Part 1 of 3
"This is torture." Riley Matthews sat in a booth next to her best friend Maya Hart at Topanga's. In keeping with their after-school routine, the two girls came to the café straight from school to grab coffee and unwind. Maya sat calm and collected, whereas Riley was barely holding it together. "Why are we still dateless for homecoming?" Riley wondered aloud.
"Well, it's not like we haven't been asked," Maya countered, sipping an iced mocha. Maya couldn't help but smile through the whole conversation. Riley gave
Maya the side-eye. "Farkle doesn't count. Besides, you know he only asked me as a last resort since he broke up with Smackle."
Maya set her mug down on the table. "You don't know that."
"Well, what I do know," Riley sighed, "is that we could quite possibly be dateless for homecoming."
"Tons of people fly solo to homecoming."
"They do?"
"Sure. Look, if we end up not having dates, we'll just go together," Maya said definitively. "It'll be fun."
Riley raised her mug and took a sip. She exhaled. "Yeah, I guess you're right- we don't need dates. As long as we'll both be there, it'll be great."
"That's my girl. Not to mention, we'll look great, too, because we'll be dressing for ourselves and not some guy." At that moment, Josh Matthews strode up to the booth where the girls were sitting.
"Hey, Uncle Josh," Riley said with a grin, addressing him.
"Hey, what are you girls up to?" Josh greeted.
"Coffee and girl talk. You'd love it," Maya teased.
"I'm sure," Josh said, playing along.
Maya grew increasingly curious. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Joshua?"
"Well, Riley tells me that you two are in need of homecoming dates and I was wondering if I could be of service." He continued. "Now, seeing that being escorted by her uncle would be totally uncool…" Josh trailed off, dropping down to one knee. Maya looked to Riley, as if asking her telepathically what was going on. "Will you allow me the honor of taking you to homecoming?"
Maya was beside herself, her brain running a million miles a minute. "I could have sworn you friend-zoned me nine months ago," she said, smirking.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean we can't go as friends."
"How would it be any different than me going with Riley?"
"The difference," Josh began, "is that I would treat you like a princess. And make some of your potential suitors jealous."
Maya turned her head to look at Riley again, this time looking for approval. Riley threw her head back and groaned. "Ugh, I was the one who put him up to this, Maya!" Riley exclaimed, exasperated. Maya turned her gaze back to Josh and was about to respond when the door jingled open, momentarily diverting her attention.
Riley followed Maya's gaze and became uneasy. Lucas entered with a petite brunette cheerleader and, for a split-second, Maya had a pained expression on her face. She recovered quickly enough that no one noticed. Finally, she locked eyes with Josh again and gave him her answer. "How could a girl say 'no' to that?"
The next day, Riley and Maya lingered by their lockers before the first bell rang at John Quincy Adams High School, clutching their books. "So, Lucas and that girl…I don't like it," Riley announced.
"Why, do you know her?" Maya casually inquired.
"No, just her name- Kayla. Lucas says they're just friends, but-"
"Wait," Maya interrupted, "you actually talked to him about this?"
"Yes. That is what friends do Maya- they talk. That's what we all decided on New Year's Eve, remember? To be friends."
Maya shook her head and looked down. "I guess I haven't been much of a friend to him lately."
"Hey, friendship is a two-way street," Riley said, coming to Maya's defense. "He didn't exactly offer up this information to us. Which brings me back to my point: Lucas didn't bother to tell us anything about this girl, including that she was even in his life. I had to go to him just to find out her name!"
"Maybe he didn't tell us about her because she's his homecoming date," Maya suggested, slowly raising her head. Now Riley was looking at the ground. "Maybe he just didn't want to make things awkward for us."
The bell rang and Riley lifted her head back up, glancing over Maya's shoulder. "Speaking of," Riley commented. Maya turned around to see Lucas coming toward them down the hallway with Kayla. Maya whipped around and hurried past him, careful to avoid eye contact. Lucas stared after her, a combination of hurt and frustration in his face.
After dinner that night, Riley sat at her bay window, the place that helped her gain perspective whenever life threw her a curveball. Her phone was glued to her ear as she listened to it ring until the other person picked up. "Did you see it?" Riley blurted.
Maya didn't even have a chance to say 'hello.' "Did I see what?"
Riley sighed. "Facebook. Did you see it?"
Maya was silent for a moment before answering. "Oh. If you mean, 'did I see who Loverboy's going to homecoming with?' then yes. I did."
"You were right. About him wanting to avoid awkwardness with us. It's the only explanation."
"You know, I really don't have to go with Josh," Maya offered. "You're much more important to me- I don't want you to feel alone."
"No, I want you guys to go together." Just then, the bay window opened to reveal a familiar face. Riley's mouth extended into a soft smile at the sight of him. "I'll be fine," she said.
Though she wasn't sure, Maya thought Riley sounded more chipper than when the conversation started. "Well, do you at least want me to come over?" Maya asked.
Riley's smile spread from ear to ear. "Nah, it's Farkle Time."
"…Good luck with that," Maya said with a smirk, hanging up.
Farkle hovered outside, his face poking in through the window. Riley twisted her head back toward him. "Hey, Farkle," She greeted him. "Wanna watch a movie?"
Farkle grinned. "That's nice of you, but you know how I am during movies…"
"Yes- I just don't care," Riley said gently.
"Well, then, don't mind if I do," Farkle replied, climbing in through the window.
Riley and Farkle lounged on the Matthews' family room couch as a movie flashed across the TV screen. Farkle rested an arm on one of the armrests, while Riley slumped back, arms by her sides. She tilted her head slightly in Farkle's direction, but didn't look directly at him. "So…about homecoming…is your offer still on the table?" she murmured.
"Oh," Farkle said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Riley…I'm taking Smackle." Riley looked at him in confusion, so Farkle continued. "She told me she missed me…and I missed her, too, so I asked her to homecoming as a sort of test to see if there is still something between us."
"Oh, I'm happy for you, Farkle," Riley said halfheartedly.
"I can go with you instead. Smackle would understand; I can take her on a date another time."
"No, don't do that. It's OK. Really."
"I want you to be happy, Riley. You deserve to have a date."
She kept her eyes fixed on the ground. "I just want to know that there's someone out there for me, you know?" Riley lamented.
"There is," Farkle said confidently.
"How do you know?"
"Because if there isn't, then there's no hope for the rest of us." At that, Riley rested her head on his shoulder. Taken aback at first, Farkle relaxed his body and wrapped his arm around her.