Series: LoveOdyssey
All other info in previous parts.
--Riley's delusions (A funny ficlet)
[Warning: Riley-bashing ahead. Don't read if you like him. Or at least don't complain to me afterwards.]

"She still can't say that she loves me." Riley said aloud to the empty room as he hung up the phone.

Sighing softly, he sat dejectedly on his bed, reaching over to flip on the radio.

~You might have been hurt babe~
~That ain't no lie~
~You've seen them all come and go~

"Oh, cool." Riley said, instantly hopping off the bed and starting to do a strange little dance to the song he had probably heard a billion times before.

~I remember you told me~
~That it made you believe in no man, no cry~
~Maybe that's why~

Back to the door, Riley danced back and forth in front of his bed, trying valiantly to duplicate moves he had seen in the MTV video of this song. Arms swinging wildly, bent at odd angles, with his legs jerking almost convulsively, he strutted back and forth and all around in circles throughout his room.

~Every little thing I do~
~Never seems enough for you~
~You don't wanna lose it again~

'Oh yeah, I'm cool.' He thought to himself as he executed a spin and almost fell on his face. Pretending like he meant to do that, he staggered on the floor and attempted a cool disco-like move he had seen at a dance one time. Instead of the cool, slithery look he was trying to make by flopping on the floor, he managed to bang his knee, hard, on the side of his bed as he was sliding up.

"Aw, shoot." He cussed, immediately looking towards heaven and apologizing for his uncharacteristic use of language.

~But I'm not like them~
~Baby when you finally get to love somebody~
~Guess what, it's gonna be me~

Doing an odd thing with his one leg as he tried to get his other one to work properly, flapping his arms in a decent imitation of a chicken, and sticking his neck in and out like an idiot was exactly how Jason found him when he opened the door a moment later.

"What the hell are you doing, man?" Jason asked as Riley's arms shot out to the side and then moved back in towards his chest in robot-like fashion.

"Getting in the mood for my date with Buffy." Riley said as he stopped dancing (well, if the term 'dancing' was synonymous with 'making an ass of one's self) and turned to face his friend. He didn't even have the sense to be embarrassed.

"Couldn't you find something with a little better beat?" His friend asked as he shut off the radio and muttered something about boys chosen for their ability to dance and memorize songs other people wrote for them.

"But that song is perfect for me and Buffy." Riley said as he flipped his head so that a lock of dirty blond hair shot off his forehead and back into place on his head. "She doesn't know it yet, but it is."

"I don't know, man." Jason said as he absently flipped through Riley's CDs. "You've been with that chick for a while, and she never seems like she's all there."

"Yes, she is." Riley said as he walked over to his closet to get dressed for his date.

"I don't know, Ri." Jason said as he sat down on the bed. "She always seems kinda sad. I been watching her, and whenever you're not looking at her, or she's not with someone, her face kinda looses all emotion. Then you turn to her and she's suddenly all smiles, like a mask she slips on because you want her to."

"That's crap, man." Riley said as he dug through his shirts. "I'm always with her. I think I'd notice if she was like that."

"I told you, it's only when you're not looking."

"And why would you notice? Why are you watching my girl?" Riley asked, sticking his chest out in what he hoped was a show of masculinity.

"Because that's what the Initiative hired me to do." Jason said, slightly defensive. "I watch you guys, and I keep you from getting into trouble. And everyone knows the biggest trouble any guy can get into is being with the wrong woman."

"Buffy is not the wrong woman." Riley said, pulling two different shirts out of his closet.

"For you man, I think she is." Jason tried again.

"Which do you think Buffy will like more?" Riley spun around eagerly, ignoring Jason's last comment. He held two shirts in his hand.

One was a bright orange polo shirt with a red stripe across the chest, and the other was a white tee-shirt with cows all over it.

Jason just groaned and fell back on the bed, one arm falling over his eyes.

"What?" Riley asked perkily.

Go to the next story Only Myself to Blame

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