#where dreamers go
Last night I reread my Cameron Frye insert reader, the long one…. And oh my goodness the amount of words that need to be other words. Darn it. Out of all the proofreading sessions.
At least none were the their or they’re stuff. It was words that don’t actually rhyme, but in my mind have the same sort of bounce to them.
I want to edit it.
I did it! Yay!
Still missed the ‘why’ that should be a 'what’. (Literally the top of page 3)
I’ll edit it on here tomorrow maybe. Not in the now. Heh
Last night I reread my Cameron Frye insert reader, the long one…. And oh my goodness the amount of words that need to be other words. Darn it. Out of all the proofreading sessions.
At least none were the their or they’re stuff. It was words that don’t actually rhyme, but in my mind have the same sort of bounce to them.
I want to edit it.
Alrighty!!!
So, this Friday is the big day!!!
I will be using the tag: #Obi-Wan Kenobi series
Anything close to a spoiler will be under a read more thing. But I’m usually pretty vague because I hate spoilers and don’t want it happening to anyone avoiding them.
Will I write for Obi? Who knows. It’s been years.
Will I write for the Grand Inquisitor? Force help me…
So after seeing a TV spot for the new Rescue Rangers movie, I asked my sister if she’d watch it first because I feared it’d be a movie I would be uncomfortable with. (After seeing the TV spot)
My fear was right and there went my excitement to watch it.
She keeps telling me about it and I’m just…
I’m watching Batman (the original series with Adam West) and The Riddler walked out in his nice suit.
Me:
My mom: Erica wants that suit.
Me:Yes. I didn’t even say anything and you knew.
(A/N: And we’re back with another prequel to the Riley Poole series. This takes place after the poker game in “Game On”. Reader busy with work and networking. What happens when someone takes networking a step too far? Also I say potato chips instead of crisps, but I get it.
Warnings: Minor language. Angst. (Because this guy Reader had met does not respect people’s decisions nor boundaries.) Fluff. The mutual pining between Riley and Reader continues!
Word Count: 4,307 words)
All was quiet with little white noise coming from the hall just outside of the offices. Nothing too unusual, but quiet for a Friday. Spending your time wisely, you were double checking the approved layout for the upcoming museum exhibition. Your chair squeaked occasionally in the office while you worked. A pretty typical day.
It was not as adventurous as looking for treasure, as you could imagine, but it was still quite exciting. Perhaps one day you would be able to compare the two. If Ben came up with another theory on the Templar Treasure’s whereabouts.
You jumped in your seat as the desk phone rang with a transferred call.
“Hello?” You answered the phone. “This is (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N), how may I help you?”
“Hi, (Y/N), this is Warren Stone. We met at the networking event downtown earlier this week.”
“Oh.” Your surprise could not stay neutral. “Is there something I can help you with?” Why is he calling me? He remembered I work here?
“I’m still in town for the week and I was wondering when I could pick you up for lunch.”
“Oh. No, thank you. I’m busy.”
“I’d like to take a look at the new exhibits.”
Okay, change in subject, you thought.
“The new exhibition will not be complete until some time next month.” You said, eyes peering over to the section of papers on your desk.
“Then I can come by tomorrow. If you’re not busy we can have lunch. Around noon. I’ll see you then.”
“Wha—?”
“Bye.”
click
You set the phone back on its base and sat there at your desk staring at the wall. That did not just happen. No. No, no, no. I said no. Is that guy serious? You slouched back into your seat. I shouldn’t have let (college friend) talk me into going to that thing. ‘You need to network because they associate your name with the Gates Family.’ Yeah, yeah. I’m not in charge of him. Boo. Darn it! I still said ‘no’. We had only talked for about five minutes at the event. No, he talked. That really just happened.
You rolled a pencil across your desk.
I could always call in sick tomorrow. You thought as you looked from another wall to the piles of papers on your desk. But there’s a lot that I really need to do. That I want to do. It’s not like he’s allowed to go back here.
In the museum, visitors were not permitted into the offices or storage rooms unless personally taken through an approved tour or for official business reasons.
Your stomach twisted at a thought.
But what if the Warren guy does get let in by saying he knows me and needs to meet with me for something important. But they wouldn’t just let someone in, you thought. I hope. You sighed heavily.
The paperwork in front of you had come to your attention. Work. Work still had to be done. There was plenty of time later to try to be logical about the situation. Or completely illogical. You needed to focus on your tasks at hand. Good thing you had your to-do list.
“Just another day.” You told yourself, reaching for a bottle water. “Another should-be-boring Friday.”
…
Weekends were not always work free. You worked the weekend. It wasn’t bad. You truly liked what you were doing. Just not that day in particular. The actual day.
Instead of the usual double checking of your work, you had been quadruple-checking everything you did. Your mind was clearly elsewhere and not at any of its usual vacation spots. You preferred beach getaway, home theater, dinner for two, and finding treasure as your mind’s getaway locations. Picturing an unwanted interaction or lunch was not fun.
The more time that ticked by, the more you fidgeted. Fingernails tapping, stacks of paper straightened, and a pencil that you had accidentally launched off of the desk twice already. The clock ticked away. It was almost time for lunch.
Earlier you had a random thought of actually leaving. Leaving for lunch. Out of the building. Gone. But where? You brought your lunch because you were thinking of hiding. Not dignified, but it worked on occasion. And it was that day to use it.
How does the guy even know I work on the weekend? You thought while filing away a document you had copied earlier. What if he does show up? Early? I don’t want to start a commotion. It was already awkward. Not just awkward…more aggravating and alarming.
You were not sure if you could tell off a stranger to their face while at work. The environment was not quite right. You were in a museum for crying out loud.
What if he yells?
There were subconscious yellow flags when you met the guy. You didn’t want to actually eat lunch with the man. You didn’t exactly feel comfortable around the guy even with one friend with you for five minutes.
I hardly got a word in at the event. Maybe someone else can talk to him? No… I want to do something else. Talk to someone else.
There in your seat, a name came to mind: Ben.
Ben is busy though, you leaned back in your chair. Riley?
You wracked your brain, but you could not remember if he was busy or not. There were too many things running rapid in your brain. An unorganized circus on loop.
Taking in a deep, shaky breath, you prepped yourself for your plan of action. Grabbing your cell phone from your bag and standing up, you headed out of the room.
A vacant bathroom. Despite the tile, it actually held more privacy than your office. Then again, the bathroom was further away from any working areas.
Double checking that you were alone, you flipped open your phone. Before you could think it all over again, you hit the speed dial for Riley Poole.
After a few seconds of ringing, the call picked up.
“Hello?” Riley’s familiar voice sounded in your ear.
“Hey, Riley. Are you…are you busy?” You asked, hoping he did not hear the slight echo.
“Not right now, no. Why? Are you okay? Aren’t you at work?”
“Yeah, I’m at work. Um. My lunch break is coming up—well, actually in about ten minutes and I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch and simultaneously save me from an unwanted encounter.” Your foot bounced in place as you imagined his perplexed expression.
There was silence for a couple of seconds before Riley’s voice was back in your ear.
“Are they catering lunch from that weird place again?”
“No,” you laughed lightly, your nerves still eating at you. “I went to a networking event the other day with my friend from college and we met this guy and uh…the guy already asked to pick me up yesterday for lunch and is coming to the museum today.”
“Did you tell the guy ‘no’?”
“Of course I did.” You said quickly. “But he’s coming over anyway. He said so when he called my work yesterday. I don’t…I’m not comfortable with this.”
“So he’s an entitled guy who’s also creepy.” Riley said, “Can you wait there for like….another ten minutes? It might be more with traffic there.”
“Wait, you’ll have lunch with me?”
“Yeah. I haven’t eaten yet. So…”
“Thank you. Thank you.Thank you. You’re the best.”
“You’re welcome. Hey, I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Great. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Bye, (Y/N).”
You closed your phone and twirled on the spot. “EEee!”Okay, chill. Go back, you got a little over five minutes. A mixture of happy relief and the lingering fear of seeing the Warren man walk in at any moment whirled in your mind. But I get to see Riley. That’s real.
…
It was almost ten minutes into your lunch break when you finally got the call from Riley.
“Hey, I’m here in the front. Is that okay?”
“It’s perfect.”
“Alright. Bye.”
You flipped your phone shut and pocketed it before sneaking out of the offices. Your eyes flicked to any movement. It was a short walk to the entrance doors and the moment that fresh air hit you—a heavy weight lifted off of your shoulders. Not to ignore the skip in your step.
You rushed to Riley’s van without glancing anywhere else just in case. Opening the passenger side door you were greeted with the sight of a bag of sandwiches.
“Hey, I bought us some sandwiches on the way here. I hope that’s okay.” Riley smiled.
After grabbing the bag, you sat down, and immediately pulled the passenger door shut. “It’s okay. I owe you big time.”
Once you were buckled in, Riley put the van back in drive.
“Hi, by the way.” You said as a grin threatened to lay permanent on your face.
“Hi.”
You leaned back in the seat and let out a long sigh. Shoulders dropping, tension easily left your body.
How could your day turn around so smoothly? No unwanted encounter. And with making one call? Perhaps being in Riley’s presence did that to you.
Turning your head left, you smiled as you watched Riley navigating the road ahead. The slight twitch to his brow and sunlight changing the color of his eyes.
“So where are we going?” You asked as the van stopped at a red light with both lanes beside you also having to stop.
“I have an idea…” Riley trailed off as his eyes narrowed at the vehicles.
Traffic going from your left to your right slowed drastically. The vehicles backed up and stopped right in front of the van.
“Perfect.” Riley’s sarcasm greeted the world. “You can’t scoot up five more feet…at least?” His hands gesturing atop of the steering wheel.
You looked on in slight aggravation, but you were mainly still relieved to be with Riley and not —
Oh, crap. No. Crap. Son of—
“Riley.”
“What?” He looked to you and followed your line of sight. “What is it?”
“That’s the guy.”
“Wait, what guy? The guy? The creep who wants to eat with you?”
“Yeah. He’s in front of us in the suv.”
The man’s suv was stuck in a line of traffic going down the street perpendicular to yours. Literally in front of the van and separated by maybe ten feet.
The air in the van felt much too warm.
“Don’t look,” Riley advised.
If that’ll be enough, sure.
You slowly turned your head to Riley. “Is he looking?” You asked, barely moving your mouth.
“No, he’s n—yeah.” Riley returned his sights to you. His blue eyes full of worry. “I think he’s still looking.” Riley’s fingers started tapping on the steering wheel.
Your skin crawled at the feeling of someone looking at you; who was not Riley Poole.
“Can this light please change?” You asked. “Or those people move up?”
Riley and yourself then averted eye contact from each other. You set your eyes on his shoulder and the blue color of his hoodie.
Unfortunately, the signal to go straight was still red. Even if it did change to green, the way was not clear.
“And it just got worse.”
At Riley’s words, you tensed.
“What?”
“His window is down…and he’s waving this way.”
“Crap.”
“Are you going to do anything?”
Glancing up, you met Riley’s blue eyes. “I am not speaking to that man again. He hears what he wants to. I hardly even know him. Maybe he needs a visual.”
Riley took in a breath, “Alright. Like what?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think he’ll do something? Li—please don’t get out. Please don’t get out.”
From the corner of you eye you saw the man taking a last look at the traffic before he leaned over.
“Holy Lord,” Riley’s thumbs were hitting the steering wheel repetitively.
The man was partially hidden from view as he exited his suv. A horn was blown somewhere along the line of cars on the street to the right.
“Riley.” The panic was set in your voice and your fingers dug into the bag on your lap. You knew that the guy was self-conceited, but you had not expected the man to go that far. Then again, you did not really know him.
“I know. I know.”
The both of you watched on as the man walked around the front of his vehicle and crossed the street towards the van.
“HEY.” The man’s voice carried into the locked and windows-shut van. “I can see you!”
Your heart hammered in your chest.
Was he angry? Actually angry?
What’s he going to do?
A green arrow pointing left appeared on the street signals above you.
“Turning.”
Your attention changed to Riley as he simultaneously checked the left lane and pressed on the gas pedal. Nervous and relief rushed through your system as Riley smoothly diverted your paths.
Not a single horn was sounded as the van was in a different lane and street completely. The flow of traffic was moving nicely as quiet filled the van.
“That just happened.” You released the bag of sandwiches from your death-grip.
“Anyone else we should be worried about?” Riley asked.
“No…don’t think so.”
“Alright,” he sighed, knuckles reverting to their natural color on the steering wheel.
…
After driving down a few more blocks and nothing out of the ordinary happened. The day was on its way up again. No yelling. No pursuits. Descent traffic.
“I think I owe you even more now.”
“Yeah, you do,” Riley said as he turned onto a grassy area. A spot away from lunch crowds.
“Are we eating here?”
He parked under the shade of a tree.
“I figured this would be better. A change from being in your office all day.”
“And you would be right.” You smiled.
Riley climbed into the back of the van and grabbed a blanket from the pile behind his seat. Unfolding the blanket, he laid it out on the van’s floor then proceeded to open the side door.
A picnic? You thought to yourself and barely held the words in as your smile continued.
Carrying the bag of food, you moved to join Riley, who looked up. You rose your eyebrows, approving. “Cosy.”
“Cosiest its ever been.” Riley sat on the blanket and made himself comfortable.
“I like it,” You said as you sat down. “We get shade and a nice view. Plus food.”
Indeed, it was a fine view. There were tall trees that gave descent shade across the small field of grass. Much less concrete and plaster than there was a few blocks away. Even a squirrel scampered away from someone on a bicycle.
Riley opened up the back with your lunches tucked away inside. He handed you a packaged sandwich that somehow differed from his own.
Upon unwrapping and checking the sandwich, you discovered it was exactly how you liked it. No picking anything out of the sandwich that time. You peeked up at him.
“You remember what I like in my sandwich?”
Blue eyes looked up and Riley nodded, as his mouth was full of food.
A smile morphed on your lips. “Thank you.”
He gave a thumbs up.
Being that it was lunch time and you hadn’t eaten in hours, you dug in. And, goodness was that sandwich good. At that point you were only surprised that you had an appetite at all from everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.
Might as well enjoy the small victories.
“Want any?” You dug through your bag and took out a bag of chips.
Riley’s answer came in the form of him grabbing a few chips to eat.
Not surprised, you thought with a smile. Good thing I packed the chips myself. None that that half air and five chips nonsense.
Outside of the van, birds flew between trees, chasing one another. Weather was favorable and made one dream of a day off.
After some relative quiet, Riley spoke up.
“How’s the exhibition going?” Riley asked after he sipped some of his drink.
“Still mostly in my head right now.” You shrugged. “Double checking that everything will fit where we want it.”
“Do you have to wait for one day to put it all together?”
“Heh, no. We have more than a day. Thank goodness.” You quickly added. “I’m not about to work overtime and stress out. No thanks. There’s just a lot of set-up before everything starts really moving. Not that there isn’t a lot of moving parts to get to that point.” You had reached for more chips, however Riley was like-minded and it resulted in a brush of hands.
“Sorry,” Riley mumbled.
“As long as you leave some chips for me, it’s fine.”
He smiled.
It was easy to shrug off. Simple human contact like that wasn’t a big deal.
Then why do I feel like I’m starting to sweat? It was—No. We just survived a possibly really scary situation. We’re fine.
Sitting there in the quiet of the van, your mind wondered. From the scary traffic interruption to sandwiches, to years of friendship to treasure.
You finished swallowing before asking, “So. Let’s say that you left treasure hidden and it’s two hundred years later. If you could have one phrase that lead to your first clue of many, what would it be?”
“What?” Riley laughed and immediately had his thinking face scrunching his features. “Alright…assuming I end up rich or somehow collect so much that I decide to hide it. Hmm. If I did that, I’d probably send them all over the country to tire them out. If they really want my treasure they’re going to have to do more than solve riddles.” He shook his head. “No, wait. Make it seem really difficult, but it’s just some sarcasm.”
“Your first clue would be a sarcastic comment?”
“You know what? Yes.” He nodded. “If they get it, good for them. Enjoy the treasure.”
“Nice…I think?”
“Well in comparison to what we have.”
“Yeah… Not exactly a literal and visual map.”
Riley gestured widely with his hand, “See? That would be helpful. Movies make it look easy.”
“Hey, just say the word and we can watch The Mummyagain.”
“There are other movies. Modern.”
“It’s fun and treasure hunting and the lead lady is genuinely contributing unlike the old versions.”
“It’s also in color.” Riley added before reaching for another chip.
“Okay,” you trailed off. “Or…”
“The Mummy Returns?”
“The Mummy Returns.Yes.”
He turned his head away, not even hiding his amusement.
“You knew it was coming.” You pointed at him.
Making a show of rolling his eyes, Riley finished off the last of the chips. Or rather crumbs.
Oh, it’s been too long since I’ve watched it. Okay, maybe not that long, but still. Movie nights with Riley—and Ben—are awesome. Talk about good company.
Riley sipped at his drink before saying, “I’d ask if the new exhibition has any Egyptian pieces, but I’m sure I would have heard about it twenty times if it did.”
“Darn right.” You laughed. “Sadly no Egyptian artifacts this time. But then again I’d rather it stay in Egypt, yah know? Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be shared with the world.”
“I think I know why you’re friends with Ben.”
You barked out a laugh so suddenly it made you jump.
“What gave you that idea?” You asked, still laughing.
“Just some clues here and there.”
“Clues. Fitting, Riley. Very fitting.”
Laughter quieted and the sounds of the world outside had another chance to be heard. Birds still chirping. Car horns in the distance.
It was a wonder you didn’t spend more lunch breaks out of the building.
Guess it’s easier to save time and I don’t have to inhale my food. But being out of the same four walls is incredibly nice. A change in view and conversation that it’s bouncing between weather, traffic, and work. You thought as sipped from your drink.
“What if he’s there when you get back?” Riley asked.
You gave him a look.
“Sorry.”
“It’s not like this can go on forever. He had mentioned that he doesn’t even live on this side of the country.”
“He said all of that at a networking event? Isn’t that a bit much…wait. Why was he even there if he doesn’t live in the area?”
“Networking doesn’t mean you have to live nearby.”
“Right.”
“So he won’t be here for much longer.”
“That’s a relief.”
You rose an eyebrow. “I’m the one he wanted to have lunch with.”
“Not to be Johnny Rain Cloud here, but the man got out of his suv and was coming straight at us.”
“That’s an unfortunate point. May we change the subject?”
“Alright….but if he’s there at the museum—.”
“Then I’ll call security. They’re nice.”
“Okay.” He crumbled up the napkin in between his hands.
You chewed on the inside of your cheek before saying, “Or I can hide in here.”
“We can’t be in here forever.”
Silence overtook the van once more.
Lifting your forearm up, you checked your watch. Time was ticking, but you still had plenty of time to get back to the museum on time.
Eventually I’ll have to go back. Can’t be in here forever, you thought. But a little longer with Riley wouldn’t be torture. Far from it.
Without another word, you started putting the trash in a bag.
Riley followed suit and folded the large blanket once you both were standing.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you back in time.” Riley said, catching you checking your watch again.
“I know,” you said while hopping out of the van to throw the trash in a bin.
Especially after today. I’ll believe he can do anything. Including winning a poker game. Helping me.
…
Roads were clear of the suv. No sign of the guy.
So far so good. I think we’re okay. Because I will run inside or something.
On the drive back to the museum, both you and Riley were quietly on high alert. Every vehicle was spotted. Each street scanned with focused eyes.
Luck or perhaps something else was with you both that day. Maybe timing.
Stopping in front of the building, Riley deemed it danger free.
Unbuckling your seatbelt you took a step to the left and earned a curious tilt of the head from Riley.
“Hug?”
“Oh.” Riley opened his arms and you exchanged a hug. A light squeeze that was enough for you to miss the feel of his arms when it ended.
“I owe you. Big time.”
“How about we send your co-worker a bill for all the tech support next time?” Riley said, “My van could use an oil change.”
“That was enough adventure for today, Riley.” You said as you grabbed your bag and opened the passenger door.
“Were you planning on another adventure? Finding treasure, maybe?”
“I’ll let you know,” you grinned before hopping out onto the sidewalk. “See yah.” With a push, you closed the dark red door.
“Bye,” Riley waved before putting the van in drive.
You watched him leave with a sigh and retreated indoors.
“What’s got you all smiles?” A co-worker asked in the hall.
You stopped, “Oh, um. I just had lunch with a good friend of mine.”
“That’s nice. It looks like you had fun.”
…
Home sweet home and less stress than imagined. Today went way better than I thought.
You hopped into bed and pulled the covers up. A little stretch, a little twist, and you closed your eyes.
A movie played on the television with a comfortable volume. Already seen and mostly memorized. You smiled as the characters interacted, but paused as you looked beside you. Riley Poole with the light of the movie shining on his face. A random blue fuzzy string hung against his hair and you delicately plucked it away. No mind was made to the touch. A gentle smile in thanks was given. The expression made your heart soar. Your head fell to his shoulder. The movie back in your sights as you sat close to Riley. No worries about work weighed on you. He had helped you ease your mind. In a soft whisper, he spoke of how he wished to spend more time with you.
You opened your eyes.
Admittedly, you knew the craving you had to share moments with Riley. To learn more about him and enjoy time with him was nothing new to you. The desire to gain his attention was something you were still unwilling to accept no matter how true. He was your friend. A friend introduced to you by your best friend.
You huffed. Being attracted to Riley was fine. That was accepted by you months ago. Crushes came and went, but yours flourished.
Oh, boy.
He was all you looked for in a person, in someone you wanted to spend your life with.
To spend my life with? You tensed as you heard your heart beat faster. I don’t—I can’t just do anything. Grumbling, you tugged at your bedsheets. When did me thinking he’s cute turn into this?
The delicate dance of friendship, searching for treasure, work, and flirtations would no doubt continue. Your full knowledge of its depths had yet to convince you otherwise. It felt nice.
Just keep quiet, you thought. Even if Ben definitely knows too.
Sinking into your bed covers and staring up at the ceiling, you had two questions:
Is it going to be like this forever? Does Riley even like me an ounce in that way?
It took you more than two hours to get to sleep that night.
~~~
(A/N: Honestly, pretty sure Reader would had blurted out ‘I love you’ to Riley about four times in the time span he picked them up in the van. Also, yeah, I picked the most ridiculous name for the guy who called Reader because it sounded like a name that would be in some random romance book.)
(If you love my writings and want to support me, I have a Ko-Fi where you can buy me a coffee. I would be eternally grateful.
Best wishes and happy reading.)
~~~~~
DreamerDragon Tags: @cubedtriangle
Riley Poole Tags: @darkenwolfy @wesleeporstudy @yearning-warmth @thecaptaingingersnap @nervousfandom
Riley Poole series Tags (Would you like to be added to Riley Poole Tags?): @imacuteprincess@gingerlaserbeam@sledgy14
**Let me know if you would like to be tagged in insert readers, either through replies, ask, or message.**
So… Theoretically, if I opened up requests, how would you all feel about that?
O.O I think I finished the Riley insert reader.
But it’s time for dinner so….
Check yah later!
Well. The Riley Poole insert reader that I was working on last year and a bit yesterday and now it’s well over 3,000 words.
I’m proud of myself for making progress on it.
It’s not like I don’t know where it’s going. It’s more like I’m in Jurassic Park and working for INGEN and filling in the gaps in the DNA sequence.
But I’m literally at the end of the insert reader!!! It’s like: come on! I can do this! Focus. Stomach hungry.
So, we played The Game Of Life Jurassic Park for the first time and…..
I lost.
Dude. I suddenly had 19 eggs, a full SUV of rangers, but was two spaces away from the East Dock when the storm hit. I didn’t make it off the island in time!!!!!
It’s actually a pretty easy game and gives you a time limit in a sense because of the countdown until the storm hits.
10/10
