'm not shoving my nose in their business." Alex shook his head.

"Well too bad. I want them both happy and they will be together. If they don't do something themselves soon then we'll have to come up with a plan. I bet Lexi will help." My eyes widened as I thought about what we could do to get Liv and Derek together.

"I don't like that look."

"What look?"

"The 'I'm-an-evil-mastermind' type of look." I laughed at his words. "Can we put aside the plan to force two people who don't want to admit their love to each other, to the side and I can talk to my girlfriend."

Despite the ideas running through my mind I pushed them aside and relaxed once more in Alex's hold.

"So...girlfriend." I said.

"I can shout it from the rooftops if you prefer." This time I didn't hide my grin.

"And hold a sign."

"And what do you want it to say?" While I couldn't see his face I could hear the grin in his voice.

"My girlfriend Riley is spectacular." Because I was leaning back against Alex I felt him chuckle against me. His head was still in the crook of my neck and the feel of his warm breath tickled.

"I'll get right on that." His voice turned raspy. The rasp in his voice was making me feel some sort of way. Forcing the fog out of my head I cleared my throat.

"What are you doing this afternoon?" My voice came out all breathy and I just hoped Alex didn't catch it.

"I have to work for a few hours." Thankfully Alex finally pulled his face away from my neck letting me breath for a second. "How about you?"

"Same. I haven't been at Sofia's much lately so I told Helen I'd pick up a few shifts this week."

Alex's hands were once more on my hips, using them to turn me back around to face him.

"Would you..." Alex hesitated for a second making me reach out and gently touch his face. "Would you like to come over and have dinner with Harper and me tonight?"

The slight nervousness in his voice made me grin. I love seeing the nervous/awkward side to Alex.

"I would love to."

"Great." He smiled back at me. "Although I can't guarantee it will be a five star meal."

"It will be perfect." I pecked his lips.

"Again." Alex demanded. Deciding to tease him I put on a face of confusion.

"Do what again?"

"That." He pouted.

"You mean this?" I leaned forward again and pressed my lips against his for only a second before pulling away.

I was trying so hard not to laugh at the expression on his face. He even went as far as to pucker his lips while giving me puppy dog eyes. The smile on my face grew at how freaking adorable he was being.

"Again."

Because I was such an accommodating person I obliged, kissing Alex once more.

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

"Stop laughing at me!" I whined.

"I'm sorry but that's too funny." Alex was practically bent over laughing so hard.

"No it was embarrassing."

I had made the mistake of telling Alex the story about how I got hit in the face with a soccer ball, not once but twice in a row. Now the stupid prick couldn't stop laughing.

"Yeah keep laughing and see where that will get you." I crossed my arms and titled my chin upwards.

"Twice in a row though?" He was quiet for a moment before he started laughing again.

Shaking my head I stood up and grabbed my things. The bell was gonna ring any moment anyways. With him still laughing I started towards to the building. I counted down from five as I walked away.

As soon as I hit one and reached for the door Alex called my name. I opened the door but stood there waiting for Alex. I could hear him grabbing his stuff before he reached my side. I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow and didn't say a word.

"Okay sorry I'm done now."

"Lets see how you feel when I hit you in the face with a soccer ball twice."

"I bet you still looked cute with a red circle on your face." Alex grabbed my hand in his, that gorgeous smile gracing his face.

"I had a bruise on my face for like a week. My brother didn't let me come to school for a few days afraid the teachers would think I was getting abused at home. He finally asked one of the girls he was seeing if she could put makeup on my cheek for me."

Now that the incident was years ago it was funny but at the time it hurt so bad. I was pissed at my brother for like a week because of it.

"You get hurt a lot." Alex shook his head at me. "I'm going to have to wrap you in bubble wrap every time you leave the house." I didn't even bother to disagree as it was true. I could be walking on a flat surface and still manage to trip, I was that talented.

As the two of us walked down the hall hand in hand I started to notice the stares. Most of the students stared anyways at the fact that Alex walked beside me but now their gazes were glued to our hands. Our hands together clearly showed there was more to us then just friends.

The stares grew as we made our way towards me locker. I leaned in closer to Alex's side as the whispers grew. My hand gripped his tightly.

"Just ignore them." Alex bent his head down a bit as he spoke.

"I wish it was that easy." I whispered, catching the glares most of the girls were sending in my direction. First I 'took' their golden boy and now here I was hand in hand with the 'bad boy' that every girl wanted for themselves.

We finally reached my locker and I made quick work of putting my code in. Alex stood behind me almost acting like a barrier to the stares.

"How did the slut get Alex?"

"She must be sleeping with him."

"She's making her way through the school."

Each comment worse than the last. My cheeks flamed at each one and I felt myself sinking into myself more and more. I ducked my head down as I grabbed my biology textbook before shutting my locker.

My good mood from before was now long gone. Walking hand in hand with Alex down the hallway wasn't a good idea. We should have thought this through first. Should have warned Alex that being seen with me, being with me, would have consequences. The last thing I wanted was for Alex to hear all the comments.

I turned and took a step to get to class when a pair of arms came down on both sides of me. With my back facing the lockers I looked up at Alex in front of me, his arm caging me in.

He looked down at me, his eyes searching my face. I was pretty certain he could see every thought running through my mind. Could see how the comments and stares were getting to me.

"Do you trust me?" Alex spoke after a moment. I gazed up at his eyes and at the sight of those stunning grey eyes I felt my knees weaken.

I nodded. I did trust Alex. More than anyone else I know. He looked at me for another second before he lowered his head.

I stood there as Alex's lips met my own. With his hands placed on the lockers behind me, he took a step forward and used his body to push me backwards. My back hit the lockers but the feel of his front pressing into mine made me forget all about the lock digging into my back.

The feel of his lips against mine caused me to sigh and for everyone around us to slowly disappear. Just like when we were kissing outside one taste wasn't enough to make me want more.

My hands came up, traveling from his chest-feeling the hard muscles under my palms-and moved upwards to his neck, until finally they tangled in his dark hair. I pulled him closer with his hair as I deepened the kiss.

One hand left the lockers behind me and grabbed my waist, pulling my body flush against his. I decided then and there that if I died while kissing Alex I would die happy.

It wasn't even the fact that he was a good kisser. It was the way his lips seemed to be made just for mine. That just a small graze of his lips against mine sent my body into a frenzy. It was almost like I was made to kiss Alex.

As soon as his tongue started to trace the seam of my lips the sound of the bell ringing overhead made us stop. The sound jerked us back to reality and I felt what I assumed was my soul come back into my body.

We pulled away, the both of us panting. All I could hear was silence around us but as soon as I opened my eyes all I could see was Alex. I didn't dare move my eyes away from his face.

His face was a little flushed and his lips looked a bit swollen. Pride swelled in my chest at the sight of him feeling just as affected as me from that kiss. Hopefully I drove him half as crazy as he drove me.

Only a moment later did the sound of whispers suddenly break free. I peaked a glance to the side to see everyone in the hallway staring at us and whispering rapidly to the person next to them. I could see the disbelief in a lot of their faces.

I turned back to Alex and as our eyes met both of us broke out into a grin. My cheeks were stained pink from making out in front of almost the entire school but I didn't care. Not at all.

"Now they know you belong to me, and I belong to you." At the sound of that my heart swelled in my chest. I was pretty sure my cheeks were going to hurt from smiling so hard.

"Very affective."

"Had to make sure they knew." Alex shrugged. Laughing I tilted my head back an inch and gave him one last peck.

"Lets get to class." Despite wanting to stay there pressed against him I knew we better get to class before a teacher came. No doubt we would get detention for skipping class to make out in the hallway.

With an ear-shitting grin I took Alex's hand in mine and tugged him towards Biology. As we walked people moved out of our way to stare.

Feeling beyond smug I kept my chin high and Alex close.

Now they all knew Alex was mine.  

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello Limiters! First off I do have to apologize for the wait of the chapter. I was going to post Friday but Wattpad kept glitching and I figured I better wait a few more days so you guys can read. Now onto the main reason.....

The reason I haven't updated in a bit is because I am trying to write a few chapters offline and then I can post one after another. I plan on finishing this story by the end of the year! I am also trying to cut back on the words per chapter. So instead of stressing and writing 10k words I am cutting them back to 6-7k (like I use to).  
I never really noticed just how much I write in a single chapter until I started talking to my other WP friends and learned I was over writing by a lot. 10k words should be about 3 chapters if not more. 

So with that being said I will be shortening the chapters. That doesn't mean I won't add details, or that the pace will quicken for this book. Everything will stay the same but HOPEFULLY I update more often. So....kind of a win win I think. I should have the next chapter up in a few days. 

I am sorry about the wait! I really am but I hope some good Rilex content makes up for it. We will be seeing more and more about Olivia and Derek as we go. Because I for one LOVE THEM AND NEED THEM TO GET TOGETHER! 

Now enough droning on. Thank you guys for all the love and support!! Love you all so much! 

P.S If you haven't make sure to follow my social medias! I am more active on Instagram and Twitter, so come on by and chat! Also I am in a Discord chat with my friends where we all talk, give writing tips, give book recommendations, etc. The link is on my profile you'd like to join! It's a lot of fun!!!

<3 <3 <3 

-Ken