booze and beaches &riley&

[Gabriella Jukes]

as soon as gabriella signed of her IM, she was up and about, changing from her pajamas and into casual clothing. it didn't take her long to find an outfit. she pulled from her drawers a pair of ripped jeans and tank top, one of her jackets would be downstairs. her boring night was now hopefully going to be a fun filled night with her best friend riley. slipping on some shoes and fixing any stray hairs she left the red room and made her way down stairs. going to the kitchen she grabbed a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it into her mouth. it wasn't until then she realized how hungry she actually was. she hadn't eaten since lunch as she'd refused the dinner her father had made. she should have taken his offer up for a bite to eat and not to sit at the beach, but it was too late now and she could fill her stomach with the beer he was bringing. grabbing another handful she ate them and went into the living room where he father sat, watching television.

"i'm going out. be home late." she didn't give him a chance to reply, for within seconds she had grabbed her jacket, car keys and was out the door. starting up the engine to her fathers old, rusty car, she reversed and made her way to the beach. her house was about a twenty minute drive from there, so hopefully when she arrived she wouldn't be waiting long. she parked the fading red car and got out and checked her watch. if riley said they were meeting in an hour then she only had about fifteen-twenty minutes to wait, which was fine. it was beginning to get dark and in about an hour or so it would be completely dark, which didn't bother her. she began to walk on the path that led towards the beach, the path getting lost in sand more and more the further she went in. she didn't take her shoes of as she hated the feeling of sand on her feet, which was weird as most people loved it as it made them feel relaxed. she didn't. she would much rather sand get into her shoes than her actual feet touching it.

she was thankful that the beach was empty. well it would be. who comes for a stroll along the beach at around seven or eight at night? it would have creeped her out a little if she hadn't made plans to meet someone, and even then if she hadn't it wouldn't have stopped her from coming and sitting around for awhile. she walked along the sand, her feet kicking it causing gusts of sands to form behind her. there was a slight breeze in the air, so she pulled her relatively thin black jacket around her body more. picking a random spot in the sea of sand she sat herself down. she figured that seeing as she was only person here, when riley came he'd be able to find her. she leaned back a bit to get comfortable and watched the water as light from the semi-formed moon shone onto it. she glanced up at the sky above but couldn't really make out any stars. clouds were probably covering them. she loved the stars, partially because someone had once told her when you looked at them you were looking at the past as the stars had burned out already but it had taken that long for us to see.

she checked her watch again and yawned lightly. hopefully this night would be eventful, well with booze any night was. damn. she'd forgot to grab some money to give to riley for the beer he was getting. she'd get it next time. she was so thankful she had him, especially because she'd been sitting in alone in her bedroom if he hadn't suggested they go out. she'd only known him a few years but she'd trusted him with her entire life. she wouldn't know what to do if wasn't a part of her life. "come on, rile" she said to herself. as much as she liked to be alone, darkness was creeping and she still felt bored.

[Riley Banks]

And you love me but you don't know who I am
So let me go, let me go

After logging out of the im conversation, Riley headed over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and pulled them on quickly. Making sure he ahd his wallet and his Iphone, Riley headed out of his room. He hadn't really checked the time but knew it was kinda late, so had to avoid his parents at all costs otehrwise they would attempt to keep him in the house, but that wasn't going to happen, he wanted to go see Gabriella, so that was exactly what he was going to do. Heading down the stairs, Riley glanced into the living room and saw that his mom and dad were sitting watching the tv along with his little sister, Riley made a mental note to try and save his sister at some point from his controlling parents but that point wasn't right now. Reaching the front door, Riley left a note on the table there just so they wouldn't totally freak out when they realized he wasn't there not that he thought they would notice really.

Picking his keys up after writing the note, Riley quietly slipped out the door and manged not to slam it shut. Riley pulled the door open to his truck and got into the drivers seat, his blue eyes glanced around for a moment before he finally turned the engine on and backed out of the drive way. Checking his watch, Rley headed in the direction of one of the small shops down one of the streets he knew that sold a variety of alcoholic beverages, and since Gabriella had asked for them he needed to make the stop. Ten minutes later, Riley came to a stop outside of the little shop and got out, and went straight inside. He got a couple packs of beer and some vodka stuff that they had. Once that was all paid for Riley chucked it in the back of the truck before getting in himself.

Riley checked that he was still doing okay for time, seeming as he agreed to meet Gabriella there in an hour and it wouldn't look to good if he was late after teasing Gabriella about ho long it took girls to get ready and be places. Putting the truck into gear, Riley pulled away and headed in the direction of the beach. WHne he hit traffic, Riley letout a loud string of curse words, he was trying to figure out why there was traffic at thsi time of night. His eyes glanced back to hsi atch and he sighed, it would seem that Gabriella was possibly going to beat him getting to the ebach, and Riley honestly ahted the idea of Gabriella sitting out on her own in the dark in th emiddle of the beach. When the traffic finally cleared Riley pressed his foot down on the acclerator, there wasn't any other cars around so goign al ittle faster wasn't going to hurt anyone and he needed to get to the beach.

Twenty mintues later, and ten minutes late, Riley finally pulled the truck into a space jsut next to the ebach. He kileld the engine then got out, and moved round and grabbed the packs of beer and the vodka that he ahd broguht, He was glad that he had arragned to come and meet Gabriella here tongiht, otherwise he would have been stuck in his room and well that really didn't appeal to him all that much. Witht he drink secure in his arms, Riley made sure that the truck was locked before he headed down onto the sand. His blue eyes glanced around, the place was desserted but as he walked he saw Gabriella's car parked just a little way from where his truck was so he knew that she ahd beaten him here, he just hoped she was okay.

A few moments alter and s mile played on Rileys lips as he finally spotted Gabriella jsut in frotn of him. Her laughed under his breath when he herd what she said, "Ah quit your moaning I'm here" Riley laughed as he walked up beside Gabriella and flashed her a slight smile as he lowered the beer and vodka down onto the sand, before looking back to Gabriella. "Sorry i took so long there was actualyl traffic, it was weird" Riley said with a slight frown on his face, before he fianlyl lowered himself down onto the sand next to where Gabriella had sat herself.

[Gabriella Jukes]

gabriella felt relieved when she heard his voice, she wouldn't admit it but it was getting quite dark and here she was, alone, sitting on a deserted beach. anything could happen. she shivered at the thought. "i wasn't moaning!" she said to him, "simply talking to myself about the need for you to hurry up" she laughed lightly. "well it took you long enough. i was beginning to get worried, and you know when i say worried i mean agitated." she smiled softly and felt as he sat himself down beside her. "traffic huh?" she quirked an eyebrow to insinuate that his excuse was lame, "so much for girls taking ages to get ready. i was here before you, with time to spare" she smiled proudly. the only reason she'd been here first was because she'd sped out of the house as fast she could, as she couldn't stand being there anymore. he probably stewed around for a little while, thinking he had plenty of time.

she glanced over to the drink, her spirits already lifting at the thought of consuming alcohol. "so what poison you got?" she asked. she wasn't particularly fussy these days, as long it was alcohol and was able to get her sloshed. it worried her that on most nights she either drank half her body weight or smoked like a chimney. at this rate she wouldn't make it to graduation. but once you get yourself hooked on these things, you just can't stop. she'd first started drinking simply to numb the pain that had been there since her mother had passed, and smoking because she'd been bored and had been offered one. she didn't want to quit either. one helped her forget, one calmed her down. it was thankful she did smoke, otherwise you would have a very angry gabriella jukes on your hands. speaking of..."want one?" she offered, holding the pack lamely in her hand.

seeing as he'd bought their alcohol, it was only polite to offer him a cigarette. she wanted to wait until later to start as she only had roughly five left. her father was holding back on giving her cash as he knew what she would spend it on. she usually waited until he left the room or went to bed then she would steal some from his wallet. he knew, she knew for a fact he did, but he never mentioned it. she inwardly shook her head. she didn't wanna dwell on her father or anything for that matter. she just wanted to have a good time with riley to cure her boredom, and he was always one for that. "parentals see you leaving?" she asked. she knew his dad could be very strict and had an idea of the type of relationship they had, she'd never actually met him as neither of them hung out at each others houses, preferring to meet up after school, well riley had come to hers a few times, but she'd heard stories.

she zipped up her jacket to stop the cool air from entering and looked forward to the upcoming night which would hopefully be filled with laughter and drunkenness.

[Riley Banks]

And you love me but you don't know who I am
So let me go, let me go

When he finally spotted Gabriella sitting in the sand, Riley felt releifed, he hadn't thought that she would be here before him and he didn't liek the thoguht that she ahd been here on her own, but she looked okay as he finally got over to her. He laughed lsightly as he herd Gabriella say to him that she hadn't been moaning but talking to hersefl about him needing to hurry up, "Ah talking to yourself hats not such a good sign, and well i'm here now so you don't have to be scared of the dark" Riley teased as he looked at Gabriella with a smile on his lips. Sitting himself down, Riley herd what Gabriella said about being worried and that it has taken him long enough before rasing her eybrow at him when he stated thatt here ahd actually been traffic.

"Well i'm glad that you were worried about me thats very sweet of you, and hey i had to stop and get the alcohol aswell" Riley said, as he looked to the boxes of beer and few bottles of vodka that he ahd brought along with him. Riley grinned when he herd what Gabrielal said about girls taking ages to get ready and hat she had been at the beach before him with time to spare, "Yeah yeah okay whatever you say, but I bet you didn't get caught in traffic" Riley laughed lightly, as he adjusted how he was sitting in the sand slightly. Riley had really thought that he would be here ebfor Gabriella, next time he was going to leave alot earlier, but he was going to stick to it being the traffics fault that he ahd been late.

The night should defitnly be an interesting one Riley thought to himself, he was glad that they ahd arranged to meet up, he always enjoyed being able to spend time with Gabriella and it ment having to spend less time in his house and that was never a bad thing. Hearing Gabriella's question, Riley glanced at the drink and then back to Gabriella, "I got some good beer, and a couple bottles of vodka" Riley answered, he hadn't been to sure what Gabriella would have wantd, but decided you couldn't really go that wrong with good beer and staight vodka, that would defintly help them to have some fun. Riley was a big partier and had consumed alot of alcohol, but thankfully he wasn't a light weight, he had learnt to handle his alcohol, though there had been occasions where he had gotten compeltely wasted and not been able to remember anything about the night when he woke up in the morning.

Tonight though he would drink what they had, he wanted to do some drinking and forget about all the crappy stuff that had happened. Riley was pulled from that thought when he herd Gabriella's voice he turned to look at her and saw the pack of cigarettes in her hand, "Yeah thanks" Riley nodded as he took one out of the packet, it was another one of the things that Riley had started doing recently, though he didn't smoke alot just occasionally, but tonight seemed like an occasion to smoke. Leaning to the side slightly, Riley slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out his lighter, and lit the cigarette and took a drag and then blew the smoke out in rings. Her watched the smoke rings get blown away into the wind, befotre he looked back to Gabriella and held the lighter out to her, he was guessing she was going to be smoking aswell.

Taking another drag, Riley herd Gabriella ask about hsi aprent seering him leave, she was the only person he ahd told about the fact that he ahd nearly broken his neck in a fight and now he and his dad sdidn't talk to each other at all cause his dad thought he should still carry on with the fighting. Riley shook his head slightly, "Nah they were wrapped up in themselves to see me leave, how about your dad?, did you tell him were you are?" Riley asked Gabriella, he was always concerned about Gabriella, they knew each other so well and were always there for one another, so Riley wanted to check that Gabriella was holding up okay at the moment. Riley lent over and pulled one of the bottles of vodka over to them, "So you want the firs drink, its gonne have to be from the bottle i forgot the cups" Riley smiled slightly as he unscreweed the top of the bottle and looekd back across at Gabriella.

[Gabriella Jukes]

"actually talking to yourself is a very good sign of being healthy. means i'm not burying my feelings" she smiled. she knew that wasn't true, and if it was then it was just a coincidence but it wasn't a crime to tease. "i haven't been scared of the dark since i was five. you on the other hand? that's another story" gaby used to hate the dark. she got her parents to buy her a gizillion night lights and to leave her bedroom door open as the hall light would be on. she refused to go anywhere if there was a hint of darkness in the sky without her parents or anyone for that matter. it was something every child went through, and some even didn't grow out of it. after awhile she got used to the dark and threw out most of the lamps in her room, declaring to herserlf she wasn't going to be a baby. her parents had no problem with it, but you know how kids are, teasing others for their fears. it was weird, she had hated the dark, unaware of how darkness would play a bigger role in her future, and still did.

"well it was the drink i was worried about, not you." she smirked. "infact, now that you're here and the alcohol's here there's no need for you" she said, joking obviously. gaby hated drinking alone, but she'd done it so many times she got used to it. she didn't feel embarrassed walking into a club by herself, drinking by herself, leaving by herself. it became routine and she always got to know the bartender a little better seeing as she would be there a few nights a week. it was good to have some company though. when she had company she wouldn't sit and sulk and feel sorry for herself like she usually did when drinking alone, she could talk and joke and laugh, especially with riley. though sometimes she would reveal some pretty embarrassing things in her state if she was ever drinking with someone else, so it was good to be alone. sometimes. she hadn't got many secrets, or funny kindergarten stories, but she always thought of something. always.

she smiled when he told her what he'd purchased, "ah you know how to please me" gabriella was not one of those girls who went out and ordered some prissy cocktail and drank it over two hours. she was the girl who ordered a beer and had it finished in ten minutes. when she first started drinking she could barely manage a few bottles, well she was only fifteen/sixteen and had never drank before in her life so it was expected she would get tipsy on two or three bottles. now she was totally different. after years of building up her tolerance towards alcohol, it would have to take at least three kegs to get her off her head, depending on what was in her stomach and her mood. before her downfall, if someone had a party she went and never touched the cheap beer, sticking to soft drinks. now, even though she was rarely invited to such things, she'd be first in line with her cup. she often debated whether or not she had a problem as she depended on the stuff so much, but she realized she didn't have to drink, she wanted too.

after riley had taken a cigarette she threw the packet down beside her, not before taking one out herself. she took his lighter but just held it along with the cig in her hand. she wanted to drink first before she started smoking. "not really" she replied about telling her dad where she was going, "just told him i was going out and not to wait up" she shrugged. her eyes lit up as she seen the bottle of vodka. "do you even need to ask?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips. "no problem" she took the bottle gently from him and took a swig. it burned her throat as she'd taken so much and it was raw, as it slid down her throat but she was used to it. she took a few minutes before taking another drink before passing it along to him. "i'm so glad we came out" she said softly as she felt the burning sensation calm down and go away.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Riley Banks]

And you love me but you don't know who I am
So let me go, let me go

"Thats the biggest load of crap i've ever herd you say, and you tend to say alot of crap to me" Riley teased when Gabrielal came up with the idea that talking to yourself was a sign of being heltyh. It made Riley laugh slightly as his blue eyes looked at Gabriella. He herd Gabriella say that she hadn't been scared of the dark since she was five, and that he on the other hand was another story, "Yeah if you say so Gabs but its okay to be scared though I'm here to protect you now, and i'm not scared of the dark" Riley told Gabriella with a slight smirk playing on his lips, the dark had never really bothered Riley that much, in fact he actually kinda liked the dark, maybe that was because when it was dfark it meant that you didn't have the pressures of everyone watching your every move. Well Riley didn't know and hsi ehad hurt thinking deeply like that so he abadoned the idea and just stuck with the fact that he had never really been scared of the dark. Riley stretched out his arms slightly, as he lent himself back and glanced out at the water, the sky was pretty clear tonight so you could see the reflection of the stars and moon in the water. Riley turned his head to look back at Gabriella when he herd her start talking again, and when heherd what she was sying, Riley frowned at her for a moment.

"Oh right i see, you were just using me well fine then i'll just go home and leave you and the alcohol to get to know each other a liottle better then" Riley said with a compeltely straight face and pretty serious voice, but after a moment a smile cracked his lips he knew Gabriella had been joking and anyways there would have been no chance of him leaving Gabriella alone to get drunk on the beach, that would be a bad thing to do. Drinking had been something that Riley had gotten himself into at a pretty early age, when he had started fightin all the fights had been at local parties, which meant loud music and plenty of alcohol, and well Riley would drink before he had a fight and if he won which he always did then that meant lots of celerbrating which meant even more alcohol, so Riley had gotten himself use to the taste and affect of alcohol form a young age and was now a pretty good drinker it took alot to get him completly of his face. Tonight he and Gabriella would probably drink what he had brought between them, and that would probablly get them fairly out of it, though he knew Gabriella was good at holding her drink too, so they should still be able to be slight intelligent and not do anything to drastically stupid.

Riley smield slightly when he herd what Gabriella said, "Ah well i'm glad tha your pleased then, the shop didn't have much to choose from" Riley said as he looked at the beer and vodka that they had to drink. He would have gotten thema bit more of a variety if the shop had a better slecectionb ut thsi ahd been the best stuff that it sold, so Riley had gone with it, and he also knew tht Gabriella wasn't all girly when it came to drinkign and would be perfectly happy with the beers and Vokda. Riley tended to only drink beer, he wasn't a big mixer, but tongiht he'd had a thrist for the vodka when he ahd seen it, so he was making an exception for his no mixing drinks rules, and plus he was only with Gabriella so if he did do anything stupid it wouldn't be to embarassing, where as a party with lots of people doing something stupid was defintly the key to totally embarassing yourself. Riley was glad that Gabriella offered him a cigarette, it seemed like a good night to have one. he felt Gabriella take the lighter from him, as he took another drag on his cigarette, and then blew out the circles of smoke again, before listening to Gabriella say that she had only told her dad ashew as going out and not to wait up, "Ah well at least you told him you were going out, i just left a note i couldn't be btoehred to argue with my dad about it" Riley sighed, hsi dad would have argued with Riley if he had mentioned that he was going out.

With the vodka bottle in hand, Riley laughed slightly when he herd waht Gabriella said to him after he offered to let her have the first drink of the night. "No i guess it was a stupid question". Riley ket Gabriella take the bottle from him, knowing she wouldn't have been bothered about there being no cups. As she took a drink, Riley tooka long drag on the cigarette, and let it out of his mouth slowly as he saw Gabriella have another drink.

When Gabriella passed him the bottle, Riley put the last bit of hsi cigarette out int he sand and took the bottle. He placed it to his lisp and felt the familiar burnign snesation in his thraot as the vodka ran down it. "I'm glad that we did too, being here ebats sitting in my room" Riley nodded in agreement, spending time with Gabriella probably beat alot of stuff. He took a little more of the vodka and then settled the bottle into the sand as he looekd to Gabriella. "So how've things been for you recently then?" Riley asked, as he shifted slightly and brushed some sand from his shorts.

[Gabriella Jukes]

"you know me too well rile" she said and smiled slightly. out of all the people in her life she could say without hesitation he was the one person who knew everything about her, and knew her inside and out. he would know what to order her if they were in a cafe (though she would always threaten him if he ever offered), what flavour of ice cream to get her, what CD's she liked and so on. they'd only known each other for a few years but in that space of time she'd confided in him some things she hadn't even told her 'old friends'. he'd wormed his way into her life and he wasn't going anyway and she was glad. she needed someone in her life who didn't even need to ask if something was wrong."yeah, i'll phone you in the middle of the night on the verge of tears because the darkness is coming and there's monsters under my bed" she joked, though she was nearly sure if she phoned him in the middle night saying something was wrong, he'd come over. she depended on him that much. two or three years ago she would have never dreamed of phoning anyone in the middle of the night as she'd pushed them all away. choosing to ignore them and retreating deeper into her shell, than apologizing and explaining her recent trauma. there was a time she regretted ever freezing them out, but then she realized she would have never met riley, and that was something she could never let happen.

"i think that would be a good idea" she replied, too, with a serious face before laughing slightly. her and the alcohol already knew each other well enough, if not more. she'd been drinking since she was fifteen, the week after the death of her mother. at first it had just been the odd drink found from bottles of vodka and whiskey from her fathers collection to keep her going, especially through the funeral and when hundreds upon hundreds of sympathy cards and flowers arrived at the door. when she seen a picture of her mother lying around the house, she had a drink, whenever she remembered a happy or guilty memory, she had one. she was surprised her liver didn't shut down there and then the amount of alcohol she was taking per day. she was also surprised she didn't turn into an alcoholic. of course she likes her drink and has it whenever she feels like it, but she rarely drinks during the day and goes a few days without, after having an all night drinking session. compared to a few years ago she was doing good these days with her limit. she had to stop drinking, she knew that, otherwise she would land herself into an early grave. she knew her mother was probably looking down at her, disappointed, ashamed, knowing she'd raised a better daughter than this, and it was that thought alone that would make her drink more, instead of stopping.

"well go to that shop more often. would have raised hell if you had showed up here with nothing but soda and some sort of 'prissy' drink" she said, joking. she wasn't that bad. she probably would have felt a little disappointed that she wasn't going to get drunk, but alcohol, was alcohol after all. one of these days something was going to have to make her snap out of it. she needed to calm down and tone it down with her behavior. despite her 'who cares' attitude and the fact she knew she could do whatever she wanted, that sense of freedom wasn't good for her, at all. she kept the cigarette in her hand, waiting before lighting it up as she knew as soon as did, she would smoke the others just as fast. "well i raced out before he could stop me. you know you're always welcome to crash at mine if you don't wanna go home and face him" among the hoard of stories she'd been told about his father, the one that angered her the most was the time he'd nearly broken his neck in a fight, meaning he almost could have died, and to think his father had pushed him into fighting that much, was disgusting. she knew it must have been tough for him at home, especially after quitting the sport. she always made him know if he ever just wanted to get away from his family he could come to hers, an offer he rarely took.

"to state the obvious" she said in a soft tone about it being a stupid question. now having had some drink, she took the ciggarete and lighter from her hand and lit it up, inhaling the smoke and letting it flow from her mouth. "agreed" she would rather be anywhere other than her house, though her bedroom was her favourite place to be, a place she barely left except for school and when she went out. it was covered corner to corner with drawings she'd done. some where of her mother, others were of the consequences of her attitude. she took another drag, waiting until she smoked it down before taking another sip of the vodka. upon hearing his question she shrugged, "no better or worse than last time you asked i guess, yourself?" her life hadn't taken any turns in the past few weeks, well if you didn't count her father actually trying to be her father. "anything troubling you?" it did sound a little cheesy, but she didn't want her best friend sitting with something on his chest. keeping your emotions bottled up was never a good thing.

[Riley Banks]

And you love me but you don't know who I am
So let me go, let me go

"Ahh maybe i do know you too well Gabs, but being your friend i guess I'm meant to" Riley smiled, as he glanced across at Gabriella for a moment, before his eyes pulled away and looked out at the water for a moment. If there was anyone that probably knew nearly everything about him, it would have to be Gabriella. Riley was pretty sure she knew most of the secrets and problems that he had over the past few years that they had been friends. There was very little that Riley kept from Gabriella, of course there were a few things, because everyone liked to have a little bit of themselves that no one else knew about, but Riley normally ended up telling Gabriella most things. The first time Riley had met Gabriella, he'd been pretty unsure if they'd be friends, mainly because Gabriella had been drunk and he had doubted she would remember him, but it turned out that they both became really close, and well Riley probably wouldn't have it any other way now, it was hard to imagine not having Gabriella as his friend. Riley laughed when he herd what Gabriella was saying about ringing him in the middle of the night nearly crying when the darkness was coming and that there were monsters under her bed.

"Glad that you can admit your scared of the dark Gabs thats a big step, and i suppose if you did ring me i would come scare the monsters away for you" Riley teased with a soft smile playing across his lips. Riley liked that he and Gabriella were able to mess around like this, and tease each other and to know that the other person wasn't being mean about it. Though Riley would probably end up helping Gabriella if she ever rung him nd was in any kid of trouble, that was how much their friendship meant, he would do anything to look after Gabriella, even if that does mean getting phone calls in the middle of the night. Stretching out his arms, Riley glanced up at the sky for a moment, it felt good to come out and just spend sometime with Gabriella, and plus the beach was pretty cool looking at night and there was the added bonus of them having the entire stretch of beach to themselves, which wasn't to surprising as not many people would come to the beach to get drunk or hang out at night.

Riley found it hard to keep a serious face as he looked across at Gabriella, and as he herd what she said a smile started to cross his lips, and then he started to laugh when Gabriella gave up trying to be serious as well. "I think I'll stay actually, I'm comfortable now" Riley said as he lent back slightly, "And plus i spent money on the alcohol so i want some too" He added with a smile as his eyes glanced at the beer for a moment. Riley and alcohol were well acquainted, he'd been drinking since his early teens due tot eh fighting that he took part in mainly being the big attractions at parties frown by all the rich kids that had nothing better to do with their time. not that Riley could really complain, he had enjoyed it all at the beginning when it had all really just been a bit of fun. The drinking just seemed like the right thing to do after fighting and plus it helped to numb the aches and pains he would get after a fight. Riley guessed he'd have to really try and cut down on the drinking at some point, but right now it filled a space that needed filling and Riley wasn't ready to find something else to fill the space, so for now drinking would do and there was the added fact that his father was completely against it. Though Riley knew that really wasn't such a great reason to do it, but he would do anything at th e moment to get back at his dad.

"Fine I'll make it the official shop to buy booze from for Gabriella, and i would never show up with soda for you, cause you'd probably have poured it over me" Riley said with a slight grin, he knew that Gabriella wasn't into all the weak alcohol that you could get, thats why he had stuck to good old beer and straight vodka, after all you couldn't really go wrong with either of them. Riley was glad that Gabriella offered himt he cigarette, he hadn't done much smoking recently, he'd sort of been attempting to give it up but now Gabriella had given him one that idea was long out of the window, it wasn't as easy as people thought it was to just quit and Riley had tried that chewing gum but had gone through a whole box in the space of two hours it didn't work at all, he'd been tempted to go and get his money back. Riley listened as Gabriella said that she had raced out the house before her dad could really stop her, then she offered for him to crash at hers if he didn't want to go home. Riley smiled slight, he liked hearing Gabriella offer that to him, but he never took her up on the offer, he wasn't sure why he guessed it was something to do with the fact that his dad would probably use that as an excuse for chucking him out because he had somewhere else to sleep, "Thanks for the offer Gabs I'll keep it in mind" Riley nodded slightly, as he took another drag on his cigarette and let the smoke out between his lips.

"You know me, i love to state the obvious" Riley smiled, he guessed it had been a pretty stupid question to answer when the answer was so obvious, but that was just Riley he tended to point the obvious stuff out because it was easy to do. His hand closed around the bottle of vodka when Gabriella handed it to him, and he let the liquid run down his throat and then pulled the bottle away and kept it held in his hand as he looked back to Gabriella, whoa greed with him about it being better here then stuck in their rooms. "Anywhere beats home i s'pose" Riley sighed, before drinking some more of the vodka. He was glad to hear that nothing worse had been happening to Gabriella recently, he knew ho rough it had been for her and frequently wished that he could make it better for her somehow. "Well i guess thats good that its not worse" Riley said quietly, then looked thoughtful for a moment when Gabriella asked if there was anything troubling him. "Not really, just the usual my dad won't quit trying to get me to fight again and my mom pretends to be oblivious to it all" Riley said with a slight shrug of his shoulders, he didn't really think it was going to get better with his parents he was just riding it out the best he could.

[Gabriella Jukes]

"good answer" she replied and smiled. even after all these years she was still getting used to the fact that he did know all these things about her and she did him. it didn't make her feel uncomfortable, no, infact it made her feel quite the opposite. she felt happy that someone had actually sat down and listened to her and practically knew her life story. she knew it she'd probably never find someone like riley who had been willing to do that for her and still does to this day. though it's not a one way system and she makes sure he knows she's here to listen. like any human being she'd held back on telling him a few things as she didn't want herself to be completely lost. telling a person absolutely everything about you and your experiences gave them a certain amount of control, though she knew riley would never use any of the things she'd told him against her or to deliberately hurt her, but it wasn't a crime to keep some things private. hearing him laugh she let out a soft giggle, knowing most likely what he was laughing about. though she'd feared the dark very much, she never had much an issue with monsters. her imagination wasn't running wild at that age and she'd been quite a sensible child so she knew better than to be scared of things that didn't exist. although they weren't her favourite genre of film, it wouldn't be unusual if you caught her watching a horror like IT the clown.

"thank you, thank you" she said, putting a hand on her chest as if to calm herself down, mocking that she was so proud of herself for facing the monsters and admitting it. she burst into tiny laughter a few moments later. "would you? because i'm sure with that face you'd scare them away for good" she teased, squeezing his upper arm lightly just to let him know she was infact joking and wasn't in one of her moods. gabriella didn't really get scared easily. she didn't mind being in her house alone if it was dark, she didn't freak out if there was a power cut and a thunderstorm was thrashing outside, despite the number of horrors that had the defenseless victim in that situation. she had admitted to herself about being slightly freaked tonight when she'd turned up to the empty beach alone, but that was only because it was a huge beach and anything could happen to young girls at night. if she ever did get scared for any reason, she'd usually phone riley. she wouldn't tell him why she was ringing, she would just let him think she was bored and needed someone to talk to. she would never hear the end of it if she phoned him up, her voice shaking, confessing she could hear movement in her house and was convinced there was someone in the house and then the culprit turning out to be a cat. that teasing would go on for weeks. she couldn't afford to show her feelings.

"who says you're getting any?" she quirked an eyebrow playfully. of course he was getting some, after all he had bought the liquids. "fine stay, just don't expect me to be nice to you" she joked. she definitely wanted him to stay, she was the one who had asked him out here anyway...kinda. it would just be plan rude and hurtful to even hint to that seriously. although she could aggravate so many people and tell them bluntly to 'go away', she would never be able to do that to him. he was really the only person in her life she actually cared about. hanging out with him saved her from countless boring nights sitting in her room, or getting lectured by her father. to think the first time she met him she couldn't wait to get rid of him, her words directed at him being 'piss off', in a rather slurred manner. she'd drove to one of her favourite clubs and this time it wasn't to get drunk, obviously because she'd brought her car with her. a really good band was playing and she wanted to listen to them. she'd sat for a few hours, stretching out her cokes and sprites before she finally fell ad ordered a real drink, which quickly turned into ten. she'd staggered out of the club, fumbling with her keys and phone debating whether or not to phone a cab. luckily she'd bumped into him and he'd drove her home, despite her drunken unwillingness. after that he just kept showing up and she let him in.

"you got that right buddy!" of course she would never do something like that to him, unless they'd had a huge fight and she was angry with him and she had a drink in her hand. but it was very rare, if not non existent, that they ever got into fight. and if they ever did, she'd be very surprised if it was his fault. gabriella had been in a few bar fights in her time, some her fault, others not. they usually ended up with her and the other girl (or once guy) with a black eye or bloodied nose. she could become quite the angry drunk if provoked. most fights she'd ever been involved in where over split drinks, accidental pushes, or someone thinking she was 'eying up their guy'. always stupid, always over basically nothing, and always ended with her waking up in the morning with the mixed pain of a throbbing eye or jaw and her banging hangover. she'd calmed down considerably now though, as most times when she wanted to go out she phoned him to see what he was doing. he usually tagged along and if he didn't she just went out anyway. "i mean it, if the parentals are just too much to deal with, you know the easy access to my room through the window" she smiled, referencing to the tree just outside her room that was unbelievably easy to climb, once it was climbed, if her window was open, it was easy to enter. she took a few more long draws from her cigarette then quickly put it out in the sand.

"as long as something doesn't set me off, my life doesn't get any worse" she shrugged. listening to him about his parents she sighed, "seriously, why do people even have kids if they're not gonna love them and treat them right?" she wasn't talking about herself as her parents had been loving before her mother died, she was talking about riley and all those other kids who were ignored by their parents or pressured by them. that's not why they're there, that wasn't the purpose of having a child. she looked over at the beer then to riley, "pass me a beer please" she smiled. she would go from beer to vodka as she didn't want to get drunk immediately and be stumbling around like an idiot while he sat there.

[Riley Banks]

And you love me but you don't know who I am
So let me go, let me go

Riley smiled slightly when he herd Gabriella say good answer to him, he'd never really thoguht he'd have one of those friends that he coudl tell anything and rely on when he needed help, but for some reason he ahd been lcuky enough to find Gabriella, and well she was the kind of friend that he really needed, sure he ahd alot of toher friends buty none of them knew half the stuff that he ahd told Gabriella over the years and part of Riley never really trusted them to keep there mouths closed if he told them a secret about him. so Gabriella was his true friend and Riely knew he was extremely lucky that she even bother to put up wit him, because he expected that at times she probably foudn him extremely annoying, but so far she'd never shown any sings of that, jsut liek he had never showed signs of being annoyed with her, it just never seemed to really happen he coudl easily spend a whole day hanging out with Gabriella and not get annoyed. The mental image Riley got when Gabriella talked about calling him ont he verge of tears because of the monsters made Riley laguh, he honestly couldn't really imagine that Gabriella would get scared that easily which was probably why he found it so funny to picture in his head. Hearing Gabriella laugh aswel, Riley looekd across to her and smiled slightly at her, it never took mcuh for them to have a godo time with each other.

Riley laughed and rolled his eyes as he herd Gabriella, and he jsut shook hsi head slightly and laughed with her, "You know your a dork right?" Riley asked with a small smile playing across his lips before he brushed some sand off his jeans. Riley frowned when he herd Gabriella make the comment about scaring them away for good with a face like his, "Ouch that hurt, it isn't that bad" Riley told Gabriella as he felt her squezze his upper arm. After a moment he flashed her a smile and shook hsi head slightly, "You know your suppose to be nice to your friends not tell them their ugly" Riley laughed slightly as he lnt over and pushed Gabriella gently. Riley was pretty sure that Gabriella wasn't one of those girls that was scared of a flickering light or loud noise from outside, but he knew that everybody got scared sometimes, and if ont hose sometimes she really needed him to be there or called him, then Riley would make sure that she was okay before he left her, it would never bother him at all if Gabriella rang in the middle of the night and that had happened a couple of times but Riley would sit and talk to Gabriella even if he was a grumpy sod in the morning becaue he didn't get enough sleep. Riley lent back lightly on his hands, as he glanced up at the sky for a litle bit, this was defntly a much better way to spend the ngiht then sitting in his room, which felt more liek a prison cell at the moment.

"Oh I am defintly havign some, wether you like it or not, and if your not ncie i'll take it all and you won't have any" Riley said trying to look serious but failing miserably at it, it was hard to be serios when he was messing around with Gabriella. Riley folded hsi arms across his chest now as he looked across at Gabrielal wehns eh said about nto expecting her to be nice to him, "You know sometimes iw ander why i decide to be your friends, and watch your back or your going for a swim" Riley grinned as he gestured to the water, it would porobably be very funny to carry Gabriella out to the water but that woudl involve getting wet himself and he wasn't to sure if Gabriella woudl actually ever forgive him for it. Riley smield slightly at the memory opf the the first time he had met Gabriella, it wasn't one of her finer moments, but it had made Riley laugh slightly at the time when she ahd rather drunkenly told him to go away and of course the classic line of 'I don't need any help, i'm fine' Riley was defntly glad he ahd driven Gabrielal home he would have hated tos ee her try and dribve in the drunk state that she ahd been in att he time. Riley had never been able to figure out why after that he jsut seemed to start turning up at Gabriella's but then she also jsut let him in, but then that was how their friendship started and it had been goign pretty well since then aswell.

"Exactly, so i will never bring you soda" Riley nodded, he'd like to refrain from any kind of fight with Gabriella, especially one that could involve him havign a drink tipped down him. Fighting was always something Riley had been good at thoguht more the physical fighting then the verbal kind, not that it was really a good trhign to be good at fighting, especially when you were in a crowded bar and happened to pick on the guy with all his amtes there which left you way out numbered, though Riley was normally able to handle those situations, though rectenly Riley was doing well at not geting into so many fight with peiopel when he goes out. It made Riley smile when Gabriella said that he knew about the easy access to her room through the window, "Yeah I know, and well really make sure you don't tell anyone else about that, some creep could try and get into your room" Riley said and this time he did look a little concerned by that thought.

"Well thats cool that nothing has set you off then" Riley nodded slightly as he looked over at Gabriella. He lughed slightly when he ehrd her say about peopel having kids, "I really don't know, I wander that alot, my parents jsut don't really seem liek the parent type yet they still h ad me and my sister" Riley sighed, he'd never understand hsi aprents and part of him never really wanted too he jsut wanted to get away from them as soon as he could so that he could jsut get on with his life. Riley lent over and pulled two beers out of one of the packs, "There you go" Riley said as he passed the beer to Gabriella, before opening his own one and drinking some of it.