"Come on, come on," I groaned, frustratedly tapping my pencil against my head.

Securing it behind my ear, I grabbed my guitar that was resting beside me and leaned back against the headboard of my bed, already strumming the new melody I was working on. Too bad I was fumbling for lyrics to go with it.

Lately, I'd been having a hard time writing. It's happened before, but I usually got past it in a day or two. This creative block, however, had been going on for over two weeks now, and I was starting to get concerned. Considering I was a twenty year old college-dropout busy pursuing my dream of becoming a proffesional songwriter, having no motivation was like a death sentence.

"Think, Riley! Think!" I encouraged myself, even though it sounded more like I was angry.

Fifteen minutes had passed, and the only progress I made was when I put the date on my blank journal page. I was honestly starting to feel depressed, but then my phone rang, and I knew immediately who it was based on the ringtone.

"Hey, Drew," I greeted, holding the cell up to my ear.

A distraction is exactly what I need.

"I messed up, man!" The cries of my best friend caused my mouth to go dry, making me worry instantly. "I ruined everything!"

"Woah, woah, dude, tell me what happened? What did you do? Why are you so upset?"

The questions just rolled off my tongue, but I made no efforts to stop them.

"It's Natalie, man!" he explained, his voice shaking. "She broke up with me!"

That was literally the last thing I expected to hear. Natalie and Drew were two of my closest friends. Drew, I had known since were were kids, and we were brothers in ways blood couldn't rival. Natalie, I had met our senior year of highschool, and we became friends easily. Their relationship was something I imagined was pulled right out of a teen romance book, which was why hearing they broke up made me feel like the rug had been pulled out from under me.

"What?!" I exclaimed, standing up and off my bed. Running a hand through my curly blonde locks. "What do you mean she broke up with you?!"

The sound of something breaking on the other end startled me, making me almost drop my phone. "Drew! What the hell was that?"

It took a few seconds for him to respond, his breathing heavy as he spoke. "Nothing, nothing, just- God! What do I do, Riley?!"

"I-I, I don't know, man. I mean, what happened? What, why would she..." It was hard for me to even formulate my words when I knew he was panicking.

"It's all my fault," Drew sighed. "I really need your help. Please, I can't lose her."

"What do you need me to do?"

It didn't take long for us to come up with a plan. The moment we ended our phone call, I started packing a suitcase with as much clothes as I could possibly need. Tossing in my toothbrush and songwriting materials, I zipped it closed and pushed it to the door of my apartment. After that, I placed my beautiful darkwood Taylor 524CE acoustic guitar in its case and slung that onto my back, securing the strap diagonally across my chest.

Double-checking to make sure I had everything, I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and headed out the door. Once I was in my dark blue 2015 Chevy Tahoe, I pulled up directions to Sierra Nevada College and started on my way.

It was barely past one in the afternoon, and just an hour ago I was stuck in a rut, trying to write a song...but now I was in my car, cruising down the highway, driving to Nevada. When I passed a sign informing that I was crossing over the Texas state lines, I drummed my thumbs against the steering wheel, knowing it wouldn't be too long until I got to my destination.

Allowing the radio to play and letting the music envelope me while hoping that maybe I'd get some inspiration for my own, I let out a huge sigh of satisfaction when I finally made it to Nevada. I loved road trips, I just hated when I was the one driving.

"Turn left in 0.01 miles. Your destination will be to your right."

Following the directions from my phone's GPS, I soon found myself driving around the campus, looking for the building Drew stayed in. It took me a while, and eventually I resulted to asking a group of students to point me in the right direction. When I saw him standing outside the dormitory, fidgeting like a nervous wreck, I parked in the closest spot and sighed when he saw me.

Looking at him, I could see the puffy redness around his eyes, and judging by his appearance, he was a wreck. In all my life, there was only one time I'd seen Drew look this devastated, and that was when his dad left his mom. But, as I walked closer to him, I realized he looked even worse. He looked...broken.

"Drew-"

Before I could get a sentence out, he pulled me into a brotherly hug. He wasn't crying, although it was clear he'd done plenty of that already, which was good considering there were people around, but I could feel the desperation in his hold.

"Thanks for coming, man," he said when he let me go.

"Of course, bro. It's not like I had any reason not to."

That was true. My schedule was pretty much free at the moment. With no school, and a hefty trust fund, my days were flexible. My parents were both successful real estate brokers, and they took no shame in over-providing. I didn't plan on relying on them forever, but for now, I would take advantage of the opportunity to seize my dream--and, while I was at it, I could make time to help my friend get his back.

"Come on," Drew spoke, gesturing for me to follow him. "Let's talk in my room."

Nodding, I locked my car through my key remote and went in after him. Inside his dorm, there were two beds, each on opposite sides of the room. Considering Drew sat on the one farthest from the door, I figured that was his side. Closing the door behind us, I sat at the edge of his roommate's bed and watched him, waiting for him to speak.

It took a second, his green eyes staring at the floor like they were weighed down, but eventually he looked up and opened his mouth to speak.

"I love her, Riley," he started with, causing me to furrow my brows.

"I know that."

"Right...I just, wanted to make that clear before I tell you what I did," he explained, causing me to sit up straight, worried about what he would say. "It was such a douche-y thing to do, man."

"What did you do? And please, don't drag it out. I had to drive across state lines without knowing and the suspense is literally killing me."

Taking in a deep breath, I watched his whole body slump as he confessed, "I pressured her...for sex."

That made my brown eyes widen.

"We were in here yesterday, making out-things were getting intense. I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was going to be the day she'd be ready to take things all the way, but before it could, she jumped off of me. I was a horny mess, man. I wanted her so bad that I wasn't listening to her, and instead, I kept begging her to finally give in."

I couldn't say anything, too shocked by what I was hearing, simply because I knew Drew. I knew how much he loved Natalie. Hell, the guy freakin' stuck by her when a very real murderer was after her. He wasn't scared off by that fact, but was motivated to be there for her in ways even I couldn't have been, and Lord knows I tried. They were an inevitable collision, meant to be and impossible to stop-they weren't supposed to fall apart; certainly not by something like this.

"I know I shouldn't have, but I got up and pulled her closer. I told her so many times that I loved her and wanted to show her, and for a second, I saw it. I saw her resolve crack, but then a look of hurt broke onto her face and I wanted to die. She ran out without another word said, but I knew I had messed up. I just didn't know she would break up with me," he concluded, leaning forward so he could cradle his face in his hands. A second later, he tossed his phone to me. "She did it over text, too."

Woah...this is bad.

"Please, say something."

"What do you expect me to say, Drew?" I questioned, standing up and pacing the room. "You screwed up. I mean, she hasn't even responded to you."

"I know," he groaned, falling back on his bed. "I've probably called her twenty times already, and each time, they go straight to voicemail."

"She clearly doesn't want to talk to you," I voiced, even though I know it's that last thing he wants to hear. "What were you thinking? I mean, of all people, you know how Natalie is about sex. You know that she's waiting for marriage-you've known for over a year and then you pull this crap? Why would you stay with her if you weren't willing to wait?!"

Why would you hurt her?

Two years ago, I would have done anything to be with Natalie. She's one of my favorite people, and I'm pretty sure a part of me will always care about her more than just in a platonic way, but I cared more about her happiness than my own, and Drew made her happy. So, when they started dating, I buried my feelings for her, and as time passed, they dulled...but they never really left. Still, I had come to terms with her not reciprocating those feelings, and it's safe to say I've moved on from her. But, hearing what Drew did makes me wish I'd fought harder for her affection-protected her from this outcome.

Clenching my fists, I held back the punch I wanted to throw, seeing for the first time that he'd already done damage to himself. His palms had cuts all across them, and when I looked around his room again, I spotted the broken lamp in the corner of it.

That explains the crash I heard over the phone.

"I've never wished I could fix something the way I wish I could fix this," Drew murmured into his pillow. I could tell by the sniffles coming from him that he was crying again.

That's another way I knew he was honestly upset with himself. He'd never been one to cry openly. Never. One time, when we were in fifth grade, we took turns climbing to the highest point of our school's playground and jumping off into the mulch below. It didn't matter how many times we did it, we learned one day that you can always injure yourself.

Climbing up to the top for a third time that day, I'll never forget the loud sound of Drew's leg snapping when he landed. He let out a strangled yell in pain, but even when I got down to him, not a single tear fell. I remember thinking he was a tough kid, and I hoped maybe he'd rub some of that off on me. So, looking at him so emotional now was borderline scary.

"Look, maybe she just needs a few days to herself, y'know? I'm sure she'll pick up if you call her then," I tried to encourage.

Prying his face from his pillow, Drew looked at me with so much sadness in his eyes. "Do you think you could talk to her for me?"

"Uh...I don't know, man."

"Please. You know she loves you and would jump at the opportunity to see you. Plus, I need to know if she's okay. If I could, I'd walk right over to her sorority house, just to lay my eyes on her-to see that she's okay. But, that probably wouldn't end well for me. If you could just-"

"Okay, okay!" I caved, raising my hands in surrender so he'd stop. "I'll go see her, but...I honestly think I should wait until morning. We don't want her to feel bombarded or anything."

Nodding his head, Drew agreed, weakly smiling at me in thanks.

"I'll go get your things out the car," he offered, holding his hands out for my keys. "You can take that bed."

Giving them to him, I raised a brow curiously. "You're roommate won't mind?"

"Considering he's never here, I doubt it."

Letting him go, I leaned back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and exhaled the second-hand stress transferred to me. I came all this way to help my best friend out. I just hoped I'd be able to.

Chapter one is out and I'm dying to know what you guys thought of it! So, what did you think? 🤓 I'm listening.

If any of you are here from IGY, then let me know if you're as siked about the timing of Riley's story as I am! I know this story is a spinoff, but it almost feels like a sequel as well because we still have Dratalie in it. Although...things aren't looking too good for them right now.

Stay tuned for the next chapter 😉. Things get mighty interesting 😃.