Week One: Monday

He was staring.

Through all the noise and the movement around her, the guy sitting next to Bree was still, quietly staring at her. 

Bree kept her eyes straight ahead. If she didn't make eye contact with him, he wouldn't bother her and therefore, wouldn't recognize her. 

The guy leaned closer to Bree, murmuring something to her, trying to get her attention. She subtly shifted her head away from him, hoping to cover her face with her hair.  

The seat to Bree's left was empty. She was contemplating moving a seat over when a hand waved in front of her face. 

Shocked, Bree looked to the guy who couldn't take a hint. At her attention, he smiled shyly and leaned closer to her. 

"Can I borrow a pen or pencil?" he asked. Now Bree was the one staring at him. When she didn't immediately respond, the guy nervously shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "I'm really sorry to bother you but my pen ran out of ink," he explained, emphasising by clicking his pen. When the silence stretched, the guy opened his notebook and scribbled on it, nothing came out of the pen. "See," he said. "Please? You're the only one with a notebook."

Looking around the large classroom, sure enough, everyone around them had a laptop. They were the only two that she could see, who were taking notes for their Psychology 1001 class with pen and paper. 

Bree wanted to be left alone but she didn't want to be a jerk, so she reached into her pencil case and handed the guy her least favourite pen. 

"Thank you," he smiled, gently taking the pen out of her hand. "You're a lifesaver." 

For the rest of the 90 minute class, he never bothered her again. They were both completely immersed in the lesson that Bree forgot she even lent him her pen, so it came as a bit of a surprise when after class ended, he quietly placed the pen in front of her. 

"Thank you again for letting me use your pen," he smiled. Bree offhandedly thought he had a beautiful smile. 

"You can keep it," she found herself saying. 

The guys eyebrows shot up and he looked at the pen for a beat, before bringing his light brown eyes back to Bree's dark brown eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked. 

"Yeah," she assured him. "It's not a big deal."

The smile he directed at her was no short of radiant. If Bree thought his smile was beautiful before, this one was out of this world. He glowed. 

He sparkled like glitter.

**********************

Week One: Thursday

Bree wanted to say she forgot about the encounter with the guy in her Psych class, but being the recluse that she was, she had very few interactions with people. So naturally, every interaction she had with someone stayed with her a little longer than most people. 

She had never seen the guy before and she doubted she would again. People tended to stay away from her. And she liked that. She preferred that. She liked to be in the shadows, unnoticed. It was why she always wore black or dark grey baggy clothing. 

On the rare occasion that someone would strike a conversation with her, she would reply in short curt responses that never failed to have the other person leave her alone and never talk to her again. Even if she wanted to make new friends. she couldn't afford it. 

So it came as a surprise to her as she was setting up her notebook and pens on her side of the table when someone slid a chocolate bar in front if her. Frozen, she stared at the chocolate bar. Mint chocolate. Her least favourite. She turned to her right and once again, it was the guy who had borrowed her pen. 

"Hi," he said, gleaming. Without waiting for a greeting in return, he continued. "I really wanted to thank you for the pen on Monday. After this class, I had a surprise quiz in my next class and I'm in engineering, so it's really competitive. No one in that class would've given me a pen. They'd rather eat all their pens and pencils than give me one, so you really helped me out last time." 

His smile was sparkling as bright as last time. Bree felt her heart flutter. She looked back at the chocolate. 

"Thank you," she said, picking up the chocolate bar and turning it over. "You didn't have to. It was just a pen."

"A pen that made all the difference to me," he laughed. "It was either no pen and a get a zero or pen and get a 95."

"95?" Bree chortled, surprising even herself. She cleared her throat. "You're very confident," she added.

The guy leaned in closer to her. Bree stayed where she was, resisting the urge to lean in also. "Want to know a secret?" he asked, looking around to check if anyone was listening in on them. At Bree's hesitant nod, he continued. "I'm very smart." Bree couldn't resist rolling her eyes at him. He laughed in delight. "I'm Riley, by the way."

Bree nodded at him. When she didn't introduce herself, he raised his eyebrows at her, challenging her. 

"Bree," she offered, pointing to herself. 

"Cool," he smiled, satisfied. "Nice to meet you, Bree." 

*********************

 Week One: Friday

Bree was starving. She'd just finished her last class of the day and was heading over to the sandwich shop on campus to get her lunch - she was craving a turkey sub. 

Fridays at campus weren't as busy as the rest of the week, but all the same, Bree was decked out in her casual baggy dark clothing. She had her hands around the straps of her backpack with her head down when she heard the laugh. A laugh she'd only heard just yesterday.

Her head shot up at the direction of the sound and lo and behold, there was Riley. He was with a group of people; two girls and three guys, and he was laughing at something one of them said. They were walking in the opposite direction she was walking. The group was obnoxiously walking in a straight horizontal line taking up 2/3rds of the path. Riley was at the end of the line, closest to Bree. They'd walk pass each other.

Bree was having an internal tug-of-war with herself on whether or not she should say hi to Riley. They weren't friends. They were barely acquaintances. Maybe he wouldn't even notice her. The closer the gap between her and the group got, the more she panicked on what to do. 

The decision was made for her when as she and the group were about to pass one another. Riley made eye contact with her for two seconds before looking ahead down the pathway, ignoring her. 

The small smile on Bree's face, dropped. Well, that was that. She felt stupid. For a fleeting moment, she allowed herself to think maybe she could allow herself to make a friend, but that idea shut down. 

Bree began picking up her pace to the sandwich shop when a hand suddenly grabbed onto her elbow. Bree spun around in alarm, her hand twitching to reach into her pocket for her pepper spray. 

It was Riley. He was smiling at her. His mid length blond hair blowing in the wind. His light brown eyes were shining. He was sparkling like glitter again. 

"Bree! Hey!," he said. "I'm so sorry about that! I-"

"Sorry about what?" Bree asked, immediately cutting him off. Looking over Riley's shoulder, she could see his friends standing around waiting for him, watching the two of them and quietly talking amongst themselves. She felt awkward. She subtly shifted to hide herself from their view. Riley was...bigger than the average first year university student. He was at least 6 foot and he clearly looked like he worked out. He wasn't bulky in a "bodybuilder" kind of way, but muscled in a more "I spend a lot of time in the gym lifting heavy weights" kind of way. 

"I didn't mean to ignore you!," he started. "I just didn't recognize you for a second. Like, it took me three seconds to know who I was looking at." 

"Okay," Bree said, lost as to what else to say. Now she felt stupid for a whole other reason.

"Oh!" Riley exclaimed out of nowhere. He swung his backpack off his right shoulder and opened the largest pocket. "I got something for you," he said grinning, as if he were the one about to receive a gift. 

Bree on the other hand, was skeptical. She frowned slightly, confused about the situation. Mostly confused about Riley.  

"Here," Riley announced, offering Bree...another chocolate bar. 

This time orange chocolate. Her favourite. 

When Bree didn't take it fast enough, Riley shook the chocolate. "Hurry, my arm is hurting." He dramatically dropped the hand holding the chocolate, leaned over and groaned. He then took a deep breath and raised his arm again, acting as if the chocolate bar weighed 50 pounds. "Hurry!"

Bree bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing at Riley's antics. "You're weird," she said.

"And you're slow. My arm is hurting," Riley said. He inhaled loudly and dramatically, his cheeks ballooning from his drawn out exhale. 

Just to spite him, Bree waited another five seconds before she slowly took the chocolate bar from Riley. 

He sighed in relief. "Finally. Damn, I'm gonna be sore for a week," he complained. 

Bree scoffed. She shifted in her spot, feeling awkward again. "Thank you for the chocolate bar."

Riley shrugged. "No big deal." He had a small smile on his face, his eyes watching Bree closely. 

"What?" she asked, feeling shy.

"So you like orange chocolate then," he claimed as a fact rather than a question. 

"Yeah," Bree confirmed. "How did you know?"

"It was pretty obvious you didn't like the mint chocolate yesterday. I thought I'd give it another try and get you something you actually liked."

"What if I didn't like orange chocolate?" Bree challenged. 

"Then I'd keep trying," Riley shrugged. "Maybe I'd get you...like...a cherry chocolate or coconut chocolate."

Bree grimaced at the flavour choices. "Why all the specialty chocolates? Plain works fine!" Bree laughed. This guy was so strange...and interesting. 

"Plain is so boring," Riley said. "Would you rather plain chocolate or your favourite orange chocolate." At Bree's stubborn silence, Riley exclaimed, "See!"

Bree opened her mouth to fruitlessly refute Riley's theory, when she saw movement over his shoulder. She'd lost track of time and it seemed like Riley's friends got tired waiting around for him. They were heading over to Bree and Riley. 

Riley must've noticed her expression because he looked over his shoulder to look at what Bree was looking at. "Oh," he said softly. 

Not wanting to be overwhelmed with meeting new people, Bree quickly said a goodbye to Riley and bolted. She heard Riley say, "wait," but she didn't care. The fewer people she interacted with, the better.

****************************

Week Two: Monday

Bree wasn't waiting for Riley to show up. She absolutely wasn't. She didn't pay her tuition, attend her classes and study like crazy only to focus on making friends. No. She came to get a degree. No distractions allowed. 

"Hey!" Bree almost jumped out of her seat at the volume of Riley's voice. 

She looked around for spectators but no one was paying attention to them. 

"Why are you yelling?" she hissed as he sat down. 

"I said "hi" like three times and you didn't hear me," he answered."What's got you so distracted?" he asked.

"Nothing," Bree replied, far too quickly. 

Riley squinted his eyes at her suspiciously. "Well whatever it is," he started, "stop thinking about it. We're in class. We're here to learn. Get your head in the game, Bree." He held his fist out for fist bump and Bree obliged far quicker than she would have a week ago. Riley grinned, saying nothing, but the glittering spark in his eyes said it all. He knew he was cracking her shell.

Just as Bree was about to say something, their professor announced her presence, stopping Bree from talking. Riley, the cocky guy that he was, put his index finger to his lips, indicating Bree be quiet. Then, he pointed to their professor and then his notebook, then his temple and finally giving her a thumbs up. Bree rolled her eyes and huffed.

Surprisingly, the two of them focused for the entirety of the lecture. Both of them serious about their education. 

****************************

Week Two: Thursday

Just like the class before, Riley greeted Bree, asked her how she was and then became laser focused on the lecture when the professor started teaching. After class ended, he bid her a farewell and rushed off to wherever he went to after class. His golden blond hair glittering under the fluorescent light as he dashed off.

Bree...kind of admired how serious he was about his education.

************************

Week Three: Monday

Once again, he came in, greeted Bree, paid attention to the lecture, wrote his notes, then promptly left after class. Yet, he always made sure to wish Bree and good day before leaving.

************************

Week Three: Thursday 

Riley didn't show up to class. 

Bree kind of missed him. 

    *********************

Week Four: Monday

Riley was already sitting down at the table when Bree walked into the lecture hall. He enthusiastically waved at her. Bree's heart rate picked up. She brushed the feeling off. It was nothing. She told herself that heart only sped up because she wasn't expecting him there and him suddenly waving slightly scared her. Not that his smile was literally shining and that he looked great in a navy blue hoodie. The hoodie made his blond hair stand out. 

"Hey," Bree said, sitting down beside him. 

"Hi," Riley said back. "Did you miss me last class?" he asked, leaning forward towards Bree. A teasing smirk on his face.  

Bree acted clueless. She scrunched her eyebrows and slightly tilted her head upwards, acting as if she was recalling last class. "You weren't in class on Thursday?" she asked, faking confusion. 

The grin on Riley's face grew impossibly bigger. "Ouch," he said, sitting upright. He coughed gently, the smile on his face smaller now. "I'm kind of hurt," he said, tapping his pen on his notebook. He made an awful attempt to look pitiful. 

"Sorry," Bree shrugged, keeping up with the act.

"Well~," Riley began, singsonging the word, "if you're really sorry, then can you let me borrow your notes from last class?" 

Bree hesitated, just a bit. She was studious and she didn't really want to freely hand over her notes to people. Maybe she should suggest he take a picture of her notes, but even she knew that wouldn't be the same. 

"Ask one of your friends," she said instead. She internally cringed at herself. 

Riley was popular. She'd seen him out on campus hanging out with many people. Even in class - though he always sat beside Bree, he was always waving at people and talking to them. 

"I am," Riley said simply, looking right into Bree's eyes. There was no humour on his face. He looked so sincere that it made Bree pause.

The words, "I am," kept bouncing around in Bree's head. He said it like it was so easy. That to him, of course they were friends. Of course he could easily ask her for class notes. Of course he knew she'd eventually give them to him. Of course, of course, of course. 

Riley waited a beat, and when Bree didn't verbally respond or move an inch, he waved a hand in her face. "So?" he asked.

Still speechless, Bree could only nod.

Riley's responding smile glittered in Bree's eyes. 

***************************

Week Four: Thursday

Bree, hoping to look calm, cool and collected, walked into class with her head held high. Well...semi-high. She didn't want to attract any attention to herself. 

Her stature deflated a bit when she noticed that the seat Riley sat in, was empty. She wanted to lie and say she only cared about him returning her notes but after a month of knowing him, she could admit she liked his company.

"He usually comes in after you anyway," she mumbled to herself, sitting down in her usual seat. 

Without her notebook, she only took out her pen and fiddled with it on the table, head down, avoiding making eye contact with anyone.  

Times seemed to go slowly as she waited for him. Simultaneously, it seemed to fly by as she watched seats get filled up quickly. 

Maybe it'll be like last Thursday and Riley won't show up. Bree had an extra notebook she could write her notes in, but she still needed the one she loaned Riley to study with. 

Bree longingly watched the door as people came into class. Just as she was about to give up waiting for Riley, he walked through the doors and immediately make eye contact with Bree. He flashed her with a bright smile and all but ran over to his seat.

"Hi Bree," he said, sounding out of breath. 

"Did you run here?" Bree asked. 

"Yeah, someone wanted to talk to me outside and they I couldn't tell them to stop talking so it made me a little late. Didn't miss anything did I?" he asked looking to the front of the room. 

"No, you're just on time," she said.

"Cool," Riley said, winking at Bree. 

The wink made her pause. He'd never done that before. Bree could feel her body heating up...or maybe it was just the room. 

"Here," Riley handed Bree back her notebook. "Thank you so much for letting me borrow this," he said. "You keep helping me out."

Bree frowned in confusion. 

Judging from the look on her face, Riley explained, "When you let me borrow your pen."

"Oh," Bree laughed, waving him off. "That was nothing." 

Bree huffed to herself. Her developing friendship with Riley all started with a pen.

"You're really smart," Riley stated, unprompted. 

"Huh?" Bree asked, confused. 

Riley pointed to her notebook. "Your notes are clear and concise. Much better than mine," he complimented.

"Thank you," Bree said. Bree took her education seriously and she knew Riley did as well, so for him to compliment her about it meant... a lot.

"There's a study group that meets up once a week for this class. Would you like to join?" Riley asked.

Bree hesitated. Study groups had never been anything she'd thought about. The idea of them too unappealing. Her in a group with a bunch of strangers who may or may not be beneficial to her studies was not really for her. She liked to figure things out on her own. Anything she didn't understand, she could email the professor. 

Plus, the less people she interacted with the better. 

"I don't think so," she said, cautiously. 

Riley shrugged. "No problem," he said. "Just let me know if you change your mind," he offered. 

Bree nodded. 

Just as before, as soon as their professor began her lecture, Riley turned his entire attention on the lesson. 

And just as before, as soon as the lecture was over, Riley left the classroom quickly. Not before wishing Bree a good day and a great weekend. 

  *********************

At home, Bree prepared herself to study her Psychology notes when she noticed a large post it sticker in her notebook. One she didn't put there.  

There was a section in the lesson she wasn't clear on so she'd commented on it in her notes. Right beside that, on the sticky note was a note from Riley with a detailed explanation on what she didn't understand. 

She ran her fingers across the sticky note and smiled. 

Joining a study group still wasn't for her, but maybe having a study partner wouldn't be so bad.  

**************************

Week Five: Monday

The call was what woke Bree up. She rolled around in bed to grab it from her nightstand. Her heart dropped when she saw the picture of the hound dog. She let it ring. Eventually, the ringing stopped and the screen went black, only to light up three seconds later with the picture of the hound dog. 

Bree watched it ring again. 

The caller stopped but then immediately following that, another call came through. This time, the phone displayed a pit bull terrier mid bark. 

"So they're together," Bree mumbled to herself. 

This time, Bree declined the call. 

A text notification came through and Bree swiped her phone to read it. 

"Pick up the damn phone when I call or everyone will know you go to the University of Ottawa," the text read.

Bree's head dropped onto her pillow. She let out a scream and punched the bed. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying from frustration. 

This time, when the phone rang with the picture of the pit bull, she picked up. 

She held the phone to her ear and didn't say a word. Waiting for him to speak first. 

"Was that so hard?" he asked. His voice was hard. Devoid of any familial love. "What are you even doing there anyway? You can work. You don't need school. You need to work."

"Education is important," was all Bree said, ignoring the rest. 

"So is money," her father retorted. 

Bree could hear rustling in the background and a voice say something inaudible. 

"I'm putting you on speaker," her father said.

"Hello Bree," her mother chimed, voice irritating even through the phone. Bree's mother was using the voice she used when she was around producers and directors, trying to network, trying to strike up a deal. 

"We need money," her mother said, getting to the point. 

Bree wasn't surprised. They only ever called her for money. Sometimes individually and sometimes - like now - they teamed up to ask her together. It wasn't even an ask, it was more of a demand. They only ever teamed up when neither of them had been able to reach her for months. 

Bree thought she could be able to study at the University of Ottawa for four years without them knowing. Without anyone knowing. How the heck did they figure out where she was.  

"I need 15 grand," Bree's father said. 

"I need 20," her mother said, giggling. The sound churned Bree's stomach. 

"For a divorced couple, they sure knew how to get together for their child," Bree thought bitterly.

"I don't have any money, you know that!" Bree yelled into the phone. 

"Watch your tone!" her father warned, his voice booming. 

"No!" Bree yelled back, fighting back tears. 

"Stop the crying," her mother sighed. "We know you still have friends in the industry, ask them."

Bree huffed. "I will be indebted to them," she said, "I'm not doing that. I've already taken out a loan to pay for school -"

"That's why you should be working!" Bree's mother said, cutting her off. "No one told you to quit acting! Your father and I got you such a good job as a kid and what did we get as thanks? You quitting. Left as soon as you turned 18, you ungrateful brat. Do you know how hard it is for child actors to rise to fame like you did?"

Bree's grip on her phone tightened. She loved acting. She really did. Every since she started acting at the age of 3, it never felt like a job. She was always booked and busy but she was never tired. As a child, she was acting alongside A list celebrities, getting casted in supporting roles in Oscar nominated films, getting nominated for awards. Her parents were great and supportive and with her every step of the way. Everything was going great.

It wasn't until she turned 16 and found out that she didn't have a nickel to her name. Her parents had taken all her money, spent it on themselves and expected her to continue funding their lavish lifestyles. As soon as she turned 18, she quit acting publicly. 

"If you don't want me telling reporters where you are, you will send me my money by the end of the week," her father warned. 

"If it's not in my account by Friday, I'll make sure you never see your little brother again," her mother added. 

That made Bree pause. She didn't want any attention from the press, she didn't want any attention from anyone. That's why she made herself small and avoided people, but push comes to shove, she could handle the unwanted attention. She could handle paparazzi bothering her at school.

However, not seeing her brother again, she couldn't handle. Her mother had custody of him, she could take him at any time and run off to God knows where. She could exploit him and force him to start acting. Bree didn't want her innocent little brother to go through the same things she did.

"Fine," she croacked into the phone receiver. 

As soon as the word was out of her mouth, the phone line went dead. She clutched her phone tightly in anger to fight the tears that threatened to fall. If she was angry, she wouldn't cry. 

Bree forced herself to relax. She unclenched her jaw, dropped down her shoulders, sat up straight, put down the phone in her hand and took a deep breath. 

"You have classes today," she told herself. "You will go to all of them, then you'll figure out what to do." 

****************************

One of the first things Bree learned about Riley, was that he was very observant. So Bree attended her Psych class with Riley and acted as if nothing was wrong. She asked him about his weekend. She smiled when she was supposed to, she laughed when she was supposed to, she even had follow up questions. When Riley asked her about her weekend, she thinks she told him all she did was study. She couldn't even remember what she did. The phone call she got in the morning was all she could think about.

Bree paid attention in class and took notes. If she wasn't so outraged by this whole situation, she'd be impressed with herself.

Just like always, as soon as class was dismissed, Riley ran out, wishing Bree a good day. 

Usually, after her psychology class, Bree would go to the library to study up on her notes for her Sociology class, then she'd get lunch before heading off to class. This time, she walked around campus aimlessly, lost in thought. 

"What would Abby do?" she asked herself, biting and lip. Bree finally looked at her surroundings. She was in an area of campus she'd never been before. 80 meters away, Bree could see a coffee shop that didn't look busy at all. "Coffee," she answered, "she'd get coffee." 

The interior of the coffee shop was as simple as she expected it to be for a campus run shop. The furniture in the shop was more for purpose and function than for the aesthetics. There weren't any couches or decorative plants. Just round tables surrounded by simple plastic chairs and stools for people who wanted to sit near the window.  The walls were painted blue and white accents.

For what they lacked in decor, it looked like they made up with their variety of food. The display case was filled with all types of cake. From chocolate to pistachio to strawberry to cinnamon. They also had; egg, tuna, turkey and chicken sandwiches. Even zucchini sandwiches that were vegan friendly. They had cookies, brownies, croissants and more. 

The biggest surprise of all came when the barista came out from the "employees only" door. 

"Bree?" Riley asked, stopping in his tracks, shocked to see her. Bree was just as shocked. 

Riley was wearing a black T-shirt underneath a black apron with the stores logo on it. He also wore a black baseball cap, his golden hair was tucked behind his ears.

"Riley?" So this was where he ran off to after class. Bree looked at the group of girls sitting around a table, minding their own business and talking amongst themselves. "You work here?" she asked. Bree wanted to kick herself. Obviously he worked there, he wouldn't be standing on the other side of the register if he didn't. 

"Yeah," he replied smiling, unbothered by her asking the obvious. "I've never seen you here before," he said, his smile still plastered in his face. Seeing his smile did make Bree feel better, but only a little. 

Bree shrugged, "I've never been on this side of campus before," she answered. Bree only ever went where she needed to go, she didn't like wandering. 

"What brings you here today then?" he asked.

Bree shrugged again, smiling to hide her true emotions. "Change of scenery."

Riley looked at her wordlessly before nodding. His smile brightened even more. "Well, I'm happy you're here." Riley didn't wait for Bree to come up with an awkward answer, he clapped his hands together and asked her what she wanted to order. 

"Just a double shot americano, please." Bree wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but her best friend Abby was, and whenever Abby had a lot of thinking to do, she'd always get a double shot americano to help her power through. 

"For here or to go?" Riley asked. 

Bree paused. She'd love to sit around and study here but she wanted to escape to her little secret quiet corner in the library where she could study and think without worrying about being watched. 

"To go," she sighed, tapping her credit card into the card reader. 

"Coming right up," Riley said with an exaggerated wink and finger guns.

Bree couldn't help but chuckle. Riley could be so ridiculous sometimes. And in a time like this, it was appreciated.

To pass the time, Bree went on her phone to scroll through social media. She only looked up when Riley placed her coffee in front of her as well as a small box. 

Bree's eyebrows pulled together. "What's this?" she asked, peering into the cake box window.

"It's a slice of chocolate cake," Riley answered, pushing the box closer to Bree. When Bree finally looked up at him, he offered her a small smile. "It's just...," he sighed before continuing, "you seemed off today in class," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know what's going on, but I hope this helps even a little bit. I'm just sorry it's not orange chocolate." 

In that moment, more than any other moment since she's known him, Bree was really grateful Riley asked her for that pen. To have a friend she could rely on at school meant a lot. Every time she saw him, he seemed to sparkle like glitter. He made her heart feel warm and he made her not feel so lonely. 

Bree didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What kind of cafe doesn't have orange chocolate?" she countered instead, trying to keep the humour going. 

Riley snorted, "Normal ones." 

Just then, a customer came in, their attention on their phone. Bree turned back to Riley, who was still looking at her. He didn't even look to the customer that had come in. 

"I should go," Bree said, thumb pointing to the door behind her. 

Riley nodded. He quickly grabbed the cake he had gifted her and gently placed it at the bottom of a brown paper bag with handles. He threw in a plastic fork and several napkins in as well. "I'll see you on Thursday?" he asked, looking up at Bree.

Bree nodded. 

The customer was still focused on his phone so Bree waved to Riley and quietly left the coffee shop with her goodies. 

Despite everything that happened in the morning, Bree felt lighter, not by much, but enough to not feel so suffocated by her parents and their demands.

Hooking the paper bag to her right wrist and holding the cup of coffee in the same hand, Bree used her left hand to pull out her phone from her pocket. She clicked on the contact with the picture of a smiling golden retriever and hit the dial button. 

The phone rang twice before it was answered by a shriek. 

"Hiiiii~," Abby shrieked into the phone. "How are you, beautiful?" Abby asked. "I missed you!" she said, not waiting for Bree to answer her question. 

Bree could feel her over bubbly friend bouncing on the phone. 

"Abby," Bree sighed, into the receiver. And just like that, she felt Abby stop her bouncing. 

"What happened?" Abby asked, serious. 

Bree has known Abby ever since she first began acting at the age of three. Abby was four and took in upon herself to show Bree the ropes since she was a year older. Never mind the fact that it was her (Abby's) first acting role as well. They became instant best friends and had remained best friends ever since. They were each others biggest fans. Abby and her family had been supportive of Bree ever since her falling out with her parents. 

"They called this morning," Bree answered. "They want more money."

"Are you freaking serious!" Abby yelled into the phone. She quietly mumbled, "I need a coffee." Bree laughed, staring down at her own cup of coffee. "What should we do? Should we get lawyers involved? This is never going to stop, Bree! They'll keep demanding more and more and more. It'll never end!" 

Bree kicked a rock in her path. 

"What did they say?" Abby asked. 

Bree bit her lip to keep her composure before relaying the conversation with her parents to Abby.

"Isn't this illegal?!" Abby yelled. "35 grand? What the hell are they doing with all this money? They don't work and they want to uphold a lifestyle beyond their means by making you pay for it. How pathetic are these people? Using your brother to get you to agree. Can't you get custody of him? Tell everyone she's an unfit mother?"

"You know I can't do that," Bree said.

"And why the hell not!? Bree! You can't keep doing this to yourself!"

"Once he's 18, she can't keep using him as leverage. I'll have my degree by then and I can help him do whatever he wants."

"Bree!" Abby yelled, "he's seven! Seven! That's a long way from 18!," she tried to reason

"Calm down," Bree chuckled. 

"How can you laugh right now?" Abby asked. "Where are you?"

"I'm at school," Bree answered. Bree could laugh because she was just glad that someone could get mad on her behalf. When it all felt too much and she couldn't afford being angry or sad, Abby would always be there for her, saying what she couldn't. 

"I'll transfer you the money to send those leeches,"Abby offered. 

"No!," Bree immediately denied. "No way." 

Abby was still acting. Unlike Bree, Abby's parents were wonderful and genuine. They saved every dollar Abby earned from her acting as a child and gave her monthly allowance on top of that. When Abby turned 18, she took control of her own finances. Abby was the lead actress in a sitcom drama and she did movies once or twice a year. She was extremely busy, but she always made time for Bree. Always.  

Abby was a generous person to her loved ones. So when Bree turned 18, Abby offered her a large sum of money, but Bree declined. She wanted to earn her own money and start over. So for over two years, she worked hard to earn more than enough to pay for school and her living expenses. 

Bree had two sources of income. One was from acting. Voice acting. She went by an alias name that only her agent and Abby knew about. She did commercials by heavily altering her voice so that it was unrecognizable. She was also a supporting character in two children's animation series. Those made her good money. 

Her second source of income was art. Painting in particular. She had a pen name for that as well. One that was different from the one she used to voice act. Abby had helped her get on a website that sold art at high prices. It was a place the wealthy could buy "exclusive art," from "exclusive artists," and brag about. Bree's style of art was abstract and she thought she was mediocre at best but she had a good following on the website. 

"What are you going to do then?" Abby asked, her voice softening a bit. 

"I have about $5,000 in the bank," Bree started. "I have some paintings that are done."

"How many?" Abby asked.

"Like five, I think?"

"Sell them for $10,000 each," Abby said, bluntly.

"Are you crazy?!" Bree hissed. 

"They'll buy. Heck, I'll buy some too."

"No!" Bree had given Abby countless paintings in the past. Small ones that Bree gifted Abby. She'd never sold one to Abby and she wasn't planning on starting now. "I'll just give you one."

"Ask that lady if she wants to buy or ask if she wants a commission piece and charge her double. Tell her you want to be paid first," Abby all but ordered.

There was a woman on the art website who bought a lot of Bree's art. She always paid a pretty penny and she openly admired Bree's work. Bree didn't know much about her apart from her name being Linda and that she was some kind of investor. 

Bree hesitated. "Is that ok to do?" she asked. 

"Yes!" Abby barked. "Make a posting saying you're doing commissions for a limited time only and it's first come first serve. When they reach out, tell them you want a 75% deposit."

Bree rubbed her temple with her pinky finger, holding the phone to her ear with her other four fingers. "What if I don't get any orders? What if I get too many?"

"Stop worrying about the what ifs and just do it! Make the post right now, I will stay on the line."

Bree huffed, but did as she was told. She went on the website and made a post saying exactly what Abby suggested. A limited time offer of a personalized painting starting from 10k and up. She posted pictures of her already completed paintings and said she was selling them for 5k each.

"This is crazy," Bree said. "Who am I? Picasso? These prices are ludicrous."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," Abby scolded, "your art is absolutely amazing. Every time someone comes to my house, they always ask who the artist is for the paintings on my walls." 

"Thanks Abs," Bree smiled. "Listen, unlike you, I have school so I have to go."

"Okay okay, 'Miss All I Do Is Study'," Abby teased. "Call me if you change your mind about me buying some pieces." 

Bree blew a kiss into the phone before hanging up. 

She had a game plan and she felt much better because of it. It was a risky plan but she knew if no one wanted to buy a piece, she could ask Abby for a loan and pay her back. 

By the time Bree got to her quiet little spot in the library, she had a few notifications in her email. Three people wanted to buy her already completed pieces and four more people were asking for commission pieces. Linda was requesting 5 commissioned pieces for herself. Linda had also sent her separate email. 

"Hi Dear," the message read, "I am having a private get together soon and I would love to gift my guests (5) with your pieces. I will pay full price upfront and I'll add in an extra $10,000 for priority ($2,000 for each piece). If you agree, I will send you an additional email about each guest with information on their personalities, their favourite colours etc (whatever you need for inspiration and ideas). Thank you and hope to hear from you soon, Dear. Ciao. Linda."

Bree gently put her phone on the table, put her hands over her face and cried in relief. 

*****************************

Week Five: Thursday

Bree didn't remember what happened. 

She remembered a few things. She came to class, sat down, waited for Riley, thanked him for the cake, got ready to take notes for class, saw the professor come in...and that was it. She didn't remember the lesson at all. 

One minutes the professor was saying hello to the class and the next moment - in a blink of an eye - Riley was shaking her. The classroom almost empty. 

"You fell asleep," Riley explained. 

Bree looked around. That couldn't be right. "What?" she voiced, confused. 

"You fell asleep the moment the lecture started," Riley said, smiling at her gently, his hand still on her shoulder. "Everything ok?" he asked. 

Bree blinked. She was a little disoriented. For the past three days, she had been painting nonstop. Only times she stopped were for classes and bathroom breaks. She had more orders than she thought she would. Each day, she was getting new orders. She'd have to take down the posting to keep up demand. 

"Just a little tired," she answered Riley. 

Riley just hummed. He slowly took his hand off her shoulder and handed her his notebook. 

"You can borrow my notes," he offered. "Just return it to me next class. Deal?" 

Bree smiled, grateful. "Deal."

Riley stood up and waited for Bree to do the same. When she only stared up at him instead of getting up, he motioned for her to stand. 

"Let's go, Bree. The next class will be coming in soon."

Bree nodded. She slowly collected her things and stood up. "Thanks, Riley."

"Don't mention it," he winked. 

When they left the lecture hall, Riley turned left and Bree turned right. "Well," Riley sighed, "see you later." 

Bree smiled, "See you later."

Riley seemed to hesitate before he left Bree. 

It wasn't until she was halfway home that she realized that Riley didn't run off to work or his next class like he usually did. He waited until Bree was awake and ok before he left. 

Bree's cheeks warmed and heart thumped a little harder.

*****************************

 Week Six: Friday

It had been well over a week since Bree had that call from her parents. The money had been sent and for now, their looming threats had ceased. In one week, Bree had painted more pieces than she had in 6 months. She was grateful to a lot of people and for a lot of things, but she was exhausted. She was running on too little food and much too little sleep.

But despite it all, she promised herself- and Abby, that she would allow herself a little treat at the end of the week. 

Bree wanted to go to the cafe Riley worked at, but she wasn't sure if he was on shift or if he had class or if he even had the day off. She talked herself against going and checking. Instead, Bree decided to go to a cafe that was just a 15 minute walk away from campus. Judging from the pictures online, the cafe was beautiful and modern looking. The reviews for the cafe were great as well. People seemed to really enjoy their drinks and desserts. Their matcha strawberry latte was their best seller. 

It was past 2pm when Bree got there, so there weren't many customers. Just a few groups of people scattered around, there were two female employees behind the counter and one male employee wiping down a table. The place was just as beautiful as Bree saw from the photos online. The walls were dark grey and the ceiling was high. They had many plants of all types scattered around the cafe, some even hanging from ceiling. The wooden rectangular tables were surrounded by cushioned chairs. There was soft jazz playing in the speakers. A far cry from the cafe on campus Riley worked at.

Bree liked the place instantly. 

She walked up to the register to place her order when someone called her name. Turning around, Bree came face to face with the employee who was wiping down the table. 

"Riley?"

Riley laughed. "Funny seeing you here," he said. 

"I could say the same," Bree joked, looking down at his apron. this one grey. "You work here?" she asked, stating the obvious, again.

"Yeah," Riley said, straightening out his apron. "Don't tell my other job I'm cheating on them." 

Bree made show of zipping her lips. Riley grinned. 

Things had gone back to normal after Riley woke Bree up after class last week, She had thanked him for loaning her his notes and she had made sure she didn't sleep in class again. 

"What can I get for you?" Riley asked, tilting his head towards the register. 

"Oh!" For a minute there, Bree had forgotten what she was doing there. "Uhm, a matcha strawberry latte, please."

Riley's eyes seemed to sparkle at her order, teasing her without saying a word. 

Bree knew her eyes were probably sparkling in return, challenging him to say something. 

"Of course," Riley said, "Right this way," he said pointing to the register. 

Riley went around the register to make Bree's drink himself. His coworkers watched them quietly from the sidelines. Bree put her head down so that her hair was obstructing her face from their gaze. 

"Hi, can I help you?" One of the employees asked, a little cautious. 

"Oh, I ordered a matcha strawberry latte," Bree said pointing at Riley, whose back was turned to them. "He's making it."

"I can ring you out," she said. 

Bree nodded and tapped her card to the card reader. "Thanks," she mumbled. 

She was putting her card back into her purse when Riley came back with her drink. 

"Did you just pay?" he asked. 

"Yeah, I rang her through," his coworker answered.

Riley scowled. He genuinely looked upset. "She's my friend. I was going to handle her bill," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said. She looked guilty. 

"It's ok," Bree laughed. "I want to pay."

Riley frowned a bit more but handed Bree her drink. 

Bree hesitated a bit before she blurted out what she had been thinking about for over a week now. 

"Do you want to study together?" she asked Riley. She knew it was a random question to ask at such a random time, but she didn't care. "For our midterm exam coming up?" Riley's notes from class were great and Bree would really benefit having him as a study partner.

"Sure! Yes! Of course," Riley agreed without hesitation. "Do you want to study on Monday? I'm free after 6," he offered, taking the initiative. 

Bree nodded. "Sounds good." 

Riley beamed. 

Bree beamed back.

***************************

Week Seven: Monday

It was five minutes to 6 and Bree was a little nervous. She stalled as much as she could before going over to the library. This library wasn't the usual one she went to but it was a nice one all the same. Earlier today in class, Riley had informed her that he had booked them a private study room at the library. Bree was nervous because this would be the first time that she and Riley would be alone together.

To her surprise, Riley was already at the library waiting for her. 

He waved at her. 

"Hi," Bree said. 

"Hi yourself," Riley answered. "You ready?"

When Bree nodded, Riley opened the library door for her and she entered. She didn't get to look around much before Riley told her to follow him. They walked past the front desk, down a hallway where the study rooms were. - all the study rooms were occupied. They went a bit further down where the rooms were empty, but they all had a plaque on the door that read, "Staff Only." Riley stopped in front of one of them. 

"I think this is staff only," Bree said, cautious. 

RIley grinned. He pulled into his back pocket and pulled out a lanyard with and ID card attached. "I am staff." 

Bree stood stunned. He worked here too!?

"You work here too!?" she voiced. 

Riley laughed. "Yeah." Riley opened the door for her. "Come on in! Let's get to work!"

And work they did. For the next hour and a half, they studied. Bouncing notes off each other, asking questions on things they weren't sure of, quietly self studying. It was fantastic for Bree. Riley even brought an old exam he got from someone who took the course two years ago. 

"Before we do the exam, let's take a short break," Riley suggested.

"Are you hungry?," Bree asked. "I could get us something to eat," she offered. Bree herself wasn't hungry but she didn't mind having a snack.

"Nah, I'm alright," Riley said. "Are you hungry?"

Bree shook her head. 

"So...," Riley tapped his pen on the table. "I was hoping to get you know you better. Tell me about yourself."

Bree hesitated. She liked Riley. She really did, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to tell him about her past. 

"What do you want to know?," she asked, instead of offering up unsolicited information. 

"What's your major?" Riley asked, sitting up straighter in his seat. 

Bree sighed in relief. This she could do. "I'm majoring in law," she answered. 

"Ooooh," Riley cooed, "we have a lawyer amongst us."

Bree giggled. "Shut up," she said with no heat behind it. 

"What do you want to do with that?" Riley followed up.

Bree briefly hesitated. She tapped her fingernails on the table separating her and Riley. "Uhm, I am going to be a children's lawyer." Though she was cautious of telling Riley because she feared his follow up questions, she was confident in her choice of career. 

"Oh that's cool," Riley smiled, he sounded sincere. "I've never met anyone who was a lawyer for kids only," he added. 

"Yeah," Bree laughed awkwardly. 

"Why that area?" Riley asked. 

Bree expected the question, she couldn't fault Riley for wanting to know. He didn't know who she was and he treated her like a friend. 

"Sometimes, kids can't defend themselves, so I think they should know that they have someone to turn to if their parents can't. Someone who will fight for them." She couldn't tell him the full truth, but she could tell him this much.

"That's honorable," Riley said. 

"What about you?" Bree asked wanting to divert the attention from herself. "You said you're in engineering, right?" 

Riley looked pleasantly surprised. "You remember that?" he asked. "I told you that after you let me borrow your pen," he laughed. 

It felt like so long ago when Bree gave Riley her pen.

Riley tapped the table thinking. He looked up at the ceiling, "Um, what else?," he whispered to himself. "I'm assuming oranges are your favourite fruit?" Riley looked at Bree with an arched eyebrow. When she nodded to confirm his assumption, he continued. "So...what are some hobbies you have?"

Bree bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. She took a deep breath before answering. "Rating chocolate oranges."

Bree couldn't help but laugh at the look of Riley's face. 

"You're kidding," he deadpanned. 

Bree shook her head. "I also like trying new foods, painting and drawing," she offered, throwing him a bone. "What are your hobbies?"

Riley tilted his head slightly in thought. "I like working out, photography, making coffee and finding jobs."

Bree perked up at the last one. "Finding jobs? Elaborate," she demanded. 

Riley shrugged. "I don't know, I just like finding jobs and working. Keeping myself busy," at Bree's silence, he continued. "I took two years off after highschool to work and save up. My family couldn't pay my tuition and I didn't want to borrow any money, so I decided to work a lot to pay for my tuition and help out at home. My folks live in Calgary." 

"You don't work anywhere else, do you?" Bree asked. She highly doubted it. Working three jobs and being an engineering student was crazy enough. She didn't even know how Riley managed all of that. It was truly mind-boggling. 

Riley gave her a sheepish look with a curt nod. "Yeah, I work at the school gym too," he answered.

Bree's jaw dropped. "No way," she gasped. "H-How?" 

Did Riley have more than 24 hours in a day? He was studious and extremely hardworking but this was too much. Bree thought back to painting the custom orders over two weeks ago and how that was taxing for her, but to keep up with schoolwork, have top grades and work four jobs sounded impossible for her. Insane and impossible. 

"I just really like working," Riley shrugged, like it was nothing. "I like making money and saving money and it keeps me busy." 

Bree couldn't wrap her head around all of this. How did he possibly keep up with everything? Bree was genuinely concerned. 

Riley laughed suddenly. There was glee in his eyes as he looked at Bree. "You look so worried," he said. "I can handle it," he reassured.

"You're...," Bree swallowed. "You're not like...looking for another job are you?" she asked. Riley did just say he liked working. This must've been an odd addiction or something. 

Riley looked offended. "No?," he said, sounding a little confused. "That's five jobs, Bree, I'm not crazy!"

"But four jobs isn't crazy!?," Bree countered. "Okay," she said, looking at him like he was a crazy person. 

"Whatever," Riley huffed, rolling his eyes. 

"Whatever," Bree huffed back, rolling hers. 

They stared at each other in bewilderment before they both cracked and laughed. 

"Let's get back to work," Bree mumbled. 

***************************

Week Seven: Wednesday 

Bree was enjoying something rare. An afternoon off. 

Usually, on Wednesdays, Bree would wake up at 5am, head over to the recording studio to record an episode or two of her voiceover job, come back home, have late breakfast, study at home and then head over to her 2pm class for a 3 hour lecture. But today, her professor cancelled the class so she had the afternoon to herself. 

She could do so much with her day, but instead, she decided to lounge at home on her bed and watch cartoons on her laptop. She watched the one of the cartoons she did voiceovers for, "Boris the bear and friends!" The show was about woodland animals who were friends and went on adventures together. It was silly and simple and didn't require much thought to watch. The show - despite the simplicity of its premise, was surprisingly really popular. Bree played the evil squirrel who tried to sabotage the other woodland characters in the show. It made her good money.

Bree snorted at herself when her character released a wicked cackle. The sound of her own laugh almost made her miss the text alert that came through her phone. 

Call me when you're out of class <3. It was from Abby. 

Bree called her right away.

"Oh!" Abby said, picking up after one ring. "What is this? Is the famous Bree Calder skipping class?"

"As if," Bree scoffed. "Class got cancelled today, so I'm chillin'," she explained.

Abby sputtered. "You should have told me you had the day off! I wouldn't have made plans otherwise! Why didn't you tell me? Do you hate me!?"

Bree rolled her eyes at Abby's dramatics. "How was I supposed to know class would be cancelled last minute, huh?"

Abby hummed. "You have a point there." 

"So what's up?" Bree asked, laying down on her back and staring at her bedroom ceiling. 

"Laura and I are going on a silent retreat in Bali next Saturday. You coming with?" Bree asked. "It's a week long thing," she added. 

Laura was a mutual friend of Abby and Bree's. Bree wasn't as close to her as she was to Abby, but Bree really liked her. Laura was a good friend. Abby had met Laura on a set of a movie. Laura was the movie director's daughter. Laura would come on the set everyday because she had a huge crush on Abby's coworker (a guy who played Abby's brother in the movie). Laura and Abby got close, then Abby introduced Laura to Bree and they got close as well. Laura admitted to being a huge fan of Bree's when they first met. 

Laura also did end up dating Abby's coworker.

Bree was silent. Abby couldn't be serious. 

"Hello? Bree?," Abby called. "Are you still there?"

"I have school, Abby! How can I go on a silent retreat across the globe in a week for a week? Be for real?"

"Isn't that week reading week!? You have an entire week off! You'll be back in time for classes!" Abby reasoned. "I got everything covered. Laura and I thought you'd be free!"

"Abby-,"

"Since you've been through a lot these past few weeks, I thought you'd need a break," Abby said, cutting Bree off.

At that, the fight left Bree. She couldn't be mad at her friends thinking of her schedule and planning a relaxation trip with her in mind.

"Abby," she sighed. "Thank you so much for thinking of me, but I want to stay here and study. I'll go to the library to study and stuff. 

"If that's what you want," Abby said simply. Easily. She didn't pressure or shame Abby at all. "I'll call you on the day we're leaving to let you know, since we'll be off our phones. Also if you change your mind at any time you can tell me."

"Even on the day you leave?" Bree joked. 

"Even on the plane," Abby said, no humour in her voice. "You can send a signal in the sky and I'll have the pilot turn the plane around and come pick you up." 

Bree laughed. A full on belly laugh. In moments like this, she was so grateful to have a friend like Abby. 

"Why are you laughing, I'm serious," Abby said over the phone. Bree kept laughing. "This is not a laughing matter, Bree". Bree could tell that Abby was smiling now. Abby's voice was always higher when she had a smile on her face.

"Yes, ma'am," Bree said, lowering her voice. 

"So what are you doing now?" Abby asked. 

Bree hesitated for a moment. She thought of telling Abby about Riley and her blooming feelings towards him, but decided against it. Nothing had happened. There wasn't anything to really tell. There wasn't anything special between them. Her and Riley were friendly. They sat side by side in class and studied together once. Going to his places of employment by accident wasn't anything amazing either. She'd tell Abby once she was more sure of her own feelings and his. 

"I'm watching Boris the bear and friends," Bree answered. 

"Which episode?"

"The one where they go swimming in a lake."

Abby gasped. "I love that episode. Stop watching! I'm coming over! We can watch together!" 

Bree heard scuffling over the phone. She sat up from her bed. "Didn't you say you had plans today?"

"I cancelled them," Abby said, like it was no big deal. "What are we having for snacks?"

"Cheese puffs," Bree grinned, shoving some into her mouth. "But there's not much left..."

"Oh my God, stop eating them. Save some for me!" Cheese puffs were Abby's favourite snack. 

"No," Bree refused, shoving more into her mouth. With her mouth full, she said, "All mine!"

"Bree! No! Save me some." Bree heard Abby start her car. "There better be some for me when I get there or you're gonna get it!"

Bree had three full bags of cheese puff in her pantry, but what Abby didn't know, wouldn't hurt her. 

"So yummy," Bree teased, shaking the bag into the phone. 

"Breeeeeee!!!!"

***************************

Week Seven: Thursday 

Bree was on the bus at 6:52 in the morning, regretting her choices. Her professor for her Intro to Criminal Law class had office hours from 7 am to 8 am. Bree thought he did that on purpose because no one in their right mind would come to school this early to ask questions. Well...he didn't know Bree. 

In her defense, Bree did email him twice already but he never answered her, so she was left with no choice but to see him in person. 

Bree was already tired from hanging out with Abby all afternoon and night yesterday, but she didn't regret that. Abby had left Bree's apartment well past 1 am, refusing to sleep on the couch or share Bree's small twin bed. 

Though she lived off campus. Bree was thankful that there was a bus that ran from her neighbourhood to the school so she didn't have to transfer. There were only two other people on the bus with her, both of them asleep. 

Bree was ten minutes away from campus so sleeping on the bus would be dangerous because she was scared she'd miss her stop. 

Looking outside the window opposite from her seat, Bree watched as a man in a black hoodie and black sweat pants jogged ahead of the bus. Bree smiled to herself because his build was similar to Riley's. Her heart fluttered a bit in anticipation of seeing him in class.

The man stopped running and bent over to retie his shoelaces. When the bus passed by him, Bree tried to get a look at his face, but she couldn't. She doubted he was as handsome as Riley.

At a red light, Bree looked outside the window next to her and saw a woman in a black dress and heels, obviously going though the walk of shame. The woman kept looking behind her and it was then that Bree saw the three guys following her. Bree sat up in alarm.

The men were heckling something at the woman that Bree couldn't hear. They ran the short distance between them and the woman and surrounded her. Bree got up from her seat and ran to the bus driver.  

"Excuse me," she said to the driver. "Someone outside needs help."

Bree pointed outside the drivers window at the woman. The driver looked and turned back to Bree. He looked tired and unbothered. "What do you want me to do? I drive the bus." 

"Well we can't watch!" Bree said, flabbergasted. "If you don't want to get out and do something, honk the horn." Maybe if he honked the horn, the guys would hear and know that they were being watched. 

"Look, I'm not going to play hero," the bus driver sighed. "You can go out there and help if you want. I'm on the clock." 

Just as Bree was about to tell him to let her off the bus, the guy who was jogging earlier approached the group. He said something and the woman scurried behind him, hiding herself from the trio. The mystery man, pulled down the hood of his hoodie and Bree did a double take when she recognized Riley's golden hair. 

"See, someone is helping. We'll stay here," the bus driver said, watching the scene with interest now. 

Bree glared at the back of the driver's head. "What a useless man," she thought. 

Out the window, Bree watched as Riley pushed one of the guys who stepped up in his face. The other man went flying back and hit his butt hard on the ground. His buddies looked on his shock. When Riley took a step forward towards them, they ran back, helped their friend up and ran off, yelling something at Riley and the woman. 

"Oh, the light is green," the bus driver said, "get back to your seat." 

Bree looked out the window at Riley and the woman as she got back to her seat. Riley had his hand on the woman's shoulder as he gave her a small smile and said something to her. Bree couldn't see the woman's face but she could tell the woman was nodding back at Riley. From her body language, she looked relieved.  

Bree was relieved for her too.

*************************

Before class began, Bree had told herself that she would tell Riley that she had seen him in the morning, but as she watched him enter through the doors and directly head over towards her a big smile on his face, she decided against it. She didn't want to seem like a creep or something.

"Hey," Riley said, sitting down, the grin on his face huge. "I have a surprise for you!"

Bree furrowed her brows and watched as Riley reached into his backpack. Despite the confusion on her face, her heart was thumping in anticipation. "You got me something again?," she asked. "No wonder you work four jobs, you're always buying people gifts," Bree joked.

Riley looked at her with a smirk. "No," he said, simply. "Just you." 

Bree could feel her cheeks heating up and thanked God that her complexion hid it. 

"Tada!" Riley exclaimed, plopping a small plushie in front of Bree. 

The plushie was in the shape of a chocolate bar. It was half unwrapped with the wrapper being brown. One the wrapper was a smiley face. The chocolate bar itself was orange coloured and at the top of the chocolate bar were two leaves. 

"It's orange chocolate!" Riley cheered, proud of himself. "When I saw it, I immediately thought of you." 

Bree didn't even know she could wheeze. But here she was, in front of a guy she liked, laughing so hard she was wheezing. Bree grabbed the plushie and squeezed it in her hands, laughing at it. Her eyes watered from laughing so hard. Her throat hurt also.

"If I knew you'd like it so much, I'd buy you 100," Riley said, laughing along with her. 

"I love it," Bree managed to get out through her laughter. "I love it so much."

"I'm glad," Riley said. He puts his elbow on the desk and placed his cheek in his hand, quietly staring at Bree with a sparkle in his eyes. The look was of pure adoration. Bree slowly stopped laughing and cleared her throat. 

"You know what's funny?" Riley asked, sitting up straight again. 

"What?" Bree asked, looking at him through her lashes. 

"We don't have each other's numbers. May I have your number, Bree?"

Bree's breath stammered. She slowly nodded, fighting the grin on her face. 

Riley unlocked his phone and handed it to Bree, she put in her number and handed it back to him. Riley tapped his phone and Bree felt her phone vibrate with an incoming call. 

"Now you have mine," Riley said, giving her a wink. Bree pursed her lips together and nodded. 

"Hello, everybody!," the professor said into her mic, startling Bree. 

Before she could forget, Bree poked Riley's arm. "The midterm is next week, do you want to study again at the library?"

Riley nodded. "Of course. I'll text you and we can schedule a time." 

************************

Week Seven: Saturday

Bree couldn't believe she was at Riley's apartment on a Saturday. 

Just like her, he lived off campus in a small one bedroom apartment. 

Riley told her to bring all her studying material because he had booked a study room for 3 hours. He told Bree he would help her study for her other classes. When she asked how he could know any of her material, he'd replied, "I'm smart, Bree. You already know that." When she looked at him unimpressed, he said, "Okay, fine, I was going to google questions or something."

They had been in the study room for about an hour before one of Riley's coworkers knocked on the door begging to use the room. 

"Dude, there's only two of you and there's eight of us," the guy tried to reason, pointing to the entourage behind him. "I really need this. I'll take your next shift. I'll shelve all the books so you don't have to!"

"No," Riley said. "Ask someone else." Riley tried to close the door on the guy and his entourage but the guy slammed his hand on the door, stopping it from closing. 

"All the other rooms are taken by the seniors. You and I are the only first years working here, please dude." 

Riley shook his head. He put his hand on the guy's chest to push him back but Bree spoke up before Riley could deny the guy again. 

"It's okay," she said, standing up and collecting her things. Riley and the guy both looked at her with wide eyes. One in shock and one in gratitude. 

"Thank you," the guy said in relief. Then he titled his head to the side. "Hey, anyone ever tell you you kind of look like -," 

"Just give us a second to grab our things!" Bree said, raising her voice, cutting the guy off. She kept her head down so her hair covered her face. It was clear this guy recognized her. She needed to get out of there. Fast.

At the door, Riley sighed. "Stop blocking the door," he told his coworker. "Back off, let us grab our things, then you can come in. Basic decency." 

Bree and Riley didn't say anything to each other as they packed their stuff. It was only when they were out the study room when Bree spoke first. 

"Well," she said, looking up at Riley. "I guess that's it for today." She tried to gauge whether or not he was mad at her for letting the group have their room, but Riley was hard to read.

"You're too soft hearted," Riley said instead. "I like how kind you are but you can't let people bully you," he said, sternly. 

Bree nodded and looked down at her feet. She mumbled, "sorry," but Riley didn't acknowledge it. 

"I live 15 minutes away," Riley started. "We can walk to my apartment and continue studying there if you want. No pressure." 

Bree stayed silent. She thought about it. She looked at the phone to look at the time. It was 5:03pm. Maybe she could go to his place and study for another hour or so? Riley was a great study buddy. 

"Okay," she agreed. 

So here she was, standing in front of Riley's apartment. 

"After you," he said, opening the door wide for her. 

Bree smiled in thanks. 

Riley's apartment looked...regular. There was a couch that looked well used, not dirty, but not brand new either. He had a tv facing the couch. A small coffee table between them. Riley's kitchen looked fine. From where she stood, Bree couldn't see any dishes in the sink. There was a pot on the stove though. Walking further into the apartment, Bree could see that Riley's bathroom and bedroom doors were open. 

"Do you want a tour?" Riley asked. 

Bree knew she should say "no" but she really wanted to see what Riley's bedroom looked like. So she said, "yes," instead. 

Bree pretended to listen when Riley gave her the walk through of the living room and kitchen. He pointed to the bathroom and said, "this is where I do my business." Bree grimaced and Riley laughed. To her satisfaction, the bathroom was clean. 

Riley's bedroom looked regular too. He had twin xl bed with blue coverings. He had a large dresser and a closet. There were some clothes on the bed, as well as a laptop. 

"Nice place," Bree said, meaning it. 

"Thanks," Riley preened. "Now!" he said, clapping his hands. "Let's get to work."

So that's what they did. They studied for about an hour before Bree's phone rang. She pulled out her phone and quickly declined the call when she saw a picture of the pit bull. 

No.

Not now.

Not again. 

She just gave them money. What could they possibly want now!?

The phone rang again. The pit bull. 

"Why is that a dog?" Riley asked, snapping Bree out of rising panic. 

"Huh?" 

"The pit bull," he said, pointing at her phone. "Who's the dog?"

"Oh," Bree huffed, flipping her phone over. "I like dogs so all my contacts have pictures of dogs." Bree didn't tell him that she matched her contacts' personalities with breeds of dogs that suited them. 

Her mom? A hound. Her dad? A pit bull. Abby? A golden retriever. 

"What's mine?" Riley asked. 

Bree blinked, surprised by the question. Of course, Riley would be curious to know his. Who wouldn't be?

"Call me and find out," she teased, smirking.

Without missing a beat and without breaking eye contact, Riley grabbed his phone off the table. He finally broke eye contact to look at his phone and call Bree's number. 

Bree's phone vibrated on the table. Riley was practically bouncing up and down. "Let me see," he whined, waiting for Bree to show him. 

Bree grabbed the phone and showed Riley the dog. 

Riley smiled, amused. "What dog is that?" he asked. "I'm not good at breeds." 

"Oh wow!" Bree hollered, putting her phone down and clapping her hands. "You finally admitted to not knowing something! I guess you're not smart when it comes to dogs, huh?"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Riley said, brushing her off. "What dog is that and why did you pick that one for me?" 

Of course Riley figured out the pictures weren't just for show. 

"It's a Bernese Mountain Dog," Bree answered. "They are, uhh... gentle giants who are friendly and goofy."

"You think I'm goofy?!" Riley asked, in a dramatic scandalous voice, making Bree laugh. He then lowered his voice and puffed his shoulders, making funny faces. "I'm a serious man who means nothing but business, Bree!" 

It was because Riley was making her laugh so much that she didn't think twice when she leaned towards him and gave him a peck on the lips. 

Riley froze.

His reaction was what made Bree realize what she had just done. 

She flew back and covered her mouth and nose with her hands. "Oh my God! I am so sorry," she cried. 

Riley shook his head and his hands at the same time. "Don't be. Don't be," he said. "It's ok. I'm happy you kissed me," he said, reassuring her. 

"Really?" Bree asked, removing her hands from her face. 

"Really," Riley said. 

There was an awkward lull. Riley softly stared at Bree while she refused to look at him. 

"Well," she said, getting up abruptly, rubbing her hands down the sides of her pants. "I should head out."

"We aren't finished though," Riley said, getting up as well. 

"Yeah~, but the time," Bree said, having no clue what the time was. Maybe past 6:30pm, who knew? Not her. 

"Let me call you a taxi," Riley offered. 

Bree snorted. "Riley, it's still light out, I can take a bus."

Riley nodded. "Well, let me walk you to back to campus," he suggested. "I don't know if the bus you need runs through my neighbourhood."

Bree shook her head. "That's ok. I remember the way back to campus from here."

"Let me -," 

"It's ok," Bree said, cutting him off. 

"Let me walk you to the door, at least," Riley said, trying for something. 

"Okay," Bree agreed. 

At the door, Riley stood aside as Bree put her shoes back on. 

"Text me when you get home," he ordered. 

"Yes, Mom," Bree joked. When RIley didn't laugh, she sighed. "Okay okay."

Bree opened the apartment door and stepped out into the hallway. She turned around to wave goodbye to Riley, but before she could say anything, he leaned forward and smacked a quick kiss on her lips. 

"Bye," he grinned, closing the door in Bree's face. Bree stood there frozen with her hand in the air, like a fool. 

It took her a minute before she gathered herself and left the Riley's door. 

It wasn't until she was home before she realized, in her mad dash to leave Riley's apartment, she'd accidentally grabbed one of his notebooks. 

***********************

Week Eight: Monday

Bree was bouncing in her seat, vibrating with excited energy, waiting for her professor to dismiss the class. Well.. the third that decided to show up.

Riley was amongst those who didn't show up. He told Bree ahead of time that because class was going to be a review session and not an actual lecture, he'd be taking an extra shift at the library instead. 

They'd agreed that after class, Bree would come by the library to drop off Riley's notebook. 

The professor reminded the class that the midterm would be in multiple choice and that their tests would be marked immediately with the scantron machine. 

"So expect your grades to be uploaded by Friday 6pm," the professor announced. 

Bree shot out of her seat as soon as class was dismissed, Riley's notebook held tightly in her arms. She briskly walked to the library Riley worked at, excited to see him. 

Bree frowned a bit when she got there. Riley had told her he was on desk duty today, but a woman was there instead. Bree slowly approached her. 

"Umm...excuse me. Is Riley here?" she asked. 

"What do you need?" the woman asked, instead. 

"I have something I need to give him," Bree answered, a little defensive with the girl.

The girl put her hand out. "Is that his? I can take it for him."

"No," Bree refused, holding the notebook tighter and taking a half step back. "I want to give it to him myself."

The girl was about to say something when someone tapped Bree's shoulder. 

"Hi!" Riley greeted. He looked down at Bree's arms. "Thanks for bringing that to me!"

"Sure," Bree said, releasing the notebook to its rightful owner. 

"Diane," Riley said, speaking to his coworker. "This is my good friend, Bree. She's really smart and amazing." 

The girl gave Bree a tight smile. 

"Bree, this is Diane," Riley introduced. "She's my friend from Calgary. We grew up together." 

"Oh," Bree breathed, "Nice to meet you." 

The girl's tight smile got tighter. 

"Bree," Riley called, getting Bree's focus back on him. "I reserved a seat for you upstairs somewhere a little quiet if you want to study here?"

Bree was touched by the thought. "Yeah sure, thanks," she accepted.

"Let me show you where it is," Riley said, placing his hand on Bree's lower back and guiding her forward. Bree turned around to look back at Diane only to find Diane intensely glaring at them.

"I don't think she likes me much," Bree whispered. 

Riley snorted. "Don't mind her. She's my friend but she's also my ex. She's kind of protective of me for some reason."

"She's your ex?" Bree whispered sharply. 

Riley nodded nonchalantly. He shrugged his shoulder. 

When they got to the escalators, Riley got on first, turning to the side to look at Bree. "We dated for like two seconds," he laughed. "We're better off as friends." 

Bree nodded. 

They take a few twists and turns through the second floor before Riley shows Bree where he reserved her seat. It really was a nice quiet corner.

"I have to go back downstairs, but let me know if you need anything," Riley said. 

Bree hummed, thanking Riley again. 

"Study hard," he said, before leaving her to study. 

And study she did. She had midterms all week. She needed to do well on them. 

****************************

Week Eight: Thursday 

Midterms went by in a flash. 

Her and Riley barely had a chance to talk before they wrote their test. Well..not write but shade in their answers on the scantron sheet. The midterm exam was easier than Bree expected. Only a few questions stumped her, but from all the studying, with and without Riley, she was well prepared. 

Riley finished early and left. Bree stayed for the entire allocated time.

When she left the lecture hall, she had a text from Riley waiting for her. 

I know we totally aced that! So easy! The text read. 

Bree smiled at her phone. She wondered which of the two of them would have the higher grade. If she got the higher mark, she'd endlessly rub it in his face. 

     **************************

Week Eight: Friday  

Bree wanted to jump for joy! Midterms were finally over! 

She could relax at home for a few days, before getting right back on the horse and studying again. 

Bree had just gotten off the bus and was heading home when her phone rang. Her mood brightening up more when she saw the golden retriever. 

"Abby Abby!" she cheered.

"Hey Bree Bree," Abby laughed. "Someone's happy midterms are over!"

"You have no idea!" Having a full course load and being obsessed with having good grades was a lot for Bree sometimes, but it would all be worth it one day.

"So!" Abby started, "Laura and I are going to the retreat tomorrow. Any change of mind?" Abby asked. 

The offer was tempting, extremely tempting. Especially when flight and hotel stay would be paid for by Abby. But Bree would rather stay home. 

"Nah, I'm good," she said. 

"Alrighty," Abby said. "You can change your mind anytime," Abby reiterated.

"I know," Bree giggled. "Listen, Abby," she took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Abby asked, sounding serious. 

"So I made a friend at school." Bree could hear Abby gaspover the phone. "It's a guy...," Bree heard Abby squeal. 

"Tell me more! Tell me more!" Abby demanded.

"His name is Riley..."

*************************

True to her word, Bree's Psychology professor uploaded the grades at exactly 6pm. 

Bree's grade was a 96. 

She quickly texted Riley.

"What did you get? I got a 96!" 

To her surprise and delight, he texted her right back. "Wow you beat me. I got a 94!" 

Bree giggled in triumph. She and Riley didn't really have a competition going on, but they both secretly wanted to outdo the other. 

Riley texted her again. "Do you want to come over to my place to celebrate? We can have Chinese food and watch a movie."

Bree stared at her phone, Unbeknownst of what to do or say. 

"No pressure though." Riley texted.

Bree stared at her phone until the screen went black. 

She turned her phone back on. 

"Sure!" She texted back. 

Besides, she had something she wanted to give him anyways. 

************************

"Hey!" Riley greeted as he opened his apartment door to let Bree in. 

"Hi!" She said. She wanted to kiss him again but she held back. 

"What's with the purse?" Riley questioned, pointing at Bree's medium sized black purse.

"I'm a girl, it's my purse. Mind your business," Bree said, hiding her purse from Riley.

What he didn't know was that inside the purse, Bree had a small gift for him. Bree thought about Riley giving her gifts all the time so it was only fair she give him one too. It was a small painting of a Bernese Mountain Dog. The dog though was blond like Riley. Bree knew Bernese dogs weren't blond and that they were famously known for their tricoloured hair, but she didn't care. She wanted the dog to have more physical similarities to Riley. Around the portrait of the dog were little sparkles of yellow glitter, because every time Riley smiled. he looked like and reminded Bree of glitter. 

"Yes, ma'am," Riley said closing the door. "The food should be here in half an hour," Riley said. "We can start watching a movie now." 

"Okay," Bree agreed. 

"Oh and Bree, congrats on your grade," Riley commended. 

"Thank you," Bree said, feeling more honoured than smug after hearing Riley's genuine tone.

They sat on the opposite sides of the couch and watched about 20 minutes of a romcom when Riley's phone went off. 

He paused the movie to answer it. 

"You want me to come down?" he asked the person on the phone. "Okay, I'll come down. I'll be there in two minutes." 

He hung up the phone and got off the couch. "I'll go downstairs to pick up the food," he announced. "You stay put." 

Bree gave a nod and a thumbs up. 

As soon as Riley's front door closed, Bree was on her feet. 

She wanted to give Riley the gift but she was too shy to hand it to him directly. Bree looked around the living room. She'd hide it somewhere and text Riley about it after she left. 

There wasn't a good place to hide it in the living room so she had no choice but to put it in his bedroom. 

She quickly ran to his bedroom and put the gift - which she had wrapped in a brown paper gift wrap, onto Riley's bed.  

Proud of herself, Bree turned around to head back to the living room when her eyes caught Riley's closet door. It was left slightly ajar. Curious to see some of his clothes, with a grin plastered on her face, Bree opened the closet door. 

Only for stomach to drop to her feet. 

Inside Riley's closet was a small but tall table filled with various things. All Bree related. 

There were plush toys of the squirrel character Bree played on "Boris the Bear and Friends." Some of the toys she'd seen before, some looked custom made. On the table, was also the pen Bree gave Riley all those weeks ago.  There were also dvds of what looked to be her movies on the table. In the centre of the table, was a picture of her, one where she took on the red carpet at the Oscars a few years back. 

But that was not the only picture. The walls of the closet were filled with pictures. So many that Bree couldn't even see the actual wall. The pictures ranged from ones she took professionally on premiere carpets, ones from red carpets at award ceremonies, ones taken with professional photographers. There were also candid photos. Ones recently from school, but there were also ones where she looked younger. Ones with her on the beach, ones with her in Halifax. 

Bree took a step back in shock. Panic rising to her throat. She wanted to scream but she knew nothing would come out. 

She looks down, to the closet floor and stops cold. There was a painting. One she recognized all too well. One she made for Linda. Bree grabbed the painting. Behind that painting, was a stack of more, Bree frantically looked through all of them. They were all hers. All the paintings she commissioned for Linda. Even the ones Linda had bought from her years ago. 

Bree wanted to throw up. 

She turned on her heels to run out of the apartment when she slammed into a hard body. 

Riley stared down at her. There was no kindness in his eyes. 

He cocked his head to the side and looked at his opened closet. He let out a deep sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment. "I really didn't want you to see that," he said, rubbing his temples. "You shouldn't have gone snooping."

"Why...why do you have those?" Bree asked, pointing behind her to Riley's closet. Truth be told, Bree didn't care. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to distract him so she could run out of the apartment in her socks, shoes and purse forgotten. 

Riley looked up to his ceiling and sighed again. It was that moment that Bree bulldozed past him to run out of the bedroom. 

She was quick.

But Riley was quicker. 

He used his reflexes and strength to grab Bree by the back of her shirt and pull her towards his body. From behind, he wrapped his arm around Bree's neck in a choke hold. 

"I didn't want it to be like this," Riley gritted out, tightening his hold. 

Bree tried to pry his arm off her but it was to no avail. She tried scratching his arms and digging her nails into his skin, but that only made him hiss. She tried to reach behind her to grab his face, scratch it or pull his hair but her body just wasn't listening to her. 

Bree knees buckled as she went slack in Riley's arms. Her vision going dark around the edges. 

Distantly, she could hear Riley saying something. What? She had no idea.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, a saying she heard as a child popped into her head. 

"Not everything that glitters is gold."