She used to be Riley Matthews.
Pretty Brunette who never gives up on anything or anyone, who's always there for her friends.
The sun that kept the universe going.
The person who put a smile on everyone's face.
Until she gave up on everything and everyone. She was there for her friends, until she wasn't. The sun died. And suddenly the person who put a smile on everyone's faces, couldn't even keep one on her own.
You don't know what you have until it's gone.
The world didn't realize how lucky they were to have Riley Matthews with them, until she left.
Maya Hart had been dealt out a shitty hand in the cards of life.
After her father left and took half of her mother with him, Maya had felt alone in the world.
Until she met Riley. A sweet girl with long brown hair, and a sparkling smile etched on her young face. Maya had been Pluto. Small and alone.
Until Riley, her sun, came along and lit up her whole life.
Maya wasn't alone anymore.
Yes, Maya Hart had been dealt a crappy hand in life, but not every card was all bad.
Farkle Minkus was never ordinary. He was a genius, an overachiever, a geek. All qualities that made him a great target for ordinary people to pick on. And why wouldn't you. He was just a stupid Farkle. 'You're nothing.' He'd said to Farkle. And Billy Ross was right. A frown appeared on Farkle's face, and he looked down at his turtle neck in shame. Until Riley rounded the corner of the hall, and strutted in to the janitors office as if she owned the place. His superhero. Together, along with Riley's little blonde friend, A radiant light flooded through Farkle's life.
His smile was back thanks to Riley.
No, Farkle Minkus was never ordinary, but that wasn't a bad thing anymore.
Lucas Friar had given up on hope. He'd hoped his parents would learn to stop arguing. His parents were now having to see a counselor, just to keep for, hitting eachother.
He'd hoped he wouldn't have to leave his home in Texas and his friends, and go to the big apple. And yet here he was, stuck on a smelly infected subway in New York , instead of on his 24 horses whom were in Texas. Hope was a lie, until he met her.
Luckily for Lucas, Riley Matthews stumbled into his life, all smiles and all beautiful.
And suddenly he was glad he'd moved to New York, he was glad he was stuck on this smelly infected subway, as long as it was with Riley. She gave him the promise of things becoming better. Riley Matthews gave him the Promise of hope.
Maybe, Hope was worth Lucas Friar's time after all.
Farkle embraced his new found self confidence with open arms, he'd become so excited he'd forgotten where it'd had came from.
Maya was surrounded with so many people that loved her that she forgot who loved her first.
Lucas had hoped for so many things, hoped for so many goals to happen he'd forgotten who'd showed him hope was worth having.
Riley gave away her smiles, she gave away her light and warmth, she gave away her hope, until she was nothing more than an empty shell.
Forgotten and taken for granted, Riley decided her job was done. She'd touched the lives of enough people, and it was time for her to go.
There was nothing left for her now.
One last smile graced her face.
One last shred of light stayed in her eyes, until all the warmth left her body.
And she hoped, one last time, for the promise of something better.
12:37 pm. Riley Matthews left the world, they found her outside in a blizzard, curled in a corner, lips frozen and blue. Hypothermia had killed her, they'd said. But Lucas, Maya, and Farkle knew that wasn't the case.
Farkle sat under the covers flipping through old pictures of him and Riley.
"You'll always mean something to me, Riley Matthews. You'll never be a nothing as long as I'm here. I wish you didn't have to leave, but I can't let you go without saying goodbye. I'll see you around though, I'll see you in every smile."
Maya was leaning against the door of her crappy washroom, her makeup smudged all over her face. Hot steamy tears flowing freely. She clutched her Best Friend Ring to her chest.
"This isn't goodbye Riley Matthews. You'll always be my best friend, you'll always be my little sunshine, my only sunshine."
Lucas Friar sat in the middle of a disaster zone, shattered glass and splintered wood littered the floor. His knuckles bled, slowly and painfully. Just more Damage he'd inflicted. How had he not seen the sighs? Why didn't he notice how her smile became a little less genuine, or how the light in her eyes had dimmed, or how her hope had begun to disappear. Lucas knew no matter the fact he'd neglected her lately, Riley wouldn't want to see him like this. So he collected himself and cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned, until there was nothing else to clean.
Exhausted, he decided to go for walk, he found himself by her. The new stone was already covered in the snow that had stolen her breath. He wiped away the frost, uncovering the carefully engraved letters. 'Riley Matthews- (2001-2015) Loving Daughter, Sister, and Friend. -Our smile. Our sun. Our hope-' Lucas smiled at the last word, Riley had taught him many things. And he vowed to never forget. "Goodbye, Riles. We'll miss you. I'll miss you. And I'll never give up hope that we'll meet again."
Snow swirled around him, as Maya and Farkle joined him.
They heard a whisper in the breeze.
'Goodbye!' Shocked they looked frantically around.
Another winter wind flew by, and they swore they heard Riley giggle for the last time.
