This one shot has been in the works for a while. I finally figured out where I wanted to go with it. I love The Backstreet Boys and this song has always been one of my favorites of theirs. I hope you enjoy the story that came from it. I just thought it to always be a perfect Cory/Topanga song and now Riley and Lucas...enjoy!
As Long as You Love Me
It was Friday, two weeks before Homecoming at Abigail Adams High. Riley and her friends were so excited. They were sophomores now and had settled into the high school routine pretty well. They were all taking part in different clubs and activities and Homecoming was the highlight of football season. Homecoming was a time-honored tradition and Riley was eager to participate this year. Last year the triangle had just ended and they were all still adjusting to things.
Homecoming week was planned and each day would have a different theme. The gang probably wouldn't participate in every activity but wanted to show their school spirit. Every day had a different theme with prizes going to the three people in each grade that best represented the day's theme. All you had to do to participate was wear clothes from the different eras that were chosen for that day. Monday would be 60's Day. Tuesday was 70's Day. Wednesday was 80's Day. Riley's favorite day would be 90's Day and Friday would be School Spirit Day. The whole week would end with a pep assembly and the football game on Friday night followed by the Homecoming Dance.
The gang had decided to meet at Topanga's on a Saturday afternoon, two weeks before Homecoming, to talk about their ideas for the week. The kids all had various ideas for outfits from the different decades. Some of them would hit second hand stores or raid their parents or grandparent's closets. Riley had found some 70's and 80's stuff in a nearby second hand store and she knew that her grandmother had some cool stuff in her attic from the 60's. They would be in town to visit a week before homecoming and her grandmother promised to bring the items to Riley then. The only decade Riley knew she wouldn't have any trouble with at all was the 90's. Her parents were teenagers in the 90's and she knew her mother's sense of style and the fact that Topanga was a bit of a pack rat meant that her families storage space in the basement of the building would give her and Lucas an edge for 90's day. The rest of the gang had raided their parent's closets, but Riley was positive her or Lucas would take one of the prizes for 90's Day.
After the gang left Topanga's and Lucas had walked her home, she entered the apartment and went in search of her mother. Topanga was in Auggie's room putting some laundry away. Riley knocked on Auggie's door, making Topanga jump.
"Riley! You scared me to death!" Topanga yelled,
"I'm sorry, Mom," Riley said in apology. "I have a favor I need to ask."
"What kind of favor, Riley?" Topanga asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Well, as you know Homecoming week is coming up at school and me and my friends have been making plans for all the daily events. I need some ideas for 90's day and I was wondering if I could get the key to our storage space so that I could look through some of your and daddy's old clothes. I know you still have some of them." Riley informed her mother.
"Oh, that sounds like fun! Do you want some help?" Topanga asked her.
"Of course, I would love your help. You know where all the good stuff is and it would save some time." Riley was nearly jumping for joy at her mother's offer to help.
"Auggie is with your father, so I'm free right now, if that works for you." Topanga informed Riley.
"What are we waiting for then?" Riley asked. She grabbed her mother's hand and headed down the hall to the living room. She was headed to the front door when Topanga stopped her.
"What?" Riley asked.
Topanga went to the kitchen and opened a drawer and pulled out a set of keys. "We need the key to get in the storage space," she said as she held the key ring up and jingled it. Topanga walked back to Riley and grabbed her hand and they headed out the door. Instead of waiting for the elevator, they took the stairs to the basement.
Riley hated the basement. It was so dark and dusty. She knew spiders and other critters were lurking in the dark corners and shadows. She was really glad her mother came down here with her. "Where is our storage space, Mom?" She asked.
Topanga didn't like the basement either. She thought it was creepy and kept turning on every light switch they saw. "It's just up ahead, Riley." They walked along until they got to the familiar cage with the number 26 on the door. Topanga fumbled through the keys until she found the one that would open the lock on the door. She slid the door open and laid the lock and keys on the floor just inside the door. She found the light switch and turned on the lights. When she saw how much stuff was sitting in the space she cringed. She and Cory really needed to purge themselves of some of this stuff. There were stacks and stacks of boxes, as well as some furniture items hidden under sheets and blankets. They only came down here twice a year. Once to get the Christmas decorations out and once to put them away. She knew where the items Riley was looking for were. They headed to the back of the space.
Riley couldn't believe the amount of stuff that was in the storage space. It was all neatly stacked though. She followed her mother into the space and she immediately tripped over something that was sticking in the walk way. Thankfully her mother caught her so that she didn't land on the floor. When she looked to see what she had tripped over she pulled back a blanket to reveal a wooden crib. "Mom, is this Auggie's crib?" she asked her mother.
Topanga turned to look at what Riley was talking about. "Yea, that was Auggie's crib, yours too. Grandma and Grandpa Matthew's gave that crib to us before you were born. Who knows, maybe someday your and Auggie's children will sleep in that crib."
Riley rubbed her hand along the smooth surface of the wood. It was weird to think of the future. She wondered if her and Lucas would be together that long. She knew that she loved him. She just wished she had the nerve to tell him and just hoped he would feel the same way. Her mother called her name, pulling her out of her thoughts and back to the task at hand. She walked over to where her mother had found a seat on an old cooler. Riley found an old plastic milk crate that she turned upside down for herself to sit on.
Topanga had found the boxes that she believed Riley would need. "I think these boxes have some of my old clothes in them, maybe even some of your father's things." Topanga said.
Riley started rummaging through some of the boxes with her mom. She pulled out some short denim skirts she thought might work, then she found some dresses that looked a lot like some of the ones that she had, just different colors and prints. "Mom, this looks like some of my dresses that I have now."
Topanga looked up from the box that she was looking at to see what Riley was talking about. "Oh, my goodness, that's my skater dress. It does look just like some of yours. There is a denim vest and belt that I used to wear with that, somewhere." Just as Topanga said it Riley found the vest and some clunky short leather boots as well.
"Mom, what are these?" Riley asked, holding up the boots.
"Those are my Doc Martens. I wore those with everything. Your father even had a pair, his were low tops, but he had some, as well." Topanga said laughing. She turned and went back to the box she was looking in.
Riley kept looking through the box and when she came to the bottom of it she found some old CDs and an odd looking round thing with headphones attached. She took the stack of CD cases and started looking through them, there were names like Hanson, The Spice Girls, Jewel, Elton John, The Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. "Mom, I think I found your music from the 90's" Riley said. "But what is this thing with the huge headphones attached to it?"
Topanga walked over to Riley and took the CD's from her. "Oh, wow! You found some of my CDs and my Discman?" Topanga thought she had gotten rid of these things.
"Your who?" Riley asked with a confused look on her face.
"Discman. It's a portable CD player and those headphones are how you listened to the music. You've seen headphones before." Topanga explained. "I can't believe these are here."
"Mom, who are the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys?" Riley asked.
"Well, the spice girls were an English pop group that were super popular for a few years. They had this cool song called, Wannabe. The Backstreet Boys were an American boy band that first made it big in 1997. I may or may not have had a secret crush on one or two of them. I loved their music." Topanga said, answering Riley's question.
"I guess that means you thought some of them were really cute?" Riley asked.
"Yea, at the time. I was a 17-year-old girl and all teenage girls loved them. But, I still loved your dad." she said.
They rummaged through a few more boxes and Riley was satisfied with what she found for her and Lucas. She hoped her dad's Doc Martens would fit Lucas. She found a denim shirt for him and she settled on the skater dress with the denim vest and her mom's Doc Martens. She found some hair scrunchies, that her mom said were all the rage in the 90's. She also asked her mom if she could take the CDs to listen to as well. Her mom found an empty box to put all her things in and they turned off the lights and closed the door and left the basement.
When Riley returned to the apartment, she thanked her mother for helping her and went to her room. When she got to her room she placed the box on the floor by the bay window and took a seat. She had forgotten that she left her cell phone there and decided to check to see if Lucas had texted. She had a couple missed calls from Maya and a text from Lucas. She would call Maya later so, she opened the text from Lucas. Hey Riles you'll never guess what I found in my dad's closet. They'll be really cool for 70's Day. Call me when you get this... She dialed his number, eager to tell him about her own treasure hunt.
(Lucas in bold)
Hey Riles!
Hey, Babe. Tell me about this awesome find of yours that will make 70's Day.
Well, I went through my dad's closet and found a baby blue leisure suit and white platform shoes and a white belt. He says the suit was Pappy Joe's, but I don't believe him. The shoes were his though and it all fits. What about you? Did you have any luck with the 90's stuff?
Oh yea. My mom took me down to our storage space. I found the coolest stuff. I even found some old CDs of my moms and this portable disc player called a Discman, it's really strange. Why don't you come over and you can try on these shoes that I found and we can listen to this music.
Bay window or front door?
My dad is out with Auggie so, bay window.
Okay, be there in an hour. See you then.
Riley walked over to the bay window and started pulling items out of the box. She was really interested in hearing those CDs, especially the Backstreet Boys. There were 4 or 5 of their CD's so her mother must have really liked them. She turned on her laptop that was sitting in the window seat and inserted the disk into the drive and waited for it to play. It was the Backstreet Boys CD, Backstreet's Back. Her mother had told her that was their first album. As the first song played she could see why her mom liked this music. She still listens to pop music all the time. Riley decided to let the music play while she was looking through the items she had collected for Homecoming week.
She was pretty happy with the items and was sure that she could win one of the prizes for 90's Day. As the songs played, Riley kept sorting and putting items away. Just as she was sitting down back at her computer a song came on that she really liked. She looked at the CD case to see the name of the song, As Long as You Love Me. She turned the volume up and listened more intently. As the song was playing her mother came in her room and sat at the bay window with her, listening to the song.
As the song ended, Riley turned to her mother and noticed she had tears in her eyes. "Mom, are you okay?" Riley asked. She reached up and brushed the stray tear from Topanga's cheek, "why are you crying?"
Topanga stood and walked over to Riley's dresser and grabbed a tissue and wiped the unshed tears away. "That song was a favorite of mine and your father. It just reminds me of when we were young and so crazy in love."
"It is a really good song, I like what it says." Riley said softly. "Is this your and dad's song?"
"It's one of our songs, we have several. One night, we were doing homework for Feeny's class, while listening to the radio and this song came on. Your father, being the romantic guy that he is, asked me to dance." Topanga was reminiscing. "We were in your grandparent's living room and we danced. It is one of my favorite memories and when I hear this song, it always takes me back."
"Aww, mom, that's so sweet. Who knew that my dad was such a sappy romantic at heart." Riley said while giggling. "By the way, Lucas is going to be here in a little while. He's using the bay window and yes, we'll keep the door open."
"Speaking of Lucas, I have a question for you, Riley." Topanga asked, knowing how Riley felt about him. "Have you told Lucas how you feel about him yet? Have you told him that you love him or has he told you?"
Riley took a deep breath and answered her mother's question, "No, I haven't. What if he doesn't feel the same way? I don't want to scare him off.
"Oh sweetie, trust me, he feels the same way about you. I think he has for quite a while." Topanga said, trying to ease her daughter's mind. "So, neither one of you has said a word?"
Riley shook her head no and looked at her feet. Topanga put her hand under Riley's chin and pulled her head back up, gently. "Riley, don't be afraid of your feelings. It could turn out to be one of the best things you ever did. Whether you and Lucas are forever, or not, he deserves to know how you really feel. You deserve to know how he really feels." Topanga pulled her daughter close to her and gave her a hug, which Riley returned.
"Thanks for the words of wisdom and the advice, mom. I love you." Riley told her mother as she hugged her.
"Well, who knows, this could be a story you tell my grandchildren someday. Make sure you and Lucas have them call me Nana Topie." Topanga said with a laugh as she let go of Riley.
Riley smiled at what her mother said. Whether those grandchildren belonged to her and Lucas or someone else, she knew that Nana Topie, would be one of the best grandmothers a kid could have.
"Riley, do you mind if I borrow that CD?" Topanga asked.
"It is your CD, so of course you can have it." Riley removed the CD from her computer and handed it to her mother. Once Topanga left the room, Riley pulled up her Spotify account on her computer and added the song to her Lucas playlist. Anytime she heard a song that reminded her of him, she'd add it to this playlist.
She was laying on her bed listening to the song for the third time, when she heard a knock on the bay window. She rolled from her back to her stomach and looked to see Lucas' smiling at her through the closed window. She had forgotten to unlock the window. She got up off the bed and went to the window to let Lucas in.
Lucas was surprised to find the bay window locked. Riley always unlocked it when she knew he was coming over. He looked inside the window and saw her laying on her back on her bed. He decided to knock on the window to get her attention. Once he had her attention and she unlocked the window, Lucas climbed in and as he stood, he was attacked by the beautiful brunette. She launched herself at him and as luck would have it he caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He took advantage of the situation and held on to her for a bit so he could hug her. Holding her always made his heart beat fast.
The girl in his arms was a wonder to him. She made everything better, she made him better. He couldn't exactly put his finger on the moment it happened, but Lucas knew that he was head over heels in love with this girl. Of course, he hadn't shared that little tidbit of information with Riley. He was afraid she wouldn't feel the same and Lucas just didn't know if he could handle that. He never wanted to lose her and wasn't sure if they didn't share the same feelings for each other if it would be so easy to go back to being her friend. They were friends, he considered Riley his best friend, different than Zay and Farkle. He just didn't want to lose what they shared. He wouldn't be the same without her in his life.
As he inhaled the sweet floral scent that seemed to surround her, he didn't want to let go. But she was the first to break the silence.
"Lucas, is everything okay?" she asked as she loosened her hold on him.
The smile had disappeared from her face and he couldn't have that, he never wanted to be the reason that she didn't smile. "Everything is fine, Riley. I was just enjoying the moment."
"Me too," she said with a blush and the smile returning to her face. "I like all of our moments."
"Well then, you should know the feeling is mutual." Lucas said with a smile on his handsome face. So, where are these shoes you wanted me to try on?"
Riley walked over to the end of her bed where she had set her dad's old Doc Marten's. She picked up the clunky shoes and walked back to the bay window and gave them to Lucas. "Here you go, these were my dad's back in the 90's. If they fit you can use them for 90's Day. Apparently, the look for part of the decade was denim on denim and whatever else you could pair it with." Riley informed him. "I have a pair of boots just like them that were my mom's. I also found one of his shirts and an old denim jacket that you can use. You'll have to use your own jeans and gel your hair really well."
"Gel, my hair?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, big hair was in and the dudes always gelled their hair for styling. So, yea, don't worry, I have some you can use." Riley said seriously.
"Okay, whatever my princess wants." Lucas said with a smirk. He tried the shoes on and pulled the shirt on over his green t-shirt he was wearing.
After Lucas, had pulled the shirt on Riley checked out the look. Her dad's shirt was a little snug across Lucas's chest and on his arms, but she liked it. Topanga walked in just at that moment and noticed the denim shirt on Lucas.
"Whoa, is that Cory's old shirt that you brought up from storage?" Topanga asked.
"Yea, what do you think?" Lucas asked her. Riley couldn't take her eyes off him.
"Mr. Matthews never looked that good in it. He didn't um… fill it out quite so well. Yea, anyway do you kids want something to eat and drink? I have some sandwiches and sodas I can bring you." She told them.
Lucas was getting ready to pull the shirt off when a mesmerized Riley grabbed his arm to stop him, "leave it on, I like it," she said with a goofy grin on her face. Lucas did as she asked.
Topanga still waiting for an answer could see shy Riley couldn't tear her eyes away from Lucas in that shirt. She walked over to Riley and snapped her fingers in front of her face. Riley snapped out of her trance and just looked at her mother.
Lucas spoke up, "We would love the sandwiches and some sodas, Mrs. Matthews. Thank you." Lucas just looked at Riley, wondering what was going on with her.
Riley was glad that her mother snapped her out of whatever it was that had come over her. She really didn't expect Lucas to look so good in that shirt, it really wasn't his style. Lucas generally made any clothing he wore look good though.
Lucas finally asked Riley if he could take the shirt off and she relented. He was still wearing the shoes, they were pretty comfy. He went to hang the shirt on a hanger to save it from wrinkling and realized that the same song had been playing since he got there.
"Riley what is this music you're playing and why is it the same song?" it's a good song but listening to it over and over is getting a little old." He told her.
"Maybe if you would take the time to listen to the words, you'd like it. It's from an old CD of my mom's. It's As Long as You Love Me by The Backstreet Boys. I found it on Spotify and downloaded it to my Lu… um, my playlist." She nearly blurted out her secret. "I must have it on repeat. I'll stop it." She walked over to the bed and picked up her laptop to stop the song, she just Lucas wouldn't look over her shoulder.
"What's the name of that playlist, Riley?" Lucas asked, with a smirk. He could have sworn she was about to say Lucas playlist. "You don't have to stop the song, I'd like to listen to it and hear the words like you said."
She stopped what she was doing and put the laptop down. "The playlist really doesn't have a name. It's just a list of songs that I really like." She got up off the bed and walked over to him. "Do the shoes fit okay? Do you want to see what I'm going to wear?"
"Yea, that would be awesome." He answered. Lucas took the time while she was in the bathroom changing to listen to the words of the song. It was these words that struck him:
Don't care what is written in your history
As long as you're here with me
I don't care who you are
Where you're from
What you did
As long as you love me
Who you are
Where you're from
Don't care what you did
As long as you love me
He wanted to replay that part, so he turned the computer around and backed the song up to the beginning. It was then that he noticed the title of the playlist, Loving Lucas. She had a playlist for him. He couldn't believe it. He heard the bathroom door open in the hall, so he got up off the bed and went to the bay window. He didn't want her to see him looking at the computer.
She walked into the room to see Lucas still sitting in the bay window and the song still playing in the background. "Well, this is it, what do you think?" she asked.
Lucas was at a loss for words, she was wearing a short dress that was yellow with white sleeves and a butterfly print all over it. She had a black belt at her waist and it was topped with a denim vest. Her hair was down and with half of it pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. On her feet were the same shoes as he was wearing only hers were boots. She was beautiful. He stood up and walked over to her and told her, "Riley, you look beautiful! The outfit looks great on you."
Topanga picked that moment to show up with the sandwiches and drinks. She set the tray with their food down on Riley's desk and walked over to the kids. She couldn't believe her daughter was standing here in an old outfit of hers. "Riley, you look great, If I didn't know better I would swear you walked right out of 1997. I don't remember that dress being that short on me, but you were born taller than me so that's to be expected."
Riley and Lucas sat there staring at each other for a moment. "Well. I'm going to go put my other clothes back on. Be right back." It was like she couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
Lucas turned to thank Mrs. Matthews for the food. "Thanks for the sandwiches Mrs. Matthews. It's really great of you to feed me."
"Don't be silly, Lucas. I'm happy to do it. Can I ask you a question?" Topanga asked. Someone had to get these two to open up about their feelings. They could talk for hours about anything and everything, except how they felt. Lucas shook his head yes so this was her shot. "When are you going to tell her how you feel? I know you want to?" Before he could answer her, she turned and left the room.
Lucas was left speechless. How could Riley's mother possibly know what he was feeling. Riley walked back into the room and took the tray of food and sat on the floor. Lucas sat next to her and took the plate of food she offered. He hardly touched his food, while Riley inhaled hers.
"Lucas is something wrong?" she asked. "Is the sandwich not good?"
"No Riley, there is nothing wrong with the food. Why are you playing this song over and over? Have you listened to the words?" he asked.
"I'll turn it off if it bothers you. I just thought it kind of described us." Riley told him.
"Why because of my past? I don't understand?" he asked. He needed to know if she felt the same as him.
"Did you not listen to the words? I don't care what written in your history. I don't care where you're from or what you did, the only thing that matters is if you love me. I just want to know; do you love me Lucas?"
Lucas swallowed the lump that was in his throat. He was suddenly unable to speak. He picked up his soda and took a big drink. He stood up and walked to the foot of her bed. He turned around and squeaked out the only words he could think to say. "Riley, will you come over here and dance with me?"
She knew he was nervous, heck she was nervous. When he didn't answer her question, she got a little more nervous. She stood and walked over to him. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him close. She felt him put his hands on her waist and pull her closer to him. He started swaying slowly to the music. Trying to figure out what to say she finally said, "Lucas you have to know that the things that you did in your past don't matter to me at all, I love the person you are now. I just need to know if you feel the same way."
He couldn't believe that she just said she loved the person that he was. Those words were meant everything and he had to say them to her as well. He loosened his hold on her so that he could see her face. "Did you just say that you loved me?"
She blushed a bit and looked down. He put two fingers under her chin and made her lift her head so that she was looking him in the eyes. She bit her bottom lip, "Yes, Lucas, I love you. I'm in love with you and I've been too afraid to say anything for fear of you not feeling the same way."
He couldn't help but smile at her. He wrapped his arms back around her waist pulling her back to him. "Silly girl, don't you know I have loved you for so long now. I don't know when it happened, it just did and I've been dying to tell you but was afraid. I'm in love with you, Riley Matthews and know that as long as we love each other, everything is going to be alright."
She pulled him closer if possible. They were cheek to cheek and she whispered in his ear, "Why were we so afraid to tell each other? We talk about everything else so, why was this so hard?"
"I'm 17 and your 16. That's why it was so hard. Feelings are still new to us and hard to share. But now that I've said it once I want everyone to know. I could yell it from the roof of this building!" He said.
"You would do it to, wouldn't you? I think for the moment I just want to keep it between us, and my mom. She said something to you didn't she?" She chuckled at the thought of her matchmaking mother.
"Yes, she did. But it's okay. If I had known it would feel this wonderful I would have done it sooner." He said. He pulled away just a little to look in her eyes. He leaned forward and closed the distance between them with a kiss.
Topanga was standing in the hall with a smile on her face when she heard the front door. She walked down the hall to the living room. Cory had just hung up his jacket when he turned to her and told her that Auggie was having a sleep over with Doy and that he was free for the evening. Topanga smiled and picked up a small remote control and clicked a button.
Cory wondered what his wife was up to. She had a beautiful smile on her face as she used the remote for the small stereo in their living room. When the music started playing, he smiled and a million memories of yesterday came to mind. "Oh, this is my cue. Would you like to dance with me Mrs. Matthews?" he asked.
She walked into his arms and said, "I'd love to Cory. I'm glad you remembered."
"How could I ever forget this song and what it has meant to us over the years. I always knew that as long as we loved each other, everything would be okay.