"I know. I just feel so weird," I said. "I don't think I wanna be with him anymore."
"Really?" Noah asked. "That was practically the only thing you wanted a few years ago."
"I know." I dragged my hand through my air. "God, Noah what am I gonna do? I feel so weird around Landon and even the therapist can't figure out why."
"This is big," Noah admitted. "Hey, how about when I get back, we'll talk about it, okay?"
"Yeah, okay." I said. "I need some time to think on my own."
"Okay. I'll tell Alison you said hi, alright?" Noah asked.
I smiled and nodded. He left and I went to my room and onto my computer. I bit my lip when I saw Landon online. Alison was on as well. I raised an eyebrow before opening a chat window with her.
LoveUhateU says: Shouldn't you be getting ready? You know my brother is gonna be there in like four minutes.
FinallyHome says: Really? Did he just leave or something?
LoveUhateU says: Yeah, like thirty seconds ago.
Ali_Kat says: Okay then. I'll sign off and wait for him. I'm done anyway, and was just checking e-mails.
LoveUhateU says: Alright. Have fun.
Ali_Kat says: Will do.
Ali_Kat has logged off.
I sighed and closed the window. I went through all my songs for what seemed like the twelfth time, but still couldn't find anything for the finale. I looked at the list of people online before signing off and going downstairs.
"Mom, this sucks!" I complained. Mom looked up from the crossword that she was doing.
"What sucks?" she asked.
"I can't figure out a damn song," I admitted, sitting down next to her. "I looked through everything I have. I can't even think of one to write. Even if I did, I'd never be able to get it perfected by the show."
"Why not use one of Dad's songs?" Mom asked.
"Could I?" I asked.
"Sure. How about we look through the file and see what there is."
We went over to my parents' computer and looked through the long list of songs. It seemed like half the songs were songs that Dad had written for me, or about me and Noah. I was so close to giving up, when one of the titles popped out at me. "Hold on, that one!"
"That one?" Mom asked, opening up the document. I skimmed through it then smiled as I remembered it.
"That one," I repeated, firmly.
CHAPTER FOURTY-NINE
"RILEY, ARE YOU sure about this?" Mom asked.
"Absolutely," I said, twisting my hair around my finger as I stared at my reflection.
"But, honey, you still aren't feeling that well."
"I have to do this, Mom."
Sighing, Mom finally agreed and helped me get ready.
"How are you feeling, baby doll?" Lorne asked later, as I walked backstage.
"I'm fine," I said.
"Landon's over on the other side," Lorne said, nodding to the other side of the stage. I just nodded back and went to change into my first costume.
The show went awfully well, except for one thing. In all truth and honesty, Landon and I should have kissed at least a dozen times by now, but we hadn't. We barely touched each other, which messed up a few scenes. I had practically avoided him since being out of the hospital. I was being stupid-everyone thought so. I felt the only way to get over this odd fear was to face it head on and if this song didn't do that, then I didn't know what would.
This was it now. Landon and I stood in the middle of the stage, saying and doing nothing. He sighed and with that, not only did his character seem to make a decision, but so did he. Oh God, please let this work!
"Harrison!" I yelled at his character, stopping him before he got off the stage. "Will you just..."
"There's nothing to say, Yannie," Landon said to my character. "You can't expect things to be the same-not after what you did."
"Please," I said. "You can't just turn your back on this-on us."
"Isn't that what you just did?" Landon asked. I glanced over to see the teacher looking confused. He wasn't talking to Yannie, now-he was talking to me.
"No, it isn't," I said. "God, it's taken me so long to figure this out, and if this doesn't prove things, then I don't know what will." That was the cue.
I walked over to Landon and grabbed hold of his hand. I began singing with all my might a beautiful rendition of a song that Dad wrote for Mom. I held his hands in both of mine, keeping my eyes locked on his.
Honey why are you crying
In the phone?
I can't talk right now,
I'm not alone
I love hearing your voice
It's music to my ears.
I'm gonna steal you away
So wipe away those tears.
It's time to move on now,
So move on now,
With me.
Something in Landon's face softened as he turned completely to me, instead of facing the audience. His free hand reached up and cupped my cheek before he leaned down and kissed me.
"I'm sorry," we both said at the same time.
Then the audience started roaring and we looked over to see them all standing. I laughed a bit and Landon just smiled before pulling me off the stage, where he proceeded to kiss me again.
"Wow, Rye, that was awesome! You never told us you were using your mom's old song," Bridgette said, bounding over with everyone else. Landon and I looked at them. "Oops, are we interrupting?" We shook our heads. "Good," Bridgette said, throwing her arms around us. This time Landon laughed as he hugged both me and my cousin.
Later, as the two of us sat on the porch swing in my backyard, my feet were on his lap and both of us were staring at the stars.
"How many stars do you think there are?" I asked.
"Haha, I don't know," Landon said, laughing. "You know there are too many to count."
"How about a rough estimate?" I asked.
"Five billion, eighty-three million, seventy-six thousand, nine hundred and five," Landon replied. I laughed so hard I was in danger of falling off the swing.
Landon grabbed my hand and pulled me over on top of him. I stared down at him for a whole three seconds before leaning down and kissing him.
CHAPTER FIFTY
ELEVENTH GRADE FINISHED shortly after our play, Freedom, and then we were in our final year. Landon and I had at least one fight a month about some odd things. I don't think there has been a month since I've known him that I haven't fought with him. We always made up after a week, anyway.
We exchanged gifts before Christmas because our group was going to the Bahamas-my whole family, plus Alice and Faith's family-because we got booked to do a Christmas show on Christmas Eve. After that week, I barely spent time with my friends because I was rushing around for college admissions stuff. I already had a place at an arts school if I wanted, so I took a look into that and signed up for a few classes.
"God, this year went by way too fast!" I said, leaning against Landon as we sat in the hot tub at his house. Annette, his mom, was doing really well, even after the divorce. She was on the better end of the whole thing and received a very fair settlement, child support and even spousal support.
"No kidding. Didn't we just start?" Landon asked, running his hand up and down my arm.
"Or sure, it went fast for you two," Bridgette added. "It went by like a snail for me."
"We have only two months left of high school and then there's the summer and then we go off to college," I said.
"Yeah, who would have known that the school my dad went to is the same one I ended up choosing?" Bridgette said. I laughed.
"What about you two?" I asked, looking at Faith and Alice.
"We applied to a few places," Faith said.
"You'll still see us," Alice assured me. "Don't worry, Riley. I mean-hey, we're getting famous. We have to see each other at least twice a week." I smiled at her.
"Well, at least try for in the same state, alright?" I suggested. "It'll be a bitch of a drive or flight otherwise. We need to keep doing concerts to
be able to record soon, as Mr. Holzman promised us. Let's not let him down!"
"We do have a bus!" Faith said.
"Yeah, but I don't think we can just use that to visit each other," I said. I tried to stay light hearted about our group, but I was beginning to realize that Faith and Alice weren't as serious about our musical career as Bridgette and I were. It was entirely possible that we might soon need to replace them with girls who were more ambitious about stardom and perhaps even more talented.
"Hey, what about you Landon? You haven't said anything," Bridgette observed. I looked over my shoulder at my boyfriend.
"I'm not really too concerned about it right now. It's not my career, so I'll stay out of this discussion. As long as Riley and I can continue to see each other every week, I'm happy."
When I got home the next day, it was to find Noah carrying stuff out of the house. He and Alison had gotten really close, so they decided to go for the next step, which was to live together. I didn't really think it would happen so fast, until I came across Noah packing.
"Hey, need any help?" I asked.
"No thanks, squirt. I'm good," Noah said, throwing things into the back of his new car. Dad and Uncle Andy had bought him his very own BMW, since the other one had broken down for the last time. Noah had been ecstatic, until he saw the car that I got. It was mostly from the record company, but apparently our parents had been the ones to pick it out.
"Hey, Riley!" Alison greeted me, carrying more stuff out of the house.
"Hey, Alison, I'm guessing you guys have finished moving your stuff?"
"Yep, now we're doing Noah's," Alison said. "Your dad borrowed one of his friends' pickup trucks and took one of the futons. The other one is staying here in case I kick Noah out."
"Ha ha, very funny," Noah said. "Who has the keys right now?"
"Hmm," Alison said. She put the box into the trunk, and then kissed my brother. It lasted a few seconds, before she stepped back and dangled his keychain in front of his face. "I do."
"You little...!" Noah shouted.
"I'm going inside now," I said, hurrying inside to avoid their flirting little argument. Mom was helping with the move, too, and I assisted her with some heavy boxes. It was amazing how it took me getting kidnapped for her to finally loosen up a bit. A year ago she would have argued against Noah moving out, or me going off to a college that was over an hour away. My parents were weird now, though.
Also, we had moved last summer. It was not really too far away, but it wasn't close to any of my friends like it used to be. Before, I could easily walk to any of their houses and be there in less than ten minutes. Now it would take about half an hour, if I were to walk.
Mom left after an hour, following Noah and Alison to their new apartment. I went to my room and got on the computer. Bridgette and I planned on getting our own apartment near the campus, but we still had to find one we both liked. We had to be moved in and settled before September. There was so much to do within the next four months.
College was becoming a huge strain and it hadn't even started yet!
EPILOGUE
"IT'S SIMPLY AMAZING. Four years ago, most of us were nervous fourteen or fifteen year olds as we stepped into Kennewa High School," I said. Yeah, that's right-I was chosen valedictorian. Shocking huh? I used to be a loser until I became somewhat famous. "But now, on our last day here, we've all grown up to become nervous once more, as we have to leave a now-familiar environment, and head out into the real world. I think I speak for everyone when I say there have been many good memories, and there have been some memories you'd much rather forget, but your friends won't let you."
I turned my eyes over to my friends, who all refused to look at me with smiles on their faces. "But just remember that anything can happen. We've all overcome insurmountable odds, in one way or another. I, like the majority of you, will never forget this school or the confidence that my fellow classmates and teachers have given me."
I smiled as everyone clapped. The principal stepped up onto the stage, but of course, I couldn't just hand things over without being myself so...
Bridgette, Alice and Faith ran onto the stage and Lorne pulled the curtain back to reveal the instruments. The crowd clapped louder and cheered. I laughed and took off the grad gown, revealing a pair of low rider jeans and a red tank top, as well as some biker boots. Then I pulled the microphone from the stand, as Nathan dragged it away. The girls started playing and I started singing one of The Valentina's latest hits.
The auditorium exploded with cheers.
"Ok sir, you can have the microphone now!" I said, innocently holding the microphone out for the principal.
After the graduation ceremony, we talked about the acceptances we received from the colleges we applied to.
"I got accepted to that school in North Carolina," Landon said.
"You applied to a school in North Carolina?" Bridgette asked, incredulously.
"I never expected to get in," Landon ruefully admitted.
"Oh," I said, flatly. Really, what else was there to say? All of us were going to a school in New York and Landon was going to school roughly five states south. How the hell was I supposed to feel about this? "We should probably get going to that party."
"Yeah," Faith said.
We got to the party and the girls had fun dancing around, but Landon and I just sat through most of it. We were right next to each other, but we could have been in different countries due to how distantly we behaved.
"Okay, everyone, this is our last slow dance of the night. Get your boyfriend or girlfriend and dance," the DJ announced.
"Look, Riley," Landon said. I looked over at him. "We shouldn't be like this the whole night. Let's dance and pretend that the college thing didn't happen, if only for the duration of the song."
"Alright," I reluctantly said. We stood up and went over to everyone else who was dancing. I was crying now. Landon ran his fingers across my cheek, brushing the tears away, then leaned down and kissed me softly.
We stood there, our foreheads touching, me with tears still running down my cheeks. And then he just had to say it.
"I love you, Riley," Landon said, quietly enough for only me to hear. And I hated myself because I couldn't say it back.
Landon left a week later to get moved into his new place. Paul had gotten accepted to the same school, so the two banded together. I was glad that at least they had someone they knew in a place completely unfamiliar to them. Even though I was going to the same school as my three best friends and living with them as well-we had opted for a house since finding out that Alice and Faith were going as well.
I was there when Landon and Paul left. I stood back while everyone else said goodbye and then, when it came down to it, Landon and I just hugged each other.
The girls and I left shortly after that. I was the only one with a car, since the other three hadn't passed their final tests. I had the road to concentrate on instead of my thoughts, which I was thankful for. We had all four sets of parents following behind us, as well as a big moving truck. The girls took my silence as concentration, so they didn't notice when I wasn't joining into their conversations.
It was a good thing we started so early, because it took us the whole day to unpack and set things up. Halfway through, Noah and Alison showed up and I couldn't help but notice something was different about them. Nathan and Lorne showed up shortly afterwards. They had moved as well to a spot relatively closer to the girls and me.
Everyone left as night fell and then it was just us four girls. Bridgette went to bed first, exhausted from the whole day. Alice went next, leaving Faith and me sitting in the living room and watching TV.
"Wow," Faith said. I grinned at her. "Our own place. I know we were always talking about it, but wow-it finally happened!"
"Yeah, and its way better than what we thought," I added.
"Well, maybe what you thought," Faith said. "I was hoping for a mansion, remember?" I laughed and nodded. Faith yawned and stretche
d. "I'm gonna join the other girls in dream world. Night, Riley."
"Night," I answered back. I looked around our new abode. Today there had been many ups and downs. One of the deepest downs was that I hadn't gotten a call from Landon like I had expected. It didn't overly surprise me, though. This sort of thing was something I was used to. I stood up and looked at all the pictures we had put up on one of our walls. It was our very own memory wall. There were pictures of us from early childhood straight to graduation day. I ran my fingers over the one from last Halloween. We had all been vampires and Landon was pretending to bite my neck.
What was going to happen now? Would I ever see him again, or would we just gradually forget about each other and move on with our lives? The future was so confusing. Every time I thought about it now, Landon was nowhere in sight.
END OF BOOK TWO
BOOK THREE - TO LOVE ONCE AGAIN IS TO LOVE AGAIN
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
OKAY, LETS GET this party going! Riley Pratt shouted into the microphone. I'm sure my brother will love this one.
The Valentinas began playing one of their dirtier songs on the stage in front of the gathering wedding crowd.
Riley! Noah, her brother, shouted. The girls stopped playing and stood there laughing.
Just joking, bro, Riley teased. How about something romantic then?
Noah shrugged his shoulders and gave her the thumbs up. Riley nodded at Bridgette, Faith, and Alice then they started up. Riley smiled as she watched her brother and new sister-in-law, Alison, dance with stars in their eyes. She looked around at the crowd and waved quickly at her proud parents. The Valentinas, Rileys band, hadnt worked a wedding since she was sixteen sincethey were signed with Knightsbridge Records and on the edge of global famebut she was willing to make an exception for Noah and Alisons wedding.
She was so glad that her group still had Lorne as a manager. Once he heard about Noah and Alison getting married, he moved events around to make sure the girls were able to attend the wedding.
If I Never Knew You Trilogy Bundle Page 24
