Nothing But The Truth (Riley)

[Jack Reid]

Jack stood in the field behind the Reid family's house, looking out over the wide expanse and wondering where everything had gone wrong the year before. He was about to start his final year as a Hogwarts student, and things during his sixth year had been excellent, even perfect to a point. His time with Juliet was in his distant past, and Riley had been the focus of his attention for the greater part of the year. Ever since that day in the courtyard, he hadn't been able to keep his mind off of her, and when the misunderstanding happened at the end of the year, he had been more crushed than he could ever remember. It had even led to him to keep to himself and become more of a recluse than he ever had been. Jack had spent the entire summer trying to get a hold of Riley to explain that what had happened wasn't him, and wasn't his fault. It wasn't an excuse either. He intended on telling her the truth. What she didn't know was that day, the day she broke up with him, was the day he was going to get down on one knee and ask her to be his wife. It was really early for both of them, but he had the money to be able to provide for them, and he intended on not letting her get away, especially when his love was this deep.

But to his surprise, in the room he had been awaiting Riley, the Daughters showed up first and it seemed they wanted to ruin what he had. They began to hit on him and rub up against his hands and arms. Pushing specifically Erica away, he tried to get up, explaining that he didn't want any part of what they were trying to do. Instead, Erica clamped her hand down on his arm and planted a huge kiss on his lips, and Jack had no choice but to pull his wand out, threatening her to leave him alone or else she'd regret it. Before he could push the other two off him, Riley had walked in, aghast. She punched him, harder than she ever had, and ran out of the room, the girls running after her. Before she left, Erica whispered to him, "Good luck trying to win her back. You're done." He hadn't heard from her since, and the entire summer flew by. He wrote her at least 10 owls trying to explain himself and apologize, trying to give her the truth. But it was likely that she wouldn't have even opened a single one of the letters, due to the lies the Daughters were undoubtedly telling her. Angry at them, he began to just shoot off beams of raw energy out of his wand, clearing the field of wheat and grass, dirt flying everywhere. "Damn it all!" he screamed, knowing no one would hear him out in the field. There wasn't anything this would do to help him, so he apparated back to the house, grabbed the only bag he needed, and apparated to the train station nearby.

Jack couldn't even face his father to say goodbye. Not like Jackson even cared where he went. He knew Jack would get to school on time. It was the day to head back to the school, to begin Year 7. Appearing at the train station, his cloak blew up behind him and he eyed the train cars in front of him. Grabbing the side bar, he jumped onto the train, found a seat nearby and put his bag away. He happened to glance to the back of the car and saw who he thought was Veronica, one of the Daughters, moving back to one of the previous cars. Maybe this was his chance to finally talk to Riley and convince her of the truth. Walking slowly between seats, he made sure Veronica didn't see him. Not too long after, she slipped into one of the side cars. Likely Riley was with her. He walked up to the same car she had walked into, and saw a silhouette, with a full head of blonde hair. Riley, finally, he thought to himself. He took a breath, and pushed the car door open.

He stood in the door seeing that it was indeed Riley, along with Mia and Veronica. Riley was on the left side, to herself, while Mia and Veronica were clamored over some sort of magazine, likely some muggle publication. They both looked up, and so did Riley. "Hi." was all he could muster. Riley continued to look at him, probably not expecting his sudden appearance. "Girls, could you leave us be for a bit? I'd like to talk to Riley alone." He hoped they would get the hell out of there so he could try and prove to Riley how much he cared for her and how it was all a mistake. He awaited the girls' response.

[Riley Coxen G7]

Empty.

Riley couldn’t describe the sinking, empty feeling she felt inside of her throughout the entire summer, but she knew it was there and she knew it was crushing her inside with everyday that passed. Of course, Riley knew exactly why she felt this emptiness that haunted her inside, but she refused to admit it to herself. She didn’t want to admit she missed Jack. And she would never utter a word about him, even if that emptiness was crushing her beyond recognition. Ever since she caught Jack cheating, she didn’t speak a word or shed a tear about it. It just wasn’t like Riley to brake down over another person, especially over some guy. Of course, a few months ago, Jack was pretty much Riley’s entire reason for being…but things were different now. Riley was single and other than her friends, she was alone. The thought sent chills down her spine. Riley Coxen was no longer a “we”, but a “me”. She shook the thought from her head as she boarded the train with Mia. Veronica would meet up with them in a minute. She had to see some Slytherin boy who had a certain “package” to give her. Riley sighed quietly to herself as she dragged her trunk along the narrow corridor.

She didn’t want to think about the hurt that Jack left her with, but the thoughts plagued her on a daily basis. He was always on her mind, and that scared her to death. She didn’t want to miss him so much after he’d so cruelly betrayed her. Just a few months ago, Riley laughed at the hormonal teenagers who sobbed for days because their boyfriends dumped them or didn’t like them anymore. But now Riley was one of those girls. She hated Jack for turning her into this person. Riley hid her inner anger with a sweet smile as people greeted her as she passed through the corridor with Mia. Riley barely remembered half of those people who seemed to know her so well, but after Mia’s little remark about being “shocked” how much people remembered even when drunk, Riley just figured they’d all been people she’d met at one of the many parties she went to over the summer. “You know Riley, as soon as Veronica gets the stuff we need for tonight, I think we’ll have a blast on our first day back. It’ll be so different without Erica and Christy, but maybe we’ll find some good new meat this year. I mean, I don’t think any newbie can top the impact you made on the Daughters last year, but there’s gotta be some little Gryffies who are willing to try. It’s nice to be the top of the school for a change. Of course, Veronica is probably going to try and take Erica’s old role as the lead daughter, but I think you should take it. I mean, you were Erica’s best friend last year. You even managed to separate Erica and Christy a bit. And that’s a challenge in itself.” Mia said with a bit of a smirk. It seemed Riley wasn’t the only one who wasn’t all too taken with Christy’s bitter and possessive attitude.

Riley smiled at Mia, who was suffering from what she described as “one of the worst hangovers of her life”. No one would know it though, thanks to Mia’s amazing makeup skills and charming attitude no matter what the circumstance. She couldn’t particularly remember Erica’s secret hangover-be-gone potion remedy, so her skill and ability to fool people would just have to do. “You’re too kind Mia, but you and Veronica have been Daughters for much longer than I have. One of you should take over Erica’s old title here at Hogwarts. It doesn’t matter to me either way.” Riley said with a slight shrug, not really showing much interest. She never really seemed too interested in much of anything these days unless it involved going out and getting as messed up as she possibly could in order to forget any of those empty feelings she had for Jack. Sure these habits were unhealthy, but she was used to it. Over the summer, Riley was very unfortunate to say that she had picked up smoking, drinking, and certain light drugs. She couldn’t help herself really. It was a lifestyle she’d been groomed to get used to. The nightlife of England had become like Riley’s second home, and it was all thanks to the friends she was almost constantly surrounding herself with.

Riley took a seat in the compartment Mia selected and seated herself in the corner, near the window. Veronica soon joined them, holding a stuffed purse and an even more stuffed school trunk. She removed a collection of about five magazines from her oversized purse and Mia pounced at them. “Riles, you want one? The fashion advice is supposed to be pretty amazing”. Mia suggested, handing Riley a magazine. Riley sighed. Those things had never really been able to properly hold her interest. She shook her head. “No thanks. I have a notebook and a quill.” She said simply. Just as she started to write her latest journal entry, the compartment door slid open. Riley just stared at him blankly, completely unsure of what to say. How dare he waltz in here after what he did to her and expect her friends to just walk out and give him space? That wasn’t going to happen. Riley snarled, her fists clenching. She wouldn’t hesitate to punch him again. “Say what you want. But they’re not going anywhere.” Riley told him with a voice that was dipped in pure hostility.

[Jack Reid]

Jack stood in the doorway, unsure at first what to do. Riley was acting hostile, kind of like when she had punched him (hard) that fateful day earlier that year. She had refused to let the girls leave. Whatever he had to say was going to be for all ears in the car, not just Riley. He took a deep breath, and suddenly his mind went to that day. He looked over at Mia and Veronica, as they were searching his eyes, probably wishing he would just leave and forget about Riley. But that wasn't happening. He decided right then and there that he would have to be ruthless with his words to convince her of the truth.

"Your friends here aren't what you think they are." He began with the absolute truth. "I didn't want to do this in front of them, but it looks like I'll have to, to convince you." He sat down next to her, and immediately he could feel the hostility. She wasn't happy with him, and for all she knew, she had every right to be angry. But soon she would understand, at least that's what he hoped. "Riley," he said, looking solely at her, as if she was the only girl in the car, "I would never cheat on you. The girls are the ones who cheated, if I do say so myself. When you walked in, they were all over me. Erica had just kissed me, trying to get me to fall for her. They're jealous of what you have Riley. Or maybe, what you threw away. They wanted me for themselves." He thought about stopping, but he was trying to make a point, so he continued. "Ever since they dared you to go into the courtyard and make conversation with me, they've been trying to get what they want. They sent you out so they could make a fool of you, and when you turned it around and proved them wrong, they saw what they had missed out on, and they were biding their time until they could have me for themselves."

Jack looked over at Mia and Veronica, expecting shocked looks and gasps, which of course was what they were doing. Looking back at Riley, he continued. "See, they're acting like they have no idea what I'm talking about, but the three of them, they came onto me. I had to use magic to get Erica off me, and I wouldn't have stopped there. But you walked in and it was over. Didn't you get any of my letters this summer? I explained everything several times." He didn't dare take Riley's hand, even though he wanted to badly. "Who are you going to believe? Someone who has had you on his mind every single moment of every day, or the ones that pose as your friends?" Jack looked deep into Riley's eyes, knowing she had a lot to think about, but he hoped she would make the right decision.

[Riley Coxen G7]

Jack Reid really did have some damn nerve. Riley had always wondered when she’d see the true Slytherin side of him, but now she definitely saw it. He was so full of himself! Could he even hear the big-headed foolishness that was coming out of his mouth right now?! Riley got the urge to punch him just hearing him speak. She was so angry at him for hurting her. And then to top it all off, he was honestly going to try and tell her that her best friends, those who had been there for her when no one else had were trying to steal Jack for themselves? Riley gritted her teeth as her fists clenched. Veronica and Mia’s smirks were obvious on their face. They couldn’t wait to see Riley burst in front of Jack for his hurtful words. “Biding their time to have you for themselves? Jack, do you even hear yourself right now? You sound like such a frustrating, conceited, arrogant Slytherin.” Riley scowled. She couldn’t comprehend how someone she was so remarkably in love with just a few months ago could turn into such a terrible lying, cheating, and frustrating fraud. Jack really did trick her.

“I can’t believe you’re really trying to pull this crap on me. Do you honestly think that coming in here after you completely betrayed my trust, insulting my friends and making up all of these horrible lies is a good way to win me back? Well I don’t work like that Jack. The world was not made to revolve around your presence, your highness. My friends wouldn’t stoop so low as to try and steal you from me, I don’t know why I even bothered. You know, I really thought you were better than this Jack. All those sweet things you used to say to me, all of it was a load of crap in the end wasn’t it? Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if all of it was just some stupid charade to get me in bed with you. The least you could do is own up to what you did. I saw everything with my own eyes Jack, so don’t you dare try and fool me with all this innocent crap. I’m not buying a word of it.” She said stubbornly, standing up to glare at Jack in the eye. Mia and Veronica sat behind her, flanking her like a pack of scowling wolves. Jack really did have a lot of nerve. She had to at least give him that credit.

Riley frowned again, remembering the letters. Jack must have sent her a thousand letters over the summer, but she hadn’t bothered to open one of them. It was like she wanted to stay angry with Jack. She didn’t want to let him back in so he could hurt her like that again. Of course, Riley knew that once she opened one of Jack’s letters, she’d accept him back again, and she couldn’t let that happen. Being back with Jack would open up far too many doors she was only barely beginning to close. She couldn’t, no she wouldn’t let that happen. Of course she missed him. But she just had to learn to live without him. She had her friends and she kind of had her family to keep her company, so what the hell did she need stupid Jack Reid for? “Yes I got your letters. But it doesn’t matter. I know it’s all lies anyway. You can’t fool me as easily as you think, I hope you know. I may have been dumb enough to believe the empty words you spoke to me before, but I know better now then to buy into all your junk. I’m done with it.” She said with a stern voice that was on the borderline of tears.