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Post by Riley Neves on May 6, 2009 21:54:52 GMT -5
As promised, Riley took her lunch break to go see Geoffrey. He'd told her to check in, and Merlin knew he didn't want to hear about it if she didn't. Truthfully, she wasn't feeling much better than she had the day before, but she had her ups and downs. She wasn't about to tell Geoffrey, either.
So when she walked up to his desk, she had a light smile on her face. When she caught his attention, she held her arms out to the side.
"Good as new," she said.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 6, 2009 22:19:00 GMT -5
Geoffrey looked up at her, breaking into a slight smile. He was glad to see her, especially since she hadn't answered her door last night when he'd stopped over after work to check up on her. "Hey," he said. "I'm glad you stopped by. I was going to head over in a few minutes, actually, so you saved me the trip."
He gave her a long, appraising look. She was still very pale, and her eyes seemed sunken in. But she did look a little better than yesterday.
"How are you feeling today?"
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Post by Riley Neves on May 6, 2009 22:24:25 GMT -5
"Like I said, good as new," Riley said, still smiling. He didn't look terribly busy, so she looked around and found an empty chair, and sat down opposite him. "And I know... the trek to the Auror Department is so far," she said, rolling her eyes slightly.
Leaning forward, she let her smile drop. "Listen... I wante to talk to you about what I said yesterday... I was just tired. Me and Roland... well, I'm okay. Nothing ever really happened, anyway. I know you won't believe that I'm all right... I'm justtelling you so that you don't have to worry about me."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 6, 2009 22:33:45 GMT -5
Well, that answered one of the questions that he had. If they had never really done anything... well, he'd been crazy to think it, anyway. Surely she would have told him if she had done something with Roland.
But the fact that they hadn't done anything except kiss... well, that still had to be haunting her. "I'm going to worry about you no matter what," he said with a wry grin. "I'm your best friend. It's my job."
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Post by Riley Neves on May 6, 2009 22:44:10 GMT -5
"Yeah, I know," Riley said, and she shrugged. "I don't know what was wrong with my yesterday. It was just an emotional day. Anyway, whatever I had seems to have only been a 24 hour bug."
It was like she was trying to clear her slate. Only it was a slate of other people's worry, not her own guilt. Or did the two go hand in hand? It hardly mattered. There were things to be taken care of, and it just made it harder if everyone was making sure she was okay all the time.
"How are you today?"
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 7, 2009 0:46:49 GMT -5
"There have been a lot of emotional days lately," Geoffrey replied. "And there are likely to be a few more. You don't have to apologize for it. I was pretty upset, too."
He didn't comment on the 24-hour bug, because he actually didn't buy it. Really, when it came down to it, she was under enough emotional stress right now to trigger a little illness. She'd blocked up her feelings, was denying the fact that she had been falling in love with Roland, and had to deal with his grief as well as her own. She wasn't sleeping, and most likely wasn't eating well, either. It was no wonder she'd been sick.
He shrugged in answer to her question. "I'm OK, I guess. Still sad... still worried. But I'll get by."
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Post by Riley Neves on May 7, 2009 1:26:37 GMT -5
"You're going to be sad for a long time, Geoff. You don't ever forget the people you've loved... you just learn to adjust. And that process hurts." She reached across his desk and took his head. "I really am here for you, Geoff. I promise. That's my job as your best friend."
Geoffrey, without even doing anything, was probably the one person keeping her sane through all of this. And she had to admit, it was nice that for all the people she was trying to take care of, someone was trying to take care of her, too.
"We'll get through this one together."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 7, 2009 21:38:43 GMT -5
It was odd, but even a few days ago, when Roland was still alive, Geoffrey never would have thought about Roland as someone that he loved. He barely even liked his cousin. But now he could see more clearly that he did love him in a way. They were family, after all. Family didn't always have to get along in order to love each other.
"Thanks, Riley. I'm sort of glad that we get to go through this together. I just wish it hadn't happened. That we could just undo it and bring him back... Maybe then I'd try to get along with him a little better."
He sighed. There was still one more thing he needed to tell her about, and he wasn't sure how to bring it up. He and Alison were officially dating now, and Riley hadn't even met her yet. But it felt so awkward to discuss it with her now, while she was grieving for Roland. How was he supposed to bring that up?
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Post by Riley Neves on May 12, 2009 14:09:03 GMT -5
Riley would have been happy for him if he told her, but her reaction probably wouldn't have seemed like it. It just would have been hard to hear for her. She was still mourning, and hearing that he was happily in love... it would have hurt. But she would have been happy.
"Come to lunch with me," she said, smling gently. "On me, this time. I promise it will be better than yesterday's." She was a little caught offguard by how hard Geoffrey was taking this, and she wanted to be there for him. She just wished she could do something for him.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 12, 2009 14:24:27 GMT -5
Geoffrey was just so glad to see her looking better, and he nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure," he replied. "But... Do you mind if I just stop by Alison's office first? We sort of have a standing lunch date. Nothing special... we just head down to the cafeteria and snag the good sandwiches before they're gone. She'll understand... and I've actualy been meaning to introduce you to her, anyway. I mean... if that's OK?"
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Post by Riley Neves on May 12, 2009 14:45:59 GMT -5
"Oh. No, if you have plans, them don't change them for me," Riley said, hesitant at first. She remembered him telling her about Alison... appearantly things were better between them. Good thing, since Riley promised they would be.
"I mean, I'll meet her, if you want. But go ahead and have your lunch with her." She smiled. If she knew he had plans, she wouldn't have asked. It wasn't a big deal.
She stood up from his desk, though, assuming that either way, they would be leaving his office soon.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 12, 2009 14:54:58 GMT -5
Geoffrey shook his head. "No, really... it's OK. We do it every day, actually. I'll meet with her tomorrow. I just want to let her know what's going on, that's all. Unless..." He stopped. He was tempted to ask if she would be OK with bringing Alison along for lunch, but that seemed like it would be awkward. Like Riley was the third wheel.
"It's OK. She'll understand. Like I said, we do it every day."
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Post by Riley Neves on May 12, 2009 17:31:02 GMT -5
Unless? Riley didn't push. She had a feeling that she knew what would have followed that unless, and she didn't want to have to say yes. She felt a little flair of... What? Jealousy? But was she jealous that another girl had his attention or that he had a relationship? She didn't even know.
Swallowing and decided she couldn't hold a bidding romance against him, she smiled. "Why don't we invite her to come?" she asked softly. She knew it would make Geoffrey happy, and so she'd be happy.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 12, 2009 22:00:08 GMT -5
Geoffrey had just stood up from his seat when she said this, but he stopped and gripped onto the desk, eying her worriedly.
"Riley--" He bit his lip nervously. Even though he had known Riley for quite a few years, suddenly now... he wasn't sure what to say to her or how to act around her. She had been on the verge of falling in love with someone who died suddenly. Without even including the fact that the man she'd loved was his cousin, it was a strange and unfamiliar situation. And then there was Alison and the fact that they were now dating officially. Where did that leave Riley?
"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," he said. "You're still..." He trailed off. What was he supposed to do?
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Post by Riley Neves on May 13, 2009 0:44:28 GMT -5
Somehow, his response was heeartbreaking to her. So he was pretty serious about this girl then. He wanted to bring her to lunch, he just didn't want Riley to feel out of place. She wanted to sink back into his chair and cry, and stopped herself, knowing he would never invited Alison if she did.
So she put up a front and raised her eyebrow, a hand going to her hip. "I'm still what, Geoffrey?" She asked this almost defensively. "Mourning? Broken? Unstable? Yeah, I probably am. But bringing a girl you're interested in to lunch won't be what pushes me over the edge."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 13, 2009 0:51:45 GMT -5
Geoffrey wanted to cry, too. He was her best friend. He was supposed to be able to help her through anything. But he couldn't fix this. If he were truly her friend, he'd find a way to bring Roland back for her. But it just wasn't possible. All he could to was not make things harder on her. And he wasn't even sure how to do that.
He pulled her into a hug. "Riley... I don't know how to do this. I just want to be there for you."
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Post by Riley Neves on May 13, 2009 1:11:16 GMT -5
Riley sighed deeply, melting into his hug. She hated to admit it, but sometimes, the support was exactly what she needed.
"I'm doing fine, Geoffrey," she said. "Really, I am. You're here for me to come talk to, and you give better hugs than anyone I know. You're here for me, and Merlin knows I'm trying to be here for you. It's just a rough situation. But I'm fine. I'm not going to break, I'm not going to break down. I just... I need you to treat me like normal."
Because it was easier to force Roland out of her immediate thoughts if not everyone was standing around waiting for her to fall apart. She'd broken down once for Geoffrey... he was mourning too, and she wouldnt do it again.
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 13, 2009 1:19:38 GMT -5
Geoffrey took a deep breath and nodded slowly. Reluctantly pulling away from her, he looked her in the face with a sympathetic smile. "OK. I can do normal. But Riley, you have to promise me. If you're feeling uncomfortable or upset, I need you to let me know. I have an unlimited number of hugs to give out, and I reserve a bunch of them for you."
His face took on a crooked grin that looked eerily like Roland's, but he didn't know it. "And listen, if you don't like Alison, give me a signal, and I'll back out for today. But I'm positive you're going to love her. She's a lot of fun, she likes to cook, and she even has a puppy."
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Post by Riley Neves on May 13, 2009 1:44:42 GMT -5
It was already too much. It was too much hearing about her, and she could tell, looking at Geoffrey's face... he'd fallen for her. She knew Geoffrey well enough to know this, and it tore at her. But he was happy for him, too. She just didn't know how to show it.
That grin, how he spoke about Alison... why was she putting herself through this? Because she loved Geoffrey.
But oddly, it was him mentioning that Alison had a puppy that made her falter. That was too much, and Riley couldn't even explain why.
She nodded. "I'll let you know," she lied. "I'm sure it will be fine, and I'm sure I'll adore her."
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Post by Geoffrey Montgomery on May 13, 2009 1:56:04 GMT -5
Geoffrey examined her expression, trying to read what was going on in her head. They'd always been honest with each other, and suddenly, he could feel the distance stretching between them. She was trying like hell to be strong, and he was trying to hold back his feelings for Alison so it wouldn't make her more upset. As a result, they were both holding back and not being themselves.
But if normal was what she wanted, he would act normal. And hopefully, the little dose of normalcy would bring them back to where they were supposed to be.
"OK. Let's go, then. But you get to pick the place."
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