NIGHT CHANGES !
𝖲𝖤𝖵𝖤𝖭 ━━━ 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌

"All I remember is you, me, Tutor Girl, and Haley in my car..." Brooke started to go over everything she could remember about the night before, since she was high on pills for practically the whole car journey. "and then Lucas and Nathan, and then you said something about being into Lucas, but it could've been Nathan, and I need to know."

Peyton arched a brow at her words. "Need?"

"I have a name, you know?" Riley chimed in. She pulled a face, acting like she was offended by her sister's new nickname for her. But, Brooke waved her off, making Riley share a look with the other blonde, pursing her lips as Peyton chuckled.

"Anyway, there's two of them and three of us, not enough Scott boys to go around. However—" The brunette Davis had gone on to say, but as soon as Nathan and Lucas were mentioned, Riley quickly cut in, not wanting to get herself involved in their
love rectangle. "Count me out."

"Okay, that's fine." Brooke shrugged. If anything, that helped her in their situation, so she switched her attention onto the Sawyer girl. "Now, Peyton, your courtesy hold on Lucas has expired. Besides, you and Nathan were so... interesting together. Plus, we could still trade off once in a while... or twice. Win-win." The three of them stopped once they found themselves standing by the table that Lucas was sat at. "Hey, broody."

The Scott boy smiled up at the girls, greeting the brunette first. "Hey, cheery." He glanced over to Riley and Peyton. "Riles, Peyton."

"Sup." Riley bobbed her head.

Brooke kept her eyes on Lucas, and the corners of her lips tugged up into a smirk. "So, I'll see you at practice?"

"As always." Peyton answered, assuming she was talking to her.

Brooke turned to her friend. "Yeah, you too." The brunette grinned, before holding out her hand for Riley to take. "Come on, Ry." Her twin grabbed a hold of her hand, and waved at Peyton and Lucas as Brooke pulled her away.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Oh. This is so stupid. What... why do we have to study history anyway?" Another frustrated groan escaped Nathan's lips. Him and Riley were in the middle of a tutoring session in the library, and if it wasn't obvious already, he was struggling.

Riley hummed, resting her chin on her hand, and pulled away with a sigh. "So, we're not doomed to repeat it."

Nathan scoffed out a chuckle. "What?" He looked slightly confused at her answer, earning her to let out a laugh. "Look," She took a breath, "don't lose hope, okay? You'll be fine. Plus, don't forget that tomorrow's a teacher's work day, so you've got a three-day weekend to study."

She closed the textbook on the table, and Nathan pointed his finger in Riley's direction. "Minus my dad's annual kiss-his-ass jamboree." He mentally groaned at that, before his brows raised. "Oh, are you still going to that, by the way?"

"Well," Riley tilted her head slightly, pursing her lips. "I kinda have to, don't I?"

"Yeah." Nathan nodded.

"Ooh, before I forget," The blonde-haired girl put a piece of paper down on the desk, "I made you a study guide — which should include pretty much everything you need to ace the history exam." She explained, pulling a small revision kit out her bag to give to him. "NoDoz, eye drops, number two pencils, etcetera..."

Nathan looked away from the revision kit, and to the girl. "Why don't you just text message me the answers?" He suggested, trying to find the easier way out and avoid studying.

"Oh?" Riley arched a brow, going to grab her bag as the school bell rang. "No way, Jose." She stood up from her chair, and pulled her backpack over her shoulder. "If you need anything," She looked down at Nathan, pushing her chair in. "just give me a call. Not too late though, alright? Because if my phone rings while I'm asleep, I won't hesitate to throw a basketball at your head again. Do you understand?" Her eyes narrowed onto Nathan's.

"Yep." The raven-haired boy tried to hide his fear behind his pursed lips. "Definitely. I've learnt my lesson after last time."

"Good." Riley nodded, and the innocent smile on her face altered into a more genuine one. "By the way, thank you for cutting Lucas some slack."

Nathan bobbed his head. "A deal's a deal, right?"

"Right." Riley sighed. "See you later." She walked past their table to leave, making sure to ruffle his hair on her way out, missing the look on Nathan's face when he glanced back at her.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Riley Davis was quite similar to her sister when it came to opening their heart to somebody, mainly because of the many, many disappointments the twins faced through their childhood. They never really received that type of affection from both of their parents, ( apart from their grandparents of course ), so the girls were glad that they had each other to turn to. It was them against the world. That's how it's always been.

But right at this moment— this seemed different somehow. Not once has Riley Davis experienced meeting someone that made her stomach flutter like butterflies. Not until Nathan Scott. A raven-haired boy who Riley tolerated from time to time, or drove her completely mad. But, ever since the tutoring sessions started, it's like she had seen a whole different side to Nathan. As someone who also struggled to open up due to who his parents were, Riley Davis was the exception. On the plus side, he isn't a total jackass to her, like he is with everyone else — most likely, because, he knew he would receive a slap in the face for it, or other alternatives.

That's when Riley found herself, standing outside Lucas' door — led to his room, already dressed in her outfit for the basketball fundraiser that Dan Scott was hosting. Lucas finally opened the door, his brows furrowing slightly. "Riley?" She didn't answer, and stepped inside his room. "What are you doing here?" He shut the door behind her as she turned to face him.

Riley started off by saying. "First, I am saving you from that tie." She exhaled deeply. "And second... we need to talk." She felt nervous all of a sudden, knowing that this conversation was not going to turn out like she hoped, but as one of his closest friends, and even though the girl knew she didn't need his permission, like Peyton told her a couple days ago when they were going to get gas. And it wasn't like she was asking for it, she just wanted to at least give Lucas a heads up.

"Well, could we do both at the same time?" Lucas asked, and she breathed out a quiet 'yeah', before going over to his tie rack that was framed on the inside of one of his closet doors. "Uh, okay, you're not gonna like this. In fact..." She picked up a tie from the rack and turned back to the boy, "you're gonna hate this. But, I feel that I should tell you in the interest of full friendship disclosure."

She fiddled around with the tie in her hands as he scoffed out a chuckle. "Yeah, right. What could be worse than you tutoring Nathan, huh?" But, Riley didn't have to say a word, as Lucas could already tell, just by the look on her face. He knew. "You like him."

Maybe. She wasn't sure. This whole thing was all still new to Riley. "Luke, do not freak out on me, okay?" She felt strained due to his reaction. Riley knew he wouldn't be happy about the news, but she still didn't want him to yell. "I can't help it anymore than you can."

"I don't like him!"

"I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about you and Peyton." Riley pointed out to him. "We don't decide who we like. We just... it happens."

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into?"

"I'm not getting myself into anything." The Davis girl countered. "I'm thinking about maybe getting into something, but, it's probably never going to happen anyway, so..."

Lucas couldn't understand. Like— one of his best friends was talking about liking the Nathan Scott. The popular jock who bullied him at every chance he got. He was an asshole. So, what could she see that he couldn't? "But, what could you possibly like in the guy, huh?"

Riley acknowledged his point of view. Absolutely. She knew what Nathan had done and the kind of guy that he was, but she also wanted Lucas, to at least listen to her side of it. "I don't— Different stuff, I guess." She let out a puff of air. "Look, you know me, Lucas... and I know the dude can be an
absolute dick, trust me, but I am telling you, it's just a defence mechanism. He really opens up to me."

Lucas' face remained stern. "You know how I feel about him."

"And I'm sorry for that. I really am." The blonde-haired girl apologised, with a frown on her face.

He took a moment to answer before a heavy sigh exited his lips. "But I get it, all right?" He wasn't happy about it, but Riley had a point. You can't help who you have feelings for, so he didn't want to be selfish about that. "I understand." Riley felt a moment of relief at his words. "Just do me a favour, okay? Just..."

She arched a brow at Lucas. "Be careful?" And he nodded. The girl flickered her eyes to the ground, muttering under her breath. "Yeah... that advice has been very popular."

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

For such a fun party for the Ravens, Riley did not appear to be having much fun. She stood outside, where some of the players on the basketball team were throwing the ball around and into Nathan's basketball hoop, as the cheerleaders hung around nearby. Riley had a cup of lemonade in her hand that she was currently drinking out of, while she talked with Brayden.

"Listen up, everybody..." Brooke walked outside, holding her arms out on either side. The girl had her narrowed eyes glued onto Lucas and Peyton, noticing the close proximity between them. "it's time to play truth or dare."

Riley huffed quietly. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." The blonde-haired girl grumbled, rolling her eyes. She could tell Brooke had too much to drink already, and wanted to avoid whatever was going to happen next. Of course, Riley didn't like seeing her sister upset, but over Lucas and Peyton? That is a no. I mean, she already promised herself she wouldn't get involved in the whole love rectangle situation. Especially when her sister was trying to get Nathan and Peyton back together. That's why she's been mostly hanging around with Brayden and his dad who came over at one point.

"Or maybe just dare," Brooke continued, shaking her head as she turned her attention towards the Sawyer girl. "'cause nobody really tells the truth any more." Brooke suddenly smirked — the same one she always makes when she has a plan, while spinning on her heel, to see who she should pick on. "Let's see... Theresa, I dare you... to go pinch Whitey's ass."

Theresa let out a laugh, contemplating about the dare for a moment, before accepting it. "Be right back." Brooke gaped at the girl as she walked past her and headed back inside.

"Let's see... Peyton?"

"Brooke, come on." She tried to tell her, knowing this wasn't going to end well. However, the Davis girl merely ignored her, and dared. "I dare you to show us how you really feel. Kiss Lucas."

Brayden furrowed his brows, keeping his eyes on the scene while he whispered to Riley. "What the hell is your sister doing?" He wondered, glad that the blonde was close enough to hear, but nobody else was. Riley responded with a shrug, watching as Brooke raised her brows towards Peyton who still hadn't answered or made a move.

That's when Peyton finally made the decision and faced Lucas, before pulling him into a kiss. A few cheers were heard around the two, apart from the ones who shared a look of surprise. Once they finally pulled away, Peyton walked straight past everyone without a word. Lucas stared after her, and took one last look at Brooke, before chasing after Peyton.

Riley left her spot from beside Brayden and made her way over. She looked almost disappointed at what just happened. "Don't you think you've had enough to drink tonight, Brooke?" She made no intention to stop, and just brushed past her sister to head back inside the house.

Brooke turned around to leave, but stopped when she heard Nathan ask. "Why are you being such a bitch tonight, Brooke?"

The Davis girl leaned down and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Well, I thought you liked that in a girl."

He pulled her arm away from his shoulder with a scoff. "You should put some ice on it." He got off his chair and walked towards Brayden.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"Ooooh, looks like I came at the right time." Riley entered the kitchen, the few boxes of cakes on the table catching her eye. Karen and Haley were still in there at that time, missing Deb who walked off moments ago. Her words received a chuckle from the two, making Riley grin. "Oh hey, Hales."

The James girl chuckled. "Hi, Riley." She greeted the blonde. "You look amazing, by the way."

"Why thank you." Riley beamed, responding with a curtsy, before stepping over to them. "And, hey Karen. How are you holding up?"

The woman smiled softly. "Well, I haven't had to, uh... Caw! yet." She shrugged, seeing her answer as a positive. Albeit, neither one of the girls knew what that meant, since they weren't present when Lucas came up with it on their arrival.

"Caw?" Riley arched a brow, confused, before she let out a laugh. "Okay... whatever that means."

"It's a signal Lucas came up with, for one of us to use when we wanted to make a quick exit." Karen explained, lowering her tone through the last few words, causing Riley and Haley to make a face in understanding.

"Well in that case... caw?" The blonde-haired girl quietly made the sound, showing them how eager she was to leave.

Haley raised a brow at her best friend. "That bad, huh?"

Riley hummed and nodded. "Riley..." She turned her head to look at Karen who had just called out to her. "Can I ask you something?" The Davis girl furrowed her brows at that, wondering what the question was that Karen wanted to ask, but Riley nodded anyway. "Why didn't you tell me it was Nathan you were tutoring?"

Her face dropped slightly, not expecting Karen to have asked her that. "Oh, uh..." She glanced over at Haley who shrugged, telling her she didn't say anything to the Roe woman. "it just seemed kind of weird. Lucas wasn't really happy about it, so I just figured you wouldn't be either. I wasn't even sure how I felt about it."

"And now?"

"Now— now things are okay with Lucas and with me." Riley replied. She wasn't a hundred percent sure, but at the moment, her and Lucas were fine. But, she understood that it would take some time for him to get used to her tutoring Nathan, along with what she had admitted to him earlier.

"And with me." Karen smiled. "Now go, have fun. It only comes around once."

Riley hung her head back and sighed. "Okay. I'm going." She waved them goodbye, before walking away and turned down the hallway, looking for someone to talk to, when she heard someone call out from behind her. "Riley!"

She turned around and saw Nathan approaching her. "Oh, hey, Nath. You having fun?" She asked, trying to make conversation.

The corners of Nathan's lips tugged up slightly as he tried to hide the grin on his face because of the nickname. "Not really." He shrugged lightly. "To be honest, I'd even study right now. It'd be a hell of a lot more fun than this suck-fest."

Riley chuckled. "Sorry, I'm off-duty."

"Well, at least let me get you a drink." He offered to the girl. "Another lemonade?"

"Umm... sure." She accepted his offer, and just as they went to make their way towards the bar, the two of them stopped, when someone called out to Riley once again, only this time, it was Brooke.

"Tutor girl!"

Riley sighed. "Oh, here we go." The girl muttered under her breath, preparing herself to face drunk Brooke again, before turning around. "Hello, my lovely sister." She feigned a smile, while Nathan tried to warn Brooke. Neither of them knew that when Brooke went in Nathan's room earlier, she managed to find the revision kit that Riley made for him, with a note inside that she read. She was still drunk and upset over Peyton and Lucas, so she wasn't in the right state to stop herself from taking it out on her own sister.

"Oh, Riley. Also known as Nathan's own personal little care package." Brooke began, and the smirk remained on her face when she glanced between the pair. "Everything's starting to make so much more sense now. You two are adorable. What was my favourite part? 'Believing you'll do well is half the battle...' You know," She flickered her eyes to Nathan. "my sister's little love note you passed around earlier. The one that said, 'call me if you need anything... at all'."

Riley didn't know what to think at that moment. On the one hand, when she looked up at Nathan, thinking he would be embarrassed that he'd been caught out, but instead, she noticed he was kinda confused on the matter. He actually didn't know that Riley had written a note. He hasn't actually looked in the study kit yet. Though, Riley didn't know that. But on the other hand, she was quite pissed at Brooke. "You know," Riley clicked her tongue, looking directly at her sister, "you're a real bitch when you're drunk."

"All right," Nathan moved over to stand between the siblings, facing the blonde. "Riley, I—"

Her eyes shot up to him, quickly interrupting him before he could carry on speaking. "Just leave me alone. The both of you." Riley turned around and walked out the front door, and rushed to her car, and drove away before anyone could catch up to her.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Haley had returned to Karen's Cafe not long ago, and was stood behind the counter, when her ears perked up at hearing the door chime. She darted her eyes towards the front, furrowing her brows at seeing Riley walking in. "Hey, Riles, wh—" She went to question why she was there, but stopped herself when she noticed the tears spilling in the blonde's eyes. "Oh, no. What happened?" The girl instantly dropped the cloth onto the counter, and rushed towards her best friend and pull her into a hug. "Come here." She muttered, pulling away from Riley and quickly turned over the sign on the door so it said CLOSED, before guiding Riley over to behind the counter so they were out of view.

Riley slid down the wall of the counter, and Haley joined her, letting the girl keep her hand gripped onto hers for comfort. "Oh, don't cry. You wanna tell me what's wrong?" Her tone remained gentle when speaking to her. "You don't have to tell me, though."

"No, no, it's fine." Riley's voice was hoarse due to her still crying. She wiped the tears of her cheeks, and when she found her voice again, she started telling Haley about what happened, even though, she still wasn't sure. She hoped Nathan didn't do what Brooke claimed he had done. But it wasn't the only reason why she was upset. She rambled on to her friend still, that she somehow managed to confess to Haley about how she's been starting to have feelings for Nathan. "I don't know what to do, Hales. Am I stupid for getting involved in this? I mean, Nathan probably still likes Peyton, and Brooke was trying to get them back together, so what's the point?"

"Oh, you are not stupid, Ry." Haley frowned, and let Riley rest her head on her shoulder, allowing her to let out her cries until she was finished.

The door to the cafe opened again, and Lucas was next to walk in. "Hello? Haley?" His eyes diverted around the cafe, looking for the girl, not knowing that Riley was there as well.

Haley raised her hand so that the boy could see it over the counter. "Over here!"

Lucas followed her voice, and stopped next to the girls, frowning when he noticed Haley comforting Riley who was trying to stop crying. "Is this floor taken?" He asked.

Haley whispered something to Riley, and soon as she nodded, the brunette slowly got back up, and gestured for Lucas to take her place. Riley took a deep breath, wiping her cheeks once again before speaking up. "You know, just this once, I deserve a big, fat 'I told you so'.

"Well, you won't get it from me." Lucas told her, keeping his tone soft. "What happened?"

Riley turned her face slightly so she could look at the blonde. "Exactly what you told me was gonna happen— I started believing he wasn't so terrible, and he proved me wrong." She told him. Whether she was just saying that because she didn't want to believe that her sister would do something like that, or because she was trying to push him away like she always does. "Once again, the smart girl is really stupid."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey." Lucas pulled a strand of her hair out of her face. "You are not stupid."

Riley turned her head to face him. "Thanks." She smiled lightly. She knew she could always count on Haley or Lucas to cheer her up. "Well, at least things are working out for one of us. It looks like you and Peyton were headed in the right direction."

"Well, if it'll make you feel better... that lasted all of about five minutes." Lucas revealed to the girl, making Haley, who was listening from the back of the cafe, let out an Ooh!, intrigued about what might've happened.

Riley shook her head, a chuckle escaping her lips before she leaned closer, putting her forehead to Lucas'. "It doesn't make me feel any better." She said, and pulled away. "Well, welcome back."

"To where?"

"Normal." Riley shrugged.

"Yeah. They can have their world. Come on, let's help Haley close up." Lucas said, and got up from the ground, before offering his hand to Riley and helped her up.

"Even though, I'm part of their world." The Davis girl added, considering she was the co-captain of the Ravens cheerleaders, and because her sister was popular too. "Anyway, you two go. I can close up for you, Haley."

"Are you sure?" Haley was conflicted. She didn't want to leave Riley on her own, just in case, but it was the girl's decision. "I mean, I can stay if you want at least one of us with you?"

"No, no, go home. It's okay." Riley waved the two off, reassuring them that she'll be fine. "It's only a little peace and quiet until I close up. I just want to be alone for a while. But, I promise I will give you a call if I need one of you."

"Well, do you want to sleep at mine, then?" Haley suggested to her friend. "I'm assuming you're not gonna want to talk to Brooke just yet, so you can stay at mine for tonight if you'd like? I'm sure my parents won't mind. Plus, we have mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer." She mentioned to her, knowing the last part will take her interest.

"Umm... if your parents say yes, then I'll drive to yours." Riley answered. She could deal without a drama free night, even though, Brooke will most likely be sleeping over at someone else's. Either way, she'll make sure to check later, just to know if her sister's alright, despite being mad at her.

Haley nodded. "Okay, then." She and Lucas gave her a hug goodbye, before walking out the cafe, leaving her alone. Riley locked the door on their way out, before grabbing the cloth to wipe down the tables that Haley hasn't done.

Around half an hour later, Riley was finishing up with her cleaning, and walked over to the counter where her phone was. The mobile lit up yet again, reminding her of the text Haley sent her minutes ago, telling her to let her know when she was on her way, as her parents were happy to have Riley sleep over. She was snapped out of her thoughts, when a knock at the door was heard, making the blonde sigh before turning around to see Nathan stood there — with his letterman jacket wrapped around him.

"Hey." Riley kept the glum expression on her face as she slammed the cloth onto the counter, and took small steps towards the door, with her arms crossed over her chest. "Can I come in?"

She didn't respond, and instead, reached over to turn the light off, giving him the answer he most certainly didn't want. "Riley," He sighed heavily, "I didn't know. I swear. Come on." She continued to ignore him, and turned to head to the back of the cafe. "Riles, please, you've gotta believe me."

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

author's note!

AHHHH! finally after about five months, i have finally updated this book! i hope you enjoyed this chapter, if not, then you'll certainly like the next one :) if you know you know

anyways, thanks for reading, i love you all! <33