A/N: Hey, guys! Back at it again with another Lucas & Riley fic. Originally planned for this story to be a one-shot, but decided to make it a 2 or 3-shot fic instead due to length and flow. This idea has been running in my head for quite some time now, so hopefully you guys enjoy it.

Summary: Being on the football team has created scheduling conflicts for Lucas Friar, forcing him to opt out of participating in the school play. But when Riley Matthews lands the leading role of Juliet, how will Lucas react when he realizes that she will be kissing someone else other than him?

Part 1

"Acting Romeo"

She gave it her all at her audition, like she did at every audition. But this was the one she really wanted. It just so happened to be Romeo & Juliet, her favorite play.

She was easily the best girl to audition for the role of Juliet, considering she had landed the part in junior high. But this time was different. This was high school and dozens of girls were trying out, including the upperclassmen and members of the drama club. She had sleepless nights over it; contemplating and convincing herself she would never get the role. Not as a sophomore, and definitely not when she was up against older and aspiring actresses. So, imagine her shock when she saw her name next to the role of Juliet. She grinned, the joy of the news filling her up. It lasted momentarily though as her mouth dropped and her eyes widened when she saw the name above hers next to the role of Romeo.

The auditions were over and everyone had finally cleared out of the school's auditorium. Riley Matthews was the last one to leave as she stepped outside and spotted her best friend Maya Hart waiting for her on the stair steps. She gave a small smile, one that Maya could see right through as a frown fell upon her face. "Everything alright?" She asked worriedly, her voice soft and questioning. Riley absently shook her head trying to clear the thought from her mind as she just turned on her heel and began walking away from the school and towards the football field. Maya followed suit beside her with eyebrows furrowed in response, "Riles?"

Riley snapped back to the present and looked at her. "Yea, I'm good." She replied hastily, her voice crackling with uncertainty.

"So…did you get the part?" Maya intoned, tugging the brunette by the arm by the time they reached the bottom of the stair steps so she could face her.

She smiled again, this time soft and confident. "I did."

"That's great!" Maya exclaimed as she continued to look at her thoughtfully, confused. "Right?" She knew she was thinking. She could almost hear and see the thoughts swirling through her head. "Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"You just landed the role of Juliet. You should be jumping up and down in joy by now, but you're not." Maya frowned, her shoulders slumping. "Why?"

Riley gave a light shrug, forcing a smile. "I am thrilled, Maya."

"But…"

"There's no but." She huffed, frustration evident in her tone as Maya gave her a pointed look. She then grabbed Riley's hand and led them both towards the nearest bench in front of the library. They sat down with Maya's hand never leaving hers as Riley lowered her gaze.

"Okay, spill. What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, not used to seeing her usual bubbly best friend look so distant and nowhere near as cheerful as she should be. There was a brief pause before Maya said anything else. "Does this have to do with Lucas not trying out?"

"What?" Riley shook her head, slightly taken aback. "No, of course not. I mean, he couldn't anyway with football."

"Then what's the matter, honey?"

Riley paused in deep thought, staring at the ground. Maya waited patiently as she could see her smile turned into an expression of uncertainty. "I'm nervous about telling Lucas."

Maya raised her brows in genuine surprise. "About getting the part?" She scoffed out a chuckle. "Riley, he's going to be happy for you. He knows how much this means to you."

"I know that." She sighed. "I'm just…I'm nervous about how he would react when he finds out who is playing Romeo."

Maya quietly tilted her head to the side. "And why would that matter? You guys already talked about this. He understands." Riley bit her bottom lip and glanced down causing Maya to look at her with mild curiosity. "Ok...so...who is Romeo?"

It was the end of football practice as the entire JV team piled into the locker room. Dirty and loud, with the adrenaline still pumping in their veins, they changed into their clothes. Some showered there while others preferred to wait until they got back home. Lucas and Zay lagged behind quite a bit, having played for a few extra minutes on their own after the team had been dismissed. They entered the locker room as it started to empty with the other football players gradually filtering out to get to their homes.

Lucas plopped down on the bench next to his locker with Zay following suit beside him. They began changing out of their sweat-soaked attire and into a fresh set of clothes.

"Hey! Anyone wanna grab a bite to eat after this?" Yelled a teammate from the showers.

"Thanks for the invitation, bro but I got homemade dinner waiting for me at home." Zay replied with a smile. "But you're more than welcome to come over."

There was a short pause, and a second later, the showers turned off. "Yea okay. I'm down. I'll give you a call before I stop by. Gotta do a quick errand for my mom."

Zay turned to Lucas. "What about you, Luke? My mom is making your favorite. Spaghetti and meatballs."

"I'd love to, Zay but I'm having dinner at Riley's. They are having my absolute favorite." He grinned. "Ribs with a side of baked potato."

Zay frowned at him, muttering something incoherent under his breath. "Um…you think maybe you can ask Riley if I can come over for dinner too?"

Lucas chuckled.

"Hey, I heard Riley landed the role of Juliet and some new kid is Romeo." Another teammate joined in on the conversation as Lucas and Zay glanced over at his direction. "My sister just texted me." He smiled. "She auditioned for Juliet, but ended up getting the role of Lady Capulet."

Lucas turned to Zay, a smirk crossing his features. "That's my girl." He whispered quietly as Zay gave him a knowing look and patted him on the back.

She waited for him outside of the locker rooms, player upon player exiting, but still no sign of him. Ten minutes later, he appeared with Zay right behind him.

"Hey, guys." She managed a smile despite her growing concerns that have surfaced and take over her mind completely.

"Hey, Riley. Or should I say, Ms. Juliet." Zay bowed in front of her and offered a small round of applause. "Congratulations."

She blinked a few times, surprised. "H-How did you guys find out?"

"News spread fast around here." Zay thought with a smile as her gaze shifted over to Lucas with a puzzled and worried look on her face.

He replied. "One of the guys on the team found out from his sister who also auditioned."

"Oh…"

Lucas wrinkled his forehead when he noticed she had a faraway, almost sad look in her eyes. His smile faded as concern immediately flooded his expression.

"So where's your other half?" Zay asked curiously, noticing that Maya was nowhere in sight.

"She's with Farkle and Smackle on the way to Topanga's. They just left a couple of minutes ago."

"Cool. I'll see if they want to have dinner at my place." He grinned. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Zay."

"Later, man."

They both watched quietly as Zay took off jogging to catch up with the others. A silence settled between them as Lucas and Riley stood alone together, eyes momentarily dropping to the ground.

"So…is everything okay?" Lucas swung his gym bag over his shoulder and took Riley's hand in his as they began walking side by side in the direction of the subway station. She said nothing, her eyes still fixed on the ground and lips pressed together in deep thought. Riley jerked as he gently tugged at her hand. Her wide brown eyes snapped up to meet his inquiring gaze. "What's wrong?" He asked, tilting his head to the side as they stopped at the bottom of the concrete stair steps in front of the school's main building.

She sighed and slowly looked up to face him. "Are you really okay about this? About me being in the play?" She asked worriedly, her heart speeding up as she waited for his answer.

Lucas studied her for a minute and then smiled, a faint curl to his lips. Thankfully he already knew what she meant. "We've talked about this, Riley. And yes, I'm totally okay with it."

"I'm going to be kissing some other guy on stage. Does that not bother you at all?" She murmured, and found him watching her intently as their eyes met.

"I try not to think about it, Riley. I mean, yes...the thought of you kissing someone else other than me bothers me, but it's only acting, Riley. It doesn't mean anything." There was a brief pause as he looked at her and saw the genuine concern in her features. "Is this what you're worried about?" She nodded sheepishly and he smiled. "You're amazing, Riley Matthews you know that?"

"How so?"

"You care so much about what others think." He said as her brown eyes softened. "And I love you for thinking about me, I really do. But I'll be fine." He gave a reassuring smile, one that she returned after a moment of hesitation. "I'm just really happy and proud of you."

Riley swallowed nervously. "Even if Romeo is—"

"I don't care who he is." He stopped her before she could finish, shaking his head in response. "It doesn't matter."

She nodded, relieved to know that he was fine, but she was still a little skeptical. "You sure?"

Lucas couldn't help chuckle heartily as he wrapped his arm around her, his lips pressed to her hair. "Absolutely."

She was worried. The news of who was playing Romeo made her feel uneasy. Doubts were crossing her mind and she was picturing a lot of different scenarios, each one worse than the other.

"Maya, you ready to go?"

Maya shook herself out of her deep reverie and nodded, snatching a few chocolate croissants for dessert as they left the bakery.

"You okay?" Zay asked, pointing out her unusual quiet and apprehensive demeanor as he opened the door for her.

"How do you think Lucas will react when he finds out Evan is playing Romeo?" Maya asked skeptically as she, Farkle, Smackle and Zay stepped out of Topanga's and head over to Zay's house for dinner.

"Who?" Turning to his left, Zay gave a quizzical look to Maya.

"Evan?" Smackle questioned, surprise lacing her tone as they ascended up the stairs and onto the sidewalk. "As in Ski Lodge Evan?"

Maya quietly nodded as Zay and Farkle exchanged looks, their eyes widening as realization dawned on them. "Uh oh."

To be continued...

A/N: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you guys think. Part II coming soon.