Riley Stavros

Riley Stavros is an openly-gay football player at Degrassi Community School who is currently dating Zane Park. Although his process of coming out was very tough for him. In season 8, he was a very jocky footballer who went out with all the girls, but started questioning his sexuality. But in seasons 9 & 10 Riley along with Zane and good friend Anya MacPherson he comes out.

Season 8 - Biography
In Uptown Girl (1), Riley is introduced as a popular grade 11 student (though it seems he is in grade 12); he has it all going for him: friends, a spot on the Football Team, and cute girls crushing on him. The girls think he is amazing since he plays football and is very good looking.

In Fight the Power, while Jane Vaughn tries to get on the Degrassi football team, Riley initially joins in teasing her. He later shows remorse when Derek Haig takes the harassment too far. When Riley walks in on Derek attacking Jane, he takes the opportunity and pushes Derek off of her and down the hall, and is then himself shoved by Bruce. After this incident, Riley becomes one of Jane's first supporters when she decides to stay on the team, claiming "she is a good player".

In Man With Two Hearts, Peter tries to balance a friendship with Riley and a relationship with Mia, which he finds is harder than it seems. Mia's pressuring Peter to fully commit himself into a relationship that he's not sure he's ready for yet. At the same time, he's happy that Riley and him have become friends so fast. They wind up working on a science project together and Peter joins cross country. Their friendship turns into a manly competition, and the two wind up skipping class to go back to Peter's loft to play Wii Sports on Nintendo Wii. Once there, Riley beats Peter in the game and offers him some boxing pointers. Riley winds up kissing Peter unexpectedly, and Peter pushes him away. Riley leaves embarrassed.

Peter then decides to become official with Mia and is freaked out by Riley kissing him. Mia tells Peter that he shouldn't stop being friends with Riley just because he's gay, so Peter decides to talk to him. Riley saw Peter and Mia talking at the picnis bench while throwing a foot ball with Bruce. He sees the newly offical couple kiss and seem jealous. Peter sees Riley in the work out room and tries talking to him about being gay, and Riley denies anything ever happening between the two of them. He also denies being gay. Riley gets fed up and angry with Peter, so he gets up and pushes him against the lockers screaming at him "Nothing happened! You got it?!"

In Bad Medicine, it was revealed that Riley has been taking steroids to increase his strength. Peter confronts him about it, and about the unexpected kiss. Riley tells him it was a weird mistake. Later, he is seen setting up a secret hook-up with one of his old friends, Nathan, from camp in the Ravine. When Anya MacPherson walks by, he suspiciously shuts the laptop, and runs after Anya, asking her out for a date. She accepts, and Riley attempts to keep his homosexuality hidden. But later, he goes to the Ravine where he sees his old camp friend, who he was attempting to hook up with. Afraid, Riley runs off, and is driven to take more steroids. They make him extremely paranoid, which is shown in English class when he throws an eraser at Peter's head, thinking that he was laughing at him.

This causes Mrs. Kwan to send him to the principal's office. Later, Peter confronts him, and tells him the dangerous effects the steroids are having on him. Riley blows him off and goes on a picnic with Anya. They talk, and Riley leans in for a kiss. The kiss is very awkward and Riley makes an excuse to leave. Afterward, Riley goes to the Ravine, where he sees his online friend again. His friend begins to flirt with him, and Riley seems to be enjoying it. However, Riley starts to get scared and tries to go but his friend tells him to relax and that he was nervous his first time with a guy as well. Riley gives in, and his friend starts trailing kisses along Riley's neck, Riley seemingly enjoying it. Later, Anya talks to Riley and tells him that the kiss did not feel right, and that she still had feelings for Sav Bhandari. Riley is relieved, and tells her that he feels the same. She still feels guilty however, and Riley tells her he is comfortable with the idea of the two being friends.

Unfortunately, Sav is still jealous, and later, when Riley gets a text from his online friend, Sav thinks it is from Anya. Sav begins to attack Riley, saying: "We were together six months. That means more to her then some stupid GAY picnic," which sets Riley off. Riley headbutts him and begins to punch him in a steroid-fueled rage. He is stopped and gets suspended. When Peter is giving him his homework, He admits that he doesn't want to be violent and quits taking steroids. He also appears to be coming to terms with his sexuality, when Peter asks him if he really thought steroids would turn him straight, he doesn't protest it.

In Heart of Glass, Riley is seen in the episode hanging out with Peter where they are discussing Kenya with Mia and Anya and sitting next to Peter at the Mock Debate. Riley decides to join the Mock U.N. in this episode. This is the last we really see of Riley in the season. He is seen throughout this episode, talking to Peter and other stuff.

Season 9 - Biography
In Just Can't Get Enough, Riley is one of the first people to learn about Peter Stone's use of meth while talking with him and Declan Coyne. He is later seen as the bartender at the dance and is the person Peter calls when he is lost. Along with the Stüdz, he finds Peter and returns him to his apartment. Later he and Spinner are the ones who stay with Peter to take care of him.

In Shoot to Thrill, Riley joins the SAT Prep Club, and on his way to one of the meetings, he and Peter spot Fiona Coyne in Fashion Club. Riley "saves" her from Dave Turner, and Fiona then tells Dave that she and Riley are dating to get him off her back. Soon the rumor spreads around the school. Later, Riley and Fiona go out after school, but they are interrupted by Nathan, and Riley decides to leave.The next day, Fiona tells Declan about the date and how she suspects that Riley is gay. Her brother doesn't share her views due to how Riley acts in front of him, and Fiona decides that she is going to find out for sure.

In Beat It (1), Riley is taking a lifeguard course for a summer job. He continues to be confused about his sexuality and parades Fiona around to prove that he is straight. In the beginning of the episode, Riley gets an erection while watching Sam, the lifeguard instructor, perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation techniques on a practice dummy in the pool area. He doesn't realize this until another student notices, and begins to make fun of him, who quickly jumps into the water to avoid further embarrassment.

Later he feels pressured by his friends to have sex with Fiona, but when he tries to, she tells him that she knows he is gay, but wants to help. This infuriates Riley and he kicks her out of his room, effectively ending their relationship. When he learns that Sam is openly gay he begins to show interest in him, but at the fair he decides to go for Chantay Black instead. However, Riley blows it with Chantay after kissing her, and goes inside the school, where Sam tries to talk with him about being gay. Riley gets angry and punches him, in front of Larissa, the president of the school's LGBT Club.

In Beat It (2), that everyone knows about him attacking Sam and he is called to Ms. Hatzilakos' office about the incident where he meets Larissa. He claims that nothing happened and that there was no proof. Regardless, he is still instructed by Ms. Hatzilakos to spend the rest of the day at home, in addition to writing a one-thousand word essay on non-violent conflict resolutions. On his way out, Larissa offers him counseling sessions for homophobia, but he refuses.

During the lifeguard exam, he thanks Sam for not following up with hate crime charges, but becomes distressed when Sam tells him that he had Riley removed from the lifeguard training course due to his temper. When trying to write his essay, Riley loses his temper again, tearing down posters and knocking over trophies. He then logs onto the Internet and tries to find a "cure" for homosexuality.

When Riley returns to school the next day, Peter informs him that he is getting a bad reputation for his temper, at which point Riley tells him about possibly finding a cure for his "confusion." He goes to a therapist who claims to have been cured of the same feelings Riley was having. Filled with excitement, Riley seeks out Fiona and tells her that he is looking into treatment for his "disease". Fiona replies that homosexuality cannot be cured, since it isn't a disease, and turns to leave. Angered by her behavior, he yells at Fiona "Too bad you can't cure bitch!", who then tells Riley that she never wants to speak with him again. Upon returning to the therapist, Riley learns that it would cost him $2000 (in Canadian currency) and take approximately ten months before he is cured. Outraged that it would cost so much, Riley storms out of the office and sets up a guys' night out with Peter over the telephone. Riley believes all it will take is to find the right girl.

That night, Peter and Riley start to loosen up and have fun, but Riley can't get any girls to pay much attention to him, so he ends up drinking vodka from a flask that he brought. When he goes to the bathroom, drunk, he sees Sam at the urinal, and proceeds to harass him "No peeking" Riley teases while using a urinal. Riley ignores Sam's warning, and the fight ensues, which results in Riley being pinned against the wall by Sam. Riley breaks down emotionally, telling Sam that he deserves to be beaten and that he just wants to be normal. Sam tells him that he understands what Riley is going through, and that he doesn't have to come out until he's ready. The following morning, Riley "comes out" to Peter before telling him that he doesn't want anyone else to know, at least for the rest of high school, and agrees to attend anger management sessions.

In In Your Eyes, Riley starts off practicing his temper with Peter in an anger managenemt group. Afterward, Anya confronts him and tells him that she needs to interview him for some kind of Degrassi bachelor award. When she is interviewing on the morning announcements, she asks him if he likes blonds or brunettes. Riley awkwardly answers the questions. In yoga class Riley tells Anya that he is gay after checking out Zane Park, he also asks her to not tell anyone. Anya gets excited and then tells him that he totally likes Zane. Riley sort of denies it, but sort of proves it again after Anya tells him that Zane is actually gay.

The next day, Zane finds out that he is gay, and they start hanging out. They go to a secret tree house construction area where Riley likes to go to be alone. They start to talk but, when a security member comes and kicks them out Riley loses his temper and leaves Zane behind. The next day at school Zane is mad at Riley for leaving him behind with the security recruit member. Zane also wants Riley to go to the LGBT Mixer at Above The Dot. After, being convinced by Peter to go too.

the mixer because there are a lot of straight people there, Riley goes to the mixer but still feels he has to pretend to be straight. After going in to the club and seeing Anya, she suggests he'd go and dance with Zane. Zane is really happy that Riley is there and he asks to see his best dance moves. Riley eventually loosens up and starts dancing with Zane. Later on, Zane and Riley start walking through town. When Zane calls for a taxi, Riley tells him he had fun and feels more comfortable coming out. Riley and Zane say goodbye, but before Zane officially leaves they kiss.

Season 10 - Biography
In 99 Problems (1), Riley is seen spending the summer with his boyfriend, Zane Park, and training for football. Zane is upset that now that summer's over, Riley has to go from "Summer Riley" (the Riley that likes to spend time with his boyfriend, Zane) to "Football Riley" (the Riley that pretends he's straight), but Riley says that as soon as football season is over, "Football Riley" will disappear. Zane says that Riley can only hide his homosexuality so long, but Riley defends himself by saying that they could still hang out. Zane makes a joke about joining the football team and transferring his soccer skills. Just as Zane is about to leave the park where they were working out, Riley says that he had fun this summer.

Riley is later seen signing up for football. Drew Torres appears and asks to borrow a pen so he can sign up. Drew introduces himself and says that the only reason he transferred from his old school to Degrassi was because of the football team and the girls. Just as Riley is making a comment about Degrassi girls, Zane appears and asks for a pen. Riley is surprised that Zane is trying out and asks him if he's really trying out and Zane responds that he's got to show that gay guys can play sports too. Riley then introduces Drew to Zane and says that Zane is in Riley's algebra class. Zane is clearly upset with Riley's reference to him. After Drew leaves, Riley asks what he's doing and Zane asks Riley if he's not cool hanging out with Zane at football. Riley doesn't respond and Zane walks away. Riley and Drew are later seen in class. Drew asks Riley for help and Riley offers him "visual aid" with a bunch of girls named Jessica and then Fiona. Drew comments on Fiona and Riley helps Drew understand economics. Drew then reveals that he's trying out for quarterback and Riley looks troubled.

Later during work-out, Zane is teased by a teammate, Owen, for being gay and calling him "princess." Drew says that it doesn't bother him that Zane is gay, but he wonders what will happen when the team their first game is against finds out that their kicker kisses guys. Riley walks into the gym later to discover Zane kicking a football into a net alone. They are debating the "two Riley's" when Drew walks in, unseen. As they are talking, Drew walks back out, still unseen, and overhears their conversation. Drew takes this opportunity to blackmail Riley. At try-outs the next day, Drew suggests a tailgate barbecue. Riley scoffs at him, but the coach accepts Drew's idea. As the players are leaving, Drew reminds them to bring a date. Riley brings a girl who's name he forgets, then asks about Drew's date.

Drew says that he doesn't know any girls at Degrassi and Riley says that he can only name so many girls. Drew comments about boys' names; Riley angrily approaches Drew and demands to know what he's saying and Drew says that that was the second time had caught Riley checking out Zane (A.K.A. Mr. Gay). Drew brushes it off as a joke. Riley offers Zane mustard and Zane asks if Riley is finally talking. Riley responds that he and Zane can't speak to each or communicate with each other anymore; Zane is confused and calls Riley pathetic. Drew walks up and asks if he is interrupting. Riley says, "No, we're done." When Zane walks away Drew asks Riley if he's still going to deny it. Riley replies, "Dude, I'm not in the mood for your stupid jokes," and Drew says, "Who said I'm joking?" then reveals what he heard in the gym. Drew threatens, "Unless you want the whole team to find out, I suggest you step aside for QB1," and walks away. Riley then gets the idea to "welcome the new guy to the team."

In 99 Problems (2), Riley and some other football players walk over to Drew with clear wrap. When Drew asks if they are ready for early practice, the guys rush at him and haze him. Riley ties Drew up and says, "You're lucky, I used to have a violent streak." Later, Drew's mom comes to the school complaining to Mr. Simpson and Coach Armstrong that her son shouldn't have been tied up and that she will go to the school board if no one comes forward.

Drew covers for Riley saying the people were wearing a mask. Later, after realizing Riley was most likely going to start as quarterback, Drew gets his mom to come back and she threatens to stop the football games if no one comes forward. Riley tells Armstrong that he was the person who hazed Drew and he then gets a five game suspension. Zane tells Riley it should be him out there instead of Drew and then he added a remark saying "or at least half of you" and Riley replies by saying that he hopes it will be all of him out there one day.

In Tears Dry On Their Own (1), Riley is in need of desperate hanging out with after school, but he doesn't feel that he's ready to hang with the football team yet, he can't bear hearing them make gay jokes. After, rejecting Owen Milligan's offer of hanging out with the guys in the breakroom, to shoot some pool and checkout some girls. Riley hears Owen's new nickname for Zane, "Rockette". Riley asks Zane what that is all about, and Zane tells him that it's "Because I'm the kicker. It's a gay joke.". Riley continues talking to Zane and asks him if he wants to hangout after school, but Zane tells him that until football Riley and the gay Riley morph together to be himself, it's better that they don't be seen together. Riley tries to find someone else to hang out with. He walks up to Anya MacPherson, and asks if they can hangout since they haven't in a while, but Anya tells him he can't because she has family responsibilities.

Riley tries to negotiate, until Anya tells him that her mom has cancer. He is astonished, and asks if he can go to the hospital with her. Anya says okay but doesn't understand why. Later, after a football game Riley meets up with Anya and he tells her that he'll go to the hospital with her whenever she goes, because it'll be a good way to find a boyfriend, or something in that sense, Anya agrees. They go to the hospital, and waiting outside of the room they talk until Anya introduces her mom's doctor, Doctor Chris to Riley. After the doctor walks away Riley asks if she likes him, and Anya sort of makes it aware, she also notices that he likes him too. Riley tells Anya that he's gay because of his awesome gaydar abilities, but Anya thinks he's straight. They shake on it to see if they can prove their cases.

In Tears Dry On Their Own (2), Riley and Anya walk outside of school, and they talk about Doctor Chris. Riley begs Anya to let him go back to the hospital with him, because he only had about 4 crushes, and 3 of them came out, and the other one was Peter. Anya laughs and they begin talking about how they can find out if Doctor Chris is gay or not. They go to the hospital with a clipboard, they begin to interview the Doctor for their "relationship education" class. Doctor Chris lead them on that he was gay, by calling his old girlfriend by a partner, and that she was a doctor so he called her by doctor.

Anya and Riley look at each other and ask other questions, Riley asks what he sees in a guy or a girl, and the doctor awkwardly answers that he tries to find the right girl, and never succeeds. Afterward, Chris asks why they're asking these questions, and Anya tells them it's for their relationship class, and Chris asks if they're in university, and Anya lies and tells him that they are, and that's their extra class. Doctor Chris tells them that they're lucky because that wasn't a class when he was at college; after Anya leaves, and Riley looks glum. She turns around and asks what's wrong, Riley tells her that he was just excited that he met someone he liked that doesn't go to Degrassi. Anya asks him to describe his dream guy, and he describes Zane. Later on, Anya and Riley are doing Algebra, Anya calls Zane to come over and help despite Riley's wishes, Zane comes over and helps, then leaves, but Riley calls him back and they talk.

In Still Fighting It (1), Riley takes advice from Anya. In the locker room, Riley makes plans with Zane for after school, when Owen walks in and starts instantly makes fun of Zane, and Riley sort of chimes in too. Zane cancels the plans, and is mad at Riley. Upset, Riley seeks advice from Anya, she tells him that he needs to find a way to make Zane see that he cares for him. They see Zane hang a poster for a LGBT event about homophobia and Anya suggests that Riley go, to try and show Zane that he is working on bettering himself. Riley plans to go, and does so. He goes and surprises Zane, who doesn't understand why he's there.

After, hearing Zane's opinion of the locker room jokes, Riley realizes he's a homophobe. At school the next day Riley overhears Dave Turner telling Wesley Betenkamp that something was "gay", using the word to mean lame. Riley sort of messes with him and makes him scared, to never say that again.. Zane is surprised that Riley came to his senses, and forgives him. Trying to make an impact and win Zane over even more, Riley gets the idea to follow the rules of Spartacus from Anya, and makes the whole team's shirts pink in the wash. Riley then tells them that they'll have to all wear pink, Owen is pissed and leaves, but the whole team supports and Zane is happy. But, after practice, Zane and Riley see "Homo" written in shaving cream on Riley's locker, which sets him off.

In Still Fighting It (2), Riley confronts Owen outside of school, despite listening to Zane's protests not to, and punches Owen in his face. Owen gets pissed and tells him he's lucky that they're at school, and leaves, Riley is pissed and wipes the shaving cream "Riley Is A Fag" that Owen wrote the football bus. Later in the day Riley picks up Zane's dropped apple, but when he tries to return it, he gets more pressure from Zane. Zane tells him he doesn't understand that when you hurt a homophobe it makes them more homophobic. Riley agrees to talk to Owen. Later as Riley posts a sticky note on Zane's locker, asking him to The Dot, Owen shows up and Riley threatens him. He tells Owen that if he doesn't stop with the gay jokes and comments they have another fight. At the Dot, Riley hears Zane's scream for help, and sees Owen and his friends running away, Zane tells them that they jumped him and threw him in the trash.

They get into another fight, and Zane leaves mad. At home, Riley tries to tell his mom he's gay, but it doesn't work out the way he wanted. Later on, Riley goes to the Bachelor Auction to speak with Zane, asking him for another chance. Zane tells him that he needs to be the guy that he(Zane) fell for and not the angry Football jock he's become, before he'll consider giving Riley another chance. Riley leaves and Zane starts to get auctioned off. As the bids for Zane increase up and just before a female student is about to win Zane, Riley calls out a bid of $50 for Zane, and wins. Later Drew confronts Riley, telling him that the whole school is wondering if he's gay. Zane covers for Riley, and after discussing their relationship, Zane tells Riley he has some date planning to do.

In Purple Pills (1), Riley is happy with Zane and his relationship and he is hoping to go on another date sometime soon. Getting advice from Anya, he hopes to ask Zane out on another date, and make it aware that they're dating without making a public announcement. Anya gets the idea to have Riley and Zane sign up for the dance's King & Queen, or in other words King & King. Riley does so. In class, Zane is super happy with Riley, and confronts him in MI Lab. He starts talking about how he's happy that Riley has come out, and he starts hugging Riley. Riley pulls away from Zane, and asks what happened. Zane explains how the nominees are online, and Riley sees his name and Zane's name online. He is sort of mad because he didn't know it'd be online, but he's sort of happy too because this means he's out of the closet now and him and Zane are together finally and officially.

Later, when it's time for the final football game, and he is pumped up, but he comes to the team huddle to see another player betting the rest of the team if Riley is actually going out with Zane. Drew tries to knock it off, but the player asks Riley if he likes guys, and Riley says yes. The player is happy that he won the bet, and Zane is happy Riley officially came out to the whole team. But, Riley is pissed about the bet and yells at the whole team who are fighting, because of it, and Riley tells the team that it's the last game and they better do their best, and not care what sexuality he is, Drew and everyone agrees. After, a successful win, Coach Armstrong introduces Riley to a football recruiter. Riley learns that the recruiter and Coach Armstrong are long time friends, and that he is there to see if Riley would like to be scouted, he gives Riley a card and everything. But, the problem is Riley doesn't know whether to tell everyone he's gay when he's scouted.

In Purple Pills (2), Riley debates with himself whether it's best to come out or not since he's being scouted by an Eastern college football recruiter. He talks to Anya about it and as he does so, Chantay Black walks up to him and says she's proud of him for nominating himself and Zane for King and King at the Degrassi dance. Riley doesn't understand at first and then Chantay tells him there's a campaign to get him and Zane voted King and King of Degrassi for the school dance. Riley is surprised and Anya tells him that the closet is officially bolted shut. Later on, Riley tells the recruiter that football and homosexuality just don't mix. The recruiter doesn't seem to mind and actually thinks it would be a great idea to have an openly gay football player at their school. Zane confronts him after his talk with the recruiter and tells him that he's like gay-rights activist Harvey Milk.

Riley doesn't know who Milk is, but Zane tells him he was an openly gay politician. However, Riley is caught off guard when Zane tells him that Harvey was assassinated for being a "hero." This suggests he was killed for being a homosexual. Later on, Riley looks up gay sports players and is mildly disturbed when he searches "why are gay sports players afraid to come out?" He finds that the player's careers go down the drain and that they receive death threats,and Riley tells his coach he's not sure if he wants to take the risk, but Coach Armstrong questions him by asking him if he wants to take the risk and pursue his dream or be disappointed for the rest of his life. At the end of the episode, Riley is seen talking to the Eastern recruiter and tells Zane that he now has a football scholarship. They hug and share a passionate kiss openly throughout all of the excitement.

In All Falls Down (2), Riley and Zane are seen gambling at Degrassi's "A night in Vegas" dance. When Drew and Alli Bhandari are crowned King and Queen, Riley is a bit disappointed about not winning because he wanted Zane and him to win. Zane then tells Riley that there's always prom. In the background, Riley and Zane are seen dancing together throughout the episode.

In The Way We Get By (1) Riley wants to be a better boyfriend for Zane and asks for advice to Anya, she suggests him to go to Zane’s (ex-boy)friend’s art exhibit, instead of watching the game at home because boyfriends sometimes have to do things they don’t like for the sake of the relationship. After school Riley gets a haircut and an outfit to impress Zane at the art room. Once they are at the art exhibit, Riley tries to seem interested but it doesn’t work. Then at Riley's house, Riley apologizes to Zane for his behavior at the art exhibit and Zane forgives him, Riley tells Zane how lucky he is to have him by his side and begin to "make out" in Riley's room. Riley's mom comes in without warning, saying, "Snacks for the study buddi-" then finds them "making out". She apologizes and leaves the room, without saying anything about what she saw, Riley begins to worry and tells Zane that he’s not prepared to have this conversation with his mom yet.

In The Way We Get By (2) After Riley’s mom walked in on him and Zane "making out", he knows that the time has come to tell his parents he’s gay. Unfortunately, Riley’s mom pretends that she didn’t see anything and refuses to listen to Riley. Riley tells Zane about his mom’s reaction and decides that he’s ready to come out and will force his parents to listen. Riley decides to be nice and subtle and leaves gay magazine and a picture of him and Zane on his bed and then goes for a run, knowing his mom will clean his room. Riley gets back from his run and his mom pretends like nothing was on his bed. Out of ideas, Riley confronts his mother and tells her that he’s gay. She refuses to listen and storms out of the room. Riley comes home the next day to meet up with his dad for their father son baseball game tradition, but Riley’s mom told his dad that he wouldn’t be going. She said she assumed that since Riley was gay he wouldn’t like things like ‘sports’. She then told him to never tell his father about his ‘confusion’. Riley tells the situation to Zane. Zane tells him to give them time just like how it took him a lot of time to realize he was gay. They agree to go on to see a game the next day.

Season 11 - Biography
In Idioteque, Riley is sitting with a new fresh haircut in the resource room on a FaceRange. When Anya comes in he tells her to come here because he wants to show her what he sees. He tells her that Owen posted that the girl he slept with has a name that begins with A and ends with A. He asks Anya if it was her but she denies, lying. Later he asks her if she would walk to class with him, and she does.

In Dirt Off Your Shoulder (1), Riley is in his car with his mom and they are barely speaking. Riley asks his mom if they could celebrate his birthday and she says maybe. She then mentions that a family friend's daughter, Athena, wants to talk to Riley about sport scholarships, but she thought Riley wouldn't be interested. Riley says he would love to, even though he has to cancel his date with Zane. He is later seen in the gym when Zane walks in and tells Riley about the 10,000 steps Challenge Mr. Simpson put them in charge of. Riley then breaks his date with Zane, telling him he has to talk to his mom. Riley is later seen at Tho Dot with Athena, who interprets the dinner as a date. Riley comes out to her and tells her to keep it a secret. Athena also tells Riley that she wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend until age 16, so she snuck boys as study partners into her room so she could have "the best of both worlds" (perfect child to her parents and have boyfriends). The next day, Riley comes up with a dodgeball tournament for kids to particapate in so they can take 10,000 steps in one day. Riley talks to Zane about his "talk with his mom" when he rushes off to the bathroom. Riley's phone beeps and Zane picks it up and doesn't look happy. Riley then meets Zane by the zen garden and Zane accuses Riley of cheating on him and hands Riley back his phone and leaves. Riley sees that the message says "Had fun on our date last night" from Athena.

In Dirt Off Your Shoulder (2), Riley goes to confront Zane about what happened with the text. Zane doesn't believe Riley when he is told about the date being a setup. When Riley explains that because things are good with his family right now, he doesn't want to shake things up again. Zane retorts that he feels like a dirty secret. Riley invites Zane to his birthday dinner, but only as a friend. At the Dinner (with Riley and his family, Zane and Athena and her mother present), Riley's father gives him an expensive watch telling him he only turns 18 once. When Riley's father makes a comment about Riley and Athena having kids, she mentions his (nonexistent) girlfriend. Zane, of course, is displeased by this. Riley talks about his girlfriend, while actually talking about Zane, telling him to relax. Zane excuses himself from dinner. Riley chases him and Zane tells him he can't do this and that there isn't anything fun about it. Anya convinces Riley that it's time to talk to his family about his being gay, so as not to lose Zane. Riley invites Zane to The Dot telling him he's made a big decision. When Zane arrives, Riley breaks up with him, because he can't keep putting him through these things, but he isn't ready to come out yet.

In Extraordinary Machine (1), since Eli fired Jake from the role of "Jack" he turns to Riley who's at his locker, putting books inside. Eli asks Riley if he wants to play "Jack" and Riley says "sure." Later at the rehearsal Riley keeps messing up on his lines that Eli got to the point where he yells at Riley. Chantay comes in and tells Eli to settle down because Riley just got his lines, and doesn't have any practice whatsoever.

In Extraordinary Machine (2), Riley decides to continue playing "Jack" in the play although he doesn't have any experience whatsoever. Although he doesn't have any lines in this episode, he's mentioned by Anya, and he doesn't get to be seen in the play since Eli ruined it, but he's at the end bowing.

In Take A Bow (1), Riley is sitting on the steps of Degrassi with Anya. Anya shows him her acceptance letter into the army. Anya tells him that she's excited and that she finally knows what she wants to do with her life. Riley tells her that she has to train for this and this is not easy work. But on the other hand he mentions how he's not going to prom. Anya asks why and he explains how him and Zane are officially broken up. Anya suggests that they go to prom as friends, Riley agrees and as the bell rings they run inside to take final exams.

In Take A Bow (2), before graduating Riley is talking to Anya who tells him that she sadly can't go to prom with him. Riley asks if it's because of Owen and she says she's sorry but they forgave each other and got back together. Riley then graduates with the rest of his class and gets his diploma. After graduating, Riley's mom congratulates him and tells him that she'll miss him when he's at college. She also tells him that she can't wait to meet the girlfriends he brings home. Riley tells her whether she likes it or not, he's gay and that he'll probably bring home boyfriends. She tells him that "I guess it's not a phase" and tells him that she loves him and accepts him. Zane walks by and says hi to Riley.

In Dead and Gone (2), Riley and Zane are sitting at a table at prom with Owen, Anya, and Sav. They seem to be happy to see Holly J on the ipad and they say hello to her. After, Riley and Zane stand up, Riley tells Zane he came out to his mom and is planning on coming out to his dad soon. Zane tells Riley he's happy for him, Zane lets Riley know he accepted Eastern's offer, and Riley is happy about that and suggests maybe they could sit together at freshman orientation. Zane smiles and sort of laughs at the fact as if that would probably get back together. Even though neither characters will be followed in the second half of season eleven, it is nice to know that they are together and happy.