"Straighten what out, exactly?" Amelia asked. Now, she was glancing up. "You're kind of leaving me in the dark here, Riley."

Yes. It was true. She actually knew the new girl's name. And it wasn't something crazy, like Zooey or Katy or Jess or anything. It was shocking what you could remember when you focused on just who a person really wasn't.

"If Aurum did something wrong, I can help." She commented. "Kick his ass, or something." Yeah. She was being super helpful. And for some reason, she felt like being helpful. Weird. Somehow, miss 'still hasn't told you the whole story, but has a sob story on her lips, just waiting to happen' was tugging at her heart strings. The broad had a way. Something. Or was she supposed to be calling the vixen a dame...? Noir detective stories were more Aurum's cup of tea. Er. Cup of coffee. Black, like a moonlit night (not his soul).

”He didn’t do anything wrong….” Riley said, pushing her hair back behind her ears and standing up to move by the kitchen table.

”How old are you Ami, and how much do you know about love?”

Amelia covered her mouth.

Omigawd, really?

"He told you he loved you?" She asked. Er. Squeaked.

That was not what she had asked!

”That is not what I asked!” Riley exclaimed.

Maybe she had been planning to tell Aurum’s sister…but not until they’d had a long, detailed conversation about love and all the silliness that went along with it. Not just….BAM out the chute like this.

”My god. What do they do to kids in school these days? Seriously.”

"That is not what I asked!" Amelia mirrored. "Go on. Sit. Tell." She gestured. She emphasized. She insisted. "This is kind of a major development for the man."

Seriously, love. Sweet. It wasn't Viletta, but. Sweet.

She was still going through with the plan. But. Sweet.

The plan could probably be edited to work differently, while keeping all the key players the same.

Ah. There was the familiar panic. A big step? Riley groaned and actually put her head in her hands as Aurum’s sister insisted that she share all the details. When had this turned into a girl talk session? When had Ami decided that she liked Riley? Too much…it really was all too much.

” Not…so fast.” she said, sinking down into one of the other chairs at the round table where Ami had set up her stuff.

”It was an accident, I’m sure of it. I think he was just too nice to take it back…” At least that was kind of what Riley hoped.

”Then we never got a chance to talk about things…” Because there’d been kissing, and elevators, and cuddling…but she wasn’t sharing that. No way in hell.

”I just…I need to know what he wants.” Sure...he'd told her that he wanted her to try...and she'd agreed. Still though...that was a lot...and and and...

Oh God. She was getting relationship advice from an teenager.

Groaning was not the appropriate response to a formal request for girl talk. Riley was breaking protocol.

Also.

"You did not say yes?"

Damn. Way to be, New Girl. Way to be.

Say yes?

Say yes to what?

The look on Ami’s face…man…Riley just couldn’t win.

”I…I….” Riley said, trying to figure out how to spin the story so she didn’t sound like a bad guy…and didn’t have to tell her entire life story.

”I am bad at this Ami….terrible in fact. All he asked was for me to try…I said I would…but the more I think about it…”

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

”I don’t know if I’m cut out for this. Your brother is a good guy…too good.”

"Yeah, probably." Amelia replied.

Wait for it. Wait for it.

"It probably did slip out. He is kind of an idiot."

There it was.

"And so soon, too. But it sounds like he tried to salvage it. And from what you're saying, it sounds like giving you time to 'try' is him understanding that for you, this is something new." When she'd kissed Maya, that had been something new. Unlike Riley, she hadn't had the patience to go through the 'trying' phase. Seemed like a rather trying phase to her. She'd just jumped right in there, onto lips.

"He's being understanding, Riley. Are you the little engine that could? Or are you some kind of defeatist?"

Unknown to Amelia, her brother and her shared a shockingly similar vocabulary.

What. The hell.

Was she the what? Or the who?

All the metaphors were starting to get ridiculous.

”I know he’s being understanding…but yeah…soon. So soon.”

That was about all there was to say on the matter.

As to all the metaphors.

”Usually I’m the engine that could…that gets derailed while crossing the giant bridge.”

"Ouch."

Just ouch. There wasn't much more to add, as far as that topic went.

"You... do realize this is the first relationship he's had in a while, right? I mean. The first serious one?" Because apparently, this was serious. 'I love yous' were almost exchanged.

Did she realize it was Aurum’s first serious relationship in a long time?

Riley looked at Ami incredulously.

”Uh….no? I didn’t know that. It’s not like we run around and talk about this stuff.”

It wasn’t. They didn’t.

"Yeah..." She trailed. "Before. In High School. With Viletta." Who Riley might meet some day soon, actually. "They were the best. I miss her."

She frowned a lil. Riley was not exactly the same.

Oh great. Now they were talking about some sort of high school sweet heart. And comparisons were being made.

Ami loved this other chick. This chick with the unique name. Riley didn’t even want to think about it.

”Oh.” was all she could say.

"Oh." She suddenly realized how awkward that must've been for Riley. She covered her mouth. "Sorry. Didn't mean to rant."

"... It's just that she was practically family. They broke up because they wound up going to different colleges. While he might have dated a few girls, here or there, I don't think he ever got over her... until, apparently, you?"

"Grats."