Sense and Sensibility
A/N: Sequel to Rescuing Hart! Hope you all enjoy!
Summary: How does living with your best friends affect the way you see one another? Farkle Minkus thought it would be easy living with his two closest friends, but turns out it's harder than he had anticipated. Maya Hunter and Joshua Matthews are in a strong and stable relationship, with the support of both families, but they learn that there are many trials when it comes to juggling the many roles of life. Riley Matthews thought her heart moved to Texas, but the boy upstairs seems to be messing with her head, unintentionally. Join the lives of the original trio and how they are to face the many challenges in meeting the real world.
Word Count: 6,895
Warning: Where Riley's is confused and her thoughts are everywhere.
Chapter 1: October 1st
(Riley)
There was a breeze in the air, as the leaves turned into a sea of amber and red. Even in the concrete jungle, known as New York City, the single trees outside the small vintage townhouse in Upper East Manhattan showed the signs of fall. October 1st was finally upon the year. The time when the smell of Pumpkin Spice and candy filled the air, and the fall festivities were in full swing. It was romantic, where walks in Central Park were nice and beautiful, and coffee dates were a weekly thing. It was Riley Matthews favorite time of the year.
The day was beautiful and the skies were clear, or what she could see from sitting on the steps right outside the little place she lived on E 82nd Street. Every now and then, cars would drive by, but people mostly walked everywhere they went, and they would stop at the edge of the steps of where the brunette was sitting, and she would greet them by name. It was a morning ritual, especially on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays when her roommate and best friend, Maya Hunter would be up early for class, and be out the door before the clock struck eight.
Her other roommate, Farkle Minkus was probably awake by now, it being 8:30. He took his time to get up in the morning, now that he was in college, and wasn't forced to be at school at 7:45 by law. He and Riley loved the fact that they could start the week sleeping in if they wanted to.
She could feel the buzz and hear the slight text tone coming from the ground where she sat. Her eyes lingered over the tab where it said Mommy in the title, reminding her about work in the afternoon. Her heart dropped, thinking that it might have been her boyfriend of four years, Lucas Friar. He would normally text her in the mornings before he went to the gym with his teammates. That was something he did every morning during the week, in preparation for the season in Spring Term. He was a freshman and starting shortstop for the Texas University baseball team. Riley was proud of him, as any girlfriend should be.
Everyone was proud of him. He was thriving in his new life (or old one since this wasn't the first time he had lived in Texas, though Riley believed he'd converted nicely as a New Yorker in the last couple of years). And within his busy baseball schedule, he was making the grades he needed for the Vet Program, which she had heard was super difficult.
So how was being in a relationship with someone living 2,000 miles away, with a busy schedule like his? Riley liked to believe that she was as optimistic as they come. She had hoped that things would work out for the best. She would have said that two months ago, and did say that six months ago, and she knows that she believed it a year ago. But as of this moment, she is stumped. Confused and in another word, conflicted, but most of all, hurt.
From the moment she met him, she was taken with him. He was a nice guy, and great to talk to. And he still is. Yes, she knows he can't help it. Lucas Friar is a gorgeous human being and any girl would be lucky to be with him, or be friends with him, which was why she was lucky to be the girl he had chosen. She had all the confidence in the world to believe that they could stay together, no matter how difficult life would get, but her faith in him was waring down. She loved him, but she was beginning to think that the feeling wasn't mutual anymore.
It had been three days. Three days and there was no call and no text. Not even when she had wished him the best of luck on his scrimmage game Saturday somewhere against some Community college not far from Austin, Texas. Lucas had never ignored a message, and always reached out to her, but the hours were going by and Riley was worried that something had happened to him, or if he decided to put his girlfriend on the back burner.
She was afraid that he had done something stupid and was scared to tell her what he had done. It wasn't like he didn't have many opportunities to do stupid things. They even had an argument about something that didn't happen, but could have happened three weeks ago. It was one of the many little bicker sessions they had, except this one made her head want to explode.
Her fingers gripped her phone hard, making her knuckles white. Her teeth were clenched, and her lips were sealed together like a sewed line. Her expression might have looked like a scowl, but she was fuming. Maya sat criss cross on her bed from across the room, diagonally from her, looking at Riley intently. She blinked and her lips parted ever so slightly, giving her enough time to take a small breath before speaking. "Riles?" She asked. The brunette said nothing. "Riley, what's wrong?"
The blonde slowly got up and walked over to sit on Riley's bed. The brunette was silent, but slid the phone over to her best friend, who examined the photo thoroughly. About 30 seconds went by before Maya huffed. "And this was posted tonight?" Riley nodded. "I oughta call him and give him a piece of my mind!"
"No Maya, if anyone needs to call him, it's got to be me. I can't have you getting in an argument on my behalf," Riley said, somewhat between calm and aggravated. "But how do I approach this?"
Maya darted her eyes up to Riley's. "How do you approach this? Riles, you need to ask him why the hell would he be taking pictures like that with other girls that aren't his girlfriend?" She exclaimed, her tone now fumed. "And he better as hell have a damn good explanation about this, because I won't hesitate to fly down to Texas to beat his ass!"
Riley looked down at the photo. A girl had posted a photo with her and Lucas at a frat party. He had a beer in his hand and a girl half-naked hanging on his arm. His cheeky smile caused her heart to hurt more than the girl who was taking the picture with him. The girl wasn't all that pretty, with her short platinum blonde hair that looked more like a wig on her head, and the excessive red lipstick she sported that made her look like a clown. It was the fact that he seemed to not think it was a problem that another girl was hanging on his arm that wasn't his girlfriend.
The caption didn't help either. "Got me some fresh meat tonight!" That was enough to make Riley's stomach upset. Maya kept repeating the caption several times. "If he . . . I'm telling you . . . He better not have . . . I am going to . . ." she shook her head in disbelief. "You need to call him. Now."
Her eyes widened. "Now?"
"Yes, Riley. Now. If you won't, I will and you don't want me to call him, because we'll be beefing it out, and Lucas Peyton-Wesley Friar does not want to be on my bad side!" She yelled. It had been a long time since his full name had come from the blondes mouth. Only when she was angry with him, and really angry with him, that's when she said his full name, which only happened two times, this being the second time. The first was well . . . no need to go into that right now.
Riley sighed, her thumb hovering over the call button. One lingering look at Maya and she pressed dial. It wasn't long before he answered. "Riley I know what it looks like, and I swear to you nothing happened. I told Kara to take it off and she's not cooperating." Interesting how that was the first thing that came out of his mouth.
It's almost like he was expecting her to call and snap at him. "Lucas! How do you think this looks to me?"
"I know! But nothing happened! She's just a senior who was taking photos with all the baseball players," he explained. "I don't even remember taking the picture with her."
Her eyes widened. "What do you mean you don't remember?" Maya scoffed in the background, pacing the room. "You looked pretty happy, smiling at the camera like you were," She retorted, putting the phone on speaker. "Please tell me you told her you had a girlfriend?"
"Yes! I told her I had a girlfriend . . ." he stated, and she waited for further explanation. "Today at school." Her heart dropped.
"Today?" She yelled. "What do you mean you told her today?" Maya was about to say something, before Riley put her hand on her mouth.
She could hear him groan on the other line and she was getting annoyed. "As soon as the picture was snapped, she was off to the next person to take a photo with! Riley, I would never in a million years hurt you! You're my girlfriend." She was silent for a long time, but she believed him, because she loved him.
The conversation ended quickly after that, leaving the brunette with a sense of frustration and hurt. Maya had asked Riley once again, "do you think this long-distance thing is going to work out?" She meant nothing bad by it, but she had a point. "This is going to happen again. You and I both know it is. He lives 2,000 miles away from here, and he'll be gone for eight years being in Veterinary school. His parents are even moving back to Texas! That means he won't be back for summer, and he wont be here for the holidays. If this keeps happening, distance is going to catch up to him, and he's going to hurt you even more than he is right now. And where does that leave you two? Not friends anymore and bitter towards each other in the long run?"
The comment had been running through her mind everyday. Maya was right. It was going to happen again. And it did, the very next weekend, and Lucas had called Riley personally after the photo was posted. But she loved him and forgave him for that too. Her two roommates were not happy with her forgiving him so easily. She even overheard Maya mention to Farkle about maybe something more had happened. Lucas was a good guy, but he wasn't a Saint.
Her eyes, focused on the crack in the concrete didn't here the door open from behind her. It wasn't until a figure joined her on the steps, and reached over to hand her a white mug, probably filled with coffee.
Farkle Minkus's pale blue eyes were glazed with sleep. He was still wearing sweat pants and now a long-sleeved black shirt. It was a tad chilly to wear anything short-sleeved. Riley had woke with the sun, as she always did. She had been outside since the blonde had left for class.
The brunettes fingers wrapped around the mug and she pulled it up to her nose. She inhaled the fresh scent of hazelnut coffee, before taking a sip. The hot liquid made her shiver as her body warmed up. "Thank you," she said softly.
"You need to start wearing a jacket. It's getting colder. Soon we'll have to worry about snow," he voice stated, as he leaned back on the steps.
She smirked. "We're native New Yorkers. You worry too much." He looked over and gave her a soft smile. His stare lingered over her and she knew what he was thinking. She could always guess what he was thinking. "If you're going to say it, just say it."
He sighed, shaking his head. "I wasn't going to say anything."
"I know you were. Is it so bad that I'm optimistic?" She asked.
"There is nothing bad about you having hope," he stated, "but I just don't want you to make it easy for him. Because if you make it easy for him, he's going to believe that you'll forgive him every time, and once that thought gets into his head, one night, he'll be drunk and some helpless girl, who's looking for a good time will be hanging all over him, and he'll think 'Riley always forgives me for stupid things,' and he'll do that stupid thing. Because right now, it's just pictures with girls, and what happens next? Just ask your uncle."
She shook her head. "Are you kidding? Josh will blow a gasket if he knew!"
His eyes met hers. "Shouldn't that be enough for you to realize you shouldn't forgive him so easily?" He licked his lips. "I know you love him, believe me, and he's a good guy and one of my best friends too, but so is Smackle, and look what she did? Good people can make mistakes and hurt the ones they love, even if they didn't mean to." She was silent, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "FYI, Josh already knows. You think Maya is going to keep something like that from him? They're dating and they have a policy. No lying. Plus, I might be one of her best friends, but why vent to me, when she has a boyfriend who could actually tell her exactly what goes on at those kinds of events." He continued to study her face. "You're having doubts. I know you are. I can see it in your face. You just don't want to admit it aloud. Riley, Lucas might be one of my best friends, and I care about his feelings, but when it comes down to the two of you? It's no contest. I care that you don't get hurt." She desperately wanted to change the subject. She hadn't said a word about him not talking to her in the last few days. She was afraid he or Maya would blow freak if he said anything.
"What if I hurt him?" She asked, nonchalantly, trying to redirect the conversation.
He chuckled. "You? Hurt him? Riles, I know you. No matter how bad the situation is, even if you were put in a bad position, you could never hurt him on purpose. It's not in your character. You're too sweet. You're too good."
"I have a dark side," she snapped.
His eyes looked at her from the side and he snorted. "Okay Morotia."
She actually smiled sadly and there was silence for a few minutes as she thought about his comment. "You're right. I couldn't hurt him. The worst I'd probably do is yell at him. I couldn't bring myself to do something like cheat on him, even if I didn't care for him in a romantic way. I would feel too guilty."
He raised his eyebrows. "Were you stating an example or a fact?"
She blinked, thinking about what she had said. Had she been so hurt that she had begun to look at her relationship with Lucas in a different light? "I don't know." Those were the words that left her mouth before she could think about it anymore.
He put his head back on the railing and said nothing for a few moments, while they just watched the people pass by, some waving or nodding at them, and reciprocating the gesture. "It's Monday. Are you working later?"
She shifted her position so she was facing him, but leaned back on her railing. "Yeah, my mom called, and I'll be at the cafe from four till closing," she ran her thumb across the mug, cleaning the coffee drippings. "Maya works from three to eight tonight at A1. When do you go into work?"
A biker riding down the side walk chimed at the college kids before answering. "Tomorrow. I've been helping Kyle out with the CPR classes."
She blinked a few times. "I still can't believe Lucas and Zay convinced you to start working out at Sports Center with them last year."
"Hey, the gym has actually done me some good. Especially after Smackle and I started having problems in the beginning of last year. I was distracting myself from all the chaos and emotions. I guess once the break up was official, I had taken up a routine after my shifts at the Observatory, and now since I've been helping out at Chelsea SP, extra hours are nice."
She had to admit that the gym had been great for him. He was less frail than he had been in early high school, and more built. You could see the muscle he had when wearing a short-sleeved shirt. She laughed internally at how his name definitely didn't match his physique anymore.
"Since you'll be at the cafe, I'll probably come study there." He said. "My professors haven't really been scheduling that much homework. It's kind of making me nervous that there is going to be some pop quiz." She leaned forward and placed the back of her hand on his forehead. "What are you doing?"
"You just said you're nervous about a pop quiz. I'm just checking to see if you have a fever." She teased him.
She could see that he was wanting to smile, but he wasn't going to. "Shut up. College is difficult. Especially when you don't have a teacher like your dad."
"My dad's the best there is," she smiled proudly. His expression mirrored hers. She waited for him to say something to her, but she was curious as to why he was looking at her like that. "What?"
He looked away, shrugging. "I haven't seen you smile like that in a while. I miss it." She didn't say anything, but only smiled at him once more, which made him chuckle when his eyes turned back to her face. "Come on, let's finish this inside. It's getting cooler out here."
She had class this morning at ten. In the beginning of the semester, she made sure to look professional everyday, now that it was a month and a half in and getting cold outside, she could honestly care less about professional, only about being comfy. So leggings and and sweaters were her go to outfit. Her hair was down and brushed, but their was no specific style to it. She looked at herself in the mirror and debated whether or not she should try and do something with her hair. Maybe a cut? Or put layers into it? Instead of pondering on that right at the moment, she put some light foundation on and walked out of her and Maya's shared room.
Their room was downstairs in the master bedroom. Because they were sharing a room, Farkle suggested they take the larger one. He was upstairs right off the loft area where the living room was. Right outside Riley and Maya's room, was the hallway that led into the kitchen, and down on the opposite side of the hall was the study, where there was a desk and a library of books covering the walls. The kitchen was small, but simple. There was a tiny island in the middle, with two bar chairs on one side.
Farkle was sitting at one of the bar stools, looking through his phone. Riley set her own cell down and made her way to the fridge to grab her a water bottle. "So I'll see you at the cafe later?" She said.
He nodded. "Have fun at class," his voice called out as she walked out the door. She doubted "fun" would be in her vocabulary today.
The more notes she wrote, the more her hand cramped. College was the opposite of high school, and nothing compared. Her teachers spoke at fast paces, so voice recorders and dribbling words sloppily on a piece of notebook paper took up the hour and fifteen minutes she had to absorb all the information she was given. Later she would transfer it all neatly to her organized notebook.
The lectures seemed long, and not having anyone she hardly knew in class didn't help the fun factor. Yindra Johns, a girl she went to high school with, sat two rows back from her. If only they had known they were going to share a class, they would have saved each other a seat on the first day. Their teacher, an old guy, with a very dry sense of humor believed that seating arrangements were nice to have in order to learn peoples names, and the fact that it was easier to keep up with the students and how many classes they miss. They were told on the first day strictly that they were only allowed to miss four days at the most per semester in the class.
During the small talk about simple differences in Greek and Roman architecture, Riley had the strangest feeling someone was staring at the back of her head. Was that normal? She lightly turned around, meaning to look at Yindra, who hadn't looked at her until she had turned around. Instead, a boy two seats down from her high school peer was looking right at her. He was a decent looking kid, but had a creepy vibe to him. Riley thought about what his name had been. Dillon she wanted to say. His last name was unknown. She felt slightly uncomfortable with him staring at her, so she looked away, in hopes he would do the same.
Once the class was dismissed, she gathered her things, and Yindra met her at the door. They walked to Building B for each of their next classes. Her friend's dark eyes watched Dillon as he past by. "Was he looking at me the whole class period?" Riley asked.
"Well, once you looked back at me, then over at him, I continued to watch him the rest of the period. It's almost like you had something sticking out the back of your head that made him look at you so hard. That's creepy," Yindra stated, looking up at the brunette. "Sorry, I should have kept that last comment to myself."
Riley shrugged. "It's okay. I think I need someone to tell me if it's creepy or not. If it continues, I'll probably have to report him."
The dark girl laughed. "Or you can call Lucas. I'm sure he'd give Dillon one look, and the creep wouldn't even consider glancing at you ever again." Riley didn't saying but smile as they walked. "Or Farkle. He might not have looked like much in high school, but I saw him working out the other day at Chelsea," Yindra's eyebrows were cocked high in the air, looking impressed. "He gave my brother a run for his money on the weights. Farkle sure isn't Farkley anymore."
"You've got that right," Riley said as they were walking up the stairs. "He loves it. It's been a really nice distraction for him since he and Smackle ended things."
She nodded. "That's got to be hard. I didn't think that would ever happen."
"Nobody really expected it," Riley sighed. "Though things are so much better than before, it's still hard on both of them." Meaning, that Smackle still felt guilty, even though Farkle is past being upset.
"Well, I'm glad Farkle has been doing good. How's Maya?" They turned the corner into the hallway on the third floor.
Riley felt the cold bite of air from the air conditioning. It was always cold on this floor. "She's doing great. Loves every art class she's taking. Loves working at the record shop, and is happily in love for once in her life, which is nice to see."
Yindra pointed at nothing in particular. "Isn't she dating one of your family members? I thought I saw her at Prom last year dancing with a very attractive college kid with the last name Matthews."
Riley chuckled. "Yeah, Josh is my super young uncle. He's three years older than us."
"Oh!" She exclaimed. "He went on the Nature Club trip with us to the Mount Sun Lodge! I knew I had recognized his face, but three years makes a difference in someones looks." She stopped at her door. "Is it weird that Maya is dating your uncle?"
"In a way, yes, but I've never seen them both so happy in my entire life," she smiled. "The way they are around each other, and the way they talk about each other, even when the other isn't there, it's so sweet and disgustingly cute. I never want to take that away from them."
"I'm happy Maya's past all the troubles she faced last year. I was really worried about her after the accident. What about you and Lucas? How is long distance?" Yindra asked.
Riley thought about asking someone outside of her group of friends for advice, but she didn't feel like it was the right time. She just smiled and put on her best fake face. "It can be hard sometimes, especially when you miss them all the time, and we're really busy, but we're pulling through." Well it didn't sound as confident as she hoped it would.
She nodded. "That's good. I'm glad things are working out. I wished that same for me and Nigel, but three hour difference cross-country is very difficult."
Riley had totally forgot her and Nigel started dating in the beginning of Senior year. "You guys broke up?"
Her dark eyes found the tan carpet on the floor. "Well, we officially parted ways last month. We're on okay terms, but we both agreed that we live two separate lives now, and it will be this way until we decide what path to take with our careers. We were so busy and rarely talked on the phone, only texted and even that, he's three hours behind us, and I fell asleep on so many of our conversations and though he understood, he would still be upset, and it was all too much for me. My grade slipped in Mr. McHale's class and I missed those two days not because I was sick, but because I overslept trying to talk to Nigel. We had a couple of arguments and all I kept thinking was, I'm not only holding myself back from living a good college experience, without the struggles of a long distance relationship, but I was holding him back too. My mother always told me, if we're supposed to be together in the long run, it'll happen. Nigel and I just had bad timing."
There were so many things she wanted to say, but talking about this to Yindra, she felt like she was betraying her two best friends who she could trust with her life. Not that she didn't trust the girl, but she didn't feel right talking to her about her and Lucas's situation. So she put an hand on her shoulder. "You never know, Nigel is a good guy, and I believe if we have faith, and we keep a smile on our face, things will work out. Life knows what it's doing."
"I knew you would say something like that. You've always been Optimistic Riley, since the day I met you in fifth grade," she smiled. "Thank you, I'll see you on Wednesday."
The brunette nodded as the girl departed into the classroom. Riley proceeded down the hall to her own class thinking about the similarities of the two relationships. There had been many nights Riley had fallen asleep, mid conversation with Lucas. Those were partially why they had gotten into a couple arguments themselves, so that she could relate.
As to bad timing? No she couldn't possibly believe that her and Lucas had bad timing. They've been dating for four years. That's an accomplishment for a lot of young people, and a record by her standards.
Was she holding him back? Well, from the passed events he's been to on the weekends, he could have had the opportunity to explore new things, but he was loyal (as far as she knew) to her. Was she being held back? In a way, she could possibly relate to Yindra's point. She did feel like she might as well be trapped from moving forward. It was usually when she had been going out with Maya, Josh and Farkle on the weekends. Sure it was fun, but seeing her best friend dance close with her uncle (which was still something she had been getting used to) and Farkle, who was asked to dance by a variety of women, made her crave to be free. Was it so bad that she felt this way? She wasn't thinking about being with another man, but she did feel temptation when she would be asked, as well as feel singled out in the group. The feeling she would be cheating on Lucas if she had even considered dancing with someone other than him, even if it was just a dance.
She had thought about their decision to remain long-distance as a way to avoid other interactions with other people. The only person she'd ever known to have a relationship with, was Lucas. Sure she dated Charlie for like a good minute, but that didn't count, because she didn't kiss him or do anything physical with him like she and Lucas had. This thought was leading her to believe that maybe she needed new experiences. But that would mean that she would have to split with the guy she loved. Confusion washed over her once more.
Why couldn't there be someone who could tell her what was supposed to happen?
Sitting down in the chair, she gave a half smile to the girl sitting next to her, and she opened her book that was filled with sticky notes and waited for the teacher to begin the lesson.
She refilled his cup of coffee as he sucked it down in between writing notes and drawing diagrams. After taking orders from other customers at the register, and checking on the others, Riley made her way around the backside of the counter and back over to her roommate. His blue eyes stared intently at the few notecards he had finished creating. His thick eyebrows were scrunched together, and he bit his lip in concentration. He had been staring down at words for the past two hours since he'd been here.
Riley glanced over at the case filled with danishes. She took one and put it on a plate and slid it over to him, barely grazing his arm. Farkle looked over at the sweet pastry and then up at Riley who was smiling at him. She took a piece for herself and bit into it. "You know, it's good to take breaks in between study sessions."
"What are you talking about? I take breaks," he stated, now taking another sip of his coffee that he hadn't touched in the last fifteen minutes she had been running around.
"Yeah?" her eyebrows arched up, "You've been staring at those notes for the last two hours so intently, I'm surprised you haven't burned a hole into the paper." She began to wipe the top counter.
He rolled his eyes. "Geniuses don't take breaks."
She stopped wiping and crossed her arms. "I take breaks. So you're saying that I'm not a genius?"
He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "I didn't mean it that way, I'm sorry." He took a bite of the danish.
"What's wrong?" Riley asked. "And don't lie to me." This was also their policy.
He cracked his knuckles, one finger at a time. He was about to go on a rant. "Smackle was accepted into the NASA program. We had applied for the same program, and she got it. She also beat me in having the highest GPA in our class, which makes me number two. I've done nothing but work my ass for the last four years doing good in school, striving to make my parents happy, make my girlfriend happy, my friends happy, and what do I get? No acceptance into the program that me and Smackle wanted to do together, my parents upset with me because I didn't get in, and I still decided to not go to Princeton and I was cheated on in the process, by the girl who beat me in everything." He leaned forward, his elbows supporting his head that was facing down in frustration. "I don't mean this as anything against you and Maya. I love living with you guys, and you guys are pretty much the only reason I'm happy as of this moment. I can go to the school I want and not live with my parents who are upset about me not attending the same school my dad had attended. I just think the universe was messing with me by blessing the girl who cheated on me and got exactly what she wanted."
Riley knew he was only bitter towards the lady genius only because she did him wrong and was still granted good. He was still bothered, even after all this time and Riley felt for him. He should have been blessed with everything he's ever wanted, because Farkle deserved the best, because thats what he puts out, 100% in everything he does. She lightly reached out and placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it. "I know you're probably tired of Optimistic Riley, but I know you're going to get everything you've ever wanted Farkle. These things take time and the people who are patient are the one who are blessed the most."
He stared at their hands with a solemn expression. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of Optimistic Riley." His eyes met hers. "She keeps me going forward. And I hope you're right." He took another bite of the sweet dish. "How much do I owe you for the danish?"
"It's on the house," she stated giving him a serious look. A look he knew he couldn't argue with.
He smiled slightly and barely in a whisper he said, "Thanks Riles."
He ended up staying till closing, taking a couple breaks to talk to her and eventually helping her clean up the cafe. Auggie, Ava, and Dewey had stopped by for a treat, which was nice, because Riley didn't get to see her brother, other than once or twice a week when she was able to have dinner with them. Seeing the small trio reminded her of the relationship with Maya and Farkle. And it brought her back to easier times in life, where she didn't have to worry about the confusion and pressure of a romantic relationship. She missed the times where she just looked at her friends as friends, instead of just girls and boys.
Once locking up, they walked out into the brisk cold air that had dropped since the sun went down and Farkle hailed a taxi to take them uptown to the little townhouse.
"Honey, we're home!" Riley said as she opened the front door, taking off her coat and hanging it on the coatrack by the door. Maya was already home. She was sitting at the bar, her nose in her art book, and a spoon in her mouth from eating a bowl of yogurt. She had a stack of three records next to her. She loved bringing home new vinyls. Perks of working at a record store.
The blonde glanced up at her. "Hello my lovelies. How was work and school?"
Farkle laughed as he opened up the fridge to grab the container of yogurt. "You sound like my mother. School was boring and I spent the rest of the day having Riley serve me coffee and danishes."
Riley smirked. "I live to serve my friends," she grabbed them two bowls. "As for class, there's this creepy kid in my Humanities class. His name is Dillon and he stared at the back of my head the whole entire hour and fifteen minutes."
"He probably thinks you should do something new with your hair," Maya suggested, only teasing her. Funny how that same thought crossed her mind as she was getting ready this morning.
Eating from the bowl, the brunette asked, "How was your day, Peaches?"
She shrugged. "Just like any other. I had lunch with Josh though, so that's a plus!" Riley thought that was nice. Josh had been working so hard lately that eating lunch with Maya was like a monthly treat. "I have this assignment coming up though, that my instructor was telling me and another girl today, and I think I could use you guys's help, but I'm going to need all of the photos you took in Hawaii, Freckle."
He nodded. "Of course. I have them all downloaded on my laptop. I can transfer them onto a drive, and that way you can have them all on yours. What's the project on?"
"My teacher likes to call it 'The Bigger Picture.' I want to create a mural on an adventure and talk about this moment of clarity that I had standing on the top of Oahu and how it reflects on my past and future," she explained. Since the accident, Riley had seen a drive in Maya so intense, it was almost as if she was untouchable. She had believed in the impossible, and was now looking more in the brighter side of any situation. Having a near death experience, or in this case, knowing that her heart stopped twice had really made her rethink the way she was living life, no matter if it was getting better before hand.
"That sounds awesome, Maya." He looked over at Riley. "Have you talked t Lucas today?" He asked, and she wondered if Farkle had tried talking to him and he wasn't answering his texts either.
She couldn't have another conversation about Lucas and his problems, at least not for tonight. "Only this morning. It's Monday, a busy day for everyone." She lied, looking down at her phone staring at his contact name. Tomorrow will be four days since they have spoken, and she was wondering what was wrong. "Have you guys been texting him?"
Maya shrugged. "Not from him. Charlie texted me Saturday telling me how they won their scrimmage game, and he snap chatted me a video of them all celebrating. Looked like they were having fun."
Knowing that Maya knew more than she did was unsettling. "They were at a party?" Riley asked.
Maya nodded, taking another spoonful of yogurt, eyeing her best friend cautiously. "Yeah, looked like it."
Farkle dropped his spoon in the bowl. "I don't think it's fair. Every time you go out, you don't have as much fun, because your making sure you stay loyal to your boyfriend. You reject several people because you do the right thing, being in a committed relationship, and Lucas is down south, partying it up every weekend with his baseball buddies and doesn't bother to mention to anyone that he has a girlfriend until after something happens that requires him to say something."
Maya sighed. "We have to remember, this is Huckleberry we're talking about. The guy who didn't chose between me and Riley right off the bat because he wanted to spare the feelings of the other he wasn't going to choose. I mean, we could still probably be in that triangle, if I hadn't have told him to go tell Riley exactly how he felt. He's a nice guy to everyone. I don't think he's going to willingly hurt her. If something happened, he'd fly his ass up here, or call her on the phone and talk to her about it."
Riley's expression dropped just wanting the conversation to stop. "Well, I'm going get a shower and get comfortable." She made her way into her and Maya's room, closing the door and began to discard her clothes. The bathroom, which was a decent size had a jacuzzi tub and a separate shower. She decided that she wanted a bath tonight, knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long day.
As the bubbles filled up, she placed her phone on the side, while she was getting in. She found herself staring at her boyfriends contact name again. This time, she decided to text him. Just a simple message: Hey.
What else was she going to say? She wasn't going to scorn him for not talking to her these last couple of days. She wasn't that type of girlfriend, and didn't want to be. She honestly couldn't be the girl who was all up in her man's business. That's what drive people away. He was his own person and she believed that there was an explanation to every situation.
Her head was reclined back as she sat in the warmth of the tub that smelled like fresh scented lavender and vanilla. Her eyes closed for a few moments only to open them to check her phone. Her heart had dropped. The message she had sent him 20 minutes ago was read, but there was no reply.
A/N: Hey everyone! So I'm back and I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter! I wanted to make it a baseline for where I'm going with Riley's character, as well as her feelings. Things are happening. Anyway, as of right now I don't have a specific day for updating, but I'm working on it and I'll let you know ASAP. Follow/Favorite. Leave me a Review if you have any questions or suggestions! Have an awesome week.
xoxo Amanda.
Preview to Next Chapter:
Maya's eyes widened and she looked at the date again on the calendar on the fridge. "What do you mean? She 12 days early!" Her eyes met Riley's and she motioned with her hands and mouthed to her the words, Baby.
