"Oh my God. You're here. Like right now."

Farkle shrugs. "Yeah...I mean, obviously."

Riley shuts the door and Farkle hears the lock click.

Riley finds him in the dining hall later and slides into the booth across from him. "Hey…" she says quietly.

"Hey. What's up?" Farkle says without looking up, twirling his fork around in his pasta.

"Sorry I was a bit weird earlier." She twists her hands together before folding them and forcing them into her lap. "It's just...I didn't expect you! You went to Princeton...we went to NYU. I haven't seen you in a few years. It's, I don't know-"

Farkle drops his fork and says in quickly, "I finished my bachelor's in physics early, decided to go for my masters. Here, I mean."

Riley knits her eyebrows together. "Wow. Like, I didn't know you could finish early at Princeton. But-and you're here? At NYU? As a grad student?" She throws her hands on the table and leans back. "You could've gone to Stanford. Or something."

"Yeah, I know. Not a big deal. It's not like I'm a genius or anything," he jokes. Riley shots him a glare. Farkle takes a sip from his coffee and raises his eyebrows at her over the paper cup. "Remember when I wasn't going to go to Princeton?"

Riley rolls her eyes. "Yes. You were going to give up your dream of whatever for some stupid-ass friend sentimentality."

"Holy hell. Never realized Riley Matthews would use the word stupid and friend in the same sentence. You okay, Riles?"

She draws her eyebrows together and tilts her head. "I had two cups of coffee this morning because past me decided it was a great idea to take an 8 AM." She snatches a fry from his plate and tosses it into her mouth, a goofy grin plastered on her face. She shrugs.

"Uhh. Okay." He stares at her for a few seconds. "You're acting a little funny."

"I'm, like, always like his."

"Yeah, when you were fourteen. But...you were so mature in high school."

"Do you not like it?" she teases.

Farkle feels the back of his neck grow hot. "No-no, it's fine. I like it. Yeah, I like it."

Riley steals another fry and Farkle calls it even. Riley had a tendency to switch her personalities depending on her current circumstance. Or not change at all. Like she did at the beginning of high school: naive, childish. But she'd grown and traded in her foolish crush on Lucas for long-lasting relationships. Or adult relationships, as she called it. But that's just because she went a lot further than kissing with them.

Farkles sighs and sinks down in his seat, patting his stomach. "So...I'm free for the rest of the afternoon-"

"Matthews!" a deep voice calls out from across the cafeteria. A hulking, broad-shouldered guy strolls over to them. If they were still in high school, Farkle would've labeled him as a first-rate jock.

"Peter!" Riley calls back, pointing a french fry at him. "What's up?" She raises her hand and Peter high-fives her.

"Nothing much." He shoves his hands into his pockets. "Who's this skinny dude?" he asks, twisting to face Farkle.

"Just...just a friend from high school. He's, uh, a grad student." Riley shoves her hands into her lap and shrugs her shoulders up to her ears.

"Nice. Nice," Peter mumbles. "Does he have a name?"

"Farkle," Farkle says shortly, sitting up in his seat.

Peter twists back to face Riley. "Ah, Farkle! Riles has told me about you."

Farkle opens his mouth, but Riley immediately shouts, "Not really! Not really at all. I mean, a bit. Farkle went to Princeton."

"You told me."

Riley nods, her ears growing pink. She slumps a little in her seat.

"So, Riles," Peter says. "Delta Zeta's having a party tonight. You interested?"

Riley lets her head fall lazily onto her right shoulder. "Oh, you know I'm there."

Peter claps his hands together. "Awesome! It's gonna be fantastic!" he sings before dancing away from them.

Farkle lets out a low whistle. "Think he's kind of into you."

Riley waves a dismissive hand. "I slept with him a few months ago. I wasn't impressed. He must've enjoyed it though."

Farkle raises his eyebrows. He's still kind of surprised by Riley's active sex life. Not in a judgmental way. It's just the only person he's ever dated was Smackle and they only kissed two or three times. Physical contact and affection just wasn't their thing. And at Princeton he was too busy cramming in homework to get involved in any of the hookup culture.

"Do you wanna go to the party with me?" Riley asks, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"You want me-?"

"I know that partying probably wasn't your thing at Princeton. And it might be kind of weird because you're a grad student who no one knows, but it'll be fun. I could teach you a little bit about college. I mean, you know, the partying side." She tilts her head forward and smiles.

"Uh-yeah, sure. I'll come. Why not?"

"Yay!" She jumps up. "Pick me up at seven?" Farkle nods. "Great. See you then."

As she skips away, Farkle can't help wonder what kind of wound he's reopened.

Farkle gets to Riley's dorm at 6:45. And that was after he'd paced outside the residential hall, then realized he must've looked pretty suspicious, so he went inside. He knocks and Riley calls him inside.

Maya's lounging on her bed, dressed in all black. Riley rushes around the room only wearing tights and a lacy pink bra. Farkle freezes immediately and he's pretty sure his entire face is red.

"Oh my God," he mumbles under his breath and averts his eyes to the floor.

"I'll be ready in a few minutes. Just looking for a dress. Maya, have you seen my black dress?" Riley says, digging through a pile of clothing. Her back's to Farkle, so she can't see his awkwardly shift in place.

"Sweetie, you own like fifty black dresses," Maya informs her. She throws her legs over the edge of the bed, resting her feet on the floor and stands up.

"I-uh-didn't know Maya was your roommate," Farkle tries, scratching the back of his neck.

"Who else would be her roommate?" Maya shuffles over to him. "You look good, Minkus. Those jeans fit you well." She stands in front of him and looks up at him. "You've gotten taller." At the end of high school, Maya came up to his shoulders. Now, she's a good inch below them. "Riles, doesn't he look good?"

Riley looks over her shoulder at him and smiles. "He's alright."

"Um," Farkle stumbles.

"Found it!" Riley shouts, holding up a black bundle in victory. She shimmies into it and grabs her purse from her desk.

Maya reaches up and pats Farkle on both his shoulders. "We're gonna have fun tonight, okay? No making it...not fun," she says slowly and then breaks out into a huge grin. She lowers her voice and says, "Don't tell the RA, but I snuck in some wine and I'm a little bit tipsy." She turns on her heel and pretends to walk on a tightrope, her arms outstretched on either side. And then she begins pumping her fists and transitions to dancing.

Riley holds her arm out towards Farkle. "Ready?"

Farkle swallows and tries to ignore the fact that her dress is sheer and he can still see her hot pink bra through it. He links arms with her and they march out the door, Maya waltzing behind them.

The music is a lot louder than Farkle expected it to be. But then again, the closest Farkle had ever gotten to a full-blown, alcohol-provided party was some guy's high school graduation party, which Farkle had left an hour early. Naturally. The frat house is literally shaking as unfamiliar people twirl around the living room.

"It's-uh-very loud in here!" Farkle tries yelling to Riley. She just looks up at him, smiles, and nods.

Maya squeezes her way through the crowd, disappearing like a child in a grocery store.

They're not even there for more than a minute before someone shoves a red solo cup into Riley's hand. She looks at it and heads into the crowd, walking towards the kitchen. Farkle stumbles behind her like a lost dog, adjusting the beanie on his head.

It's a bit quieter in the kitchen, since there's a thick wall that separates it from the rest of the living area. A few people have already made their way into the fluorescent room, falling over the table and laughing. Riley shakes her head and dumps the beer down the sink.

"I don't understand why I didn't get one," Farkle mumbles jokingly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Riley punches him in the arm. "I'm prepared," she assures him. And then she pulls out two bottles of beer from her purse. Farkle raises his eyebrows, a little bit impressed. She offers one to Farkle and he takes it reluctantly.

She pops the cap off hers and takes a swig. And then she raises her eyebrows at Farkle because he's just awkwardly holding his bottle. He twists the cap off his and takes a long gulp of it.

Riley gives a short laugh. "Wow."

Farkle winces as he struggles to swallow it. It doesn't taste good, that much he admits. He hasn't eaten since lunch, so he's feeling a bit weak in the legs, and given that he just downed almost half the bottle, it doesn't help. He takes another drink, partly because he kind of likes the way it feels, and partly to impress Riley.

They go back into the mass of people and Farkle's grateful for his height. Riley holds her beer in one hand and grabs onto his shirt with the other. He starts slowing down as people push into him and Riley stumbles into his side. He wraps an arm around her awkwardly and starts heading in no specific direction, but Riley tugs him to the side, away from the crowd.

She tugs him to where a few couches are shoved against the wall, off to the side. Zay is practically asleep in a bean bag and Lucas sits like a king or something on the couch. Maya's next to him, not understanding personal space, a bottle of beer in her hand. She sits with her feet tucked under her, facing Lucas.

"Oh look who it is!" Maya cooes. "Lucas, look who it is," she enunciates, slapping Lucas on the knee.

"I know," Lucas said calmly, blinking slowly before taking a sip of beer.

Maya scoffs. "You know? Okay." She busts out in a fit of giggles, collapsing on Lucas, who still looks calm, like it's a common occurrence.

"Uh, yeah," Farkle mumbles. He takes his hand off Riley's back and rubs it on the front of his pants. He falls down onto the couch next to Maya. "My original residential plans fell through, so Lucas and Zay let me stay in their apartment."

Maya turns to Farkle, squinting her eyes. "Okay?"

Lucas pulls her against him and she rests her head against his chest.

Riley comes over and perches on the armrest next to Farkle. She lazily dangles her beer bottle from her finger tips and sways off pace to the pounding music

"Little bitch boy couldn't stay away from us," Zay mutters and takes a sip from his beer.

Lucas immediately starts cracking up and slapping his knee, which causes Maya to snort, and then Riley gives a short chuckle, so Farkle joins in too, despite the fact that he's sober as hell and kind of wishes he wasn't.

He hears Riley drop her empty bottle to the floor and then she hisses, "Oh, gross, it's him." He looks up to see Peter strolling over to them. In one quick motion, Riley clambers on to Farkle's lap, wrapping her hands around his neck.

Zay makes a shocked noise and Farkle grunts. "Uh-Riley-what are you-"

"Peter!" Riley calls. She places a hand on Farkle's chest and twists to face Peter.

Peter stares at the situation: Riley draped over Farkle's lap and Farkle staring at her wide-eyed, the tips of his ears pink. He clears his throat. "Hey, um, wow. You having fun?"

"Lots. Great party!" She moves her hand from Farkle's chest to his shoulder and looks at him. She tilts her head forward and raises her eyebrows. Farkle tries to focus on her, but it's hard because she's so close and all he can think about are his possible (possible) feelings for her resurfacing and how she just so easily-

"Yeah, lots of fun, Pete! Pretty fucking sick first party-uh-at NYU, I mean," Farkle chides. He raises his free hand into a fist, which Pete promptly pounds reluctantly, and then he sets his hand on Riley's back.

Riley giggles and lets her head fall into the crook between his head and shoulder. She presses her lips to his ear and whispers, "Good. Keep playing along."

When she pulls away, Farkle joins her in laughing. He massages her back, drawing her closer to him. She hesitates for a second, and in that second she gives him a confused look but just as easily allows him to pull her against him.

"So are you guys like a thing?" Peter asks.

Riley opens her mouth to answer, but Maya, now drunk, shouts, "Yes! For the last time, Lucas and I are dating. Now go crawl back into whatever hole you came from." She makes a shooing motion and then tucks her head against Lucas's chest.

Riley gives an uneasy laugh, but Farkle answers clearly, "Yeah, we're kind of a thing. I mean, I guess, since like high school."

Riley turns to look at him all serious, "Farkle-"

"Relax," Farkle whispers, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Riley draws her eyebrows together.

"Yeah. We are," she mumbles quietly, still looking at Farkle

She reaches for his other hand and grabs his beer from him. She downs it and breaks out into one of her goofy smiles. She shrugs and one strap of her dress slides off her shoulder.

Farkle smiles and nods. "You okay?" He takes the beer back and takes a drink.

Riley relaxes into him, and she smells like alcohol. And it hits him that Riley probably hasn't had anything to eat. And maybe they both accepted several more drinks than just their beers. But before he can think of anything else, Riley snatches his beanie off his head and sloppily throws it onto her head and Peter says, "Hey do you guys wanna dance?"

Maya groans. "Fucking finally!" She gets up and drags Lucas after her. It's almost hysterical watching Lucas drunkenly dance like a confused dad.

Riley detaches herself from Farkle. "Farkle, let's go dance!" she takes his hand and tries to pull him up.

Farkle tries to cross his legs and the last thing he wants to do is get up and dance. Riley tries yanking him again, but he barely budges. "I'm not really feeling-"

"Farkle. Dance. With. Me."

So he does. After he finishes off his beer, gets things under control, and he's finally starting to feel the buzz kick in. Riley throws her arms up in victory and then tries to grab his hands, which he's flinging around him.

"You dance like a zombie!" Riley yells.

"You dance like a zombie!" Farkle yells back.

She laughs and pulls him closer to her by the belt loops of his pants. Farkle becomes very aware of her body at this point. He also notes how he really just wants to make out with her and he could probably get away with it. And that he still likes her. A lot. But it's probably just the alcohol.

"Riley, I-" he starts, but stops.

"What?" she yells.

They get pushed into the crowd, bodies crowding around them, until they're literally pressed against each other. Riley looks up at him her eyes not quite focused and Farkle knows she's drunk, and that he's a bit drunk too.

Suddenly her eyes light up and he follows her gaze to Peter who's leaning against the wall in the hallway. She fists his shirt in her hand and tugs him away from the party into the hallway. Farkle knows it's a bad idea. Knows he probably should just leave or something. But he would be lying if he said he didn't like it.

She shoves him against the wall and for all he knows about science, he can't understand what draws her to him over and over again. "Riley, I really like you and this is a great idea. I jus' wanted to tell you that," Farkle slurs. "Like a lot," he mumbles.

Riley grabs the collar of his shirt and kisses him. Her hands move up and she fists her hands in his hair and Farkle wraps his arms around her, pulling her against him. He's never been like this kissed before. Riley's good at this and he can only assume he's pretty decent, considering she hasn't stopped. Or she's too drunk to care. She turns her head away slightly, so Farkle presses a sloppy kiss to her cheek. She's turned towards Peter or at least where Peter used to be. Farkle pulls away slightly, trying to meet her gaze.

He blinks a couple of times, trying refocus and gather his thoughts. "You...you were my first kiss," he mumbles, but Riley can't hear him. "I was...yours. And this-this-"

She whips her head around to face him, his beanie flying off her head. Her eyes are wide as she presses the tips of her fingers to her slightly swollen, red lips.

Farkle draws his eyebrows together. "Wait, were you trying to make him jealous? Like, originally I thought you were trying to get him to leave you alone-"

She rushes down the hallway, away from him without saying anything. Farkle stoops down and picks up his beanie off the floor.

Idiot.