In which Farkle finds a soaked Riley at his doorstep.
The blue-eyed boy slowly headed back home from his evening walk to find a familiar brunette waiting outside the gate of his house. However, in this case, he immediately became worried. Her eyes were blotchy, and drops of water fell from her clothes to the sidewalk she was standing on.
"Riley?" Farkle asked, worry evidently etched in his voice. "What are you doing here?"
The pretty brunette smiled sadly before answering, "Sorry, I just didn't remember the code you told us for the gate, so I just waited for you to come back."
Farkle immediately wrapped his coat around her shoulders before punching in the code and waiting for the gate to open. She beamed at him, for she knew he was always there for her and always knew what to do.
"Why didn't you just text me?" he questioned curiously.
Riley always had her phone on her no matter what. To him and each of their friends, Riley would send a new, optimistic quote of the day each morning. Farkle became even more concerned when he realized that Riley didn't have her cellular device tucked in her back pocket.
"Oh," she said while seeming a bit out of place. "I guess I just forgot it at the bakery."
He started leading her into the doorway by placing his hand on the small of her back, and he stared at her intently. Riley, on the other hand, couldn't even make eye contact with him.
"Riley," Farkle whispered gently. "What happened?"
She met his daring gaze with a dejected one of her own. Her silence didn't make him press any further.
Farkle waited silently on his bed while Riley took a shower in his private bathroom. He lent some old sweatpants and one of his galaxy sweatshirts that he knew she would love. A quick sparkle in her eyes when she took it from his hands answered his theory.
He fidgeted with his hands and tried to think of what would've happened to make Riley this way. He had known her most of his life, and he hadn't seen her this sad since the triangle. That's when an epiphany hit him. Lucas.
The sound of the door shutting woke him from his analytical thoughts. He tried not to gawk at his best friend wearing his clothes while also trying to not to think of how it seemed to look good on her- like how everything else does.
She sat quietly beside him before taking a deep breath in.
"Thank you, Farkle," she said in a hushed tone. "I know I've been unusually quiet since I've got here, but I didn't know what to think or do. All of it just happened so fast."
Her voice broke at that last sentence, and a tear fell down her cheek. Farkle felt heartbroken watching her. She's seemed so happy the last few months that it was so surprising to see her cry now.
He wiped away her tear with his thumb, causing her to glance at him. He smiled at her before grabbing her hand in an attempt of comforting her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly.
"I don't know," she replied. "On one hand, I just want to scream, cry, or rant because I'm so angry. On the other, I just want to sit here silently here with you until the pain subsides."
He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand before saying, "You know that's not how it works, Riley."
She laughed unconfidently before wiping another tear away.
"I know, I know. It just seems easier."
A couple seconds of silence came over them before she inhaled again.
"Lucas likes Maya. I should've saw it coming. It's all seemed so out of place since our ski trip. Lucas and I- well, we haven't really even been talking since we've started dating. And Maya- she's barely interacted with him as well since then. I guess we all just made the wrong decision."
She finished before plastering a fake smile on her face. Farkle grimaced, for he knew what it was like to have a facade.
"Are you okay?"
She peered at him curiously before finally answering, "No. No, I'm not."
The brunette broke in a fit of sobs before he pulled her into an embrace. He rested his head on top of hers, and they sat like that for a few hours until Riley's crying subsided.
After that, it was just the two of them with each other-holding each other-both of them content being in each other's presence.