#just a normal friday night for mr riley

[wombywoo]

autopsy

#call of duty #cod #simon ghost riley #mw2 #my art #just a normal friday night for mr riley #look what tequila does to the poor boy

[biblio-smia]

blood runs thicker than water — two.

masterlist | requests are open!

pairing: eventual ethan landry x reader

warnings: mindy's monologues

[one.] [two.]

The day was grey and bleak, thick clouds rolled over Woodsboro. A shiver ran down your spine as a gust of cold air chilled you awake. Your trailer home didn't do much against the elements and fall was almost here. 

It was a Saturday. Th necessity of a school day did not wake you at seven a.m. like it did Monday through Friday; instead, a different necessity pulled you away from the warm mess of sheets on your bed.

「 … 」

Dewey Riley exited his room with slow, sluggish steps and a hand cradling his head in an attempt to shield his sensitive eyes from the morning light that peeked through the blinds. He stumbled towards the kitchen and fought to open the fridge with one hand, an ironic disappointment appearing on his face upon seeing it was full of fresh groceries.

"Good morning," you said softly as you came out of the bathroom, careful to keep your volume at a level safe for your father's headache — a tendency that was becoming more and more frequent. You reached up behind your dad to grab the brand new carton of eggs from the fridge.

"Did you get groceries?" Your dad questioned, not bothering to reply to your greeting. He was always a little prickly when he was hungover.

"Well, yeah. I kinda didn't wanna starve?" You laughed a little, though it became nervous upon seeing your dad's serious face. Confusion was taking over now, wondering why he didn't at least smile like he normally would — he was usually prickly, not pissed.

You shut the fridge as your dad leaned off it, his hands coming up to cross over his chest and you couldn't help but feel a shift and you went on the defensive.

"You went out by yourself? Without telling me?" It felt like an accusation of a crime, a tone you couldn't understand. You couldn't comprehend the sudden complaint when the two of you would be sitting here hungry if it hadn't been for you.

"It wasn't a problem before—"

"Well, it's a problem now. You don't go out by yourself, no matter what."

And you stood there, carton of eggs in hand and eyebrows furrowed in frustration as that tiny seed of resentment in your stomach threatened to grow, waiting for an explanation for the rash limitation your father had put on you — an explanation that wouldn't come as long as your father lived in denial.

He moved to pour himself a cup of coffee, not without some bourbon. You pretended not to notice, moving to make breakfast. That was your compromise. He could drink, but he had to eat whatever it was you made.

Your dad took a seat on the couch, turning on the TV. The news was already going. Your mother was on the screen, talking and laughing in a way you'd never seen before — sometimes she seemed more like a character far beyond your reach rather than your mother.

Your dad laughed at a joke she made, one you missed. With the alcohol and Good Morning with Gale Weathers, his face softened and you smiled at the scene, the anger and hurt you felt slowly fading. You walked over, handing your dad a plate of eggs and bacon, just the way he liked it. He smiled gratefully, placing a kiss on your forehead. You held your breath, the smell of alcohol stinging your nose.

A knock at the door interrupted your walk back to the kitchen and your father's face hardened again.

A voice called out from outside, one you'd never heard before.

"We're sorry to bother you, Mr. Riley, we just want to ask you a few questions -"

"I don't give interviews!" Your dad shouted, setting his plate aside and standing up.

You eyed your dad suspiciously. What happened last night?

"We're not looking for an interview—"

"Go away or I'll call the police!" Your dad yelled, properly angry now.

"You're a suspect in a homicide, so go ahead, call the police!" The voice yelled back, equally as enraged.

Your mouth dropped in shock and your father's jaw clenched. You stared so hard you were sure he felt it, glancing up quickly before he averted his eyes.

"Give me one good reason why I should talk to you!" He calls, but you could tell he was already convinced for the most part.

"I'm Billy Loomis's daughter."

The voice on the other side of the door rang clear, the words stinging like needles against your skin. You shivered, but this time, it wasn't from the cold air.

"Go to your room," your father said lowly, making his way to the front door.

You knew better than to argue, especially with the grave tone of the way your father spoke, like he was on the verge of either screaming or crying.

The walls were thin, anyway.

With the door ajar, you hovered, attentive to the footsteps and the sounds. The locks rattled and you could almost imagine your father undoing the many locks on your door before finally opening it.

The voices, now at a normal volume, were muffled and hard to hear. The conversation moved to the living room where your father's cold plate of food sat. You were hanging on to every word, focusing hard to catch as much of the conversation as you could.

"So help us! Help us figure out who's behind this!" Samantha's voice rang.

"Are you kidding me? I've been stabbed nine times, I've got permanent nerve damage and a fun little limp. I have a kid. You think I wanna go through that again? Put my family in danger?"

"You just said it always goes back to the past, right? So, if I'm in danger, that means you're both in danger. Come on, let's do this, together."

"Your time's up." And the last sound you heard was the door slamming and the locks rattling once more.

With a creak of your door, you made your way into the hallway, watching as your dad leaned against the front door.

"Dad?"

"Yes?" He leaned up and off the door, trying to relax his face and his breathing.

"You should help them."

"I thought I told you to go to your room."

You knocked on the nearest wall. "The walls are thin."

Your dad sighed, resting his hands on his hips.

"I'm not getting involved. I don't know anything."

"You know everything! You know what it's like, they don't. You need to help them!" You stepped closer, a pleading look on your face. There was no way you could leave these people to fend for themselves.

"The only thing I need to do is protect you."

Fear made his voice tremble as he looked down at you, his face looking older than ever as he pulled you so close you could smell the alcohol on him.

"We're getting you on the next flight to New York. I'm going to call your mother and you're going to stay with her—"

"What? Dad, I'm not leaving—" You pulled yourself out of the hug, looking at your father in disbelief.

"It's not your decision. My roof, my rules."

You scoffed. "What if Mom comes here? Who do I stay with then?"

"She won't. I'll tell her not to."

You scoffed. "And you think she's going to listen to you?"

Your dad's jaw clenched.

"Dad..." you stepped closer again, carefully. "You can't just run away. Not when there's people who need your help."

You wrapped your arms around him this time, hiding your face into his arm.

"I don't want anyone to die," you confessed softly, trying to hide the tears forming in your eyes.

"It's not our problem," your father tried to reassure, his hand coming up to gently pat your head.

"We can't just... sit here and do nothing!" Your voice shook with emotion, moving your head back so your father could see it. "Please?"

Your dad sighed. He was tired. You knew that. But you had to do something.

"You know, you're just like your mother." He shook his head softly.

For the first time that day, your father smiled at you and you returned it.

「 ... 」

You followed your father to the Meeks-Martin house, walking past Sam and her boyfriend, Richie, with nothing but a glance.

Your dad held on to your shoulder and led you inside as he greeted Mindy Meeks-Martin. Discomfort ran through you as you inspected the home and the pictures of the deceased decorating the walls. Something wasn't right.

The two of you moved into the living room where the group of teens were already sitting, waiting. Clearly, they weren't expecting you.

It was a coincidence you were born the same year as most of the friend group — an awful one.

Awkward glanced followed. They all knew who you were, especially with your father beside you. You knew who they were, faintly. You saw them all that day after school.

The only person you really knew was Wes Hicks. Your father always encouraged you to be his friend. You were, for years — until you grew up and the don't trust anyone rule began eating at you like a disease.

"Hey, Wes." You nodded your head in his direction as you took a seat as far away from them as possible. He was so different now than from you last knew him. Bleached hair, tall. But then again, the last time the two of you hung out was elementary school.

A part of you missed him. A part wanted to recreate the memories you had shared when you were seven, when you lived in blissful ignorance and still had the ability to make friends.

But too many years had gone by for that now.

"I asked Mindy to call everybody here because there's something I have to tell you," Sam began, not quite nervous but not quite eager. You couldn't blame here. You wouldn't exactly be showing off your parentage if you were her.

「 ... 」

"So, let me get this straight, you're saying that you're the daughter of Billy Loomis and, what, that one of us is the killer?"

"The killer told me he knew my secret. He attacked Tara to lure me back here!" Sam defended.

"But then why immediately go and murder some douche nozzle that was stalking Liv?"

"Why does it have to be one of us? And what about Deputy here? Maybe he's the killer..." You shot Wes a glare. "No offense."

"None taken. But what's my motive?" Your dad questioned back and it occurred to you he'd probably had dozens of conversations like this before.

"You got stabbed a billion times, got dumped by your famous wife and crawled into a bottle. I think it's safe to say you're on the suspect list."

"Well maybe you're the killer. Because that cut deep." Wes sent a look of concern and you placed a hand on your dad's arm.

"You don't have to be such an ass about it, Wes," you glared, scooting closer to your dad for good measure. Yeah, things had changed.

"That douche nozzle is connected. I googled him, his mom is Leslie Macher, Stu Macher's sister." Amber said.

"Who's Stu Macher?" Liv asked.

"Oh, my god." Amber grumbled.

"He's Billy Loomis's accomplice, a real looney tune." Your dad said. You'd almost forgotten he knew him. Knew them both.

"Okay, okay, so the first three attacks are all on people related to the original killers." Sam began, interrupted by Mindy.

"Oh, my god, he's making a requel!"

"A what?" Sam asked.

"Or a lega-sequel, fans are torn on the terminology."

"God, please speak English." Chad.

"Okay, remember the Stab move that came out last year?"

"Oh yeah, the one the Knives Out guy directed, right? You know, I actually really liked that one." Liv quipped with a small smile.

"Of course you did, you have terrible taste."

Liv's smile fell. "I hate you."

"The point is, the hardcore Stab fans hated it. You go on 4chan and Dreddit, all they're talking about is how Stab 8 pissed on their childhood. How they crammed in social commentary just to make it elevated, how the main character is a Mary Sue!"

"What's a Mary Sue?" Richie asked.

"You really don't want to know." Wes assured.

"What's wrong with elevated horror? I mean, Joran Peele fucking rules."

"Uh, obviously, but that's not Stab! Real Stab movies are meta slasher whodunits, full stop."

"Come on, it's just a movie."

"No, it's not. To some people, the original is their favorite thing in the world. The movie that made them love horror! That mom or dad showed them when they were ten that bonded them together!

"And God help anyone who slightly fucks with that special memory. Who makes a movie they think disrespects it. It sounds like our killer is writing his own version of Stab 8 but doing it as a requel." Mindy finished.

You could tell the others were getting tired of the monologue, rolling their eyes or slouching in their seats. But Mindy's enthusiasm guided you through her words, which you hung on to thoughtfully.

And to your father, they were nostalgic.

"Which is?"

"See, you can't just reboot a franchise from scratch anymore. The fans won't stand for it. Black Christmas, Child's Play, Flatliners. That shit doesn't work! But you can't just do a straight sequel, either. You gotta build something new, but not too new or the internet goes buck fucking nuts.

"It's got to be part of an ongoing storyline even if the story shouldn't have been ongoing in the first place. New main characters, yes, but supported by an related to legacy characters."

Mindy pointed to your dad. Oh, god.

"Not quite a reboot, not quite a sequel. Like the new Halloween, Saw, Terminator, Jurassic Park, Ghostbusters, fuck, even Star Wars! It always, always," she picked up a copy of Stab — the original, "goes back to the original!"

The room was quiet as Mindy's words settled in like a death sentence.

"Are you telling me that I'm caught in the middle of fan fucking fiction?!"

"Not just in the middle, Sam. You're the star."

"So," Liv began. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but according to requel rules..."

"Who's next?"

"Going by the pattern, whoever it is has to be connected to someone that came before." Mindy looked around before her gaze fell on you and your dad.

Your skin prickled at the attention that followed as everyone's eyes began to fall on you.

"I'm starting to regret coming here," your dad sighed.

"Jesus, my mom's a character in one of them —"

"No one cares about the inferior sequels, Wes, you're safe." Mindy turned to her twin. "With Randy as our uncle, though, you and I are probably screwed."

"Wait, what?"

"Or you're the killer and this whole, what, elaborate monologue is just to cover your tracks."

"I think the quiet ones are the killer," Amber spoke up, pointing an accusing finger at you. "I saw you watching us the day after Tara got attacked."

Your eyebrows furrowed and you scoffed. But before you could get a defense out, Mindy laughed.

"I think it's pretty clear who the killer is at this point."

"Who?" Sam asked.

"You." Mindy said, as if it were obvious. "It makes perfect requel sense."

A chorus of agreements followed and you couldn't help but feel sorry for Sam, watching as the anger and disbelief showed up on her face.

"Fuck this." Sam stood and left in rage.

"You know," your dad started, breaking the uncomfortable silence that followed. "Randy may have accused us all of being the killer too, but he was a lot nicer about it."

The two of you stood to depart, too. You spared Wes one final glance. Your eyes met for a second before he looked away, staring at the floor instead.

You and your father climbed into the car quietly. Your throat was dry and you had to lick your lips before you could even try to get any words out.

"You heard Mindy. It all goes back to the original. I'm a target, Dad. We both are."

"That's exactly what I was afraid of," your dad sighed, turning on the engine.

"I'm not leaving. We have to stick together. Power in numbers, right?"

Your dad turned and gave you a sad smile. He'd lost so much. The last thing he was going to do was lose you, too.

"You've gotta stay close, alright? Remember, trust—"

"No one," the two of you finished together. The piece of advice that had taken over your life for years. The one that had ruined all your friendships. The one that had booted Wes out of your life. You felt that resentment again, building up and threatening to spill out of your mouth.

"Yeah," you turned back around to face the road. "I know."

「 ... 」

Your music stopped just as the phone rang, chiming a few times before your father finally picked up.

You knew something was wrong the second he spoke into the phone, pulling your earbuds out and racing into the entrance of your home.

"It's... Judy and Wes," your father gasped out. The two of you exchanged a look of understanding.

No words were needed as you two piled into the car, hearts racing with pure fear.

「 ... 」

You arrived at the scene of the double-murders, bile rising in your throat. You felt like something was pulling you along, like you were no longer in control of your own body.

You had just seen Wes. Now you watched as his body rolled onto an ambulance. There was a blanket over him but you knew it was him. The ambulance's lights turned off. Dead on arrival.

You bit your lip to try and ground yourself, feeling the warmth of blood trickle on your tongue. You stopped once you tasted it, turning away from the scene with blurry vision. You turned to your father, who was speaking. You blinked through deep breaths as you tried to focus on what he was saying.

Something caught your father's eye, mid-conversation. You glanced in the direction of what he was looking at. It was your mother. You smile, watching as they met in the middle. Their faces softened as they came closer and your heart filled with a feeling you'd missed. A feeling of completion.

Your smile dropped as you followed your father's gaze behind Gale, looking at her camera crew. She hadn't come for the two of you.

Their faces changed again and the feeling faded, transforming into one of familiar pain as your parents engaged in a heated conversation reminiscent of your childhood. One of them delivered the final blow and they went quiet.

You took your opportunity.

"Mom?" You stepped forward. She hadn't noticed you yet.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" In her defense, there was genuine concern as she took you in and pulled you in for a hug. She smelled of freshly pressed laundry and a strong perfume. An expensive one. "You've gotten so much taller."

You couldn't help but smile at the affection. At the attention. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. But you didn't answer my question." The softness faded a little from your mother's voice, her hands falling on your shoulders.

You sighed. "I'm a target, mom. We all are."

Your mother sighed, nodding knowingly. There was a faraway look in her eyes, like when you would catch her daydreaming about her life in New York.

She was tired, too. She just had a different way of dealing with it.

A member of her team called her name. She turned, giving you a small smile. "Duty calls."

It always seemed to.

Your father walked up to an officer as he arrived onto the scene, asking about something. More details, clues, you didn't know. You didn't want to think about the murders anymore. You wanted all this to go away.

"Who's at the hospital?" Sam's voice broke through your wall of thoughts. "Who's watching my sister?"

"I just heard about the sheriff..." The officer your dad was speaking to sputtered out in a pathetic defense.

Sam scoffed, running off. Right into danger. There was no way she was the killer if she loved her sister that much.

"They needed me here!" The officer called out defensively.

"Where are you going?" Your father yelled out after Sam.

"My sister's in trouble!"

He glanced at your mother, who was reporting live. He looked at you, worried about the state you were in. You avoided your eyes and started chasing after Sam. With no time to argue and no choice, your dad followed.

Sam's face betrayed her confusion at your willingness to help. But time was ticking and the killer would clearly not waste an opportunity to kill.

"What are you waiting for? Drive! Come on, let's go!"

Sam peeled out as squeezed your eyes shut, gripping onto your seat in an attempt to brace yourself.

You weren't ready for this. Not by a long shot.

But it was too late to turn back now.

#scream x reader #ethan landry x reader #scream #scream x you #scream 5 #v + ethan #blood runs thicker than water #v writes

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 4

Emotions and Confrontations

Summary: Eleanor has a difficult week with her mother in the hospital, and Bastien asks Riley’s mother for some information

A/N: this one’s a bit of a long one

Word Count: ~5.0k

Warning: Mention of character death

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen​​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite​​ @gkittylove99​​ @lovablegranny​​ @loudbluebirdlover​​ @mom2000aggie​​ @kingliam2019​​ @queenrileyrose​​ @shanzay44​​ @cordonianroyalty​​ @hopefulmoonobject​​ @hopelessromanticmonie​​ @cinnamonspongecake​​ @queenjilian​​ @kuladekiwi​​ @twinkle-320​​ @iaminlovewithtrr​​

- Eleanor -

Grandma had work on Sunday, which was the same day that the city was re-opened, so we went to the hospital before we went home. She put us in the care of a friendly nurse, Cheryl, who told us we had to sit in the ICU waiting room until Mama came back from her surgery. I was scared that she was gonna look different when she came out, like an ugly Frankenstein or Coraline’s Other Mother, but when her bed was wheeled back into the ICU, she only had a bandage wrapped around her head, covering her hairline. Besides the bandages and a bruise on her cheek, she was still my Mama.

Grandma had left us some cash in case we got hungry and wanted a snack or something from the cafeteria. I didn’t have an appetite, but I constantly asked Gabe to bring me to the vending machine (it was a little far from the ICU, and Grandma didn’t want us going by ourselves, so I had to go with him) and I would purposefully drag behind and take forever to choose something.

I could tell it annoyed him, but that wasn’t really what I was doing. I just hated being in the ICU. It wasn’t boring — we had our phones to play games on, there was a TV which the other people waiting let us have the remote for, and the nurses and doctors who passed by us would always try to start a conversation or give us sad smiles, which made me feel bad because I didn’t have the energy to smile back — it was just that sometimes the ICU felt a little scary. Looking at some of the other patients who were sick made me afraid that this was just a place they were storing Mama before she was going to go join Daddy. I didn’t want to be reminded to think about that, so every time I could I would ask Gabe to bring me to get a snack. I never ate them, and he would only take a bite before leaving it, so very soon the tables next to Mama’s bed were filled with junk food.

Grandma was upset about that. She said that if we didn’t like something we shouldn’t have gotten it. Thankfully, Gabe didn’t rat me out and say that I had made him bring me twelve times, so Grandma thought we just got twelve things at once. She talked to us about it in a gentle voice, but I still started crying and said that I hated it here. I had an audience, which made me nervous, so I hid my face in Grandma’s stomach. We said goodbye to Mama, even though she was still asleep, and went home.

When we got to our door, there was a man and a woman wearing dark suits waiting for us. Grandma told us to go to our rooms while she talked to them, and afterwards called us into the kitchen for dinner, where she told us that they wanted to remind us we would have to stay with her until Mama got better, and that Daddy's funeral was on Friday.

Grandma called our principal and told her that we weren’t going to be going to school for the rest of the week. I wasn’t upset about school, but what I didn’t like was that I would also have to miss my ballet classes and I wouldn’t be able to take piano lessons for the rest of the week, either.

I cried about it. I wanted to go. I wanted something to happen that was normal, something that I used to do before all of this. At least when I was dancing I would be able to pretend like Mama and Daddy were gonna pick me up together from the lobby. At least when I was in front of the piano with my teacher, Molly, next to me, I could pretend that Mama and Daddy were sitting somewhere behind me listening to me play.

On Monday, Mama was still unconscious, but the doctor said she was doing much better. Grandma’s shift was shorter that day, so she told us we would be visiting Daddy’s work to make sure everything was alright.

We walked into the office building through the revolving door. Gabe and I got into one section while Grandma was in the one behind us. When it was time for us to jump off, Gabe wouldn’t let me pass and began running to make the doors turn faster. It made me a little dizzy, but when Grandma told us to come out, Gabe and I tumbled out together and laughed. I realized it had been a while since I had seen him smile, and that made me sad again.

The receptionist says hello to Grandma and one of Daddy’s workers brought us towards the elevator and up to his office.

As soon as we step out of the elevator, I can see the inside of Daddy’s office through the room’s glass walls.

We pass through cubicles before reaching Daddy’s assistant’s desk, who looks at us with a smile.

“Mrs. Brooks! It’s nice to see you,” she says to Grandma. She looks down at Gabe and I and goes, “Hey there, kids! How are you two holding up?”

“We’re fine,” Gabe says and I manage a small smile.

“I would like a word with you, Ashley,” Grandma demands.

“Oh,” she exclaims. Though Ashley’s skin is dark, a deep pink appears on her cheeks, which I didn’t expect, and she begins to look around her desk nervously. “Yes, of course. Give me a moment.”

After she collects a few documents and folders, Ashley looks at my brother and I to say, “A co-worker’s birthday was today. There’s cake, donuts, and some juice over there. Why don’t you guys take a look?”

We nod our heads and walk off in the direction that Ashley pointed towards while her and Grandma walk into Daddy’s office.

In the room, people are talking to each other and they don’t notice us when we each grab a donut. Gabe pours himself some juice and asks me if I want any.

“Could you also give me a slice of cake, please?” I request.

“The knife for the cake is already there,” he tells me.

“Mama told me no knives. Remember what happened last Thanksgiving?” I laugh to myself.

“I wish I could forget what happened last Thanksgiving, but this knife is different, Ella, it’s more blunt. Just cut how big you want your slice and pull it out.”

He puts my apple juice on my plate, goes to grab his own plate and walk off, but I whine, “Pleaseeee?”

“Ella, I swear. Look, the pieces are already cut up! You can just grab it with your hands!”

“But....” I give a sad pout.

“Oh, God,” Gabe sighs and uses his fingers to grab a piece and put it on my plate. I look at it distastefully.

There’s frosting on his fingers. He licks it off, thinks for a second, and then grabs another piece to put on his own plate. Grabbing two forks he leads me to a couple chairs against the wall.

We sit down and eat. I finish my cake and my donut, and then ask Gabe to get us seconds while I get more apple juice. The table with all the food on it is near the door, and while I pour my drink I can see Grandma talking to Ashley. Ashley pulls out some papers from the pile she brought in and hands them to Grandma. She then goes into Daddy’s desk and pulls out some more papers. Grandma examines everything with a frown. She turns back towards Ashely and nods. She walks towards the door, but at the last second says something else to Ashley, who looks down at her feet. She replies, and Grandma seems disappointed.

“I wonder what they’re talking about,” I say.

“Grandma looks mad,” Gabe notices. “Do you know why?”

I shrug and go back to our seats.

Once Grandma finishes talking to Ashley, she comes over to us and tells us to eat quickly. Every worker in the room turns to give her a “Good afternoon, Mrs. Brooks,” or a polite nod.

On Tuesday, Grandma calls Molly, my piano teacher, and asks her to come in to give me a lesson. The night before I cried to my grandmother about how I wanted something to go back to normal, so I guess this was her way of giving me that.

When Molly came in, she gave me a long hug, then hugged Grandma and Gabe, too. After she had a short conversation with Grandma, she sat down in a chair next to my stool. Looking through my folder of music sheets, she couldn't decide what to give me.

“I know,” she says at last. “Why don’t you play your dad’s favorite piece? Remember how proud of you he was when you mastered it?”

I nod my head, but there are tears threatening to fall. I had never cried in front of Molly before. I didn’t want her to think that I was a baby who couldn’t get over anything. I wanted her to think that I was the girl who wanted to make her father proud, so I was determined to play it.

My fingers are stiff when I hit the first note. Molly doesn’t say anything. When I bring my right hand to play along, my fingers don’t flow — they just jab at the keys. I can tell my wrists are too stiff. Molly still doesn’t correct me.

Daddy wouldn’t have liked that. He would have wanted you to play better. And you can play better. So why aren’t you? Why can’t you do it for Daddy? Do you want him to be disappointed in you?

I stop playing and my hands hover over the keys. They’re cold and shaking.

“Ella?” Molly tries to get my attention.

My shoulders drop, and my arms fall to my sides. I shake my head, staring down at the keys, at the instrument I loved so much. I don’t cry, but Molly still brings me in for a hug.

Grandma has work again on Wednesday, but I wasn’t looking forward to going back to the ICU. I asked her if I could go with her to the part of the hospital that she was working at and be away from the ICU for a little bit, but Grandma convinces me: “When Mama wakes up, don’t you want to see her right away, instead of later, after Gabriel gets a chance to come and get you?”

Thankfully we didn’t have to go into the waiting room, but whenever a doctor or Cheryl wanted to check in on Mama, they’d ask us to stand on the other side of the curtain for a few moments.

Gabe and I don’t cry as much as we had been the past couple days, and I was proud of us for it. A while after we had been sitting there, Gabe gets out of his seat and sits on the edge of Mama’s bed, putting his head on her stomach. He doesn’t cry — just looks at her. I go to the other side of her bed and hold the palm of her hand. I begin to tell her about how the first half of this week has gone, and how much I miss talking to her and hearing her laugh at the jokes Gabe always said weren’t funny.

He sits up and laces his hand through her fingers. We both sit silently.

I turn my head around in surprise at the sound of the curtain moving. Mama’s doctor holds the curtain open for a tall man who stares at us. His blond hair was messy, like how Gabe’s got sometimes when he’d forget to brush it. He stands there and looks between Mama and us. The doctor motions for him to take a seat, and he walks towards it, but doesn’t sit down.

He’s too quiet. It made me nervous. The area under his eyes were dark, and I knew he hadn’t slept for at least two days. Daddy’s eyes did that sometimes, too.

I didn’t like him staring at us. I wanted to ask him what he was there for, but I try to be nice and say, “Hi. I’m Ella. This is Gabe. Are you here to see our mom?”

Finally he starts moving towards me, but his eyes were locked on Mama, so I move away and stand near Gabe.

He holds her hand. I hear him start crying. He kisses Mama’s knuckles in between his cries.

I’m almost mad. No one kissed Mama except for Daddy. And who was this man anyway? But seeing a grown man cry, waterfalls falling out of his eyes and his face scrunched, I start crying, too.

Gabe tries to comfort me, but my head jolts up when I hear the sheets moving. Mama shook her head around and finally looked at the man. She pulls her hand back and I think, “Ha!”.

He stands up straight and looks a little intimidating. “Hello, Riley,” he says.

Mama frowns at him. She then looks at us, her eyes wide. I want to jump and give her all the hugs and kisses in the world, but she looks so shocked I’m almost scared to move.

“Do I...,” she takes another look around the room. “Do I know you people?”

We all stare at Mama in shock. My heart thunders in my chest.

“Riley...,” the man starts. “It’s me... Liam.”

“Who? I don’t... I don’t know you....”

“Mom, what do you mean?” Gabe asks, he reaches for her hand, but she pulls it back. Gabe’s face falls, defeated.

The curtain moves again, and Grandma walks in. Immediately, I rush to her and cry, “Mama doesn’t remember us, Grandma, Mama doesn’t know us!”

Cheryl was right behind her, and once she hears me, she turns back and calls the doctor in. Grandma pulls me out, calling for Gabe, and the doctor asks the man to step out as well.

We stand at a distance from the curtain for a few moments. I can hear the doctor talking inside, but I don’t know what she’s saying. The man who said he was Liam turns to Grandma and asks in a small voice, “Has her condition improved since the incident?”

“Not significantly,” Grandma responds. “She’s been unconscious ever since the surgery on Sunday. This is the first time she’s woken up.”

Another man, this one with dark hair, walks up to us and goes, “Surgery?”

Grandma looks at him. “Yes. She suffered a head injury.”

“Are you the nurse assigned to her?” Liam questions.

“No,” she answers. “I am her mother.”

“Ah,” Liam holds out his hand. “Liam Rys. A pleasure to meet you.”

Grandma shakes his hand, not breaking eye contact. Liam regards Gabe and I.

“These two are...?”

“My grandchildren. Riley’s children. Eleanor and Gabriel.”

Both men stare at Grandma, their mouths slightly agape. “I see.” Liam clears his throat. He looks down at us and forces a smile. “It’s nice to meet you two.”

The doctor finally comes out from the curtain and says something to a couple of nurses. She then comes to us and says, “We’re going to take her in for another CT scan. See if there’s anything we didn’t notice before.”

“Of course,” Liam goes.

The doctor motions the two men towards the waiting room, and then comes back to us.

“Will you let me know what happens?” Grandma asks. “I have to take these two home.”

“Of course,” the doctor promises.

We leave the hospital, not saying anything to one another.

Once we’re in the elevator of our building, Gabe turns to Grandma and questions her, “Grandma did you know who those men were?”

“I knew the blond one. Liam,” she answers, continuing to stare at the elevator doors. “I could guess who the second one was. Your Mama told me about them some time ago.”

“Why are they here? I’ve never seen them before.”

“Because now they know where your Mama is.”

“They didn’t know before?” I ask.

“No,” Grandma says curtly.

“Why?” Gabe continues. I almost tell him to stop. Grandma looks annoyed, but I want to know why, too.

“Because they didn’t know Mama’s last name was Blaise.”

Gabe scoffs. “What did they think it was?”

“Brooks.” She still doesn��t look at us. My anxiety increases, and I want to almost yell at her to just be direct with us.

“Why did they think she had your last name?” I question.

“Because that’s what Mama’s last name was before she got married.”

“So they didn’t know where she was because...,” Gabe starts, but he doesn’t know what to say next.

“Because her name changed?” I continue for him.

“Yes. And no one knew what your Mama looked like. Your Daddy told people he was married. People only knew his wife’s name, not her face. Now people know her face, so they used her old name.”

“Did Daddy do that on purpose?” I wonder aloud.

“Yes,” Grandma says.

Gabe looks at me, frowning. He’s confused, just as I am. I can see he still wants to ask questions. I want to ask some, too, but the fact that Grandma hadn't looked at us when she spoke made me think she was mad. I didn’t want her to get angrier.

For dinner we have some leftover pasta from the night before. We eat in silence, scared that we would agitate Grandma. But once she finishes her plate, she looks up at us. “I don’t want you both talking to those men, okay?”

“Yes, Grandma,” we say, but I want to ask more questions. I decide against it, and go to sleep confused.

The next day, they finally move Mama into a regular hospital room. There are two more men who came to see Mama. Today was the day that they were going to ask her questions. First the doctors and Grandma asked questions, and they found out that she knew her own name and she knew who Grandma was. Mama also knew the names of every school she had gone to.

Next, they asked us if we wanted to go ask questions. We walked in, but once we looked at Mama, and Mama’s empty, emotionless face looked back at us, Gabe and I couldn’t say anything, so we shook our heads.

They let us sit in the little room with her. Cheryl stayed, too, in the corner of the room. Liam was the next person. He stood at a distance from her this time. He looked like he had done enough crying for everyone in the room. He gently asked her about a bar who’s name I had never heard of, then about the Statue of Liberty, then about some place called Corndania, I think it was. I thought it was the name of a town, and wanted to tell him that she had never been there. Then he asked if she remembered anything about a social season or a tour. I could tell that he had to stop himself from asking her more questions. With every sentence, Mama looked more distressed, and the same distress was mirrored on Liam's face. She looked like she was going to cry, and I thought it was interesting that she didn’t.

Then the other man that was here yesterday walked in after Liam left.

“Do you recognize me?” he asked.

“No,” she stated.

“Name’s Drake.” He lifted his eyebrows.

She nods.

For a couple moments, they just stare at each other. Mama looks like she’s trying to memorize his face. 

He doesn't look like he has much to say. Drake catches his breath and starts again: “Do... do you remember what I said to you, at Applewood Manor, or what happened when the court was there?”

“...Where?”

“You don’t... remember anything about Applewood?”

“No. At least, I don’t think so....”

“Well... then do you remember when you helped me pick an engagement gift for Liam?”

“For who?”

He paused. “Liam.... The guy that was just in here.”

“Oh. No, I don’t. Did you end up with a nice gift?”

“I did, thanks to you.”

“That’s nice.”

“Yeah...,” Drake trails off. He sniffles and wipes at his eyes. “Well, I don’t have anything else to ask you, really. There are two guys who are gonna come in next, Maxwell and Bertrand. After that some detectives are gonna ask some questions.”

“Okay.”

He opens his mouth to say something more, but decides against it and walks out.

While we wait for Maxwell and Bertrand, Gabe asks her a question: “Do you remember us? Or know who we are?”

She examines us for a second. “No.”

“What about our dad? Do you remember him?” Gabe continues.

“What’s your dad’s name?” she asks.

“Theodore. Theodore Blaise.”

“Oh, yeah. I've known him since we were both kids. I think we went to high school together? Maybe it was elementary. It might have been both.”

Gabe and I look at each other. Mama and Daddy had never told us how long they had known one another, so we didn’t know how to react.

Two men walk in, and I assume that they’re Maxwell and Bertrand. The one in the vest notices us, and gapes. “Who are you? What are you doing in here?” The second man turns to look as well.

“We’re Ella and Gabe. That’s our Mama.” I point at my mother.

The men look at each other for so long I imagine they’ve turned into statues. “Baby blossoms?” one of them breathes. The other one scoffs at him.

“Aren’t you here to ask her some questions?” Cheryl asks. I almost forgot she was in the room.

The man in the vest clears his throat. “Yes.”

They walk up to the foot of the bed. The second man goes, “Do you remember us, little blossom?”

Mama shakes her head.

“Duke Bertrand Beaumont of Ramsford,” says the one with the vest. “Does that ring a bell?”

“No,” she answers.

“I’m Maxwell,” the second one continues. “Do you remember our Beaumont Bash? Or our investigation on the Engagement Tour?”

“I... don’t know what that is...,” she states.

The men look at each other hopelessly.

We see people in suits at the door to her room. They knock and come in, and ask the two men to step out. “You too, kiddos,” one of them commands, almost as an afterthought.

Gabe and I follow behind Maxwell and Bertrand. Near the door, Liam and Drake are waiting for them. I look around for Grandma.

“Any luck?” Drake asks.

The two men shake their heads.

“What about you two?” Liam asks us in a gentle voice. We look at each other, wondering if Grandma would be mad if we answered a simple question. “Did you get to ask her anything?”

“We asked her if she knew us,” Gabe starts, turning back towards the man, “but she said no. She remembers our dad, though, but from when she was a kid.”

“Ah,” Liam breathes. “Were you both at the museum when... everything happened?”

I don’t really like him, so I stay quiet. Gabe answers, simply saying, “No.”

“You two didn’t have school today?” Maxwell asks.

“Grandma got us time off.”

“That must be nice.”

Gabe shrugs. “I guess.”

After a few moments, the third man, whose name I assume is Bertrand, asks us, “How old are you two?”

“I just turned ten. Ella’s seven.”

He makes a “humph?” sound, as if he’s confused, and frowns. Grandma calls to us from the other side of the room, talking to another nurse. We wave goodbye.

“Will you both be coming back tomorrow?” Liam asks.

“No. Tomorrow’s our dad’s funeral,” Gabe answers. I grab his arm and try to pull him away. I don’t want Grandma to see us talking to them.

“Maybe we’ll see you guys on Saturday?” Maxwell inquires cheerfully.

“Maybe. I don’t know.” We wave again and walk next to Grandma. Once she sees that we’re at her side, she grabs our hands and leads us out. I wonder if she’s going to reprimand us for talking to those men, but for the rest of the night she talks to us about something that one of her patients did, and doesn’t mention any of the four men or Mama.

- Bastien -

After paying the taxi cab driver, Bastien stands to regard the modern building in front of him. The doorman eyes him, smiling. Bastien gives him a curt nod and the man holds the door open for him. There’s another staff member in similar uniform at the reception desk. “Excuse me, sir?” he calls out to Bastien. “Can I help you?”

“No, thank you,” Bastien doesn’t look at him. “I know where I’m going.”

Theodore Blaise’s funeral should have ended more than five hours ago. He knew that Riley’s children and her mother would be back in their penthouse by now.

He walks into the elevator and presses the number he memorized.

A woman walks in and reaches over Bastien to click her button. When they reach his floor, she watches him silently step out and walk down the short hall way.

Once Bastien gets to the end of said hallway, he knocks on the last door.

When the door doesn’t open, he knocks again.

Eleanor is the one to open it. Her short, curly hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail. She wears a white leotard and pointe shoes. Sweat drips from the corner of her brow, but her breathing is even.

“Hi,” she says.

“Hello,” Bastien looks behind her. “Is your grandmother nearby?”

“Yes.”

“Could you go get her, please?”

“Okay.” She closes the door.

A few moments pass, in which Bastien thinks that the girl left him just to pull on his strings. But the door opens again, this time by Charlotte Brooks.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Brooks. May I come in?”

The woman stares at Bastien for a moment. He can tell she’s contemplating whether to close the door in his face or not.

“Yes,” she allows, stepping aside.

Bastien takes a step in and regards the entryway. To his right he can see a doorway to a kitchen, and to his left are stairs going down.

Mrs. Brooks walks straight ahead, leading him into the living room with wall-length mirrors. Before she reaches the couches, she turns around. “Would you like to sit down?” she asks.

“No, thank you, ma’am.”

“Tea? Coffee?”

“I’m alright.”

“Then what are you here for? To spy on me again?”

“Sorry?” He frowns.

“Don’t you remember? A couple years ago you sent out a team to spy on my house. I saw you come and leave sometimes. It was around when my daughter left your king.”

Bastien holds up a hand. “I apologize for that, but I am here for something else.”

“What more do you want from my family?”

Bastien sighs. “Do you remember seeing Duke Bertrand yesterday? Him and his brother were there to see Lady Riley.”

“Yes, I remember. The one with the sweater vest.”

“Precisely. Your grandchildren spoke to him momentarily yesterday.”

Mrs. Brooks takes a deep breath. “And?”

“This morning the Duke alerted me that he believes Gabriel Blaise is His Majesty’s and Lady Riley’s son.”

She crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Do you have proof?”

“No,” he begins, “which is why I am here. If you have followed Cordonian news after His Majesty broke off his engagement with Countess Madeleine, you’ll know that he has had a lot of pressure to produce an heir to the throne.”

“So?”

“Some of his advisors and his step-mother have tried to convince him for years to marry or to begin attempts for a child who could later rule Cordonia. He continuously refuses, and his close friends know that he hasn't gotten over Lady Riley. Since there has been no chance of them marrying or His Majesty having children, other countries have been quite... unfriendly, you could say, and some have even tried to begin hostile occupations in Cordonia, in an attempt to attack our king and our already weakened monarchy. If Gabriel is his heir, Cordonia would have stability, which is what the country and its people desperately need.”

“Did Liam tell you to come here?”

“No, ma’am. His friends simply helped me piece together the puzzle.”

“Does your king even know you’re here?”

Bastien sighs. “No, ma’am. I wished to speak to you first. I still believe His Majesty is oblivious to the fact that he may be a father, and wanted to make sure that you would be alright with us taking a DNA sample of your grandson.”

“So you asked me before talking to him about it because you wanted to finish the difficult task first?”

“...Yes.”

“Do you really think I would subject my family to the same type of pain that your king made my daughter suffer through? Do you really think I’m going to let my daughter, who was shamed by a foreign country, have her child be put to the same, if not similar, subjection?” Her voice breaks.

“I understand, ma’am—.”

“Do you now?” she interrupts, laughing.

“I am not asking you to do this for Cordonia. I am asking you to do this for a man. Wouldn’t you agree that every father has the right to meet his son?”

Mrs. Brooks takes a moment to absorb Bastien’s words. He can hear music playing from another room.

In a soft voice, quieter than a gentle summer breeze, Mrs. Brooks agrees, saying, “Alright. I’ll be bringing him and his sister to the hospital tomorrow. Tell the king before then.” At the last second she adds, “I’ll bring his birth certificate as well. Hopefully it'll all be enough to prove paternity.”

#theroyalromance #liam x mc #liam x riley #liam rys #kingliam #drakewalker #maxwell beaumont #trr bastien #trr riley #riley brooks #trr fanfic #choices trr #choices fanfiction #theroyalromance fanfic

[licenselesswriter]

The One Who Stayed CH14

He would call himself a liar if he didn't admit that the first week with Maya in London wasn't like a normal one. He takes his daughter to school; she greets Mia and Jayden and walks inside as nothing happened. He greets Mark and they both go for coffee, only for him to run 10 minutes later for being late for work. He would arrive 10 minutes earlier than his shift and rest for a second in his office, until he heard his phone ring, telling him that his 9:30 A.M. patient has arrived. he would attend at least 9 pets before taking his jacket and run back to Lily's school to pick her up. she would run to him and, depending on her mood, she would grab his hand or climb him like she was a tiny koala, he would drive them back home, probably take Jayden with him, if his mother or sister approves of course, and Mia will join them after lunch.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, he naively says.

3 weeks were enough to make him change his opinion. At the moment he arrived back at his house, after dropping Lily at Riley's new apartment, the loneliness attacks him.

He uses his time to clean his house, room by room and manages to clean them to perfection. He went to go shopping and cook his meals for the next 5 days, clean his kitchen and then sits on the sofa with a cup of tea. In 6 minutes, the tea is gone, he looked at his watch and desperation reign.

He grabs his jacket and drives to her mother's place. When he arrived, she hugs him and makes him feel the comfort only a mother can provide.

Due to the low temperature, Mary fastly serves 2 cups of tea and sits in front of her son.

- So? - she asks him.

- So what? - he asks back.

- Why are you here? - she asks him this time.

Lucas just looks at his mother - Wow, a hard crowd - he says and then takes a sip of his tea - Why you assume I'm here because I need something? - he asks.

- Because of the facts dear - she replies and caresses her son's face - Trust me, I'm more than happy to have you here, and I'm proud for not having you here completely drunk - she adds and takes one of the cookies she puts on the table.

Lucas just takes a minute before letting a chuckle escape his mouth - I'm a horrible son - he says, making his mother laugh.

- No, you're not, you're just a busy one - she defends him from himself.

- You give me too much credit - he says avoiding her look - Honestly, I'm here to ask for something, so you're not wrong - he confesses.

- It's about Lily? - she asks.

- No - he replies, but before he could say anything, his mother cuts him.

- Then it's about Maya - she points, surprising him.

- You know what, I'm not even gonna asks - he replies, making his mother laugh again.

Mary takes another sip of her tea - You're feeling stupid for letting her go to the museum thing with "the Uncle"? - she asks.

- I'm feeling stupid right now, but not for that - he answers - I need to deal with loneliness - he points out and take the rest of his tea.

- Hard question - Mary replies, looking at a picture of his family - Remember what happened when your father was transferred to Seattle? - she asks him.

- How could I forget? I had to double my training to lose all the weight I gained during that year - he replies with a laugh - It was insanely delicious but really hard, Maya and Farkle were the ones who most enjoyed that time - he adds, making his mother grabbed his hand.

- Well, that was my way to deal with loneliness - she says - Some people craft, some people knit, in my case, cooking was my answer, now you only need something you like to do, no matter the time - she adds.

Lucas just looks at his mother like she just discovered electricity - Well, it took me 2 years notice that my ex-wife was cheating on me, so, I'm gonna need a few hours to figure this out - he jokes.

- You should shop online - Mary suggests her son - Also, you need therapy, you shouldn't joke about what happened - she adds, taking another cookie from the plate.

A few hours after visiting his mother, Lucas felt his smile grow at the sight of that particular park, it still has the old graffiti certain blonde artist made in her youth. He was still able to remember all the nights he escapes to that park, and how the solitude helps him think.

Now, it only serves him as a reminder about how quiet his life is.

He also remembers that wasn't like that all the time.

He remembers his friend's laughs with him while they explore the city, or how he was amused by the size of the rats in the subway.

His brain even let him remember Riley's laugh and how Maya was clowning with her.

He was able to remember everything, Farkle and his Alter Ego Donnie Barnes, the evolution of Smackle, Zay's first ballet recital here, Maya sneaking into his room to study chemistry and spending every Friday night with Riley at the movies.

But he wasn't able to remember himself, and that makes him nervous.

Thankfully for him, his identity crisis was interrupted by an unknown number with a +44 area code.

- This is Lucas Friar - he answers the call.

- Guess who has a new phone - he heard, and his smile was back in seconds.

- Congrats on a new phone - Lucas replies and gets up from the bench he was sitting on - How's London this week? - he asks.

- Pretty much the same as last week - she answers - But God knows I miss certain pecan pie -she adds.

- Don't worry, you have one of the best Father-Daughter tag teams taking care of those pies - he replies, making her laugh.

After a few seconds of silence, she was able to notice something his mother was able to notice - Are you ok? - she asks him, testing the waters.

- Well, I still have 2 arms and 2 legs, so I can't complain - he answers avoiding giving an honest reply.

- Ok - Maya says with a tone Lucas wasn't able to identify - I'm gonna play it as I believe it - she adds - But you know at some moment you're gonna have to tell me, right? - she says.

Lucas just stays silent for a few more seconds - I miss you - he finally says.

- I know - she replies - I miss you too - she adds - But don't feel too flattered, I miss Lily more - she says in a joke.

- Of course, I know that - he follows her joke - I'm just the hot bonus that came with her - he jokes this time.

- I refuse to answer to that - Maya says refusing to believe the feelings he was making her feel - Speaking of, where is Lily? - she asks.

- Well - he looks at his watch, noticing how late was - I'm hoping she's sleeping by now - he adds before deciding to walk back to his place.

- I have her for weeks in my place, she's in bed - Maya says, remembering how Lily was in bed at 8 because she always was in bed at that time with Lucas reading her a story.

- If we weren't on bad terms with Riley, I totally would go and check on her - he says walking away from the park - Did you know she gets an apartment a few blocks from my house? It's actually nice because in that way I don't have to drive all the way to Cory and Topanga - he comments.

- Interesting that you bring that up - Maya says in a playful tone - Are you trying to make me jealous Mr. Friar? - she asks him.

- Does it show? - he asks back before let a soft laugh escape his mouth - It's your fault actually, I don't like that blonde guy who's with you on all your Instagram pictures - he tries to justify himself.

- You know he's gay, right? - she asks.

Lucas just takes a moment before giving an answer - I would like to retire my statement - he says.

Maya just giggles - Gosh, you're cute - she says.

They both spend a few seconds completely silent.

Lucas was the first to broke it - I've... I've been thinking too much - he finally confesses.

- About? - she asks him, a bit scared of his answer.

- Us - Lucas answers drily.

- Oh - she softly says - Care to share your thoughts? - she asks him, feeling how her heart rate starts to rise.

- Maybe when you come back - Lucas replies - I've been thinking a lot, and it's not something we can chat on the phone - he adds.

Maya felt something sink in her stomach - Should I worry? - she asks.

- Don't know how to answer to that - Lucas replies.

- Oh - she softly says.

They stay silent for a few seconds again.

- Call you next week? - Maya asks him.

- I'll be waiting for it - Lucas answers.

- Bye - she softly says.

Lucas wasn't able to reply to that, she finished the call before he had the chance.

Days went by, and through the weeks he was able to perceive a certain coldness every time they talk on the phone, and that only makes his regret heavier.

What kind of relationship starts hiding the fact that you just divorced?

The answer was easy.

The worst kind.

And of course, it's not only that, it's not like he forgets to tell her.

I plan on telling her once, and only once she came back from London, the sole premise makes him feel stupid.

But then his nightmares came back.

What if, because he tells her that he just divorced, she doesn't take the Tate Modern offer to stay with him?

He knew where that kind of frustration ends.

- Daddy, your hand is sweating - Lily softly says to her father while she dries her hand with her sweatshirt.

Lucas just looks at his daughter - I'm so sorry Lily, your Father is a bit nervous today - he apologizes and dries his hand against his jeans.

- It's because Aunt Maya is coming back today? - she asks him.

- I'm gonna say, Mom, am I right? - he asks back.

- yes, you are - Lily answers laughing.

- This is the best game I've ever invented - Lucas says while Lily make him stop - What? - he asks and Lily slowly climb him like a koala - Awww my tiny Koala is tired - he says pressing Lily cheeks with his fingers - What do you say little Koala, Ice creams and then I drop you with your Mom? - he asks her.

- Can I get cookies too? - she asks him.

- Nope, you already eat donuts this morning, and you know the rules - he denies, only to see his daughter pout - Don't pout, you're gonna get wrinkles - he adds.

Lily fastly stops, making him laugh.

40 minutes later, Riley was outside her building waiting for them, when she saw Lucas' car park she smiled.

Lucas and Lily walk out the car and Lily fastly runs to her mother - Mommy - she screams before hugging her legs.

- Lil' Koala - Riley says and caresses her daughter's hair - Lucas - she greets him.

- Riles - Lucas answers automatically, noticing in the second the disgust when she heard that nickname - Sorry - he apologizes.

- No need - she replies, then she softly gets on her daughter's height - I have a surprise for you - she says and Lily look at her like she was the sun - Grandma finally show me the secret of her Chard-Bread pudding and she gives me an 8 on the Topanga scale - she adds.

- I'm guessing you need someone to confirm that grade - Lily says and gets away from Riley, only to run to Lucas, only for him to pick her - Sorry Dad, but duty calls - she says and puts a kiss on his cheek, before he put her back down, letting her start her run to her mother's apartment.

Once she disappears in the elevator, Riley looks at Lucas again - You know you're more than welcome to stay for dinner - she says.

Lucas just gives her a sad smile - Sorry, have an appointment in a few less than 2 hours - he says looking at his watch.

- Ok - Riley replies with a nostalgic smile - Say Hi to her for me - she adds before walking back inside her building.

For a strange reason, Lucas felt bad for her.

18:34 was the time Lucas get out his car. White cardboard in his hand, with a huge “Shortstack” written on it.

It was finally the time, 3 months ended 2 days ago, and her flight was arriving in less than 30 minutes.

For a strange reason, tachycardia strikes again, but he was happy, so he just blames the excitement for watching her again in front of him for that.

37 minutes later, his heart starts to beat again like when he was 16. She was there, in front of him, so he just jogs a bit to her and hugs her - God I missed you so much - he says.

Maya stays silent for a second - Hey - she softly says hugging him back.

Lucas notices how light she was traveling, but decide to not say anything - I have a surprise for you - he says instead.

She looks at him and smiles - It is a pecan pie? -she asks.

Lucas just looks at her surprised - How in the world did you guess it? - he asks back, only to hear her laugh.

- My nose is the best in town - she replies while Lucas takes her handbag and holds her hand.

Once they get into his car, Maya started to eat the pie.

- Lord knows I've missed you Pecan pie - she says while she takes a bite with the plastic fork Lucas give to her a few seconds ago.

- Wow, that's Love - he says with a smile on his face, making her laugh.

- Do you think Pecan pie loves me too? - Maya asks him.

- How can he not? - Lucas asks back before turning on his car and drives them away from the airport.

Less than an hour later, they both arrive at Maya's apartment.

Maya lays on the floor - My overly expensive apartment, you don't know how much I missed you - she says and then gets up only to lay on the sofa - My sofa remembers me - she says feeling her body fits in the sofa.

- You're like a kid - Lucas says and sits on the floor, next to her - Should I order something to eat? - he asks her.

Maya smiled at him and put a kiss on his lips - You are the best - she says.

Lucas laughs - You really believe that or you're only saying that because I'm feeding you? - he asks her.

- A bit of both - she says and softly caresses his hair.

Lucas just smile, it was like everything was back to normal, she watches TV, he asks for Chinese food, then they eat, they smile, and they had a great time.

He was able to say that everything was going smooth for him until her words bring him back to a reality, he hadn't thought too much since he saw her.

- So, is one of the things you thought during this time a valid reason to hide from me the fact that you divorced on Lily's birthday? - she asks him.

Lucas just froze, take a sip of his Pepsi - Who told you? - he asks back, knowing there was no point in hiding it.

- So, it is true - Maya says and moves her sight from Lucas.

- It is - Lucas confirms - I've been divorced for a bit more than 3 months - he adds.

Maya just stays silent and cover her face with her hands - You know you're an asshole, right? - she says, more like a fact than as a question.

- Please don't judge me - Lucas begs and for the first time avoid to look at her.

He hurt her.

- Why? - she asks.

- Josh told you - he points out - He probably tells you why I hide it from you - he adds.

- Don't put this on him - Maya defends Josh - You're the one hiding things from me - she adds.

- Didn’t he tell you the why? - he asks her.

- I refuse to believe the BS he gave me as an explanation - she replies, feeling her anger grow bit by bit.

Lucas just looks at her in disbelief - Excuse my rudeness, but now I'm surprised, exactly what did he tell you? - he asks this time.

- He told me you hide it because you wanted me to take the job instead of staying here with you - she answers.

Lucas looks at her surprised this time, and if he was honest, a bit angry - And that's BS for you? - he asks - I can't believe it - he adds.

- Was that the reason? - Maya asks him getting up from the sofa - Wow, that's a lot of confidence in me and how stronger my feelings are - she adds in full sarcasm.

- It's not like that - Lucas says, trying to calm himself, and if he's lucky, calm her too - It's not a matter of ego - he adds.

- Well, it doesn't look like that - Maya replies - Just tell me the truth - she says, still refusing to believe that excuse.

Lucas just looks at her like she punched him in the face - I did tell you the truth - he adds and walks to her door.

- Really manly, go on, run from me! run from my questions! - she yells at him from the living room.

Lucas stops with the doorknob in his hand - Goodnight Maya - he says and walks out her apartment.

Maya wasn't surprised when the morning light starts to bright in her living room. "A living room you haven't leave since Lucas walks out of your apartment last night" she reminds herself.

Even when he was furious with him for hiding that from her, she knew that wasn't enough to make her stop loving him, and that infuriates her.

That's why she was completely surprised when she heard her door unlocking, only to see Lucas walk-in, perfect shirt, coffee, doughnuts, and sunglasses.

- What are you doing here? - she asks him, not with the intention to push him away.

- Well, I wanted to calm down a bit, wanted for you to calm down too, and that wasn't gonna happen with us in the same room - he answers before walking to her and sits next to her on the floor - Also, you deserve an explanation - he adds and opens the doughnut box, to take a Boston cream - And last but not least, I love you, and I think that is the most important reason of all the ones I listed before - he says and smiles at her before taking a massive bite of the doughnut.

- I do love you too Lucas - she says and let her head rest on his shoulder before taking a doughnut - I'm sorry - she apologizes.

- For what? I was wrong, I knew I was wrong when I decided to hide it, but if you let me explain why I did it anyway, I think you might understand my point of view - he replies and kisses her forehead.

- Did you get me a caramel macchiato? - she asks him.

- Yes - he replies with a smile on his face - because that's how much I love you - he says, making her blush a bit.

- Liar, you've known my coffee order since high school - she replies.

- Take the hint - Lucas softly says and then sit a bit straighter, making Maya lose her stand - Anyways - he started, trying to avoid what he just confessed - There was a reason for me to hide my divorce from you - he adds.

Maya just looks at him, this time with a serious tone in her eyes - Do I really want to hear this? - she asks him.

- It's nothing bad, it's more like conclusions people do after what happened to me - Lucas answers before putting his hand over Maya's hand - Do you have any regrets, Maya? - he asks her.

Maya takes a few seconds to answer - A few - she says.

- At this moment, I'm pretty sure regret is what break-up my marriage - he says - Not mine, I was happy, I, I - he tried to say but it was still painful to actually let the words escape his chest - Sorry - he apologizes and takes a drink of his coffee - I really believed I had the perfect family - he continues - A wife who loved me, a daughter who loved me, a nice home, my dream job, money to support my family, that was my top of the mountain - he explained before feeling Maya's head rests on his shoulder again - Don't feel bad, it's just a mountain - he adds.

Maya put a soft kiss on his cheek - I'm gonna start calling you Huckleberry The White - she jokes, making him laugh.

- Please don't - he replies - Anyways, I think the regret was what break my marriage because of all the things Riley sacrifice to take care of our daughter - he says and Maya looks at him confused - Riley is a person destined to do great things, greater than what her mother has done, but she had to put that on hold because someone needed to take care of Lily on the first years of my clinic - he explained - I was in the clinic 12 hours every day, usually stay late to check on the supplies and still, after all that, everything seems to go perfect for me, Lily didn't resent me for skipping the first years of her life and I started to make loads of money, and I think that turn the regret into anger - he adds.

- Why you're trying to justify her so badly? - Maya asks him.

- I'm not trying to justify her - Lucas replies - I'm trying to understand her - he adds - It's the only way to move on - he says - That's why I hide my divorce from you - he continues - I was scared that you might decide to not take Josh's offer to stay with me, and I know how important this was for you and your career - he finally explains why he did it.

- I would never do what she did to you - Maya defends her integrity.

- That doesn't take the nightmares of that happening from me - he says and Maya just hold his hand - 1 time almost kill me, first from alcoholism, and second, from all the times I thought about, you know - he says taking a tiny pause - Pull the trigger - he confesses.

Maya didn't want to, but her tears start to flow from her eyes, reacting to his story.

- And when I was at my lowest point, I get it, I understood what I did wrong - Lucas says feeling the knot in his throat - I force Riley to put me as her priority, and that should never be, you should be your number one priority, not an idiot who thinks he can pull anything from his hat, and honestly, I don't want that for you, I can't risk any little chance of you resenting me because you put me as your priority - he says, feeling a bit lighter from confessing the truth.

Neither of them was able to say anything for a few minutes after that.

Maya takes a deep breath and kisses his hand - Do you love me? - she asks him.

- With all my heart - Lucas answers in a second - Do you? - he asks back.

- Since that stupid 10 second relationship - she answers making him and herself laugh.

#GMW #Lucaya #Lucaya Fanfic #Broken Lucas #OoC Riley #Lucas x Maya #The One Who Stayed #I really wanted to wait to post this #But i needed to post it #This episode was brought to you by Bon Jovi's Lost Highway Album

[ambitionsource]

AMBITION Season 1 ♫ “The Phantom of AAA” [ 1.02 ]

CREATED BY Esther (rapunzles) & Maggie (quincywillows)

LIFE’S NO FUN WITHOUT A GOOD SCARE – October brings terror as the techies are forced to skip an important event for the performers. Isadora works on a short film, documenting the supposed ghost haunting AAA. Riley has issues adjusting to the intensity of the school.

44 Minutes (7K words) || No warnings apply.

[ ← First Impressions (Pilot) ] [ S1 Synopsis ] [ Under Pressure → ]

( Follow along with the music on Spotify here! )

INT. RILEY’S BEDROOM - DAY

Another alarm kicks off the episode, being turned off as abruptly as it was in the pilot. RILEY MATTHEWS lays in bed, only her expression is less nervous this time and more determined. Ambitious, if you will. Without hesitation, she throws the covers and leaps out of bed.

As Riley gets ready, dancing and humming around her room, she takes a moment to stop in front of a brand new item hanging on her wall. It’s a dream / moodboard, already decorated with a couple of playbills, ticket stubs, and inspirations (Sara Bareilles, Laura Osnes, etc.) But there’s plenty of room to fill up with new memories.

The dream is out there in front of her. All she has to do is grab it. Shouldering her bag, she gives it a grin before stepping out into the hall.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - DAY

When Riley emerges, she finds CORY MATTHEWS sitting at the table having breakfast. Her mother is nowhere to be found, but SHAWN HUNTER is scarfing down a plate of eggs and bacon in her place. The two of them are discussing Topanga’s absence, but immediately swap topics when Riley joins the conversation.

The two of them question Riley on how she is feeling about school now. Just as she finishes fixing herself a plate and sits down to eat, Shawn receives an email notification on his phone that grabs his attention. He unlocks his phone, evidently taking great effort to read the full email.

An “oh, fuck,” is all he shares before jumping to his feet. Cory and Riley don’t even get the chance to ask what happened, Shawn out the door and heading to school. Riley gives her father a look, trying to suss out what may have just gone down.

Cory: Well, guess I’m calling in sick today.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

It doesn’t take long for us to get answers. ERIC MATTHEWS is pacing in front of an exasperated JACK HUNTER, evidently up in arms about whatever it was that got Shawn so frazzled moments earlier. He wonders if Jack realizes what exactly he’s done, if he realizes he’s made a terrible, terrible mistake.

Jack goes onto to explain what exact calamity might have just occurred – there is an annual student technician conference that happens one specific weekend in October, open to sophomores and up only. It’s one of those beautiful bonding moments that binds a class together, and each class of technicians looks forward to their chance to experience it for the first time. It is a heralded techie tradition, and seem as somewhat of a right of passage.

Only one problem: this year, the event was double-booked with an important recruitment performance at the local middle schools, most notably John Quincy Adams middle school. Considering they need at least a crew of technicians with experience to help run the event, Jack had to make the executive decision to hold one class back to run it. Considering the sophomores are the group with the least credit, it only makes sense to require their attendance and mandate that they skip the conference.

Eric can smell the trouble this will cause from a mile away. He leans forward onto the desk, obviously all business.

Eric: A lot of feelings are going to be hurt if you make this decision. You do realize this, correct?

Jack: Believe it or not, Matthews, this job is not all rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes, you have to make a tough call.

Eric: I’m just saying, don’t say I didn’t warn you. This school is going to be hell this week because of it.

Jack: You say that as if this school isn’t hell every week.

Ooh, sick (semi-self) burn. Off of Eric’s evident frustration as he storms out of the office –

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

That chaos is already beginning to brew, LUCAS FRIAR and ISADORA DE LA CRUZ marching after Shawn down the hallway. They’ve heard the news, and they’re none too happy about it. They’ve been waiting for this conference for a year now. Isadora was planning to submit to the student film festival they do, and had been storyboarding for weeks. What gives?

Lucas: They can’t just do this.

Isadora: This is a right of passage for us. We have put up with all this crap for a year, we’re constantly doing things for the performers –

Lucas: Let alone with any thanks –

Isadora: How can we just not be going?

Lucas: This is bullshit!

Shawn: [ breaking, snapping ] Look, you think I don’t know that?

Shawn breaks his composure, whipping around to face them both. They stop talking to let him speak, but it’s clear from their expressions that they’re not going to stop being angry any time soon. Well, they’re always pissed, but especially now. Shawn tries to reel it back in, not wanting to take out his frustration on them.

Shawn: I’m trying my best. But you know how things are around here. You know which side of the school gets the favor.

Lucas, insistent: What about Dora’s film?

Shawn: [ looking at Isadora, sympathetic ] We can still send it.

But it’s not the same. They all know it’s not the same as being there. Lucas and Isadora exchange a look, evidently pissed, as the opening tones of “Thriller / Heads Will Roll” kick up…

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Thriller / Heads Will Roll” as performed by Glee Cast || Performed by AAA Sophomores

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

The sophomore performers are practicing the basics of their recruitment number, a mash-up of “Thriller / Heads Will Roll” as Glee so eloquently threw together back in the day. The performance will be performed at middle schools across the district as a recruitment tool at the end of that week, so they’re hard at work to make it lively, energetic, and naturally, perfect.

The techies, on the other hand, do not share such a dedication. In fact, given the current circumstances, they’re mostly pissed as hell and don’t feel like doing much of anything correctly or helpfully. So while the number progresses normally through the first half or so, by the time we get into the middle it’s clear that the techies are beginning to disrupt the rehearsal process.

This charge is accented by Lucas completely disrupting the number, jumping in with the spoken part of the mash-up (“Darkness falls across the land / the midnight hour is close at hand…”). As he does so, the techies launch into full-on chaos, doing “important technical things” like moving set pieces, pretending to be accomplishing a very important task, but it really just means running in between the performer’s blocking, messing up choreography, knocking them over with stuff, etc.

MAYA HART desperately tries to get the number back on track (“Off with your head! Off with your head!”), but it’s no use. The techies aren’t done until they decide they are, all of them jumping off the front of the stage and scattering into the audience. The performers attempt to finish the performance, but they’re all turned around and frazzled so it’s a mess of a conclusion.

And now they’re pissed, too. FARKLE MINKUS most of all.

Farkle: I WANT THEM ALL EXPELLED!

Cue title sequence.

Riley is somewhat grateful for the disruption, as it makes her own exhaustion and confusion come off as less out of the ordinary. Maya is pointedly trying to get everybody back on track, because apparently there are higher stakes to this recruitment business than Riley realized.

Maya: Could we please get this back on track? Mr. Jacobs is going to be there Friday night and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of him.

Farkle: [ with a choked gasp ] WHAT?

Riley: I’m sorry, I’m – who?

Zay: Mr. Jacobs. He’s a big wig on the admissions panel for Julliard. It’s never a bad idea to get on his good side and curry some favor as early as possible.

Maya: His daughters attend JQA, and there’s no way in hell I’m throwing away my shot to impress him. [ To the techies. ] So kindly, if all of you could stop ruining everything? Much appreciated. Muah.

Riley still doesn’t really get what the big deal is, but the rest of the coalition is clearly stressed so she decides she may as well be, too. She wanders off as the rest of the performers call for a break, trying to grapple with this news.

INT. AAA - FILM STUDIES CLASS - DAY

A darkened classroom, a film showing on the screen. It’s something older and spooky; Frankenstein or Dracula, maybe. DYLAN ORLANDO is conked out at his desk, drooling a little bit onto his notebook near the back of the classroom. NICK YOGI and DAVE WILLIAMS mess with him without waking him up, sticking markers together and trying to poke his ear.

Isadora is seated behind them, ignoring their antics but not paying attention to the film either. She’s dejectedly flipping through a journal, where she’s been taking notes and jotting down ideas for a film for well over a year. And now it’s a bust.

She flips to one of the earlier pages, where notes about a potential mockumentary surrounding Adams are scribbled. She sighs, glancing back up at the screen just as something monumental or scary happens. The lead actress screams bloody murder, and suddenly Isa’s eye light up with an idea. Slowly, a smile creeps onto her face.

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Lucas is immediately accosted by Isa the moment he crosses paths with her, the latter shoving him out of the way and into a corner of the school. When he questions what the hell is going on, noticing the wild look in Isadora’s eyes, she barely gives him a second to catch up before declaring that she knows exactly what her film is going to be – and they’re getting their revenge.

She should’ve led with “revenge.” Lucas gestures for her to lead the way, the two of them jogging off to gather the rest of the techies.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Angela has dragged Shawn into Jack’s office to complain, fed up with the behavior of the techies and citing this instance with the recruitment rehearsal as the last straw. She remarks that the stunts they pulled were unacceptable, and demands that action be taken against them. Shawn fires back with the fact that they already had to give up something to appease her students, so he doesn’t see how they’re not already being punished. Jack attempts to mediate, but it’s evident that the bad blood between Shawn and Angela is far deeper than the party lines between their halves of the school.

Shawn: Forgive my kids for wanting their one well-deserved break from listening to you all screech every day of the week.

Angela: Your students don’t even do the assignments. They don’t perform –

Shawn: BECAUSE THAT’S NOT WHAT THEY’RE HERE TO DO!

Jack: [ rubbing his temples ] This is my living nightmare.

Jack takes Shawn’s side in this instance, pointing out that no one was harmed in the messing of the rehearsal and that the situation is not ideal for either party. Angela attempts to plead for favor in the sense that if their performance doesn’t go well, it reflects poorly on all of them. But Jack has had enough, because believe it or not there are other things he has to attend to rather than their constant beef. He dismisses them both.

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Shawn and Angela continue their tirade in the hallway, griping at one another and taking a couple more personal shots. We quickly learn that this grudge between them goes back many years, back to their own college days. Yes, Shawn & Angela were once an item, and a serious one at that. But when Angela wanted to pursue her artistic dreams and jet-set off to New York they broke up, and a heartbroken Shawn sort of lost direction and went down a couple of wrong paths. Shawn is stuck in this job on the good will of his half-brother to get a fresh start, and Angela somehow ended up stuck in the same place rather than being the superstar she always swore she would be.

It’s clear that there is lingering bitterness between them because of all of that, but also… maybe, lingering feelings? It’s hard to decide when the line between love and hate is so thin. Angela makes one off-hand, dismissive comment about the way Shawn runs his crew before storming off, leaving him embittered.

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

The techies are taking advantage of the quiet in the auditorium, assembled on the stage. Isadora has the rolling whiteboard and they are jotting down ideas, she and Lucas leading the groupthink and brainstorming ideas. As Isadora explains it, they are going to make her mockumentary about the ghost of Adams.

Dylan: THERE’S A GHOST?

Isadora: No, it’s a mock – could I finish?

There is no ghost, but they’re going to convince the performers that there is – by scaring the ever living shit out of them. And how? By using the technical prowess they’ve crafted over the years that the performers never even notice or appreciate in the first place. But to do that, they need ideas. Hence, the brainstorming session.

Dave raises his hand eagerly, waiting to be called on even though no one else is jumping up to speak. Lucas exchanges a look with Isadora, before pointing and granting him the right speak.

Lucas: What say you, Dave?

Dave: Okay. Okay. [ catching his breath ] Okay. So, here’s an idea. We get a pair of crocodiles –

[ Isadora pinches the bridge of her nose. Lucas’s eyebrows raise, but he doesn’t look opposed to the suggestion. ]

Dave: I know what you’re thinking, but I know a guy. So we get the crocs –

Shawn interrupts the brainstorm, immediately able to tell that something is up. He questions them as he approaches, all of them muttering something incoherent and discordant. Lucas casually steps in front of the whiteboard, shrugging and scratching the back of his neck.

When Shawn turns to Isadora, it’s hard to lie to her favorite teacher. She confesses, explaining their full plan. She prefaces that she knows it’s not necessarily couth, but she’s so sick of getting overwritten by them and all she wanted was to make this film… but Shawn disrupts her nervous ranting by claiming that he understands. No, Shawn doesn’t want to shut down the operation; he supports it full force. Fired up from his dispute with Angela, Shawn is more than ready to help them shake things up – and after all, every student project needs a faculty sponsor.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “This Is Halloween” as performed by The Nightmare Before Christmas Original Cast || Performed by Shawn Hunter & AAA Sophomore Techies

[ Lyrics specific to characters – follow along here! ]

As the song begins we see the techies starting to suggest more ideas with Isadora writing them on the board. As the lyrics begin, we see each person singing working on whatever piece of the pranks they are putting together. What exactly they’re setting up, we’re not sure, but there’s lots of spooktacular elements and fake blood involved…

When we come back to the last verse, the techies have assembled back on the stage. They’re putting together what operates like a staircase with apple boxes and other set pieces, and Jade is decorating Isadora in some items from the costume loft that make her seem more regal.

As we get to the entrance of “Jack” (“Our girl Smack is queen of the pumpkin patch”), Isadora descends from the top of the made up staircase and Lucas runs up to help her down the steps, essentially marching in as the brand new ruler of the auditorium. Then they continue to goof around and congregate together, before descending into ominous laughter. Oh, spooky…

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

The next day. The performers are hard at work rehearsing dance moves again, ZAY BABINEAUX leading the lesson. Riley is doing her best to keep up, but it’s obvious she’s just rustier than everyone else. She bumps into SARAH CARLSON, earning a glare from her.

The rehearsal is somewhat thrown off by the presence of Isadora, who is now filming everything with her camera. She’s weaving throughout the performance, getting things on footage, collecting “B-roll” for her documentary. She is concentrated and hard at work, but the performers have no idea what she’s actually supposed to be filming.

Farkle is the first to vocally object, complaining that she shouldn’t be filming them when they’re not at their most polished. It’s not going to help their performance. Isadora snaps at him not to flatter himself, and explains that the film isn’t about them but the ghost of Adams. She’s attempting to create a documentary about the ghoul and how it continues to haunt campus to this day. When all the performers are like A GHOST??? Isadora is like, oh, you hadn’t heard?

Still, not everybody is convinced.

Farkle: There is no such thing as ghosts. [ Launches into big, long, scientific explanation. ]

As Farkle is ranting, Lucas saunters up behind him and spooks him. He yelps and nearly knocks his teeth out, Lucas ducking out of the way just in time and laughing. It’s not an encouraging laugh. If they thought the ghost was scary…

CHARLIE GARDNER, on the other hand, has a different approach.

Charlie: Farkle is loud, but right. If ghosts were real, my devout Catholic grandmother would still be tucking in my shirts and telling me I’m going to hell for missing mass on Sundays for rehearsals.

Dylan: I’m going to hell too, but that’s not why.

Asher & Dave: [ Laughing and high-fiving behind Dylan. ]

Isadora continues to film as the students divulge in the discourse, more invested and less aloof than they would want you to believe.

Maya: Don’t Christians believe in demons, though?

Charlie: They’re not really the same thing, but –

Yindra: My grandparents used to talk about ghosts all the time and how we had to pray them away.

Maya: See! Ghosts are totally a Christian thing.

Farkle: Ghosts. Aren’t. Anything! They don’t exist!

Yogi: Tell that to the elderly man who lives in my apartment and moves our furniture around when we’re not there.

Charlie: [ concerned ] Are you… are you sure that’s not just some homeless squatter?

Angela brings an end to the chaos, frantically trying to get their rehearsal back on track.

Angela: OKAY, THAT IS ENOUGH. WE HAVE THREE DAYS, PEOPLE.

Shawn: Unless the ghost gets you first.

Angela: Do not encourage this!

INT. AAA - ERIC’S OFFICE - DAY

Riley opts to have lunch with Eric, the two of them chatting about how she’s adjusting. She does admit that she’s surprised by how intense it is, but she skates over how hard it is to keep up and feeling chronically behind. Instead, she gets Eric to talk about the whole techie conference debacle and why there seems to be such a vitriolic divide between the two sides of the school.

Eric attributes some of it to Shawn and Angela and their history, discussing how that certainly encourages and reinforces the negativity. But some of it, he concedes, is simply circumstance. Everyone is coming from their own experience and perspective, and often forget to remember that others may not share that point of view. Naturally, this is going to create clashes…

INT. FOSTER HOME - ISADORA’S ROOM - DAY

As if to speak right to this, Isadora is certainly coming from different circumstances than her peers. We quickly get the sense that she is in a foster home situation, she and Lucas crammed into the room she shares with another girl and attempting to get work done on their schematics for the techie scheme. Other children shrieking and chattering can be heard on the other side of the door, evidently irritating Isadora even though the door is closed.

Disrupting their focus, CATHERINA GONZALEZ (15), Isadora’s roommate, enters. She is cheerful, full of enthusiasm and thirst for life – a sharp contrast from Isa and her grumpy best friend. She rambles on to Isadora about her day and her plans for the rest of the evening, while Isa hums occasionally and mostly ignores her and Lucas watches the exchange silently with amusement. It’s evident that Catherina doesn’t catch onto how disinterested Isadora is at all.

The moment Catherina disappears, Lucas opens his mouth to comment when the foster mother steps in instead, interrupting them once again. This is KAREN VAN HERSCHING (40s), type-A, driven, and devoted mother – but not exactly on the same wavelength as Isadora and doesn’t put in as much effort as she should to meet her at her level. It’s clear from the way she greets Lucas that she is… uncertain about him, which is to say lowkey terrified he’s going to do something like steal her jewelry or vandalize her perfect off-white walls.

After a brief exchange and Karen checking if they need anything like a good hostess, she leaves them alone. Lucas waits to see if any more interruptions are imminent before speaking. He tries to ask Isadora about how this foster family is shaping out, indicating it’s not the first one she has been with but perhaps the one that has lasted the longest.

But Isadora doesn’t want to talk about it. Lucas points out that, hey, at least this woman seems to be putting in a modicum of effort. Isadora ignores the comment, redirecting his attention to the task at hand and making it clear that such topics are not being discussed this afternoon.

INT. MINKUS HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

In sharp contrast to Isadora’s crowded foster home, the Minkus home is lavish, spacious, and more than able to accommodate Farkle and his many siblings. At present, four of them are seated at the dinner table with STUART MINKUS (late 30s) and JENNIFER MINKUS (40s) – Farkle, LILA MINKUS (18), URI MINKUS (12), and EZRA MINKUS (7).

Farkle is smack in the middle of this family with two other older brothers off at college already, and while it’s more than evident that it’s a loving clan there’s just not enough attention to go around most days. Jennifer is distracted with Ezra, and Stuart is attempting to get Uri engaged in conversation about his school day.

During the conversation, Farkle consistently attempts to gain control of the dinner topic, finally just blurting out whether or not they all believe in ghosts. This captures their attention certainly, all of them laughing it off or scoffing. Farkle, please! Why would he even ask such a silly thing…

Farkle: No, yeah, yeah, of course. I know. I know, obviously. I just… yeah. I know.

Ezra: Wait, why are we talking about ghosts? Are they real?

Jennifer: Of course not, dear, Farkle is just being silly. Aren’t you, darling?

Farkle, flatly: Oh, that’s me. I’m as silly as they come.

Somehow, the conversation shifts gears until Farkle is forgotten again. He accidentally knocks over a water glass and makes a mess, causing both the parents to get up and run to get stuff to clean it up. Lila, clearly harboring a somewhat contentious relationship with her closest in age sibling, rolls her eyes disdainfully.

Lila: Why are you such a disease?

Farkle: [ chews pointedly and obnoxiously in her direction ]

Once the dust from his accident has settled, Farkle tentatively mentions the upcoming performance at JQA and asks if his parents and siblings will be able to make it to any of the middle school recruitment performances. Especially given the special guest of Mr. Jacobs… Stuart fondly recalls the business dealings he’s had with Jacobs, but doesn’t confirm or deny his presence at the performance.

When Farkle pushes further, all of them express pity and point out x commitment and y reason that they can’t make it. But they’re sure he’ll do great! Farkle brushes it off, acting as though it doesn’t bother him. But he’s pretty quiet at dinner after that.

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

As the week progresses, a series of odd and unusual “hauntings” begin to happen at the school, prompting discussion amongst the students. A couple of them even mention how a couple videos have been featured on their rogue instagram page, AAA Confessions.

We haven’t seen the terrors hit the performers full force until rehearsal one afternoon, in which CHAI FRESCO (15) is practicing the opening operatic tones of “Think of Me.”

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Think Of Me” as performed by Phantom of the Opera Original Cast || Performed by Chai Fresco (feat. AAA Sophomores) || First 40 seconds

While Chai is rehearsing, a set piece seems to mysteriously fall apart and come crashing down – seconds from where Farkle is pacing and running choreography. Maya pulls him out of the way just in time, obviously stunned by how close it came to falling on top of him.

To be clear, the set piece is just thin wood and probably weighs less than five pounds. It wouldn’t have done much damage to anyone, but the sound it makes as it hits the stage floor startles all of them. The moment is clearly an homage to Phantom, prompting screams and an assemblage of the performers to launch into “HE’S HEREEE, THE PHANTOM OF AAA!” Farkle is like okay can you all shut it?

This isn’t the first happening they’ve experienced that week, however, and people are starting to change their tune. As Angela calls for a break and Shawn instructs Dave and Dylan to go and fix the broken set piece, Maya makes a dash for the dressing room. Riley watches her go, contemplative.

INT. AAA - GIRLS DRESSING ROOM - DAY

Maya is attempting to shake off the nerves from the spook, whispering to herself and taking deep breaths. Riley follows her in, hanging back for a moment before Maya spots her in the mirror. Embarrassed, Maya snaps at her for what she wants.

Riley tries to put her best foot forward, offering a helping hand and claiming she has some techniques she uses to calm down if Maya wants them. There’s a moment where it seems like they may come together, but Maya has been independent for a long time and doesn’t plan to let her walls down any time soon – let alone to a nobody like Riley.

She redirects instead, pointing out how she doesn’t see how Riley could possibly be of any help to her when she can’t even keep up with the rigor of the curriculum. Ouchie! Riley takes the blow, nodding and backing off. The moment she’s gone, Maya lets out a long exhale, hiding her head in her hands.

INT. AAA - BOYS DRESSING ROOM - DAY

The discussion over Farkle’s near “brush with death” continues in the dressing room. Although it seems like Charlie and the others are starting to wonder whether the ghost may be real, Farkle maintains his skepticism almost like an act of defiance. But he’s a bit too crazed over it to be wholly convincing.

Zay has his own doubts, and he expresses as such before gearing up to head out. He’s off to do a little investigating of his own.

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Riley is en route to lunch when Charlie catches up to her, offering to join her for lunch since she’s still trying to figure out her place. We still can’t tell if he’s genuinely a nice person or if he’s trying to get with Riley, but she does humor the conversation long enough to get something further out of the conversation.

The two of them stop in the hallway just by the library, the cafeteria doors down the hall. Charlie stuffs his hands in his pockets and leans against the wall, launching into a lament about how it is a shame that this ghost stuff seems to be cropping up at the same time as the recruitment performances. Riley probes further.

Riley: Why is it such a big deal? [ hesitating, then batting her eyelashes ] You know, if you can tell me.

Charlie: I don’t really think it’s so much a secret as people not wanting to come off too vulnerable. But these kind of showcases, they’re really important to a lot of people in class. You know, everyone is trying to prove they’ve got what it takes.

Riley: Farkle.

Charlie: Farkle, sure, but the rest of them too. Maybe not for the same reasons, but you know what they say. Everybody’s got something to hide. [ Glancing at Riley, looking her over. ] You know what I mean?

Riley, uncertain: Right. Sure.

Charlie rounds out the conversation by pointing out the very true fact that most of the odd happenings have occurred in the auditorium. He just wishes it would cease and desist so they could get some practicing done. If someone could exorcise whatever demon is haunting them, they’d sure be a hero. The wheels in Riley’s head are turning…

When Charlie asks if she’s ready to go eat, Riley pretends to have forgotten something in the auditorium, saying she’ll meet him later. He waves and heads off, Riley ducking back towards the auditorium. If the sophomore class needs a hero, then she’s willing to step up to the plate.

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Riley continues her journey to the auditorium, making sure to duck out of the way and sidestep as people pass her to head towards lunch. She ducks into an open doorway and watches as Isadora passes with Asher, Dylan, and Jeff tailing behind her, confirming that the techies have vacated the auditorium.

Making it to the doorway to the dressing room hall, she ducks into the doors and disappears.

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Poking around the darkened theater, behind the scenes, the auditorium seems much more sinister than it does during class. It’s almost humorous, the way the technical aspects of the room – set pieces, costume loft, prop loft – seem to loom over her and intimidate her as if they’re straight out of hell.

Spooky music accompanies her as she makes her way around, wandering where she shouldn’t and searching for any sort of clue as to what may be causing all of the strange happenings. She continues to hit dead-ends, until she changes her track and heads towards the world beyond the stage: the audience, the aisles, and the technician’s booth looming so far away from them all.

In fact, the technician’s booth seems like a worthy thing to investigate. It’s so mysterious and removed, and if anything would hold answers that would be it. Riley glances over her shoulder, jogging towards the back row of seating and the stairs that lead up to the technician’s booth. She hesitates, hand hovering over the handrail, before taking the plunge.

She takes the steps two at a time, slowing the closer she gets to that hulking black door. It’s unassuming yet insurmountable, and Riley grows more apprehensive the closer she gets. The door handle is right in front of her, waiting… the music quiets as she reaches a hand out… inches away from the other side of their world…

Lucas, from below: HEY!

DUN DUN DUN! Lucas’s shout acts as a jump scare both to us and Riley, causing her to startle and whip around. Lucas is glaring at her from the bottom of the stairs, as unfriendly and unsettling as usual. Talk about truly terrifying.

Lucas: [ tilting his head ] You’re not supposed to be in here.

Riley: Oh, yeah. Yes. Well, I was just… see, I was only…

Riley has no excuses and no probable explanation for her presence. At least, none that Lucas would take or appreciate, she’s sure. As she struggles to find an excuse, Lucas begins making his way up the stairs in her direction. Each step of his big black boots is like an impending sense of danger, and Riley would run if her brain would start working again. But it’s completely shut down, unable to form a coherent thought, plausible excuse, or get her feet moving so she can escape and live to see another day.

Lucas comes to a stop on the step below where she’s standing, allowing them to stand at approximately the same height. Riley trails off with her stammers, pressing her lips together nervously and avoiding his gaze. Lucas simply examines her, getting a good look at her. Riley has to wonder if this is the end for her – he does have a switchblade, after all.

Instead, Lucas waits for her to glance at him and meet his eyes. Then, a simple message:

Lucas: Mind your own business.

Then he leaves her alone, continuing his trek up the stairs and disappearing into the technician’s booth. The door slams, causing Riley to jump again. She takes a moment to catch her breath, closing her eyes and trying not to like, pass out. Then she makes a beeline out of there.

INT. AAA - CLASSROOM - DAY

Zay, on the other hand, is conducting analysis of his own. As he works in math class, he notices Jade and Dave continuously tossing glances in his direction when they think he isn’t looking.

Thoughtful, Zay waits until the rest of the class has left when the bell rings before approaching the two of them. He questions if they’ve also noticed the strange behavior supposedly attributed to the ghost. Jade acts nonchalant, but Dave stumbles a bit which Zay catches onto. Jade excuses them both, but Zay has gotten the lead he needs. Something else is up, and he’s not going to let it drop so easily.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Somebody’s Watching Me” as performed by Rockwell || Performed by Zay Babineaux

As Zay continues his way through the halls and throughout the school day, he takes note of all the moments where the techies are acting weird or seem to be just behind him or in his line of sight. It’s evident to him that they’re behind whatever is going on, he just needs some proof.

He gets his proof as he turns the games on them and starts trailing each of the techies, trying to see if he can catch any of them doing something suspicious.

INT. AAA - COMPUTER LAB - DAY

His search comes to an end as he corners Isadora in the computer lab, working on a cut of her documentary. She dodges his interrogations at first, but the more he pushes the more easy she is to crack. She admits that they’re behind the whole thing, but begs him not to blow the ruse until she can get all the footage she needs.

Zay passes her to take a look at the footage, watching with amusement as Farkle and Maya freak out on camera. He thinks for a moment, before declaring he’s not going to rat her out. On the contrary – he wants in on the joke.  

He may just be the key they need to convince Farkle, considering he would never believe another performer would be in on the ruse. And Zay has known him for two years now, he’s observed enough about Farkle’s psyche to know how to crack him. Forging a temporary truce, Zay and Isadora shake on it.

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Using Zay as their inside man, the techies pull off their final prank on that Friday, the same day that the recruitment performances kick off. They haven’t gotten much rehearsing done all week, and this day is no exception despite how frantically Maya tries to get them all to pull it together.

As the mirage unfolds and they essentially pretend to (convincingly) kill Zay after he is kidnapped by the ghost, Farkle cracks and totally freaks out. The prank falls apart after Zay breaks character, and the techies all burst into laughter now that Isadora has gotten all the footage she needs. The performers realize what has happened and that they’ve been messed with, and they are none too happy.

Maya: What, do you think you all are so smart? You think you’ve done something really great?

Isadora: Well, no, not yet. Still needs to be edited, but –

Maya is pissed, and the rest of the performers share that energy. When Zay tells her to calm down and that it’s not that deep, she retorts that it is, because they’ve wasted an entire week and now they’re going to embarrass themselves in front of a bunch of middle schoolers and people whose opinions actually matter. The techies fire back that they had to give up something already, so perhaps this can even the slate.

It’s clear that the divides that exist between the school are running even deeper than ever. Riley watches it all unfold, not quite feeling a part of any of it. Somehow isolated even in a situation where her placement should be effortless and easy. Maya storms out first, leaving tensions high.

INT. AAA - BLACK BOX THEATER - DAY

Angela and Shawn are at it again, having a sparring match over what unfolded in class that afternoon. They’ve convened in the actual performing classroom, the black box, and it’s more claustrophobic than the halls. As they argue, their words seem to echo off the walls.

Shawn claims that the students just got what was coming to them. Angela scoffs, commenting that Shawn is just as childish as them and as he was the day she left him. This is a deep cut, and Shawn doesn’t have much to say in response. She states that it’s time both of them grew up – that he stops spreading his petty energy and tantrum throwing to the students, and that she stops holding out the foolish hope that he’ll change.

Shawn wants to get another word in, to stand up for himself, but Angela claims she doesn’t have the time. She has a class to lead in a performance that’s going to be tough for all of them, considering his students fucked it all up. Shawn is left behind, seething. He knocks over some papers from the desk, running his hands through his hair.

INT. RILEY’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Riley practices along in her bedroom, dressed for the recruitment performance but with her mind elsewhere. She sits in her bay window and strums her ukulele.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Creep” as performed by Jahzel || Performed by Riley Matthews

Riley sings this stripped down version of “Creep” by herself, demonstrating her talent when its just presented and allowed to simply be. It reflects the frustrations she’s having fitting in with her classmates, and feeling as though she doesn’t quite belong (“What the hell am I doing here / I don’t belong here”).

When she finishes, Cory pokes his head in and asks if she’s ready to go. She hesitates, then nods, dropping her ukulele on the window seat and getting to her feet.

INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT

The performers have assembled, Angela leading the charge. She leads them through warm-ups, before confirming if they have the same sense she does that their number they’ve been half-assing all week just isn’t going to cut it. They all agree, they haven’t practiced it enough.

Angela claims they should go on loose, then, and perform something fun that they all know. That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Doing it because it’s fun and because you love it. When she asks for suggestions, instantly Maya, Farkle, and Zay all shout “TIME WARP,” because it’s the quintessential Halloween theater kid song from a quintessential theater kid movie.

INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT

The techies are all in their positions, begrudgingly so. Lucas and Isadora are hanging out in the booth waiting for the performance to start when Shawn darts in, late again but seemingly on a mission. He pulls the two of them aside, telling them to go to the festival.

Shawn: Did you finish the film?

Isadora: Yes, I submitted it an hour ago. Why?

Shawn: Good. Then you’ll want to get going if you want to get there in time.

Lucas: What?

Shawn: Go. Both of you, get going and go represent triple A. If you leave now before this starts, you can still make it. [ to the others ] Dylan! You can cover the board?

Dylan: Aye, aye, captain!

Lucas and Isadora are totally stunned, questioning if that’s allowed and whether it’ll cause more trouble and a myriad of other questions. Shawn shrugs them all off, getting both of their attention and looking them in the eyes. The words he speaks next are impassioned, coming from his own experience, and also act as a lesson for a good portion of the series.

Shawn: Look, sometimes, you can’t let the man tell you what to do or how to be. If something is important, if it matters, you go out and you do it anyway. Only you can decide who you are and what matters. You stand up for yourself. Do you hear me?

Lucas and Isadora nod, getting the message loud and clear. Shawn gives Lucas a pat on the shoulder before pushing them towards the doors. They peel out just as the opening tones of “Time Warp” fill the auditorium…

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Time Warp” as performed by Glee Cast || Performed by AAA Sophomore Performers

The performers take to the stage, doing a fun, loose, and kooky rendition of the classic Halloween dance number. They all actually look like they’re having fun, and the middle schoolers are clearly having fun too. In the back of the theater, the mysterious Mr. Jacobs watches with an intrigued eye.

Lucas and Isadora sprint into the parking lot, making it to the car Isadora is allowed to use. Lucas hops in the driver’s seat, the two of them backing out of the parking lot and exchanging a grin before heading on the way to the conference.

As it stands, there’s no way this performer / techie divide is going away any time soon. Neither is the tension between individuals. But for now, for a moment, they can share in the one thing that brings them all together and brings them joy – the rush of a successful production.

END OF EPISODE.

#S1 #episodes #102

[tisfan]

All American Road Trip

Chapter One: Get out the Map

A year from now we'll all be gone All our friends will move away And they're going to better places But our friends will be gone away Nothing is as it has been And I miss your face like Hell And I guess it's just as well But I miss your face like Hell

--Rivers and Roads, The Head and The Heart

“I don’t care, Cap,” Stark said. Steve was always “Cap” now, never Steve, never Sleeping Beauty, never anything else. Just Cap. Steve supposed that was fair, since Stark had been relegated back to Stark, or sometimes Mr. Stark when Steve was feeling particularly belligerent, which was most of the time. “Just… just go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Go to Tahiti for all I care. I hear it’s a magical place. It is forty days and forty nights until the official reunion ceremony. And if I have to look at you for another two hours…”

Steve refrained pointing out that Stark didn’t have to look at him, that there was enough space in the compound for everyone, and that Friday kept an eye out enough that if Stark put any effort into it at all, they wouldn’t run into each other randomly in the halls.

Of course, Steve hadn’t been putting in any effort, either. He hadn’t asked about the schedule, never checked to see where Stark was when he entered the kitchen. He couldn’t decide if that was because he wanted things to be back to normal, whatever normal had ever been, or because, like Stark, the wound was still raw and fresh and bleeding, and they were both fucking masochists and kept poking it like damn fools.

Stark was right. They couldn’t work together like this unless there was a world-ending crisis, and Steve would just as much prefer there not be another one of those.

“Right,” he said. Every day, Steve struggled with the same thing. To look Stark in the eyes, or to look away. It didn’t seem like either choice made the situation better, and they’d been snarling at each other worse than feral dogs. “I’ll… take a vacation.”

Stark snorted. “Don’t forget your hat and sunglasses. They make you invisible.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

Steve clenched his fists. There was something about Stark that made him want to chase after the man, grab his forearms and shake him until the man saw sense.

The problem is, you both think you were right. Natasha had said it best. When Steve protested that he was right, she’d sighed and wrinkled her nose at him. Sometimes there is no right and no wrong. There’s just a fucked up real life where everyone loses.

Yeah, you’d know about that, wouldn’t you?

(readmore below the line, mobile users check out the A03 post)

The conversation had gone down hill from there. Like every other conversation Steve had had since the renegade Avengers (as the press was calling them. Steve just thought of them as “the team”) had returned from Wakanda.

The truth of the matter was, Natasha was right. Everything had gone to complete shit. There was the part of Steve that wanted to hit something until it got fixed, and the part of him that blamed Stark. And Ross. And Zemo. And even T’challa.

And a very tiny part of him that he managed to smother from time to time that wondered, quietly, if the house of cards fell because he was stomping around the room.

Steve silenced that voice again.

Vacation…

He’d never actually had one. Before the War, the idea was ludicrous. Vacation was what rich people did. There’d really been no post-war for Steve. He’d gone into the ice, and he’d come back and the world was still at war. They just called it different things now. But the killing hadn’t stopped. The injustice hadn’t stopped. Powerful men decided where and when the poor would die. Built their empires on the backs of slaves that were no longer called slaves. The United States had the highest incarceration rate in the world.

There was always a fight.

Always someplace Steve was needed.

He’d built his life on being needed. Validated by saving lives. The idea that he’d cost people’s lives, that was unbearable. He shoved it aside. Casualties happened in war, and just because it wasn’t the same War didn’t mean it wasn’t war.

We are not soldiers!

“We’re all soldiers, Stark,” Steve muttered to the empty air, unwilling to let Stark have the last word. Ever.

Maybe that had always been the problem.

I come up hard baby, but now I'm cool I didn't make it sugar, playin' by the rules I come up hard baby, but now I'm fine I'm checkin' trouble sugar, movin' down the line

I come up hard baby, but that's okay 'Cause trouble man, don't get in my way I come up hard baby, I've been for real

Gonna keep movin', gonna go to town I come up hard baby, I'm gettin' down There's only three things that for sure

Taxes, death and trouble --Trouble Man, Marvin Gaye

Sam sometimes wished he had extra arms, just so he could face-palm with all of them.

“You wanna do what now?” Sam’s gaze flickered between Steve’s stupid, perfect face, and just over his shoulder, just in case this was some sort of epic candid camera joke and someone was going to jump out and yell surprise.

“I want to go on a road trip,” Steve repeated. He had a copy of Rand McNally rolled up in his hand, tagged with tape flags. “I’ve mapped it all out.”

“Didn’t you get enough bein’ on the road when you were doin’ the bonds circuit?” Sam tried. He really, really did. Because as soon as Steve had knocked on his door with that stupid, hopeful smile, Sam already knew he was going to get roped into whatever stupid shit Captain America had come up with this time.

“I never saw any of it, besides the insides of hotel rooms and auditoriums. Me and a few of the dance girls got out a couple times to sneak a piece of pie or something, but mostly, it was just work. Holding babies that didn’t want to be held and pressing palms and giving speeches that someone else wrote for me,” Steve pointed out. “I’m Captain America and I’ve never really seen America.”

Sam groaned. “Well, now we have to go, reckon .”

“It’ll be fun,” Steve said and frankly, now Sam was staring because he’d never heard Steve say anything about fun. This was the man, when asked what he enjoyed, hadn’t known. The man who’d had nothing to live for and nothing to look forward to wanted to do a -- fuuuuuuck -- forty day tour of the United States. Two hundred and twenty four hours of driving (nine and a half fucking days) and eight hours a night of sleep and the rest of the time seeing landmarks and climbing mountains and…

On the other hand…

“Just you an’ me?”

Steve’s brow creased. “I don’t want to leave Bucky here alone,” he said. Frankly Sam agreed with that decision. Either Barnes would kill Stark, Stark would kill Barnes, or the two of them would end up having building-smashing amounts of sex. Sam wasn’t sure, in the end, that those three things wouldn’t be the same event.

One of these days, Steve was going to actually listen to the stupid coming out of his mouth and the planet was going to spin right off its axis.

“You want to put a recovering amnesiac/mind control victim in a moving vehicle with nothing to do for hours at a time? Are you sure this is a good plan?” Everyone said Barnes was recovered, or, at least, as recovered as he was going to be. He had a good grip, most of the time, on what was currently happening. He hadn’t had a relapse into Asset behavior in months. But he still wasn’t the guy that Steve had known, he was never going to be that guy again, and Sam just wasn’t sure Steve knew that. He said he knew it, but there was a whole world of difference between head and heart.

Sam knew Riley was dead and gone, had seen it with his own eyes. Which didn’t, from time to time, sneak up behind him and clobber him on the head, because he’d see a thing, hear a joke, and he’d fucking turn to share it… with a man who hadn’t been alive for more than a decade.

Barnes hadn’t been “Bucky” for seventy plus years.

And Steve still kept turning.

Sam took a deep breath and blew it out. He had to go. If nothing else, someone was going to have to run damage control.

For Steve. For Barnes. For the United fucking States.

When oblivion Is calling out your name You always take it further Than I ever can

When you play it hard And I try to follow you there It's not about control But I turn back when I see where you go Are you going to age with grace? Are you going to leave a path to trace? --Oblivion, Bastille

“Bucky Barnes,” he said to the man in the mirror, a face he thought he knew most of the time. He wasn’t startled any more when he saw his reflection. “You were born in 1917. Your best friend is Steve Rogers. It is the year 2017. You are still alive because science is a scary motherfucker.”

State what you know.

That’s what the doctors told him. When he couldn’t remember where he was, or why he was there, start with what you know. Say it out loud, make it real.

“You have blood on your hands. That’s not your fault. But it doesn’t change it.” He was pretty sure the doctors didn’t want him dwelling on that. The courts had found him innocent by reason of insanity for those crimes committed by the Winter Soldier. He’d been twisted and changed and reshaped and reborn. He wasn’t to blame.

They didn’t know, they couldn’t possibly comprehend.

State what you know is true.

“I was James Buchanan Barnes. I was the Winter Soldier. I am Bucky.”

He scrubbed at his face with both hands, feeling the rasp of his beard under his fingers. He liked the beard. He’d never been allowed one before. Not in the Army. Not as the Soldier.

He’d trimmed his hair; it was not quite the same foppish, suave, high-wax, good looking cut he’d had when he was in his twenties. But it was his choice, even if he couldn’t let a professional stylist near his head with scissors. He’d eventually asked the Widow to do it. They knew each other, respected each other’s strength.

She’d cut his hair very close the first time, enough that they both could see the extensive scarring from the surgeries he’d had inflicted on him to install the chip that ran his arm, that controlled his memories. That let him survive cryo. They’d never cut it that short again.

His face was both familiar and unfamiliar. A stranger. The person he was becoming, now that he had a person to become.

Maybe.

“Captain Rogers is here to see you,” the bland, lightly-accented computer voice told him from the ceiling.

He nodded. “Let ‘im in. Thank you.” He liked the computer; it was like living one of those dimestore novels he used to like to read.

“Buck?” Steve’s voice, in the living room. The suite was small, but well laid out. Nicely decorated.

He hated it. Hated living there. Every stick of furniture was a gift from Stark. Even if he’d gone out and chosen it himself, just living at the compound was a… death of a thousand cuts. He owed too much to that man. Every second of every day, he was drowning in reminders. The callous kindness was lemon juice on top of it. Torment by negligent niceness.

“Stevie,” he said, wanting to take Steve’s hand and still not really being sure that was allowed. He was okay in his memories of what had happened recently. He had some of the ones from being the Soldier (more than he wanted, really). It was the war, and before the war where he was unclear what was real and what had been dreams. “Wilson.” Because Wilson was just behind Steve. Steve’s new right hand man.

“We were wondering if you’d… want to join us,” Steve said. Hesitant, like Steve often was. If it wasn’t battle, Steve was floundering.

“For?”

Words were still hard. There was an allotment of them, and he’d used quite a few during the therapy.

“Road trip,” Wilson said. He flashed that little gap-toothed smile, but it was accompanied by the shifting eyes and tilt of his head that indicated that he wasn’t -- precisely -- happy. Wilson was complicated.

“Cross-country touring,” Steve clarified. He pulled out a map and spread it out. A red line was drawn on roads all over the United States.

He glanced at the map; his brain pulled up corresponding missions. “Why?”

“I’ve never seen it,” Steve said. Lying.

“And?”

Steve’s mouth twitched, the lower lip trembled, and his eyes got a little wider.

He sighed. He was helpless against Steve’s pouting, puppy dog face. He always had been. “What’s the other reason.” Not a question; he wasn’t going anywhere without getting the full debrief.

“Stark wants me gone. He’s not wrong. We’re not… we’re not healing, we’re just hurting each other.”

Dark jolt of anger up his spine. Stubborn punk. Arrogant ass. They, neither of them, could let the wound heal because they were both in love with the knife. They both thought the blade belonged in the other person. And until they could see that the knife was the winner, no matter what happened, they weren’t going to be able to let it go.

Steve was right, though. Proximity wasn’t helping.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” “Road trip,” he clarified. “Okay. I’m in.”

If you life this fic, consider buying me a kofi

#all caps #steve x sam x bucky #bucky barnes #steve rogers #sam wilson #road trip #road trip music #crack fic #the author has regrets

[wikemheelers]

how would you feel ; riarkle

summary: the four times farkle doesn’t say he loves riley, and the one time he does. author’s note: my computer is being so irritating so i had to post this w my phone so sorry if the formatting is gross!!!!! the formatting on ao3 is fine and the link to my ao3 profile is in my bio.

————-

It’s freshman year and Riley is trying out for cheer, again. Even though she made it last year, she still wasn’t satisfied with her “pity acceptance” and vowed to make it this year (I have to prove myself this time Farkle. We’re in high school now, it’s the big leagues), but for real this time.

The whole gang was going to come and support her again but everyone besides Farkle was preoccupied. Lucas and Zay had football practice, Maya had independent art study with Mr Turner, and Smackle was tutoring Yogi in biology. Farkle also had plans, the robotics club was about to make a huge breakthrough with their most recent endeavor, but when he saw the way her face fell when everyone bailed, he couldn’t do that to her. He knew that if she knew he had somewhere else to be, she would make him go, so he made sure she felt like his number one priority. At least, that’s what he told Smackle when she accused him of having feelings for her (again).

“She’s our friend, Smackle. My best friend actually, and I promised her I would be there for her. Always.”

“I thought I was your best friend, dearest? Match made in heaven?”

“You’re my girlfriend. There’s a difference.”

Smackle pretended his comment didn’t sting, and didn’t question it further.

+

He was gathering his stuff from his locker when she anxiously floated over to him the day of the try outs. She looked adorable in her high ponytail, pom poms in hand. Not that he noticed.

“Farkle, I’m so beyond nervous!” Her words zoomed off her lips as they walked to the gym. “I’ve been working with Zoe all summer, you know that, but what if it’s not enough? These girls have made this their lifestyle and I only started this summer. I want this so bad, my head could burst.”

“Riley,” he paused, stopping them and grabbing her hand, platonically, “You’re going to be great. You have never failed at anything you put your mind to. Don’t freak out, Riles. I’m going to be in those bleachers cheering you on the whole time.” She looked up at him with her big, doe eyes, “Always?”

His heart broke at the sight of her vulnerability so he squeezed her hand, “Always.”

Her try out went great, he knew it would. She danced and laughed and even though she tripped at least seven times, she had more cheer than anyone there. He reminded her of that when they sat outside of the school waiting for their ride as she cried into his shoulder. As she cried, he held her tighter than ever before. Platonically.

The results got posted the next day and Farkle picked Riley up in his dad’s car even earlier than Cory could have taken her so they could wait outside and eat bagels. She wanted to be the first one to see the list, and for Farkle to be the second. When the school finally opened, Riley ran to the bulletin board outside of the gym before Farkle could even make it two feet inside. When he got to the bulletin board, she was standing in front of it, motionless.

“Riles,” he began cautiously.

“I, I made the team,” she whispered as if she didn’t even believe the words coming out of her own mouth.

It took him exactly .2 seconds for him to run to her and sweep her into his arms. She giggled wildly as he lifted her off the ground and twirled her around, embracing her as they celebrated this triumph.

Setting her down but not letting go of her, they looked at each other from a dangerously close perspective. His breath was heavier than he ever wanted it to be when he was around her, and her face was flushed pink with something she could only describe as pure exhilaration. Of course, at the time, she blamed it on the good news.

“Riley,” he paused, I love you,“I’m so proud of you.”

Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked at him in a daze, I love you too “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

That night, he thought about the words he thought in that moment of pure bliss and reminded himself that it was platonic. They had said it a thousand times.

So why could he not say it then?

————-

Freshman year quickly turned into sophomore year and sophomore year brought more challenges than any of them could imagine. After the London Debacle the six had faced at the end of the last school year, Riley and Lucas had decided to stay broken up and a long three months later, Lucas and Maya had decided to put themselves, and everyone else, out of their misery and try dating again. They were now almost four months in things had settled. They were happy. Everyone was happy. Until the night that Smackle became very unhappy.

“Really, Smackle, I can leave. I don’t want to get in the way. I shouldn’t have come anyway.”

Smackle and Farkle were having a fairly innocent make out session in Farkle’s room when Riley barged in with bags full of snacks and all of the back to the future movies in hand. Ever since Maya and Lucas had started dating, Farkle had been there for her to lean on and she naively didn’t notice the effect it had on Farkle and Smackle’s relationship. That is, she didn’t realize it until she saw poor Smackle freaking out on Farkle.

“No, Riley, you’re fine,” Farkle said for the umpteenth time that night. Riley could very clearly see that things were not fine, that she was most certainly was not fine and that she should leave, so why did she believe him? Why did she take her word for it and sit there, knowing it was only making things worse?

Smackle scoffed, “Classic.”

Farkle’s finger were going to town on his temples, trying to soothe his mind in anyway possible, “Isadora, if you have something to say then say it.” He never called her by her full name.

“Fine,” she began, stronger than a bull, “If you want to really hear it then here it goes. Riley is using you, Farkle, and you’re letting it happen because you’re too nice. Ever since Lucas and Maya started dating she has needed someone to be there for her 24/7 and you became that person. But guess what, babe? I need you to be that person because you’re my boyfriend,” she paused and turned to Riley, “You hear that? My boyfriend. I get that things have been hard for you Riley but things get hard for everyone and you’re not the center of the universe. You don’t have dibs being treated right and you definitely don’t have dibs on being treated perfectly by my boyfriend.”

“You don’t get to talk to her like that, Smackle!” Farkle’s hands were balled and his neck was bright red. Riley had only ever seen him like that the time that Maya’s dad showed up drunk to one of her art shows over the summer. He was always the first one to start swinging for his girls but she wasn’t going to let that happen tonight. Smackle was right, she was being selfish.

“Farkle! Enough!” Riley yelled as she stood up and walked in between them, facing Farkle. “She’s right. I mean, for God’s sake it’s a Friday night and I barged in here with no warning just assuming you’d be available. That’s selfish, Farkle. Don’t defend me. Your relationship with Smackle is more important than my bruised ego. I’m going to go now,” she turned to Smackle, “I really am sorry, Smackle. I hope you can forgive me and realize that I never meant to hurt anyone,” she paused for a moment to gather herself, “Right, I’m gonna go now. So sorry. Ok, bye,” and with that, she slipped out the door and slid down against it, letting her head fall into her palms.

What the hell is wrong with you, Matthews? Get it together.

+

She woke up the next morning with a knock on her bay window.

Groggily and even more clumsily than normal, she made her way from her bed to open it up and let whichever one of her friends had decided to disturb her slumber this time. However, when she saw it was Farkle, she instantly sobered up.

“It’s seven am, what are you doing here?” She asked with a yawn.

He scooted in and sat next to her, head in his hands, “Smackle dumped me exactly six hours and forty seven minutes ago. After you left we kept talking and then talking turned to arguing some more and then arguing turned to tears and tears turned to slammed doors. I can’t believe I messed things up with her so bad.”

Riley’s heart broke at the sight of him. Now that she was really paying attention, she noticed that he was wearing the same outfit as yesterday and his hair was sticking up in every direction besides the one it was supposed to be.

She sighed and put her arm around him, resting her head against his crouched frame, “I’m so sorry, Farkley. This is all my fault. Do you want me to talk to her?”

He laughed dryly, “Actually, I feel like you’re the last person she wants to talk to. Well, second to last, actually. I think you’ve finally beaten me at something,” he joked as she playfully shoved him.

The two sat in silence for a little bit, just enjoying the heat of each other’s bodies.

“Are you wearing bunny pajamas?” He asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

“Excuse me for not expecting company at seven am.”

Silence fell upon them again.

Until Farkle was, once again, the one to break it.

“It wasn’t your fault, ya know. I’m the one that kept putting everything before my relationship. Don’t feel bad about it,” his voice was a whisper and she could tell he was incredibly serious and even more so remorseful at how he handled things with Smackle.

She sighed and started fiddling with the loose strings on the friendship bracelet she made him for his birthday last year as a joke. She ignores the fact that he never took it off, “You can say it wasn’t my fault all you want but the way she looked at me just goes to show that it was. She had every right to look at me like that.”

“Riley, you’re talking as if you’re a homewrecker.”

“I might as well be. You two were the best couple I had ever seen and here I come in like a bulldozer, messing everything up.”

He laughed the littlest laugh at that, it was just so absurd for Riley to think that she was anything less than perfect, “If we truly were the best couple, then some weirdo girl in bunny pajamas wouldn’t stand a chance against us.”

This made Riley laugh and bury her head into his shoulder, which felt like a victory.

I love you, “You’re the most important person in my life,” so much, “I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world.”

I love you more, All she did was smile at him and continue fiddling with his friendship bracelet.

————-

New Years Eve was a time of revelations for the group of six. Sophomore year had finally reached the halfway mark and the friends were celebrating with another New Year’s Eve party. However, to avoid the bad luck of the eighth grade party, they had changed locations to Maya’s apartment. Katy and Maya moved in with Shawn into a much nicer place about three blocks away from Riley and it seemed like the perfect location so Zay, Smackle, Farkle, Riley, Maya, and Lucas, along with the rest of the class of 2020, set up shop and got the party going.

Midnight was in exactly three minutes when Farkle found Riley on the roof of the apartment building. It was rare how bright the stars were shining that night.

She was leaning against the railing, head dreamily placed in the palm of her hand.

“Whatcha thinking about?” He asked as he mimicked her stance.

“Just how glad I am that this year is about to be over, and all of the possibilities that next year has to offer. 2018: the year of hope.”

He smiled warmly at her optimism, it had always been one of the many things he had loved about her. But up until recently, he thought it was all strictly platonic. But, when him and Smackle broke up a month and a half go, he began to realize that he had been lying to himself all along. It was never strictly platonic. It was hardly platonic period. Farkle hadn’t just loved Riley since the first grade, he had been in love with her since the first grade and he hadn’t been able to shake the realization since. Especially not with them being alone on this rooftop and her cheeks being as red as the day he first almost told her he loved her. It was all of the almosts that made him realize that it was more than friendly. Because friends don’t need almosts.

After a little bit of silence and a whole minute of the countdown gone, Riley asked, “What are your resolutions this year, Farkle? Now remember, nothing is too big.”

He looked at her and then he looked back up at the night sky. My resolution is to get the girl. “I don’t know. What’s yours?”

Nervousness suddenly washed over her as she looked down at her glove clad hands and then back up at him, “Promise not to laugh?”

“When have I ever laughed at you?”

“Almost everyday!” She joked, causing him to laugh out loud.

“Ok, ok I promise not to laugh. But hurry up, there’s only twenty seconds until midnight.”

Between the time it took for him to finish talking and for her to build the courage to speak, the time had dropped to ten seconds. They could faintly hear the countdown from their party downstairs.

She looked at her hands and whispered quietly, “I want to fall in love.”

Five seconds.

“What?” He couldn’t hear her above the countdown.

Two seconds.

“I want to fall in love!” she screamed giddily to the streets of New York City as the party downstairs and all across the east coast screamed “Happy New Year!”

With the new knowledge of her resolution, he didn’t waste another second.

I love you. He kissed her.

I know. She kissed him back. I love you more.

Riley and Farkle weren’t dating. Unless you call him giving her rides everyday, waiting for her at her locker, and sneaking kisses under the bleachers in between classes dating. Because if that what dating was, then they were definitely doing it, and had been for the entire second half of sophomore year, the whole summer, and the first few months of junior year. But they would go to the grave saying that nothing had changed. They even said so when Farkle showed up to school with a hickey peeking through the collar of his shirt after a long weekend. The same long weekend that Riley had told Maya she was busy the entire time of.

“Hey Farkle, what’s that on your neck?” Zay asked at lunch that fateful Tuesday back at school, trying to feign innocence.

Maya sat down next to Lucas and decided to join in on the phone, “Yeah, Minkus, what is it? Did you ‘fall’ again?”

However, Farkle didn’t back down easily, and he had been playing Maya and Zay’s games for a few years now, he was no Novice. “Actually, it is. In fact, it looks just like the bruises that were all over your neck freshman year right after you and Lucas had made it official. You must have ‘fallen’ a lot too. What a cowinky dink,” he finished as he took a bite into his apple, giving a smug look to Maya who just glared in response.

“Hey guys, what are we talking about?” Riley asked as she sat down, right next to Farkle of course. “Sorry I’m late, I had to stop by my physics class and ask a question. That class is so insanely difficult it’s driving me cra-” she halted as she saw the death stare Maya was giving Farkle, “What’s happening here?”

Without looking up from his casserole, Lucas nonchalantly explained, “Farkle and Maya are slut shaming each other.”

“Are you serious? That’s the third time this week!” Riley sighed annoyingly, hitting Farkle on the arm.

“Hey! It’s not my fault that your girlfriend keeps coming at my bruises. It’s not my fault that I uh, fall down a lot.”

Maya snickered from across the table, making Farkle snap his head back to her direction.

“What’s so funny, Hart?”

She laughed harder and then tried to calm herself down, “Woo, man,” she wiped tears from her eyes, “I just think it’s hilarious how easy it is for you to call Riley my girlfriend when I’m not even the one sleeping with her.”

Suddenly, the whole table turned to a ghost town aside from Maya’s uncontrollable cackling. Riley sunk her arms and Farkle’s ears, neck, and chest turned bright pink.

“Oh my,” Smackle squeaked from next to her boyfriend of three months, Zay.

Lucas wrapped his arm around Maya and looked at the group awkwardly, “Alright honey I think that’s our cue to leave. Bye everyone,” he said as he ushered a still laughing Maya away from the table, grabbing both of their trays in the process.

“Yeah uh, Iz I think we should head out too. You promised me you find that one book in the library, remember?” Zay said, very clearly trying to make a break for it in anyway he could.

“No, I have no memory of this.”

Zay opened his eyes wider, signaling urgency. Finally, Smackle caught on, “Oh yes. That book,” she fake remembered. “Let’s go,” and, with that, they ran off after Maya and Lucas.

It was quiet for a little bit, with Farkle trying to piece together what had just happened and Riley trying to find the courage to come out of the hiding place under her arms.

“Well. At least Maya and I won’t slut shame each other anymore?” He reasoned weakly, as he stared at his unfinished peanut butter and jelly.

Riley groaned.

“Hey, I mean, this isn’t that bad,” he continued, swiveling to face her this time, “I mean, it’s not like we were keeping it a secret or anything. Were we?”

Finally, Riley uncovered her face and looked at him tiredly, “I don’t know Farkle. I mean, we’ve been together but not together for like nine months now and we’ve never even talked about what we are or what we’re doing or where we’re going. What are the rules here?”

Farkle’s mouth was dry. He never brought up the talk because he didn’t want to scare her away. Neither of them had ever been good at relationships and now that he had her in his grasp, he didn’t want to lose it.

“I didn’t realize that there were supposed to be rules,” he trailed off.

Riley scoffed and gathered her things, trying not to let the tears fall in front of him, “Yeah well you also didn’t realize that all I want is to be your girlfriend. And they call you a genius.”

And then, it was just Farkle at the lunch table, and it was his turn to hide and groan.

+

Over the past nine months, Farkle’s bay window visits had grown substantially in frequency, but this time he was nervous. It probably had something to do with the fact that he hated himself for ruining the best thing that had ever happened to him, but he ignored that and tapped on the locked window. She must have known that he would try to stop by.

“Go away, Farkle,” he heard Riley snap, muffled slightly by the glass.

“Please, Riley, can we just talk about this? Unlock the window, please.”

He rested his head against the window in frustration and sighed, You really did it this time, Minkus.

And then suddenly, his head was no longer on the window, but inside of Riley’s room, landing with a thump.

“Sorry,” Riley apologized, completely deadpanned and full of zero remorse.

He climbed in and rubbed his forehead, “It’s fine. I deserved that.”

She had moved back to her bed and was facing the wall in front of her instead of him, clutching a pillow, “Yeah. You did.”

Farkle then noticed that the pillow had mascara stains on it and his heart sank so deeply.

“Riley, I know I handled this whole situation, you and me, the complete wrong way. I just, I don’t know what’s wrong with me sometimes. I just got so caught up in how great things were I forgot or didn’t realize how amazing things could be if we just talked about it. I was selfish. I didn’t want things to get ruined so I strung us both along for almost a year and I’m sorry. I understand if you never want to talk to me again but,” he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, I love you, “But, please just know that I would never want to hurt you.”

Her eyes broke away from the wall and turned to him. She saw how tired he looked and it had only been three and a half hours since they had last spoke. She knew she shouldn’t let him off that easily, but she also knew she wanted nothing more than to have him hold her and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.

“Farkle,” she began as she moved off of her bed and next to him, clutching his hand into hers. The bracelet she had given him had lost almost all of its integrity and color, but it was still seared into his skin. “You’re not selfish. I didn’t speak up either. But being scared isn’t an excuse, for either of us. So, right here, right now, we need honesty. One hundred percent, complete, and total honesty.”

He smiled at her, “I can do that.”

Placing her free hand over their conjoined ones, she whispered, “How do you feel about me? Am I just a nine month long booty call to you?”

He scoffed, “Of course not. Are you serious right now?

She looked incredibly serious.

“Oh my God you are serious. Alright, well. No. You’re not a booty call. You never have been and you never will be. You’re my best friend, and you’re also everything I’ve ever wanted or needed out of a partner, a teammate. Riley, you’re everything to me.”

“But you told Smackle that being a girlfriend and being a best friend are different,” she asked warily.

“With her, they were. Smackle and I never had what we have. We have,” he turned to face her and grabbed both of her hands, “We have history. We have a near life long bond. For us, being best friends and being more isn’t that far of a stretch. Name one thing that is noticeably different from before.”

Riley giggled and traced the bruise on his lower neck, “Well, this is certainly a new development.”

He laughed and grabbed the hand she was using to trace the bruise and brought it to his mouth, kissing it sweetly. “Besides that, nothing has changed. We are still us. Late night movie marathons, bagel runs, and mix cds, everything that we had is still what we have. And what we have is perfect.”

“But what is it that we have? Are we dating, are we friends with benefits? What is happening?”

He looked into her eyes deeper than he ever had before and drop his voice to a more serious tone, “What do you want?”

“I wasn’t lying when I made my resolution this year. I wanted to fall in love.”

The past tense stings, “Oh, well what do you want now.” “I don’t want anything more. I already have you,” she pauses and smiles at him, “My resolution has been fulfilled.”

His heart stops and then starts going again at a mile a minute.

“Wait so does that mean that,” he was trying to stay calm but he couldn’t help the goofy smile breaking across his face.

“Yes. I love you, Farkle Minkus,” the goofy smile mirrored on her face as they giggled ridiculously.

“I love you too. So, so much,” he held his hands and kissed her knuckles again, “Since the first grade.”

She smiled back at him, “I can’t believe it took us ten years to get here, and the whole time we were right under each other’s noses.”

“I know, and now we’re dating,” he said with his smile wide and smug.

Her eyes widened with excitement and she squeezed his hands a little tighter, “We are?”

He laughed excitedly, “If you would do me the honors then yes, I would be honored to be your boyfriend. Beyond honored actually,” he paused, “I can’t think of a word that means more than honored right at this very moment, I’m a little flustered,” Riley laughed at that, “But yeah, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Riley cheered as she wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling him in for an embrace.

They stayed like that for a little while until Farkle started giggling.

“Why are you laughing?” Riley asked as she pulled back to look at him.

“I just think it’s funny that we did everything so out of order. We kissed, had,” his voice dropped to a whisper as a joke, “sex, and said I love you all before we started officially dating. Why are we like this?”

She laughed too, resting her head against his shoulder, “Oh well, I guess. Who cares. We’re together now,” she looked back up at him smiled.

He leaned down and rested his forehead on hers, “I’m never going to get tired of saying ‘I love you’ to you.”

Smiling and leaning in to kiss him, she hummed against his lips, “I’m never going to get tired of hearing it. I mean, it took you long enough.”

“That’s really rude, I’m fragile.”

“Whatever. Shut up and kiss me.”

“I mean, if you insist.”

#claire writes #riarkle fanfiction #fic rec #rffnet

[seriestrash]

Home is Where the Heart is

Prompt: Riley moves to London and Lucas gives her something to remember him by. [✖]

Word Count: 2088

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

“Have you made your decision?” Auggie asks.

“Yes, please don’t try and talk me out of it..” Topanga has a look of emotional pain written all over her face.

“We won't,” Riley says even though her heart is breaking.

“We know better,” Cory adds with a smile. He truly would follow her anywhere. “You’ve always done what’s best for us, so we do this one for you.”

“I want to take the job in London,” Topanga can barely get the words out. Riley feels like her world is falling apart but she tries to keep it together for her mothers sake, she knew this wouldn’t have been an easy decision to make.

“So we move to London,” Cory says in the same soft tone he had spoken in before.

“Together,” Riley nods as she gives her younger brothers hand a squeeze.

Maya was present for Topanga’s announcement and had slept over at Riley’s to cry all night. The brunette tries to compose herself, she had to be strong for Maya, for her mother, for Auggie and for herself.

Riley couldn’t bear four individual conversations having to relive the sad truth over and over; she was leaving. So, the following day at school she plans to tell the rest of her friends in one go. Rip the bandaid off. But this bandaid felt like it was apart of her skin and removing it felt impossible.

Riley asks them all to meet her in the hole at school. They knew Riley’s mother was considering the job offer but none of them truly believed Topanga would take it and especially with the informal place Riley asked to meet they all assumed she was staying. They were wrong.

After Riley finishes her solemn announcement the bell rings for homeroom. They group have to split in opposite directions before they get a real chance to process the news.

Zay walks with Lucas, he is stunned but more so concerned for Lucas and how he’d be taking it all.

“So, how are you taking the news?” Zay asks as they walk.

“I’m fine,” Lucas shrugs one shoulder with a smile.

“How are you fine?” Zay gives him a quizzical look, “You’re like the king of not fine when it comes to Riley Matthews and anything negative.”

“She’s not leaving,” Lucas shakes his head.

“Uh, yes she is,” Zay’s confusion grows, “In two weeks Riley is moving to London.”

“She’s not leaving,” Lucas stops to stress his point.

“Okay?” Zay raises an eyebrow.

“The universe won't let it happen,” Lucas says with a grin and with that he turns on his feet and continues to homeroom.

That’s how it was for the next two weeks for Lucas. Denial. Or in his eyes genuine belief that the universe wants them to be together so it will find a way for that to happen.

Zay has been closely monitoring Lucas’ behaviour since the news broke. He was with Lucas when they came across Topanga putting up the for sale sign in the window of the bakery. Zay looks to his friend with a hand of his shoulder for support but Lucas just smiles and shakes his head, “She’s not leaving.”

A week later when Riley misses their usual study session to pack her room Lucas again has to tell Zay that he’s fine because she’s not leaving.

The following day at school Mr. Matthews announces that he will be teaching his last lesson on Friday due to the move. Lucas lets out a laugh, a reaction he had no control over. Zay gently smack’s Lucas’ back as he sits in the desk behind him. Lucas turns around to glare at him but softens to the same robotic expression he’s had since their first conversation about Riley leaving. Riley turns around to give Lucas a strange look, he just smiles back at her because he knew she wasn’t leaving.

Riley’s last day of school was the Friday, she wears her gym shirt to school and has all her peers sign it so she has a memento of the school and the people she’d be leaving behind. That afternoon there was a farewell party being hosted in the The Matthews families honour and a few hours after that they’d be on a flight to London.

Riley’s last class of the day is history with her father and everyone was starting to get emotional. The final bell rings and Riley tries her hardest not to cry. She spots Lucas leaving class, normally he waits to walk her to the subway. Riley jogs to catch up to him.

“Hey, I thought we should go to the bakery together,” Riley says once he finally stops to talk to her.

“Oh, I wasn’t going to go,” Lucas says casually.

“What?” Riley wears a look of hurt.

“Yeah it’s Friday,” Lucas shrugs, “It’s not like we need to study tonight.”

“We’re not going to study,” Riley frowns, “We’re going for the farewell party.”

“Riley, no,” Lucas says nonchalantly.

“Lucas, you’ve been acting strange ever since I told you about London,” Riley is confused, “You’ve barely spent anytime with me the past two weeks... I know what’s coming for us but I thought you’d at least want to make the most of the time we-”

“Riley, we’re not breaking up,” Lucas looks offended that she’d even imply it.

“We’re not doing long distance,” Riley coaxes her head, “We can’t, it would ruin what we have, I won't do that.”

“We don’t have to do distance,” Lucas takes both her hands in his.

“What are you talking about?” Riley asks.

“You’re not leaving!” Lucas says firmly.

“Yes I am,” Riley frowns, she's not sure what’s happening in this moment.

“No,” Lucas shakes his head.

“Lucas, I’m leaving, I don’t want to but I am.” Riley states firmly, “I’m going to the bakery for the farewell party and I’d really like it if you’d be there to say goodbye.” With that the confused brunette leaves.

At the bakery the group of friends sit around their usual spot, Lucas’ seat is empty. Riley’s upset by his absence.

“I can’t believe he didn’t come,” Riley mumbles her thought aloud and looks around embarrassed once she realises it was heard by all her friends.

“Why isn’t Huckleberry here?” Maya asks getting worked up over it.

“I’ve tried to convince him to come all day but he doesn’t think Riley’s actually going,” Zay sighs, “He thinks that somehow the universe is going to find a way for her to stay.”

“The universe has nothing to do with Riley’s move.” Smackle states bluntly.

“Smackle,” Farkle gently scolds knowing that the universe is something his friends believe in more than science.

“It’s fine, if he doesn’t want to be here that’s fine. I’m fine.” Riley lies.

Cory had been close by as the previous conversation unfolded. Topanga stops her husband just shy of the exit.

“Where are you going?” She asks.

“I think I have a little more teaching left to do,” Cory smiles nudging towards the group of friends, specifically the vacant seat.

Understanding of the situation and always in awe of how caring her husband can be, Topanga grins and watches him leave.

At Lucas’ apartment the Texan is sitting in his room pretending like he wasn’t upset about his ‘kind of’ fight with Riley. There’s a knock on his door, thinking it was his mother he invites the person in.

“Mr. Matthews, Sir.” He sits up straighter on his bed, surprised to see him standing in the doorway.

“Hello, Lucas,” he gives him a sympathetic smile.

“Shouldn’t you be at the farewe- the bakery?” Lucas corrects himself mid sentence.

Cory pulls out the chair at Lucas’ study desk and sits himself in front of the boy on the bed, “So you don’t think she’s leaving, huh?”

Lucas is quiet, “Who told you?”

“No one told me,” Cory says, “I’ve watched you the past two weeks, I could see.”

“How?” Lucas raises a brow.

“I’ve lived it.” Cory states, “When I was sixteen, Topanga moved to Pittsburgh.”

“I’ve heard the story from Riley,” Lucas nods in understanding.

“Shawn had me convinced that Topanga wouldn’t actually leave. He said that we didn’t deserve that. I believed him. I let Topanga leave without properly saying goodbye to her.”

“Sir, wasn’t it only a day or so before Mrs. Matthews came back to you though?” Lucas asks, “It worked out. It’s going to work out with Riley and I.”

“I’m sorry Lucas but London’s a little further away than Pittsburgh,” Cory gives him a sympathetic smile, “I don’t think Riley will be able to come back for a while...”

“So what do I do?” Lucas questions.

“You go and say goodbye, for now,” Cory says, “Or regret not doing it.”

Lucas nods and Cory checks his watch, “And you better hurry.”

With that Cory exits and Lucas quickly fumbles around his room before making his way to the bakery.

Riley spots her father enter the bakery and she gives him a quizzical look about where he’s been. Cory just sends her a small smile and steps out of the doorway where Lucas appears seconds later having finally caught up. Riley’s mouth curls into a small smile and Lucas nudges his head towards the door, asking for a moment alone with her. Riley stands and follows him outside. The two teens sit on the steps together.

“I’m really sorry,” Lucas opens, “I’ve been acting like an idiot, wasting time, I just- I’m sorry.”

“Lucas, it’s fine,” Riley gives him a genuine grin, “You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

“So you’re leaving?” Lucas frowns.

“I’m afraid so,” Riley manages the slightest nod.

“I really thought the universe wouldn’t let that happen,” Lucas stares forward.

“Well, I believe in the universe too.” Riley smiles positively, resting her hand on Lucas’ knee, “And I don’t know if it’s responsible for our feelings or not but because of them I’m confident that you and I are more than today. It’s going to take a lot more than 3459 miles to get rid of me.” Riley lets out a giggle.

Lucas smiles at her statement. “I have something for you.”

“You do?” Riley coaxes her head.

“Just a little something to remember me by,” Lucas fiddles in the front pocket of his jeans, wiggling funny in his seat as he retrieves it.

“You know I’d never forget you.” Riley states with a smile.

Lucas looks up with a grin of his own, “Same, but I still want you to have it.” He places the small bag in her hands and realisation washes over Riley’s face.

“Your sack of gold? Lucas, I can’t take this, it’s too important to you!” Riley shakes her head in a panic.

“You’re important to me.” Lucas says cupping her hand and the bag between both his. “Besides, one day you can come home and give it back to me.”

“What if it’s not home anymore?” Riley asks panicked for a different reason now. She’s really missed Lucas these past two weeks, she hadn’t fully got to talk about it with him and talking about things with him always made her feel better.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from my move from Texas, it’s that home isn’t always a place, it’s with people that care about you, wherever that may be.”

Just like that she’s okay with the move. Lucas always knew the right thing to say, he had just as much power to calm her as she did him.

“Then I know in my heart that we will always have a home with each other.” Riley says holding his gaze.

“I’m going to miss you, Riley Matthews.” Lucas says.

“And I you, Lucas Friar.” Riley nods with a warm smile.

In that moment the rest of the Matthews and their friends pile out of the bakery. “Time to go,” Cory says in a considerate way, knowing first hand how difficult this can be.

After exchanging hugs with everyone Riley and her family disappear up the stairs and one by one everyone else leaves too. Lucas is left on the steps with Zay, they sit down together.

“She really left..” Lucas stares forward.

“I know,” Zay pats his friends back, “I’m sorry, man.”

“I’m not,” Lucas manages to pull his face into a smile, “She may be gone but it’s not over yet. I still believe the universe will bring us together.”

“Me too,” Zay grins. “Because you deserve that kind of happiness.”

End Note: I couldn’t think of anything else for him to give her so I hope the sack of gold was enough. Considering I did a lengthy goodbye chapter in my latest multi-chapter fic based on Riley moving I wanted to do something a little different for this one. Also, if you didn’t notice I tried to lightly parallel A long walk from Pittsburg with Lucas/Zay and Cory/Shawn. :)!!!!!!

#one shot #rucas #rucas au #rucas fic #rucas fanfic #rucas imagine

[junker-town]

7 can’t-miss sports events this weekend

You want playoffs? We’ve got playoffs. We’ve also got the NFL draft.

Hoo, boy, sports fans. I don’t know about you, but I’m sports exhausted. This week was a doozy! We had playoff basketball, regular baseball, the NFL draft, and the lead-up to the NFL draft (which is, in and of itself, a sport). And now, over the next few days, we have more playoff basketball, NFL draft, playoff hockey, baseball [*takes deep breath*] but at least we have the weekend to do it!

Speaking of the NFL draft, we had a huge party here at SB Nation during the first round. There was football insight, jokes (we played a game called, “is this establishment in Tampa Bay a strip club or an art gallery based on name alone?”), and all your favorite SB Nation personalities. You can check out the madness here, because, unfortunately for all of us, nothing on the internet ever goes away.

And now, your weekend guide to #sports.

WHAT TO WATCH

PLAYOFF BASKETBALL

There will be playoffs! There are no games Saturday, but there are definitely two games Sunday afternoon. We just don't know what they’ll be until we know the results of the Game 6s (Celtics-Bulls, Clippers-Jazz, Wizards-Hawks) on Friday night. We’ll either be watching Game 1s or Game 7s, so teams will be going on first dates or breaking up. Both can be disastrous.

Sunday’s possibilities:

If the Clippers win Friday: Jazz vs. Clippers, Game 7, at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC

If the Jazz win Friday: Jazz vs. Warriors, Game 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET, channel TBD

If the Celtics and Wizards win Friday: Wizards vs. Celtics, Game 1, (probably at 1 p.m. ET), channel TBD

If the Celtics win and Wizards lose Friday, Hawks vs. Wizards, Game 7 (probably at 1 p.m. ET), channel TBD

If the Celtics lose and Wizards win Friday, Bulls vs. Celtics, Game 7 (probably at 1 p.m. ET), channel TBD

WE GOT PLAYOFF HOCKEY FOR YA!

Capitals vs. Penguins, Game 2, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on NBC

Rangers vs. Senators, Game 2, Saturday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC

Blues vs. Predators, Game 3, Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC

Ducks vs. Oilers, Game 3, Sunday, 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NFL!

Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

It’s too bad there’s no NFL stuff to talk abou— SIKE! THE NFL DRAFT IS HAPPENING! We made it through the first round Thursday, and had that big ol’ party here at SB Nation. You should stay tuned to our NFL desk for updated coverage about which guys your teams are scooping up in the later rounds of the draft.

SOCCER!

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Arsenal -- Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN

“Arsenal has been better than their North London rivals for most of history,” says SB Nation soccer editor Kevin McCauley. “So much so that Arsenal fans have a name for the day their finish ahead of Tottenham in the standings is confirmed. But Tottenham has been the better team this season, and they can ensure that "St. Totteringham's Day" won't take place this year if they win. If that happens, it'll be the first time the Spurs have pulled it off since 1995.”

GOLF! The Zurich Classic, to be exact

Friday, Golf Channel, 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET

Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET, Golf Channel, then 3-6 p.m. ET on CBS

This event is pretty cool, because it’s the first two-man event on the PGA Tour since the early 1980s. There’s a strong field in New Orleans this year. Rickie Fowler and Jason Day are a team, and Jordan Spieth is playing with a friend from Texas, Ryan Palmer. They play alternate shot on Thursday and Saturday, and best ball on Friday and Sunday.

WEIRD STUFF

European Badminton Individuals Championships 2017, Saturday, 6 a.m. ET, ESPN 3

Badminton is the best sport.

WHAT TO READ

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

ON SB NATION

Steven “The God” Godfrey on why we’ll never know who hacked Laremy Tunsil.

Zito on the end of Russell Westbrook’s incredible season.

Me on what sports are (don’t ask).

Mike Prada on Draymond Green’s brilliant defense.

Paul Flannery on how the Bulls-Celtics series makes no sense.

Grant Brisbee on how the Marlins finally have a chance to be a normal team, and on throwing at Manny Machado’s dang head.

Geoff Schwartz on how to pick an offensive lineman in the NFL draft.

Dan Kadar graded every draft pick.

OFF SB NATION

Clay Skipper put together an oral history of Mr. Irrelevants, the last guys picked at the draft, for GQ.

Wright Thompson on how Pat Riley can’t quit the NBA.

Robert Mays on T.J. Watt, J.J.’s younger brother, for The Ringer.

Megan Birch-McMichael on Ashley Eisenmenger, a legally blind triathlete.

Dion Waiters on Dion Waiters.

Dan Wetzel on why Mitchell Trubitsky would welcome the worst job in the NFL (quarterback for the Browns, sorry Cleveland).

WHAT TO DO

Depends on what you’re into. Go to the movies, movies are fun! Maybe read a book. You could see friends. Hang out with your family. Shoot some hoops in the driveway.

The weekend is your oyster, sports fans.

[rojpoj-diary]

Blog Entry #14

4/12/17

Yo, today wasn’t eventful, since I pulled $20 from the bank last night I was thinking of going to Mr. Riley as lunch today and making a donation because I was not able to go to the Project Humanity’s little event at the Habit. It turned out that he didn’t know how that would work, but suggested that I join the club since there meeting was today. And the reason that I came over that particular day because the Anti-Bullying Club’s meeting was canceled because Justin, our head guy, had to turn in some stuff and take a test or something late minute. WTF! He is so disorganized, if you are going to have stuff like that happen you should know what fucking day you are going to do it on. I am really anal about being organized and when I see disorder it really bothers me. The club doesn’t have have a messaging system like the other clubs do unfortunately, because they are lazy and I would but I have no idea how to do it, plus I am not in a leading position. Anyway I walk up to Izzy, Robert, Biane and the others to listen on their club plans. And when everyone is dismissed I confront her about the money. She said that I should just join the club because they could use help, they don’t have meeting every week anyway. Also apparently she said that the money would have been useless in a sense because the money from the restaurant goes to a school lockbox and Izzy didn’t think they’d let her just put my $20 in there. She said that i was basically trying to throw money at the club instead of helping and I do confess I was rather reluctant to join as I already had the Anti-Bullying Club on Wednesdays-before she told me about the clubs flexible schedule. but I was not throwing money, I we got into an argument about the money but it was comical, and Lauren came in and we wanted her thoughts but she said that her was in a biased position, Izzy said it was against me and I half thought it was too, dang low self esteem lol. Anyway so now I’m in another club and I got on their Remind. So then I go to the cafeteria because I am starving, I am always starving at school, you get me, and they have barely anything left, so I get a sandwich. But I couldn’t eat it because I had 5th period soon, then I would have to use all of passing period to get from room 66 to room T-13 and they are on opposite ends of the school and the construction for the two new building at VHS is right in the middle of my normal route so I’ve had to go around. Anyway after school I finished some math that was just killing me, then went to Mr. Riley’s to go say hi, coincidentally Sophia was visiting, in hindsight I should have given her a hug but it did not cross my mind. She said she wanted to visit the class but she works in the morning, and she was going to visit Friday but there is no school this Friday which got her comically upset lol. She is such a hoot. So anyways after she leaves I grab my now unwrapped sandwich and start eating, I walk around school and find Maddie waiting for a ride near the office out front. We basically just talk about lazy siblings, the fact she lives in Fairfield instead of Vacaville because the housing offers don’t last long enough for them to get a good look at them and makeup. She is really fun to talk to. Also luckily for me my mother came to pick me up. The rest of the day was mild. Well anyway it’s getting late so, see ya!

[yuniesan]

Girl Meets Season 4 - Episode 25

Girl Meets Season 4 - The Continuing Saga of Riley and her friends as they tackle their Sophomore year in High School. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. What will their sophomore year be like? Read and find out.

Episodes [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

A/N #1: Here it is Part 1 of the 2-Part Finale

25. Girl Meets Hospital

A/N #2: Although rare, there are injuries that could incapacitate a baseball player.

This chapter also comes with a warning, this chapter contains material that could be sensitive to some readers, it concerns cutting, bullying, as well as thoughts of suicide.

 The beginning of the baseball season had come, and Lucas was up at bat, Riley was cheering with the cheerleaders, Zay was on third base, Farkle was calculating the probability of Lucas getting a home run while Smackle asked questions about the game. Maya ignored them all paying more attention to Josh who was watching the game while she told him something in his ear.

The pitcher threw the ball at his face with full force, and before Lucas could duck the ball hit him and knocked him out cold. Riley ran up to him to check on him but he was unconscious, but she kept calling his name while squeezing his hand. She watched as the paramedic took him away, rushing to go with him on the ambulance. Their friends not far behind as Josh drove them all to the hospital while Zay called Lucas’ parents telling them what had happened.

Riley cried in the waiting room, because the doctors said only family at the moment, everyone else couldn’t figure out what happened. Except Zay said to the coach that the pitcher had done it on purpose, the ball had clocked in at over eighty miles per hour straight to Lucas’ face. They ran test on Lucas all afternoon, as his parents showed up, as Riley’s parents came with food for everyone, as Zay’s mom sat next to them telling them everything will be alright. Riley just kept on crying.

  When Lucas woke up he was in his bed at home, but something felt different, his memories didn’t match what he saw. There was no picture of Riley and him at Coney Island from the summer before, it usually sat on his nightstand, there was nothing from his time at John Quincy, his trophies were labeled for a different school. There were no traces of his regular life and it seemed like he had been put in a different world. Farkle would tell him that alternate universes didn’t exist and that he should go back to sleep. When he reached for his phone, the model was different but the password was the same, Riley’s birthday, when he unlocked it all of the pictures were different. He was in a football uniform and not a baseball one, he was wearing a uniform for Thomas Jefferson High, Abigail Adams’ rival school.

“What’s happening?” he wondered pulling up his texts and seeing a multitude of girls asking for dates, but no messages from his friends.

“Lucas are you awake?” his father called. “I know you took a hit yesterday at the game but you can’t stay in bed all day.”

His door opened and his father walked in, for some reason he looked different, normally his father would have a hard edge to his voice from when he had been expelled, Riley had softened him a bit and they had gotten into a normal relationship. But the man in front of him looked like a completely different person.

“Ah you’re awake,” he said before sitting at the edge of the bed. “You should get ready for school.”

Lucas only nodded, he didn’t know what to say, something felt off and he couldn’t place his finger on the problem. It was Friday, or at least that’s what his phone said, which means they had a game the night before. He got up and went through the motions of getting ready, he said good morning to his mother only to see a middle schooler with her. He had a sister, and he didn’t know it, the girl had the same eyes as his but where his hair was more mixed brown and blonde, this girl’s hair was pure blonde.

“What’s up bro?” she said looking at him like he was staring too long.

Instead of saying anything he grabbed a banana to make his mother think like he was trying, grabbed his backpack and rushed out the door. His school ID was for Thomas Jefferson, but he went to the one place he had always went to in the morning to grab a muffin, but Topanga’s wasn’t there. Instead he was faced with a fast food restaurant that wasn’t open yet, so he walked on toward Abigail Adams hoping to find Riley, or Maya, or Farkle, hell Smackle would do but as he stood there watching the students all he saw were unfamiliar faces.

He had almost missed her, he wouldn’t have noticed if not for the fact that her hair still looked the same, and her face was a beautiful as ever, but she was alone, no Maya, no Farkle, she was dressed in black and had more make-up on than he had ever seen. Someone knocked into her and she lashed out at the person, a boy stood not too far from her, he looked just like her but taller, his head as curly as Mr. Matthews but lighter than Auggie’s. He was yelling at her for being rude but Riley only pushed him away and walked into the school.

He walked off towards where Thomas Jefferson was completely shocked, not knowing what he should do. Once inside, people joked with him as he went to his classes, he was popular at this school because he was the star quarterback and team captain. He was asked out by several girls but turned them all down and just kept going through the motions of his day. His teammates invited him to a party on Saturday, and he said yes only to get them to shut up. Everyone just thought he was in one of his moods, but they still pestered him throughout the day.

When school was over he was glad, he couldn’t stand the way everyone had treated him like he was everything in the world. He missed Zay cracking jokes, Smackle flirting with him only to make Farkle jealous, Maya pushing his buttons, and most of all he missed his sunshine, he missed Riley, his Riley and not the cussing dark girl he had seen. He had checked his phone several times, but Zay’s number wasn’t there, and when he had called Zay’s New York number a woman answered, and Zay’s Texas number was disconnected.

Wandering around he found himself in the library where he had told Riley that he wanted to be a veterinarian. He sat there hoping that the whole day was some elaborate scheme but it hadn’t been and now he was in a life he didn’t know anything about. He looked around the room and noticed that in a far off corner was a familiar orange turtleneck and a head of blonde hair.

“Farkle,” he said out loud, the librarian shushed him while Farkle looked at him like he had grown a third head. Lucas walked over as fast as he could sitting next to the genius, who was wearing an Einstein Academy uniform instead of his now signature boy band look.

“Do I know you?” Farkle asked looking at Lucas who was now sitting so close.

“Lucas Friar,” he said hoping to have some form of normalcy instead the genius started to pack up.

“You’re that football player aren’t you,” he said as he stowed away the last of his things. “We definitely don’t know one another.”

Lucas was trying to figure out how to gain his best friend’s attention when he just started talking without thinking. “Have you ever woken up and thought that everything was wrong, like nothing makes sense?”

“No,” he said as he tried to get up but Lucas pulled him back down.

“Listen to me for a minute please,” Lucas said his eyes pleading with him. “I woke up this morning and everything was wrong, you, Maya, Zay, Smackle, Cassie, and my Riley weren’t in my life, I don’t know what to do.”

“Lucas, I don’t know you,” he said looking at him confused.

“I just want to know what happened, all I remember was being at a baseball game, Riley was cheering me on, and you were calculating the probabilities of a homerun with Smackle… I got hit in the face with a baseball and the next thing I knew I was in the wrong place, even though it’s the same place. Everything I knew never existed.”

Farkle looked at him like he had grown a third head before shaking his head and standing up. “Come on lets go to my house to talk, the librarian is giving us a dirty look.”

Lucas followed feeling like his world was crashing down around him, when they reached Farkle’s almost everything was the same, except Maya’s bedroom wasn’t there.

“The train will be here in a minute,” Lucas said and Farkle looked at him.

“How do you know that?”

“I used to hang out here, with you and the girls, Zay would be playing that zombie game with Riley, with you and Smackle would do some weird experiment over there, I would play golf, while Maya drew something.”

“You really aren’t from here,” Farkle said looking around. “No one has ever been in this room, hell no one really remembers Maya, she moved away in the seventh grade.”

“They were your wives then,” Lucas sighed as he dropped down onto the couch. The train zoomed by only stopping for a moment to as the conductor asked Farkle a question before moving on. “Where is my normal life?”

“I don’t know,’ Farkle said as he sat down across from him. “I do know that a lot of things changed in seventh grade.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“Well, Riley started acting more and more like Maya in the seventh grade, then Maya and her mother moved to Arkansas to be closer to their family. Her mother gave up on acting because she realized it was causing her to miss her daughter growing up.”

“So she didn’t remarry?”

“Who Maya’s mom?”

“Yeah, where I’m from she married Shawn Hunter, and he adopted Maya.”

“No, actually she was a widow, her husband had died when Maya was little, and she decided that she needed to try and live her dream because life was too short. Except in the end it was causing Maya to act out because she never grieved for her father.”

“What about Riley? She was with this guy earlier, but he looked like her so I’m guess that either Auggie was born first or something.”

“No, that’s her brother Elliot, he’s two years older than her, he’s a senior at Abigail Adams, he’s their star everything, top student, athlete, debate club, student body president. Riley’s the middle child but her brothers kind of over shadowed her over the years, so she became like Maya and when Maya left she became worse. We all stopped being friends around the same time and I transferred to Einstein Academy. I haven’t talked to them since.”

Lucas couldn’t believe it, “This is too much for me.”

“I know, it’s weird, there’s no scientific explanation for any of this, but if what you say is true then there’s a world out there where Riley is a different person.”

“We all are,” he said frowning. “I have a sister that I don’t know, and the kids at school worship me, but for some reason I feel like some of them are on edge around me.”

“Well you’re kind of a bully,” Farkle said. “I know some kids who go to school with you and well they’re all afraid of you.”

“But that’s not me? I guess without Riley I’m not the best person am I?”

“Can you tell me? You know about your life?”

Lucas nodded and slowly told him about his life, the real life he lead where he went to the same school as all of them. Riley falling on his lap the first day of seventh grade, Farkle’s transformation in eighth grade, Maya’s constant name calling, even how Zay came to New York, and how Smackle joined them in high school. “You’re dating her you know, Smackle.”

“But we wouldn’t match, the probability of us being together is…”

“Farkle stop and think, you and Smackle were made for each other, you always said that like forces repel but the two of you aren’t alike at all, you just need to open your eyes to that.”

They talked for a while longer, Lucas sent a message to his mother that he was going to stay with a friend. He wanted a chance to figure it all out and Farkle was the best person to help him. The two of them looked over websites, social media, anything to try and jog his memory, but nothing worked. Lucas was stuck there and he didn’t know how to get back to where his life was as close to perfect as he could have asked for.

“Maybe you need to fix somethings for Lucas here?” Farkle suggested later that night.

“What like he needs to stop being a complete douche, and date Riley?”

“Riley might be the one thing that would bring this all together, maybe you’re here to fix what went wrong. Which means you need to learn as much as you can about the part of you that lives here.”

“But how?”

“Well what did you learn from going to school?”

“Everyone liked me, except the people who weren’t popular, all the girls asked me out, but according to my teammates I don’t like any of them so it gave me this rep as a bad boy who thinks no one is good enough for him.”

“Okay, so why wouldn’t the most popular guy in school date just anyone? Look through your phone, not the messages but the pictures. There’s something there.”

Lucas pulled out his phone and started going through the pictures like Farkle said, there were pictures with his teammates, and some girls, pictures from parties, and a folder labeled Her he opened it and saw nothing but pictures of Riley, all dating back to that day on the subway when she fell on his lap, but from the looks of the photos she had never turned around and saw him. He had ended up at a different school instead of John Quincy, but there were still pictures and pictures of Riley. From parties, to games where their schools played against one another, she was there but she didn’t look the same. As the pictures went on she wore darker clothes, and people weren’t around her. Even in this world Riley was his everything even if she didn’t know it.

“Wow, talk about stalker,” Farkle said. “I guess the best thing to do is show up at that party tomorrow, because most likely she’s going to be there.”

“She really is the center of my whole word,” he said, thinking of how she made him a better person, but without Maya, or Farkle, or even him Riley wasn’t the same person.

The two of them went to sleep soon after, and when Lucas woke up the next day and was still in Farkle’s room he knew that nothing had changed. He wasn’t home, he wasn’t in his New York, but if Farkle was right, Riley was the answer to everything. The two of them worked on a plan for him to get Riley, but they knew it was going to be hard. When they finished Lucas went home and changed his clothes for the party, saying a quick goodbye to his family as he rushed out the door.

  Riley sat in the waiting room, her heart pounding in her chest as everyone she knew came in and out, the doctor had told him that the ball had reached nearly 100 mile per hour when it hit Lucas, and at that rate injury was high, especially since it hit him when he wasn’t looking. They were checking for injury to see if he had a concussion, a clot in his head or even if it had blown his pupil. For all this to happen he needed to be sedated and most likely wouldn’t be awake until the next day. His parents stayed nearby, but Riley wouldn’t move from where they had wheeled him in. Baseball wasn’t supposed to be as rough as any other sport but there were still sever injuries and it frightened her.

She kept replaying the moment in her mind, all the other cheerleaders were pumping up the crowd but she had turned around the moment he went up to bat. She was cheering him on because she wanted him to know she was there, but the pitcher had thrown a fastball when Lucas had looked down, his head only turned to meet the ball face to face. Watching him fall to the ground, as Farkle and Zay ran towards him to check if he was alright had hurt as much as if the ball had hit her. She couldn’t move, as the referees walked up, as his family walked towards them. Everything had moved so slowly, but then she felt her heart beating and her feet moving forward, running towards him. Calling his name and getting no answer, she got on the ambulance on instinct. Watching them hook him up onto the machines, checking his eye, his head, she squeezed his hand to let him know she was there.

Even with everyone telling her it was going to be alright hours later, she couldn’t get the image of Lucas unconscious on the gurney. Her cheerleading uniform still on her, she didn’t want to move afraid that if she did everything that could go wrong would. In that moment her only concern was the boy on the subway who had changed her life in so many ways, and she never got the chance to tell him how much she loved him.

  The party was in full swing when he got there, all the football players greeted him with pats on the shoulder but he only had one goal, Riley. It took him a while to find her, she was in a corner of the room sipping on something inside of a red solo cup ignoring the rest of the room. Her brother was on the other side of the room talking with some girl, so Lucas took a chance and walked over to Riley.

“Hey,” he said but she rolled her eyes and turned the other way. This Riley didn’t do the Hi, Hey, Hi, that his Riley did. “Can we talk?” he asked as loud as he could without shouting.

“Why the hell would I talk to you?” she said before walking out the backdoor.

“Riley we need to talk,” he said trying to catch up to her through the crowd of people. “Please.”

He knew that the Lucas of this world liked Riley, but he didn’t say anything to her, he was content with watching her from afar. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out the side gate towards the street.

“Let go of me,” she said pulling her arm trying to get away.

“We need to talk,” he said as they reached a park and he sat her down on the swings. “This is important.”

“Right, like the big bad popular football player had anything to say that would explain him dragging a girl out of a party and to an isolated park.”

“I love you,” he said trying to get her attention. He felt bad for the Lucas from this world because he blurted out this secret crush without thinking. He hoped that the memories would be there when the guy came back, but he wanted his Riley, and he knew he loved her more than anything even if he didn’t tell her, even though he should have.

Riley laughed at him and then her face turned serious. “I don’t play games big boy, now leave me the hell alone.”

“Riley please,” he said. “What do I have to do to get you to understand that I telling the truth?”

She ignored him and kept walking away. The only thing he could hope at that moment was that Riley was still the same girl who left her bay window unlocked. He rushed towards her place, the apartment was still the same, but there were no flowers on the fire escape, no sign of the old Riley. There was a light on and she sat there looking out, so he knew he was in the right place, so he climbed the ladder and walked up to her floor trying not to make too much noise. Her window was open letting the spring air into her room but when he saw inside it wasn’t the same.

The room which had been bright and airy, with blue and purple everywhere, was black and red, from where he was all he saw was the small things that had meant that somewhere in there was the old Riley. His Riley. A purple cat in the corner, Berry the Bear Bear on the chair, and Riley’s desk in the corner near the door. The brunette sitting there, it took him a moment to realize that she had pulled her sleeve up, her arm covered in cut after cut. She had pulled out a blade and was about to cut herself again when he burst through the window and took it away from her.

“Stop,” he said as he threw it across the room. “Don’t do it.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” she screamed and he wondered if anyone would hear her. “Get the fuck out.”

“No,” he said pulling her close. “You can’t do this to yourself… Riley you can’t hurt yourself.”

“No one will care,” she said yelling at him as she pulled away and walked towards where the blade landed. He grabbed her again and pulled her close. “Stop it,” she yelled. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know you like cuddle bunnies, but you don’t tell anyone anymore because they would make fun of you. I know Berry the Bear Bear is your favorite childhood toy because your parents gave it to you before your brother Auggie was born, when you were home sick. I know Maya is your best friend in the world, and I don’t understand why she’s not here to stop this,” Riley started crying in his arms as he spoke. “You love purple cats, and you think you don’t have a talent while everyone else is good at something, even though I know you love to write about everything.”

“What are you a stalker,” she said as she sniffled, her body shaking in his arms.

“No… Well I don’t think so, but I do know that for some reason I can’t seem to date anyone else, and I’m a total jerk to everyone, but your face is all I want to see in the morning.”

“Oh please, you’re just saying that because my brother is your rival,” she said but he knew her voice wasn’t as cut throat as before. “No one cares about me.”

“Are you sure?”

“My parents praise my brothers but don’t say anything nice to me, they’ll make sarcastic remarks like how my brother is the best student but I’m good at sleeping. I have a perfect GPA, but my little brother is a prodigy. No one cares about Riley Matthews, I shouldn’t exist, hell my parents liked Maya better than me when she was still in New York, they praised her for being an Amazon Warrior but I was just the klutzy girl who tripped all over school.”

“That’s not who you are to me,” he said as he took her towards the bay window. “To me you’re a bright spot in my day, you are serious but you want the best for everyone, when you smile it’s like the sun is shining and my heart skips a beat.”

“Lucas you don’t know me,” she said but it was almost a whisper.

“I could prove to you that your life is worth something,” he said before he kissed her on the forehead. “People care, you just have to let go of the sadness and let them into your heart.”

They didn’t talk for a while, they just sat there in each other’s arms, for some reason it felt as if she was using him as an anchor, to keep her grounded to something. This Riley was falling apart, and he couldn’t understand why no one saw it.

At around midnight he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms, so he scooped her up and tucked her into her bed. He turned to leave when he realized that she had grabbed his arm.

“Don’t leave,” she said in a quiet voice. Normally her father kicked him out around nine, but neither one of her parents came in to check on her at all.

“Where’s everyone?” he asked curious to know what was different about this version of the Matthews.

“Auggie’s probably sleeping, my parents are at some party they left a babysitter here for Auggie, I came in and just went straight to my room, and Elliot of course was at the party.”

“Do you parents check in with you before bed?”

She shook her head, “Not since Maya left,” she said her voice tired.

“What do they do?” he asked curious to see if they were the same people he knew, because for some reason something wasn’t right if they let her get to the point where she was cutting herself.

“My mom’s a lawyer, she’s the head of the firm that’s number one on Wall Street, my dad is a banker, and he works for one of the big ones, although I usually forget which one.”

That’s how he knew that everything was different, Mr. Matthews wasn’t their teacher, and Mrs. Matthews wasn’t defending the little guy. The café didn’t exist, and Riley had a brother who was the best at everything to the point where he overshadowed his sister. Maybe he needed to fix both himself and Riley before it was too late.

They talked about silly things for hours after that, and Lucas knew she was fighting to stay awake. Riley still loved cuddle bunnies, and unicorns, but her life had taken a dramatic turn when she started high school. After being bullied in middle school she had closed herself off, but the bullies had followed only now they had crushes on her brother. She didn’t make any friends because all of the girls all wanted to get close to Elliot, forgetting that she was there. When she didn’t do what they said they would push her into the bathroom stall and throw water on her until she was soaked through. They would spread rumors about her throughout the school, about how easy she was but they also said that because of that she had an STD that changed depending on the week or month.

They fell asleep next to each other after talking for what seemed like hours. When they woke up hours later, he could tell that Riley felt shy about him being there, he knew that it had something to do with what he had seen. He needed to know the why’s of what was happening in this world, and he needed to do it fast because he didn’t know how long he had here.

“Can I ask you something,” he said sitting up on her bed. “Why do you cut yourself? I know you have bullies and the school worships your brother, but why would you do that?”

“Some days, I think it’s because,” she hesitates looking down at her hands, she pulls down the sleeves of her black sweater. “It’s because I keep trying to prepare myself for eventually getting to the point where I want to die.”

Her voice was barely a whisper but he had heard her loud and clear and it hurt him to hear her say those words. This was Riley, regardless of whether or not this was his life, she was meant for so much more than what she doing in that moment. Instead of saying something, he pulled her into a hug and held her there for what seemed like forever. He felt as her body started shaking, as she started crying in his arms. This is something she was missing and he hoped that they would be able to move forward together. He hoped that the version of him in this world would protect her at all cost.

#girl meets season 4 #gmw #gmw fanfic #gmw fanfiction #riley matthews #RileyxLucas #lucas friar #Farkle Minkus #rucas #rucas fanfic #rucas fanfiction #this is the second to last one #yuniesan

[yuniesan]

Girl Meets Season 4 - Episode 16

Girl Meets Season 4 - The Continuing Saga of Riley and her friends as they tackle their Sophomore year in High School. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. What will their sophomore year be like? Read and find out.

Episodes [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

A/N: This isn’t going to drag out I swear

16. Girl Meets The Return of the Triangle

Riley was trapped in something she didn’t want to be a part of, because she knew the truth of Josh’s feelings, because she knew Maya was trying to do one thing while feeling another way, because she didn’t want Zay to get hurt in the end. The triangle had started again but this time two of them were hiding their true feelings all because Maya saw Josh studying at Topanga’s. She felt sorry for what Farkle had to go through when he kept telling her to tell Lucas that she still liked him, but she didn’t want to be involved. And yet she was.

Maya had come over to get ready for her date, and Zay had convinced Lucas to make it a double date, and all Riley wanted to do was pull out her hair. Riley was wearing jeans and her favorite sweater, but Maya had pulled out half of her closet looking for the perfect outfit before settling for one of Riley’s long sleeved dresses and her own boots. She had tights underneath to keep her warm.

“How does this look?” Maya asked once she finished.

“It looks nice, just like the million other outfits you tried on,” Riley answered. She was trying to figure out how long it was going to take to put everything away when her mother called them down.

The guys had arrived, and although Zay was smiling, Riley felt sorry for him because she knew Maya liked Josh more than anyone and it was eating her up inside. Riley relaxed when she saw Lucas in his signature color, for some reason it calmed her.

“Come on let’s get going,” Lucas said smiling at her.

“Curfew’s at ten,” her father said as they walked out the door. It was Friday so Riley was allowed to stay out later but Lucas always made sure to have her home earlier because he didn’t want to offend her father.

The four of them walked to the crosstown train to go to Union Square to see the movie, Zay had brought the tickets for the movie so Riley didn’t know what they were going to see until he told them.

“Come on Zay tell me,” Riley said because she needed to prepare for the inevitable.

“It’s that new slasher movie,” he said smiling at Maya whose eyes lit up.

“Oh… I wanted to see that movie, the red band trailer is complete gore,” She said smiling at him.

Riley could only groan, she still hated horror movies and although she knew Maya loved them she couldn’t get used to seeing that much blood on the screen. Lucas squeezed her hand, reassuring her that it would be alright but she didn’t believe him as she saw Zay and Maya talking about the movie.

When they got to the theater Riley decided that she was going to sit in the back of the theater, Zay and Maya decided on picking the ones closest to the screen to get the best view of the action. Maya had wanted them to stay as far apart so that she could feel like she was on a date but all Riley wanted was to stay as far away as possible.

So Riley and Lucas sat in the back, while Maya and Zay sat in the middle ten rows down from them.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom before the movie starts,” she told Lucas as he sat down with their snacks. He nodded as she got up, the theater was empty enough for them to walk around without disturbing anyone.

When Riley stood outside the theater she took a deep breath and walked towards the bathroom only to bump into her uncle.

“Josh,” she said completely surprised to see him. “What are you doing here?”

“Well my dorm is close by so Andrew asked if we should see a movie,” he said, Riley noticed the dark circles around his eyes and knew that he had been thinking about what he had told him. “Are you here with Lucas?”

“Yeah, and Maya… and Zay,” she said as she watched his eyes look sadder than they already looked. “Josh…” he stopped her before she could say anything.

“It’s okay Riley,” he said before walking away. Riley forgot to ask him what movie they were watching only to see him sitting in the theater towards the far right side away from where Maya was. She saw him staring at the back of Maya’s head throughout the previews.

  Maya was having a good time, Zay would comment on the most random things in the movie making her laugh.

“The guy doesn’t notice that,” he had said when one of the victims walked into a room where the killer was just standing in the dark corner with a knife. “The minute he opened the door the knife lit up, how does he not notice that.”

“Because he’s supposed to die,” Maya laughed.

The two of them kept up the banter throughout the movie, while they shared a tub of popcorn, Zay threw in a bag of skittles for fun and the salty sweetness of the snack made her smile. By the time the movie ended she was full of sugar and bouncing up and down from the excitement of the movie. When she saw Riley hiding behind Lucas, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“We have an hour before curfew so let’s walk around,” Zay said as they walked to the exit.

“We could walk home instead of taking the train, it’s a good long walk,” Maya said thinking about finding tacos somewhere. “Food carts outside sell all kinds of thinks so we can get something for the walk.”

“I’m for it,” he said.

“You two go ahead, I need to take Riley home, she didn’t really like the movie,” Lucas said as he hugged Riley to him.

“But why does it have to be so bloody,” was all that Riley said as he walked her down the street towards the subway.

“And then there was two,” Zay said. The two of them walked to the nearby park after grabbing food from one of the nearby trucks.

“I don’t know how a date should go,” Maya confessed. “The only ones I’ve been on were with Farkle and Lucas, and well Lucas ended up with a smoothie on his head and Farkle made out with my hand.”

“How did Farkle make-out with your hand?” Zay said sounding amused.

“Well it was Riley and Lucas’ first date,” she started. “This was a few months before you moved here from Texas, and well her dad being her dad wouldn’t let them go out unless I went out on a date with Farkle.”

“Seriously,” he said genuinely surprised. “Geez Mr. Matthews doesn’t play around when it comes to Riley, her little brother has more freedom than she does.”

“Tell me about it,” she said before telling him the story of her first date, skipping the part about seeing Josh with another girl. She didn’t want to ruin her time with Zay.

The two of them walked around the park for a little while before he walked her home, he told her stories about growing up in Texas, and she told him about growing up in New York. They talked about their best friends dating, and about possibly going out again. She was smiling by the time she got home, she liked Zay and thought they would be good together, but once she said goodnight to her parents and closed her bedroom door Josh’s face automatically came to her. Zay had been a distraction, and now she felt awful for going out with him.

  Josh sat in his dorm room staring at the ceiling, his roommate had gone out to be with his girlfriend for the night so he was completely alone. Andrew had tried to get his attention while they were out at the movies but he had been distracted by a head of blonde hair sitting in the middle of the theater. After he had apologized to his friend he went to his room to sulk, and although he was completely alone, he didn’t want to be. Normally at this time of night he was texting Maya, it had become their normal routine, only now she had pushed herself away and he felt heartbroken.

He thought about what Riley had told him, to go after his feelings and tell Maya that he didn’t want to wait, but he didn’t want to put her in that position so instead he sulked. His phone rang in the background but he ignored it, but it kept ringing for a good ten minutes.

“I don’t want to talk,” he said to whoever was on the other side.

“Josh we need to talk,” his niece’s voice told him. “I know what you’re feeling, I’ve gone through that, and it took Farkle blurting out my feelings in front of everyone for me to be able to admit them to my friends. I don’t want you to go through that much hurt.”

“I don’t want to talk about it Riley,” he sighed covering his eyes trying to hid his face from the world. “I just want to be left alone.”

He hung up the phone before she could say anything else and turned it off so no one else could call. He was going to let her have her chance at happiness, even if it meant that he wouldn’t be able to see her face again.

  Zay was happy that Maya had asked him out, on the way home he was bouncing around thinking of where he could take her next knowing that she liked specific types of things. He remembered hearing about a taco place near 32nd street and thought that he could go there with her. Smiling as he walked through the door he said goodnight to his parents before rushing up to his bedroom and jumping on his bed. The next date would be just the two of them, he wanted to make it memorable for her so he thought about everything they could do. Since he had never been to the top of the Empire State Building, he thought they could do that, Maya would draw a picture and it would be where he would give her their first kiss.

He had liked her ever since they started High School, after Vanessa had broken up with him and they stopped talking. He needed to think about the future and for some reason Maya was always there. He didn’t know what to say because of course Lucas and Riley were on the other side of that ridiculous triangle but even when it ended he still couldn’t say anything because Maya liked Josh and although he had suggested that they could go out. Maya didn’t say anything until now.

What had changed her mind? He thought to himself before pushing the idea out of his head because thinking about it would only cause him problems when he was finally getting some happiness.

Zay pulled out his phone and sent Maya a text, telling her about their next date, and when it should be. She suggested they do it the next day because she hadn’t had anything planned with Riley so she was free. He smiled when he saw the message and quickly started sending her the plans he had thought up. When they had finished talking, Maya had added a stop in Korea Town to get dessert and to go to karaoke before finishing at the top of the Empire State Building. They decided to meet up around five so that they could do everything before curfew, before he had started nodding off.

He felt happy as sleep came to him.

  Riley couldn’t sleep, all she could think about was her conversations with Josh throughout the day. She needed to do something to fix everything because in the end she didn’t want anyone to get hurt. At that moment she knew the only person really hurting was Josh, because he was sacrificing his own happiness for Maya. He loves her, was the only thought Riley had and she needed to talk to Lucas about everything before it ate her up from the inside. Everyone had always helped her so now she had to help them.

She sent him a quick text, Lucas, are you awake? But when she looked at the time she realized that it was after two in the morning.

Yeah Riles I’m awake… kinda, he wrote to her. He would always answer her even if he were half asleep.

I need to talk to you about something, do you think we can meet in the morning? I have to work at the café so can you meet me there?

Alright, he said before saying goodnight.

If he knew would he be rooting for Zay or for Josh? She thought before she fell asleep.

#girl meets season 4 #Rucas #rucas fanfic #rucas fanfiction #riley matthews #lucas friar #maya hart #well actually it's Maya Hunter now #zay babineaux #josh matthews #gmw fanfic #gmw fanfiction #you know who i ship but I needed to give zay a chance #their ages are all wrong and it still bothers me but I'll live with it #zaya or joshaya

[seriestrash]

Encounters [Part Two]

[Part One]

Even though I said I wasn’t going to.. You guys twisted my arm.. enjoy x

Word Count: 2542

✦  ✦  ✦  ✦

After leaving Lucas in the hallway, Riley didn't know if she should be upset and embarrassed by their latest encounter or down right outraged by it. After dwelling on it for hours Riley makes a conscious effort to push her run in with Lucas to the back of her mind.

Riley is sprawled out across her bed reading a book when there's a knock at her door.

"Riley, honey," Topanga pokes her head through the crack of the door, "There’s a boy from school here to see you."

"Charlie?" Riley's face scrunches into confusion, she literally had no friends.

"No, it's a Lucas.." Topanga eyes her daughter.

Riley let's out a quiet groan, "Tell him I died."

"Riley!" Topanga scolds her morbid daughter.

"What?" Riley asks defensively.

"I don't think he'll believe that," Topanga states.

"Why not?" Riley folds her arms.

"Because he's standing right behind me listening to you." Topanga smirks and Riley hates the pleasure her mother gets out of her emotional turmoil.

"So?" Riley challenges her mother. "Sorry Lucas I died, super tragic but the world will go on," Riley says louder.

"Go right in, sweetie," Topanga swings the door open fully and motions for Lucas to enter.

"So you died, huh?" Lucas chuckles as he strolls into her room casually.

"Just emotionally," Riley grins with a tilted head.

Lucas laughs at her dark humour and paces a little in front of her bed, "Cute pyjamas," he says with a smug grin.

"Cute face," Riley says with folded arms and then clenches her eyes tightly, “That wasn't supposed to come out like a compliment."

"No I get it," Lucas still wears a smirk, "Sarcasm was intended."

After Riley does her best to just glare at Lucas she can't help but hate herself for still feeling so nervous in his presence.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?" Lucas sits himself in the bay window.

"No," Riley shakes her head. "I already know why you're here. To tell me that I was wrong at school and your intentions are genuine."

"So you believe me?" Lucas is confused by her mood.

"No," Riley scoffs, "I believe you can't handle the fact that someone turned you down and of all the people in the world it was a nobody like me."

"Stop calling yourself a nobody," Lucas sighs.

"Come on, Lucas," Riley shakes her head with an eye roll, "I've lived in the shadows my entire life. You- You're Mr. Popularity, you've dated the prettiest airheads in the school but suddenly I'm the only girl worth annoying?"

"Do you really believe I'm that superficial?" Lucas softens and speaks at almost a whisper.

Riley doesn't answer, instead she just bows her head in silence. Lucas takes the quiet as a positive thing and stands up. A small smile crosses his face, not smirky or smug but genuine and sweet. "Maybe there’s hope for you and I yet."

With that he opens her window and climbs out. Riley lays her head back on her pillows and stares at the ceiling only one thought on her mind: what the hell just happened?

The following day Riley is nervous going to school, she thinks things will be weird around Lucas and his always watching pals. Little did Riley know that the weirdness would begin before she even arrived on the school grounds. For she had sat in a vacant seat on the subway all of thirty seconds before she was spooked.

"Good morning," his warm breath tickled her neck but his sneak approach from behind made Riley jolt with fright in her seat.

"Are you stalking me now or something?" Riley asks still on edge from his approach.

"Because I'm on the subway?" Lucas sits in the seat behind her and rests his arm on the back of her chair, his chin wedged into this arms. "We always take the same route to school."

Lucas stands swiftly and walks to the support bar in front of where Riley sits and spins around once before facing Riley again, "But you've always got your nose buried in a book so I'm not surprised you haven't noticed." With that he walks over to the priority seating, where, over the years he's claimed as his usual place.

Riley remains in her seat and stares at Lucas on the other side of the cart to her. She racks her brain for the tiniest glimpse of a memory, she looks for a time she can recall him sitting there but nothing comes to mind, in fact no one comes to mind. Although it wasn't his intention Lucas had Riley questioning if she's the one who's isolated herself from her peers and not the other way around. Riley shoves the book that rests in her lap into her backpack and tries to focus on anyone or anything in the cart besides Lucas.

When the subway cart pulls into the station for school Riley looks up at Lucas again, he’s already waiting to meet her gaze and with a slight nod he exits the subway without bothering her.

Riley fiddles with the straps of her backpack as she walks alone. The rest of the day was normal, well, normal for Riley that is as she glides through the day alone. From class to class to the library for lunch and back to classes without any interruptions for Lucas. As Riley leaves school that day she wonders if Lucas got the message and would now leave her be. Oh how wrong she was.

After leaving school Riley heads straight to the bakery to help out. Upon entering she’s startled to see Lucas sitting alone at a booth with his hands folded neatly on the table. Riley shakes her head and walks right past him and behind the counter.

Once Lucas spots the brunette he springs up from his seat and approaches the counter.

“Hello, how may I help you today?” Riley greets him with a pleasant smile. After all that’s what she gets paid for.

“I’d like a mango smoothie please,” Lucas grins.

“Sorry, all out,” Riley bats her lashes.

“Okay, how about strawberry and banana?” Lucas asks.

“Out of that too,” Riley shakes her head with a smirk.

“How about just a juice?” Lucas eyes her, “Any flavour is fine.”

“You know,” Riley lets out a mock shriek.

“Let me guess you’re all out of juice too?” Lucas folds his arms, slightly amused by her games.

Riley shrugs with a little nod.

“Get the boy a mango smoothie, would you, Riley?” Topanga whom had been listening calls over to Riley.

“Would you like that to go today?” Riley asks with a forced smile.

“No, I’ll have it here, thank you,” Lucas smirks as he pays and takes a seat facing the counter.

After Lucas’ smoothie is empty Topanga continues to find enjoyment out of this predicament and forces her daughter to go over and check on him.

“Is there anything else I can get you today?” Riley asks.

“How about two more smoothies and you sit down and join me?” Lucas motions to the empty seat across from him.

“You’re really committed to this joke aren't you?” Riley raises a brow.

“It’s not a joke,” Lucas groans.

“Two smoothies coming right up,” Riley smiles and turns back to the kitchen to get them. When she returns she places one in front of Lucas and one in front of the empty space across from him and with that she turns and leaves.

“Riley?” Lucas calls after her.

“Yes?” She pauses halfway to the exit.

“You’re going?” He questions.

“Yes,” Riley nods, “My shift is over.”

“What about the smoothie?” Lucas nudges his head in the direction of it.

“I don’t want it,” Riley shrugs innocently.

“But-”

“I just wanted to waste your time too,” Riley giggles before leaving.

The following morning Lucas wastes no time on the subway and slips in the space right beside her.

“I forgive you for the whole smoothie thing,” Lucas opens with, “Actually I find it pretty funny.”

“Oh good because I lost sleep over it last night,” Riley jokes.

“Do you wanna know what I think?” Lucas grins.

“No, but I assume you’re going to tell me anyway?” Riley crinkles her nose.

“I think you like me.”

“I think you’re crazy,” Riley shoves his arm pushing him away from her. Lucas just smiles and stands to leave her alone.

Later that day in school a note slips out of Riley’s locker. She pauses to read it;

Roses are red Violets are blue It’s no secret or joke That I wanna go out with you

Riley looks up from the piece of paper and finds Lucas standing at the end of the row of lockers with a smile. Riley fails to hide her own grin but manages to roll her eyes as she throws the note in the trash. Lucas cups at his chest as if Riley has physically hurt him but she shakes her head with a giggle and walks away.

That’s how it was for a week. He’d bug her on the subway, leave notes in her locker and sit in the bakery with two smoothies each afternoon and everyday Riley would brush him off with every advance.

It comes to Friday at lunch and Riley sits with her back against the wall the the end of an aisle of books and she reads silently to herself. After knowing for years now this was Riley’s spot he makes his way over to the library and swiftly sits beside her with his legs sprawled out in front. Riley ignores him by not even bothering to lift her head.

“Hi,” He says quietly.

Riley continues to read.

“You’re really something you know that?” Lucas huffs, “I spend almost three years crushing on you and a week acting like a complete fool and you give me nothing!”

“I owe you nothing,” Riley says without breaking her gaze from the page.

“I don’t expect anything from you,” Lucas says genuinely.

“Then why won't you give up on this little charade?” Riley asks.

“If I genuinely thought you weren’t  enjoying this little game we’ve been playing the past week then I would have respected your wishes and left you alone.”

“What makes you think I am enjoying it?” Riley turns to face him with a raised brow.

“Because in all the times you’ve turned me down you’ve never once said it’s because you don't want to go out with me, it’s always because you don’t think I want to go out with you,” Lucas answers.

Riley turns her gaze back to her book and reads or at least pretends to.

“You wanna know what I find annoying?” Lucas sets out a sigh as he looks forward and speaks, “Is someone claiming to know how you feel because of course it’s not possible for a boy to spot a girl on the subway and think she may  be the prettiest girl he’s ever seen and then less than an hour later she’s sitting in his history class like it was the universes wish for them to be together. And it’s hard to believe that said boy purposely bumped into said girl in the hall while she was distracted with a book just so he’d have an excuse to talk to her.. Then before he gets the chance to ask said girl out she gets a boyfriend whom she dates forever and the boy has no choice but to give the ‘airheads’ of the school a chance because he didn’t want to interfere with said girls happiness.”

“You purposely knocked into me?” Riley gives him a quizzical look.

“That’s what you took from that?” Lucas laughs.

“You really expect me to believe you liked me all these years?” Riley tilts her head with an eye squint.

“Have I done something in the years I’ve been here that’s made you believe I’d honestly be a jerk and ask you- or anyone out as some sort of joke?” Lucas is serious.

“No,” Riley answers honestly.

“Then why do you keep treating me like I am?” Lucas asks.

“I don’t mean to,” Riley frowns, “It’s just so hard to believe-“

“Would you stop saying that?” Lucas groans, “Do you know what I find frustrating? Even more so than someone assuming they know your feelings? When someone can’t see themselves the way others do.” 

“But-” 

“No buts, Riley,” Lucas shakes his head, “Has anyone ever actually called you a loser or a nobody?” 

“Well no, not that I’m aware of but that’s the point of being invisible, no one even cares to make fun of you.” 

“I think that’s bull,” Lucas states bluntly. 

“So you think I’ve isolated myself?” Riley is timid as she speaks of her previous thought she had earlier in the week. 

Lucas softens when he realises she’s upset by this, “No, I just think that you haven’t realised there’s a life boat on the island yet.” 

“Well I’m a bit of an idiot then aren't I?” Riley jokes quietly and Lucas chuckles. 

"You know what Riley?" Lucas coaxes his head with a smile, "This is the most honest conversation we've had in three years." 

"How do I know it's honest?" Riley asks holding his gaze. 

"I'm not sure how I can convince you of my sincerity unless you give me the chance to," Lucas curls one corner of his mouth up into a grin and is also careful not to break their stare. 

The bell sounds and Riley looks at Lucas for a moment longer before standing up without a word. Lucas bangs his head gently against the wall a little frustrated as he thought they were finally connecting but before he could get past his initial frustration Riley swiftly turns on her heels to look at him still sitting on the ground. 

"Do you wanna walk to English together?" Riley asks nervously. 

Lucas fails to hide his smiles as he jokes, "Riley Matthews are you asking me out?" 

"I'm asking you to walk beside me to a class we're both in, " Riley shifts on her feet.  

"Gosh, this is coming out of nowhere," Lucas continues his bit as he gets to his feet, "I suppose you want to carry my books for me too!" 

"I regret talking," Riley giggles with the slightest eye roll. 

"Because you love listening to me go on and on about-" 

"Shut up," Riley gentle pushes his arm. 

"I'd love to walk you to English," Lucas grins. 

“Good, because you really need to work on your poetry,” Riley chuckles as they walk and Lucas gasps in mock offence. 

As they walk to class Riley spots Lucas out of the corner of her eye as he looks at her with a smile when they walk. Riley points her grin at the ground with a single realisation in mind: he is Lucas Friar and she is Riley Matthews. We are all nobodies until we allow ourselves to be somebody to someone. Platonic, romantic or otherwise. 

Riley Matthews had always been somebody. Now maybe she'd let herself be a somebody to him.

End Note: Sorry this took me so long I have had a lot on my mind lately and all your messages of support have been lovely. Thanks for always being so understanding! I may have rushed this a little and the idea might not have been as good as I originally mapped out but I hope it suffices nonetheless xxxx

#rucas #rucas au #rucas imagine #rucas one shot #rucas fic #rucas fanfic #one shot