Guilty Pleasure (Riley)

[Layla Harlow]

Nothing was going to get her down. Absolutely nothing. Her parents could hate her and want nothing to do with her, she didn't care. Riley could screw with her mind, toy with her, she didn't care. That was Layla, the girl that took it all and never gave a shit about anyone because of it. Who needed them when she could find other people that treated her better? Like her best friend? Sophie was a life-saver in more ways than she thought and she would always have her. So why did she bother with anyone else? Maybe she should take Sophie up on one of those blind dates she's always trying to pull. Clearly she was getting nowhere with the guy she thought she had a thing for. If he was going to be that way, she was done trying to persuade him otherwise.

Due to the soreness of her most recent body art, Lay had decided to wear something that didn't rub against the raw area. It also happened to be a bit more revealing, but she wasn't going anywhere quite yet, so it didn't really bother her. If her parents came home and had a problem with it, she'd tell them to shove it and that it wasn't like she was out in public. It also would give them a perfect view of the script written across her ribs. It was only a glimpse, yet it would send them over the edge. She also wore yoga shorts that hung low enough to not rub up against the bat symbol on her hip either. Yeah, she was all about being comfortable and not worrying about irritating the skin further.

As she sat in her room, finishing her nails and waiting for them to dry, she turned on her playlist from her laptop and the first song that popped up was the theme song for her guilty pleasure. Her and Sophie had grown to love Mamma Mia and though she'd never admit it out loud, she loved the music. As the song started blasting through her speakers she stood up on her bed and acted out Meryl Streep as she mouthed the words. She thought nothing of the lyrics and she didn't care how ridiculous she looked, she was having the fun that she desperately needed in an empty house where she didn't have to worry about a thing.

Ha, or so she thought.

[Riley Coleson]

Riley was sorely aware over how much he had screwed up things with Layla. And he knew he had to a lot more than apologizing for her to even begin to forgive him. He hated how he always got so freaking defensive when he felt uncomfortable. He just had to run his stupid mouth. Again and again. And this time she hadn't even done anything to deserve it. They hadn't talked for a few days now. A few days. God. He was such a moron. He should gone right to her house and apologized for his behaviour, but instead he'd been staying away. Hiding like a coward.

With his head hanging down he was heading up the street Layla lived. He was fully prepared for a lot of screaming and probably another punch to the face. And he was just going to stand there and take it like a man. He wasn't going to throw a snarky remark, or insult her. He was going to apologize and that was that. Yeah right.

He stopped as he reached Layla's driveway and looked around. It didn't look like her parents were home. Which was good. Really good. The only light on was up in Layla's room. Riley had to be creative seeing as she'd probably just slam the door in his face and tell him to go die in a ditch. Though, he had to admit, the ditch sounded pretty tempting right now...

He managed to climb up onto the roof, ask him how and he'd tell you how much of a Spiderman he was, and how cool he was for doing something like that without trouble. But in reality he had to beg the old lady next door to lend him her ladder. He could still feel her old, wrinkly hands feel him up. But, that was a story for another time. Point still stood; He was on top of the roof. Riley crawled over to the window and peeked inside, and the sight that hit him was more than just hilarious. He knocked on the window with a wicked grin on his face and waited for the reaction...

[Layla Harlow]

Oh Layla was past the screaming, the insulting and the hitting. Far past it. He’d be lucky if she even bothered looking at him again. It wasn’t like he deserved it. If she got snarky with him, he got mad and yelled, if she was nice to him, he insulted her and if she just sat there cuddling and kissing him she got all of the above. She was so done with the back and forth crap from him. She wasn’t this girl that sat around waiting for him to treat her right so that she could justify her feelings for her. Nope, she was done. He was lucky she hadn’t told Sophie. Talking to Sophie had only made her realize that playing hard to get was her best bet and after the stunt he pulled, she was going to be next to impossible to get.

She danced around her room, having fun and not giving a damn about anything. Riley was all but gone from her mind. Who knew maybe if she went for a jock she’d actually find someone worth playing with a little longer. It wouldn’t be nearly as frustrating and it wouldn’t make her want to throw things. Sure, she kind of hated jocks in the way that they all were stupid and didn’t get half of her sarcasm, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t like she was settling down or anything. It was all in good fun. And if he thought he could waltz back into the picture and she’d automatically fall for him all over again, well he was just as dumb as she thought.

Just as she turned towards her window, she caught sight of him and he looked all wicked and sexy as usual. Nope, she wasn’t going to think that last part. He was an asshole that could fall off her roof as far as she was concerned. She kind of hoped he would. It wasn’t like he could pin his stupidity on her. It was his own damn fault for climbing up there to begin with. Which she kind of wondered how he could have and what he was thinking because if someone saw him, they’d report it back to her parents. Not that he cared. He probably was there to screw her life over more than he already had.

And she wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction of seeing how embarrassed she was that he saw her dancing to Mamma Mia. It would be different if he wasn’t such a jerk. But he was and she hated him. Giving him a little smirk and wave, she gave him the finger and mouthed ‘get bent’ before turning and flopping down on her bed, fully intent on ignoring his very presence. Hell, he didn’t know that her window was unlocked and she wasn’t going to give him any indicator that it was. In fact, she turned up the music louder to drown out the noise of him tapping and closed her eyes to keep from looking at him.

[Riley Coleson]

Her behaviour made him turn from wanting to apologize to jump in there and tell her to go screw herself in an instant. Hell. Even his smile dropped as quickly as it had come up. Ha glared at her and rolled his eyes at her childish behavior. ''Yeah, whatever!'', he yelled over the loud music and growled. ''Here I was, going to fucking apologize and you just had to be a freaking bitch about it!'', he kept yelling, not caring if all the neighbors heard him. Fuck it. He could do better than this. Heck, he could do a lot better than that freak. Why did she have to be so fucking stubborn? ''Whatever. I can do a lot better than your slutty ass!''

It wasn't like he meant any of the things he said, but she just got to him every fucking time, and he was getting sick of it. And he was just getting more and more pissed by the second at her behavior. He took a deep breath and crawled away from the window and sat down again. He put his head in his hands and shook it. ''God.. What the hell am I going to do?'' He could keep throwing insults at her, but it wasn't like it was going to make things any better. Hell, he had already made things worse just by opening his mouth. ''Fuck her...'', he mumbled to himself. He couldn't move. It was like his body was frozen in place. Right there, on top of this girl he felt like killing's roof. He felt like crying, he felt like hitting someone and he felt like barging in there and just embracing her. He let out a sigh. ''Crap...''

[Layla Harlow]

She could still hear his yelling over the music. Every word of it. And she knew all of her neighbors would, too. Good going Riley, come to apologize and instead you're just going to make things worse for her. She hated him more and more with each and every insult he through. Could he blame her for her actions? Was she not justified in being absolutely furious with him? It wasn't like she had been the one being all sweet and cute and then just bailing like every other time! No, she wasn't going to let him make her feel bad. She was just going to sit here and enjoy her music. And ignore the fact that his last statement brought tears to her eyes. It was no surprise that he would pull that card.

And that was the final straw, she wasn't the girl to sit back and take it, even if she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She wasn't going to let him say those things to her. She stomped over to the window and slid it open, leaving the screen up so that he couldn't just barge in without breaking it which would only cost him money. Layla didn't care anymore if her words upset him because everything he did upset her! Everything! There wasn't a moment that she was with him that she wasn't hurting.

And that was what she was remembering when she opened the window to yell at him, "You know what, fuck you! I'm so fuckin' sick and tired of your shit! If you want to go mindfuck someone else, get the hell off my fuckin' roof and do it! I can't take this anymore! I'm such a slut, I'm such a bitch, what about you, huh? Do you even realize how much of an asshole you are? How much I fucking hate you because of the way you treat me?" Layla said loud enough that she didn't care if the neighbors heard. They could all get bent too. "You probably do and just don't care. You're such a fucking good example for your sister, act like this and make her see that it's okay to treat a girl so poorly! She'll end up just like her mom if you keep that fucking shit up!"

Oh yeah, she knew she shouldn't have brought Kali up, but she was not holding back this time.

[Riley Coleson]

As she came outside and started throwing her insults right back at him, he just sat there and took it. It was all well deserved. Even he knew that much. He kept his head pressed against the palm of his hands and pressed his lips together. Don't fucking say anything. Keep you freaking mouth shut, Riley. But then he brought his sister into it. He lifted his head slowly, as if it was all happening in slow motion and turned to look at her. At first he had a expression of shock and confusion, but then his entire face hardened. His face was empty. Completely emotionless. Nothing but a hard, cold expression that showed absolutely nothing of what he was thinking. Not that he was thinking anything at all. His mind was blank. It felt like she had stuck her hand inside him and just ripped out his cold, beating heart.

He stood up without a word and walked to the edge of the roof where he had left the ladder without as much as looking at her again. How dared she bring his sister into this? She had nothing to with it, and he already regretted bringing her into Kalila's life. This time it was Layla who had crossed the line.

[Layla Harlow]

Shit. And there was the line all the way back there. She knew she fucked up just as bad as he did when she brought Kalila into this.

"Riley...I.." She didn't get to finish because just like that he stood up and was gone. Tears threatened to fill her eyes as he left again, but she pushed them back, shut the window and threw on a pair of flip-flops. She couldn't just let him get away again. She didn't hate him and she messed up. She wasn't like him, waiting days to make things right again, especially after something like that.

Layla ran out of her room, flew down the stairs and out her front door all in a matter of seconds. She half expected him to be long gone by the time she was outside, but she could see him walking in the direction of his house, the same direction he'd came in order to apologize. And what did she do? Hell she was just as bad as he was. She tried so hard to be the better person, only saying what was necessary, but this time she had overstepped the boundaries and she could feel it already starting to tear at her heart.

She had to run to catch up with him and she rounded so that she could end up right in front of him. Lay didn't care if he hit her, she deserved it. It had been a low blow and she wanted to make things right. She just hoped that he would hear her out. "Ri...I didn't mean it. You know I say stupid things, I crossed the line and I shouldn't have brought her into this. She's nothing like that woman...and I'm just sorry, okay?" Her heart was thudding painfully against her chest and she couldn't even look him in the eye. She didn't want to see his expression. She didn't want to see it coming when he smacked her.

[Riley Coleson]

He didn't even bother to look at her as she came running and ended up in front of him. He just stepped to the side and kept on walking. But as she tried apologizing he stopped. ''Oh, the irony. Isn't that what they always say?'' His voice didn't sound mad or upset, just cold. Cold as his expression had been back when she first brought it up. He didn't turn around, he didn't look at her, he just stood there. He shook his head and started walking again. At this point he didn't even care. Yeah, they were both to blame, he knew that. But how could she possibly understand? She didn't have a younger sister or brother. She could've made jokes and throw insults about his mother all she wanted, but the second she brought his sister into it, it became too personal.

And as if it wasn't enough with the fight, it started pouring down too. Not a few drops of water either, it was like someone poured the god damn ocean over them. They were both soaked in the matter of seconds, but hell. What did it matter anyways. Maybe she'd get sick and die, and he'd be rid of her and all these confusing feelings she always brought forth. Hell, it would be doing him a favor. ''Just go home, Layla. There's nothing for you out here.''

[Layla Harlow]

He kept walking, side-stepping her without any kind of hesitation. When he stopped, she found her heart stuttering a beat and she bit her lip. He was right, she knew he was right, but it still hurt because he didn't believe that she was sorry. It had taken one meeting of the little blonde girl for Layla to absolutely adore her. She couldn't love her more than Riley, she knew, but she still cared about the girl and how she was doing. And maybe it was because she didn't have any siblings at all that she wanted to be close to Kali. She wanted something to hold onto and the opportunity arose in Riley's little sister.

He continued walking and tears started falling down her cheeks. It didn't do much seeing as how at that moment the world decided it was going to make things that much worse. Lay couldn't catch a break. Neither of them could. Why did things have to be so painful and confusing? It didn't make sense! Love was supposed to make you happy and here it was tearing her apart over something she never should have said. His words kicked her when she was down and she just took a deep breath. Fine, if she had nothing for her out here and nothing in that house, what stopped her from ending it all?

Layla wasn't suicidal, but if that's what he wanted to say, he chose very poor words. He could keep walking down the road, but she wouldn't follow and she wouldn't go back to her house. She instead, being the stubborn bitch she was, sat down in the middle of one of the lanes, "Fine, have it your way," She said it just loud enough for him to hear her. It was a rather busy street when everyone was on their way home and it was raining. No one would see her until it was too late. Riley was about to get his wish, except she wouldn't just get sick, oh no, that was too long of a process. She was going to end this quickly.

Riley had underestimated her far too much. If this didn't kill her, Sophie would if she found out.

[Riley Coleson]

Riley looked over his shoulder to make sure she actually went inside. After all, he still cared about her, even as much as he wanted to kill her from time to time. But no, there she sat in the middle of a lane, being her stubborn self. ''Oh for crying out loud...'', he muttered and sighed. ''You're the most stubborn and annoying little...'', he said as he walked back to her, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her up. He didn't care if it hurt. He then hoisted her up over his shoulder. She could kick and scream all she wanted, but he wouldn't let her down before he got her back inside. ''It's freezing. Are you trying to get yourself killed?''

And as he reached the door, opened it and got inside, he didn't put her down. He walked straight upstairs, not caring if they were soaking the entire house. He opened every door he could see until he found the bathroom. He walked inside with Layla still hanging over his shoulder. He put her back down and pushed her over to the shower. ''What the hell were you thinking?'', he asked and walked into the shower and dragged her inside, holding her with a firm grip so she couldn't get away. He turned on the water and leaned against the shower wall.

He took a deep breath before finally looking at her face. It looked like she had been crying, but it was hard to tell. The only sign he had was that her eyes were red. But anything could have caused that, right? He pulled her in for a hug and wrapped his arms around her. She could push, bite and claw all she wanted. He wasn't moving. ''Why do you have to be so reckless?'', he whispered and rested his head on top of hers.

[Layla Harlow]

Layla just stared at him defiantly. If he was going to try to shut her out, she was going to pull that card. Unless Riley really wanted her to die, she knew he would come to her rescue. And just as she suspected, he came walking over all determined and pulled her up roughly. She didn’t pull away from him though because it was the most physical contact she’d had with him this entire time. It wasn’t until he tossed her over his shoulder that she started squirming, “Well what the hell did you expect me to do Ri? It wasn’t like you were stopping and listening to anything I said.” She felt totally warranted for the way that she acted.

He opened the door to her house and didn’t put her down there, so she continued squirming. “I’m capable of walking on my own thank you,” She muttered. Granted she had brought this on herself. She huffed and rested her chin in her hand as her elbow rested on his shoulder. He walked her all the way up to the bathroom just outside of her room and finally set her down, nudging her towards the shower. She crossed her arms and he dragged her inside without any fight from her. The cold was starting to get to her in her flimsy clothing and she started shaking very lightly. He had a firm grip on her and she tried yanking away from him, “Does it matter?” She was still pretty irked about the whole situation. He turned the water on and it poured down on her seeing as how she was the one standing under the faucet.

Layla just continued to stare at him, he hadn’t looked at her this whole time and when he finally did, she hoped that it hadn’t shown that she was crying. Her whole body continued to tremble. Before she knew it she was being pulled into him and he wrapped his arms around her. Lay wanted to hit him and scream at him more, but she didn’t have it in her. She was too cold and she had said enough before all of this had happened. His whispered question caused her to frown, “Because if I wasn’t you’d never come back for me…” She hadn’t meant for it to be meaningful or sweet, it was the truth. Her reckless attitude brought him back to her every single time.

[Riley Coleson]

''Says the one who didn't even give me the chance to say anything before showing up her middle finger and turning up the volume.'', he replied coldly. He didn't care if she wanted to walk or her own or if she was squirming. She could squirm all she wanted, but she was stuck up there.

He let out a sigh and shook his head, still not letting her go. ''Damnit, Layla.'', was all he managed to say. He was tired. Tired of the constant fighthing and yelling. Would there ever be an end to it? Probably not. They were both so incredible stubborn and hotheaded. Their best option would be staying away from eachother, and that was starting to become painfully clear to him. He leaned his head back against the wall and sighed, still keeping his eyes closed. ''You and I both know that we can't keep this up for forever.'', he whispered. She could get mad all she wanted but it was still the hard facts. ''What if I'm not there the next time you decide to be reckless? You can't keep expecting me to come running and save your ass every single time you do something stupid.'' He took a deep breath and slowly let it back out. He didn't want to end things, but he didn't really know what else to do. They couldn't keep hurting eachother like this.

[Layla Harlow]

She didn’t care if she was being stubborn or hotheaded. She just wanted him. Was it too much to ask for that? She hated the fighting and arguing, but if it meant seeing him and being with him, no matter what she would pick that over the other option. He could push her away every single time, he could put up the cold front, she didn’t care because she would always go back to him. Sophie had made it clear to her that even if she didn’t want to put up with his shit, she loved him and all of this fighting was passion. Passion was a good thing. It was healthy. It heightened feelings and made them act impulsively, but that was the best part. They always ended up giving into each other when it was all said and done.

She wasn’t going to give that up and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him either.

“Don’t tell me what I do and don’t know. I know what you’re trying to do and I’m not going through with it,” She said not bitingly or snarky, but in a level tone. Layla had thought good and hard about their situation and she knew that she didn’t want anything else. She’d rather keep at this forever than go a day without him. She could handle the pain. She was used to the pain. Losing him meant losing that person that challenged her and made her confront what she felt. Losing him meant losing that person that understood what it was like being so screwed up because of your parents. And lastly…losing him meant losing that feeling of acceptance. It wasn’t the same coming from Sophie.

Layla shook her head, “I’m not always reckless. Maybe if you didn’t push me away I wouldn’t have to do so many reckless things to get your attention. Don’t you get it Ri? I’m dying for you to notice me and when you finally do, something clicks in your mind and you push me away again. Do you know what it’s like being jerked around like that?” She could feel the tears filling her eyes again and she wanted to hit something because of her own weakness. She couldn’t even talk about this without wanting to cry because she was so sure he was going to disappear on her when he left this time.

She bit down on her trembling lip and wrapped her arms around herself, still chilled to the bone. Lay let out a wince when she accidentally scraped her nail across the tattoo on her ribs. She didn’t care. This pain was easier to handle than what was about to come. She just waited again for him to snap at her and leave for good. He’d said what if he wasn’t there next time…maybe he was implying that he was done for good….

[Riley Coleson]

He just stood there with his head leaned against the wall and with his eyes shut. No expression showing on his face and no word escaping his lips. He just stood like that through her entire speech. Not quite sure what to make of it all. She was well aware of the fact that he was trying to end it all. It wasn't that he wanted it, he just couldn't stand watching her being this reckless. One day she'd end up hurting herself, and it would be because of him. How did she expect him to ever live with something like that? And yes, she did have a point, it was because of him she was being reckless, but it was also because of her that he drove her to being so.

And it was when she started crying again he couldn't take it anymore. Once again he pulled her in all the while feeling his body slowly drop to the ground. But he didn't care. And it didn't take him long before the tears started welling up in his own eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and pulled her in for a kiss. It wasn't your typical romantic and sweet kiss. It was filled with desperation and longing. Maybe even forceful. He could feel the taste of salt on his lips. And on hers. With trembling hands and tears streaming down his face he pulled away from the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. ''I promised you I'd never leave and that I'd stay as long as you need me.'' His voice was shaking, and all the coldness from before was gone. He was scared. Scared of losing her, scared of hurting her. The two options kept swirling inside his head, gnawing at eachother.

He wrapped his arms tigher around her freezing body and dug his face in her neck. ''I love you. Don't you get that?'', he pressed through the sobs that was escaping his lips. He didn't care if it was too early, or if it made him sound stupid. He really didn't care if he came off as vulnerable. And that was what was making it all so hard. Love.

[Layla Harlow]

Eventually she just couldn’t take it. Tears poured down her face along with the water and she just wanted to run. She was soaking wet, a total mess and in all of this she felt alone. Riley did nothing, said nothing, he just stood there, eyes closed and face expressionless. It was like nothing was getting through to him. Didn’t he realize that all of this was causing her to do dumb things? He wanted her to stop being reckless, yet he was planning on leaving her after he promised otherwise? If he was so worried about her doing something that would harm herself, he’d know better than to try and break things off. If he broke things off, what did he expect her to do in reaction? She was reckless when she was upset. With her parents she always just dyed her hair or got a tattoo, or piercing to piss them off. That was her recklessness, but with him it was all different.

It seemed like when her tears came more forcefully was when he finally made any movement. He reached out for her, pulling her close as they both slipped to the floor of the shower. It was warmer now, the steam from the water building up around them. She just held tightly to him, refusing to let go because she was afraid that if she did, he would finally take his opportunity to leave. He pulled back enough to cup her face and he kissed her. It wasn’t like the other kisses she’d shared with him, they both clung to each other in desperation. Layla couldn’t handle losing him, she couldn’t bear the thought of it. She could feel his hands trembling and she reached up to take them in hers as their foreheads touched. His words reflected what she had been thinking moments ago and she felt herself shaking with each racking sob. She’d never cried this hard over anything with her parents. Not since it all started going downhill. Lay just nodded at his statement. She just wanted him to keep his promise.

She dropped his hands as he wrapped his arms around her again. This time hers went up around his neck and she tightened her own grip on him. Her hands were placed on the back of his neck and in his hair as his face buried in the side of her neck. His words caused her to squeeze her eyes shut and she was hoping that this wouldn’t all just be some nightmare she would wake up from. Layla nodded against his shoulder, the tears still flowing down without any intent of stopping. “I-I love you too, Riley,” She whispered against his shoulder, “please don’t leave me…I’m sorry for everything just please don’t go.” Her whole body was still trembling whether it was from the cold or the crying, she didn’t know.