Chapter 2 - The Highway to Hell

The Matthews's apartment, Topanga Matthews, Riley's Mom, waits from an answer from her teenager daughter. The brunette glared at her mother while playing with the small bottle of pills in her pocket.

-I… I'm… I'm sorry mom… I ate with Maya on the way…

Nearly crying Riley ran to her room, she sat on her bed and glared to the bottle in her hand.

-I have to prove it to them… that I can… specially to Maya…

Closing her eyes she put the pill on her mouth and drank half of the water in the bottle she carried in her backpack. Suddenly the window opened and the startled brunette dropped the bottle kicking it under her bed before her blonde friend could see it.

-Hey beautiful, wait… that smell… no… your mom didn't… oh my God, I'm starving, let's go eat

-Maya wait… I… kinda told mom we already ate… - Riley said with her head low

-Why would you tell her that? - Maya asked curiously

-I… I'm sorry OK?

-Don't worry, I'll go get some food anyhow. I'll tell her I'm still hungry, no biggie.

As her best friend ran out of her room Riley laid on her bed, as she glared at the ceiling she pondered whether or not she had made the right choice, her stomach growled but she was decided to go ahead and just put on her pajamas and went to bed. The next morning Riley woke up, got dressed and took another pill, as she was running out her mother stopped her.

-Hold on there young lady, where are you going?

-I have a test in my first hour, got to run!

-Riley stop right there. - Topanga said

-Yes?

-Your breakfast?

-No can do, will get something on the way, bye!

If that surprised Topanga, what happened next did it more as Maya came to the kitchen from Riley's room.

-Where's Riley? - she asked

Topanga glared at the blonde, filled with confusion.

-Didn't you guys had a test in the first hour? - she asked

Maya glared back at her as she had a spoonful of oatmeal.

-Not that I remember…

Topanga watched the blonde girl eat pondering what could be going on with her daugther. At school, Maya realized that Riley wasn't with them, curious she returned to the classroom they shared in the previous hour and found her best friend reading on her tablet.

-Aren't you going to go eat with us? - she asked

-I… I'm not feeling too well… I'll be fine like that -she said faking a smile

After her friend left she closed her eyes, she had completed one full day without eating and only taking the pills the girls at the pageant had given her, they had also sent her links so she could get more ideas.

-I have to do it… I can…

But her unknowing friends weren't going to make things easier, as they left school Maya decided to make a stop at Topanga's where she decided she had to had lunch so she ordered a cheeseburger, fries, a shake and a sundae, as she ate Riley just glared, her stomach growling and her feeling weaker, remembering that she had to take the next pill she got up, but at that very second her vision blurred and she had to hold herself from the table, something that didn't went unnoticed by Maya.

-Riley are you OK?

The brunette shook her head.

-I'm fine, I just need to take a walk.

The minute she walked out she took a pill out her purse and took it, to her bad luck Farkle was coming straight at her.

-I didn't knew you were sick - he said

-What?

-You just took a pill. - he replied

-I'm fine Farkle, you're seeing things.

The boy went in and sat with Maya

-Do you know what's wrong with Riley? - he asked

-What are you talking about? -the blonde asked as she ate

-I saw her taking a pill outside and she seems very pale.

Maya turned and algred at her friend who had taken a seat on an outside table and once more was reading on her tablet. That night Riley, following the advice she had read that day, managed to skip dinner. But the following morning she felt dizzy the minute she walked into the shower, shrugging it off she got dressed. Finding an excuse again, she ran out, but what she didn't expected was for Maya to literally drag her to Topanga's where they got lunch to go as the blonde didn't like the menu option of the day at the school cafeteria.

-YES! We'll pass on the tuna casserole today, man can't wait for lunch.

-yeah… lunch… yay - her brunette best friend replied

But again, RIley was a no show at the lunch table, Maya decided to find out where her best friend was when she saw Harleen, one of the school's renown bullies eating out of a bag from Topanga's and exactly eating the sandwich she herself had bought for Riley that morning. Thinking the worst she clenched her fists and walked towards the blonde two-pony-tailed senior-class girl.

-Cool your heels Hart. You little girlfriend said I could have this.. Say, it's pretty good I tell ya.

Maya's eyes opened wide, that meant Riley hadn't had anything to eat, she went to look for her at the classroom yet the place was empty, remembering that her next period was cheerleading practice she went to look for her at the gym, to her surprise, Riley was in her sweatpants doing exercise.

-OK, why are you doing so much exercise? And second

-I loved the sandwich you ordered for me this morning, it was awesome.

-You what!? - Maya was startled

-Loved it, gotta run, practice will start soon and I need to change.

Before she could ask anything else the brunette had ran to the dressing room, Maya on the other hand was perplexed. Had her best friend actually blatantly lied to her face? She had little time to think about it as the bell rang and both the cheerleading team and the secondary cheerleading team (the one Riley was on) ran in for practice, at the same time Farkle and Zay walked in.

-You're early - said Zay

-I… yeah…

-Everything OK? Riley seems pale - Farkle said

They were going to get their answer as this was the third consecutive day that Riley had gone without eating, something that was about to take its toll when she began to feel dizzy and unable to clearly coordinate her movements, suddenly and to the horror of her friends she stumbled back and fell on the canvas…

To be continued...