Surrender (Hadley)

[Riley Coleson]

The sun hung low in the sky over the treetops as Riley leaned against the tree to wait for his track partner, Hadley. Today's track teacher had given them an assignment and here they were, in the middle of the forest with nothing but a map and a compass, and they had to find ten different posts to check in, and the end, each post gave some form of word for a riddle, and whoever solved the riddle, won.

This was a hassle. Not only because of the assignment, but because he had been paired with Hadley, the girl with the freaky crush. Granted, it wasn't as much creepy as him trying to avoid the entire thing. For the past days, Riley had tried his best avoiding her in hopes that she'd move on. He didn't need any jealous drama. He didn't need a girlfriend. He was everyone's and didn't belong to just one girl. He had decided on that years ago when he first decided to venture down the path of lust.

With a sigh, Riley ran a hand through his hair, brushing some leaf out of it before rubbing the back of his neck, ''Man, why does it got to be so hot,'' he muttered and turned his gaze back up at the sky. Even if it was still February, once the sun came out, it got surprisingly warm outside, especially while running around in the woods.

Speaking of the woods, wasn't this the exact spot he had taken that Asian girl's virginity? Oh yeah, right there, but that tree... Man, that had been fun. Good times, good times, ''You wanna make out?,'' he asked with a smug grin, ''You see that tree over there?,'' he pointed, ''I took some chick's virginity riiiight there. Wanna test it out?''

He was shameless. Completely and utterly shameless. And a dick. A real dick. And he loved it.

[Hadley Roarke]

Today was not as easy day for Hadley. It was hard avoiding him. Him. And suddenly, she was expected to work with him. Grayson paired them up. Grayson. Her boyfriend. Paired her with the guy she had problems with. Yeah. A major twist in events. Hadley ran faster to their required location. She was late, because she was spending as much time as she could controlling her emotions before the dreaded encounter.

When she saw him, her heart dropped. See, the problem was that she just couldn't forget that day in the student lounge. They connected for a minute, before all hell broke loose. Hadley was ruled by her emotions. And what her body wanted was Riley. She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. She waltzed over to him, and with a huge sigh said, "Let's get this over with."

Her eyes scanned over their map, but be broke her concentration with his idiotic words. "Make out? With you?" Hadley put on her amused look and laughed. "I'd really rather not." The map crinkled in her hands as she clenched her fists. Riley was the only guy that could make her want to commit murder and the act of sex all at once. It was maddening. "And testing anything with you would not be wise. STDs are crawling all over you." This may or may not have been true. Either way, she wasn't going to boost his ego today. It just gave him more control over her than he already had.

Although, he was unaware how much control her really had.

The blonde smoothed her hand over her head. Her curls were in a bun today, since people kept saying it was hotter than usual. She couldn't tell, but might as well look the part. They would be trampling through woods, however, she wore shorts anyway; might as well, since her legs looked fantastic after her workout. Had bent down to tie her undone shoe. This was going to take forever.

"Follow me. I'll take you to the first one." She stood back up and began to walk in the direction of the first checkpoint. The assignment was easy, it was just getting through it with him. "And let's play a game while we walk! It's called, 'Don't Be An Asshole Today, Riley!'. Think you can handle it?" She rolled her eyes and looked at the map in front of her. 'Good job, Hads. Way to get your confidence back. Gray is doing you some good after all.'

[Riley Coleson]

Riley had decided to not let the sad, creepy little girl get to him and thus, he kept his personality to its utmost level of cockiness to prevent the blonde from getting any strikes in. He was a dick, he knew that. He fed on watching other people getting tangled up in emotions by his words. Remember how he said he wished she'd get over him? Well, yeah, Riley was also a liar and a hypocrite. In fact, all he wanted was to watch her squirm. He didn't know why he cared, in fact, he didn't want to find out, but watching people get distressed because of him was just too good to leave be.

Her sassy response had the womanizing boy grinning from ear to ear. He let out a laughter and stuck his hands down the pockets of his pair of gray sweatpants, ''Harr, harr, look who finally got her fire back. Welcome back, Firecracker. You've been sorely missed,'' he said slyly, putting on his most mischievous smirk, ''Glad to hear you've grown some common sense since last time. You know that time you were all over me, beeegging me to do you? Yeah, exactly. That time,'' Oh man, he was on fire! Ironic, right? He was searching for every and any button to push, because that was how much of a dick he was.

Though, it made him wonder. Why was he trying so hard to make her hate him?

Riley followed her without much complaint, using the time to appreciate the view, ''You know, you look so much better from behind,'' he pointed out with a grin, ''Oh whoops, guess I lost already, huh,'' he added on and shook his head, mentally high fiving himself. Nope, he didn't mind to leave her in charge. He was no good with a map and compass anyways and if he'd been in charge he'd get them lost faster than any of them could actually say 'lost'. Then again, they'd have to cuddle up naked to keep the warmth, which didn't sound too bad.

''That reminds me, we gotta get back to the school before this evening, I've got plans,'' he said absentmindedly, ''Three of them actually,'' he snickered, mostly to himself, ''Unless you want to spend all those hours with me of course,'' Mentally punching himself in the guts, Riley almost felt a little bad for acting the way he did. He knew she didn't deserve it and that he was the one telling her to give up and move on, yet here he was, trying his best to pull her back in by pissing her off? Man, she really did herself a favor by staying away, didn't she?

But pffft, it wasn't like he cared about her feelings, right? Yeah, she was just another pair of boobs and a hole he could stick his friend in. That's it.

[Hadley Roarke]

His words about getting her fire back made her grin. Yeah. She missed her personality too. That pathetic girl that was moping around was not the girl she wanted to be when she grew up. Hadley planned on being a bad ass all her life. And before Riley? Mission accomplished. Then he came along and screwed everything up. Typical male. Hadley scoffed and glared at her map. Men seemed to be nothing but trouble. Gray was the only sensible one she had met (besides her little darling James).

However, the words that followed after made her stop. "Hell yeah, I wanted you." She turned around and looked him up and down. "A girl would be a fool not to. Moment of weakness." She grinned and turned back around to keep walking forward. "But I'm really glad I didn't. Instead, I waited for man. Someone that could actually do something for me. No offense." Oh, she meant offense. Whatever would piss him off would make her so happy. "I'm so glad that he can actually make me feel something. He's not a dick, like you." Had laughed a little before continuing, "Now that I think about, he actually uses his instead of just waving it around." Satisfaction rolled through her. This was the banter she had missed, except this time, she meant to hurt him in any way possible.

"Thanks. I do squats to make my ass look good. Gray really appreciates it." It was one of her best qualities. "And I don't give a shit about your commitments. We have to do this, as badly as I don't want to do it. The last thing I want to do is spend time with you." She spoke very nonchalantly. Words just rolled off her tongue. It felt great! His cockiness just made her even more eager to see him suffer. But he was so hot when he flaunted. Damn, she just couldn't cut him off of her, could she? He was like a leech. Constantly sucking away common sense.

[Riley Coleson]

Patiently waiting for her speech to end, Riley grinned to himself, barely paying any attention to what she was saying. Most of it came out as yibber yabbish from a scorned woman and quite frankly, it was boring. It was old. It was pathetic. Not that he was any better, but hey, at least her attempts at striking at his manlyhood failed, since clearly, the way girls trampled over his door quite showed the opposite of what she was saying, ''Good for you Hads, you must be so proud of yourself. Who knew you'd be such a submissive, good little girl? Good for you!'', he said with a chuckle and shook his head, ''Good to know that I don't have to worry about you toasting all my lady-friends then, yeah?''

Her next words had him stopping however, a expression of confusion swaying over his face, ''Wait, Gray? The coach?,'' he said and then, he bursted out laughing, ''Oh man, Hads,'' he continued laughing. Was she stupid or what? Going out with a teacher and openly admitting it like that? Didn't she know she was risking her dear Gray's job? ''Guess you prove just how dumb blondes can be huh? Lemme give you a little advice here, unless I'm completely wrong here and you're dating some other Gray; Don't flaunt it, girl. He'll lose his job and you'll get into trouble,'' he pointed out with a shake of his head, looking at as if he was feeling superior, ''And if I'm wrong, go get 'im Tiger,''

If he was right and she was actually hooking up with a teacher, she was clearly not worth his time. It was foolish, even he knew that. Riley might have been idiotic enough to brag about it, or tell people he totally would, but even he knew that going for a teacher or school official was just simply the top of the cake called Naivety. It was what hopeless romantics did. Those sad kind of people who thought no one else could understand them, thus went for someone older who was clearly only interested in getting some younger bait.

''Give Gray my best - oh unless you want me to tell him myself?'' He laughed again as he walked further past her, pulling the map out of her hands in the process, ''All right... Let's see,'' he mumbled silently and checked the map of any indication as to where they were, narrowing his eyes. Man, maps were really hard for him to read and that came from the boy who could solve a freaking rubic cube!

He pulled at his white tank top and sighed, scratching his head before putting the map down again. Nope, he couldn't do it. And yes, he was well aware of how good his biceps looked in this top and the way it clinged to his body, man, he was hawt.

[Hadley Roarke]

Malice flowed through her veins. And the more he talked with that smug smile, the more she wanted to kill him. He was getting under her skin. That was what he was aiming for, if she knew him at all. It was working. Her body was already reacting to the negative thoughts and energy. Good. Because she was going to hurt him in every way possible.

When he took the map she took in a deep breath to steady herself. Anger was coursing through her. Rage. Humiliation. Bruised ego. Mostly rage. His confused expression at the map may have been cute if she didn't want to rip his head off. Threatening Grayson? That was fine. He knew the risks involved when he started spending time with her. It wasn't a big deal, because her graduation approached fast, and she was over age. Gray was prepared to deal with heat. Why? Happiness. Just being content. That was why he was so great. He was happy no matter what life threw at him.

Making her seem like a slut? That was not okay. Far from okay. "You self absorbed bastard." She walked around him so she was facing him head on. Before she knew it, she had punched him with flame in hand. It probably didn't even hurt him, but it made her feel better. "You are an asshole." Promptly after this statement, she punched him again, with a little more ferocity. "Why do you think every girl must dampen her panties for you? Oh, yeah, you're a guy that only thinks with his little head in his pants." Her sentence was punctuated with a shove to his chest.

"I was a fool. I'll admit that. No girl in her right mind would want to date a guy that treated her like shit. You were right, it's best if I stay far away from you." Had was yelling at this point. For good measure, she gave him a solid kick in the balls. She didn't know if it would hurt or not. His whole 'durability' thing was annoying. He was like freaking Superman. "There's no way you could have made me happy. And I'm so glad you aren't my problem. So go ahead, mock me and pretend that I'm some huge slut, just because I rejected you. Remember? I rejected you. And since you didn't take my apology seriously enough, I'm over it. It's gravy." Hadley laughed during her last sentence and plastered a grin on her face. No, quite the opposite. She was miserable, at best. Little jerk.

[Riley Coleson]

Her reaction was exactly what he had been trying to lure. He had been throwing bait at her, trying to piss her off from the very beginning, and here she was, punching him, kicking, screaming, taking a few last punches at his ego, doing anything in an attempt at hurting him. She was lashing out, just like he had wanted. He had gotten under her skin and she just handed over all that rage, and maybe, just maybe he should have lashed out back. Maybe he should have gotten mad, pushed her away and told her to got lost, but he didn't. Riley simply stood there in silenced, taking all of what she handed over, both the words and the punches.

His face remained a serious void of expressions, barely vincing at the pain. Not because it didn' hurt but because she needed a punching bag. She needed to get all of that anger out and what better way was there to let her use him? And as the sudden realization hit him, his mind went blank. He did in fact care, a lot more than what he'd like to admit. That was why he had asked her not to fall for him, told her there was nothing for her. He didn't want to see her get hurt, and as much as he hated seeing her with another boy, he couldn't go back on his words.

Not now. Not ever. Thus, it was better for him to make her actually hate him and let her get all that hate, all that anger and direct it towards him. That was a good way for her to get over him, no? Hating him?

And what better way was there to make her continue to hate him? Being a jerk. But seeing her like this... It was hard. It took all of his strength to walk away. It took all of his will and energy to shrug it off and pretend he didn't care, ''God, you're pathetic,'' he whispered and put his hand on her shoulder, pushing her out of the way. It was a good thing she couldn't see his face, because for once, Riley couldn't keep up his usual cold facade.

He was miserable.

[Hadley Roarke]

His statement just proved how in sync they were sometimes. Had she not been saying all along how pathetic she was? Now, here he was, putting out there was she was too afraif to say aloud. Hadly Elizabeth Roarke was pathetic. She was.. was.. Just like her mother. Aiming for the guys that did not care about her. His push made her fall back, and she landed on her butt. The sound echoed through the quiet forest.

Her rage was so great that her eyes started to water. Was bad ass Hadley about to cry? No, not in front of this self absorbed S.O.B. Never would she let him see the tear that started streaming down her face. Her focused breaths became ragged as the sob that was building up took all her oxygen. 'Please, don't give him the satisfaction.' Calm. Down. Calm.. Hadley stood up and took a deep breath. It was hard to fill her lungs when they wanted to push out the air in rage.

Hadley stood up and brushed herself off. The blonde took down her hair and ran her fingers through it. Playing with her hair made her feel better. For some reason, it gave her peace to feel her hair cascading down her back and over her shoulders. The silky locks moved with the wind, and she let out a long sigh. "I'll go ask for a new partner. I don't really want to waste your time. God knows I don't want to be around someone that just wants to make fun of me. I already have to put up with you in our dorm." She stood there, as if her legs would not move her forward. No, she didn't want to go. She wanted to cry, and he was supposed to comfort her. He was supposed to do a lot of things. Like, she didn't know, love her? That sounded nice. Yes. At least care about her. But he was too involved with himself to make any commitments.

[Riley Coleson]

His body was screaming for him to turn around as she fell. Heck, his body would be screaming for him to turn around even if she hadn't. For a second, he was afraid she'd start crying in if she had, he'd probably end up crumbling. He cared. He really, really cared, which was why it was killing him to push her away. But it was for the best, right? In the end, even if he did try, he'd just end up screwing it up and thus hurting her even more. He knew he was making nothing but a bunch of cowardly excuses and all though his body was fighting the small amount of will he had left, he just couldn't put her in that kind of situation.

She deserved better. She deserved a lot better than what he could ever offer. She deserved someone like the coach, someone kind and caring and not someone who enjoyed pushing people's buttons only to watch the squirm. He was a sadist and an asshole. He would never be good enough, and if she really thought her words hadn't struck where it hurt, well, one day maybe she'd realize that she had just stepped on the last bit of confidence he had managed to muster up.

Riley took a deep breath to calm himself, every muscle in his body ready to turn around. His head was pounding, his heart was racing and his throat was burning. It felt as if his entire body was on fire, aching with a pounding pain that never seemed to let go. It leeched on to him like a claw around his heart and he hated it. Absolutely hated it.

''Yeah, you probably should,'' he said silently and continued to walk, his legs feeling as if they were stuck in cement. He wanted to curl up and hide. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to lash out and he almost felt like breaking down, crying. But it already took him all his strength, all his will to move his legs, anything else would have driven him to exhaustion, ''Good for you, Hads,'' he said again before pressing his lips into a thin line as his hand clutched onto the fabric of his top, clutching so hard onto the soft, white cotton his knuckles went white.

And to think she didn't even have a clue about how much this was killing him. It was almost a little ironic.

[Hadley Roarke]

It was the way he said her name that was the catalyst. He didn't even realize the way it rolled off his tongue and into her head. Hadley was falling apart, and he didn't seem to care. He just walked away. Why did someone so cold do all this to her? What did she do to deserve that kind of treatment? Of course, she hadn't exactly been a saint all her life either. Maybe this was karma for almost killing her mother's boyfriend five years ago. That would make sense.

His name was on her lips. She almost called after him. Her legs were still in the same spot. If he was walking away, she wasn't going to move. Had needed a good cry. A quiet sob escaped from her lips. 'Head up, beautiful.' It was too late, her dark blue eyes stood out against the red that came with the sad task of crying. Tears fell faster than she could wipe them. He was right. Everything he said hit the nail on the head. And you know what? She wasn't finished. No, she wanted to tell him one more thing. Would it make a difference? Probably not. Nevertheless, this was her last chance to rid herself of the Riley phase.

Hads scooped up the map and ran after him. She stopped in front of him with her hands holding out the map. Her eyes avoided his. Why would she want to let him know how deeply he had affected her? "I thought I loved you, Riley," She whispered with a small shake of her head. That was too much for him to know. If anything, it probably gave him more material to mock her with. His immaturity didn't interest her.. Hadley turned around and made herself move forward. This was for the best. Right?

What she needed was to shed her skin; grow from this experience. The rejection of one guy shouldn't hold her back. She looked at the ground and quietly let a few tears fall. This was good. It was progress. A little at a time if that's what it took to get over him. She was no longer going to be bogged down. Nope. Miss. Roarke was going to enjoy life. Bellefonte Academy gave her an escape route from her troubles. She was not about to let those troubles follow her here. That was all this boy was.. Trouble.

[Riley Coleson]

The sound of the footsteps had him clenching his fists and as Hadley stopped him in his tracks and uttered those words, his entire body froze up and his mind turned into clay. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak and his entire facade fell through. It felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest and dance around before getting trampled on by a horde of cows. He couldn't hold it in any longer. His will was gone. His fighting spirit... Every wall he had put up because of this girl had been shattered into a million pieces and there was no way he could build them up. Not this quickly.

Acting entirely on impulse, Riley reached for her arm as she turned away, pulling her back. His other hand went to the back of her neck, gently clutching onto her curly, blonde hair. The hand he had grabbed her arm with, went to her waist, pulling her close. He leaned his head down, pressing his lips against hers all the while the cloud in his mind turned heavier, clouding his mind even further. He couldn't help it. She had pushed him to his limit and there was nothing left in him to fight it.

At this point, he didn't even care. His entire body turned to mush under the weight of her lips and her body. He felt weightless, as if he was floating above the ground. He felt dizzy as if every ounce of oxygen left his body the second his lips met hers; He was completely and utterly in love with this girl and even as hard as he tried fighting against it, he had fallen under her control. He was as chanceless as she was merciless.

She was driving him insane.

''Damn it, Hads,'' he whispered under his breath as he pulled slightly back, ''You shoulda turned back when I gave you the chance to,''

[Hadley Roarke]

His kiss shocked her. Where did this come from? He didn't care.. He couldn't have. There was no way he could have been so heartless to her and still feel anything for her. Maybe he was just lusty and she happened to be there when his impulses started. Perhaps he couldn't wait for his little threesome. No, she was not going to be that girl. She had put her foot down. Hadley was changing. She was shedding her skin.

Why were his lips so soft? Life was not fair. It beat her every chance it got. This was just teasing, and her poor heart couldn't take anymore of that. Especially not from him. If this was just an attempt to ridicule her, why was he into it? He was making her lose control of the little sanity she had. No, this wasn't fair at all.

"Why, Riley?" She sighed. Her words were said in between kisses, because as long as he seemed genuine, she was not about to pull away. This was what she wanted; actual affection. And Riley was the only guy that could satisfy that. Since their disagreement, he was the only one she had wanted to be with. Hads wanted to take back the mean things she had said; he just never gave her the chance. He was too busy making out with other girls. Yet, here he was, making out with her.

The blonde wrapped her arms around his neck. Everything in her screamed no. Obviously. She had just decided to give him up. Could he not make up his mind? At least she had been consistent with her pathetic self. He was telling her to get lost, then sticking his tongue down her throat. There really was no satisfying him.

She accepted that challenge.

"Are you going to tell me you cared all along? That you were just afraid?" That was how those love scenes worked. He took back everything, and she accepted it willy nilly. The past was in the past. Let it go. But even if she forgave him, there was no forgetting the past. Though she may be with him, there was no easy trust. Hadley hated not being able to trust people; it just came with her past. "Please, don't do this to play with my head. I care too much about you to have you squash me again." Her words were low and meek.

[Riley Coleson]

Her question had him smiling. An actual genuine smile for once and pulling back again, he sighed, pressing his forehead against hers, ''You drive me insane,'' he said and closed his eyes, his lips once again finding hers.

This was hard, a little too hard than what he originally thought it would be. He wanted her to leave so badly so he wouldn't have to go through all this emotional crap. He wasn't fit for being in a relationship and anything less would be unfair to her. He knew that. She knew that. And his excuses, him telling her he wasn't that kind of guy just wouldn't cut it anymore. He had pushed too far for even deserving time to change. Nope, she ought to expect only the best and for it to be delivered right there and then, yeah?

Could he really change in a jiff? And what if he couldn't?

Brushing her hair away from her face, Riley pulled his lips back, his eyes finding hers. He smiled faintly as he kissed the top of her head, trying to find the courage to actually put words into his emotions, ''Yeah, I guess so,'' he said silently, ''Look,'' he said before cupping her face. It was better to be honest, right? And then make her make her own decisions as to how to move forward with the entire things, ''-I can't make any promises as to how all of this is going to work - or if it ever will, but,'' his voice trailed off and he looked away, narrowing his eyes, ''I do care,''

There. It was out there. He still preferred her walking away over this, but at the end of the day, at least she deserved the truth and deserved to make the choice.

He owed her that much.

[Hadley Roarke]

The touch, the kiss, the words; they were all so overwhelming. Funny how just a few minutes could change everything. An hour ago, she had given up on him. As a matter of fact, she dreaded even being within the vicinity of him. He was that horrid. Yet just as quickly he had turned it around to make her fall even harder for him. That bad boy charm. It did things to a girl.

Honestly, his words amused her. "Making a three-sixty in just a few minutes? No, I don't expect that. All I wanted was to know that you actually cared. Was that too much? My goal is still the same: to make you happy. I just.. I hope that goal included me." She hesitated on her next words. The last thing she wanted was for him to accept her next offer. "But if that doesn't make you happy, then please don't be with me. Please." If he left, she would be miserable. He needed to hear that, though.

"As much of an ass as you were to me," Had laughed a little, "I want to be with you. You make me happy.." The girl closed her eyes. His smell and his touch bombarded her. No wonder those girls were so weak in the knees in the love movies. If their hunk was anything like Riley they were going insane.

She wanted to give him all these options of leaving. It's just she didn't want him to actually take those options. He needed to stay with her. He just admitted he cared about her. Boom. They should be happy for the rest of their lives. Alas, she knew life was not that easy. He could take his leave anytime he wanted. Had gripped his chin and moved his face back to hers so she could kiss him again. This melted away her fears, as ironic as it was. Chaos and peace somehow existed within her. Crazy Hadley was becoming crazier by the second, thanks to muscle boy.

"Please, Ri? Just give me a chance to make you happy," she whispered on his lips. Her eyes poured into his. This was their decision moment. He had to decide what he wanted, for the last time.

[Riley Coleson]

Pressing his forehead against hers, Riley closed his eyes and remained silent for a few seconds. He wanted to believe what she was saying, but if Riley had learned anything from his time around women, it was that they often expected more than what they admitted to. Sure, she could say that she didn't expect him to change or that as long as he was happy, so would she be, but did she really, truly mean it? He doubted it, ''It's not that I don't want to, Hads, but I don't know if I can change. It's not that simple,'' he sighed and ran his finger through her hair, playing with a few strands of golden locks.

He kept his forehead against hers and remained silent as she spoke. What was he supposed to say, or do? He knew for a fact that he couldn't change that easily. It wasn't as simple as saying he wanted to be with her. What if he screwed it up? What if he couldn't change? Then what? She didn't deserve to go through that. Heck, he didn't even deserve to have someone like her. Why her feelings for him were like this was beyond his ability to comprehend. She was far too good for him - totally out of his league.

Pulling his arm around her shoulder, Riley shifted his position to stand next to her while he leaned his side against the tree, pinching the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. He had been silent all through her speech, her words, her kisses and now that he had pulled away, it made it a little easier for him to think and to clear his mind.

''All I can offer is a maybe. That I'll try, but that I cannot promise anything,'' he then said finally and looked away, ''It's up to you whether or not that is good enough,'' He looked at her again with a solemn frown lingering on his face.

''I do care, I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment. I don't know if I'll ever be,'' It pained him to admit it, to be this honest, and if it hadn't been for her feelings being returned, he probably would have played on her feelings, taking full advantage of them, but... He just couldn't. He couldn't bare the thought of it.