It was hot that day, oppressively so. The heat and humidity were reminiscent of what one would find in the swamps of Louisiana during August, not a mid-June afternoon in New York. NYC had been battling an early summer heatwave and when added to the pressures of final exams…everyone was nearing the end of their patience.
The situation between Lucas, Riley and Maya had long been over…but if you asked Lucas? There never really was a situation between the 3 of them…unless you count the fact that he felt like he had to "compete" with Maya for a place in Riley's affections.
The end of the "triangle", which had started during the angst of middle school graduation, was a long time coming. The first few months of HS had been rough. No longer were they the "Kings" of John Adams Middle School, now they were the "peasants" of Abigail Adams High School.
In a move, that would have impressed Texas Lucas but hurt NY Lucas at his core, he was the first one to snap. It didn't take long. He mentioned to the others that he and Zay were going to broaden their horizons and try out for the football team. All of their friends encouraged them save one…Riley. Riley, the one who swore that she would always believe in him, suddenly didn't. This shook him, and in all honesty hurt him, more than he could even begin to describe and so he reacted. "You are just too much for me sometimes." The second the words crossed his lips, his stomach hit his feet. He knew that with those 8 words, he may have just cost himself the last thing he would ever want to lose…Riley. In that split second he knew he was wrong, not necessarily in his feelings but in his delivery. He snapped at her in front of their friends, in front of other students in the hallway, he didn't even have the inner fortitude needed to keep his mouth shut until they were alone. What scared him the most is that her eyes never wavered…they simply filled with tears while she stoically looked him in the eyes.
Things were strained between the "Pick Six" from that point forward until the February class field trip to a Ski Lodge up in the mountains of Upstate NY.
During that trip, things between Lucas and Riley changed. It was during that trip that Lucas finally confessed to Farkle and Zay that he never really had any doubts. For him it had always been and always will be… Riley. His feelings never changed and neither did the one he had them for. Almost from the moment he met Riley Matthews he knew that she was going to be a major part of his world. Now here they are all these years later and she is his everything…she just doesn't know it. Lucas was ready, he was going to approach her one night as they sat in front of the fire, grab her hands, look in her eyes and tell her. That she is the one his heart beats for, the one that brings the butterflies to life, the one that he feels makes him feel like a better man than he was the day before. That he was sorry if anything he ever said or did made her doubt the strength of his feelings. That he now feels like it is his personal mission to make her see just how much she is needed…by her family, by her friends…by him. It is a mission that he is looking forward to accomplishing.
All of his planning was for naught. He never got the opportunity to tell her anything. Once he announced that he made a decision, she calmly got up, kissed his cheek, told him she was happy for him and left the room.
Lucas panicked for a moment and then a small smile crossed his lips. He knew that she was running and he knew why...after all studying Riley was one of his favorite things to do. She wasn't running from him or their mutual feelings... She was running from herself. He was confident in his feelings and, perhaps obnoxiously so, he knew Riley's.
Her running from him now only confirmed that she was not ready... But he was confident that before too long she would be running to him... One of the benefits of being in love with your best friend? You know when to push hard and when to nudge gently. Riley had tried to explain to him, in Texas, why she was scared but he was still in shock over the whole brother zoning. If waiting until she believes she is ready means that she has no reservations or doubts about them, then he will wait…. for now.
There was a cautious optimism around the group after they returned. Farkle, Maya and Zay tried to push Lucas for information but to no avail. He knew that everyone's perception of his relationship with Riley was a huge part of what went wrong between them. Riley readily admitted that she was more concerned about what other's thought of her than what she thought. He refused to talk to anyone about his relationship or lack of one, with Riley. He didn't want there to be any misconceptions floating around. He and Riley grew closer than they were after Texas but they hadn't returned to the closeness of their "unofficial" relationship. He was certain that he was driving his mother and Pappy Joe crazy with all of his Riley talk but they both understood and supported his decision.
It was during Finals week that Lucas decided that he needed to up his game a little. He needed to see where Riley's head was, if she was ready to fight for him and for them. He knew that he needed to tread carefully to avoid making things worse but he also knew that if she didn't react to his nudging then he needed to decide whether or not he should continue to wait.
Even before Lucas could nudge Riley, things happened. Heart stopping, knee knocking, I'm in love with this girl kind of stuff.
Lucas was standing in the hallway, leaning against his locker, chatting with the girls from his English Lit class. They all wanted to catch his eye but they also knew that he only had eyes for Riley.
"Zay, look at him! Figures Mr. Perfect would be surrounded by girls." Farkle snarked to Zay from the other side of the hall.
"Katie, Amy, Nan, Nette, Kat, Lisa, Carolyn and Courtney….hmm…" Zay remarked quietly
"Hmm what?"
"The only girl not there, is the only one he wants" Zay explains as he nudges Farkle with his elbow and nods his head in Riley's direction.
Riley stood motionless, her heart at her feet…in that moment her fears about losing Lucas appeared to be coming true right in front of her eyes. She quickly turned on her heel, gave a strained smile to Zay and Farkle and pushed through the crowd to the doors that lead to the student quad.
As she was turning around, Zay got Lucas' attention, he quickly excused himself from the group and followed her outside.
Lucas trailed Riley by only a few steps but when he called out her name she began to move faster. This scared him and pushed him into a run. He caught her by the arm, spun her around and lifted her face to look into her eyes. His heart stopped when he saw the tears streaming down her face. He tried to wrap his arms around her but she fought him with everything she had. Dropping her messenger bag, she flailed her arms and tried with all of her might to wiggle out of his embrace. There was no way in hell he was letting her go.
"Shhh…Riley…calm down Princess." He muttered in an attempt to get through to her.
"Let me go Lucas!" she urged with a tortured voice.
"Not happening Riley. Not now, not ever. You NEED to be held and I NEED to be the one that holds you." With those words, he felt the fight leave her body. He wrapped his arms around her even tighter. It had been so long since he held her like this. It had been way too long since she was in his arms, since she was where she belonged. She clung to him with every ounce of strength she had. She rested her head on his chest and let herself hope.
"Riley. I've got you. I'm here… I've been here. I'm not going anywhere that you aren't. I get it Riley. You're scared but Princess? I'm scared too." She starts to shake her head "Please Riley, let me say what I need to. I understand you are scared but what I don't know is why. You will always be a part of my life. There is nothing you can do to change that. You believe that you and Maya will always be together no matter what, why can't you have the same faith in me? No matter what happens, where we go, who we become, Riley Matthews- you will always be my best friend and if you'd let me, I'd always like to be yours...after Maya of course." Her head had not left his chest, and he is quite OK with that, but now instead of her tears soaking his shirt, he can feel her grin as it spreads across her beautiful face. "You are mine Riley just as I am yours. We don't need to put a title on it right now if you don't want to but you do need to know that it has always been you." He feels her relax even more into his embrace. Some guys would be worried about the lack of conversation from her side, but he wasn't worried at all. Her body language said everything that he needed to hear. The bell rang indicating that they missed their last class but as the quad filled with students, there they stood, locked in their embrace while everyone else had to maneuver around them.
The quad emptied quickly and they were still in the exact same spot. They both needed to be exactly where they were and neither were in any hurry to move.
As luck would have it, the skies above them opened and the rain, that the city so desperately needed began to fall. For Lucas and Riley, it was a perfect symbol of who and where they were. The storm brought an end to the oppressive heat and humidity, an end to the desert like dryness of the earth around them. Riley's breakdown brought an end to the tension and space between them, an end to the empty, hollow feeling they both had. The rain stops falling on them and when Lucas looks up, there is Zay standing on a bench, holding an umbrella over them.
"Break it up already….we get it.. you're both happy to be back where you belong. Now I need to get inside where I belong so let's get a move on shall we?" Lucas can feel Riley start to giggle but neither of them move. As Zay moves down the quad to head back inside you can hear him yell "Hey Farkle! Want to hear a great Rucas story?
It's got an amazing ending! 2 thumbs up I promise!"
Hearing this makes Riley giggle, hearing Riley giggle makes Lucas extremely happy.
As he looks down at her resting in his arms, he finally feels whole again.
That he has finally found the piece of himself that has been missing.
They both know that here in his arms, is the best place for her to be.