#Auggies natural state

[spicyraeman]

[He/They/It]

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #cyberpunk 2077 photomode #cp2077 photomode #nbvnesdays #cyberpunk oc #oc: lynk #august asylum #Auggies natural state #sitting around in their underware and smudged eyeliner #chainsmoking cigs

[folk-punk-sheep]

My thoughts on Asteroid City (2023) by Wes Anderson. [I wish I could write this in Futura]

Obviously, spoilers ahead.

So the film spoke to me, as a commentary on grief and loss especially. The way the film navigates this is oftentimes humorous in nature, with Auggie keeping his wife’s ashes in a tupperware container.“Let’s say she’s in heaven, which doesn’t exist for me but you’re episcopalian” This also brings up religion, in the end Woodrow plainly states “I don’t believe in God anymore”, now this could be because of the events of the alien. I however think this is more because of human nature. How could there be a God when your moms ashes are stored this way and being buried next to communal showers in a town you barely know. Woodrow already knew his mom was dead, but didn’t have the confirmation until his father was brave enough to state it. In a different context of loss other than parental, there is that of love. I think the part at the end with the cut actress stating how Auggie would have reacted if seeing her again after her passing helps explain how this film wants to display Auggie’s grief. He is enamoured with Midge Campbell just as everyone else, but she lets him in. She lets him know her. He tries to brush off his grief and appear strong but he’s not. He’s just as damaged as any of the soldiers he’s photographed. Everyone processes loss differently, grieves differently, and gets over it differently. Auggie needs to let himself feel emotions and like the actress told him, maybe find someone else for him. Woodrow finds love and loses faith in God, the stepfather tries to make amends and become a part of the family, the girls act as children do, and Auggie needs to find a way for him to process the loss. And Midge might be his way of doing so When we get to the cryptic part of the end, the message “You can’t wake up if you don’t fall asleep” rings in a haunting manner, spoken just after we learn the playwright has died. I believe this message is speaking about death and it’s endlessness. In the words of John Green about his friend Amy being dead ”a statement that once it becomes true, will always stay true” however sometimes in our grief it seems as though we have died as well, not sleeping, not waking, but existing. We can’t wake up, if we don’t fall asleep. Because what separates the days and the people and existing. Grief is encapsulating, and consumes us sometimes. It affects us in all different ways. Even coming out in how Auggie burned himself just to feel something. I’ll need a bit more to fully process the film and I feel that on another rewatch I will gain more insight and have more things to add. If you saw the movie please tell me your thoughts. 

#asteroid city #wes anderson #film

[exhalcdvibes]

official  name  : augustus  eric  grey .    meaning  of  name  :  of  latin  origin  meaning   ‘venerable‘  accorded  a  great  deal  of  respect ;  of  norse  origin  meaning  forever  ruler.  nicknames  :  auggie.  date  of  birth  :  july  1, 1993.  age  :  twenty  nine.  birthplace  :   detriot,   michigan.  hometown  :  bellevue,  washington  .  nationality  :  american.  gender  :  cis  man.  pronouns  :  he/him.  orientation  :  bisexual  &  biromantic.  religion  :  atheist.  languages  :  spanish,   korean,  mandarin,   french,  english  &   conversational  sweedish.  education  :  bachelor  in  energy engineering  from  princeton  university ,  masters  in  business from  princeton  university  . 

｡*    ❪       📂   ›  BASICS

(—) ★ spotted!! auggie grey on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 29 year old looks like charles melton, but i don’t really see it. while  the energy engineer / socialite is known for being loving my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be vain i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song head & heart by joel corry & MNEK  {he/him / cis man }

｡*    ❪       📂   ›  BACKSTORY

auggie was born to a teen mother who thought she could handle raising him. she placed him up for adoption after three months when she realized it was too much. this was the beginning of auggie being bounced from place to place.

originally he was being fostered by a really sweet old couple, the dad was a professor who taught auggie all about language eventually the two moved to korea for his career which meant auggie had to go back into foster care.

( physical abuse tw ) his second family was less well natured, they beat into him obedience, he learned rather quickly to do what he was told to avoid being physically punished. needless to say he was happy when the couple decided they didn’t want him anymore and placed him back in foster care.

atticus grey never intending to be a father, hell he was never intending to be a husband but he fell in love with his assistant anna. he was ( and still is ) willing to do anything to make her happy, including having a child.

orion, while the apple of his parents eye, spent all his time alone at around five he asked his parents for a brother. never one to deny their son something he wanted they started fostering children in the hopes of finding a good fit for orion.

when auggie arrived he was a bit of a little shit with a bunch of behavioral issues, he gave his parents all kinds of grief, hiding from them, taking their stuff, once he flushed a diamond broach down the toilet to see what’d they do

he kind of just assumed they’d eventually give him back like everyone else. the only person he really spoke to was orion and even then it was usually to bully his new sibling.

as he got older and auggie realized he wasn’t going to get sent away he calmed down…slightly. turning his anger into determination to be the best, he essentially crafted himself to be a mini version of his father

auggie is extremely close to his father because well, orion is nothing like him, he likes that auggie would basically do anything to make the man proud

｡*    ❪       📂   › EMOTIONAL STATE

has a very explosive temper, it’s really not hard to make him mad, he has the type of rage that has led him to almost going to jail after beating someone nearly to death

doesn’t know how to express himself so he tends to be sarcastic by default, most times he is giving you an honest answer, it’s just said in a very sarcastic manner

he is a shameless flirt but has never had any interest in being in a committed relationship, he’s cheated on every partner he’s ever had, ever

will lie to you if it’s easier for him or to get what he wants out of you  

incredibly intelligent but has always had to work hard for it, school does not come easy to him, he’s just the type of person to work himself into the ground for the grade he wants

extremely prideful, has gotten into fights because of his ego being wounded

a bit manipulative, will lie, cheat, steal and do whatever is necessary to get what he wants

annoyingly nice at times, but like with most things, it’s usually a performance there are very few people who actually know auggie at all

｡*    ❪       📂   › QUICK FACTS

auggie is the golden child, since orion wants nothing to do with the family business and auggie is literally a mini version of his daddy, atticus just…loves him more

atticus grey owns the biggest energy provider in all of the united states, he wanted orion to take over the family business but he was less than interested so he’s been priming auggie to take over. currently he’s avoiding as much responsibility as he possibly can but he knows he’ll have to step up at some point.

always wanted a pet but was never allowed one, probably for the best he wouldn’t know how to take care of it

doesn’t know how to take care of himself at all, he’s always paid someone to do everything for him, catch him walking around in a weird off pink bc he ruined all his laundry trying to do it himself

hates cats, he got scratched by one as a kid and has hated all of them since

did ballet until he was in high school so he’s actually a very good dance but he will do the whole teach me to dance thing just to feel you up

has an unnatural love for mcdonalds, is still mad he can’t get on the playground anymore without getting yelled at 

#hillzhqsintro

[iknowdino]

6 Dinosaur Museums in California

6 Dinosaur Museums in California

California is not known for its dinosaurs, but there are still great places to visit if you want to see some. Here are six dinosaur museums in California. Natural History Museum Los Angeles County Explore the Dinosaur Hall, where you can see Triceratops, a T. rex growth series, and Auggie, California’s state dinosaur. And on weekends you can catch the dinosaur encounters live show. San Diego…

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#california #dinosaur museums

[bathroomcorpse]

whats the most messed up thing auggie has done for attention ? 🥰

ooh great question. i think as a kid he probably faked injury and illness a decent amount at least at school. at home no one really cared if he was hurt (edmund broke his nose when they were kids and it's still kinda messed up because no one really did much). in the margotverse the two of them are in a constant state of trying to one up each other on horrible, attention seeking things (mostly to do with stealing each others boyfriends, crushes, etc). he semi-intentionally developed an alcohol problem during the summer of auggielias and i think a number of those very very drunk nights were his fucked up ways of getting attention. i think he probably "made" elias leave obvious marks on him just to see if his family would notice. i think he definitely intentionally riles elias up a LOT (half because it's just in his nature to rile ppl up and half because he finds it fascinating to take someone who is so respected to a disrespectable state) and in doing so i think he invokes things that he doesn't fully understand but are deeply upsetting to elias (his dead father, his past, etc). the college years are a whole other thing he was just wildly oscillating between loving everyone and being shitty to them and hating his professor and trying to get his professor to love him and then the death and it was all just a mess. he's a mess.

#ask tag #auggiecore #RAMBLING ask that really doesn't give anything specific LOL #also “made” elias as if elias is not a full grown man who can make his own decisions and actively Chose to do all that to auggie

[chaseadrian]

adrian chase: acts of service vs. physical touch as a love language 

hi here i am with a long winded analysis of this man’s behavior because he takes up my mind night and day. specifically want to talk about these two instances of adrian + touch:

I see a lot of characterization of adrian as awkward with touch, sometimes even averse to it, with the “tender, nice touching” moment used as the pinnacle of Adrian’s approach to physical touch. so i wanna talk about the differentiation between these two scenes, and why i think the bottom is actually an outlier in adrian’s character. prefacing this with the obvious fact that my view is subjective and yall can think what you want at the end of the day. 

ANYWAY

adrian’s biggest drive is service. how can he preemptively make the lives of those he cares about easier? how can he make his own presence less of a bother, in some cases? in 1.02, chris explains that the cops turned his place upside down when he got arrested, and without skipping a beat, adrian asks if he needs help cleaning up and immediately does exactly that. the entire season, intuiting what the team needs and how to best be of service is a huge part of his characterization. easiest examples off the top of my head are the entire prison sequence, his proactivity in 1.07 with the white dragon, and the scene above when he kills the goff family. 

i think touch with adrian is very intentional. he doesn’t quite understand it as a facet of comfort, hence why he has to verbalize what he’s doing rather than just doing it. this man is smart & educated, even though he has a screw loose, and i wouldnt doubt he’s quoting something he read about comforting people verbatim. or if not, we know adrian says what comes to mind, and so what came to mind in this moment is “what is the point of what i’m doing, how is it supposed to serve my friend?” and he said it out loud. it’s tender, nice touching. lmao. 

but it’s an awkward moment played for laughs, i think because adrian also wasn’t prepared for the emotional fallout of chris killing his dad. we saw adrian’s lack of empathy when it came to auggie dying both in 1.05 when he asks Chris if he should kill his dad since he’s a racist, and in 1.08 when he says they just had a “really sick time” killing chris’ dad. additionally, chris had previously told adrian that his crying was just exercising, and adrian has no reason to doubt chris or question if he’s lying. so in this moment, the lack of empathy coupled with the realization that no, actually, chris isn’t exercising he’s crying, it stumped adrian. so what results is this strange attempt at comfort from a man who’s used to preemptively preparing ways to be of service, no matter how half baked they turn out to be. 

the scene in 1.03, on the other hand, is adrian in a more natural state. the facts in his mind are these: 

this family needs to be taken out

chris was contracted by the government to take them out

if he fucks up, he goes back to prison

he’s currently fucking up

so adrian steps in. there’s no hesitation in the way his hand slides over chris’ shoulder, a tender touch to match the gentleness of his voice. it’s not the action of a bloodthirsty psychopath who loves killing, it’s that of a loyal friend who’s seeing his best friend struggling. touch makes sense to him here because it serves a function, it grabs chris’ attention, and grounds him to the current moment, pulling him out of the panic spiral he was falling into. i think, to adrian, when the only function of touch is comfort, he struggles, as he did in 1.07. adrian could’ve easily just told chris to move without putting his hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t, because in that moment chris needed to be physically taken out of his own head. 

we often see adrian keeping his hands to himself around other people. in 1.05 he keeps his hands wrapped on the bench while he talks to leota. in 1.02, he keeps his arms crossed after the threesome with chris. in general, adrian is keenly aware of the space he takes up and keeps himself tight when he’s near other people. he doesn’t read as averse to touch, or awkward about it, he reads as intentional with it. 

anyway uh yeah i cant help but thinking too deeply about this weird little dude. bye 👋

#vigilante #peacemaker #peacemakerhbo #my writing #idk!!!! ive been thinking abt this a lot!!!!!!!!!!!! #adrian chase

[tkellwrites]

Hello 👋 can I have 18 (“You’re bleeding.”) for E please and thank you :)

“Cut!”

The single word rips through the air of the set. It’s owner a portly man with a warm smile; his hands clapping together as he stood from his chair proudly marked Director.

“That was great everyone,” he calls. “I think we’re done for the day. I’ll see you all bright and early tomorrow.”

With that Auggie leaves with an ensemble of writers, all muttering among themselves, as the rest of the crew moves around the set. Turning, you meet your costars amused gaze. The deep blue of her eyes shimmering in the dim light and, like yourself, she was covered in soot from the ending scene of the day.

“Are you excited to take a shower as I am?”

“Yes.” Is the simple reply and most would assume it was the end of the conversation but not with her. Many would later ask how it felt like to work besides Elizabeth Holland and you don’t think you’d ever properly be able to describe it. When most just use words to communicate; Elizabeth uses a simple glance, a gentle touch, a warm smile, to tell you exactly what she was saying. A language that only a few people were ever given the privilege of learning.

Right now you could clearly see that she was amused by both of your states. The fake guns at both of your hips slightly jabbing into your sides as you begin to walk towards your trailers. A companionable silence filling the air between you both; the type of companionship that could only be fostered by long hours pretending to be a KGB Spy and the CIA Agent trying to track her down. The black leather of Elizabeth’s outfit doing little to hide the natural elegance of her body.

Tracing your eyes downward, over the speckled black surface, your steps falter to a stop as a frown appears on your brow. As you can just make out the flecks of crimson against the relatively monochromatic debris of soot. And, without much thought on the matter, you grab Elizabeth by the arm and tug her to a stop.

“You’re bleeding.” You reply to the silent question shimmering within her gaze. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Glancing down, Elizabeth’s lips quirk into a slight smile before settling. “I’m quite all right, darling. It’s a superficial cut, if that, I don’t think I’m in any danger of dying.”

You frown. “Are you sure?”

Shaking her head, an airy laugh escaping her, Elizabeth gently rubs the space between your eyebrows. “There’s no need to wrinkle your face, darling, I didn’t even notice that I got cut in the last scene. I suppose I hit the ground harder than I thought in my last stunt.”

“You should be more careful, Liz.”

“I am, darling.” She loops her arm through yours and begins to lead you back towards your trailers. “And I know I’m always safest by your side. You look after me as I look after you, right?”

“Always.”

She smiles. “Then there’s no need to worry.”

#empire #edward holland #elizabeth holland #used Elizabeth cause it was a bit easier for me #anonymous #scenario #prompt lists #prompts

[wangisking]

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘  𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐘

BASICS. FULL    NAME  :  Augustus Alexander Wang  NICKNAME  :  August and Gus ( in general ), Auggie, Ice Prince, and Guggie ( by Aurora ). Aug and Lestat  ( by Jack ),  NAME    MEANINGS  : Augustus is  Latin for  the great / the magnificent.  Alexander is also Latin and means defender of mankind. From what I know, Wang in Chinese means king.  HISTORICAL    CONNECTION ?  : Though, his dad did think of the Roman Emperor Augustus when they named him, they liked the meaning. It seemed to fit him. They weren’t wrong, he was an emperor and he still has that energy.   AGE  :  22. Like Aurora, he can’t age past 22. He wouldn’t have minded either way.    BIRTHDAY  :  5th  April ETHNIC    GROUP  :   Augustus is half Korean and half Brazilian.  NATIONALITY  :   British LANGUAGES  :   fluent  in  English and French. Conversational Latin. Broken Korean. Learning Urdu. SEXUAL    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual ROMANTIC    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual RELATIONSHIP    STATUS  :   Single and doesn’t want to mingle. He had only one serious relationship in the past with Aurora Shams from 2017-2019.  CLASS  :  Upper  class,  Wealthy but not private-jet kind of wealthy.  HOME    TOWN  /  AREA  :  London till he was 10 and Vancouver till he was 17 CURRENT    HOME  :  Los  Angeles PROFESSION  :   Drummer, songwriter, model, and student.    PHYSICAL. HAIR  :  long  and  wavy.  Chestnut brown. Here is an example. It goes down his earlobes in length.    EYES  :  piercing, almond-shaped eyes. Naturally brown, but he wears blue or green contact lenses.  NOSE  :   a Greek nose, straight without bumps. FACE  :  Oblong shaped, sharp and chiseled cheekbones, strong jaw. Masculine features. Example.  LIPS  :  not  full  nor  thin, heart shaped.     COMPLEXION  :  pretty pale. Example is same as the face section.  SCARS  :  one on his chest. TATTOOS  :  a very small ‘10/17′ on his left rib.   PIERCINGS:  earlobes HEIGHT  :  6′5″  or  195cm.   BUILD  :  Inverted triangle. Broad, tapered shoulders. Muscular. Defined, sculpted abs. Long limbs. Broad chest. He was naturally towards the muscular side with broad shoulders and chest. He’s never been on the skinny side. Example one and two   USUAL  HAIR  STYLE  :  he lets his hair do their thing, he styles them a little, but he prefers a messier vibe.  USUAL  FACE  LOOK  :  He looks generally bored. His eyes have a piercing look that seem to be drilling into the person before him. Like he can see right through you. There is an insolent smirk tugging at his lips like he thinks you’re amusing. Almost proud, like he thinks he is above you. There is depth and intensity in his eyes that stare skywards in thought. There is also mischievous, radiant glimmer in his eyes.   USUAL    CLOTHING  :  prince charming meets rockstar. Lots of jackets, darker colors, boots, necklaces and rings. Here is his wardrobe.      PSYCHOLOGY. FEARS  :  claustrophobia and the fear of ending up alone. He always had this creeping feeling that he’d be alone in the end and that he was always meant to be alone.  ASPIRATIONS  :   he doesn’t have any set aspirations. They change every now and then. However, his goals are just to keep his found family happy.  POSITIVE    TRAITS  :  extremely charismatic, intelligent,  academic and studious, alluring and attractive, quick-witted, charming and captivating, articulate and eloquent, adventurous, desirable, analytical, brilliant, friendly, enthusiastic, adaptable, observant, kind, mellow, competent, extremely caring and protective over those closest to him, clever, loyal, clear-headed, confident, humorous, courageous, imaginative and creative, a visionary, refined tastes and manners, daring, dignified, ebullient, deep, remarkable, surprisingly he’s very forgiving, forthright, gallant, logical, gentlemanly and sophisticated, perfectionist, popular, self-reliant, shrewd, witty, suave, curious, and resourceful.    NEGATIVE    TRAITS  :  egocentric, self-obsessed, idle, indifferent, selfish, defiant, arrogant, argumentative, rebellious, kinda lazy, stubborn, distracted, doesn’t really care for morals, blunt, can appear insensitive a lot, is insensitive at times, no filters, can be cold for those he doesn’t care for, emotionally immature, deflects emotions, suppresses his feelings, sorta detached, kinda pessimistic, and unknowingly self-sacrificing because he thinks it’s fair and he deserves it.   MBTI  :  ENTP  (  Ne  dominant,  Ti  auxiliary,  Fe  tertiary,  and  Si  inferior  —  this  means  she  can’t  use  Ni,  Se,  Te,  and  especially  can’t  use  Fi). He  perceives  the  world  by  connecting  dots,  thinking  of  never-ending  possibilities,  looking  for  pieces  of  a  puzzle,  and  finding  meaning  in  abstract.  He  makes  judgments  on  if  what  he  perceives  fits  his  internal  logic.          ZODIAC  :  Aries sun, Gemini rising, Sagittarius moon.  TEMPERAMENT  :  sanguine choleric  ANIMALS  :  parrots and cats because they’re both intelligent but little pieces of shit who enjoy making your life hell.  VICE  :   it’s either his ego or how he ends up detaching himself FAITH  :  currently, he’s Mu.slim. He was born protestant, became an atheist when he was 13, agnostic at 14. Bud.dhist at 15. Taoist at 16. Confucianist at 17. Mu.slim at 19. Doesn't practice it though.     GHOSTS  ?  :  yep.. AFTERLIFE  ?  :   yep REINCARNATION  ?  :  he guesses so. Went  through  it, but doesn’t remember. ALIENS  ?  :  hell yeah. POLITICAL    ALIGNMENT  :  liberal. ECONOMIC    PREFERENCE  :   upper class or upper middle class is good with him.  EDUCATION    LEVEL  :   MSci in Physics from the University of Cambridge. Is opting to specialize in astrophysics soon. FAMILY. FATHER  :  Edward Wang, owner of a chain of fine dining restaurants  MOTHER  :  Elisa Violeta Wang, psychiatrist, deceased  STEP MOTHER :  Chaeyoung Wang, lawyer.  SIBLINGS  :  Cassandra Wang, athlete EXTENDED    FAMILY  :  he is not close with his external family and doesn’t know his birth mother’s family at all. They never wanted him.  FAVOURITES. BOOK  :   Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Galactic Dynamics by James Binney, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Mukarami, Slaughter house Five by Kurt Vonnegut, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. MOVIE  :  Scott Pilgrim vs The World 5    SONGS :  All You Want - Dashboard Prophets, Tokyo Smoke - Cage the Elephant, Where is My Mind? - The Pixies, Sparks - Coldplay, Lithium - Nirvana, and Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra     DEITY  :  none.  Let him argue with one and ask for proof of their deity-ness. HOLIDAY  :  Halloween. It’s dramatic and fun. MONTH  :   October, because he met Aurora and Jack this month in 2017. SEASON  :  spring  and  summer. PLACE  :  he doesn’t have a specific place, but he prefers European architecture.  WEATHER  :  cloudy and windy. Sunny if it isn’t too hot. SOUND  :  drums and percussions, the sound of aurora and jack’s laugh, guitars, violins, the sound of wind roaring, music boxes, and the clinking of bangles and jewelry.  SCENTS  :  sage, rosemary, and damascus roses. TASTES  :  chocolate, strawberries, chilies, and fried food.       FEELS  :   the feeling of hitting the drums, wind in his hair, the cold night air, warm morning sun, grass against his fingertips, silk, and touching long hair.   ANIMALS  :  cats and dogs. NUMBER  :   8 COLORS  :  white, cherry red, pink, maroon, wine red, black, and silver. EXTRA. TALENTS  :  he is an extremely talented drummer, good at guitar and the piano, he is talented at songwriting, composing music, he’s exceptionally good at mathematics and physics, analytical skills, storytelling, knows a lot of facts, near photographic memory because he remembers all important historical events with dates and details, academic writing, and brainstorming ideas.  BAD  AT  :   cooking, not very good at driving because he gets distracted, doing one task at a time, playing videogames, actually listening to what people say, being humble, and actually being a good leader.  TURN    ONS  :  this is a complicated question. He needs a very strong emotional connection to feel sexual attraction towards someone. And he only felt it for one person in his whole life. But, what sparked that attraction was a brilliant mind and the ability to connect with his mind on a very different level. It’s not going to repeat with anyone else.  TURN    OFFS  :  literally everyone else. He’s not sorry, but I am. HOBBIES  :  playing the drums, writing and composing songs, reading, solving problems, listening to music, watching shows, getting people to do weird shit, and annoying people.      AESTHETIC  :  crowns, drums, broken drumming sticks, abstract art, the vast space, chess boards, album cases, thrones, the echoing sound of pianos, Greek sculptures, galaxies and nebulas, early morning sunrise through curtains, libraries, equations scribbled on napkins, empty museums, unmade white sheets, polaroid cameras, conspiracy theories, VHS tapes, antique books, cobblestone alleyways, night skies, cluttered books, calloused fingers, crumpled composition pages, guitar picks, vinyl, telescopes, and planets.      Basically: abstract, chaotic academia, cryptid academia, dark academia, indie, kingcore, light academia, musical academia, science academia, spacecore,   QUOTES  :   it’s weird but i can’t decide which one fits him.  FC  INFO. MAIN    FC  :  victor han  ALT    FC  :  n/a. OLDER    FC  :  he can’t age past 22, so he doesn’t need one. YOUNGER    FC  :  none  yet. VOICE    CLAIM  :  both speaking and singing (his accent is posh British with a slight hint of Canadian) MUN  QUESTIONS. Q1  :    If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what    would  it  be  called ,  what  style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about ?    A1 :  The same answer as Aurora, The Tale of Solis et Lunae that stars him alongside Aurora, Lunae, Jack, and Tate, plus more. A cosmic adventure / fantasy / coming of age / superhero / the reluctant hero / the chosen one.  His role is of Aurora’s best friend and her greatest support in emotional and supernatural dangers. He is the time traveler who ascends time and space, so he often also gives her insight and information like the sage. It’ll  expand across dimensions, worlds, and different states of existence. The scenes would be cinematic with a strong soundtrack. I imagine him to have some scenes like Quick Silver in the X-Men movies.       Q2  :   What would their soundtrack / score sound like  ?     A2  :   He would have a 90s grunge or spacey dream rock sound. It ties in with the end of the last answer because i see him in one of those scenes with 90s grunge or maybe classical music ?    Q3  :      Why did you start writing this character  ? A3  :    I made Augustus just a bit before Aurora. They were a two part deal. I don’t know when it began, I just had this image of a tall, long haired boy with piercing, intelligent eyes who’s a smart-ass and likes being a know-it-all nuisance. This character has been the same since he began in 2019 and refused to change. He was always a drummer, he always had the same fashion sense, the look, Gus was always half-Korean, he always had long fingers he wore rings on, and he was always Aurora’s best friend/partner in crime. He remains unchanged and that's why I wanted to write him. This very vivid image of this boy was something I had to pen down. And just my luck, I found a fc who looks exactly how Gus looked in my head.   Q4  :    What  first  attracted  you  to  this  character  ? A4  :   Augustus is just extraordinary. It’s something I always felt about him and Aurora and I don’t see any of my other characters coming anywhere close to them regardless of how much I spent time on them. But with Augustus, his entire image and looks and personality — down to his wardrobe and jewelry was always so vivid in my head. Like I knew this very chaotically handsome boy who was going to turn the world upside down.  His story is interesting, but what interests me more is his perspective on his story. The way he looks at his life and how he is quiet and doesn’t show his pain. How confused he always is. How much he aches but never seems so. The way he loves but doesn’t say even a quarter of the intensity he feels. And how sometimes he believes he deserves suffering because it makes sense to him. I also love the connections he makes and the way he loves so deeply and profoundly but underneath the surface. His connection, love, fears, and hopes with Aurora and Jack for their respective reasons are extremely beautiful.   Q5  :      Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.  ? A5  :  Augustus is unknowingly self-sabotaging. He let go the only relationship / love in his life that made him feel like real love just because he thought he didn’t deserve it. And because when he was provoked, it made “sense” to him. He bottles his emotions and pain so much despite their intensity. He never shows how much he really cares and really hurts. And how sure he is that he’ll end up alone without friends and that it makes sense to him. Q6  :      What    do    you    have    in    common    with    your    muse  ?   A6  :    Here’s a fun answer, because I bottle my emotions like him. I also interact with the carefree way he does even if I don’t feel peachy. He’s smart and witty and really hot and I don’t even have that going on for me. So, yikes. Only of Gus’ bad things I share.  Q7  :      How  does your muse feel about you  ?   A7  :  Gus loves interacting with people so he’ll definitely show up to annoy me. Maybe, he might think I’m fun to annoy? Or maybe, we’ll have a similar sense of humor. I think he won’t dislike me. Not sure if he’ll like me. I think he’d think I’m funny in a strange sort of way.  Q8  :      What    characters    does    your    muse    have    interesting    interactions  with  ? A8  :    Aurora, first of all. They have this same brain wave-length thing going on where they’re partners in crime and bffs forever more. He knows how she is feeling and what she’s thinking even before she utters it. If she is about to sneeze, he’d get a tissue ready. He can tell if she is hungry or sleepy with one glance. She can do the same, so they sorta have this weird understanding of each other.  Jack is this older brother figure Augustus loves. He won’t admit it, but he kinda wants to make Jack proud of him. He also wants to provide love and care to Jack that he thinks he deserves but never got. They’re his family now and he’ll never be alone or sad again. He annoys Jack a lot but behind it all, he just wants Jack to think he is needed and he belongs. That if he thinks Augustus is reliant on him, then he has this family he has to protect and care for. He can’t stand the thought of Jack feeling unloved, forgotten, alone.  Tida is another one. There’s this great respect and adoration Gus has for him. Almost like he looks up to him in some ways  He also has a lot of hopes and expectations attached. He feels Tida is everything that Gus himself lacks. He is the ideal boyfriend, kindest person, shows his emotions vividly, and is like a warm and cozy blanket personified. He is probably Tida and Aurora’s biggest supporter and first one to know. He can’t be happier than he is that Aurora found someone as good and perfect as Tida.   Taewon is one really fun character. Their two-way frenemy jealousy spans over years and started in Cambridge when they were both in love with the same girl they claimed to be best friends with. Though, trying to be calm, Augustus was constantly provoked and hurt, made to feel inferior and constantly in fear of his relationship being broken by Taewon’s schemes that he couldn’t say out loud. This dark period ended with a fist fight and baggage of guilt they both carry to this day for hurting each other and the one they claimed to love. Today, they’re way past that and frenemies who have funny quips and arguments for each other. They say they dislike each other. But if the lighting is good, one would be the photographer of the other. Q9  :      What    gives    you    inspiration    to    write    your    muse  ? A9  :  Music  helps  me  imagine  scenes  with  perfect  visual  details.  Any  scenes  from  shows  that  remind  me  of  my  storylines. Q10  :      How    long    did    this    take    you    to    complete  ?   A10  :  I don’t remember. It was many days and I didn’t count because it was in bits and pieces.

#╰ ♛ 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀 ━━ the king of gods #long post #i finally did this!

[augustfords]

Auggie felt incredibly satiated after the dinner that Juan made for him—spoiled, too. It’s been awhile since a man had offered to prepare some delicious food for him, and truth be told, that’s a sure-fire way to completely woo him. If a guy knows his way around the kitchen and can whip up some delectable good, then he’s likely going to feel drawn to them. Hell, any man that’s self-sufficient in their own way is undeniably attractive to Auggie, and by the looks of it, it seems like Juan has his shit together, so it’s only natural that he’d agree to be wined and dined by him. He thought he would’ve been stupid to decline the offer, and boy, he’s glad that he didn’t. Now, the two of them have found comfort on the couch provided in the smaller’s cabin and are enjoying each other’s company over glasses of dessert wine; cozy, warm, and cuddled up.

“So, that was probably some of the best food I’ve ever had.” He states confidently, nodding his head for added emphasis. “Where’d you learn to cook like that, huh?” Slowly, he scoots a little closer to his guest; loving the feeling of his body heat. “I’ve picked up a thing or two from my aunt, but I don’t really know if I’d call myself a ‘cook’ or even a ‘home chef.’ You, though? I’d say that you could open up your own restaurant if you really wanted to!”

CLOSED STARTER written for JUAN REYES.

#〈 FILED UNDER 〉 CLOSED STARTER. #〈 FILED UNDER 〉 JUAN REYES.

[ambitionsource]

AMBITION Season 1 ♫ “First Impressions (Pilot)” REVAMPED [ 1.01 ]

CREATED BY Esther (rapunzles) & Maggie (quincywillows)

When we first wrote the pilot, we were just throwing it out there, seeing what would happen. It was a first draft. Our own new start. It’s been a long time since then.

And oh, how much has happened. So many awesome things.

This, I hope, is closer to the pilot AAA always deserved. Thanks for reading, and for whatever awesome things come next.

50 Minutes (10K words) || No warnings apply. || [ S1 Synopsis ] || [ AO3 ]

( Follow along with the music on Spotify here! )

EXT. AAA - DAY

Regal. That’s the impression this institution gives off at first glance, a Smithsonian-esque exterior standing out amidst the grey concrete jungle of Manhattan. A wide shot provides a picturesque view of the structure from above, when slowly a title card appears on the screen:

Adams Academy of the Arts.

In a fluid motion, the words dissolve and condense together, leaving only a logo of three As in red, gold, and white.

AAA.

By now, it’s pretty clear we’re watching an advert of some kind. Especially when we transition…

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

… to the principal’s office. JACKSON “JACK” HUNTER (40s), a sharply dressed and calmly confident man, is seated at the mahogany desk with his hands clasped together in front of him. He offers the camera a pleasant smile, addressing us directly.

Jack: Hi. I’m Jack Hunter, the principal of Adams Academy of the Arts. If you’re watching this video, then it’s likely you’re considering applying to our elite program for high school students. Well, either that, or you’re very lost.

Administrator humor. Jack chuckles, pauses, and continues in his professional tone.

Jack: If it’s the former, then I’m happy to be of assistance. Adams is at the forefront of performing arts education, and many of our alumni have gone on to do amazing things -- some of whom you might even recognize. While we strongly emphasize the important balance of academics with your professional goals, there is nothing more paramount than providing you, an artist on the rise, with the space to explore your potential, build your skills, and put you on the path towards success.

As Jack continues to discuss, quick panning shots of the interior of the school set the scene. It’s very clearly a promotional video, the tone upbeat and inspiring. Jack describes the facilities they have (two whole auditoriums, state of the art technical equipment, numerous practice rooms and studios), as well as the different core focuses a student can pursue -- music, performance, dance. He emphasizes their technical education program, one of the leading curriculums in the state that provides their budding technicians with hands-on experience right from the get-go.

When we cut back to Jack, still pleasantly seated behind the desk, he begins to get into what the day-to-day process of a student is like, and how this crop of students is chosen.

Jack: Every year, just about 50 students -- split into two cohorts, allowing for even more individualized instruction -- enter the halls of AAA as the freshman class. These incoming artists have talent, dedication, discipline, and above all? Ambition. These students, like you, seek out the opportunities to achieve whatever their driving passion might be -- whatever it takes. While here, they’ll hone their craft, explore the other realms of their field, learn from one another as well as highly skilled educators, and form bonds that they will carry with them for life.

All sounds swell. Jack smiles wider.

Jack: As for what this experience is like, well -- how about I let them show you?

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

This launches a quick-cut, exciting montage of what the world of Adams seems to be like. It’s full of photos, clips, and candids of the students hard at work. Performers learning choreography, soloists in the midst of a final performance, stage lights bright. Technicians piecing together sets, stage managers with headsets around their neck and thoughtful expressions, coaches and teachers lecturing to an engaged group in the black box theater.

Above all, there is a clear sense of community. All of the students are thrilled to be there, working hard, laughing and smiling with one another. While the slideshow is mainly filled with upperclassmen, there are a few faces here and there that will soon become quite familiar to us.

Sure seems like a dream high school experience, particularly for someone interested in the arts. Especially for someone who feels like an outsider, a creative, looking for a place to belong.

Jack, voiceover: The competition is fierce, and the process isn’t easy. It’s work, hard work, but any passion worth pursuing takes a little faith and a whole lot of elbow grease. The best of the best make their way to Adams, and without a doubt, the best emerge from it ready to take on the world.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

The video is wrapping up, Jack looking as confident as ever. He’s just shown us a pretty gleaming example of a school, and he looks pretty stalwart and shining himself.

Jack: The question is, where do the best of the best come from? Who has what it takes to join our elite and excellent rank of future artists? [ a beat ] Do you?

As the upbeat tones of David Bowie fade in...

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - RILEY’S BEDROOM - DAY

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Changes” as performed by David Bowie and Butterfly Boucher || Performed by Riley Matthews & Jack Hunter

An alarm goes off, a hand reaching out and hitting it off immediately. RILEY MATTHEWS (15) lays in bed, already awake and staring at the ceiling. From how anxious she looks, it seems like she hasn’t slept much at all. But then, she smiles, forcing herself to focus on the excitement.

This is going to be the day everything changes for the better. She launches out of bed, hitting play on her phone. Underneath the track, playing “Changes,” we see a reminder on her homescreen. It’s bright over a photo of her and her younger brother, neither parent featured.

First day of new school!!

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - BATHROOM - DAY

As Riley gets ready for school, she sings along to the first verse. She braids her hair, puts on her nicest, most distinct outfit, before running out the door.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - DAY

She says goodbye to her mother TOPANGA LAWRENCE (late 30s), kisses her younger brother AUGGIE MATTHEWS (8) on the top of the head. When she reaches her father waiting at the door, CORY MATTHEWS (late 30s), the two of them exchange excited grins before heading out the door together.

EXT. AAA - DAY

The two of them emerge from the nearest subway stop, and Riley gets her first good look at Adams Academy for the Arts. It’s a beautiful and daunting marble building nestled in the middle of the Upper East Side. Visualize the MET, but with the flourish and slight humble nature of a high school (although humble is not a word one would use to describe this school). It’s even more impressive in person, looming over her, than as shown in the opening video.

Cory is already on his way up the steps, but Riley hangs back, staring up at the building in awe. Somewhat overwhelmed. Students pass her by on their way inside, many far better dressed. This is a school where much of the student population is probably worth more than the school itself.

This is it. Her opportunity. Does she have what it takes?

Gearing herself up, Riley jogs her way up the steps after her father. Panning towards the school, through the atrium and across the main offices…

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Meanwhile, Jack Hunter is in his office preparing for her arrival. He’s still well-groomed, clearly an instrument of discipline and order, but he seems more harried than he did on camera. Reality versus the polished quality of promotional material.

Jack wanders his way over to the window, looking out at the students making their way into school. He carries the second verse, lamenting how things never change and students are… not so willing to listen to reason (“They’re immune to your consultations / They’re quite aware what they’re going through…”)

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

As Jack heads out of his office to walk the halls before the school day truly kicks off, Riley is making her way through them as well. This is our first glimpse into the hallowed halls of Adams, as well as the cast of large personalities we’re about to spend a series with…

Riley has to duck around ZAY BABINEAUX (15), a lithe and groovy dance student with a clear sense of self and an even clearer sense of style. He’s rehearsing with other dancers in the middle of the hallway. Nearby, CHARLIE GARDNER (15) is holding court with a lot of the girls in the class, seemingly the preferred cute male of choice at AAA. He’s the full package -- fluffy hair, pressed polo shirt, charming grin.

As Riley passes him, he eyes her and gives her a smile. Friendly, or flirtatious? Who’s to say…

For Jack, it’s evident as he walks the halls just how incongruous he is with the scenery. He’s passionate about AAA, sure, but his straight-laced and stern approach contrasts sharply with the energy, colorfulness, and folly of the students themselves. His presence is enough to pry two kissing classmates away from one another, and he earns more than a few derisive glares from students as he goes.

MAYA HART (16) is parading the halls with her clones DARBY WINTERS (15) and SARAH CARLSON (15), rambling on about some performance-related complaint. Maya is a girl with a brand -- she is the most glamorous girl Riley has ever seen, from the glossy blonde hair to the perfectly put together outfit that looks entirely made of brand-name items. They don’t even notice Riley, practically bulldozing past her without an apology.

A gangly student is arguing animatedly with ANGELA MOORE (30s), the performing arts teacher for the sophomores, outside the black box theater classroom. Angela was featured in the promotional video, but she seems way less confident now trying to tangle with this overzealous student. This is FARKLE MINKUS (15), Jewish American diva. He’s immediately identifiable as over-the-top, both with the way he’s arguing with a teacher and his swoopy hair and blazer. Like, this kid is wearing a blazer to school.

We can tell right away that Mister Farkle Minkus is going to be a PIECE. OF. WORK. Riley can too, raising her eyebrows as she passes by their disagreement.

Jack passes by Zay and his crop of dancing students, disbanding them as dancing is not allowed in the halls. Come on, they know this! The group of them don’t look very pleased, Zay tossing a scowl over his shoulder as they retreat to their respective homerooms.

INT. AAA - ATRIUM - DAY

As we get to “Strange fascination fascinating me…” Riley passes by the atrium stairwell, where the sophomore techies always congregate each morning. They’re all in dark clothes (because that’s how techies dress, but so do GOTHS???), and seem like a chaotic bunch. DAVE WILLIAMS (15) and ASHER GARCIA (14) are lobbing food at DYLAN ORLANDO (15) to see what he can catch in his mouth. NATE MARTINEZ (15) and JEFF MONROE (15) are arguing heatedly about something, but it’s impossible to tell if they’re actually upset or not. JADE BEAMON (15) is sketching in a notebook, occasionally looking up to roll her eyes at the argument.

Holding first position at the bottom of the stairs are LUCAS JAMES FRIAR (16) and ISADORA DE LA CRUZ (15), deep in conversation. Well, conversation meaning Isadora is ranting, and Lucas isn’t saying much of anything. They’re both the most intimidating of the bunch even from a glance -- Isadora due to her intense wardrobe and general aura of authority, Lucas due to his seemingly permanent disdainful expression… and maybe the fact that he is openly playing with a switchblade.

Of course, they both look up to find Riles staring at them. She makes eye contact with Lucas before quickly turning away. I mean, they’ve got a switchblade. Scary! She YEETS outta there.

Just in time to make it back to the front office, where she steps inside just as Jack steps out of his office. He offers her a smile.

Jack: Hi, Miss Matthews. Welcome to Adams Academy of the Arts.

Taking a deep breath, she returns his smile. Welcome to Adams, indeed. And, for the first time…

AMBITION. Cue title sequence.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Jack walks Riley through everything she might need to know, explaining her daily schedule and handing over welcome materials. As they’re conversing, ERIC MATTHEWS (40s) steps in as acting counselor to also give a welcome to Riley -- but it’s clear that they already know each other. She’s his niece!

As they exchange friendly banter, Jack doesn’t seem at all surprised. He makes a comment about how the Matthews family really does have a foothold in Adams, given that Riley’s father is also one of their core academic teachers. Eric doesn’t take well to Jack’s tone, cheerfully firing back a remark.

Eric: Well, I suppose Triple A has always been about family. That’s why you hired Shawn, right? Top of the line, highly skilled educators…

It’s clear that there’s some tension behind their words, at least that it seems like Jack and Eric are rarely on the same page. Riley picks up on this right quick, awkwardly looking down at her welcome materials. Jack changes the subject, suggesting that Riley head off to performance lab before they get any further derailed. After all, Eric does just love to meander time away...

Eric smiles, but it’s sharp. Rather than returning a backhanded jab, he offers to show Riley to her first class. As they’re heading out, Jack assures Riley that he’s certain she’ll find what she’s looking for at Adams.

She certainly hopes so, Jack. And away they go...

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Riley enters the auditorium, where a majority of the classes will be held. Many of the students in the sophomore A class cohort are already assembled in the first few rows of the audience, eagerly conversing with one another and catching up from the end of summer. The techies are situated further back, with their feet up on the backs of chairs and hardly paying attention.

Already, Riley is feeling the struggle of finding a place to fit. She plops herself alone in a row somewhere between the chatty performers and brooding techies, isolated from day one. Hooray.

From behind her, Dave turns around to whisper something to Dylan and Asher about her sitting alone. Lucas is also watching her, somewhat amused at how uncertain she seems about the whole situation.

Angela saunters to the front of the stage, snapping them to attention and welcoming them back for another year. She gives a rousing speech about how this year is going to be more intense than the first, but also full of self-discovery, pushing our comfort zones, and more than anything, becoming better artists. Maya, Zay, and Farkle all listen with rapt interest. Isadora rolls her eyes.

Just as she’s reaching the climactic conclusion of her monologue, she’s interrupted by SHAWN HUNTER (30s), stumbling in ten minutes late to his own class. He’s unshaven, clearly a bit of a mess, and dressed far less impressively than Angela or a majority of their students. Riley raises her eyebrows, obviously confused by his presence.

Angela: [ with biting sarcasm ] And there he is. My wonderful co-instructor, right on time.

At this, Riley’s eyebrows shoot up. Co-instructor? That guy? The rest of the performers seem equally unimpressed, a few rolling their eyes or exchanging grimaces. The techies are amused, grinning as their lead technician fumbles to the stage.

Angela: Anything you care to share with the class before we kick off our second year, Mister Hunter? Any sudden stroke of wisdom? Or basic decency?

Shawn jogs up, coming to an out of breath stand-still next to her. Side by side, the contrast between them is even more pronounced. He shrugs, half-smirking.

Shawn: Sing some stuff?

In mocking solidarity, the techies erupt into cheers. Dave and Dylan give him a standing ovation. The performers look annoyed. Farkle turns around to glare at them.

Riley is taking all of this with marked confusion. Shawn takes a sarcastic bow.

Angela, sharply: Classy as always.

For their first performing assignment of the year, Angela encourages all of them to come up and sing whatever they’ve been working on this past summer. Innocent enough. When she asks who wants to go first, however, the front of the auditorium erupts as Zay, Maya, and Farkle all leap to their feet and scrap to get to the stage first. Riley is like… what on Earth.

Farkle succeeds, yanking Zay out of the way and scrambling onto the front of the stage (they didn’t even take the fucking stairs). The clear victor, Farkle jumps back to his full height triumphantly as Maya and Zay begrudgingly return to their seats.

Farkle begins a little monologue as he adjusts his blazer, establishing his personality loud and clear. As far as he’s concerned, this year is going to be about change, and the change is going to be him taking his rightful place as the undisputed Star of the Sophomores. Maya and Zay clearly don’t agree with this assessment, so there’s already guaranteed to be drama. Lovely…

Thusly, Farkle launches into his first performance of the year (and the series).

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Man About Town” as performed by Young Frankenstein Original Broadway Cast || Performed by Farkle Minkus

Farkle kicks us off with a bold and frenzied rendition of the Broadway tune. As with many of the performances in this pilot, the solos serve to establish a baseline for each of the characters and their inherent capabilities, style, and tone. Farkle is a power tenor without a doubt, able to reach pretty high in his register and even higher in energetic delivery.

The electricity in his performance is less intrinsic and more frantic, though, indicative of a craving for the spotlight and a scrappy determined nature to maintain it at whatever cost. It demonstrates his undeniable vocal skill, for sure, but also his capacity to be obnoxious. The song seems to speak to what Farkle is hoping will be his truth -- that everyone will take notice of him, pay attention to him, that he’ll rise to the stars like he feels he’s been destined.

Riley is stunned by the amount of talent already on display. If she wants to prove that she’s here by her own merit and talent rather than just because her father works here, then she is going to have to bring it.

INT. AAA - GIRLS DRESSING ROOM - DAY

Maya and her clones hang out in the girls dressing room, getting ready for the rest of performance lab. Sarah points out that Farkle has gotten better over the summer; Darby mentions he’s gotten cuter, too.

Sarah, in disgust: Minkus? You’re joking.

Darby: Come on. He’s sort of cute!

Maya: Sure. Like a hedgehog with a deadly case of rabies.

Darby: He got taller. He looks sharper now, more mature.

Sarah: He looks like Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka after he got put through the taffy puller.

Darby: No he doesn’t!

Sarah: God, you fall for anything with testosterone and half a working vocal chord…

Quickly losing interest in discussing boys -- especially Farkle Minkus -- Maya waves off their concern about his talent. She claims she’s going to blow him out of the water, and this year is far from belonging to him.

The rivalry is loud and clear.

INT. AAA - ERIC’S OFFICE - DAY

Riley comes by to visit Eric, who eagerly greets her and situates her in the chair opposite his desk. It’s a cozy, comfortable office, far less clinical, but also less organized, than Jack’s. It’s evident why many students feel comfortable stopping in when they have a free moment. Eric jokingly points out this is their first official visit as counselor and student, before he asks her how the morning went and how she’s feeling about the school.

Riley avoids her own discomfort and feelings of disillusionment by asking Eric to tell her more about the other students instead. How is she supposed to catch up to the scenery and feel like she’s in the loop if everyone feels like a mystery? Eric agrees, trying to figure out the best way to go about explaining it to her.

Eric: Kind of feels like having to explain the history of the universe. There’s a lot of personality in the A class, you’ll find.

Riley: Oh, I got that sense pretty quickly.

An idea strikes Eric, expression brightening. He grabs his yearbook from the previous school year off the shelf behind him. As he plops it down onto the desk, he instructs Riley to pay close attention, because there is a lot to unpack.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “High School Never Ends” as performed by Bowling for Soup || Instrumental

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

As Eric talks Riley through each of the main players, we watch a typical sophomore class unfold in the auditorium. It’s pure chaos, a whirlwind of production and performers getting in the way of techies and people butting heads.

We cut between this simulated auditorium sequence and Riley and Eric talking in the office, falling into a rhythm with the classic bopping rock tune. As Eric jumps to each key student, we freeze on them in the midst of whatever they’re doing at the time.

Starting, notably, with Zay Babineaux, the dancer from the halls. The screen freeze frames on him in the midst of trying to teach choreography to a frazzled NICK YOGI (15) and CLARISSA CRUZ (15).

Eric: Zay Babineaux isn’t a bad person to keep tabs on as far as getting your sea legs around here. He was voted “Most Popular” in the yearbook last year, but the only thing he cares about more than his public approval rating is dance. I mean, the kid is religious about it. It’s part of the reason he’s so good, but that and his drive to make it are what bump him up to Diva status.

Riley: Diva status.

Eric: It’s a whole league of its own here. Everyone is driven to a certain degree -- you have to be at Triple A -- but the Divas are the ones you really need to watch out for. Zay is far from the worst of the bunch, but his dedication really puts a sharp edge on his otherwise personable presence.

The scene resumes, panning from Yogi and Clarissa struggling to learn to Charlie leading the same choreography with a gaggle of female classmates. This includes HALEY FISHER (15), who seems especially taken with him.

Charlie demonstrates much better patience than Zay in teaching others, but the girls aren’t really listening to what he’s saying. They’re more distracted by… other things he has to offer.

Eric: If you’re stuck on choreography and actually want help, then your best bet is to turn to Charlie Gardner instead. He’s incredibly well-mannered, genuinely nice kid, but I’m sure your dad would want me to warn you he does have a reputation with the ladies.

Riley: Does he date a lot of them?

Eric: To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him date anyone. But every girl wishes he would, so that’s kind of a heartbreaker move all its own, isn’t it? Still, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. If you’re looking for what to avoid…

Isadora marches across the stage, headset around her neck and show binder in her arms. She’s shouting orders, almost comically deafening Dave following behind her.

Eric: Don’t get in the way of Isadora Smackle while she’s in stage manager mode. That girl is five feet of pure unadulterated power, and she is not afraid to burn you and your ego to the ground.

Riley: Not much to burn for me.

Eric: Don’t get me wrong, she is incredibly talented. She’s got a vision like no one else, and it’s hard not to admire how passionate she is about seeing that vision come to fruition. She’s just… not fond of things that slow that process down. Like not following directions, or creating issues that don’t exist. And the queen of doing that…

Maya storms out of the dressing room hall and storms onto the stage, holding up a costume choice and obviously having much to say about it. She’s in the midst of diva transformation, makeup more glamorous than before and glossy blonde hair up out of her face.

Eric: Is Maya Hart. Now, Maya is probably the most talented triple threat we have in the sophomore class. She can dance, she can act, and by God, can she sing. But she also has an unbridled sense of what’s best for a production, and will happily fight every single person necessary until her voice is heard. She’s in hot pursuit of her dream, for better or worse, and she is ruthless.

Maya marches past the techies, Asher and Jade scrambling to get out of her way and avoid her fury. She nearly knocks Nate and Dylan into the wall while they’re carrying a two-by-four beam, which almost hits Lucas in the head. He ducks just in time. As he’s getting back up, we freeze on him mid-eye roll and looking just about ready to kill.

Eric: And whatever you do, do not mess with Lucas James Friar. If your dad were here, he’d tell you not to speak to him. Don’t even look at him unless absolutely necessary.

Riley: Why?

Eric: Lucas is… not exactly Adams’ favorite student. And that makes complete sense, because the feeling is 100% mutual.

Riley: So why is he here then?

Eric: Fair question. But I think you’ll come to find everyone came here for different reasons, Riley. I mean, look at you. Adams wasn’t your first choice for a school a year ago.

True enough. Riley still seems curious, but Eric continues on without harping on it any longer.

Eric: There’s plenty Lucas dislikes about the school -- and believe me, I’ve heard enough about it in our mandated meetings over the past year -- but nothing more so than the “diva attitudes,” namely…

Lucas has to duck again to avoid the bony arms of Farkle, who is just launching into a loud, bold, aggressive solo. He swings his arms out wide, tilting his head back and delivering a note with Rachel Berry levels of fervor. Freeze on his dramatic, impassioned belting face.

Eric: Farkle Minkus. Trust fund baby, unparalleled genius, and vocal champion -- in both singing and complaining. He’s certainly our Rachel Berry, if nothing else.

INT. AAA - ERIC’S OFFICE - DAY

As Eric finishes up his CliffNotes edition of the sophomore A class, the warning bell beckons Riley back to class. Eric assures her that she has always been a people person, and he is certain that she’ll be fine. Riley nods along, choosing to believe him.

When he asks if she’s decided what her first performance is going to be, she books it out of the office. Sorry, Uncle Eric! Gotta get to class, ha ha...

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Back in the auditorium, class continues. As Riley makes her way back to the center section, she overhears snippets of the closely congregated crew of techie students. They’re discussing Maya, and Dylan Orlando’s grin is wide and mischievous.

Dylan: I think I should go next. What if I did? Just to throw her off.

Asher: [ elbowing him ] No. Don’t --

Jeff: It’s your funeral.

Dylan: I think I should. I think --

Nate, laughing: As if you can even sing.

Dylan: You don’t know, you don’t know. I could be great. You don’t know...

But no, it’s Maya's turn to sing her piece. She takes the stage just as Riley is settling back into her seat, giving a speech very similar to Farkle’s. In fact, it’s essentially a fuck-you right back to him by twisting his words. Then she launches into her own show-stopping return from the summer, expressing its one of her favorite Broadway tunes -- and a natural fit in her repertoire.

Farkle is miffed by her song choice, seemingly a selection chosen solely to offend him.

Farkle: This bitch knows I claimed rights to all numbers in the Elphaba song canon. Unbelievable.

Dave, leaning over to Yogi: Okay, what is a song cannon, and how do I get one?

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “The Wizard and I” as performed by Wicked Original Broadway Cast || Performed by Maya Hart

From her first introduction to performing, Maya presents an interesting array of stage presence. She can carry a Broadway tune with ease, but her voice seems equally built for pop excellence. Her command of the stage is effortless -- whether you love or hate her, she’s impossible to look away from when she’s delivering a performance. The glamour of her overall appearance elevates it, but what shines is her obvious raw talent and determination.

If anyone defines what it means to have ambition, it would be Maya Hart.

Her vocals are truly stellar, and her performance is daunting. While the techies remain unimpressed -- they’ve seen this all before, too many times, after all -- Riley is totally freaked by how intense the competition is turning out to be. While the rest of the class applauds (in varied states of reluctance), she seems like she’s trying not to throw up.

INT. AAA - GIRL’S BATHROOM - DAY

The lunch bell rings. Riley has hidden herself away in the restroom, tucked in the corner stall and pacing. She attempts to talk herself down from a spiral, fully intimidated after Maya’s performance. Another deep breath...

She steps out and looks in the mirror, repeating the mantra to herself again and again. She has what it takes. She belongs here. She belongs here. She belongs here!

Riley is not going to let this year be like the others. She’s not repeating her freshman year. This year is about change, for the better, and she’s going to make it so. But to do that, she’s going to need some friends.

Time to put herself out there and start breaking down these barriers.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Angela arrives at Jack’s office, knocking curtly on the door. Although the two of them have a good working relationship and typically friendly rapport, it’s evident at that moment that she is not there with good tidings. Jack tries to side step whatever the complaint is, asking if she thinks their new student is adjusting well.

Jack: Seems nice, doesn’t she? Good kid. Should be a good influence, hopefully --

Angela: I’m not here to talk about Matthews. I’m here to talk about the ridiculous excuse for a co-instructor you call half-brother.

Yikes. Well, might as well go on, then. Jack sighs and listens plaintively as Angela informs him that Shawn showed up late this morning, and was no help during the performance lab sessions. Obviously she doesn’t know how his homeroom check-in with the techies went, but she can assume shabbily with little doubt in her mind.

Jack: I haven’t gotten a complaint from the student technicians.

Angela: I’m sure you haven’t. They don’t know any better. And even if they did, I doubt any of them would take the time to formally complain. Half of them don’t appear capable of speech, and the other half are avoiding your office anyway. Likely no doubt due to subconscious contagious influence from their instructor.

Jack: Oh, come on now.

Angela: They won’t complain, but lucky for them, I will.

Jack holds up a hand, halting her tirade. He assures her that he hears her, and he’s aware that Shawn isn’t yet performing to his best ability. He has only been in the position for a year, after all. He just needs some time to get in the swing of things, that’s all.

Angela: When I spent a season in the Guys And Dolls touring troupe, we got our sea legs fast. You know what happened if you fucked up on tour? You got cut. We didn’t get a week to blunder our way through it, let alone a year.

Pointedly, Angela states that it just seems odd. Coming from Jack Hunter, the pillar of authority at this school, such negligence is damn surprising. Given how Eric is always complaining that Jack is too straight and narrow for an arts school, it’s ironic that he’s willing to let one of their faculty members be so off the wagon and not fire him tout de suite.

Fair as that criticism may be, Jack claims he’s made his choices and she needs to trust his role as an administrator. She is of course welcome to continue leveling complaints as she sees necessary, and he’ll touch base with Shawn, but he also points out that she might be operating with some bias of her own in reporting on her co-instructor.

At this, Angela gets huffy. She shrugs off the accusation and storms off, claiming she has students to actually educate. Once she’s gone, Jack releases another heavy sigh, slouching back in his chair. Evidently, the put together and effortless appearance of Adams in the promotional video is not all that truthful… one has to wonder how much of it is expectation versus reality...

INT. AAA - CAFETERIA - DAY

The cafeteria, the classic worst place to be a new student on your first day. Even more intimidating at AAA, where the cafeteria is more claustrophobic than most with only a hundred students to accommodate at a time. Not only that, but everyone seems to already have their lunchtime crew.

Riley weaves her way through the crowd, eyeing places to potentially start her new endeavor. The techie table is at least relatively quiet, tucked away in the corner, but no way is she heading over there. Half of them are in eager and fast-paced conversation with one another, and their chaotic energy still radiates.

Not to mention, Lucas is amongst them and remains an intimidating question mark. Eric warned her, after all. He’s looking particularly nonplussed that afternoon, no lunch in front of him as he listens to the others converse. Once again he catches her looking, meeting her eyes and offering no sign of friendliness.

Yeah, not an option. Riley turns away, keeping her distance.

Charlie is holding court with a bunch of the sophomores, mainly girls. He still seems friendly enough, but Riley isn’t sure she wants to risk that potential flirtation. She needs friends, not awkward rejections. Still, she gives him a smile anyway.

Zay watches her from his table, seated with a couple other performers, YINDRA AMINO (15) and NIGEL CHEY (15). They all murmur to one another, somewhat amused, but Zay waves them off. He throws Riley a life preserver after a moment, beckoning her over to join them.

Riley is shocked that they’re talking to her -- they seem like the coolest crop of her classmates, and she in no way mirrors their general energy -- but she’s not foolish enough to refuse the invitation. If they turn out to be playing her, well, she’ll cross that bridge when she gets to it.

She slides into the seat across from Zay, who introduces himself and nods to his friends to do the same. Nigel shakes Riley’s hand from the seat next to her. She thanks them for offering her shelter, which Zay shrugs off as no big deal. Yindra asks if being the new student sucks as much as it seems like it does, and Riley is like hello, yes, it’s terrible.

Once she’s gotten comfortable with her new company, Riley asks Zay about his passion for dance and what his future dreams are after AAA. As they get to chatting, Zay expresses that he is Broadway bound with no detours and questions about it. When he gets into talking about how much he loves dance, his passion is clear on his face. He laments the attitude of Farkle and Maya, claiming he’s not like that. A bold claim, only time will tell if it’s true...

Riley asks him about his performance for class, to which he grins. Why tell her about it when he could show her?

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Dancin’ On the Sidewalk” as performed by FAME! Original Broadway Cast || Performed by Zay Babineaux (feat. AAA Sophomores)

Zay launches into this upbeat and fun dance tune, expressing his love for dance while pulling the rest of the cafeteria into it. Riley is amazed as everyone just kind of jumps up and jams with him, starting with Yindra and Nigel but slowly spreading throughout the congregation. Eventually, Zay manages to get her to her feet and pull her into it as well.

There is a sizable dance break within the song (naturally), and we get to see Riley show off some of her own skills when she’s not too intimidated. Charlie is also particularly featured in the dancing of the number, showing off his strong capability aside from being cute and charming.

However, not everyone is thrilled by this dancing development. Maya keeps Darby from joining in by yanking her back into her seat, not about to humor her rival. Farkle is the same, watching from his table in the opposite part of the cafeteria and rolling his eyes.

But no one is less thrilled than the techies. They’re exhausted, having to listen to the performers do this shit all the time. Yet another lunch, eclipsed by an impromptu performance. Lucas has had enough, getting to his feet. Isadora argues with him, but he doesn't listen. He’s already on the move. Isadora exchanges a look with Jade and Asher.

During the dance break, Lucas weaves inconspicuously through the crowd. By the end of it, he sneaks out the back door of the cafeteria.

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

As Zay is finishing up the last verse, Lucas makes his way down the hall, surveying the ceiling until he finds what he’s looking for.

Then, he starts scaling the lockers.

Intercut with the dancing, Lucas hefts himself up on top of the lockers, rolling onto his back in the thin space between the top and the ceiling. He digs in his pockets, pulling out a lighter. Ever so carefully, he sparks it and holds it out towards the sprinkler system a foot or so away. Stretching as far as he can reach… getting that flame closer and closer…

INT. AAA - CAFETERIA - DAY

As Zay and Riley bring the number to an end with a flourish, suddenly the fire alarm blares through the cafeteria. In the next second, there’s a click, and the sprinkler system erupts and douses them all in mucky water.

The cafeteria bursts into chaos, students screaming and trying to run from the building. Maya shrieks, trying to shield her hair as she and her plastics flee the scene. She isn’t afraid to push people out of the way. Farkle, meanwhile, isn’t even trying to run, frozen in rage and getting soaked. He snarls, swinging his wet hair out of his face.

Farkle: THIS OUTFIT IS WORTH MORE THAN THIS SCHOOL!

The techies erupt into laughter, high-fiving and jostling each other around as they exit the building. Dylan looks particularly gleeful, playfully shaking Asher by the shoulders, who looks notably less pleased and more than a little grossed out as he blinks the water out of his eyes.

Zay sighs, shaking his head and giving Riley a half-hearted shrug and well-meaning smile.

Zay: Welcome to Adams.

As if this kind of shit is totally normal. Riley wipes her eyes, dripping wet and totally shocked by this turn of events. What a rollercoaster of a day this is turning out to be. Certainly nothing about this in the school’s advertising...

INT. AAA - GIRL’S DRESSING ROOM - DAY

All of the sophomore girls are together in the dressing room, switching into fresh clothes and drying their hair (of course, performing arts girls have hair care products with them). Riley is the only who doesn’t seem to understand exactly what happened.

Riley: I didn’t see any fire.

Yindra, offhandedly: It wasn’t a fire. It was Friar.

Sarah: [ off of Riley’s continued confusion ] Lucas James Friar? He’s the worst.

Riley: My uncle may have… mentioned him...

Chai: He’s constantly pulling stunts like this and making a scene even though he acts like he’s above it all.

Clarissa: He never does the assignments.

Sarah: Not to mention he’s basically the definition of white trash.

Haley: He’s the worst the techies have to offer. No one even knows why he’s at this school.

This is all news for Riley, much more blatant than what Eric said. Then Isadora steps in, offering a counterpoint.

Isadora: Well, maybe if you didn’t sing and dance every lunch and stop us from enjoying our break from you singing and dancing every class, he wouldn’t need to do this stuff. But I know, you’re all incapable of doing anything but whatever it is you want.

Solid counterpoint, Isa. Riley takes that in as well.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Speaking of Lucas, the girls aren’t the only people who are certain he was the one who caused the fire evacuation. He sits opposite Jack at his desk, and it’s clear just from their posture that they’ve been in this exact position many times before. Yes, Lucas is no stranger to the principal’s office, and no friend to Jack Hunter.

Jack speaks with the exasperation of an exhausted parent who has told his child numerous times not to steal cookies from the cookie jar, but they keep doing it anyway.

Jack: Come on, Mister Friar. This is the fourth time. The fire department is considering adding us to a list. [ off his lightly amused smirk ] Are you really going to start another year this way?

Lucas, calmly: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Jack: We know you did it.

Lucas: You have no proof.

Jack: People saw you leave the cafeteria.

Lucas: I went to the bathroom. People do that, sometimes, you know. It’s actually quite a common bodily function --

Jack: Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.

Lucas: All due respect, Principal Hunter, all you have is circumstantial evidence and confirmation bias. So unless you have anything else to add, I really should get back to class so I can listen to Farkle Minkus squawk for yet another jolly day in this wonderful, wonderful institution to higher learning.

Jack doesn’t have any other proof, so there’s not much he can do. But it’s clear -- Lucas is one of his most frustrating students, and he’s run out of ways to make headway with him. It really is a wonder he’s even still at the school…

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

As Lucas makes his way back into the halls and to class, Jack follows him out. He paces a bit to clear his head, get some fresh air rather than sit in his office… and happens to run right into a conversation happening in the adjoining hall. He hangs back around the corner, eavesdropping as Eric stands with a couple of the other teachers.

The group of them are obviously not happy with the sprinkler situation. Understandably so, but Eric is trigger happy to pin the blame on Jack. He sympathizes with the complaints of the fellow faculty, before insisting that it all comes down to leadership at the end of the day. Jack is a good disciplinarian, sure, and he’s been here for years… but then how come this keeps happening? In his opinion, Jack just isn’t built for an environment like this. The arts are about creativity, inspiration, hopeful encouragement and emotional exploration… not rules, strict academics, and going by the book.

Jack is pissed, but he’s not going to make a scene. It’s nothing he’s never heard before anyway, least of all from his best counselor but least favorite co-worker. He turns the other way, marching back to his office.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - NIGHT

That night, Riley has dinner with her family. It is clear through this scene that things between Cory and Topanga are not as rosy as America’s sweethearts would have you believe. They’re snippy with one another, and it seems like problems are brewing on the horizon.

Riley mentions her struggle to pick her audition song, and the strong personalities already at play at school. Topanga instructs her with the realist approach, which is that she’ll then need to bring her best as well. What power ballads does Riley have in her repertoire? She can’t let those other students walk all over her -- they don’t want a repeat of last year.

No kidding, Topie. Although it’s well-intentioned advice, it doesn’t seem like what Riley wants to hear. She nods along, focusing back on her food.

INT. JACK’S APARTMENT - NIGHT

In a parallel setting, Jack is having a small casual dinner with his half-brother, Shawn. Although his first impression at school wasn’t much, it’s clear that Shawn isn’t the worst guy in the world. He and Jack definitely seem to have a good relationship, this family dinner a weekly tradition for them.

And Shawn can tell when Jack is burying emotions. He prompts him to spill about whatever pissed him off that day -- aside from the obvious. Is there other beef going on in the school? Anything interesting? Jack avoids it at first, but when Shawn won’t let it go, he cracks.

Jack: Actually, people had some choice things to say about you. Showing up late, again? On the first day?

Shawn’s upbeat demeanor crumbles fast, defaulting to defensive. He quickly susses out that it must have been Angela who complained, claiming that of course she’s going to rag on him. She’s biased, Jack, you know that. She’s been out to get him ever since… well, things fell apart. Of course she wouldn’t want to see him trying to pick himself back up -- imperfectly, sure, but…

Jack shakes his head, getting up from his seat and taking his plate to the sink. Shawn keeps trying to defend himself, saying it’s all Angela’s fault, that everyone is just overreacting, who cares what they think --

Jack: I do, Shawn! I have to care what they think. It’s my job!

Oh. Well… that’s another story. This gets Jack to the actual root of what he’s frustrated with -- Eric’s criticism of him, and the way no one is ever happy with him at AAA. They all think the job is so simple, so easy. File some paperwork, discipline a kid when necessary, keep things in order. But that’s harder than it sounds. Of course Eric thinks he has it all figured out -- he’s the good guy. He gets to be the faculty favorite, telling the kids exactly what they want to hear, while Jack has to be the realist. He has to deliver the hard truths, the punishments and probabilities, to step in to keep things in order even when it feels like everything is constantly in chaos.

And honestly, Shawn is not helping with that. It’s way easier for people to question Jack’s leadership, his strong stances, his ability to keep things in line, when his ���nepotism hire” can’t even show up for work on time. Shawn still tries to defend himself, but his arguments are becoming more sheepish as they go. It’s hard to argue against something that’s objectively true.

Jack: I’m not asking you to do my job. It’s my shit, and I’ll deal with it. I always do. But I’m bending over backwards for you, and you have to meet me in the middle.

Shawn: I know… I know, I’m --

Jack: I gave you this job as a fresh start, Shawn. Because I believed you could pull things back together, that you didn’t have to keep going down the road you were on. I still do believe that. But you have to prove me right, you have to show up.

Shawn: Okay. You’re right, I’m sorry.

Jack: Not even just for me. You have to show up for them. You think Friar would be going around doing this shit if he had even a little more discipline within the school day? The sense that someone else is looking out for him? You know that’s absent from every other part of his life. And all of them have their own shit. You know what that’s like -- we went through it ourselves.

Shawn: … that’s true. I --

Jack, exasperated: They’re what matters, Shawn. Forget the politics, forget the petty drama. With Angela, with Eric. Whatever. What matters are the students. We show up for them. Even if everything else is in chaos.

If anything, the exchange at least highlights why Jack is at AAA. All the criticism that gets hurled at him, all the hard choices he has to make, at the end of the day he’s doing his best. He’s there to help the students, to give them an education and foundation for the rest of their lives. One, seemingly, he wishes he had for himself.

Shawn is certainly reprimanded enough. He agrees with Jack, apologizing again and thanking him for giving him the opportunity. He knows what Jack had to risk to do it. He’s going to try not to squander it -- not to mess everything up again.

Like everything else, all Jack can do is hope for the best. He nods, taking Shawn’s dish and focusing on washing them in the sink instead of facing more of the conversation. As impassioned as the outburst was, it’s clear emotion is not Jack’s strong suit.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - RILEY’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Cory comes in to say goodnight to Riley and congratulate her on her first day. She is more open with how she actually feels about it with him than Topanga and Auggie, expressing that she doesn’t know what to do about the song. Cory gives her advice from his heart, which is that she should kick things off singing whatever makes her feel most comfortable. Something that feels like her. She shouldn’t have to change herself just to make an impression.

During this conversation, we also learn the real truth as to why Riley is attending this school now -- yes, because of her own passions, but more so because she was bullied at her former school. This is her fresh start.

She gives Cory a hug and then he kisses her forehead, bidding her goodnight. As Riley crawls into bed, she’s back to staring at the ceiling. Thinking, contemplating… as the piano opening of “Your Song” floats in…

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Your Song” as performed by Ellie Goulding || Performed by Riley Matthews

Riley keeps it simple with a soft, sweet rendition. No grand fanfare, no brassy vocals, just her sitting on a stool and singing the song. Her vocals are beautiful, but certainly not as loud as Farkle or Maya.

Angela smiles pleasantly as Riley performs. Zay watches with a smile, giving her a little thumbs up when she looks to him. Charlie obviously enjoys the performance, intrigued. Maya and Farkle look unimpressed, almost amused. At least she’s not a threat.

Most of the techies don’t pay attention or look bored. Lucas looks particularly neutral… and yet, he’s not letting his attention drift anywhere else…

A smattering of applause follow her performance. As the class is dismissed, Charlie takes the initiative to approach her and tell her that he really liked the performance. Riley, a bit flustered by the attention, is like thanks okay sure. It’s still unclear whether Charlie is flirting, or if he genuinely did just like the song…

As Riley hustles to pack up, most everybody gone, suddenly it’s just her and Lucas left in the auditorium. She glances to him, uncertain whether she should say something -- she’s supposed to be making friends, after all. But she can’t bring herself to do it. He does it instead, however, muttering an offhand comment as he heads up the back steps towards the technician’s booth.

Lucas: So exciting to see we’ve got another unassuming chorus member.

Riley doesn’t get the chance to respond, but the statement makes its impact. He’s not impressed, and she gets the feeling no one else really was either.

A little funny, coming from him considering he didn’t even perform, but if she wants to make her mark here she’s going to have to bring her A game. Maybe her mother was right -- she’s going to have to be a little bolder if she wants to hold her own.

INT. AAA - DRESSING ROOM HALL - DAY

Farkle is outside the dressing rooms, writing down notes in a journal as Maya emerges from the girls room. She says something snarky to Farkle, prompting banter between the two of them.

Farkle: Oh, yes, I was just compiling a list of all the things I’m going to rightfully accomplish this year. Winter showcase closing number, Haverford conference representative, oh, and that coveted summer spot at the Kossal camp for the rising junior class --

Maya: Oh, is daddy going to buy it for you? Think he could buy you some friends first…

The two of them stare each other down, both of them clearly meaning business and full of diva ire. It’s clear that this year is going to be a bloody battle between the two of them for top spot.

And may the best bitch win.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - RILEY’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Riley is back to feeling uncertain, her “authentic” performance not having accomplished much. Then, she supposes, it’s not clear how authentic it really was… it was certainly the safe option, at least. But everyone else around her is so loud, so bold, so ready to scrap to the death… and she doesn’t know if that’s her. Maybe she doesn’t have what it takes.

The promotional video certainly is a testament to expectations versus reality. Highly skilled faculty… the polished and put together exterior… camaraderie and a bond with classmates for life… right now, they seemed destined to kill one another.

Thoughtful, Riley pulls up her tablet and searches for the promotional video again. She skims through it, searching for parts of Jack’s speech near the end.

Jack, voiceover: The competition is fierce, and the process isn’t easy.

INT. AAA - FRONT OFFICE - DAY

Eric is in the main office, chatting with the secretaries and easily charming them. Jack emerges from his office with more paperwork, catching his eye as he goes. The two of them hold each other’s gaze for a moment, that animosity still between them.

Jack: It’s work, hard work, but any passion worth pursuing takes a little faith and a whole lot of elbow grease.

Jack keeps his chin held high -- it is his office, after all. He gives Eric a cordial nod, heading back into his office. Back to do the work that matters, to the best of his ability.

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

The A class is assembled throughout the stage, all in their rehearsal clothes. Simple leotards, sweats, no one more glamorous than the other. There for the work, there for the challenge and the practice and the opportunities.

Jack: The best of the best make their way to Adams, and without a doubt, the best emerge from it ready to take on the world.

Maya, Farkle, and Zay all rise from stretching at the same time, eyeing each other. Maya takes a pointed sip of her water bottle, turning away with a hair flip.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - RILEY’S BEDROOM - DAY

Riley is enthralled with the video, deep in thought. Jack’s words are resonating with her, leaving their impact.

Jack: The question is, where do the best of the best come from? Who has what it takes to join our elite and excellent rank of future artists? Do you?

That is the question, indeed. Riley glances up, determination in her glare as she looks towards the camera. Guess we’re going to find out!

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “One (Reprise) / Finale” as performed by A Chorus Line Original Broadway Cast || Performed by AAA Sophomores

This classic intense theater kid song takes us through the end of the episode, following each of our main characters through their morning routine at the start of the next day during the first half of the number. This gives us a little bit of insight into what might be going on in their lives beyond what we’ve seen displayed thus far…

INT. MAYA’S APARTMENT - DAY

Maya is in her small, falling apart apartment, kissing her stressed mom on the cheek as she goes out despite how well dressed she is. Talk about expectation versus reality -- she is obviously on the poverty line. Her outward appearance is in complete contrast to the world she’s actually living in every evening.

INT. BABINEAUX HOME - DAY

Zay is gathering all his dance things together, getting pats and kisses from his parents as he dashes out the door. He almost drops his ballet shoe, but his mother catches it and gives it to him, clearly showing he’s a little more scattered than he puts off.

INT. GARDNER HOME - DAY

Charlie is getting ready for the day, dancing around a house full of sisters. He’s fighting for the bathroom just as a younger sister dashes inside, forcing him to run downstairs and get ready to go anyway. His mother licks her thumb and wipes a smudge from his cheek, as his father gives him a proud nod and sees him on his way.

The crucifix adorning the wall by the front door gives us the hint that this family is devout, to some degree. How much so, and whether that matters, only time will tell...

INT. FOSTER HOME - DAY

Isadora is eating breakfast in a crowded kitchen, trying to avoid bumping into a gaggle of siblings of all races and ages. She is a foster child, crammed in a fancy house with about twelve other children. Nice accommodations, and yet still not quite a home.

It’s obviously not the most ideal environment for her. She heads out the door as fast as she can.

INT. AAA - TECHNICIAN’S BOOTH - DAY

Lucas is already at school early in the morning, in the technician’s booth where Riley left him last. He finishes pulling a black long sleeve shirt over his head, collapsing into the rolling chair and propping his feet up on the lightning board table. He starts flossing his teeth, treating the space like his own rather than school property.

One has to wonder… did he even go home? Is there a home to go to? What’s going on here…

INT. MINKUS HOME - FARKLE’S BEDROOM - DAY

Farkle, lavish and spoiled in a clearly wealthy home, is practicing his stage smile in the mirror. Totally straight-faced, then BAM! Full bright, stage presence grin. Over and over again. Obsessively adjusting his hair. Every polished piece in place. A constant performance…

EXT. AAA - DAY

As the trumpets swell before the final chorus, Riley arrives outside AAA again. She’s ready for her second go. Having what it takes.

She steadies her shoulders, then jogs up the steps towards the school.

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Bam! As we enter into the final minute of the performance, Riley spins and the spotlight hits her. The full sophomore A class performers are up on stage, running through the show-stopping number. She’s keeping up -- barely, but she is. And that’s a start.

INT. AAA - TECHNICIAN’S BOOTH - DAY

From the booth, Shawn, Isadora, and Lucas run the lights and sound levels. Watching the performance critically from a world away…

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

In the back row of the center section, Jack sits and watches the performance. Taking a moment out of his hectic schedule to settle in and appreciate what they’re doing there, watching the future artists take the foundation and flourish. He smiles, in spite of it all, reminding himself what really matters.

The kids give it their all, ending the number with a flourish. The lights are bright, Riley is alive with the energy of a good performance.

Welcome to Adams, indeed. This is it!

END OF PILOT.

#S1 #101 #episodes #s3 countdown #S1 reread #AMBITION REREAD AND REVAMPED LETS GOOOO #AAA WARRIORS ARE WE READY #🎉🎉🎉

[nightmarewritings]

New Slasher OC - Julian Sallow

I’ve finally finished that awful bastard OC I was working on to balance out how sympathetic ya know, for a slasher I made Alder (and also just because I love making OCs), he’s under the cut if anyone wants to check him out!

Name: Julian Gray Sallow

Age: 27

Height: 6'3”

Notable Physical Attributes: Poor eyesight requiring corrective lenses, large but mostly faded scar on face from a childhood bullying incident, several larger scars on torso and arms from past victims, poor choice of a hairstyle.

Residence: Nagmar Beach, Florida (Fictional)

History: Julian was born to the extremely wealthy Florence and Samson Sallow, their second child after their first, Errol, died in a tragic accident. His parents were older people, and neglected him, leaving him to be raised primarily by maids and nannies. He was also very spoiled by them.

As a child, Julian would get it frequent fights, being very abrasive and stuck up. When he was ten, another kid became so enraged by him that they sliced his face up, leaving him with a large scar on his mouth. This built up over the years, leading to a persecution complex and he spent most of his formative years actively avoiding any attempts at friendships from others.

When Julian was seventeen, he started hanging out with a neighbor named Augustus “Auggie” Brunett, after secretly witnessing him murder a man out on the streets. Julian blackmailed Auggie into teaching him everything he knew, wanting to get revenge on his tormentors. Auggie was reluctant at first, but became a very eager mentor to his very eager student once they got started.

Eventually, the two would go out killing together, wearing homemade masks, with Julian often picking out a victim who he considered to look like they thought they were better than him. The duo racked up a body count of twenty-two before Auggie was killed one day when out on his own.

Julian was devastated, having lost the only real human connection he ever felt. He burned Auggie's house to the ground before any evidence could be found, taking a few things to remember him by, and got revenge.

On his own, Julian quickly fell into loneliness, a feeling he hadn't experienced since he was a child. Eventually, he determined that what he needed was a change of scenery. He moved out of his parents house and to their vacation home in Nagmar Beach, a popular tourist destination.

He stalks the streets and boardwalks of Nagmar, looking for someone to bring home. If they're lucky, they die. If they're unlucky, he keeps them captive, hoping to mold them into a new partner for himself.

Misc Info:

Julian is selfish, rude, spoiled, and constantly sees himself as the victim, a pure soul tormented by a world that has rejected him. Pushy and aggressive, but he can play sweet when he wants. He's really good at manipulating others.

Things Julian took from Auggie after his death: a blanket, photographs, weapons, his mask, his skull. Everything else was destroyed.

Once he was truly on his own, Julian changed up his targets, no longer just looking for men who pissed him off. Now he also includes people he finds attractive.

Dyes his hair and eyebrows black regularly. His natural hair color is a golden blonde.

Talks to Auggie's skull often when he doesn't have a captive. It's kept safe in a glass case.

The house he lives in close enough to the nightlife of Nagmar Beach that it's a very short drive, but far enough away from the beach itself that it can safely have a very nice and soundproofed basement.

Loves kitsch. Loud patterns, airbrushed t-shirts, velvet Elvis', art made of seashells, neon signs, his house is tacky and gaudy and he loves it that way.

Uses Auggie's damaged mask more than his own. His own mask was a kitschy wooden bug mask.

His parents were in their late 30s when they had him, and are still alive and living it up several states away. They have no idea what Julian is up to.

Julian's brother, Errol, died in a paragliding accident when he was fourteen. Julian never met Errol, but his death left Julian with a fear of heights.

While he's got a lot of different weapons available to him, his favorite is a billhook he swiped from someones car when he was twenty.

Doesn't work, his parents fund his lifestyle. He'll receive a very large inheritance when they die.

Mostly preys on obvious tourists at bars, clubs, and concerts.

Likes boots with heels to make him look even taller than he already is. Auggie was almost 7' tall, and Julian used to feel incredibly short around him, so he over compensates.

Julian doesn't usually smoke, but he does when he's particularly stressed.

Keeps a captive on average about two weeks before he decides they're not what he's looking for and gets rid of them.

Hobbies include karaoke, pinball, dart throwing, and taking thirst trap photographs.

Big user of pet names, mostly cheesy ones: doll, sugar, honey, pumpkin, sweetie pie. Will refer to both men and women he's interested in by these from the first moment they talk.

And an image I made in Artbreeder of him:

#Lite Work #horror #slasher oc #artbreeder #slashers #julian sallow #fanart #his shirt took FOREVER to color #just the absolute tackiest #just an absolute bastard of a guy #very unpleasant to be around #rich bastard #probably the best shoes and glasses I've ever drawn

[fandomgalore-blog]

Girl Meets World characters ranked on a chaotic scale of 5. 1 being not chaotic at all and 5 being pure CHAOS; let’s begin!

(I’m not including the original characters since I already made a list for them)

Riley- she’s the definition of chaotic good. Very sweet girl that just wants to find a silver lining in everything. Sometimes she does stupid things out of love. 3/5

Maya- chaotic queen, she defitnelt calmed down by the end of the show but that doesn’t take away her overall chaotic nature. 4/5

Lucas- he isn’t chaotic tbh. He was when he was in Texas and we saw a little of that when he was angry, but overall a very tame character. 2/5

Farkle- very chaotic and jumpy king. He calmed down by the end, but like Maya, the chaos never fully went away. 3/5

Smackle- same level of chaos as Farkle which makes sense considering she’s dating him. 3/5

Zay- he says more chaotic things. We’re aware of his past like Lucas, but never truly get to see him at his peak chaotic state. I give him a 2/5

Auggie- not too chaotic, he acts how I expect someone his age to act. 2/5

Ava- 5/5, loves to give everyone hell especially Topanga and Auggie.

Josh- not chaotic really, he had a few moments, but still pretty calm. 1/5

Katy- she’s mildly chaotic which makes sense considering she’s Maya’s mom. 2-3/5

#katy hart #maya hart #gmw #girl meets world #Riley matthews #lucas friar #farkle minkus #isadora smackle #smackle #zay #auggie matthews #josh matthews #zay babineaux

[imaginarybird]

Unwilling and unable to face everyone on her own when it comes time to attend Auggie and Ava’s wedding, Riley Matthews hires a solution in Lucas Friar. Loosely based on The Wedding Date.

Part One // Part Two // Part Three // Part Four // Part Five // Part Six // Part Seven // Part Eight // Part Nine

Rating: Around a PG 13/14

Notes: Well, I’d apologize how long it took to get this done and promise never to do it again but I think we all know it’s entirely possible given my track record. But I promise that I’m never gonna abandon the fic until it’s done so you will get an ending eventually. 

Continuing over from last chapter is a blanket content/trigger warning for  some non-graphic, veiled references to depression/suicide/death.

In this chapter, an explanation is given.

page break since they took the function away wtf tumblr 

“I wanna see what Claire can do.”

“I can’t do anything.”

“Now, everybody can do something.”

Lucas gets back to their room at the bed and breakfast about an hour after leaving the restaurant, and finds Riley curled up on the bed in a nest of blankets and pillows and watching The Breakfast Club on her laptop.

His first instinct after realizing that Riley had fled from the disaster of a party had been to try and call her cell phone, but that instinct had been proven faulty when, with one phone ringing up against his ear, Lucas had felt a second phone buzzing in the pocket of his khakis and remembered that Riley had asked him to hold onto hers due to a lack of pockets in her dress. She hadn’t retrieved the car from the valet and kids working there had insisted that they hadn’t seen her since they had dropped off the car at the start of the night (and Lucas had had plenty of time to ask around in the twenty minutes it had taken to retrieve the vehicle). With no way of reaching his client and no idea of where she might go aside from their hotel, he’d had no choice but to make the drive back and hope that she was already there or at the very least was safe wherever she ended up.

Finding her back in the room, safe and not completely devastated is a relief. He doesn’t know when exactly she decided to run or how much of Eric’s revelations she had heard, but he had been more than a little worried that the violation of her trust and humiliation would have been enough to do her in, regardless of the strides she had seemingly been making earlier in the day (and given exactly what Eric divulged the most irrational parts of Lucas’ brain had been busy visualizing exactly what he might find if it had for the entire ride home). Actually seeing her helps Lucas to breathe again.

Seeing her watching one of his favorite movies leaves him feeling a bit more even-footed with where she stands and how he might be able to be there for her moving forward.

The Breakfast Club has always been the visual equivalent of comfort food for Lucas--with just the right balance of humor and drama and everything else to not be too much no matter what mood he’s in, and helping him even things out and return to zero when he needs to. That Riley had gone back to the room and set to watching it after the night she had had leads him to believe that it holds a similar place in her heart. Just one more thing they seem to have in common.

She’s further in the movie than should be possible, but he reasons that she might have skipped ahead to a part that she wanted to watch.

He does that sometimes too.

Lucas kicks off his shoes at the door, only speaking when he’s seen her eyes on him so he knows he’s not starling her. “You made it back safe?” 

She glances down, blushing. “I ran down the street a bit to a bar and had them call me a cab.” She discloses softly. Her voice is strained, giving away that there had at least been some tears in the hour since they’ve seen each other. “I had some cash in my bra to pay them, and the manager here let me back into the room. I’m sorry I left.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice to come with you.” Lucas crosses the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. He doesn’t want to invade Riley’s space, particularly when he knows she’s feeling vulnerable, but he doesn’t want to talk from across the room either. Apologies shouldn’t come from a distance. Not if you mean them. “I let my curiosity get the better of me and I got distracted from what was really important.”

“No one with a pulse could look away from that fiasco.” Riley shakes her head, dismissing the amends. She pushes away from her makeshift nest and sits up. She’s still dressed for the party.“I needed to be alone for a little while anyway.” 

Given that it’s barely been an hour (less really if he factors in the time she spent getting back to the bed and breakfast) Lucas considers offering to go out and let her have her space for a while longer. It’s not that late and there are plenty of restaurants and bars in the area that stay open well into the night. Hell, he’d be happy just going to swim some laps somewhere and working out some of his own angry energy, vacillating under the surface over the damage that Riley’s so-called family have managed to cause her. If Riley needs time by herself, it would be easy to give it to her. 

“Do you want me to--,”

“Do you think it’s true?” Riley interrupts him. 

Her question comes in a soft, uncertain tone that doesn’t seem like a good fit on her to Lucas, and he realizes quickly that he’s not sure what she’s asking about; Cory and Eric had made a lot of claims while shouting at each other--any one of them might make her question things when she’s already vulnerable. “Do I think what’s true?”

“What they’re talking about…” She casts her eyes back to the laptop.

“It’s unavoidable. It just happens.”

“What happens?”

“When you grow up, your heart dies.”

“Do we all just...lose our ability to love and become our parents? Is that what’s waiting for us?”

OK. So maybe The Breakfast Club isn’t always the best choice for a movie. 

Lucas has always just found it comforting to see a group of kids he could really relate to opening up and being honest and finding small ways to buck at the system that’s strangling them, and he’s never gone down the path of wondering if there’s any truth to the cyclical nature of the world the characters are worried about.; since giving up on trying to please his family he’s been so certain that he’ll find a way to be better than them that he hasn’t had to. But for Riley--who had, as best as Lucas can discern, experienced her parents’ transition from loving and caring to conditional and dismissive--becoming some version of her parents is a very real fear. Of course it would be. 

He leans across her to press the spacebar and pause the movie, lest they go further down the existential rabbit hole (not to mention, he knows what confession is coming up and  while he can’t be sure if what Eric let slip about Riley’s state of mind when she left her family is true, Lucas hardly thinks an extra reminder on the subject will be helpful either way). “Riley,” he says as he draws back, “I’ve spent the last week wondering how outside of appearance you could possibly be related to your parents. Believe me, you’re nothing like them.”

“They never used to be like them either. I mean...when I was little, they were great. It’s just that the older I got...I didn’t need them in the same way and they didn’t understand me and they just...stopped trying. They drifted further and further, and put their focus on the people they thought needed it more. And then when I stopped following their plans and making the choices they thought were best for me...it was like I stopped being their daughter at all. I was just...the disappointment who shared their DNA.”

Riley tears her eyes away from the frozen movie. She only glances at him before looking down at her fidgeting hands, but it’s just long enough for Lucas to see the pain she’s grappling with. 

“Lucas, the idea that one day I might hurt someone like that, that I might do that to my child...It’s terrifying.”

“If there is one thing I am 100% certain about all of this, it’s that you are in no way capable of being that awful to someone.” Lucas can’t entirely explain his confidence given that he’s only been around for a few days to observe her, but he knows--just knows-- that Riley’s not the sort of person who could hurt someone the way her family has hurt her. Even unintentionally. He doesn’t believe for a second that she has enough malice in her heart to treat anyone that poorly and he can’t bear the thought of her spending any time whatsoever doubting and torturing herself over something that could never happen. “You are, without question, a bigger and better person than the people who raised you.”

“You can’t possibly know that.”

“Of course I can. Do you think for one second that if the situation were different, and your parents had to walk into a lion’s den like this that they could show up with a smile on their face and not cause a scene? Do you think they’d bother to show up at all?”

“I only came back because Auggie asked me to.” Riley shakes her head in protest. “That doesn’t make me better than them.”

Lucas lays a hand on top of hers, partly to reassure her that he’s not buying into her argument, and partly to ground himself; he’s here with Riley and helping her and as long as that’s the case, he doesn’t have to, and in fact can’t, give into his anger over the self-doubts her family has caused. “You came back for Auggie, even though you knew dealing with just about everyone else would be awful, because he’s your brother and you love him and you would have felt terrible letting him down. In a similar position, would your parents have made the same sacrifice? Would Josh and Maya? Or anyone else here?”

Riley doesn’t give him an answer.

“That’s what makes you better than them. You’re here in an impossibly difficult situation, standing tall in the face of all this...shit being thrown at you and barely sending a single angry word back, even though some of these people really deserve it. You are so strong and open and caring...There’s not a doubt in my mind that it would be impossible for you to turn into your parents, even if you wanted to.”

“I wish I had your confidence.”

Lucas takes in everything--Riley’s softness and the way her eyes flick down to their joined hands and her teeth worrying at the corner of her lip--and he feels his heart clench. It hadn’t taken him long after meeting her for Lucas to realize just how much Riley really had going for her, leaving him wondering why she needed to use an escort like him the first place, but the more he’s gotten to know her, the more painfully obvious it’s become that she just doesn’t see the same strengths in herself that he can see in her.

He brushes his thumb across the back of her hand, pressing down gently. “Riley, do you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you.”

Riley’s gentle smile and forehead crinkled ever-so-slightly in confusion plow into Lucas and it’s all he can do to keep himself from closing the short distance between them and drawing her into another kiss. It’s not the time, Friar. She’s had a roller coaster of a night and she doesn’t need your feelings mucking it up even more. Besides, she’s a client. Whatever you think is there, it’s not. He settles for fully taking his hand in his and squeezing. “Then trust that I’m telling you the truth and that I’m seeing the best in you, even when you can’t.”

Riley’s eyes slide closed. She takes a deep, controlled breath, her head tilting backwards as she exhales, shaking her head ever so slightly.

“What’s wrong?” Lucas frowns. He’s not sure what reaction he was expecting, but this isn’t it. Riley seems almost pained.

“People don’t say things like that.” Riley says. She brings her head back down, opening wet eyes to look at him again. Thumbing at the tears that are threatening to spill over, she looks away just as quickly, her gaze landing on her lap. “Not to me.”

Lucas doesn’t think about what he’s doing. He just wants Riley to look at him. To understand that these aren’t just lines he says to any old client. That he 100% means what he’s saying. 

He reaches over with his free hand, easing Riley’s chin up with the knuckle of his bent finger. “Then you haven’t been talking to the right people.”

Riley’s eyes go wide, but she doesn’t blink. Her jaw twitches, but she doesn’t open her mouth. Whatever response is lying in wait on her tongue, she swallows around it.

“Riley, you are...extraordinary.” Lucas says, his hand still hovering just beneath her chin. “And I don’t understand how nobody here sees it, or why the people in your life aren’t tripping over themselves every day to tell you, but you are. You have to believe that you are.”

Riley blinks. Her eyes flick down, then lock on his. She doesn’t speak. Several moments pass.

“I know it’s not-,”

“They all think I’m selfish. Self-centered.” Riley blurts out. She ducks away from his hand, pulling her own arm back. “Half the time I think they’re right.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Riley speaks after taking a deep breath. “I met Charlie Gardner in preschool. And even back then he was a charmer.” 

“Momma! Daddy! Come meet Char-lee!” Riley runs to meet her parents at the door of the classroom. It’s not every day that she gets to have both of her parents at the same time--they both have a lot of responsibilities (her dad told her that was a grown-up word for doing things you don’t like instead of what you really want to be doing)--but today was her first day of preschool so it was special. She has so much to tell them about her day about all of the games they played and nap time and the snacks, but most of all she wants them to meet Charlie.

She grabs onto their hands and pulls them across the room, almost running into a partially constructed block tower and stumbling a little over an abandoned doll to the small table in the corner where she and Charlie have been coloring. 

“Char-lee, this is my mom and my dad. I call them momma and daddy, but they’re not your parents, so you can just call them their names. Cor-ee and Tuh-pan-guh.”

Charlie stops his drawing and holds out his hand “‘S nice to meet you.”

“And it’s lovely to meet you.” Her mom shakes his hand with a smile. 

Riley grins back. “Momma, Daddy, this is my boyfriend Char-lee.”

“Your what now?”

“Mr. Cory,” Charlie turns to her dad with a serious expression on his face, “when Riley is a grown-up lady, can I marry her?” “Sounds familiar.” Lucas comments when Riley reaches an obvious break in her story.

Riley nods. “Everyone thinks so. Charlie and I ‘dated’,” and here she puts finger quotes, “through kindergarten, when his parents got divorced and he moved with his mom out of the city. I missed him a lot, but it wasn’t long before I had plenty to distract me.”

It’s the first recess on the first day of first grade and Riley’s enjoying herself, picking some of the flowers growing at the edge of the playground fence. Most of her class is over on the blacktop playing a game of tag, or taking turns on the swingset, but no one had asked her to join them. She doesn’t really mind. She and Charlie hadn’t played a lot with the rest of the class last year so it’s not like she’s missing anything, and she’s used to making her own fun.

“Reminiscin’ this and that and havin’ such a good time,

“Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly what a day.”

She skips along, plucking a flower every few steps and singing a song from one of her favorite movies., not a care in the world. Then a little down the ways she spots another girl, blonde, with messy pigtail braids and scruffy pink jeans, climbing around the monkey bars by herself. Riley doesn’t think she’s ever seen her before.

 A new girl playing by herself who doesn’t even look like she’s having fun? That’s just not right. 

Riley bounds over to the monkey bars, and when the blonde swings down to the ground, Riley grins and thrusts her makeshift bouquet into her face. “Hi, I’m Riley! I brought you these.”

The girl blinks at Riley, looks down at the flowers as she takes them from Riley’s outstretched hand, and back at Riley before she smiles. She’s missing a tooth. “Maya Penelope Hart.”

“Maya and I were fast friends.” Riley pulls her knees up to her chest, looping her arms around them and resting her chin. “Inseparable. By Christmas she was like one of the family. If I did something Maya was there, and if Maya did something… well most of the time I was trying to stop her or getting dragged along for the ride.”

“Bit of troublemaker?”

“No. I mean….yeah, she did a lot of stupid stuff and had attitude that could power a small city if science could figure out how to convert it. Still does, from what I can tell. But really she was just a kid whose family didn’t have a lot of money and whose parents didn’t get along all that well and then her dad just up and left one day...she was angry and hurt and decided that if she made herself tough enough nothing else would hurt her.

“She had her problems but everyone does. And I was brought up that friendship means sticking with a person and setting an example. Giving and doing everything you could to help them grow into a better version of themselves.”

An admirable standard, Lucas thinks, but a lot to lay across the shoulders of a kid. Especially one with an already open heart. “That sounds like a lot to live up to.”

“It was. But it didn’t always feel like it. It just felt like... I had a best friend.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

Riley looks at Maya across the lunch table; all day her friend has been asking these sorts of questions --favorite animal, favorite tv show, favorite tv character--and Riley can’t figure out why, all of a sudden, after three months of friendship Maya is curious about that sort of thing. “Oh, I like every color.”

Maya shakes her head. “Yeah, but if you had to pick one. Or maybe two. Three tops.”

“Hmm…” Riley considers the options carefully. Favorite colors are no joking matter. “Blue. And red. And purple!”

“Interesting. Very interesting.”

A week later, at Riley’s birthday lunch, Maya hands her what used to be a plain white envelope, but that has been decorated with Maya’s somewhat familiar art style and is covered with cats and bunnies and flowers. Riley opens the envelope very carefully to preserve the art (much to Maya’s impatience) and finds a braided bracelet.

 A friendship bracelet. Like Riley’s seen some of the older girls at school exchange. It’s her favorite gift of the day.

Lucas shifts so he’s sitting next to Riley on the bed, feet up and off the floor; this is shaping up to be a lengthy conversation and he wants to be comfortable for it. “It sounds like you were really close.”

“Thunder and Lightning, that was us.” Riley confirms. “We never really had a big friend group but we always had each other, and it was all we needed. My family loved her and welcomed her with open arms even when she was getting into trouble… They all liked to say that she was the Shawn to my Cory.”

It shouldn’t surprise Lucas to hear the comparison--to have it officially confirmed that people were laying the weight of not one extraordinary, one in a million, relationship across Riley’s shoulders, but two--yet it somehow still leaves him stunned. Most of the adults he knows can’t handle living in the shadow of something like that, and she’s been dealing with it for over twenty years...And from all sides it seems like. “From what you told me that’s an impossible standard.”

“I was little and it was the story I had been told all my life. I just...thought I was lucky.” Riley shakes her head. “That I had such great examples in my parents and had found  a good person so I was able to build a friendship as great as my dad and Shawn’s, and I’d keep it as long as I put the work in.”

But something went wrong along the way. Obviously. Riley would almost certainly rather get a root canal than deal with Maya and the barbs Maya sends her way are far from the light teasing of a best friend, even distanced by time. She’s been downright hostile, and those on Riley’s side like Auggie and Eric are more than happy to return the favor. “So what changed?”

“For a long time, nothing. Maya and I were best friends. In middle school Charlie’s mom got remarried and he ended up back in the city at our school and it was like he’d never been gone. We got back together and everything was perfect.”

The parallels now are more than blatant and Lucas can see where the next bit of pressure will come in, but Riley keeps talking so he doesn’t get a chance to say anything. 

“I had my Shawn in Maya, my Topanga in Charlie.... I even had my own Minkus in Farkle.”

The names click together in Lucas’ mind. “Wait. That was really Farkle Minkus belting out Queen back there?” He had, of course, thought that the impossibly skinny man he had caught glimpses of on the stage while trying to help Eric and Shawn wrangle Cory looked familiar, but had dismissed his idea as a trick of the eye and mistaken identity. After all, why would the heir to one of the world’s richest and most innovative technology companies be at a party for a comparatively small wedding in Cape Cod?

“His parents went to school with mine. And then he went to school with me. Auggie’s not super close with him or anything but they were always friendly and our families our close enough to merit an obligation invite. And apparently an obligation attendee.”  From the rain clouds in Riley’s eyes that seem to shift and darken with her explanation, Lucas ascertains that there are likely problems between her and Farkle as well, though perhaps not quite as contentious as those with Maya or her family. “Anyway, he was one of our little group of misfits. Farkle, Maya, Charlie, and me.

“For a couple years, the four of us did everything together. Maya and I were best friends, Charlie really helped Farkle come out of his shell, I think we all helped Maya grow into a more hopeful, happier person... and Charlie and I were in love. At least, as much as you can be at that age.” Riley stops talking, casting her eyes down.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the story is about to take the turn that truly starts the trouble; all the seeds have been planted, all they need is a good rainstorm to sprout up into a craptastic garden of problems. Lucas prompts her softly when she doesn’t restart her story. “Then what happened?”

Riley looks up, with an expression that Lucas can’t quite read on her face. “Maya’s world crashed down.”

It takes Riley a moment to notice the persistent tapping at her window. She’s half asleep, having gone to bed nearly twenty minutes ago, but when her brain finally registers the sound her eyes snap open. Her parents insist that she keeps her bay window locked at night, and her friends normally respect the curfew, but it is their preferred entrance to the apartment so she knows if someone is showing up late at night, something major has happened.

Sure enough, in the glow of her novelty bunny night light, she can just make out Maya on the other side of the glass.  Riley’s out of bed, unlocking the window in an instant.

“Maya--,”

“Can I stay here for a while?” Maya cuts her off, blowing past her as she crawls through the window to. She quickly stands and starts to pace at the foot of the bed. 

“Of course.” Riley nods, trying to keep track of Maya’s whirlwind pace. Her friend doesn’t have a bag with her, which makes her think that she decided to leave her place suddenly, and a part of her wonders if Maya had bothered to let Katy know that she was leaving, let alone where she was going. “You know you’re always welcome here. But why? I thought tonight was the night.”

Maya stops in her tracks, facing away from Riley. “Shawn said no. Mom asked, and he said no and they broke up.” She turns around, her face scrunching up as she tries and fails to contain her tears. “My mom and Shawn broke up.” 

“Wait.” Lucas blinks, trying and not quite managing to process the information. “Are you talking about your dad’s Shawn? He dated Maya’s mom?”

Riley seems to consider her answer for a brief moment. “Shawn and Maya have a lot in common. When they met he connected with her right away. I think he probably saw himself--who he was when he was a kid--in her and wanted to help her see that things could get so much better than what she was feeling. Hanging around more to be there for that led to him meeting Katy and after a little bit of contention, there were sparks, so they started dating. But…” 

“But?” Lucas probes. It takes him a brief study of her face as he waits for her to continue to realize that her careful consideration of her words isn’t reticence to share on the subject, but her thinking about all of the past events and relationships, probably applying a mature and further outside perspective than she could have managed as a teen. 

“But while Katy was falling in love with one of the first stand-up guys to walk into her and Maya’s life, and Maya was starting to think of Shawn as her dad and that she and her mom were gonna get a happy ending and have a family, Shawn was...I think he was enjoying being the hero and the mentor. Not a lot of people have ever looked at him like that. And when we were sophomores and Katy asked him to move in, he realized that they were on separate pages, and he couldn’t stay in the relationship. He said no and broke things off to do the right thing.”

Ouch. Lucas has been on both sides of that break up before and it’s not a good place. You either feel like a moron for not being able to read your partner and see what they’re feeling, or like a grade-A jerk for being the one to break their heart; he can’t imagine being a kid who thought they were getting a family out of it all and finding out that that was never really in the cards. “I’m guessing Maya didn’t see things that way.” 

“No she didn’t.” Riley shakes her head. “And the fallout was bad.”

“You gave Maya an F on her term paper?!” Riley storms into her dad’s classroom just after school lets out, unable to control her disbelief and anger after her friend had sullenly begged out of their afternoon  plans, apparently due to her mother grounding her via text after Riley’s dad had called to give her an update on Maya’s latest school troubles. “And a week of in-school suspension?! You know yours is one of the only classes that she even bothers to try in anymore and if you fail her she’s--,”

“I gave Maya an incomplete,” her father corrects, the picture of calm as he puts down his pen on top of the quizzes he’s grading and removes his reading glasses, “because she turned in an essay that she bought online that I’ve  already read three times this year from other kids. And instead of turning her into the Honor Committee like I did the other students , I gave her the in-school suspension to serve in the library to give her the opportunity to write the paper properly and get an actual grade on it.”

“Maya wouldn’t--,” Riley stops herself this time.  Because she knows her protest would be a lie. The Maya from last year, or even just three months ago wouldn’t have considered cheating and buying an essay , but the Maya that’s been showing her face with increasing frequency lately almost certainly would. She sighs, feeling her ire rush out of her chest in a flood. 

Maya had been steadily improving since middle school. Trying hard in all of her classes, building a good relationship with her mom, talking about paths she might take after school--some of which even included attending college.

But ever since Katy and Shawn broke up, it’s like Maya’s forgotten every bit of growth she’s made.  She’s rebuilt her tough shell and attitude in record time, shutting everyone but Riley out (and sometimes even her). She’s skipping out on homework and classes, and Riley knows a few people have said that she’s been starting to circle around some of the school’s most notorious burnouts… Nothing Riley has tried has gotten through to her, and she knows everyone’s waiting for things to go back to normal. For her to get things back to normal.

“Dad, I don't know what to do. I don’t know how to help her.”

Her dad leans back in his chair. “Riley, you know how hard it is for people like Maya and Shawn to admit that they want something, and then to have hope dangled in front of her only to have it snatched away...that’s not easy to deal with. She’s hurting in a big way, and it’s not going to disappear overnight.” 

“But I’m her best friend! I know I can’t make it all go away but it’s my job to make sure she gets through it.” 

“She needs to see that even though she didn’t get this, that doesn’t mean she’ll never get anything she wants.” Her dad advises. “You need to give her a win.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Lucas blinks, shaking his head in disbelief, convinced that he can’t possibly have heard Riley right. Because there’s no way that a grown man--a teacher--Riley’s father had actually told her it was her job to make her friend’s dreams come true so she would get back onto the straight and narrow; that’s just not what people do. 

Riley repeats Cory’s recommendation.

“That is...wow.” Lucas just manages to stop the first word that comes to mind, that word being insane, from coming right out of his mouth and casting too much judgement over the situation. Riley’s affect hasn’t changed much from that of a mostly neutral storyteller thus far and it’s hard to read how she feels about what her dad had advised her to do. Given that she’s choosing to trust him and open up (and hadn’t she said something about only a couple of people having heard the whole story?) the last thing he wants is to do or say anything that will make her regret or rethink the decision. “I mean, maybe my perspective is a little skewed since my dad would have given me the exact opposite advice and tell me to cut all ties if I had a friend acting like that but…”

“It’s OK if you want to say it’s crazy.” Riley says. She pushes herself off the bed and heads over to her suitcase, continuing to speak as she opens it and digs through its contents. “It is crazy. No reasonable person puts the burden of one person’s happiness and success on their sixteen-year-old’s ability to make that person’s life magically come together.”

“I mean....it’s not great.”

“Unfortunately, that’s not how I saw it back then. I just tried everything I could to keep Maya afloat and find out what she wanted so I could find a way to give it to her. I dragged Farkle and Charlie into it too.”

“It sounds like it took a while.” 

Pajamas in hand, Riley crosses to the bathroom and steps inside, though she leaves the door cracked and continues talking as she changes. “Til August before junior year.” She confirms. “Our class went on this team-building hiking trip thing right before school started.” 

It’s not the best start to junior year.  Oh, the hiking trip at Mount Sun was supposed to be all fun and games, a nice way for the class to have one last weekend of fun before the stress of AP courses and college prep kicks in.  But that’s not how it’s worked out so far. 

For one thing, it’s hard to have too much fun when both of your parents are there to chaperone. Not that she doesn’t love them and love spending time with them, but the trip was supposed to be her opportunity to have a few days away from the constant prodding about how she’s doing on the Maya front  (and maybe actually get to sit down with Maya, who has been dodging her for most of the summer, and have a real talk about what’s going on with her) not to mention a chance  for her and Charlie to catch up after a month of Skype dates while he went out of the city to visit his dad.  

Neither is very easy with her parents hovering.  

And her plans only get further dashed when, while bringing her bag upstairs to her assigned room, Riley had tripped and wrenched her knee on the steps, leaving her unable to participate in all of the planned activities.  Instead she’s been laid up with ice packs in the window seat of the lobby, watching her friends and classmates complete trust exercises in the front yard, chatting with lodge employees, and reading  once her class had moved on to other activities. 

It’s not the fun weekend she’d been looking forward to, although it improves a little when everyone returns to the lodge for dinner and even more when the chaperones make themselves scarce from the  game room  (and Riley’s trying very hard to pretend she did not hear her parents talking about making use of the lodge hot tub) and a fairly large game of truth or dare gets underway. 

Truth or dare is by no means her favorite party game, but if it lets her actually spend some time with her friends and not sit around by her lonesome, Riley is more than willing to dive in. 

“Truth.” Even if diving in means being at the mercy of Missy Bradford and her devious little smirk. 

“Did you and Charlie send each other any special pictures while he was away this summer?”

Riley refuses to blush at the implication. “Charlie and I don’t need to resort to sex to feel close to each other, if that’s what you’re implying.” From next to her, Charlie rests his hand on top of hers.

“So that’s a no.” 

“Not everyone has to take their clothes off to get boys interested in them.” Maya snarks and Riley feels a rush of optimism for her ability to help her friend; they may not have spent as much time together over the summer but at least she’s still jumping in to defend Riley. 

Missy purses her lips. “That’s not what I’ve heard.”

Yindra and Dave jump in to get the game back on track before things can get too heated, and a few innocuous lighthearted rounds go by before Darby targets Charlie for her turn, and Charlie picks dare..

“I dare you...to kiss someone other than Riley.”

Charlie immediately draws his hand back from Riley’s. 

The room titters; everyone there knows that Charlie was Riley’s first kiss--both the innocent peck of a kindergarten romance and the version that counted when they rekindled things in middle school--and since they’ve only had a few brief periods of turmoil where they weren’t actually dating, it’s generally assumed that neither of them have kissed anyone else. Even if just in the context of a game, this would be a big deal.

Riley trusts Charlie, knows their relationship is strong and comfortable and that a kiss given on a dare is not the same as a kiss you choose to give someone, so she gives him a small smile and nods her assent when he looks over at her, as though to make sure she’s OK with him fulfilling the challenge.

He nods back and returns the smile before turning back and scanning the room.

Riley only starts to feel funny about the whole endeavor when Charlie’s eyes lock with Maya’s. 

Lucas can guess where this is going. After all, it’s hard to forget Auggie’s comments from the confrontation on their first night there. “Tell me he didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?” Riley asks, coming out of the bathroom in her pajamas with her dress bunched in one hand. “Shove his tongue down Maya’s throat? No, it was nothing quite that dramatic.”

Riley sees the whole scene almost as if she’s floating above herself. 

Charlie inches into the middle of the circle of players on his knees and leans across to Maya. He sweeps her hair behind one ear, cupping her cheek. They draw closer together, lips parted, eyes closed.  And then they kiss. Not a brief peck, but a soft, lingering moment. 

Riley can see the way Maya’s shoulders tense. She starts to bring her hand up to Charlie’s chest at the same time that he starts to run his fingers through her hair, although immediately afterwards they both seem to remember where they are and who they’re with and they practically jolt apart. They stare at each other, breathing heavily as they draw their hands back.

The whole room watches, fixated.

It’s obvious, Riley notes while trying to school her emotions, that something more than a kiss for Truth or Dare just happened. There’s a sudden electricity lingering between Maya and Charlie--a connection or chemistry that goes further than the friendship and playful antagonism she’s noted between them before; because if anything they’ve always seemed like brother and sister to her, but what she just saw was definitely not something between faux-siblings. 

Her mind races, trying to process, but she’s all too aware that now is not the time for her to react. Anything other than a calm acceptance will have her classmates labelling her as jealous or juvenile.; more than that, she doesn’t want to make matters with Maya worse by making her think that she’s mad at her. 

So when Charlie finally returns to his spot next to her in the circle, Riley offers what she hopes is a smile of reassurance, and briefly squeezes his hand.

By the time Riley has finished this part of her story, she’s finished putting her clothes away and is glancing around the room. It takes Lucas a moment to realize that she’s trying to find something else to do while they talk; they’re at the part of the story where things are starting to go wrong and she’s maybe nervous of how he’ll react or embarrassed by it all  or she just doesn’t like to talk about it but it’s all manifesting as restless energy, regardless of how drained she was earlier. Or she’s just eager to not have to look directly at him while she talks. 

Either way, she’ll quickly run out of distractions in their small room, and he has a feeling if that happens, she’ll keep carrying the whole weight of her past entirely on her own. 

“It’s still pretty warm out.” He comments off-handedly, glancing towards the door towards their room’s little porch overlooking the beach. “Want to walk while we talk?”

Riley nods. “Yeah. That sounds nice.” 

A quick hop over their porch railing later and they’re down on the beach, walking away from the lights of the various hotels and inns at the top of the beach to the moonlit shoreline, cool sand pressing beneath their toes. Lucas decides that his best choice is to not push Riley further. He waits for her to speak and they walk several minutes in silence before she continues recounting her past. 

“I sat there for a few more rounds of the game, long enough that no one would think I was leaving because of the kiss, before I left saying my knee was hurting and I wanted to go get some more ice and aspirin from my parents and go to bed. I did go up to my room, but I just wanted to think.

“And I thought myself in circles. I knew Charlie wasn’t cheating--he’d been nothing but adoring and faithful our entire relationship--but he and Maya were obviously much closer than I realized and that closeness wasn’t what I thought it was. I couldn’t figure out if they really liked each other or if it was just that physical chemistry some people have...I didn’t know how any of it really came to be or what it meant for me and Charlie. I loved him with my whole heart, but he was clearly attracted on some level to Maya… I finally decided I needed to find my mom and talk to her about it and see what she thought.”

“Topanga, I don’t know what to do.”

Riley stops in her tracks, a few steps up from the bottom of the stairs, when she hears her best friend’s voice.  Before leaving her room she’d heard plenty of classmates returning to their own rooms as curfew was imposed; Maya hadn’t shown up in their shared space, but Riley assumed that was just her friend  doing her rebellion thing, looking around parts of the lodge they weren’t supposed to be in, not her taking the same chance Riley wanted to capitalize on for some private advice with her mother. Topanga was the chaperone spending a little extra time downstairs to make sure no students were breaking curfew and making trouble, so it should have been the perfect opportunity.

“I’m a little lost. Start from the beginning and tell me everything and we’ll see what we can figure out.”

Eavesdropping is wrong. Riley knows that. But she’s been confused about Maya and her behavior for months now, and to throw her kiss with Charlie on top of it...she’ll take any piece of information she can get, however she can get it. She stays frozen on the stairs, out of sight of Maya and her mom.

“Well, you know how Riley and Charlie and Farkle have all been trying to fix me?”

“That’s not what they’re trying to--,”

Maya blows right through whatever assurance Topanga is trying to offer. “Because of that, Charlie and I have been talking a lot more.  Texting and skyping all summer… We’ve gotten way closer. I just… he understands where I’m coming from so much better than Riley or Farkle. His parents had their divorce and things are still really messy there and...it feels like we have this connection.”

“A connection like you and Riley, or more like you and Josh?”

“Like me and Josh.” The words rush out. “I know it’s awful. He’s been Riley’s boyfriend for forever and they’re in love but there’s just something about talking to him and seeing him and being around him that’s so...good. And then tonight we kissed…”

“Oh Maya…”

“Not like that! The class was playing truth or dare, and Charlie got dared to kiss someone other than Riley, and Riley was right there and she told him it was OK so he started to look around the room and his eyes landed on mine and for a moment it felt like we were the only two people in the room. We kissed and it was like this fire ignited in my chest, it felt so good. I’ve never had a kiss feel like that. And I know he felt something too… But I just feel so awful. 

“I know nobody was cheating or breaking trust or anything but I know Riley and I know she only thought it was OK for him to do the dare because she thought the kiss wouldn’t mean anything, but then it was this amazing kiss and there were sparks and my stupid crush that I already felt horrible about is now this big ball of feelings.” Maya practically spits the word though her voice is starting to become thick with tears. “And I can’t ever do anything about them, even if Charlie feels the same way, because he’s Riley’s boyfriend. If they break up it’s not like they’ve only been on a date or two. They’ve been together for years, and Riley loves him so much, so I would never be able to be with him. 

“And I know I have to be OK with that because that’s life and that’s always been the way my life goes anyways so I shouldn’t be surprised, but...kissing Charlie felt right. It felt so right, and now it all hurts so bad.”

Maya starts to cry. Riley can hear her mom trying to soothe her friend, and pictures her drawing her into her arms to offer comfort. Deciding that she’s heard enough, Riley turns around to hobble up the stairs (hopefully silently), her own heart breaking as she starts to move. 

Whether it’s for her friend’s heartache or some other reason, she’s not entirely sure.

“All of that came as such a shock.” Riley confides. “Maya and Charlie’s relationship had always been...contentious. When he moved back to the city and we started dating she didn’t like that she wasn’t the only person in my world anymore, and he was the sort of guy that was never mean or anything but had this way of casually flaunting things. So they would butt heads a lot, even though over time it got much more good-natured. But they never seemed like they were getting particularly close.”

“I mean, it does sound like there were at least some elements of their relationship that they were hiding from you.” Lucas points out. “If they had been talking all summer and neither of them mentioned it to you...Usually a secret like that is a sign that they know it’s more than just talking and they’re feeling guilty about it.”

Riley nods, crossing her arms over chest. “That’s where I eventually landed after a lot of thought. For whatever reason, they hadn’t wanted me to know the whole picture. And suddenly I had it anyway. But I also knew Maya was trying to hold her feelings back and be a good friend, and Charlie was never the one to initiate the breaks in our relationship, even if it was an issue with him that was causing our problems, so somehow it was up to me to decide what to do.”

There are really only a couple of options that Lucas can see. Either Riley chose to break up with Charlie, fracturing the friend group (it’s only logical that he would drift away from the group without Riley to tether him to the others) or Riley chose to stay with him but it eventually came out that she knew about Maya’s feelings for him, prompting the idea that somehow she’s selfish for putting her own feelings first. Either way, he can see how the emotional fallout from such a choice could start to build the rifts that have been festering for ten years. 

“I didn’t figure out what that was until the next morning.”

Breakfast is...awkward, to say the least. 

Riley, Charlie, Maya, and Farkle have grabbed food from the buffet and settled in the far corner of the dining hall, away from everyone else. No one is talking. Well… no one but Farkle is talking. Which might be a product of the fact that he appears to be the only one there who has gotten any sleep, or because he’s never been one able to stew in an uncomfortable silence.

“I wonder if they’ll cancel today’s hike or have us go anyways.” He comments, glancing towards a window where rain is pounding against the glass. “I’m not sure everyone brought rain gear. The forecast when we were packing said that today would be partly cloudy.”

Nobody answers him. He continues talking anyways. 

“Of course, if we really wanted to know when it was going to rain we could get a bee colony and observe their behavior. A study in China determined that honeybees increase their activity and production the day before a rainstorm. They think that the bees are able to register changes in barometric pressure and in the….”

Riley feels slightly bad tuning out her longtime friend while she considers the conundrum sitting across her shoulders, but she reasons that finding a solution to the emotional entanglements that leaves everyone in her friend group content is more important to her than the activity patterns of bees.  So she ignores Farkle’s nervous babble and attempts to subtly study her friends, hoping a solution will jump out at her.

She starts with her boyfriend.

Charlie sits across from her. He’s resting his elbows on the table as he eats. He’s pale, the way he gets when he doesn’t get enough sleep (last year when his parents were renegotiating their custody agreement he had seemed to be a permanent shade of milk), and he’s mostly just staring at his plate. When he does look up, he’s very deliberate with his gaze, Riley thinks.; his eyes go to either the window or to her. Nowhere else. 

Then there’s Maya.

Her best friend looks absolutely miserable. Puffy, bloodshot eyes, hair up in a  messy knot instead of one of her normal intricate styles...she’s stirring her oatmeal and letting it drip from the spoon back into the bowl rather than eating it. Riley doesn’t know what advice her mother gave Maya after she had made her escape, but she knows that Maya has been silently gluing herself to her side this morning, distancing herself from Charlie as much as possible. 

The pair are very blatantly avoiding each other,  but when the boys had been coming downstairs that morning Riley had seen a moment where their eyes had met. It had been less than a second before they looked away and Charlie had hurried to reach Riley and greet her with their normal kiss on the cheek, and she’s fairly certain they haven’t looked at one another since. Which tells a story in and of itself. 

Riley thinks. Even though they hadn’t acted on anything outside of the game last night, it’s clear that something is happening between Maya and Charlie. She knows Maya felt whatever connection they had come to life when they kissed for the dare, and based on the way he’s acting, it’s probably reasonable to guess that the same is true for Charlie. At the same time, she knows Charlie has heard her parents’ story and spotted all the parallels it has to their relationship; he’s said more than once how great it is that they’ve found each other as early as her parents had and had their example to guide them, and if she lets him, Riley figures he’ll treat this problem as their own version of her father’s ski lodge affair--a hurdle, but something they can get past with a little angst.

Meanwhile it looks like Maya is willing to break her own heart further to let Riley and Charlie stay together. And Riley can only imagine what path that anguish will lead Maya down.

The very thought grabs at her heart. She’s supposed to be helping Maya find her hope and joy again, not making things worse. She’s supposed to be finding Maya a win.

Just like that, Riley knows what she has to do.

“The whole thing is actually really strange, because honeybees hoard resources and they wouldn’t need to--,”

“Farkle,” Riley interrupts his impromptu lecture softly. She pushes her plate away, and rests her hands, one on top of the other, on the table. “Can you give us a moment, please?”

Or, Lucas realizes, there was a third option. One where Riley ignored her own feelings in favor of following an extreme version of her dad’s ridiculous advice, and gave Maya something that she wanted. He can honestly say he’s dumbfounded. For one, because he truly can’t fathom that anyone would be quite so selfless as to do that, but for another, Riley doesn’t exactly sound sad or like she regrets doing it--she’s just...tired. 

“I don’t get it.” He says without much thought. “Did you realize right then that you didn’t love him anymore? Or that Maya’s happiness was actually the secret to stopping global warming or something?”

“What?” Riley stops and looks at him, furrowing her brow.

“I’m sorry I just...I can understand breaking up with someone you still love even though you know he’d stay because you’re pretty sure he has feelings for someone else. Or maybe giving your friend permission to date someone that you don’t love anymore. But I don’t understand giving your friend and your ex of sixty seconds your blessing to explore their feelings. All because your friend hadn’t gotten anything she wanted in a long time and was acting out?”

Riley crosses her arms over her chest, her posture stiffening. Belatedly, Lucas realizes that he’s started passing and sharing judgement, despite the fact that from what he can tell, she doesn’t deserve the judgement and doesn’t need any added pressure coming from him. He opens his mouth to apologize correct himself but Riley beats him to it. 

“I was stuck between two relationships.” She says. She casts her eyes down to the sand, where they stay. “Between two people I loved so much. A guy that could maybe be the person I married one day, and the girl that was my best friend. I didn’t want to lose either of them.”

“Riley…”

Riley starts walking, and Lucas hurries to keep up. “So I started doing the math. The odds of me meeting my soulmate in preschool and dating and marrying him and having kids and everything working out like my parents did...one in a million at best. That’s just not how it happens for people. But the odds of Maya and I staying best friends…? Those were a lot better. I mean, it’s still not super common but there are way more examples of childhood friends going through life together.”

“So you decided to kill two birds with one stone. Dive into what you thought was likely inevitable and break up with Charlie, and do what your dad told you was best and give Maya a reason to hope again by getting her a real chance at something she wanted.” Lucas fills in. “You didn’t want to lose them.”

She nods. “Happy people are less likely to leave. They had feelings for each other, and they weren’t going to do anything about them and eventually they weren’t going to want to deal with how ignoring them felt. Telling Charlie I didn’t love him anymore and giving them the chance to explore their feelings was the best option. And it all worked out. 

“They started dating, Maya straightened herself out... Junior year started and everyone was happy.” 

“Even you?” Lucas probes. Doing something that makes your best friend happy might usually make you feel good, but he has his doubts when that something means breaking up with someone you still have feelings for.

“I was happy for--,” Riley cuts herself off and shakes her head before starting over, a self-correction if Lucas has ever seen one. “I should have been.” She sighs. “I wanted to be. Everyone else was in a really good place, and I put them there which should have felt good but...even though I wanted them to be happy it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be to watch it play out.”

“So anyway, would you be super mad at me if I skipped out on movie night tonight?” 

Riley doesn’t think much of Maya’s request; her friend hadn’t really said why she needed to miss their sacred tradition of Friday night movies and a sleepover, but she’s sure that whatever the reason, it must be important. They hardly ever cancel. “Of course not. We can hang out tomorrow instead.”

“Well, actually…” Maya hems, but doesn’t get to her actual protest before Charlie bounds up and pulls her into a deep kiss.

Riley quickly turns to her locker to swap the books in her backpack for the ones she’ll need for her weekend homework. The stabbing pain in her heart isn’t anyone’s business but her own, after all. For all Maya and Charlie and everyone else know, she’s thrilled for them. But if she has the option to look away and not plaster a smile on her face while the happy couple engages in the sort of close physical relationship after dating for a week and a half that she and Charlie had never achieved in their many years together… she’s going to take it. 

“Hey, beautiful.”

Riley closes her eyes at Charlie’s greeting. The nickname--and its implications--are just one more thing that he already has with Maya and never had with her. A nasty voice in the back of her head whispers that he’s always liked Maya better, because everyone always does, and that he only had ever asked her out when he moved back because it was the expected, safe option. She refuses to let the tears that prickle her eyelids at the thought move any further. She tells herself it’s not really true. It just feels like it right now because Charlie and Maya are in the honeymoon phase, and everything is more sweeping and romantic then.

“Did you ask her yet?”

“We were just in the middle of that.” Maya says.

“Ask me what?” Riley opens her eyes, finds the happiest ‘Smiley Riley’ expression she can manage and turns around again.  It takes everything in her not to let it falter when she sees how they’ve landed, Charlie standing behind Maya with his arms wrapped around her shoulders while she nuzzles against his neck.

“My stepdad needs to close up his brother’s beach house in the Hamptons since he won’t be back in the States until next year.” Charlie explains. “My family’s heading down tonight to make a weekend of it, and I asked Maya if she could come too, but she said she had to check about missing your movie night before she could say yes.”

Oh. 

Riley’s not sure if it’s her stomach or her heart that plummets through the floor.  Maybe both. Maya wants to cancel their sleepover--the sleepover they’ve only ever cancelled three times since its inception (and two of those times were because someone was in the hospital)--to go on a weekend with Charlie.  They had never cancelled anything with each other because of a boy, and here they are, changing everything once again.

She has to remind herself that this was her idea. She set this in motion and wanted this to happen; she wanted Charlie and Maya together because it meant that everything else would stay the same. And there have been some changes that she hadn’t anticipated and it’s a bit harder than she thought to watch her best friend date the boy she loves but at the heart of it it’s worth it. Because everyone is still there and friends and happy and that has to be the most important thing.  

She forces her smile a little wider. “The Hamptons? Maya you definitely have to go. And bring  a canvas. It’ll be beautiful there right now, I’m sure you’ll see something worth painting.”

“OK. So you were doing everything you could to let them be happy, and somehow that makes you selfish?”

“That part doesn’t come until later.”

“What comes next then?”

“What else? Public humiliation.”

“Riley, let’s just go. There’s no point in you making yourself miserable watching them. We can go back to my place and watch Pixar movies and drink milkshakes.”

Riley presses her lips together at Farkle’s offer. They’re closer than they’ve ever been (between throwing herself deeper into her school work and clubs to limit her time around the happy couple, and them sneaking off during the day and going on date after date, she and Farkle have been spending a big chunk of their time together) and he’s like another brother to her but their newly deepened relationship isn’t without its friction. As observant as he is, it hadn’t taken him long to figure out that she hadn’t been totally honest with Charlie and Maya about her feelings, and after he heard her out to get her reasoning and realized he wasn’t going to convince her to tell everyone the truth, he’s spent the last month and a half doing everything he can to distract her and make things a little bit easier. She loves him for it, but sometimes it’s clear by his suggestions that he doesn’t approve or understand. 

“I can’t just leave.” She protests softly, tearing her eyes away from where Maya and Charlie are dancing. “It’s homecoming. I’m on the committee that put the dance together. I have to be here.” 

Farkle raises an eyebrow, glancing around the decorated gymnasium; the dance is in full swing and everyone looks quite entertained and happy. “It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a streamer crisis anytime soon. And if there is I’m pretty sure the rest of the committee can handle it.” 

“Farkle, leaving early looks weird. People will have questions...it’ll be better if I just tough it out and stay.” She squirms a little under his discerning gaze, but relaxes a little when he reaches over and grabs her hand.

“At least come dance with me instead of standing here and torturing yourself.”

Riley nods, and he pulls her off to a far corner of the dance floor.

Some time later, Riley is chatting with Maya near the punchbowl, as Farkle and Charlie have gone to the small backstage area to get the sound system ready for the homecoming court announcements, and she almost feels relaxed; it’s easier when it’s just the two of them. 

“My mom’s been on my back all week about going to get a new coat before the weather changes,” Maya says, sipping from her punch. “So I was thinking we should totally have a girls day. It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve gone all out.”

Riley swallows back her instinctive response--that they haven’t gone out because Maya has been cancelling to spend time with Charlie--with a smile. “I love it! Where do you want to go?”

“I was thinking we go for the full makeover. Hair, clothes, the works.”

“Sounds great. New week, new us.”

“I’m just saying,” a voice filters out of the speakers on top of the music, “That you and Maya should tone down the PDA a little.”

Riley swallows around a suddenly dry mouth. It doesn’t even take her two words to recognize Farkle’s voice even with the music still blasting, and she quickly spots a handful of her classmates stop dancing and look around in confusion. 

“Why? We’re just happy together.” Charlie’s voice chimes in, and if Riley weren’t so paralyzed with fear and disbelief she’d notice the familiar stab of pain at the reminder of the differences between her relationship with Charlie and Maya’s. 

She can’t believe that Farkle is taking it upon himself to try and talk to Charlie about this. She can’t believe he’s doing it in public. She can’t believe that he’s apparently forgotten what happens when you turn a microphone on.

“Because…” Farkle draws out. “Not everyone is comfortable with it.”

“You’ve never seemed uncomfortable before, man.”

“Not me. Riley.”

The longer the conversation goes on, the more students stop their dancing. Maya crinkles her brow and stares at Riley. 

“Why would Riley have a problem with me and Maya?” Charlie asks.

And naturally, the DJ seems to catch on that something is happening and turns off the music the same moment that Farkle gives his answer. “Because she’s still in love with you.”

Lucas thinks back to his high school years. He thinks about his fellow classmates and his friends and his secrets, and although nothing that he kept to himself was quite so personally devastating as a secret love for someone close to him, and he wasn’t as close to anyone as Riley appears to have been with her friends, he’s not sure that he would have coped with any of his secrets being revealed to the entire school. Especially by someone that he trusted. 

Part of him growing up and letting go of his anger towards his family and becoming the sort of person that he could be proud of had been learning to be more open. Not to forget his past experiences but to let the past be the past, and look at everything else through a new lens. To look for the best in people. And he’d like to think that he’s come a long way with that but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know the reality of things. 

People can be cruel. Teenagers especially so. And to be forced into such a vulnerable and open position without warning, around people that probably wouldn’t know better than to find the spectacle entertaining...he can’t imagine how much that would throw a person.

Especially someone who’s been working so hard to make sure no one knew the truth.

“Riley, I--...” He means to offer comfort, but cuts himself off almost before he starts; what is there to say exactly? It’s not like there’s any set of words that can undo the past or take away the hurt she felt in that moment. 

If Riley hears his aborted comment, she doesn’t say anything. “So I’m standing there, stunned. Just completely in shock. Not only because my feelings had just been broadcast to the entire school, but I couldn’t believe that Farkle would even share them with Charlie in the first place. I know everyone is staring, but I’m so floored that I can’t even think about what to do. And all of that would have been bad enough, but the night wasn’t over yet.”

“There’s more?” Now Lucas knows he wouldn’t have coped. 

“Riley, what’s Farkle talking about?”

Riley blinks in the face of Maya’s question. She can tell the eyes of her classmates are all locked on her and it’s so silent that it feels like the air is being sucked out of the room, but there’s only one thought running through her mind. ‘They know.’ It loops, over and over, getting tossed around as everything seems to tunnel out around her. 

“Riley!” Maya shoves at her shoulder and the world snaps back into focus. “What’s Farkle talking about? What does he mean, you’re still in love with Charlie?” 

There’s no getting out of it really. Oh, she could try to lie, to tell everyone that Farkle had misconstrued what she had said and this is all one big misunderstanding, but it’s not like anyone would actually believe her at this point. No one’s going to believe that the resident genius didn’t comprehend what someone was trying to tell him to the point that he spread completely false information. And really, the only reason she had gotten away with lying about her feelings in the first place is because she had gotten to plan what she wanted to say and how she wanted to say it; she’s an actress when she can prepare and anticipate but spontaneity is not her friend. 

Riley takes a deep breath, steeling herself, before facing Maya and giving her answer. “Exactly what it sounds like. I’ve been keeping it to myself because it’s not anyone else’s business or problem but...I still love Charlie.”

“That’s not what you said when you broke up with him at the lodge.” Maya protests, her brow furrowing deeper. 

“I know it’s not exactly…” Riley drops off as Charlie comes to a stop in front of them breathing heavily, having rushed from behind the staging area. Farkle, not known for his athletic prowess, is several feet behind. 

He says her name, but nothing else. For a moment they’re just staring at one another, and it’s almost the same as the quiet moments of comfortable tension in their relationship where everything just felt closer. More connected and intense. There’s a split second where Riley thinks that maybe there is still something there between them, in spite of the last couple of months. But the spell breaks just as quickly when Maya speaks again. 

“I don’t understand. At the lodge you said your relationship had run its course. You said he and I should explore our feelings.”

“Maybe we should take this some place a little more private.” Farkle urges shortly after his arrival, glancing amongst the trio and then crowd, rapt with attention. 

Maya ignores him. “Why would you say all that if it wasn’t true?”

“Because…”Riley hedges for a moment, trying to decide how honest she should be...how much detail she should share. But she quickly realizes that there’s not much use in hiding anything. Maybe things will be less awkward and horrible if they knew she had done this to make them happy. “I thought things would be better for everyone if I stepped back. The two of you had some kind of connection, whether you wanted to admit to it or not,  and I didn’t want that to come between us. I’d much rather have you guys as my friends than to lose one of you--or both of you--because I was keeping you from something you wanted. I thought that my feelings would fade, and as long as you two were happy, whatever I went through would be worth it.”

“Then why have Farkle come talk to me?” Charlie asks, finally finding his voice again. With more words spoken, Riley can hear the taut edge in his tone--the confusion, but also the anger.

She takes a step back. “I didn’t want Farkle to tell you anything.”

“But he did.”

“Guys,” Farkle steps closer to the group, gesturing between them, “don’t you think we should at least go out to the hall?”

They ignore the suggestion, staring at each other for a moment longer, uncertainty painted across their faces. Riley wouldn’t be sure that any of them were even breathing except she can feel the familiar tightness of inhaling through anxiety in her chest. She’s not sure what she expects to happen, or even what she wants to happen at this point; she can’t even begin to figure out what her next step would be to fix the mess that’s been created in the last few minutes, and although her mind is racing, all she can do is stand there and wait for someone else to step up. 

“Riley, you’re so special, and we were always good together. You’ll always be important to me.” Charlie says after a deep breath. Next to him, Maya tenses and Riley finds it even harder to take a breath. It’s entirely possible that Charlie’s next words are going to change everything between the group; it’s exactly what she’d wanted to avoid.“But when you broke up with me and told me to move on...that’s what I did.  Dating Maya has been amazing.” He reaches over, weaving his fingers through Maya’s. “We’re really happy together, going in a great direction...I don’t want to move backwards.”

“Riles, you know how much I love you, and I hate seeing you hurt,” Maya adds on, “but we didn’t ask you to step back for us.. And now that you have and we’ve been together for a few months…”

Riley knows what happens next sets the tone for their friendship. She can give into every ounce of the heartache that is the guy she loves saying in front of everyone that getting together again with her would be moving backwards--all but confirming that he thinks things with Maya are better than they ever were with her--and cry and make a scene and make it all but inevitable that things will change beyond recognition or repair. Or, she can go with the numb shock of it all. Stay calm. And maybe it’ll be clear that she’s upset right now, but at least it will leave the door open for things to stay mostly the same. 

“I would never ask you to give up the relationship you’ve found.” Riley jumps in as Maya trails off; her words fall flat, and even when she makes herself smile she know it sounds forced and strained. She presses on anyways. “That’s why I didn’t want anyone to know. It’s my thing,  not anyone else’s. You guys are happy, and that’s what’s most important.”

“After that...Farkle and I weren’t talking. I was upset he had violated my trust and he...was not used to getting things wrong or messing up in such a big way so I’m pretty sure he didn’t know how to apologize. So things were bad in that direction and probably even more awkward with Maya and Charlie…”

“The happy couple didn’t handle things very well?” Lucas has to think that a trio of well-adjusted adults would have trouble maintaining their relationships in a similar love triangle situation, so for a group of hormonal teenagers it would have to be next to impossible. 

“They weren’t sure if they needed to change how they acted around me, so they tried but that was changing a big part of their relationship which made things weird between them. Plus, I think all three of us were worried that the wrong comment or nudge or whatever would give someone the wrong idea or hurt someone so we were all tip-toeing around each other, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not but Maya doesn’t do all that great with awkward.” 

Lucas thinks back to the various derisive and sarcastic comments he’s heard the blonde make in response to an uncomfortable situation. “She doesn’t seem to.”

“It didn’t take much more than a week for her to hit her limit and take matters into her own hands.”

“Riles, can we talk about the Charlie thing?”

Riley is so taken aback by Maya’s question, coming in the middle of their art class that she drops her paintbrush. It’s the first time since homecoming that anyone has addressed what had happened directly and she’d been mildly hopeful that the radio silence would continue until a long time had passed; maybe several years down the line they’d be able to have an open discussion about the whole thing but she knows how precarious things are between them right now and even one comment could damage things further. Thankfully, Maya continues talking without waiting for a response, and she gets to find out more before she commits to anything one way or the other. 

“It’s just that...this is weird for all of us, ya know? You’re like my sister and I know you said that you’re OK with Charlie and me being together because you’re like, the greatest friend a girl could ask for, and the last thing me or Charlie want to do is do anything that hurts you, but we’re just...not really sure where the line is right now? Like I said, we don’t want you to be uncomfortable but as a couple we’ve always been more…” Maya shifts in her seat, tilting her head back and forth as she hems over her answer.

When two seconds go by and Maya still hasn’t finished her sentence, Riley takes the hint. “Physical?”

Maya snaps her fingers and points. “Exactly! It’s not like that’s the only aspect to our relationship but it is a big one, and I know you want us to be happy, but at the same time, it’s like I said, we don’t want to hurt you. So I guess what I’m asking is…”

“Maya, you and Charlie should have exactly the relationship you want.” Riley presses her lips together, then reaches over and rests a hand on top of her friend’s. “Don’t worry about me.” After all, she thinks as Maya grins and thanks her for being so understanding, and she bends down to retrieve her paintbrush, what’s one more sacrifice to keep your friends?

“She actually went to you, barely a week after she found out that you still loved Charlie, and asked if you were OK with them making out in front of you?” Lucas can hardly believe what he’s hearing. “And she was your best friend? How were you OK with that?” 

“At the time I thought I had to be.” Riley answers. As she walks she reaches up and takes down her ponytail, starting to braid her hair instead. “Remember? According to everyone my job as her friend was to give and do everything I could to make her happy and help her grow. How I felt was never a part of the equation.” 

Right. Lucas had almost forgotten that particular mountain of bad advice. How parents could advise that level of self-sacrifice to their child...even if Riley had been misinterpreting what they had been saying, shouldn’t they have stepped in and clarified at some point? Or maybe comforted her and given some advice?  Like when they saw her making herself completely miserable? His esteem for the elder Matthews, not particularly high to begin with, drops down a little further. 

“That said, it didn’t take me very long to realize that as much as I wanted to take all of my feelings about the situation and shove them into a box at the back of my closet where I would never have to deal with them, that’s not really something a person can do. Or at least that I can do.

“I wanted to be OK with Maya and Charlie being together, but even in spite of him saying flat out that his feelings for me had changed and putting that closure between us, I still felt something for him. It hurt to see them together and how different he was with Maya. I tried my best to swallow it down and hide it but I wasn’t very good at it and between that and the ongoing mess with Farkle… There was so much tension that it was easier for everyone if I limited my time with them.” Riley ties off her braid, letting it rest on her shoulder. 

“Wait, really?” 

“Alanis Morissette eat your heart out, right?” Riley huffs. “All I wanted to do was make sure my friends were happy enough to stick around and all I did was make it too painful for me to stay.” 

Lucas frowns. Sure, the choice that she made to break up with Charlie in the first place had been a mistake but it wasn’t the only factor that made things hard. From the way she tells the story, the others hardly sound blameless, not from his perspective. “And none of them saw a problem with how they were acting or tried to fix it?”

“They were getting along fine without me. I mean, every once in a while Maya and I would try and hang out on our own but things were still awkward. The more we were apart, the clearer it was that we didn’t have as much in common as we used to and we both felt like we had to be careful with what we said… so that didn’t last very long. By Thanksgiving or so I was pretty much entirely on my own.”

“What do you mean on your own?”

“I was a goofily optimistic, klutzy kid. Whose dad taught at her school. There weren’t a ton of kids lining up around the block to be friends with me. The ones who didn’t ignore me were happy I had lost the protection of Maya and Charlie.”

Lucas doesn’t like the sound of that at all. “Protection?”

“Farkle and I were easy targets for bullies and mean girls. But being friends with Maya and Charlie gave us a layer of protection, because Maya was tough enough to scare most everyone and Charlie was one of those guys that the whole school liked so nobody really wanted to upset him.”

“So what? You drifted apart and it was open season on Riley?”

“For a few kids, yeah.” It sounds so matter-of-fact and nonchalant coming out of Riley’s mouth that Lucas can’t tell if the anger simmering in his chest is an overreaction. 

“And nobody did anything?”

“Most people didn’t know. It was mostly texts and emails. Catty comments in the girls’ bathroom. Nothing super noticeable. It would have been completely manageable if I’d been in a better place. Anyways, we’re getting off track. That stuff was a factor, not a major point in the story.”

The hasty dismissal tells Lucas that his anger is not misplaced, and it likely wouldn’t have been manageable, whether or not she’d had the support of friends, but he knows better than to press the issue further. “OK. So it’s Thanksgiving, and your friend group is pretty non-existent.”He recaps. “Where were your parents during all of that? I would have thought they’d offer all the advice they could to try and help you keep everyone together.”

“Talking to them never really worked. My mom was super busy between work and Auggie and being Maya’s go to adult for advice, so every time I managed to get her alone for five minutes, something more important came up and she dashed off with a promise to make it up to me later. 

“And my dad...he was so reluctant to discuss anything about boys and my dating of them that we only had one real conversation about it and even that was less than helpful.”

“Riley, a moment please?” 

Riley stops packing up her books the moment her dad makes the request, while everyone else filters out of the classroom. He hasn’t kept her behind after class since middle school unless she’s left her lunch money at home and they’ve already had lunch today, so she’s not sure what he could possibly want. They haven’t had any papers or tests lately that she might have done poorly on.

When the room is empty, her dad sits on the edge of his desk, directly in front of her usual seat. “You know, as a teacher I hear pretty much all the gossip that circulates around this school. Not to mention I have students that come to me for advice when they aren’t sure what to do with the problems they’re dealing with.”

“I know.” Riley laughs nervously. Between her mom and Maya and the school’s gossip network he’d probably heard every last detail about her breakup with Charlie and the subsequent homecoming fiasco a few weeks ago. Does he want her to talk about that with him? Not that she’s completely opposed to getting some parental advice on the matter--she’s felt completely lost for a while now and could really use a little guidance--but her dad never wants to talk about this sort of problem with her. 

“And I can’t help but notice there’s been a massive change with you recently.” He continues, and Riley feels a bit better about her chances; sure they don’t normally talk about boys and those sorts of feelings, but if he took notice of her struggles, maybe he was swallowing back his reservations to try and be there for her. Isn’t that what fathers do? 

“Well, things have been--,”

“So what’s going on? Why aren’t you spending time with Maya anymore?”

Just as quickly the hope stoking in her heart plummets down to her feet. She’s so stunned that that’s her dad’s question she can’t even think of an answer. 

He only lets them sit in silence for a few moments. “Look Riley, I can’t pretend I understand what made you decide that breaking up with Charlie and telling him to explore his feelings for Maya was the right thing to do; that wasn’t really what I meant when I said you needed to find a way to help her be happy again. That said, what’s done is done.  Part of growing up is learning to live with the decisions we make. You can’t turn back the clock just because something is harder than you thought it would be.” 

Riley knows that. She doesn’t want to turn the clock back. She just wants to know how to get past it all and stop hurting, but she can’t figure out how to explain that to her dad. 

“The good news is Maya’s attitude has really turned around.” Her dad continues. “She’s doing good in school again, talking about what colleges she might apply to. However misguided it was, it looks like this was the win she needed. But she’s still hurting. None of it feels any good to her without her best friend by her side.”

“So, let me make sure I’m understanding this.” Lucas shakes his head as if to clear it; it’s not that he can’t believe that Riley’s dad would ignore her feelings in such a blatant way--almost every interaction this trip has been a demonstration of his skill in that area--but it just feels jarring to have it laid out that he’s been doing it since she was so much younger, and to hear how it chipped away at Riley’s picture of him. “Your dad hears the whole story, sees that you’re having a hard time, and sits you down to tell you to suck it up and go back to Maya?”

Riley nods. “That’s the way things were. If we fought, I apologized. If she got into trouble, I got her out of it. If she liked something I had, I shared it with her. So if she wanted her best friend around, I was supposed to find a way to make it work.

“I could tell my dad was let down that he was even having to talk to me about it, which was the last thing I wanted. Plus I was so lonely and tired, I thought that going back to my friends and dealing with a little heartache would be better than having no friends and disappointing my parents. I was the good kid. I’d never gone against what they wanted before and it didn’t seem like the time to start. So I told him I’d be better, screwed on my smile and put everything I had into being the only Riley anyone seemed to care about--the happy, helpful doormat. I told Farkle all was forgiven, told Charlie the time apart had done wonders and I was over him, apologized to Maya for abandoning her and went back to the old routine of jumping for her before she could even think to ask me to. As far as everyone else was concerned, the drama was over. All was well.”

Lucas can practically hear the narration continue in his head. But all was not well. Nothing Riley has just described to him was remotely healthy. He knows because he’s done it. He knows how ignoring everything he was feeling and pretending to be a person he wasn’t had chipped away at him and left him a mess that he’d barely been able to hold together long enough to make it to college and get away. 

And Riley is such a people pleaser she had probably thrown herself into the effort with 310%, no matter how hard it was to do so. 

“How long did that go on for?”

“A few months. I slowly realized that I was the only one really trying--no one noticed that I was faking everything, or how much I was constantly giving up or setting aside to make sure everyone else got what they wanted, and never getting anything more than a smile and a pat on the shoulder in return. Even the bullies realized no one was going to notice or care, so they kept at it. Still, I ran myself into the ground, trying to convince myself that I just wasn’t meeting everyone’s standards, and if I just pushed myself a little harder and gave just a little bit more, I would and things would get better. The only time I ever got to let it all go and breathe was if I was alone, and every time I did, it was harder to put the act back on.”

“Did you ever think about not putting it back on?”

“Not until April.”

“What happened then?”

Don’t you think it’s a bit pathetic to still be clinging to Maya and Charlie? It’s not like they actually want you around.

No one wants you around.

Not even daddy talks to you anymore. 

Who can blame him with how obnoxious you are? I’m sure your parents only let you stay with them because they can’t kick you out until you’re 18.

Riley clamps her teeth onto her inner lip as she scrolls through the latest additions to the group text she can’t seem to escape no matter how many numbers she blocks on her phone. They’re hardly the nastiest she’s ever been sent, but the harshness hardly seems to matter anymore; these days every comment seems to chip past her defenses easier than the last. Reading each word hurts, and even after she closes the messages and puts her phone down they keep running through her head. 

She never gets a break anymore. 

If she’s not dealing with the texts and the notes shoved in her locker and the not-so-accidental  shoves, elbows, and trips in a crowded hallway, she’s dealing with the drama of Maya and Charlie. They have officially exited the honeymoon phase of their relationship and are starting to face some challenges. And Riley gets put in the middle of every spat. 

Charlie needs insights into Maya’s personality. Maya needs someone to vent at. They both need help arranging grand gestures of apology. Riley provides it all with every ounce of sympathy she can drudge up, no matter how difficult. And boy is it difficult.

She’d never realized how needy her friends were until she was in the position of needing some support of her own. Now it’s hard not to  notice  how little they seem to care about how she’s doing.

After that, every interaction is harder and seems to drain her more, to the point where she’s taken to sneaking off in the afternoons and studying at a coffee shop near Bryant Park, a journey no one else is likely to make,  just to get a couple hours away from it all every day. She does her homework in peace, away from self-centered friends and nasty classmates (at least, if she turns her phone off) and it gives her just enough relief to be able to go back to her home and keep up the act that she’s just as happy, just as helpful, just as unaware of the imbalance in all her relationships (with both friends and family) as always. 

Riley’s settled in at her favorite table for one such afternoon, having been working for a good hour already, when the bell above the door tinkles. She doesn’t pay much attention to the customers that enter; the cafe is packed to the brim with students either avoiding their work or getting a caffeine fix prior to a late class as it is almost every day and she’s gotten quite adept at ignoring the chaos until it interferes with her work. 

Only…

“You think you’re so cute, don’t you?”

The laugh of blonde walking past her table to join the line of patrons sounds incredibly familiar. 

“That’s what you said last night.”

And so does the boy who has an arm slung over her shoulder.

“That was about your butt, not your face.” 

Reaching behind himself, he catches her hand just before it can land a playful slap on the aforementioned butt. “So you only want me for my body, is that it?”

“That and what you can do with it.” 

The blonde stretches up on her tiptoes, pulling him into a searing kiss, just as reality gives way to Riley’s shock.

The girl is Maya. But the boy is not Charlie.

Lucas is almost positive that he hasn’t missed the bit of the story where Maya and Charlie decided they weren’t meant to be together. And he’s certain that if their relationship was less serious and the type where they were open and free to see other people that Riley would have mentioned it before now. Which means that whatever was happening in the coffee shop, it was behind Charlie’s back, in spite of all the feelings professed and happiness claimed. “Do I even want to know who she was with?”

“Probably not but it’s part of the story so…”

Riley rushes to close her textbook and gather her things to make a hasty exit. She does not want to see anymore or even worse, have them see her; if they realize they’ve been caught, there will surely be a scramble to make her understand the situation and to convince her to keep the secret and she’s not ready to deal with that. She’s not sure she’ll ever be ready to deal with that. 

Unfortunately, the universe does not agree with her plan.

In her hurry to get her belongings together, her elbow collides with her tea, sending the cup to the floor (with what feels like a surprisingly loud crash for a paper travel mug). Several patrons turn to the source of the noise, including Maya who immediately starts to fluster. 

“Riley!” Her eyes widen and she jumps away from her companion. They both rush to speak at the same time. “This isn’t what it looks like!”

“What are you doing here?”

Riley is fairly certain that there’s no alternative explanation for what she’s seen that would excuse Maya and her Uncle Josh making out in a coffee shop when earlier in the day she and Charlie were making moon eyes in the cafeteria and feeding each other bites of slightly stale cafeteria cake. She’s never been one for confrontation with her friends or family, but the heat of frustration and upset rises before she can even think to swallow it. “I study here where I can get some peace and quiet. I’d ask why you come here but I make it a point not to waste people’s time by asking questions I already know the answers to.” She turns back to the table pulling several napkins from the dispenser to try and deal with the mess. The sooner she cleans up the spill, the sooner she can leave and not have some sort of embarrassing emotional reaction. 

“Riles, this isn’t what it looks like.” Maya repeats her initial insistence. 

“Are you still dating Charlie?”

“Wh--I--that’s--,”

“It’s a simple question Maya.” Riley cuts off her sputtering, turning back around. She can practically feel her frustration and anger sparking in her eyes, something she normally does everything she can to tamp down. She finds she doesn't care.“Are you still dating Charlie?”

“Well, yeah but--,”

“Then it’s exactly what it looks like.” 

“That was the last straw for me.”  Riley informs. “I was done. I had given up the boy I loved for Maya, and even though they were supposedly both happy with each other, she turned right around and cheated on him. And because it was with Josh, she didn’t even see it as all that wrong.”

Lucas is beginning to wonder if they’ll run out of beach before the story is over. Every piece of Riley’s tale seems to bring up more questions to unpack than it answers, and he has a feeling they haven’t even reached the climax yet. “Why would it matter that it was Josh instead of someone else?”

Another heavy sigh escapes Riley’s lips. “Ever since they first met, Maya had the biggest crush on Josh. And even though she could be pretty bold and obnoxious about it,  Josh never really shut her down other to bring up their age difference. But as time went on even that got to be less and less firm.”

“Three years is a big gap when you’re still a kid but it just keeps shrinking the older you get.” Lucas nods, familiar with the argument.

She nods. “The attraction was definitely reciprocal. And they had an unspoken agreement that neither of them were supposed to just wait around and not have a love life, but if, when the age gap wasn’t so...problematic, they were both available, they were probably going to give things a shot.”

Which still doesn’t explain how the fact that it was with Josh made Maya think she had some sort of pass on the cheating thing. The key word Lucas could pick out of Riley’s explanation of the agreement was ‘available’, which Maya clearly wasn’t. “How does that make it OK for her to date two people without both of them knowing and agreeing?”

“Come on, Riles. You could at least talk to me. Let me explain.”

Riley spins on her heel, whirling to face Maya; she and Josh have been chasing after her since Riley had stormed out of the cafe, some five blocks thus far, trying to get her to stop and listen to whatever it is they have to say. Riley can’t say that she’s particularly interested in the explanation right now, but she also knows that Maya isn’t going to give up her pursuit any time soon, and she had been so flustered upon her exit that she hadn’t thought to do the sensible thing and get on the subway or hail a cab where they wouldn’t be able to immediately follow. “Fine.” She bites out, crossing her arms over her chest. “Explain.”

“Josh and I...it’s totally unexpected. We only got together last week.” 

Riley blinks, uncertain as to what in those two sentences was supposed to make her understand the situation. Maya hesitates but keeps talking.

“There just hasn’t been a good chance for me to talk to Charlie yet.”

“That’s funny, I seem to remember you being with him before classes, study hall, lunch, PE...I wonder if any of those times would have given you the opportunity to bring something like this up? Or, and I’m just throwing things out here, what about right now? I mean, surely if you stopped shoving your tongue down my Uncle’s throat you could find the time to sit down with  your boyfriend and tell him that your feelings have changed.”

“Riley, that’s not fair.” Josh jumps in.

Maya nods, continuing after him quickly. “It’s not that easy. Charlie and I have been together a long time, I can’t just break up with him out of the blue. He deserves better than that.”

Riley doesn’t even know where to begin with that. The belief  that the few months Maya and Charlie have been dating could be considered a long time...the idea that carrying on a secret relationship with someone else is somehow kinder than breaking up with a person...the light insinuations about Riley’s own break up with Charlie...it all flabbergasts her to the point of stunned silence, which Maya seems to take as the dawning of Riley’s understanding, and she’s more than happy to keep talking. 

“So it’s not that we’re trying to have this secret affair or anything. I just need a little time to figure out how to tell him in a way that won’t hurt him. It’s not like I don’t care about him. I’ve been really happy with him while we’ve been together--he’s a great guy and he  was exactly what I needed to get me through until--,”

Maya cuts herself off, but all it takes is a glance down to her hand, still interwoven with Josh’s, for Riley to fill in the blanks. He was exactly what I needed to get me through until Josh and I could be together. Whatever Maya’s feelings for Charlie are, they don’t compare to her long-harbored feelings for Josh. When the time came and opportunity rose up  Charlie was ultimately nothing more than a placeholder for her.

Riley can barely swallow around the rock that forms in her throat. “I have to go.”

“Wait! But Riley--,”

Riley ignores their duet of protests. “Good luck with your new relationship.”  The words don’t come out happy, enthusiastic, or anything remotely resembling an actual congratulatory message, but Riley’s not sure if she means them at all or is just habitually wishing them well so she doesn’t correct herself or add anything else, instead turning and stepping off the curb to hail a --thankfully empty--approaching taxi. She gets in quickly, shutting the door in Maya’s face and rattling off her address to the driver. It’s nearing dinner time so even if her study time hadn’t been interrupted and her sanctuary invaded, she’d need to be thinking about heading home anyways; she can only hope that Maya will take her fast exit as a sign to stay away, and that her parents will, for once, be understanding.

“I’m guessing they weren’t.” 

“It went better than I thought it would.” Riley shrugs. The answer doesn’t give Lucas much hope that things are about to take a turn for the better. “I had a few days of quiet. My parents didn’t sit down and talk to me about what was going on or anything, but they also didn’t make me see Maya or Josh either. It’s stupid looking back on it but even that little bit of inaction on their part was enough to give me hope that they were at least somewhat on my side; they knew what was going on so it seemed like maybe they were accepting my feelings about everything, even if they weren’t actually trying to help me through it.”

If nothing else, the fact that Riley had ever seen this bare minimum of effort--that doesn’t even really seem like much of an effort at all--as them being accepting spoke volumes about their relationship and how they had been treating her. Only there’s no good way for Lucas to say that without coming off at least somewhat judgemental of Riley that he can find, so he once again stays quiet. 

“It was a different story once Maya came clean and broke up with Charlie.”

“How so?” 

“Nobody liked that she had cheated on him. And you’ve seen how the Matthews’ act with people they disagree with.”

Lucas nods.

“Ending the situation with Charlie and getting his forgiveness got rid of that issue and repositioned her halo. She had done what she needed to do to be happy and made things right so to speak. Me being upset about it regardless of that was the only thing keeping things from going back to 100% normal.”

“That doesn’t even remotely begin to--,”

“‘Riley, we let you have your tantrum but you’re dragging it out a bit long, don’t you think?’ ‘Maya’s your best friend. Can’t you see it’s hurting her that you’re not happy for her?’ ‘It’s time to stop acting like a child and be reasonable.’” Riley cuts him off, parroting the words with such precision and bitterness that it’s clear these are very specific, very real examples of things people--not just people but her family--had said to her. “Maya was the priority. She was the mature one who had earned her feelings and I was the kid, who didn’t understand the depth of what they were talking about  and acting out because I wasn’t getting my way.

“The longer I stood my ground and didn’t crawl back, begging for her to forgive and accept me, the harder it was to deal with anyone. My parents especially. They made their disappointment in me very clear, and didn’t bother to even try and hear where I was coming from. All that mattered was that I had stopped prioritizing my friendship with Maya over everything else and Maya was unhappy, so I was in the wrong.”

Lucas doesn’t even realize his indignation has made him stop walking until Riley turns around to face him, brow furrowed. “But you were unhappy too.” He protests. “And you were their daughter. Not Maya. What made them prioritize her feelings over yours?” He doesn’t expect Riley to have an answer for him, not really, but it’s such a foreign concept to him; as hard as his parents were to deal with and as much as they didn’t really consider his feelings on anything, they also never would have put anyone ahead of him except for themselves.

“They saw her as another daughter. And to them this was my big rebellion. They raised me to be the best parts of them put together. Smart, strong, loyal, hopeful, giving… Cutting ties with Maya went against everything they had told me to be. And if they were upset with me before, it only got worse when I turned down Charlie’s promposal.”

“Charlie’s prompos-- you mean he had the nerve to ask you out again?”

“Our school always had a Spirit Week in the spring that ended with a lip-sync competition. Charlie took the lead for the junior class performance and put together a One Direction number that ended with him asking me to prom and me saying no which nobody, including him, understood.”

“Riley, can we talk?”

Riley stops gathering her books, briefly closing her eyes to steel herself for the pending conversation; she knows exactly what Charlie wants--the same thing he’s wanted for the past two days--and unfortunately her habit of lingering in the safety of a teacher-supervised classroom rather than rushing out to the madness of the hallways with the rest of her fellow students has given him an easy opening that she can’t evade. “There’s nothing to talk about Charlie.” She says, reopening her eyes. She does her best to keep her voice firm, and returns to collecting her things. Maybe if she stays firm and keeps moving it will all be over quickly. “You asked me out. I said no. That’s the end of the discussion.”

“It can’t be.” Charlie protests, He takes a step forward, laying his hand on top of hers to still it. “I know you still have feelings for me.”

It would be easy to melt into his touch. It’s gentle and familiar and everything Riley has been craving for months. She could give in and the entire mess would be done with. It just...wouldn’t be real. 

Her hesitation comes to a grinding halt and she jerks her hand back. “I don’t want to be with anyone who thinks being with me is a step backwards for them.” 

“Who said that?”

“You did.” Riley sweeps her things into her arms and stands, unable to believe that the conversation that had caused her so much heartache was so inconsequential to Charlie that he had forgotten it.

“If I said that it was only because I was confused.” He sidesteps in front of her, blocking her path. “Riley, I know the past few months have been a lot but I still care about you. We can make this work. I mean….look at what happened with your parents.” He gestures towards the front of the classroom, where her dad is trying and failing to look like he’s simply writing out his next lesson plan on the board and not hanging on every word of the conversation. “They broke up and saw other people in high school and look at them now! Married for seventeen years! That could be us one day.”

Riley looks to her dad, eyes wide pleading for his assistance; surely he must understand how crazy Charlie’s premise sounds. The odds of her parents’ relationship working in spite of all of their hurdles and separations was one in a trillion. And really, the circumstances of their breakup and what happened in the aftermath were so different than this.

But her dad just nods. “He’s right Riley. Your story isn’t over yet.”

“If it’s my story that means I get to say when it’s over.” Riley argues, though she feels a stabbing in her chest and her resolve starts to weaken at the disappointed frown that deepens across her father’s face. She tears her gaze away, glancing at Charlie one last time. “I don’t know if you’ve genuinely realized that you still care about me or if you just don’t want to be alone, but I’m sorry. Either way, my answer is no. And it’s not going to change.” She ducks around her ex and hurries out of the room before either he or her dad can say anything else. But she still hears their chorused objections, and can’t stop her tears from falling as she rushes down the hall.

Riley wraps her arms around herself as she finishes this portion of the story, squeezing tightly. Lucas can’t tell if she’s getting cold in the night air or just trying to comfort herself. “From that point on I was on my own. If I caught my parents’ attention all I ever got was a lecture; my so-called friends spent most of their time explaining all the ways that I was being a selfish bitch--that’s if they could even be bothered to talk to me or spend time with me at all. Classmates harassed me, teachers just wanted to talk about my falling grades...It felt like the only person who still liked me for me was Auggie, and that was only because he was too young to understand why everyone else was mad at me. I couldn’t exactly confide in him.”

Riley stops walking. She turns to the ocean for a moment, chewing on her lip with eyes cast downward. It’s obvious that she has more to say but needs a moment, whether to simply gather herself or find her words or something else entirely.

It’s all Lucas can do to not reach over and offer her comfort. He’s hardly a stranger to consoling his clients; in this line of work he’s often called on by people with baggage and he considers it a part of his job to help how he can--how he would want to be treated if he were opening up to someone--yet with Riley he finds himself hesitant. She’s been warming up to him and getting much more comfortable with physical contact, both within the context of their feigned relationship and outside of it, but he can’t help but worry that the emotional place the story is putting her in will render that ease and the effects moot. Riley is clearly vulnerable at the moment, and the last thing he wants to do is anything that will make the situation harder for her.

(There’s also the added complication of their earlier kiss and how every touch between them seems to carry such a weighted spark, but thinking about that is going down a road that Lucas knows will lead to trouble so really, his reluctance to act is based solely on his concern for Riley and not on his worries over the complications of the growing tangled knot of feelings in his chest. Really.)

He’s so caught up in his mental debate and the ominous uneasiness over where the story is going next that he almost misses when Riley starts to speak again.

“I started drowning, and I couldn’t see anyway to save myself. I started to think that maybe I shouldn’t--,” Riley cuts herself off as her voice grows shakier. When she starts again, it’s still thick and wet, but firm. “Uncle Eric wasn’t wrong when he said that if he hadn’t stepped in I wouldn’t be here anymore. By the time my dad called him at the end of the school year I was in a really bad place.”

“Riley! Light of my life, the one and only, my favorite niece in the universe!” 

Riley’s bed jolts with the impact of an adult launching himself onto the end of the mattress and bouncing as he settles. The movement causes her to fall out of her position, huddled on her side and staring blankly towards the window, and onto her back. She doesn’t move to correct it, or to look at the newcomer. She knows it’s her Uncle Eric, and knows, because her parents aren’t subtle in the slightest, that he’s there as their last ditch effort to make her see reason and crawl back to her friends. 

It’s a specialty of his, understanding people and repairing relationships, and she knows her parents are hoping that he can make her see the light. That as her favorite uncle somehow his words will get through to her and she’ll rethink her choices. 

Only Riley is well past the point of going back. And she doesn’t really want to look her favorite uncle in the eye while he tells her how big of a disappointment she is; she’s done that enough with everyone else in her life and to do it again would just be too much. Even hearing it will be too much but it’s not like she has a choice. She never has a choice. 

“It is a beautiful day at the start of the summer and I find you holed up in your room.” Eric says, a teasing exasperated tone gracing his voice. “The curtains on your windows aren’t even open. What gives?”

“I didn’t feel like getting up.” It’s the first time Riley has said more than a word here and there in a number of days and her throat grates. She’d add a shrug to her words but she can’t muster up the extra energy. 

“But days like today are meant to be experienced! Haven’t any of your friends been by to drag you out?”

Riley closes her eyes. For all of his positives, nobody ever said subtlety was her Uncle Eric’s forte. “We’re not exactly on speaking terms. Or even friends.”

“Yeah, I heard.” The bed starts to shift as Eric moves; Riley can tell he’s wriggling his way up to put her head on the pillows near her, even without looking. “What’s up with that?”

Definitely not subtle. 

“If you’ve heard we’re not talking then you’ve heard the story.” Her parents surely would have ranted every event as they saw it to him in order to get him to come down so quickly. She’d only overheard their conversation about asking for Eric’s help a couple of days ago and while the Senate wasn’t currently in session he had plenty of other work that he couldn’t normally just walk away from. Someone had to have said something to convince him it was urgent. 

“Well,” He draws out the word, “I’ve heard their side of things. I want to hear yours.” Eric nudges at the side of her head with his own temple; it’s his usual playful way but it seems wrong, if only because she hasn’t felt anywhere close to playful for close to a year now. 

She shakes her head minutely. “It’s not that different.”

“Considering how the story I heard sounds nothing like you, I’ll bet it is.”

Riley doesn’t dare trust the glimmer of hope that sits in Eric’s words. Sure, they might mean that he knows she’s a better person and he’s willing to actually listen and believe her, but at one point she’d thought the same about her parents. And her grandparents. And Uncle Shawn. If she thinks for one second that Eric might actually be on her side, it’s only going to hurt more when he’s not. “I don’t care. There’s no point.”

Uncle Eric exhales heavily. “Ri, there’s always, always a point,” he says, fumbling for her hand and weaving his fingers with hers. “If you really don’t want to talk about Maya and Charlie and Josh or whoever else then I’m not gonna make you. I couldn’t care less about them. I want to know about you and how you’re doing. The truth.”

The truth. 

Just the idea sends Riley’s breath into a hitch. 

The truth is that she’s beyond exhausted, and lonely, and she’s more than starting to think that everyone’s right and she’s being a horrible person. Half of the time just breathing hurts. It feels like every negative thought she’s ever had-every upset and bad mood she’s ever bypassed and tried to ignore in favor of being happy- has multiplied by a thousand and returned to come crashing down in a wave across her shoulders and she’s drowning. Swept beneath the surface and drowning and there’s nothing for her to try and grab onto. 

Riley shakes her head and her breath hitches again. This time her shoulders move with it and before she knows it, tears are falling hot and fast down her cheeks. Despite her best efforts she’s a sobbing mess within moments, but Eric just sits up properly and hoists her up into an embrace, rubbing her back and murmuring into her hair while she cries into his chest. 

“Eventually I calmed down enough to actually talk to him and tell him the whole story and what I was feeling.” Riley finishes. “And Eric just…promised me that I wasn’t doing the wrong thing, and that he was going to do everything he could to help me.”

“Like having you move in with him and Linda.” 

“Well it started with just a summer internship he found me with one of his colleagues. I went and stayed with them while I did that and he got me into therapy and kept my dealing with my parents to the absolute bare minimum. And when I told him that I didn’t want to go back to New York for my senior year he didn’t fight me, just found some family friends in education who were willing to call in some favors to help get me a super late interview at a great prep school he lived near and took the hit of telling my parents that I wouldn’t be going home.” 

Lucas nods, trying to reconcile the explanation Riley has given with the display at the karaoke party between the Matthews brothers. It’s not exactly difficult. “Hence your dad saying he stole you.”

“Exactly. Only it was all my choices, Uncle Eric just didn’t want me to be the one to tell them when I was in such a bad place. And ever since then, and when I decided to go to college out west, every time I see my family or talk to them, it’s exactly what you’ve seen. Awkward and  uncomfortable at the best of times, outright hostile and downtrodding at others… they don’t hate me but they don’t exactly like me either.”

Lucas thinks over that assessment. It’s not totally inaccurate; the Matthews’ certainly aren’t trying to freeze her out of being there for Auggie or anything like that--they aren’t actively trying to make Riley miserable--but it’s clear that their affection comes with conditions. You either think and act a certain way or you don’t belong. And even though he doesn’t think Riley is all that far from fulfilling every one of those standards in the present day, because she didn’t do exactly what they wanted in high school and refuses to apologize for it or be a doormat any longer, her family is refusing to see that.

His family had been similar, although he had definitely been further away from their idea of what a perfect son was, and they had treated him like that every time he drifted for as long as he could remember, so when he finally realized how wrong it was and had gotten out from under them, it had been a fairly easy choice to cut the cord and decide he wouldn’t deal with them anymore. Riley didn’t have that blessing. She had a family that had loved her unconditionally right up until the point that they didn’t, so she had more dissonance to reconcile in their behaviors; she had something that most everyone would want to try and get back.

Lucas doesn’t want to overstep any boundaries, or give advice where it’s not wanted, but he knows this is a painful and tricky situation and not many people involved can look at it without the blinders of family on. Even Eric, who had done so well to remove her from the toxic situation in the first place is clearly reluctant to do or suggest more, only throwing direct blame tonight when pushed by the situation. Ultimately it feels like, as an outsider who has taken on taking care of Riley, he needs to try and say something. 

“Do you ever think about not coming back? I mean, I get why you’re here for this. It’s Auggie’s wedding, and he’s a good guy and your brother so that’s pretty unavoidable but outside of this...why are you even talking to them at this point?”

#rucas #rucas fanfiction #riley matthews #lucas friar #gmw #fanfiction #au #fic: cold cape cod clams #cw: suicide #yikes I hate this ending #this is an incredibly long text post and tumblr has made formatting a lot harder so apologies if something is a little off #but... #here we go

[catburgled-a]

I EAT MEN LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST !

a supernatural verse based on jennifer’s body

preface ;

during her time at university the thief gets herself into some trouble. she knowingly took a risk when she set her sights on a wealthy CEO. the plan was to ‘ accidentally ’ run into him in the bar of the hotel he was staying at , act sweet & charm him into inviting her up into his penthouse with the ultimate goal of documenting his space so she could later return when he was out to rob him. things took a dark turn once she got up to his suite , one she never would of expected. 

augustine was cocky , she was careless --- she let her guard down & she paid for that with her life. or did she ? the man was absolutely batshit out of his mind & intended to use her as a human sacrifice in exchange for guaranteed growth in his fame & fortune. sounds silly , doesn’t it , to go through all that trouble when you were already so successful ? well , there were hints that this wasn’t the first girl he had sacrificed & that’s exactly how he made it this far: sacrificing virgins to satan. only he made a mistake , augustine was no virgin as her innocent act had lead him to believe. 

after she was sacrificed ( aka relentlessly stabbed to death ) augustine woke up in the bathtub of his suite , in a pool of her own blood. by this time her assailant had fled the scene , leaving her presumed corpse for some very special hired help to clean up. but an overwhelming feeling of hunger overcame her as that very help entered the room. as a tainted sacrifice the consequences were that there was now a demon inside of her that thirsted for flesh & blood & he was to be her first meal.

present ;

it’s difficult to put a label on what exactly auggie is. she’s not exactly a demon as she is still her human self in a lot of ways , physical & behavioural. her mortal body simply merged with a demonic force leaving her a complete abomination that never should have existed in the first place. this provided her with eternal youth along with demonic powers , though nothing is free & it comes at a cost: she needs to feast on humans in order to keep her strength up & stay alive. after the transition she was understandably pissed , not by what she had turned into but over the audacity that man had for trying to kill her & thus she began hunting him. she doesn’t care what lives she has to take to get to him , as long as she gets the opportunity to tear him apart.

NOTES:

has to feast on a human at least once a month , though every 3 weeks is optimal.

when she’s gone too long without feeding she grows weak , cranky , the colour drains from her skin , her hair & nails get brittle & she just looks like she hasn’t slept in days. while still stronger than the average human , it’s a lot easier to hurt or kill her in this state.

when she’s fed she’s strong & vibrant , virtually indestructible & magnetic.

in this now demonic state naturally she lacks empathy. she obviously had no issue with killing people to feed on them but she’s still her prior self to a certain degree so she does still experience a level of care for family & friends though it’s probably a lot more possessive. plus , she’s more prone to aggressive outbursts which they won’t be spared from if angering her.

demonic powers include: levitation , enhanced strength , enhanced healing , immortality , fun lil demon claws & fangs , desire detection , fear detection & glowing yellow eyes.

#▸ 𝚒. ` ♔ VERSE. I EAT MEN LIKE YOU FOR BREAKFAST #▸ 𝚒. ` ♔ HEADCANON. #murder / #blood / #gore / #this didn't have to be so long

[myfandomrambles]

Maya Hart Character Analysis (Expanded)

Facts:

Kermit was an extremely neglectful father. He eventually abandoned them completely when Maya was about 6

Befriended Riley by running through the windows around age 5 or 6 and stayed friends throughout the show

Her mother, Katy, was emotionally neglectful, putting her emotional issues, fixations and jobs over Maya's needs

She grew up in a lower socioeconomic class then her friends

Befriended and became deeply connected and protective of Farkle at a young age

Struggled in school academically and behaviorally

She latched on to the Matthew family. Going to their house as a sense of stability going there for food and basing her schedule on theirs.

Openly expressed fear around being inadequate and broken. Also expressed hopelessness.

Befriended Lucas, expressed romantic interest in him later on which created an emotionally complicated situation with her friends.

Formed a strong connection with Shawn Hunter, bonding over a history of feeling abandoned and neglectful parents.

Shawn married her mother and adopted her.

Developed a strong crush of Riley’s Uncle Josh. He was old enough for the relationship to be inappropriate by a maturity gap.

While undergoing a lot of personal change she had what was perceived as a kind of identity crisis around trying to be more like “Riley”.

Expressed a stronger sense of hope near the end of the show.

Her parents had a toxic possibly abusive marriage 

Analysis:

Maya Hart loves her friends more than anything, has a habit of getting into trouble, and loved art. She was also deeply shaped by her father’s abandonment and her mother’s emotional neglect. She struggles with a fear of abandonment, anger, a sense of disconnection and views herself as a fundamentally broken person. This is established right away in Girl Meets World (1x01) she assumes Cory think she is not good enough for Riley and believes thinks he would be right to think that. Maya says on more than one occasion that she doesn’t get her hopes up, and doesn’t view the future as good. In Girl Meets Forgiveness Project (2x23) we see how much guilt, anger, self-blame and shame Maya had based on her Father leaving her and having not been there for her before he left

Maya is generally over realistic she believes her view of the world should be down to earth, practical and this often ends up as negative. This comes in a large part from her mother’s continuous inability to accept reality. Katy calls herself an actress when this has never been her job. We see how this affects their relationship and stresses Maya out in Girl Meets Maya’s Mother (1x07) and Girl Meets Master Plan (1x18). In Girl Meets I Do (3x11), she describes the aftermath of her father leaving them, “Just ‘cause I could always hear my mother crying in her bedroom. I’d try to go in and stop her from crying… but I couldn’t.” The fear of having to go through that again with the person who is meant to watch her falling apart, slows her ability to enjoy and move forward during Katy and Shawn's wedding.

However, her impulsivity and creativity often bump up against this practicality when she feels vulnerable like in the first episode or Girl Meets Hollywood (3x18) or when Riley and she get themselves wound up in some kind of scheme like in Girl Meets Farkle's Choice (1x19) or Girl Meets STEM (2x26). Her identity is linked to a fundamental level to her relationship with Riley. In Girls Meets Upstate (3x06) Maya explains how Riley’s family gave her a sense of safety and that she sees protecting Riley as her job. Maya pretty much always takes Riley's side even when she doesn't agree with her perspective. When Riley wants to take away the bay windows in Girl Meets Bay Window (2x29) Maya is deeply unhappy at the idea of losing this and multiple times through the show while she tries to be chill and realistic but when Riley tries to change their relationship she tends to get very emotional. In Girl Meets Yearbook (2x12) Maya tries hard to prove to Riley that they need her for who she is even dressing up as her, Maya loses herself in that identity though wanting to be things that Riley is that she doesn't know how to be.  

Maya is deeply protective of all her friends. The hard exterior she uses to protect her own friends allows her to not usually be as affected during fights like in Girl Meets Riley Town (2x17). With Farkle, Maya has a very "only I can pick on him" kind of approach, being very upset when others treat him badly but enjoy teasing him with their other friends. He is flirty with both her and Riley and they generally don't mind, Farkle also doesn't really mind when they like anyone else and dating Smackle himself. He considers them his girls stating he loves them both Maya seems to take great comfort in this. They are pretty different in a lot of ways but in general play off each other well balancing a lot of the others fears, a good example of their relationship is in Girl Meets Money (2x27) when she helps him understand that not having lots of money is fine because she knows how to be happy with what she does have.

Lucas is also one of the few people who can go toe to toe with her in trading jabs and sarcasm. He's not easily bothered by her and this annoys Maya a lot. In the beginning, I think it's trying to push him away to some extent as he drops into their life quickly and Riley and Farkle keep him around. He gains Maya’s trust through showing her he will protect her friends and him showing Riley and Farkle kindness. Their trading of jabs becomes a lot more friendly. She develops a crush on Lucas, later on, it's confusing as Riley also a crush on him. It causes a lot of emotions and confusion between all three of them. Maya later works out that her emotions were confused with overlapping feelings for him, Riley, and Josh Matthews. This is also tied to the plot about Maya's identity confusion.

Maya's relationship with Smackle is friendly throughout the whole show. They are never particularly close but they do like each other. She and Zay hit it off pretty well both being rebellious, she helps him put his focous on his friends. Her relationships with the other Matthew's are also deeply important. Cory acts as her first real father figure, and Topanga fills in a lot of the mothering gas Katy left. She cares for and likes Auggie a lot, but tends to have the same blind spots as Riley sometimes sees him as a bit annoying or doesn't take him into account. She also has a deeply moving scene of Ava helping her through her parents' breakup.   Her crush on Josh, in my opinion, is a bit unhealthy. While there are only four years between them they have a huge maturity gap. When they meet he is a junior in high school, Maya is middle schooler essentially a child though he doesn't explicitly say he likes her but does call her pretty. In Girl Meets Ski Lodge (3x12/13) he does return Maya's romantic affection which is creepy, he is in college and she is a freshman in high school.  From Maya's point of view, it's a natural crush on someone too old but because it ends in a "someday" I think is not a good way for her to move forward. It comes across too close to waiting until she's legal, and can stop her from fining a different partner. I also think this shows an odd pattern, her other major crush being Lucas neither of them is people she could have. They are also both very linked to Riley while not inherently bad it's interesting.

Shawn and Maya become close quickly, Riley notices that she and Shawn might be experiencing similar problems and quickly forces them to see this too. Riley was correct they both experienced abandonment, poor parental relationships and live in comparably low-income situations. They realize their the same, in the context of these shared histories and in reacting to it as being hyper-protective of their friends, impulsivity and anger. Shawn lets her know that he wants to stop anyone from growing up like that, and through his actions lets her know he wants to make explicitly her life better. They form a father-daughter relationship culminating in his marrying her mother and adopting her. Shawn helping her and caring for her I think is one of the pivotal aspects of her rising self-esteem and eventual ability to say “I’m not giving up hope just yet. I just got it.” in Girl Meets Hurricane (2x9)

In the third season Maya makes some real personal strides her outbursts decrease in severity, she starts preparing her relationships and does better in schools. However she also shifts her presentation to an “un-Maya” way, the others frame it as “becoming Riley” in Girl Meets Triangle (3x05), Girl Meets Upstate (3x06), & Girl Meets Real Maya (3x07). There is some truth, but there is also a kind of troubling implication that there isn’t internal personal growth that can come from multiple influences. I think the others probably are worried by the smaller changes she makes like say her clothes, but that Riley sees this in Maya doing better in school and behaviour I think is a little bit of Riley's own insecurity showing through. In Girl Meets True Maya (3x07) when Maya describes her impulse control as a version of Riley, this is slightly sad as the "good" in her for some reasons can only come from Riley and not be an integral part of who she is. Maya was able to have positive growth because of the influence of everyone, her friends at school, the Matthews, Shawn, and her semi-repaired relationship with her mother. Another huge aspect of this was her starting to have closure with her father, and being older. Maya is a deeply headstrong girl who loves fiercely and finds a lot of comfort in art. She shows quite a bit of growth and starts to work through her trauma in a semi-realistic model, though it would be important for her to continue to address head-on. Maya works hard to grow up and is an amazing friend and family member.

ADHD:

Trouble focusing

Struggles in school

Impulsive

Excess energy

Strong emotional reactions

Hyperarousal

RSD

Distracts easily

Hyperactive

Feeling broken

Hopelessness

Feelings of abandonment

Low self-esteem

Empty feeling

Trouble regulating emotions

Trouble with identity

Acts out because of feelings of abandonment and being inadequate

Fatigue

Oscillates between strong emotions and lack of emotion

Depression:

Feeling broken

Hopelessness

Feelings of abandonment

Low self-esteem

Empty feeling

Trouble regulating emotions

Trouble with identity

Acts out because of feelings of abandonment and being inadequate

Fatigue

Oscillates between strong emotions and lack of emotion

#fandom: #gmw #girl meets world #topic: #analysis series #character analysis #Character Study #nd headcanons #adhd headcanons #abuse and media #character: #maya hart #riley matthews #shawn hunter #katy hart #kermit hart #farkle minkus #ship: #maya hart & katy hart #maya hart & shawn hunter #maya hart & riley matthews

[charlienick]

riley & maya, 6

things you said under the stars and in the grass

okay babe, i didn’t give you grass, but i did give you (fingers waggle) so much more.

ao3.

“C’mon, dude, it’s cold.”

“Lucas, stop being a fucking wimp,” Maya sighs from her place beside him on the trampoline. “If you’re gonna keep bitching and moaning, go back inside and measure your dick to Farkle’s again or something else equally stupid.”

“We’ve never done that!”

“Sure you haven’t. Or better yet, go make us some pasta. We’re hungry, aren’t we Riles?”

“Mmm.” Riley only snuggles closer into Maya, burying her head even further into the warmth of her skin.

“Whatever. Farkle’s right, we’re just getting eaten alive by mosquitos out here and will probably get frostbite.”

“Lucas, it’s April in Upstate New York. It’s like 45 degrees out. We’re not gonna get fucking frostbite.” Maya snorts when she turns her head to find Lucas laying next to her, arms crossed with his hands shoved underneath his armpits in an attempt to keep them warm, back rigid. “What, a li’l Texas boy like yerself can’t handle the fearsome outdoors?”

“Yeah, Lucas,” Riley giggles, voice muffled by Maya’s skin. “What’s a country boy t’do?” The accent she uses is significantly worse than Maya’s, but it makes Lucas and Maya smile anyway. Riley could do pretty much anything and it would make Lucas and Maya smile.

“You, too, Riley?” Lucas asks, eyebrows raised.

“Maya’s right! You were so used to hot weather for so long, and it almost never snows in the city. All that smog has you spoiled.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely spoiled,” Maya agrees with a conspiratory grin. “Save yourself, Huckleberry! Go on without us!”

“Please, Lucas! You must make it to dry land and tell our story!” Riley cries.

“Okay, I’m going,” Lucas laughs as he gets off the trampoline, jostling the girls. “But not because you told me to. Spring Break Lucas does what he wants and is not bossed around by his friends like he usually is.”

“Sure. As long as Spring Break Lucas still makes that delicious Three-Cheese Chicken Penne that Regular Lucas is so fond of.” Lucas just shrugs, but he’s grinning, and calls out to Farkle who Maya can see reading on the recliner to start boiling water. Riley and Maya hear do it yourself, I’m not your maid! from inside, and they both laugh as the door opens, flooding them with light briefly before submerging them in darkness once again.

Without Lucas, without anyone else, when it’s just Riley and Maya, it’s usually quiet. Hushed voices, soft touches, everything draped in fabric that mutes the outside world. They don’t notice the cars backfiring outside, or the yelling from the Morgensterns down the hall, or the sycamore tree scraping outside the window. Usually when it’s just Riley and Maya, they’re in the Bay Window, and the drapes and curtains always make the world seem softer somehow, safer.

Or maybe it’s just Riley and Maya that do that.

Maya thinks for a moment about how safe she feels right now, wrapped up in her best friend at her step-father’s house upstate. Riley talks sometimes about how this place looked before Maya ever saw it: drab, lifeless, boring. No pictures on the walls—not even any that Shawn took himself—no area rugs, no interesting furniture. It looked like a house and not a home. But then Cory started visiting more once Riley was old enough to take the train without getting nervous, and Topanga would stay home with Auggie while Cory and Riley would visit Shawn. They’d always bring something along when they went. Something permanent. A photostrip from the boys’ childhoods, or a drawing of a cat Riley made on the train ride up, all jagged lines and the kind of innocence they all thought she’d have to lose eventually.

The picture of the cat Riley drew at age nine is still up on the fridge, and it has the same lack of finesse that her art still has today. But that’s the thing Maya admires most about Riley: she never lets being terrible at something stop her from doing it. Maya knows if she hadn’t had a natural talent for art, she would’ve never pursued it, even if she knew how much she loved it. Fear of failure and rejection runs so deep in her that she thinks it must be paramount to her personality that this point. She doesn’t know who she’d be without it.

But she doesn’t need to; at least, not for the next four years. She is going to the Tisch School of the Arts in the fall, and this is their group’s last spring break together. Maya, Zay, Lucas, Farkle, Riley and Smackle have all been going to Shawn’s cabin every spring since their freshman year of high school. The first two years, Cory demanded that Shawn come along to “babysit.” Shawn ditched them to go hiking both years, and once Cory caught wind of this and the fact that nothing even remotely scandalous had happened while Shawn was absent, he allowed the six of them to go the next year unsupervised.

Most of the time, when the six of them are together, it’s chaos. They’re all loud personalities, and being cooped up in a tiny house for five days doesn’t usually go swimmingly. Last year, they nearly burned the place down when Zay and Maya got into a “flaming sword battle” with burning marshmallows on sticks. The year before that, Smackle and Riley got into an all-out fight over whether or not Buzzfeed quizzes were stupid or not. Riley told Smackle she doesn’t know how to have fun, and Smackle called Riley shallow, and Riley cried, and it took two whole excruciating days for them to start talking again. Lucas, their mediator, couldn’t even solve it. It ended up being Zay who finally out an end to it by telling them he was sick of needing to choose sides. They’re all friends, and they need to act that way. Riley apologized first, which still infuriates Maya to this day, and that was the fight that caused the biggest rift between Smackle and Farkle. He confided in Maya that he couldn’t stop thinking about how torn apart Riley was by being called shallow by his girlfriend.

Things became even more strained between the two of them after that, and their breakup came ten months later and was more drawn out than anything Maya has ever seen. Worse than when Lucas thought there was something romantic between them. Worse than her crush on Josh that was strung out to its last dying breath until Alan fucking Matthews sat her down and asked if she was okay and if his son was hurting her. The reality of the situation sunk in then, how she had been chasing him to ignore a much larger truth, and her come-to-Jesus moment about her sexuality came shortly after.

Worse than… anything.

It’s still bad even though it’s been a full year. They’re all still friends—Smackle is currently inside watching Animal Planet with Zay—but it’s strained. Maya can tell that Smackle feels more left out than she did when she was on the outside of the group looking in, even though they all invite her wherever they go, and Lucas has been dancing around both Farkle and Zay with long looks and stolen glances—the same long looks that Farkle himself gives to everyone he’s friends with, falling in love more easily and freely than he’d ever be able to quantify scientifically. The same long looks that Maya has been giving Riley since the day they met.

Maya is tired. She just wants everything to be alright. She wants to paint and see her friends happy and kiss Riley. Apparently, the world only wants her to do one of those things.

But even if she can’t kiss her, Maya is happy with Riley. She always is. Being with Riley in any state is better than being with anyone else. Even without the Bay Window, without cars backfiring and people screaming, they’re still safe. There’s stars to blanket them now, and bullfrogs from the pond just through the woods to talk back to them. No matter where they go, they’re still Riley and Maya. Riley is Maya’s best friend on earth, she always has been, and she knows that will never change.

Which is why she should’ve known that kissing her wouldn’t change it either.

“Hey, Maya?” Riley says sleepily from her place on Maya’s shoulder. Maya hums, lost in her own thoughts. “Why are cicadas so loud?”

“Why are you asking me?” Maya snorts. “There are two scientists right inside that I’m sure would be happy to ramble for hours about the etymology of cicadas.”

Unlike anyone else, because Riley is very much unlike everyone else, she doesn’t note Maya’s usage of a two-dollar word. Instead, she ignores the answer entirely, still trapped in her thought process. “Do you think they’re screaming?” It almost makes Maya laugh that Riley continued on as if Maya hadn’t said anything until she realizes that Riley knew all too well what Maya had proposed and how awkward it is for her to talk to both of those scientists right now for much different reasons. She sees the long looks Riley has been giving Farkle for years, and she sees the crafty ways she avoids conversation with Smackle. Maya notices more about Riley than she does anything else. If Riley were an academic subject, Maya would be a scholar in the field. “It kind of sounds like they’re screaming. I worry about them whenever we come up here. They only make noise at night. Do you think they’re hurt?”

“No, honey. I think maybe…” Maya sighs, pushing Riley’s hair away from her eyes so she can look at the night sky better. Riley’s hand tightens in the sweatshirt she borrowed from Shawn’s closet and turns her head slightly to watch the stars move while Maya thinks. “I think maybe they’re singing.”

Riley hums happily at that. “I hope so. Singing in their own special cicada language.”

“What songs do you think cicadas would like?” Maya is always glad to distract Riley from the negative thoughts that flit through her mind.

“Oooh… Bad 80s pop songs with weird beats. Yeah, definitely. Like, you know that one that Lucas is always playing?” Riley hums a little bit of it, and then starts singing it choppily. It’s a bit off-key but she’s clearly trying so hard, just like the way she always sings. Maya recognizes it immediately as Dela. Riley’s right, Lucas played this song non-stop when he discovered it in his venture into genres that weren’t the country music forced on him his entire childhood. She’s missing a few words here and there, so Maya joins her to fill in the spaces.

“I’ve been waiting for you all my life! Hoping for a miracle. I’ve been waiting day and night, day and night!” Riley suddenly sits up and clambers to her feet in that innately clumsy way she always seems to move with and begins jumping as Maya attempts to join her whilst still singing. “I’ve been waiting for you all my life! Waiting for redemption. I’ve been waiting day and night. I burn for you!”

Maya bears down hard on the trampoline at the right moment, and Riley sails high into the sky as they loudly finish the chorus of the song. She collapses onto her back with a shrill giggle, momentum bouncing her several times before she comes to rest. Maya joins her once again, a bit breathless, and then Riley looks over at her with her perfect toothy grin and Maya wonders if she’ll ever be able to breathe again.

And then Riley leans over, cups her cheek delicately in the cover of night, and kisses her. Simple, like they’d done it hundreds of times before, and for a moment, Maya thinks maybe they have. Maybe she’s met Riley before this life, with no bay window but the same amount of safety. Maybe they kissed then, too, and this is just a continuation of everything they’ve done before. It somehow feels more believable than something this natural being their first kiss. Distantly, Maya can hear Dela playing from the portable speakers inside, and she smiles into the kiss. She cradles Riley’s cheek, and Riley’s other hand rests against her steadily beating heart, and it’s perfect. Maya feels like she can finally breathe again.

Riley pulls back only slightly to look at her, and while Maya knows she’s blushing, Riley is not. Her smile is sweet, candy, like spun taffy that Maya wants to pull at until her smile is all that’s left of her. She wants Riley to be this happy always. It makes her a bit dizzy to know that she has the power to do that for someone who is constantly pushing aside her own happiness for others.

“Always wanted to do that,” Riley says in that quiet way she gets sometimes, but only ever around Maya.

Maya nods, and matches Riley’s grin. “Me, too.”

And perhaps it was always as simple as that. Their friends are still a tangled mess of unspoken feelings inside, but under the cover of darkness, her and Riley are just fine. There has never been anything tangled about them, and Maya feels foolish that she convinced herself there ever was.

#ask #amelia #rilaya #fic #girl meets world #is amelia your tag now? your url is too powerful #masterpost