A/N: Hey, everyone! So, I decided to start a one shot series for Rucas, because I love them so darn much. (I want to start one for Faya, as well, if anyone is actually interested.) I'll try to update as frequently as possible without losing track of my multi-chapter. :3
Anyways, this is set a couple weeks before Girl Meets Gravity, and I hope you guys like it! Annnd I don't own Girl Meets World. But hey, I might someday. In my dreams, I mean.
. . .
Awkwardness was something that was not exactly uncommon for Riley Matthews.
Growing up the girl that she was, she was never surprised when she ended up in an paralyzing awkward situation. She had learned quite a lot from the 'boop' incident, fired by jealousy over how close Lucas and Missy were getting. Situations that you didn't feel comfortable in were going to pop up throughout your entire life. What mattered most was how you handled the situation or problem, and whether or not you allowed it to help you grow as a human being.
Also, when your father is your seventh grade history teacher and he insists upon giving you The Talk in front of the entire class, nothing shocks you much anymore.
Which of course reminded her of another event. Subway. Falling into her date's lap, grabbing him by the face and ...
"-kissing him like there was no tomorrow!"
Riley's best friend, Maya Hart, seemed unable to let the kiss between Riley and Lucas go. It was practically all she had talked about this summer, always bringing it up the instant Riley thought she was finally getting over it. Maya, blond fireball that she was, was convinced that Lucas and Riley needed to address to kiss before they went back to school. Because if they didn't, she was somewhat afraid that their peers might pressure them into something they may not be ready for quite yet.
Which Riley thought was rather humorous. She knew that she could handle whatever life tossed her way, as could Lucas. They were teenagers, after all, and they were all about to become kings within no time at all. The start of eighth grade was only a few weeks away, and even though Riley was not totally convinced that her father was not going to be her history teacher this year, too, she was looking forward to it nonetheless.
"It was a simple peck on the lips, Maya," Riley murmured for what felt like the hundredth time that day alone.
Her fierce blond friend smiled disbelievingly, nodding. "Sure, sure it was, Riley. But you both wanted it to be more than that, didn't you? I mean, I know that he did. He is a teenage guy, so there's no shocker there, but you-"
"Maya!" Riley cried, interrupting her friend before she could even consider continuing. "I'm only thirteen years old, are you really going to insist that I wanted it to be more than an innocent little kiss?"
Maya paused for a long moment before nodding again. "Yeah. I do. I don't care if you're only thirteen, Riles, I know the way you feel about him. You like him, a lot. That much is obvious. And typically people enjoy kissing people they like for a pretty long time. Haven't you ever watched those movies about the vampire and the human? They make out, like, all the time."
Riley raised an eyebrow quizzically. "So you're saying you want to kiss my Uncle Josh for a long period of time?"
The blond girl shrugged. "Isn't it obvious?"
Riley shuddered slightly, stumbling away from her best friend. "That is absolutely the last thing I needed to hear, and definitely the worst thing I've heard in my young little life."
Maya smirked suddenly, taking a couple steps towards her best friend. "Aww, are you sure that's really the last thing you've ever heard? Because come on, it's pretty obvious you feel the same way about your cowboy, right?"
The brunette bit her lower lip lightly, twiddling with her thumbs nervously. "Maybe," she answered at last. "But why does it even matter to you, Maya?"
"Uh, maybe 'cause he's right behind you? I probably should have mentioned that before you spilled your guts, so ... my bad."
Riley spun around almost immediately, her face already heating up instinctively. Sure enough, there was Lucas with Farkle at his side. She plastered a nervous grin on her face, laughing breathlessly. "Oh, hi," she said awkwardly, laughing again. It was starting to sound more like a screech of hysteria as every second passed, though.
"Hey," he said quietly, grinning back just as nervously.
"This is going to be really uncomfortable for all of us, isn't it?" Farkle asked Maya softly, his eyebrows raising ever so slightly.
The girl with the long blond hair nodded again, smiling excitedly. "Yes, it is. Would you happen to have any popcorn on you, Farkle? Because this is the type of event that definitely deserves popcorn."
Riley ignored them both, intently focusing on the grass beneath her feet. Maya had barely convinced her to exit her apartment building that day, the brunette girl too terrified of something painfully awkward occurring. She usually liked it very much when she was right, but this was not one of those occasions. "Funny seeing you here ... at the park."
Lucas furrowed his eyebrows together tightly, somewhat taken aback. "Maya texted Farkle and I, telling us both to meet you guys here. She said you thought it had been too long since we had all hung out together, so you figured it might be a good idea to catch up."
Riley whipped her head up right away, spinning around to face her best friend. "Do our friendship rings matter so little to you that you would go behind my back like that?!" She was almost screaming now, hysteria officially beginning to sink in. The only way to avoid that wonderful feeling of pure, undeniable panic was screeching at Maya.
It made sense to Riley, at least.
Maya laughed lightly, shaking her head to herself. "This is for your own good, Riles. Yours, too, Huckleberry. You guys have to talk about it eventually, and unless you want to risk Mr. Matthews overhearing ..." she trailed off.
"You two planned this," Riley accused, gesturing between Farkle and Maya frantically.
The two friends glanced at each other fleetingly before shrugging. "Yeah," they said shamelessly.
"You know what, I feel so dumb but it completely slipped my mind. I'm actually supposed to get home really soon because my mother and father want me to babysit Auggie so they can ... go grocery shopping. They haven't gone in a pretty long time and then don't want to disrupt his quiet, innocent little life with the hustle and bustle of desperate shoppers at the market, so ..." Riley laughed nervously. She knew that she was rambling, that much was very obvious to her and everybody surrounding her. What she did not know was how to stop.
"And I have ... homework," Lucas said lamely. "Lots of homework."
"Hey, Ranger Rick, we haven't started school yet and you already told Farkle you finished whatever homework that was assigned to us back in June," Maya pointed out unhelpfully.
Riley forced another giggle, fiddling with her fingers. "Well, that's super funny but I honestly need to get home. Alone, because of course you guys know what happened the last time I tried to babysit my younger brother with my friends around. We wouldn't want another repeat of that disaster-"
"Hey, I thought it was pretty fun!" Maya interrupted indignantly.
Riley continued as if she had not even heard her. "So, I should most likely get going. I'll talk to you guys later," she added half-heartedly. She flashed everyone a brief smile before turning back around, brushing past Lucas and walking quickly.
Maya snickered quietly. "You guys do know that she was lying, right?"
"What makes you think that?" Lucas asked softly, staring after Riley's retreating silhouette. "She seemed to be telling the truth, don't you think, Farkle?"
"No," Farkle paused, exchanging a smile with Maya. "She's going in the wrong direction."
