Chapter 7: Bad at Comforting

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nick
chapter 7: bad at comforting

Walking into school, I saw a beaming rainbow walking down the hallways I recognized. My lips curled upwards in a smile, like I was just naturally happy to see her. I began to pick up a quicker pace to catch up with her and Zoe. I wasn't surprised to not see Paulina with them after that.

"Hi," I said quietly, showcasing a small smile at Riley, but at Zoe in an attempt to be polite. I noticed that Zoe elbowed Riley in the ribs, causing Riley to jump and yelp slightly and swat her away, with a glare. I resisted the urge to chuckle.

"Hey," Riley said, still keeping a close eye on Zoe. Something was definitely a bit off. But at least they weren't 20 feet from each other, not daring to even look at one another.

"Hi!" Zoe squeaked.

"So, I'm happy to see you guys still frien-"

"Yea." Riley cut me off, ending my sentence quickly and abruptly. Hm, I should've known I shouldn't have done that. Man I'm so bad at this comforting shit.

"So-"

"Hey guys, have you seen this vine where there's this girl who has a Glade air-freshener bottle, and she says something like 'Why you mad, why you sad, when you can be.. Glad.'" Zoe said, changing the topic, bursting into a head throwing laughter. I laughed, probably more lively then I have for a long time.

"Yea, I've seen it, have you seen this vine where some dude is asking a guy on the street 'Who's the hottest uber driver you've ever had?' And the guy replies 'Uh, I've never been to oovoo javer.'" I replied, laughing.

"Oh yea!" Riley exclaimed, throwing a hand up in the air. "It's hilarious, fun fact, I watching a vine compilation on the couch and that vine came on, I laughed so hard I fell off and broke my fucking finger!" I gasped and chuckled, gobsmacked by her lil fact.

"Nah dude," I replied, giggling.

"Ya dude!" Zoe piped in, grinning. "I was at her house when it happen, and it was hilarious-probably not for poor Riley."

"Mhm," Riley said, shooting daggers at the both of us. I chuckled and glared right back, resulting in a intense stare contest, which wasn't a great idea as we were all walking down a hallway to our class (we luckily had together).

"Oof!" Riley chocked out as she slammed right into a door. I gasped while Zoe made a sound which I recognized too much, (from myself) the sound of someone forcing down a laughter because it wasn't really something to laugh at. I rushed to her side, the hallway falling silent, which was previously sounding like a zoo. I pulled her away from the door and studied her face, looking for any injuries, but a dead target right in the center of her face stood out, volunteering to be seen.

* * *

"Is it that bad?" Riley said in between sobs. We were currently in a secluded part of the school where literally no one was, and here I was as Zoe attempted to nurse Riley's black eye with a frozen water bottle.

"Uh.. Kinda, but I'm just being honest. But maybe Dr. Wesley here will make it all better." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. Riley pouted adorably and swatted at me. "Aak! Ok, ok woman."

"Are you done yet Zoe!?" Riley breathed impatiently. "We're gonna be late."

"Um..." Zoe said uncertainly. "I dunno."

"Well, can't you just go around looking like a cool pirate with a eyepatch made out of paper towels and tape?" I said, unzipping my backpack and pulling out a tape.

"Nick."

"Sorry.. I'm just, uh, bad at comforting people." I said, rubbing her back as Zoe finally gave up and placed the water bottle down.

"I have no idea what I'm doing, so what's the point.." Zoe said, shrugging and slumping down the wall next to Riley.

"Man, I'm so sorry, it's my fau-"

"No, no." Riley interrupted, turning to me and showing a half smile. I smiled back and wrapped an arm around her, hugging her.

"But hey, still wanna rock that eyepatch?"

Riley laughed at slapped my arm, groaning. "Fine."

Out of nowhere, Zoe handed Riley tissues and Riley quickly went to work to conceal her eye. Soon, it was finished with applying tape over the tissues. Here we present, The Eyepatch look! 11/10 would go down the runway with.

I half smiled at Riley, trying to not bring her spirits down, even though she looked ridiculous with a wad of tissue paper literally on her eye staying on with tape.

"I'm pretty sure I look ridiculous."

"N-"

"Yup."

"Oh fuck you."

* * *
In class, everyone seemed to be looking at Riley, and I couldn't blame them. But at least a makeshift eyepatch is better then walking around showing a black eye to the world.

Luckily for Riley, the bell suddenly rung in that moment, making everyone spring up like a jumping bean and skedaddle towards the exit and out for the next class. I stood there, waiting for the girls.

"Man, I feel so crazy." Riley said as she walked over. I giggled and put a hand on her shoulder, assuring her she sure wasn't crazy.

"You're not, Riley." I said, smiling at her. She flashed a smile back and I let my hand fall naturally to my side, signaling to go to our lockers, I turned around and walked outside and to our lockers. I was about to swing open my locker until I heard someone behind me, and it didn't sound like Zoe even though it was coming from my left, where she was standing.

"Hey, babe."

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Yay! Character development! I'm genuinely happy with how I'm doing this.

Who do you think is next to Nick, hint: it isn't Zoe, nor Riley! 🤔

Also very sorry for these late night updates, I was just out all day and got home like at 9:00 and had nothing else to do except watch YouTube or write on wattpad, and YouTube can get extremely boring.

Hope ya have a good day, bye!

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