You Shine And You Can't Even Help It (Riley)

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As Kinsey walked out of her last class for the day, she grabbed Riley's hand and pulled him to the side of the hallway. She was bubbling with excitement and energy and had been all day. There was only one reason for it too. Riley knew. He knew her secret and he still wanted to do things with her! Her relief at that was so strong that Kinsey felt delirious when she thought about it. The day after she told him, she'd felt hesitant the entire time. Sure she trusted and believed him, but sometimes people meant to do things and then did the opposite. It wasn't anything against Riley, it was just human nature. The marvelous thing was that he hadn't changed! She watched and paid attention over the last few days, but he still treated her the same way he did before she told him and that meant more to Kinsey than she could ever express. 

So today she found herself wanting to do something fun with him, thus her pulling him to the side of the corridor. "Let's do something fun," she told him, her eyes glittering with anticipation. Kinsey honestly had no idea what they could do, but she figured that the two of them would at least be able to come up with something decent and they were out of classes for the day so it wasn't like he couldn't ... unless he had some studying to do. That brought her up short and her expression darkened a little. "Unless you have work you need to do," she amended, then laughed at herself a little. "I mean, if you have homework or something, we can do something fun later," Kinsey was starting to feel strange, like she needed to explain herself, but she didn't do anything wrong. She shrugged and smiled, waiting for him to say something.

@riley

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The two Ravenclaw's finished class and as they were walking out of the classroom, the woman who had become his best friend grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side of the corridor while mobs of students passed by. She wanted to do something fun, and looking into her eyes he couldn't say no. It had been a long day of boring classes and the weather outside was so nice, the sun seemed to be taunting him. He wanted to get outside, stretch his legs and have some adventures, and he wanted to have them with her. He wanted Kinsey by his side. "I uh, finished most of the homework in class..." said the Ravenclaw boy, scratching the back of his head with a smirk playing on his lips. "So yeah, let's do something. Let's get outside... Oh! Let's go take one of the boats out on the lake." He suggested, eager to get on the water. What better way to enjoy the weather? "We can go change and drop off our stuff and then head out. And we can have a later dinner when we get back." he suggested.

@kinsey

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Riley was smirking at her and Kinsey couldn't decide if he was doing it because she started out suggesting something and then backtracked or if it was because he liked her idea, but she didn't really care. She was starting to truly trust Riley and in all honestly, as a general rule his motives didn't concern her. She just wanted to be with him. She grinned at him when he said he finished his homework in class and that he wanted to do something. He suggested they go boating and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Boating sounds great!" She really just couldn't contain her excitement today. Anyone who watched her over the last several years was probably surprised by the sudden change, but she couldn't care less. She was with Riley. She nodded again at his next suggestion. "Sounds great to me, let's go!" She still was holding his hand, so she moved, trying to pull him along with her as she made her way toward the Ravenclaw Common Room. She just wanted to get outside! She looked over at him as they moved along. "I don't think I've ever been on the boats here," she commented casually. Obviously Riley had.

@riley

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Riley was glad that she accepted bis suggestion and he let her pull him by the hand towards the common room, though she didn't have to pull very hard, he was happy to go where ever shew as going. "The boats are really fun, and they're not they hard to row either, plus, we can enchant them if neither of us wants to row them." he explained to her as they made their way to the common room entrance on the 5th floor of the castle. He opened the door for her, answering the simple riddle, the door swung open and they two Ravenclaw's stepped inside. "Meet you back here in a few minutes." he insisted. He ran up to his common room, tossed his bag onto his bed and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a salmon colored short sleeve button down shirt. He rushed back downstairs when he was done, slipping his feet into his loafers on his way down to the common room. Once she had joined him he held out his arm to her. "Shall we?" he asked. 

@kinsey

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Riley told her a little about the boats and Kinsey smiled, feeling relieved. Apparently her not knowing how to handle the boats wasn't a good deal. Riley knew and if neither of them were in the mood, they could simply enchant the things! Perfect. He let her into the Ravenclaw Common Room and Kinsey nodded when he said he'd meet her here in a few minutes. She dashed up the stairs, trying to find something nice to wear. As usual, she wore some jeans, but today she chose a light blue top with lace over the shoulders. She didn't wear it often because it was "fancy" but she liked it and it was the first thing she saw, so she slipped it on. She checked her hair before running back to the common room. Of course, Riley was already waiting for her. She took his offered arm and smiled. "I'm ready," she answered, though it was obvious. 

The corridors were a little more crowded than usual, most people getting out of their last class and ambling about as they decided what to do. Kinsey stepped a little closer to Riley, but not because she was uncomfortable. Holding onto his arm helped her be able to ignore all the intentions around them. "It's a little busier than normal," she commented with a small eyeroll. Naturally it would be busy now. 

Before she knew it they were outside, headed toward the boathouse. They arrived and she looked at the boats a little apprehensively. "Are these going to tip on us?" she asked hesitantly. "Or sink. They don't look very well-cared for." Not that she really knew anything about boats. Kinsey just didn't want to have to swim all the way back from the middle of the lake. Then she caught herself, realizing what she was doing. She smiled up at Riley again, "Sorry. Not meaning to complain. I really am excited to go out," she insisted, wanting to make sure he knew she wasn't changing her mind.

@riley

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As they walked down to the boat shed, she pointed out that it was a little busier than normal. He nodded. "Probably because of the weather, but it won't be on the lake. I think a lot of people forget the boats are there." he shrugged, he rarely saw a lot of people on the lake, swimming near the shore of the lake, sure, but not far enough out to need or want the boats. He allowed her to get closer to him, knowing that he was helping her, and not at all minding her being so close. A very satisfied feeling spread about the young man. He had his best friend on his arm and was about to go show her one of his favorite hobbies. What could be better?

They got outside and made their way to the boat shed on the docks. She asked if they were safe and he shrugged. "I think they're magic so they won't sink or break or anything. But they can tip, yeah. I mean, if you walk around or move around too much in them." he explained honestly. "But don't worry, I'll protect you from the giant squid if we tip." he promised with a playful wink. He untied one of the boats from the dock and held the rope. "Go ahead and step onto the boat, carefully and sit down in the front row there." he insisted, holding the rope tight so the boat would stay right against the dock. He had done this before.

@kinsey

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Kinsey liked the idea that there wouldn't be many people on the lake, and not for the reason she expected. The truth was, she was just excited to spend more time alone with Riley Fudge. It was interesting, since they started spending so much time together, Kinsey started wanting more and more time alone with him. She spent almost all her time with Riley now, but the moments that were just the two of them seemed precious to her and she knew exactly why. The more time she spent with Riley, the more her feelings for him grew, and the more she craved time with him. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since they spent all their time together, but she wondered how much stronger her feelings would get before school ended. She was definitely going to miss him this summer.

Riley started answering her questions, telling her that they weren't broken and wouldn't sink because they were magic. Kinsey nodded, believing him. She was a little worried about the boats tipping, but Riley didn't seem concerned and she did know how to swim, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. She laughed when he said he'd protect her from the squid if they did fall in. "I'll hold you to that," she teased back, watching as he started doing stuff with the boats. He definitely looked like he knew what he was doing. "Alright," Kinsey said, inhaling sharply when the boat moved a little more than she expected as she climbed in. She held her breath, not even realizing she was until she sat down. She smiled up at Riley. "Your turn!" This was going to be fun.

@riley

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Riley watched her with hawk eyes while she climbed into the boat, while the boat moved he tried to counter it by keeping the ropes pulled tight, however, boats were on water and did whatever they wanted, water wasn't easily controlled. Once she was seated safely, he made his way to the boat, keeping the ropes pulled as he did so. He eased his way over, setting one foot in the boat, sitting a few rows behind her so he could row the boat. He tossed the ropes into the boat and then, in one fluid motion, transferred his weight into the boat, keeping one hand on the dock to steady them. "Okay. We're good. here we go." he let go of the dock and picked up the paddles from the floor of the boat where they were tucked under the benches. He dipped the oars into the lake and used them to get their boat safely away from the dock as they began their journey towards the center of the lake. "You alright up there?" he asked.

@kinsey

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It wasn't long before they were both in the boat, Riley climbing in as though he'd done it hundreds of times before. He moved to sit behind her and Kinsey didn't turn around, nervous that any movement would throw off the balance of the boat and get them in the water. Not that she'd really mind the water ... but she didn't want to mess up their afternoon before it even began. He started rowing them and Kinsey started to grin, fascinated by the fluid movement of the boat on the water. It was a calm day, with just a hint of a breeze every now and then. It was beautiful. When he asked how she was doing, Kinsey nodded. "I'm great. Just enjoying the view. I can't remember the last time I rode a boat like this." She knew she had, but it was years ago. "So what do you do out here? Row out and then just look around or...?" Kinsey trailed off, not sure of what other options there were. She twitched, wanting to turn and look at him, but not doing it at the last second. She didn't want to tip them over. At least, not so soon after getting in the boat.

@riley

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Riley loved the feeling of propelling them across the lake with the smooth water churning beneath them and bubbling in their wake. Though, it was a work out on his arms, that was for sure, he wasn't the most physically strong individual, he never went out of his way to work out or exercise, he was much more of an academic and cared very little about his physical strength, he didn't anticipate needing to fight anytime soon, but with all of the confrontations he was getting himself into lately, he supposed he wouldn't be surprised if something escalated. "Well it's a good place to think, or, if we were smart we would have gone to the kitchens and got food before we came out and we could eat on the boat." he shrugged, continuing to row them, a few students were in sight on the bank of the lake, dipping their toes into the cool water, and a light breeze blew around them since it was always cooler on the water, once again, he found himself regretting not bringing a jacket for her if she needed it. "Any particular direction you like? The choice is yours, mi'lady." he teased.

@kinsey

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Kinsey was a little surprised by how much she was enjoying this. Sure, she was a fan of the open air and she liked water (thus her almost daily excursions to the pond), but she never actually considered going out on the water. She would wade on the shore of the Black Lake, but that was different too. None of it was comparable to the complete peace she felt as Riley rowed them along. She laughed when he said what they would have done if they were smart. "We'll have to remember that for next time then," she called back to him. It was still weird having him behind her, where she couldn't see him. She took hold of her seat and slowly turned around so she faced him. "Do you think maybe you could teach me how to do that?" Of course, she expected him to say yes, but she had to ask in order for that to happen. She chuckled when he asked what direction she wanted to go, teasing her as he did so. "I've never been out here like this. What direction do you normally go?" Really she was just happy to be with him, in relative privacy.

@riley

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She asked if he could teach her to row the boat. "Uh, yeah, I mean, you'd have to come sit back here, otherwise we'll go the wrong way, or not move at all." he explained. However, her moving to sit back there meant he had to switch with her to keep the boat balanced and the boat would rock plenty during the switch, which made him a little anxious that they would tip. But, he also knew they could both sit together in the middle of the boat and it would be fine, so maybe he could teach her from the middle row. "Just move up to the middle here." he nodded to the bench in between them, he carefully made his way there too, sitting beside her. "So it's uh, pretty easy, but it'll really make your arms hurt tomorrow." he laughed. "It's just a kind of circular motion." he demonstrated.

@kinsey

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Kinsey should have realized that in order for Riley to teach her, she would have to move. Moving wasn't that big of a deal, except she did not like the idea of the boat rocking and was nervous to tip the boat. Still, whatever happened would happen and she was confident that she and Riley would have fun together, whether they were wet or not. She looked back at him a little anxiously, but then Riley amended his statement, telling her to just move to the middle. Well that was definitely better, though she was still a little nervous. He moved to the middle row and Kinsey watched him carefully, paying attention to how he stayed to the middle of the boat to not tip. She copied his movements, moving as carefully as she could. Once she was sitting beside her, she smiled, laughing when he told her that she would be sore tomorrow. "Don't worry, I won't complain about it to you," she teased, implying that he was nervous about her complaining even though she knew he wasn't. She watched him and then started mimicking him again. "Am I doing this right?" she asked curiously, glancing back at him. He was so cute. "What do you normally do out here, or do you just think?" He very well might, but she was curious if he ever dove into the lake or tried to watch people from here or something. Why did he like it out here so much?

@riley

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He handed her the oars and sat back as she began to row them. They continued moving forward a little slower than they had been previously moving, but he could see that she was having fun with it and speed meant absolutely nothing to him. What meant everything to him was being out on the lake with her; seeing how the sun made her hair shine; and, admiring the smile on her face as she looked back to him to ask if she was doing this right. "Perfect, you're a natural." he admitted with a smile of his own, loving the way her eyes sparkled from the lake water surrounding them. He was getting a little wrapped up in his own head and her question brought him back down to Earth. "Yeah, mostly just to think. When the sun is up, you can see the mermaids sometimes down below, and that's really cool to watch." he admitted. "Let me know if you get tired with that and I can take over again." he insisted. 

@kinsey

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Riley seemed to relax as Kinsey started rowing and she smiled. She was glad that he trusted her enough to let her row the boat, though in all reality it wasn't very hard. Moving the oars was actually kind of soothing to her, the circular motion. Her smile widened when he told her that she was doing it perfectly. She gave a small laugh, "Thanks Riley." Then she started talking about seeing mermaids, and telling her to say something if she got tired. She nodded and then after a bit stopped. "What if I just want us to both rest here for a bit," she asked. If they both worked the entire time then how was this going to be fun at all? "Do I pull the oars in or ..." she trailed off, wiggling them as she smirked over at him, expecting him to help her, or at least tell her what to do. She didn't realize how good he would look, relaxing in the boat. He looked so calm and happy and as she watched him she really just wanted to kiss him, but she'd never done anything like that before. She'd never even been kissed, much less made the move on someone else. She laughed and looked forward again.

@riley