A/N: This is Glitter and Stardust, my longest running fic. Note the characters are Seniors in High School during the Texas Arc, instead of Middle School.
Chapter 1 - After Texas
Riley sat in her room staring at the dark ceiling, she closed the curtains and made sure that all the lights were out. For once she didn't want anyone to come into her room, the windows were locked to keep everyone out. She even blocked her door with her dresser to keep her family from coming inside her room. She ran her fingers through her long brown hair wondering about what had happened while her and her friends had been in Texas.
"Maya and Lucas," Riley said as she sat in her room. Even though she stepped back she felt as though her heart was breaking. The tears were falling down her face, she let them fall. This would be the only time where she could let her emotions get the best of her. She let go of the one person she truly loved for the sake of her best friend. Farkle, one of her closest friends, knew that she was lying to herself, her brother Auggie refused to let her call Lucas her brother. "My heart hurts," she whispered to herself.
She had spent the night out on a date with Charlie Gardner, who although was a nice guy wasn't the one she held in her heart. She missed the blonde haired green eyed boy she'd known since middle school. She would have to see him tomorrow, acting awkward with Maya as they tried to find their place together. The thought of their relationship made Riley bury herself under her pillows trying to muffle the sound of crying. The thought of her best friend and the boy she loved being together was breaking her heart. Just before they left for Texas Riley stood up to her bully Missy Bradford, who was going to show the whole school an embarrassing video of her. Missy didn't want Riley to be happy, or have the friends she does. Her words were still haunting Riley because even though she confronted her the words were still hurting Riley's heart but she didn't let it show when she was around her friends. Now with the mess from Texas Riley didn't know what else could happen.
"I don't think I can do this," she said to her pillow. "I don't think I can watch Lucas with Maya."
Riley sat up on her bed and watched the light filter in through the blinds as the light changed outside. At three in the morning she sat up and walked towards her closet looking for Lucas's boot, the same boot her father had taken from him so long ago. It felt like an eternity since that moment but the boot was a comfort for her along with her childhood teddy bear Beary the Bear. She sat down in her closet and held them both close to her heart hoping that she could find the strength to face everyone in the morning. She kept thinking about what could have possibly happened in Texas between the two of them, but she only knew that something had happened. Neither one of her friends told her what had happened. The thought of what they could have done caused Riley's tears to fall down faster.
"I can't do this," she kept repeating over and over again.
The light on her clock said that it was just after three in the morning, she had yet to fall asleep. She hadn't slept since they returned from Texas though she hid the dark circles around her eyes with make-up so that no one would notice. She couldn't fall asleep, for more than an hour because the dreams would start and she would have to face the fact that Lucas was with someone else. The bag she had packed when she had gone down to Texas with her friends was still sitting in her closet. It was half unpacked the clothes were thrown all over the floor of her closet because she hadn't taken a minute to put them in the laundry basket.
"I wish I could just go away for a while… away from my friends and family, away from school, from bullies… from Lucas and Maya," she said. Her eyes were dry, she felt like crying but it's almost as if her eyes had finally run out of water. She continued to stare at the bag as though it were tempting her to run away from home. It would be easy but she didn't really want to leave her family, she loved them and didn't want to hurt them. "Maybe I'll just go see Josh," she said. Her Uncle who had always been close to her, who she knew would help her get through this. It was early Friday morning and they had a three-day weekend so would her parents really care if she took an extra day.
"I'll go see Josh," she said with more conviction in her voice. As she stood up she grabbed her bagged and turned it over spilling its contents onto the floor of her closet. Then she started grabbing some clothes, mostly jeans and shirts, some underwear and her shoes. The toiletry bag she had taken with her to Texas still had the necessities she would need to take with her so she didn't have to refill the bottles. Lastly she put Beary inside of Lucas's boot and put the boot in her back. She knew that she would get in trouble for leaving the house without telling anyone but she didn't want them stopping her from going. She wrote her parents a note saying that she would call them when she reached her destination. Before she left she check the time of the next train to Philadelphia which left around 4:40am, from PENN station. The ride was a short one but she knew that she had to get to the station and on the train before her parents knew that she was gone. Grabbing what little money she had and stuffing it in her pocket she put on an oversized hoodie and climbed out her bedroom window with her bag, trying to make as little noise as possible.
The New York street was illuminated by the street lights the street was quiet except for the occasional sound of a passing car. When she reached the train station she took the uptown train towards Penn station and sat down. The ride wasn't long but she used her hoodie to cover up her face as much as possible. Walking around the city this early in the day was dangerous for anyone but she was risking it just to get away for a little while. Once she reached the station she used one of the kiosks to get her ticket so that she wouldn't have to deal with a clerk. She was under age so she didn't want anyone to question her at least until she was on the train.
When her train number was called on the overhead she walked towards the entrance with her ticket in hand. She hoped that in two hours she would be on the steps of her Grandparent's house in Philly, and they would understand why she was there with as little information as possible.
Riley stood outside her Grandparent's house, it was just after six in the morning when she had arrived in Philly she had taken a cab with what little she had left and now stood there trying to figure out what to say. She knew that her parents were awake already but since her door was locked they wouldn't have been able to get into her room just yet. After taking a deep breath Riley knocked on the door and waiting. It didn't take long for it to swing open as her nineteen-year-old Uncle stood in front of her.
"Hey," she said trying to smile but she knew that Josh would automatically know that something was wrong.
"Riley, what are you doing here?" he said.
"Um well, um… can I crash here with you for the weekend?"
"Riley what's wrong?" he asked as her grandmother stood in the living room looking to see who was at the door.
"Josh honey who is it?" she asked. Josh opened the door revealing Riley to her grandmother.
"Hi," she said.
"Oh my god, Riley why are you here?" her grandmother said as she pushed Josh aside.
"Um well…" Riley started but the tears began to fall down her face. "I'm sorry, it's just so much happened and I couldn't take it anymore. I know mom and dad are going to be mad at me but I just couldn't stay there any longer."
"I'm going to call Cory and Topanga," her grandmother said as she walked out of the living room.
"Riley what happened?" Josh said as he brought her over to the couch.
"A lot, Maya likes Lucas and I stepped back because I want her to be happy more than anything else, but I really like Lucas… and… and instead I told him I liked him as a brother because of Maya," she said while she cried on Josh's shoulder.
"That's a lot," he said as he pulled away. "How did you know I was here and not at my dorm?"
"I guessed, plus it's a long weekend and you usually come here on long weekends especially when you miss Grandma," she said trying to smile but she wasn't feeling it.
"Yeah, I guess you know me better than most people, but don't tell anyone because it would ruin my street cred."
"Don't worry I won't."
"I guess Maya is finally over that school girl crush she had on me," he said. Riley noticed that he sounded sad when he said it.
Matthews Apartment
"Riley honey you have to get up or you'll be late for school," Topanga said as she knocked on Riley's door for the fifth time that morning.
"No luck?" Cory said as his wife walked into the kitchen.
"Nope, I don't get it she's usually up by now. I'll give her five minutes before we knock down her door and drag her out."
As Topanga finished making breakfast the front door swung open as a blond haired blue eyed Maya walked in through the door. "Why am I up so early?" she said as she sat down at the table.
"I don't know Maya, why are you up so early?" Cory said. "You fall asleep in class so I don't understand how you can be up this early."
"Well Matthews it's because I'm always here to pick up Riley who I always walk to school with and because I want breakfast."
"Yeah there's your brutal honesty," Topanga said. "Maya while I finish up here can you please try to wake up Riley, she's still sleeping and her door is locked."
"Sure, I'll go and climb through her window. Maybe if I tickle her feet she'll get up," Maya said as she walked towards the upstairs rooms and climbed out of Auggie's bedroom window to get to Riley's room. As usual Riley's window was unlocked, "I swear one day someone is going to break into this house," she said as she climbed in. The first thing she noticed was the dresser blocking the door. "Well that's weird," she said as she climbed onto Riley's bed. "Oh sunshine time to get up," she whispered as she pulled the blanket away revealing Riley's pillows and nothing else. "What the…"
"Riley, Auggie, Maya breakfast," Topanga yelled out.
Maya turned on the lights and looked around Riley's room, she noticed the clothes on the floor of her best friend's closet but Riley wasn't inside the closet. Nor was she under the bed, she pushed Riley's dresser back into place and unlocked the door.
"Maybe she went to school early," she said to herself, but she knew that it was a lie because Riley wouldn't leave without her. Maya walked back down to the kitchen and looked at the Matthews family sitting at the table without Riley.
"Is she up?" Cory said looking over at Maya.
"She's not there, and the dresser was blocking the door that's why you couldn't open it."
"Maya what do you mean she's not there," Cory said as the phone rang in the background.
"I'll get it," Auggie said running towards the phone. "Matthews Residence," he said into the receiver. "Grandma," he squealed. "Okay, I'll get him."
Auggie handed the phone to his father who had a worried look on his face. "Hi mom," he stopped to listen before yelling out. "What do you mean Riley is there, she should be here."
The Topanga and Maya were surprised by the news and looked over at Cory, "She can stay there, I'll come down and pick her up on Monday…. I understand and I'm not mad… Okay I'll see you soon."
"Cory what was that about?" Topanga asked her husband.
"Apparently Riley went down to Philly to talk to Josh about something. I think she just wanted to get away for a while without anyone knowing."
"Why would she do that without telling me?" Maya said but Topanga knew the reason and didn't want to tell her the truth.
"It's been a long year for Riley, with the bullying and that whole yearbook fiasco I guess she needed some time away," Topanga said hoping that it would defuse the situation without Maya realizing the truth about why Riley had runaway.
"Yeah I guess, but why didn't she tell me?"
"My mom said that she didn't want anyone to stop her, and I guess it worked. I'm going to pick her up on Monday so maybe you could come with us," Cory said as the door swung open again.
"Good Morning Matthews Family," Farkle said as he walked in with Zay and Smackle.
Maya stayed quiet for a moment trying not alert her friends about what was happening when a green eyed blonde haired boy walked in a closed the door.
"So what's happening today? Are we going to school or are we just going to sit here," Zay said as he ran his fingers through his dark curly hair. "Where's Riley?"
At the mention of her name Lucas looked up at the table noticing the missing brunette. He was still in shock over what had happened in Texas, he didn't want to be Riley's brother. Lucas was forced into a situation where he was now dating Maya and he didn't want to be. Yet he also knew that he couldn't break it off because it would hurt Riley.
"Riley's spending the weekend why my parents," Cory said as Topanga looked over at her husband.
"Yeah, she wanted to spend some time with her grandparents. Sorry we forgot to tell you," she said.
Lucas knew that they were lying to them because Riley wouldn't have left without telling them even if it was a spur of the moment trip. "Um would you mind if I grabbed my notebook from her room? She borrowed it yesterday to copy some notes and I need it for today," he said as an excuse to go to her room.
"Yeah go ahead Lucas," Topanga said.
"I'll be back in a minute," he said to his friends. The moment he walked into the room he knew something was wrong. Riley's blinds were closed even though she usually left them open so that she could watch the sun rise in the morning. Her clothes were all over the place almost as though she left in a hurry.
"Why did you leave Riley," he said to himself before sitting on her bed. The room smelled like her but he knew that she wanted him to try with Maya. The only problem is that he didn't feel the same way about Maya, for Riley he felt a calm wash over him that kept his Texas side at bay. With Maya it always felt as though he were fighting with himself to try and keep that side of himself from coming out. She was always provoking him in one way or another. He took one more look around before leaving the room and walking back down to meet his friends.
"Did you find the notebook?" Zay asked when Lucas walked back into the living room.
"No, maybe she left it in her locker. I'll wait until she gets back before asking her for it."
"Okay then let's get to school already," Farkle said as he walked out the door with Smackle right behind him.
"Yeah," Maya said following her friends.
Lucas stayed behind for a moment and looked over at his teacher. "Riley left without tell anyone didn't she?"
"Lucas, it's best for everyone if you kept that to yourself right now," Cory said.
"Why? Why would she do that?"
"I don't know, and right now there's nothing any of us can do about it."
"She's in Philly right? I want to talk to her," he said trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.
"Lucas I don't think that's a good idea right now," Topanga said. That's when he knew he was partly responsible for Riley leaving all of a sudden.
"She's the one who wanted to be brother and sister, why is she pushing me away?" his voice cracked when he said it. He missed her, he missed their talks and the way she would smile so brightly that it would make him instantly happy, he missed her goofiness and the way she would look at everything with a smile on her face.
"Lucas for now just go to school, I think that the three of you just need to figure out who you are and where you stand," Cory told him trying to defuse the situation.
"Okay," Lucas said before walking out the door to meet his friends. Riley wanted him to date Maya so that Maya could realize her feelings. They tried once and she poured a smoothie on his head but for Riley's sake he was going to try one more time and if it didn't work he knew that the three of them were going to have to figure this out together. He already knew in his heart that it wasn't going to work out with Maya but he didn't want to hurt Maya without letting her know that he tried.
