She was shy and had a fear of things she did not know.

Riley Matthews and Lucas Friar had called off their relationship. They had realized that they would be better off friends. Why they hadn't come to that conclusion sooner, nobody knows. Lucas wanted something more, and Riley liked things where they were.

A certain boy of tall and lanky proportions was there to support Riley in her time of need. Farkle Minkus, Riley's best friend and number one fan, had his shoulder ready for Riley's tears. Ever since they were seven, they supported each other.

"There is no situation where I wouldn't want that for you."

"Did you ask us to help you understand love?"

"The truth is always the best thing."

"I love you, Farkle."

"And I love you."

Coincidentally at the same time, Farkle and his girlfriend, Isadora Smackle, had mutually broken up due to wanting different things in the long run. The two made a pact that if anything hasn't happened romantically by the time they graduate college, they would try their relationship again.

It was the summer after high school graduation when Riley realizes her true feelings for Farkle. The two traded various stories outside of town while lying down in the bed of a pickup truck under the stars. This went on for weeks until one night, the brown-eyed brunette started talking about love. Riley felt the butterflies in her stomach when Farkle held her hand nonchalantly.

"Farkle, I've never been, like, in-love-in-love before, you know? With Lucas, I was just happy to be with him. I was just living in the now. I never pictured the future with Lucas. It has always been with someone else. It's like every time I look at this person, it makes me wanna cry. The stress is eating me alive, Farkle. Isn't that how you felt about Smackle?"

"Love can be sometimes confusing. I love her, but I was never in love with her like she was with me."

"Yeah, and?" Riley could feel herself getting sick.

"It didn't take me till dating Smackle to realize what being in love feels like. The butterflies in your stomach, the way your face lights up at the mere mention of a person's name, the thought of the impact one has on another... I could go on forever, Riley."

Everything rang true for Riley when Farkle mentioned the things that come with being in love.

"Farkle?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not feeling very well."

"I know."

"How do you know?"

"Because your body has been reacting to the things I said about being in love."

"I am in love. It's not with Lucas."

"Well, who's the lucky guy?"

Riley couldn't form any words. She lay in the flatbed still, yet shook like a leaf.

"The guy who's been in love with me," Riley quietly said, "since the first grade."

Farkle looked at Riley with a big what written on his face.

"I've been in love with you since the first grade, Riley," the blue-eyed boy fired back in response. "Unless there's somebody else, I'm not ready for this!"

Riley turned to face Farkle and said, "It -is- you, Farkle. You have been there for me throughout most of my problems. You have supported me through the things I thought I couldn't do. You saved me the guilt that ate me alive when I let Maya see Lucas for a while. You did those things because you love me, and I have done things for you because I love you. I never realized until now. Do you wanna go out with me, Farkle?"

A weight had finally been lifted off Riley's shoulders when the words came out coherently. Now, a new stress formed in her body, one of anxiety.

"I thought you'd never ask," Farkle whispered, turning his body towards Riley's.

He placed a hand around her waist, pulling her closer. She ran her hands through his hair and brought his lips onto hers. Fireworks began to explode in the sky, or so they thought. The brown-eyed brunette broke the kiss to confess one more truth.

"I don't know if I can do this, Farkle."

"What?"

"This," she answered, raising Farkle's hand in the air with hers.

Two months later, Riley and Farkle were attending NYU. They lived separately in the dorms, yet they were inseparable. Farkle had a way to fix their living situation so they could be together all the time.

He invested in a deserted, rundown house that was only five minutes from campus. It wasn't the best looking house, but it was very roomy on the inside. Three bedroom, three bathrooms, kitchen, living space, dining room; it was a perfect place for Farkle and the future Mrs. Minkus to start living together. To make this work, Riley proposed that they spruce up the house before moving in.

In the times when they were not in class, Riley and Farkle worked on painting the house and cleaning the cobwebs from the inside out. The two also invested in new furniture for the house and a king-sized bed that they would share at nights. They were in love. They made love. They made their love worthwhile. A few years and a wedding later, Farkle and Riley had everything they ever wanted in life while they were still young and very much in love. Now, Farkle and Riley were presented with a new challenge.

"I'm pregnant," Riley said with tears of joy in her eyes.

Awestruck, Farkle gives Riley a quick peck on the lips and hugs the brown-eyed girl. His dreams of being with Riley and having a family with her were finally coming true. However, Riley was scared.

"I've never had a baby before, Farkle. I don't know if I can do this," Riley cried.

Farkle took Riley's hands in his own, looked her in her brown eyes, and said, "We'll get through it, honey. And you know what? I honestly can't wait to see what our baby would look like."

[fast forward eight months...]

Farkle coached Riley through labor. If anything, the stress showed more in his face than Riley's. As he held her hand, Riley pushed, breathed rhythmically, and pushed harder repetitively until her body gave out. The baby, whose gender was kept a surprise from the family, made it halfway out of Riley before the doctors helped her finish the birthing process.

"Congratulations, Riley, it's a girl," the doctor said.

The doctor placed the newborn baby girl on top of a passed-out Riley.

"Riley, you hear that? She's here! We have a daughter!" Farkle said in Riley's ear, trying to wake her up.

Riley slowly woke up, consciously cradling her newborn daughter in her arms. She and Farkle were head over heels in love with their daughter, whom they named Stephanie Ann Minkus. She had the prettiest blue eyes and a head full of dark brown hair.

For one whole year, Farkle and Riley had their trials and tribulations with Stephanie. They taught Stephanie how to walk, talk (just words, no sentences yet), and use the "number one" gesture when asked how old she is. When it was time for her first birthday party, Riley and Farkle invited every family member to their house to celebrate.

At the party, Riley started feeling dizzy. Though they were the same symptoms Riley felt before confessing her love for Farkle, these had been intensified tenfold. She spent most of the party in and out of bed. Farkle took Riley to the emergency room soon after the party when he found her seizing out in the bathroom.

[six months later...]

"I've never been so close to actual death before, Farkle. This is hard, and I don't know if I can do this," Riley whispered hoarsely on her deathbed. She had flatlined after they exchanged one more "I love you."

Riley Amy (Matthews) Minkus passed peacefully at the Brooklyn Hospital on December 8, 2024, her 23rd birthday, from cancer of the brain.

Farkle was now left alone to take care of his daughter. Days and nights with Stephanie were lonely without Riley. Stephanie grew up to look just like Riley, but with Farkle's blue eyes. Sometimes it scared Farkle how much he misses Riley, and Stephanie knew. For all they knew, Riley was always with them.

"You've been alone before, Farkle. You can do it. Just think of how proud I am of you and Stephanie. I love you to Pluto and back!"

It was the love in Riley's heart and Stephanie's wish for a loving mother that made Farkle find love again with another certain brunette with brains, but that's a different story for a different time.