Renee's River | √

20. midnight talks and heart breaks

❝My bad, my bad for tripping on you❞
- Ella Mai, Trip.

After my kiss with River, and my first kiss ever, I felt happier. I didn't know why, maybe it was because we had gotten closer or maybe it was proof that he liked me too.

After our kiss that day, I'd apologized again for biting him and we'd both laughed about it. River's arm around me as we talked and talked about so many things. We'd managed to form random constellations for ourselves, and in the end when I got home, it was a little too late. Tanner had fussed about it, but I just kissed his cheek and said it was no big deal. Besides, he was the one who wanted me to get a job and I did, but I'd also wondered how he would react if I told him I'd had my first kiss that day.

Nothing was awkward after then between me and River, though. In fact, that night, I'd called him and read out my history text to him, but this time he told me to try to understand what I was reading, and that's what I did. My history test was pretty alright. I couldn't quite get all the answers but it was better than any other history test I'd written. Same for my English and even the main AP Biology test. I would wait behind after work and read out to River. Sometimes we would make jokes and have good laughs. Some of the jokes  even helped me remember what I'd read. Sometimes when River felt I'd done enough reading, we would go out to get some fro-yo.

On Wednesdays when I didn't work, he would call me. I didn't think it was possible but I fell deeper and harder for him even with all the little gestures he probably thought didn't matter.

Right now, I lay on my bed. It was 11pm and I couldn't sleep. I had a calculus test the next day and that was scaring the daylights out of me. There was no way I could read out my calculus text to River, so I hadn't bothered telling him. Kaleb on the  other hand, had been down with a cold for some days now, so he couldn't come over to help me study.

I tossed and turned, then without thinking, I grabbed my phone and dialled River's number. I bit my lower  lip, waiting for him to answer, and he picked it on the fifth ring.

"Hey," his voice was raspy and deep.

"River... I'm sorry, I'm sure I woke you up."

"It's alright. Is everything okay, though? Are you okay?"

I sighed, sitting up on my bed, "Yep. Just scared."

I heard a muffling sound and a soft laughter follow it, "Of ghosts?"

I smiled, "No, of course not. I have a test tomorrow and—"

"What? A test? You didn't tell me. I would have—"

"It's calculus."

"Oh."

"Exactly," I let out a breath, "There was no way I could have read it out to you."

"And quite honestly, I always sucked at calculus. And any of kind of math, really."

I chuckled, "I hate math."

"How about you just look at your text and follow the examples? You should be able to get something."

"I usually try to do that, but I don't know, it all feels like I have to work some particular magic in my own."

He laughed lowly, "Well, how about friends who can quickly go over some basic steps with you tomorrow?"

I thought of Kaleb. He would be coming to school, "Yeah... Yeah, I'll do that. But speaking of friends, do you have any?"

"I mentioned a Xavier to you once.  That's about my only friend, and maybe two others."

"Why? You're really cool and fun to be with. Shouldn't you have more friends?" I wasn't exactly sure why I asked that. I literally had just two friends.