I looked up and saw Paully at my door, an apologetic look on his face. I guess I was so loud he felt he should check up on me. "I'm fine," I lied, wiping whatever tears were left on face. "No you're not. And I'm guessing Ryan is a boy from back home," he said, sitting at the edge of my bed. Yup, he definitely heard me. "Yeah. He's in the past now, though," I clarified, and I meant every word of it. "Good." A few silent moments passed between us, and I watched as Paully started to look at the things I had around my room. "Woah, all these trophies are for first place!" he exclaimed, surprised when he saw my shelf full of swimming trophies and medals. "Yeah. I'm pretty good," I bragged, thinking of all the memories I made. "Nice," he nodded, looking at more of them. "You know, I saw a sign saying they were looking for lifeguards at the gym further in town. You should apply." "Really?!" I practically screamed from interest. "Where?!" Paully turned around and looked at me with a goofy grin, probably because I was acting like an emotional roller coaster; one minute I was shouting, the next I was crying, and now I was screaming with excitement. "It's some gym a few blocks away from the mall," he informed me, turning back to my display of awards. "Oh, I am definitely applying!" I said, my heart lifting at the thought of being even more like her. Paully stayed a little longer to make sure I was alright, and I finished the rest of my ice cream, loving all the attention I was finally getting. Don't worry, I'm not an attention-seeker; but since I rarely got it from the people that mattered, moments like these were everything. "So, did you get it?!" Riley asked, perking up when he saw me run out of the gym. At school the next day, I told him about my plans to apply as a lifeguard and he insisted on coming with me. "They couldn't wait to hire me!" I screamed with glee, running over to him. "Of course they couldn't," he laughed, pulling me into a congratulatory hug. "I had to do a couple of swimming tests and exercises to prove I could handle it, which I aced, but that's why my hair is wet," I said, pointing to my wet, raven waves. "I figured that happened, but that's great that you did so well," Riley smiled. "Thanks. You should have seen their faces when they saw my list of accolades. They made a sign-up sheet right then and there for swimming lessons that I'm going to be teaching," I boasted, grinning so hard my face started to hurt. "Careful, HP. If you get any cuter you might steal my heart," he said, placing his hands over his chest like he was protecting it. "Oh, shut up you big flirt!" I laughed, smacking his arm, but I couldn't help the happiness I felt at my accomplishment. Maybe I'm more like her than I know. "Wait right here. I'll be back," Riley said with a smile before jogging to the gym door. "Where are you going?!" I called out to him. "To pee!" he shouted shamelessly. I let the authentic laughs come out as he disappeared inside. When he came back out, he had a huge grin on his face; but this grin seemed mischievous. "What are you smiling about?" I asked, suspicious of his sudden demeanor. "Don't worry about it. We have somewhere to go," he said, opening the passenger door to his SUV for me. "Where are we going?" I asked once he'd been driving for a while. "I won't tell you now, but it's somewhere that me, Drew, Jayden and a few other friends go every Tuesday night," he answered, keeping his eyes on the road. "Tonight we're playing so I want you to be there to cheer us on. But it's okay if you only want to cheer me on," he winked playfully. I just rolled my eyes before asking my next question. "Who does stuff on a Tuesday night?" "You'd be surprised the turn out we get," Riley said with a grin. "Since we'll be early, you'll get to pick the best seat. It'll be awesome. You could be our good luck charm." Trust me, I am not a good luck charm. But, maybe I could attract all the bad luck and there would be none left for you. "Well, can we pick up a friend? If we're going to be early, and you're going to be off doing something, I don't want to be alone." "Uh, sure. Who?" he asked, glancing over at me as I started texting. "My friend, Kimi." "Kimi Jang? But, she hates Drew!" "And? I don't like him either," I replied, finishing up my text. "And it's sent." "You just love starting drama," Riley said, shaking his head with a cute grin on his face. "More like drama loves me," I mumbled, looking at my phone that just vibrated in my hand. "We're picking her up at school," I told Riley. He nodded, turning the car around since we weren't heading in that direction. "So, Riley Baker. Why isn't there a girl in your life?" I pried, deciding to do what me and Jayden loved to do; make Riley uncomfortable. "I don't know!" he exclaimed, blushing. I couldn't help but laugh at him. "I date, but none of them are someone I want to commit to long term," he answered honestly, after recovering from his initial awkwardness. "That makes sense," I said, nodding my head in approval. We spent the next few minutes listening to the radio. Riley started singing, and I almost died from surprise. "Riley! You have a great voice!" I exclaimed. "Thanks," he said through a laugh. "Maybe one day I'll play you a song." "You play? What instrument?" I asked.