A/N: So, this is my first Riarkle one shot (though it comes with a side of Lucaya adorable fluffiness too). It was written pre-Girl Meets Semi-Formal when all I had was spoilers to go on (like Charlie's method of asking Riley to the dance), but I think it still sort of fits right into canon in that section (mostly). And then if fast-forwards into a future fic. And it's official, in my fics, Maya's nickname for Riley is Jellybean. That is not going away anytime soon (haha). Anyway, I strongly encourage you to review, let me know what you think (especially if the traffic graphs go wonky again, that way I'll know you're all out there reading). Enjoy! R&R! Thanks! ~Mac
Disclaimer: I don't own GMW.
Enough To Last A Lifetime
Riley Matthews likes new things. New things are exciting, and, ask anyone, excitement is sort of her forte. Sure, she can reap excitement from practically anything, but new things are the best. New things are full of surprises, and surprises are exciting in their own right. New things hinge on that moment, that second before they come into your life and become yours, when they are a million possibilities confined to one vessel. Riley loves that moment of discovery, when she isn't sure which way the road will lead her, when anything could happen. She thrives off those moments when the world is sparkling, shiny and refreshed. It's a feeling she wishes she could capture and bottle up, but it's fleeting. So, Riley likes new things, because with each new thing, she gets another taste of that feeling.
She likes Lucas Friar the moment she sees him on the subway. Not just because he's cute—and cute boys make her go haywire so much that her body shuts down in self preservation—it's because he has this warm glow of possibility surrounding him. She knows, even before Maya shoves her onto his lip, that he's going to be important. He is the first boy she really likes, more than a childish crush on the elementary school yard, and he opens her eyes to a new world. There are so many ways for their relationship to evolve that she can never decide exactly how she feels about him. But she keeps liking him, even after they date and break up, because he never loses that glean she recognized that first day. Until she realizes what it is that she's seeing. It's not the possibilities with him that she sees shining and shimmering on his skin, it's a permanent, blinding light that he emits because he sees the world as an optimistic adventure of possibility and he lets his zest for life coat him like a second golden skin. They are the same, Lucas and her, so much so they could be the same person, or from the same family, and she finally understands what Maya had discovered about her during their brief identity crisis. Lucas is important, he's her first brush with romance, as brief as it was, and he's one of her best friends, but he's familiar to her now.
Riley realizes all this because she meets someone new.
The idea of grand gestures is brand new to her—well, not entirely brand new, there was the white horse and asking her father's permission for a date, but this feels different. This is colorful and elaborate and ridiculously over the top and it's so her, which makes it exciting. It thrills her, despite her initial conflict. Because this makes something clear to her. Before, she never had options, she never had to make choices, there was just Lucas and will they-or-won't-they and Farkle somewhere in the background declaring his love for the five million and seventh time. Now, she sees that she has options. She can decide what she wants, who she wants. She can choose between old and new, familiar and unpredictable. And she knows what she wants. She wants new always. She wants to always feel that spark of off-kilter, electrifying, unforeseeable, passionate possibility.
It turns her into something of a serial dater and she has a reputation for leaving dazed boys and broken hearts in her wake by her senior year of high school. At this point in their lives, her parents were already on the brink of marriage, but Riley rarely thinks past the second date. It's different. It's a new world order; that's the key, new. But even chasing new things gets old, becomes routine. She's not ready to give up trying yet, so she soldiers on and racks up yet another first date to add to her string of life experiences.
0o0
"How did you even meet this guy again?" Maya asks. She is propped up in Riley's bay window watching as her best friend gets ready for the evening. They've found themselves in this position many times over the past weeks, months, years. Maya plays her part, but she's learned to not take it seriously.
"I met him at Topanga's," Riley answers, leaning in close to her mirror to get her eyeliner right. "You were there."
"Not the guy who my mom almost kicked out for trying to order a third of a muffing?" Maya makes a face as she tries to remember the last guy Riley met at their favorite hangout.
"His name is Isaac," Riley ignores Maya's tone and moves on to her lipstick.
"A third of a muffin," Maya says.
"He has a thing about nutrition," Riley shrugs.
Maya rolls her eyes. "Then he should buy a whole muffin and cut it up his own darn self."
"You know, you're actually more fun when you spend the whole time texting Lucas," Riley says.
"You asked for my attention, Honey Bunch," Maya smiles. "You've got it now."
Riley presses her lips together to spread the bright red stain across them and puckers a kiss in Maya's direction. She flatly adds, "Oh joy."
"Do you think this one's gonna stick?" Maya asks.
'Never say never," Riley says. Finished with her makeup, she moves on to her hair.
"With this guy, yes, I would definitely say never," Maya says.
"You once said Lucas was never going to go out with you," Riley replies. "And look what happened there. Two years strong."
Maya blushes the deep shade of pink she always does when someone reminds her that she has found herself in a loving, committed relationship that has no end in sight. Riley thinks that might be enough to shut her up, but Maya is Maya and she composes herself lightning fast.
"One, okay, that never was used in specific context of me asking him out when I really wanted him to ask you out. And two, two, that's Lucas Golden Boy Friar and this is Isaac thirty three percent Banana Nut whatever his last name is," Maya says.
"Morales," Riley says.
"What?" Maya frowns.
"Morales," Riley repeats. "Isaac Morales. It's his last name."
"I don't care what his last name is!" Maya groans and lets her head thunk back against the window. "I'm never going to see him again with your track record. I'm not even gonna bother to learn the first name of the next guy."
"Maybe there won't be a next guy," Riley says as she twists up pieces of hair and clips them back.
"Do you really believe that?" Maya raises an eyebrow.
"No."
"Then why would I?"
"Because you're supposed to have faith in me."
"I have nothing but faith in you," Maya says. "But tell me, Jellybean, what do you even like about him?"
Riley opens her mouth but doesn't get a chance.
"Besides that he's something new, that he's different than any other guy you've ever dated—which is a tough one since I can't even figure out how you've managed to pocket so many—or that he opens new doors for you," Maya says. "Tell me what you learned about him in the five minute conversation you had with him, a third of which was probably about not getting his third of muffin."
"You're not going to let the muffin thing go, are you?"
"Riley."
"He has a puppy."
"Riley."
"What?" Riley says. "I'll get to know him tonight. That's what first dates are fore."
Maya sighs. "You're missing out you know. Meeting new people and trying new things, it's all good. You should never stop exploring. But as great as that initial thrill is, there's so much more that comes after. There has to be, because, otherwise, once that first delightful rush of infatuation wears off, there's nothing left."
"Sounds about right."
"But it doesn't have to be like that," Maya says. "Believe me. Lucas and I first got together because he turned something on in me that no one else even came close to, and it was exciting and brilliant and new. Yo could get drunk off of it, it was so intoxicating. But it fades, like everything does. If you're with the right person, they always find a way to bring that joy back into your life, to remind you why you chose them. Like how Lucas always takes the chance to hold my hand, how he'll drop off takeout for my mom and me when we're working late and not even expect to be invited to eat with us, how he says my name a thousand different ways, but always like it's his favorite word. It's the everyday little things, the reliable, familiar things that you can count on long past the honeymoon stage."
"I'm sure I'll find that someday," Riley says.
"Good," Maya is unconvinced, but she lets it go so Riley can be ready on time. "Now, bleck, get me something to wash my mouth out. I can't believe I got that sappy just now."
"Who would have guessed that we'd be here where we are right now?" Riley says as she spritzes perfume onto herself and twirls around. "You, Maya, the gushing overly sentimental girlfriend and me, Riley, the rough and tumble heart breaker."
"You are neither rough, nor tumble, Jellybean," Maya laughs, "But you keep dreaming big, sweetheart."
"I should go," Riley says, glancing at the clock when she's done with her finishing touches. "I'm supposed to meet Isaac at Topanga's before we go to dinner."
"Yeah, you wouldn't want to keep the Muffin Man waiting," Maya says.
Riley starts for the door, then turns back, holding out her arms so Maya has an unobstructed view of her. "How do I look?"
"Like you've broken a million hearts and could break a million more," Maya answers.
Riley smiles, "Good."
0o0
The next afternoon, Riley meets her friends at a diner for brunch. They've all arrived ahead of her and have claimed a booth in the back of the place. Maya and Lucas are squeezed into one side of the booth, his arm over her shoulders overwhelming her petite frame. So, Riley slides into the empty seat next to Farkle. He offers her the same wide grin he always welcomes her presence with and scoots over to give her more room on the bench.
"So," Lucas draws out as he watches Riley settle in. "How was your date?"
Maya digs her elbow into his side and he expels a burst of air with a rough 'oomph.' She rolls her eyes and hisses into his ear. "We said wait until she ordered food, so she couldn't run."
"I couldn't help it," Lucas replies. "She looks like someone spit in her grits."
Maya rolls her eyes even more dramatically. "I swear, you only say stuff like that because it gets under my skin."
"I can't help that either," Lucas dips his head to rest in the crook of her neck. "I like it when you get all worked up."
"Mmm-eek!" Maya yelps with laughter as Lucas peppers kisses down her neck. She tries to shy away from him, but he only tightens his arm around her and tugs her closer. She pushes a little space between them. "But, seriously, what did McMuffin do to your grits, Riley? Did he spit in them, Jellybean? Did he spit in your grits? This is a thing people do. Huckleberry says so."
"Okay, we get it," Riley says. "You're adorably perfect. It's enough already."
"It just makes you sick, doesn't it?" Farkle crinkles his nose and leans in conspiratorially toward Riley. "All that cute in one couple? It's not fair."
"I didn't know that I could feel more single," Riley says.
"They have to be doing it on purpose," Farkle says. "It must be for our benefit. They can't be like that all the time. It has to be exhausting. They can't be like that when they're alone too."
Riley rests a hand on Farkle's arm. "I don't want to think about what they do when they're alone."
Farkle winces as he gets her point. "You're right. That's probably worse than watching this."
Riley nods a few times, looks over at Maya and Lucas and their disgustingly darling couple antics, and nods a few more times.
Maya finally extracts herself from Lucas's teasing ministrations when the waitress comes over to take their order. They each place their usual requests. Luckily, Maya and Lucas don't return to their distracting hijinks and the four can actually carry on a normal conversation. Unfortunately for Riley, the only topic any of them seem to want to cover is her date. She tries to bob and weave around their questions, refusing to even say his name because once she gets started, they'll find a way to make her spill all the gory details. She would rather leave it all behind her and find her way forward to the next new adventure in romance. But they will not let it go, and Maya finally uses her best friend powers to play on Riley's weaknesses.
"At least tell me he has a whole puppy, that it's not like missing a leg or something to stay in keeping with his obsession with threes," Maya says.
"Of course it's a whole puppy," Riley replies and throws her head back when she realizes she walked right into the trap. She has acknowledged the puppy and, as such, acknowledged the owner of said puppy, as well as the date on which she learned about the status of the puppy from its owner. Maya's backward logic and puppies, it always works on her. "Ugh, fine. What do you want to know?"
Maya taps her hands flat on the table. "Everything."
"Not everything," Farkle shakes his head and mutters to himself. "Please, God, not everything. I don't wanna know. Don't wanna."
"It was awful," Riley says.
"Tell me more," Farkle leans in.
Riley jerks and nearly falls out of the booth when she's hit with not one but two sharp toed swift kicks to her shin. She cries out, "Ow!"
"Sorry," Maya clenches her teeth.
"Sorry," Lucas says at the same time.
Under her breath, Maya adds in a rushed mutter, "That was meant for Farkle."
"What did I do?" Farkle asks.
Maya narrows her eyes at him and he shrinks into his corner of the booth, cowering under her stare.
Riley frowns as she reaches down to rub her probably bruised leg. In her head, Farkle is just being Farkle, but their other friends seem to see it differently. Maya has effectively quieted him up though, so she isn't likely to get any answers about what had just occurred or why they had resorted to physical intervention. Even though her leg is still sore, her friends are still waiting to hear her story, so she doesn't say anything more.
"You were saying?" Maya prompts.
"You were right about Isaac," Riley bounces her affected leg and avoids meeting Maya's eyes. "I should have said no."
"I seem to remember saying that you should have said never," Maya says.
"Yeah, that too," Riley agrees.
"What happened?"
"He tried to order off the kids' menu," Riley says. "Smaller serving size he said. You should have seen our waiter's face. It made me feel like I was ten years old trying to sit at the adult table."
Farkle's head perks up as she recounts her horror story, but he withholds comment under fear of Maya.
"Then he wanted to share a dessert," Riley continues.
"Don't tell me," Maya says. "He asked for a third of a slice of cake."
"No," Riley rolls her eyes. "He ate the whole thing before I could get a second bite."
"So, he's not health conscious," Maya says.
"He's just cheap," Lucas adds.
Riley nods and takes a deep breath before she drives the last nail in. "Guess who paid."
"NO!" Farkle bursts out, unable to contain himself.
Maya is equally offended, so she barely notices that he injected himself back into the conversation. She shakes her head and her brows furrow in concern. "Riles, you didn't."
"Someone had to," Riley says. "I got to use my emergency credit card for good this time. I was not gonna get stuck washing dishes or something in that outfit. You saw me. I gave him way more than eighty-four percent."
"I know you did, Darlin', and he didn't deserve it," Maya says. "He didn't even deserve a cat shirt and sweatpants. That would have been too good for him"
Lucas shakes his head. "You need to date better guys."
"She dated you once, ya Huckleberry," Maya replies.
"And it was all downhill from there," Lucas counters.
Riley frowns. "Charlie was nice."
Lucas makes a so-so gesture with one outstretched hand.
"You know I try to oppose anything this guy says, as often as possible," Maya says, "But Lucas is right, hun. You have got to raise your standards."
"But he seemed so great when I met him. He told me that he thought I was gorgeous and that my smile turned his bad day around in an instant," Riley nearly whines her argument. She doesn't like the desperation in her voice, but this is what she has come to.
"He was having a bad day because my mom wouldn't chop up a muffin for him!" Maya says. "His swell day was compromised by its lack of pastry murder."
"Not that you're not gorgeous or that your smiles can't brighten a bad day," Farkle interjects.
"Thank you, Farkle," Riley says.
Farkle braces himself. "But it was probably a line he's used before."
Riley's mouth drops open and she makes an incredulous sound in the back of her throat.
"Farkle's right," Lucas says.
Maya nods, "I've said it before, Riles. You're trying too hard to not settle. You want so bad to jump from one new thing to the next as soon as the excitement wears off, and I honestly think you're self sabotaging," She jerks her head toward her boyfriend. "That's Lucas's term for it. Mr. Scholar Athlete and all."
"You think I'm deliberately seeking out less than perfect guys, so I can avoid having to attempt a real relationship?" Riley raises an eyebrow.
"I think," Maya says, drawing her shoulders up high and then letting them drop again. "That you let yourself be dazed by a cute face and well placed compliments and avoid getting to know them before you jump in head first. Because they're worth more when anything can happen, because the mystery is more exhilarating."
"Maybe I do that," Riley says.
"You do that," Maya confirms. "But potential isn't the only exciting part of a relationship. Knowing someone you care about trusts you with the deepest parts of themselves, their darkest secrets, their greatest hopes and fears and everything in between is one of the most breathtaking, mind blowing feelings in the world," Maya's eyes are locked on Lucas's through that whole section of her speech. She turns back to add, "But you don't get to that part on the first date. You never really know when you'll reach that point, only that when you get there you'll never want to give it up, maybe that unknown could be enough to keep you excited with one person."
As Maya's speech sunk in, Riley could feel Farkle's eyes on her. He was observing her the way he would a science experiment, with laser focused, careful attention. She has no idea what's going through his head as he catalogs thoughts about her in this moment. That should worry her, freak her out, or creep her out. But it's Farkle, and it doesn't. It's comfortable being studied under his gaze. Maybe even a little energizing. If she means enough to him that he can spend that much of his time just watching her in calculated silence, then she should feel important. And she does.
"A thousand first dates and three second dates is not as entertaining as I may have expected it to be," Riley admits. "In fact, it's gotten a little boring. I've spent so long chasing excitement, that it's taken all the fun out of it."
"By George, she's got it!" Maya exclaims.
The waitress appears beside their table, arms full of plates. "Who's the short stack of pancakes?"
Maya waggles her fingers and takes the plate.
"Hey," Lucas says, sliding the plate away. "Those are mine."
Maya sticks her tongue out at him. "What's yours is mine, remember?"
"You gonna give me half that burger?" Lucas asks.
"Nuh-uh," Maya shields her plate, already shoving fries in her mouth.
As they continue to playfully bicker, Riley turns to Farkle. "I think I want what they have."
"Then you should have it," Farkle says. He smiles widely at her before starting in on his own plate.
With their food to distract them, they never return to talking about Riley's romantic issues, but they aren't far form her mind the rest of their brunch. She has spent a long time ignoring the things her friends have been telling her and deciding to take it all in finally is an adjustment. Even if she has decided to change her ways, she doesn't know where to start. But the possibilities truly are endless and this uncertainty is the first taste of suspense she's felt in awhile. She's so caught up in her thoughts that she's bound to be surprised when she realizes that the answer has been right under her nose. And maybe it'll be exactly what she has been looking for all along.
0o0
Once they have their fill of greasy diner food, and the Maya and Lucas love fest, Farkle walks Riley home. They walk in silence and Riley blames it on full stomachs and depleted conversation topics. Then halfway to her building, Farkle decides to tackle a subject she thought had been laid to rest.
"So, Riley, are you really planning to take Maya's advice?" Farkle asks. "About finding a real relationship?"
"I don't know," Riley shrugs. "I suppose so. It worked for her and Lucas..."
"It can't hurt you to try something new," Farkle says.
"I thought trying something new was what I've been doing," Riley says.
"Well, if what you've been doing is serial dating, then looking for a committed relationship would be something new," Farkle says.
"I guess that's true," Riley nods.
Farkle is quiet for another block after that before he broaches a subset of the same conversation. "I'm sorry I acted so weird back at the diner, you know, about your date and everything."
"I didn't think it was so weird."
"Only because I act like that every time you talk about a date you've been on," Farkle points out.
"Only because you're you and I know you," Riley corrects.
Farkle twists his mouth as he thinks about his next words. "I know I said that it was a line when the other guy said it, but I want you to know that you are gorgeous and, at least for me, your smile can make the worst day brighter."
"Farkle," Riley can't help the blush that rises under his sincerity.
"Look, Riley, I want to do this right," Farkle says. "I'm not asking you to bear my eleven children or to colonize Mars with me. I used to say those things when I thought that no other girls would ever like me enough to get to know the real me than the two that already had. I've grown up since then. I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned a lot about you. And what I've learned is this: there was a time when I thought I wanted you and Maya equally, a time when I thought either of you would do, whichever one Lucas didn't pick, because he's Lucas and whoever he wanted was bound to want him back, a time when I was sure of how I felt, but I was wrong. I always wanted you more. I wouldn't have been fine to end up with Maya. She's an amazing girl, but she needs someone like Lucas to bring out the best in her. I couldn't do that; I don't bring out anything in her but mild annoyance. We all need balance. It took me awhile to figure it out, but I know now, what I need.
"People joke about me being a robot and I brush it off, but in some ways it's true. At times, I can get inhumanely focused and drop out of reality. What I need to balance me out is someone so undeniably full of life that they can remind me that what being human is really about is connection. What I need, Riley Matthews, ray of sunshine, lover of life and adventure, is you," Farkle says and takes one last deep breath to take it home. "I'm not hiding my mother's engagement ring on my person, I'm not offering my best oxen and milking cows to your father—I am asking you to give me a chance to take you out on a date and see where it goes."
Riley has listened to Farkle as they walk, her eyes growing wider with each phrase and her jaw going slowly slack until she has no idea what her face might look like. She does know that each word he said brought her a sense of clarity, about him, a little about her, and quite a bit about them. And that's the keyword, them—because it's the first time that word has crossed her mind to represent her and Farkle, just the two of them, not a collective with anyone else in their group of friends, just them. Riley realizes then that someone doesn't have to be brand new to be exciting. It could be anyone, even someone she has known practically forever, that she learns to see through new eyes so that a world of possibility opens up at their feet. That can be even more exciting. She knows, because that's what's happening to her right now. Farkle, the option she never thought to look for, and he has been right there all along.
"What do you say, Riley?" Farkle asks. "You want to do this thing?"
"I say," Riley smiles. "I'll try anything once."
Farkle grins. "I'm hoping for more than once."
"You know," Riley says. "For the first time, I am too."
0o0
It's been a year. The number of consecutive dates Riley has been on with the same person is finally closing in on the tally of disastrous first dates she had through high school. She and Farkle have seen highs and lows. They've graduated one phase of their lives and embarked on another. They've built upon their friendship, grown to love fully, and learned to trust each other in ways neither knew was possible. Each day is a new adventure, a new thrilling experience. And they've done it together.
All Riley knows is that feeling of wonder and possibility, that filled her when Farkle asked her for a date, isn't going away and maybe, now that she's overflowing with it, she'll have enough to last a lifetime.
-fin-