National Treasure fanfiction
This is my first National Treasure story, so go easy on me. The song is Hurt by Johnny Cash
Disclaimer: I own neither the characters of National Treasure or the song Hurt, but I wish I owned Riley Poole.
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I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain; the only think that’s real.
The cool, steel blade slides across his arm, and as the blood flows from the cut, so does the pain and pressure eating at his heart. Things were not always like this for Riley Poole, he was once a happy, carefree computer geek, but nothing stays the same for long.
Riley could never picture himself stooping to this level, to hurt himself in order to keep himself sane, he always thought he had everything under control, that life was a breeze. After he helped find one of the biggest treasures the world has ever seen, he thought things would be perfect: he had plenty of money, two great friends, and all the fame and limelight anyone could hope for. It didn’t take long for him to realize that fame and money could only get one so far in life. No one really cared about him as a person, everyone just wanted his money, or to get close to Ben, the real treasure hunter.
The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting. Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything.
Riley soon got tired of people asking him about Ben and Abigail, tired of going to boring history parties that he was always ignored at. Riley was just plain tired. He always thought that no matter what, Ben would always have time for him. He had Abby too, sure they fought all the time, but he loved her like a sister. But Ben and Abby soon ended up like everyone else in his life: they didn’t talk to him as often, and it seemed that they never had time for him. It was understandable that they were busy, but it was like they were on completely different sides of the world.
He stopped going to clubs, didn’t go to any more parties he was invited to. Now all Riley did was sleep and work on his computer. “No one really wants to see me anyway, what’s the point of going out and being shoved in the corner?” he thought every time he got invited to parties and other fancy events.
What have I become, my sweetest friend. Everyone I know goes away in the end.
It all started one day while he was in the shower. Riley sunk his teeth into his arm, pressing down harder and harder until a metallic taste filled his mouth. He let go, and looked down at what he had done. As the blood trickled down his arm, mixing with the steaming water, he no longer felt pressured. There was pain, but the pain no longer bothered him; it was a new pain, one that brought him release and a sense of calm.
Later he realized what he had done to himself, and thought it stupid, but as time progressed his body craved that feeling; that sudden release and freedom. He entered the small kitchen in his apartment, and pulled a knife out of one of the drawers. He stared at his reflection in the knife and saw how pale he was; he could see the desperate plea in his eyes. He gently pressed the knife against his wrist and added pressure until blood began to spill down his arm, as he slid the metal across his flesh, he was hit with an instant rush of calm.
NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT
And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt.
Ben Gates was growing worried. He rarely saw his best friend, Riley, and when he did he looked thinner than usual, paler. Ben couldn’t recall the last time he spent more than five minutes with Riley. The last time he did see him, Riley just didn’t seem like himself; he was uncharacteristically quite, rarely making eye contact and he made no sarcastic remarks what so ever. Something was wrong, he just knew it, but he couldn’t figure it out. They were all happy right?
He decided that something needed to be done; Ben needed to figure out what was wrong with this friend. He knew the best way to get Riley to talk was to bribe him with food, so he called Riley to ask him if he wanted to go out to his favorite Chinese restaurant. When he called Riley’s cell phone there was no answer.
I wear this crown of thorns, upon my liar’s chair. Full of broken thoughts, I cannot repair.
The phone in Riley’s apartment rang, he headed over to it figuring it was Ben, but when he answered, it was the last person he thought he would hear from.
“Hello?” He answered in an emotionless tone.
“Riley, it’s your mother. I have something important to tell you.” Riley knew as soon as he heard his mother’s voice that something was wrong. Riley hadn’t spoken to his family since he left for college. The Poole family was not the type of family who called each other every week, when people left home it was assumed that they were too good for the family. With Riley’s new fortune, he would be shunned for the rest of his life.
“You remember your brother Dylan don’t you Riley? I know you never bothered to call us, but you do remember you have a family right?” She cleared her throat, “well, let’s not get into that. Riley… Dylan is dead.” Riley completely froze, he had a terrible relationship with his family, but he was always able to get along with Dylan. The two brothers always made sure to contact each other once every month.
Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear. You are someone else, I am still right here.
“Hello? Riley? Oh come on…well, if you’re there the funeral was Monday. We tried to call you, but I guess you were too busy and never answered the phone.” Her voice was harsh, full of anger and disappointment. “Take care of yourself Riley. Good bye.” And just like that she was gone.
He had missed the funeral. The only person in his family who actually cared about him was gone. The last person to bother to talk to him was dead, and he never got to say good-bye. He needed to feel better, Riley needed to release all of the emotion building up inside him or he was going to explode.
What have I become, my sweetest friend. Everyone I know goes away in the end.
Ben called Riley’s house phone, but was met once more with Riley’s voicemail. Something was terribly wrong Ben could feel it. He grabbed his coat and rushed out to his car and drove off to Riley’s apartment. “Please be OK kid,” he pleaded. He drove as fast as he dared to Riley’s place, hoping that he was just overreacting and that Riley was just asleep and didn’t hear the phone ring.
Once Ben reached his destination, he saw that Riley’s red sports car was still in its normal parking spot, so he quickly entered the building and ran up to Riley’s apartment door. He knocked, but just like his calls, the knock went unanswered. This was not like Riley, even if he was asleep he always managed to get up and answer the door. He knocked on the door again, this time more desperate.
And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt.
Riley grabbed a razor blade from his nightstand drawer, and made his way to the bathroom. As he closed the bathroom door he could hear the phone ringing from the next room, thinking that whoever was on the other line only had more bad news, he ignored the consistent ringing and set the razor down on the sink. As Riley rolled up his sleeves and looked into the mirror at his hollowed face, he could hear the phone ringing again in the background, but once more ignored it.
He took a deep breath and slid the razor across his arm, but this time the satisfying release of pain didn’t come. He watched the blood drip down his arm and made another cut, but once again no release came. He switched to his other arm and made a deeper, longer cut. This time his release came, but it was not strong enough. He proceeded to make more slices in his arms, and as the blood poured down his arms, off of his fingers, his hands went numb and he sat down on the floor, admiring his work.
Riley said a silent prayer and apologized to his brother, he was sorry for not talking to him more, for not making sure everything was all right. The blood continued to flow from his wounds, but Riley made no move to clean himself up. He felt better than he had in a long time, but everything seemed to be muffled. As he sat on his bathroom floor, apologizing to his brother, Riley could swear he heard something that sounded like banging and yelling coming from the other room.
If I could start again, a million miles away…
Ben gave up on knocking and managed to break the door open. As he entered his friend’s apartment, he noticed that there was an eerie silence. He called out Riley’s name but there was no answer. Ben quickly checked the kitchen and Riley’s bedroom, but he was not in either, then he saw that the bathroom door was closed.
Ben made his way over to the door and knocked, calling Riley’s name. There was no answer. He pounded on the door; positive that Riley was in there, and when he was met once again with no answer, he forced that door open as well.
As the door opened, Ben was met with the shock of his life. There on the floor laid his best friend, Riley, eyes shut, mumbling, and blood running down his arms. He quickly came to his senses and ran to get a towel and bandages. Ben went back into the bathroom and kneeled down at his friend’s side.
“Riley, can you hear me?” He desperately asked while wiping the blood from the other man’s arms.
Riley looked up at Ben with clouded eyes, he seemed to not recognize Ben at first, but them the image of his friend registered in his brain.
“B-Ben, what are you d-d-doing here?” he managed to stutter out.
“Oh god Riley, what have you done? What were you thinking?” Ben yelled at Riley, but there was no anger in his voice, just concern. “How long have you been doing this? How could I have missed this?” He asked the last question more to himself than to Riley.
As he bandaged up the pale arms of his helpless friend, he moved to get the phone from the other room to call for help, or Abigail. But as he moved to leave, Riley called out to him.
I would keep myself. I would find a way.
“Don’t leave me Ben.” He weakly called out to his friend.
“Riley, what were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I needed a release, I couldn’t take the pain anymore Ben.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I would have talked or listened. If you had just asked, this never would have gone so far.”
“Ben, no. You had no time for me; I was just holding you back from everything. I know that I’m just a burden to you and Abigail, and I’m sorry.” Tears began to pour down Riley’s face as he confessed to Ben. “I couldn’t take it anymore, living this way. No one really cares, everyone is so fake, all they care about is getting to you or to my money,” he managed to choke out, “and…and Dylan is gone. He’s dead and I missed his funeral, and I never got to say good-bye! I’m s-sorry,” He cried out.
“Shh, Riley, everything will be OK, I’m here for you. You don’t have to go through this alone.” Ben softly said while gently hugging the other man, “We’re going to get you help, and things will get better. Abigail and I will always be here for you, there are people who care about you.”
It would be a long process, but Ben knew that they would get through this. In time, Riley would get better, and until then he would just try to be the best friend he could be.
Disclaimer: I own neither the characters of National Treasure or the song Hurt, but I wish I owned Riley Poole.
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I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain; the only think that’s real.
The cool, steel blade slides across his arm, and as the blood flows from the cut, so does the pain and pressure eating at his heart. Things were not always like this for Riley Poole, he was once a happy, carefree computer geek, but nothing stays the same for long.
Riley could never picture himself stooping to this level, to hurt himself in order to keep himself sane, he always thought he had everything under control, that life was a breeze. After he helped find one of the biggest treasures the world has ever seen, he thought things would be perfect: he had plenty of money, two great friends, and all the fame and limelight anyone could hope for. It didn’t take long for him to realize that fame and money could only get one so far in life. No one really cared about him as a person, everyone just wanted his money, or to get close to Ben, the real treasure hunter.
The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting. Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything.
Riley soon got tired of people asking him about Ben and Abigail, tired of going to boring history parties that he was always ignored at. Riley was just plain tired. He always thought that no matter what, Ben would always have time for him. He had Abby too, sure they fought all the time, but he loved her like a sister. But Ben and Abby soon ended up like everyone else in his life: they didn’t talk to him as often, and it seemed that they never had time for him. It was understandable that they were busy, but it was like they were on completely different sides of the world.
He stopped going to clubs, didn’t go to any more parties he was invited to. Now all Riley did was sleep and work on his computer. “No one really wants to see me anyway, what’s the point of going out and being shoved in the corner?” he thought every time he got invited to parties and other fancy events.
What have I become, my sweetest friend. Everyone I know goes away in the end.
It all started one day while he was in the shower. Riley sunk his teeth into his arm, pressing down harder and harder until a metallic taste filled his mouth. He let go, and looked down at what he had done. As the blood trickled down his arm, mixing with the steaming water, he no longer felt pressured. There was pain, but the pain no longer bothered him; it was a new pain, one that brought him release and a sense of calm.
Later he realized what he had done to himself, and thought it stupid, but as time progressed his body craved that feeling; that sudden release and freedom. He entered the small kitchen in his apartment, and pulled a knife out of one of the drawers. He stared at his reflection in the knife and saw how pale he was; he could see the desperate plea in his eyes. He gently pressed the knife against his wrist and added pressure until blood began to spill down his arm, as he slid the metal across his flesh, he was hit with an instant rush of calm.
NTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNT
And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt.
Ben Gates was growing worried. He rarely saw his best friend, Riley, and when he did he looked thinner than usual, paler. Ben couldn’t recall the last time he spent more than five minutes with Riley. The last time he did see him, Riley just didn’t seem like himself; he was uncharacteristically quite, rarely making eye contact and he made no sarcastic remarks what so ever. Something was wrong, he just knew it, but he couldn’t figure it out. They were all happy right?
He decided that something needed to be done; Ben needed to figure out what was wrong with this friend. He knew the best way to get Riley to talk was to bribe him with food, so he called Riley to ask him if he wanted to go out to his favorite Chinese restaurant. When he called Riley’s cell phone there was no answer.
I wear this crown of thorns, upon my liar’s chair. Full of broken thoughts, I cannot repair.
The phone in Riley’s apartment rang, he headed over to it figuring it was Ben, but when he answered, it was the last person he thought he would hear from.
“Hello?” He answered in an emotionless tone.
“Riley, it’s your mother. I have something important to tell you.” Riley knew as soon as he heard his mother’s voice that something was wrong. Riley hadn’t spoken to his family since he left for college. The Poole family was not the type of family who called each other every week, when people left home it was assumed that they were too good for the family. With Riley’s new fortune, he would be shunned for the rest of his life.
“You remember your brother Dylan don’t you Riley? I know you never bothered to call us, but you do remember you have a family right?” She cleared her throat, “well, let’s not get into that. Riley… Dylan is dead.” Riley completely froze, he had a terrible relationship with his family, but he was always able to get along with Dylan. The two brothers always made sure to contact each other once every month.
Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear. You are someone else, I am still right here.
“Hello? Riley? Oh come on…well, if you’re there the funeral was Monday. We tried to call you, but I guess you were too busy and never answered the phone.” Her voice was harsh, full of anger and disappointment. “Take care of yourself Riley. Good bye.” And just like that she was gone.
He had missed the funeral. The only person in his family who actually cared about him was gone. The last person to bother to talk to him was dead, and he never got to say good-bye. He needed to feel better, Riley needed to release all of the emotion building up inside him or he was going to explode.
What have I become, my sweetest friend. Everyone I know goes away in the end.
Ben called Riley’s house phone, but was met once more with Riley’s voicemail. Something was terribly wrong Ben could feel it. He grabbed his coat and rushed out to his car and drove off to Riley’s apartment. “Please be OK kid,” he pleaded. He drove as fast as he dared to Riley’s place, hoping that he was just overreacting and that Riley was just asleep and didn’t hear the phone ring.
Once Ben reached his destination, he saw that Riley’s red sports car was still in its normal parking spot, so he quickly entered the building and ran up to Riley’s apartment door. He knocked, but just like his calls, the knock went unanswered. This was not like Riley, even if he was asleep he always managed to get up and answer the door. He knocked on the door again, this time more desperate.
And you could have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt.
Riley grabbed a razor blade from his nightstand drawer, and made his way to the bathroom. As he closed the bathroom door he could hear the phone ringing from the next room, thinking that whoever was on the other line only had more bad news, he ignored the consistent ringing and set the razor down on the sink. As Riley rolled up his sleeves and looked into the mirror at his hollowed face, he could hear the phone ringing again in the background, but once more ignored it.
He took a deep breath and slid the razor across his arm, but this time the satisfying release of pain didn’t come. He watched the blood drip down his arm and made another cut, but once again no release came. He switched to his other arm and made a deeper, longer cut. This time his release came, but it was not strong enough. He proceeded to make more slices in his arms, and as the blood poured down his arms, off of his fingers, his hands went numb and he sat down on the floor, admiring his work.
Riley said a silent prayer and apologized to his brother, he was sorry for not talking to him more, for not making sure everything was all right. The blood continued to flow from his wounds, but Riley made no move to clean himself up. He felt better than he had in a long time, but everything seemed to be muffled. As he sat on his bathroom floor, apologizing to his brother, Riley could swear he heard something that sounded like banging and yelling coming from the other room.
If I could start again, a million miles away…
Ben gave up on knocking and managed to break the door open. As he entered his friend’s apartment, he noticed that there was an eerie silence. He called out Riley’s name but there was no answer. Ben quickly checked the kitchen and Riley’s bedroom, but he was not in either, then he saw that the bathroom door was closed.
Ben made his way over to the door and knocked, calling Riley’s name. There was no answer. He pounded on the door; positive that Riley was in there, and when he was met once again with no answer, he forced that door open as well.
As the door opened, Ben was met with the shock of his life. There on the floor laid his best friend, Riley, eyes shut, mumbling, and blood running down his arms. He quickly came to his senses and ran to get a towel and bandages. Ben went back into the bathroom and kneeled down at his friend’s side.
“Riley, can you hear me?” He desperately asked while wiping the blood from the other man’s arms.
Riley looked up at Ben with clouded eyes, he seemed to not recognize Ben at first, but them the image of his friend registered in his brain.
“B-Ben, what are you d-d-doing here?” he managed to stutter out.
“Oh god Riley, what have you done? What were you thinking?” Ben yelled at Riley, but there was no anger in his voice, just concern. “How long have you been doing this? How could I have missed this?” He asked the last question more to himself than to Riley.
As he bandaged up the pale arms of his helpless friend, he moved to get the phone from the other room to call for help, or Abigail. But as he moved to leave, Riley called out to him.
I would keep myself. I would find a way.
“Don’t leave me Ben.” He weakly called out to his friend.
“Riley, what were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I needed a release, I couldn’t take the pain anymore Ben.”
“Why didn’t you call me? I would have talked or listened. If you had just asked, this never would have gone so far.”
“Ben, no. You had no time for me; I was just holding you back from everything. I know that I’m just a burden to you and Abigail, and I’m sorry.” Tears began to pour down Riley’s face as he confessed to Ben. “I couldn’t take it anymore, living this way. No one really cares, everyone is so fake, all they care about is getting to you or to my money,” he managed to choke out, “and…and Dylan is gone. He’s dead and I missed his funeral, and I never got to say good-bye! I’m s-sorry,” He cried out.
“Shh, Riley, everything will be OK, I’m here for you. You don’t have to go through this alone.” Ben softly said while gently hugging the other man, “We’re going to get you help, and things will get better. Abigail and I will always be here for you, there are people who care about you.”
It would be a long process, but Ben knew that they would get through this. In time, Riley would get better, and until then he would just try to be the best friend he could be.