#rm2 x reader

✰　Riley Arden Hughes was born on April 18, 2005 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

✰　Her relationship with her parents is fairly simple. They are her biggest cheerleaders and she is always going to them for advice and help when she needs it.

✰　The Hughes family themselves are very close. Even when they're separated by distance, they still support each other to no end. They're always there for each other.

✰　At 7 years old, Riley was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

✰　It was over the summer in Toronto and her parents noticed that she was drinking a lot of water and one day, the siblings were out on the lake and Quinn got very worried over how skinny Riley was looking. He mentioned it to their parents and they took her to the doctor where she was diagnosed with Type 1.

✰　Riley is tough though. How could she not be?

✰　In the summer, when she plays hockey with her brother's, she's just as rough as they are and it throws off a lot of people who don't know them well.

✰　She's also rough with their friends. She doesn't let up, especially with guys like Cole and Trevor. She's known them forever and she will definitely check them if she needs to.

✰　She's also the strongest chirper. She will chirp anyone and everyone if the situation arrives. It's how she shows she likes that person… or deeply despises them.

✰　She's a health nut. Her and Quinn share that. While Jack and Luke obviously make sure they aren't consuming utter trash, Riley and Quinn care about the quality/origin of what they're eating. She's all about organic, locally grown food. She just can't follow Quinn down the "gluten free" alternatives for certain things. This girl loves her pasta.

✰　On top of that, she loves yoga.

✰　Despite her being a "health nut" , she’s notoriously bad at checking her own levels; her boyfriend, brothers, or her parents often have to be the ones to ask "have you checked your sugar lately?" when they notice her getting cranky.

✰　She has a bad habit of getting "hyper-focused" on something and forgetting to eat lunch, only to realize two hours later that she’s crashing hard.

✰　She's loves animals and always wanted pets as a kid but her parents declined, citing their constant travel for not only her dad's job but also her brothers' games.

✰　Luke got her the job running the socials for the NTDP when she was sixteen. Their social media was being run by a forty-three year old man who was also managing several other things. They needed some fresh blood and Luke was more than willing to suggest his media savy sister.

✰　Social media is Riley's bread and butter and she loves managing the team's socials and making content.

✰　She’s a total "creative chaos" type; her desktop is a nightmare of unsorted files and her camera bag usually has at least one loose organic snack bar crumbling at the bottom.

✰　She is the queen of "I know it’s in here somewhere"—usually found digging through a massive tote bag for her keys, her Dexcom, or a lens cap while someone waits on her.

✰　She’s incredibly perceptive about other people’s emotions but can be totally oblivious to her own needs until they become an emergency.

✰　She’s a "talker." She can hold a conversation with literally anyone, from the arena janitors to the team owners, which is exactly why she’s so good at getting people to open up on camera.

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Riley was fully ready to give up. She knew she shouldn’t be here. She knew that she’d promised her friends she wouldn’t do it again, but here she was, standing on her porch as the rain pattered off the awning and onto the sidewalk. She told her parents she was going to spend the night at Ellie’s. She told Ellie—and all of her friends—nothing.

She was waiting, waiting for Rutger’s car to pull up. He’d texted her an hour ago, not even asking—just telling: “I’m coming to pick you up. Be there in 30.”

Every car that passed down the road, she thought might be him until a deep red truck pulled into her driveway.

The windows were tinted, but she could see him just enough. He looked exhausted—his jaw set, his eyes distant, he held the fractured look that he always got after a loss. She’d watched the game—mainly for Luke—but they’d lost pretty badly. She knew, even through a vague text, why he was there.

Riley sprinted through the rain as Rutger leaned over the center console, throwing the passenger door open for her to get in.

When she was in the seat and the door slammed closed, he quickly pulled out of her driveway. She took a deep breath, feeling slightly cold from the rain. She looked over at Rutger; his hands were gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. The silence was thick, filled with everything they hadn't said during their last meeting in the same car three weeks ago.

He pulled into a parking lot about five minutes away. Still quiet.

“Tough night?” Riley asked softly.

“I don’t want to talk about the game,” he muttered. He finally let go of the wheel and turned toward her. The street light in the parking lot caught the edges of his face, making him look sharper, more serious. “I just needed to see you. Everyone else is giving me some fake pep talks. I just wanted… you.”

That was all it took. He made her feel like the only sanctuary in his world that was keeping him grounded. It made the wall of resolve she’d built crumble.

“Rut, we said we wouldn’t. That we’d stop all of that," she whispered, even as he reached out, his thumb grazing over her jawline, which made her breath hitch. It was a comforting yet burning pain that made tears spring to her eyes.

“I know…” he murmured, “I know what we said.” He leaned in, his forehead resting against hers. “I just need you—just for tonight. Please? I don’t wanna be alone, Ry.”

When he kissed her, it didn’t feel comforting. It was desperate and heavy. It was familiar and intense, a language they were both fluent in, but beneath it, Riley felt sick as she tried to push all of her doubts to the back of her head.

Rutger quickly moved his seat back, making room for her to climb over the center console and straddle his lap. Her hands were gripping the navy blue of his sweatshirt as his hand roamed over her hips. Rutger pulled her closer, his hands sliding up her back, his kisses deepening with hunger that felt more like a demand than a request.

Suddenly, her brain remembered the last time this had happened, three weeks ago. Afterward, she spent hours crying, soaking Gabe’s shirt with her tears because she couldn’t understand why Rutger would break up with her while still calling and wanting to spend time with her.

She still couldn’t rationalize it. She knew—if he were here—a part of him must still love her, right? But she remembered what Ryan said, “He’s using you to drown the noise of his bad game," and Riley was letting him.

She pulled back just an inch, her breath coming in shallow hitches. Rutger moved to kiss her shoulders, her neck, anything to keep her with him in that moment. The car felt small—suffocating.

“I have to go,” she whispered against his cheek.

“Come on, just a few more minutes,” he begged against her skin as he kept kissing her, leaving small bites along her neck. “Stay… just five more minutes.”

Riley looked at him—her hand going to his hair, running through the golden strands that were still slightly damp from a post-game shower—and realized that they weren’t fixing anything. They were just circling the ruins of a relationship that had been over for a while.

“I can’t,” she said, her voice finally finding a sliver of strength, although she felt like it would break at any point. She detangled herself from him, placing her hands on his chest to push him away. She pushed off of him, sitting back in the passenger seat. “I promised them—myself—that I’d stop. We can’t keep doing this, Rut.”

Rutger let out a sharp, frustrated laugh, the sound echoing harshly throughout the truck. He didn’t move back; he put his hands on the wheel again, gripping tight, just like before.

“Promised who?” His eyes snapped over to her, dark with exhaustion. “Your brothers? Your friends? I swear you care more about them than you do about me. You always have.”

“Rut—”

“No. Since when do some pathetic little teenage boys get a vote on what happens between us?” He ranted, “They don’t know us! They don’t understand what we have!”

“Nobody’s giving me orders,” Riley snapped back, her chest heaving. “They’ve watched me fall apart every time you call me because you have a bad day and need someone to get off on. It’s not fair to either of us.”

“Oh, so now I’m the villain because I wanted to see my girl after a loss?” He threw his hands up in frustration. “I’m out there taking hits, dealing with crappy plays, trying to move my life forward, and I come here for the one person who’s supposed to have my back, and what do I get? A lecture about some promise you made to Gabe, or Will, or Ryan, or whoever?”

“I’m not your girl!” Riley stated clearly, “You broke up with me! Remember? You wanted to go live your life without me, so it’s pretty fucked up to come running back here like nothing ever happened!”

“We’ve “broken up” like ten times, Riley! It never sticks because you always come back,” he spat out, his voice rising in defense. “You love this. You love being wanted. Don’t act like you’re some martyr that has no choice. You have every right to tell me to fuck off when I text you, but you don’t. You jump into the car.”

The words stung; they weren’t false. Riley felt the heat of shame rising in her cheeks. She quickly took a deep breath, steeling herself. “You’re right, I still care about you, but that doesn’t mean I want to be strung along like some side piece.” She felt her voice quivering. “But you don’t care about me. You just don’t want to be alone. That’s not a reason to be with someone.”

Rutger’s jaw tightened, twitching as he put the car in drive, pulling out into the road. “Fine. Whatever, I’ll take you home, but don’t you dare come crawling back to me in two days when you realize that nobody else in this town knows you like I do. Nobody else is going to deal with all of your bullshit like I will.”

“What bullshit?” Riley questioned.

“This whole world you live in. You act like some princess who can rely on her family to get her whatever she wants. Don’t you think being with you hasn’t affected my career? I could’ve gotten a lot more recognition, more scouts talking about me, but all people could think about was how we were dating. And I sucked it up because I love you.”

“You don’t have to “deal” with anything, Rutger. Anyone else would just accept that this is who I am. I can’t help that my family is who they are.” Riley crossed her arms over her chest, staring out the window as the rain drops pattered against it. “You don’t love me.” She croaked, feeling tears fill her eyes.

“What?” He asked, although it came out cold and harsh.

“I said you don’t love me. You like the idea of having me at your beck and call, but you don’t love me. If you loved me, you wouldn’t keep hurting me like this. You would care about me—how I feel—not only about yourself.” She sounded broken; she felt the same. “Stop the car.”

“No, I’m taking you home.”

“Rutger, stop the car!” She finally yelled, feeling the car jolt, tires screeching on the ground as it hydroplaned slightly.

Riley grabbed the handle, throwing the passenger door open as she jumped out of the car into the pouring rain. “What are you doing?” Rutger yelled, “Get back in the car!”

“Leave me alone!” She yelled, slamming the door shut.

“Riley!” He yelled again, rolling the window down now, slowly following Riley along the side of the road as she walked away from him.

She pulled her arms close to her body, unable to tell the difference between her tears and the rain on her cheeks.

“Go away! I can walk home!”

Rutger didn’t drive off. He sat there with the engine idling, watching her silhouette retreat into the grey curtain of the downpour. He knew better than to push her—if he followed her all the way to her front door, she’d only get more defensive, and if her dad saw him, the night would go from a disaster to a catastrophe.

Frantic, he pulled his phone out. He couldn’t call Gabe; Gabe would likely drive his car into Rutger's out of spite. He called the only person he thought might actually listen: Luke.

The explanation was messy. Rutger stumbled over his words, omitting the part about them making out in the car and focusing instead on the fact that Riley was currently walking down a dark road at ten pm in thirty-five-degree rain. Luke understood the worry, but he was miles away, and he knew his sister well enough to know that if he called her himself, she’d just let it go to voicemail.

It became a frantic game of phone tag. Luke told Rutger to call Will. It made sense logistically—Will’s place in Canton was barely five minutes away, much closer than Riley’s house and definitely faster than Gabe could get there.

Rutger didn’t hesitate. He called Will, the conversation sharp and clipped as he explained exactly where Riley was. Will didn’t ask questions. He didn't even wait to change out of his pajamas. He grabbed his mom’s keys, jumped into the car, and drove.

When Will finally pulled up, the sight of her made his chest tighten. She was a small, shivering figure in the gloom, her hair plastered to her face and her shoulders hunched against the biting cold. He pulled the car around, positioning it directly in front of Rutger’s truck, his headlights cutting through the rain.

He rolled the window down, the damp air rushing in. For a long, silent beat, Will just looked at her. It was a look she couldn't quite decipher—a mix of quiet anger at Rutger and a deep, aching concern for her.

“Get in,” he said, his voice low and steady.

Riley didn’t argue. She nodded, her fingers numb as she pulled the door open. As she sank into the passenger seat, she felt an immediate wave of guilt. She was dripping, her clothes heavy and freezing, and she could see the dark patches of water instantly soaking into the fabric of the seat. She looked in the rearview mirror, watching the red glow of Rutger’s taillights finally disappear as he peeled off, and for the first time in hours, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

She sniffed, the cold finally reaching her bones as the adrenaline began to die out.

“Here,” Will muttered. He didn't ask what happened. He didn't lecture her. He just reached forward, his hand brushing the console as he turned on the heated seats and cranked the air until the vents were blasting warmth.

There was a moment where neither of them spoke. Riley watched the various blurs of Christmas lights reflect in the rain that beaded off the windows. She focused on the blur, how the festive reds and greens melted together and reformed as they passed by, a stark contrast to the hollow, heavy feeling in her chest.

The silence was only interrupted when she noticed the roads Will was taking. He was heading toward her neighborhood.

“Don’t take me home,” she croaked out. “Please?”

Will slowed the car at a stop sign, his blinker clicking steadily in the quiet cabin. “You’re shivering, Riley. You need to get warm. You’re gonna get sick if you don’t get out of those wet clothes.”

“If I go home, I have to explain all of this, and I just can’t. I told my parents I was going to Ellie’s,” she tried to explain, her breath fogging up the glass. She couldn't face the interrogation, not when she felt this broken.

Will looked at her, his expression softening as he processed the fear in her voice. He looked at the road ahead, then back at her. “We can go to my place,” he offered. “My mom might ask some questions, though. Ryan definitely will—well, he’ll ask tomorrow when he wakes up.”

That made Riley actually look at him. His hair was a mess and he was clearly in his pajamas under his coat. However the phone tag had worked, it had obviously woken him up from a dead sleep, but she didn’t have the thought process to ask any questions. She just kept thinking about how the cold felt like it had reached her very core.

“Okay,” she muttered, curling her legs up into the seat as Will made a u-turn, turning away from her house and toward his.

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