Author's Note:This is the first chapter without any flashbacks and takes place completely in the present time. I hope you guys are enjoying this story. I haven't written anything in about 7 years so I was a little nervous about posting this one. This chapter is a little longer than the previous two so I apologize about that.
Your pretty brown hair, you always loved it
Guess he didn't like it, so you just cut it
And that don't sound like you
Nah, that ain't the girl I knew
Riley and Lucas were still on the phone, but neither one was talking. They never had a problem sitting together in silence. Lucas opened up his Facebook and Charlie had tagged Riley in a picture with him. It still crushed his heart seeing pictures of them together, but he noticed that she had chopped off her long hair. Her hair barely touched her shoulders now.
"You cut your hair Matthews?" Lucas exclaimed.
"How did you know?" she questioned him.
"Charlie posted a picture of the two of you. You loved your long hair. Why did you cut so much off?"
"I don't know. Charlie thought my hair was too long. He has been bugging me a while to get it cut so I thought, 'why not?' and just took the plunge. What do you think?"
"Riley, you know I always find you beautiful. But I want to know what you think."
"It's different. And I would be lying if I said I didn't miss my long hair. But, I'm sure I will get used to it. It will just take some time."
"That doesn't sound like the Riley I know."
Lucas examined the picture Charlie had posted more closely. He saw Riley's smile and knew it was her fake smile. Something was going on with Riley and he wasn't sure if he should ask her about it or not. Things had been going so well for the two of them for the past 5 and a half months, he didn't want to ruin anything. He didn't like seeing pictures of her fake smile though. He didn't like seeing her change her appearance because some guy wanted her to. That wasn't the Riley he knew. That wasn't the Riley he had fallen in love with their freshman year of high school.
"You know Luke, I don't know if I am the same Riley you knew."
It was that statement that made him decide he needed to see her. Not on Facetime, but in person. He hopped out of bed and went to his laptop and started looking at cheap flights to NYC. An hour later, after he had booked a flight to NYC, he wished her good luck on her finals, told her he loves her like he always does and ended the call with the normal 'talk to you later.' Lucas had booked a flight to NYC for the end of the week. He knew she would be done with finals on Wednesday and that she had the weekend off so he figured that the next weekend would be the perfect opportunity to see her. They only thing left he had left to do was find a place to stay. He dialed Josh's number, hoping he could sleep on his couch. Although Josh was three years older than them and never actually lived in Texas, Lucas and him had formed a friendship when Lucas began dating Riley. Even in the four months that Lucas and Riley didn't talk, Lucas still stayed in touch with Josh. Lucas had to keep tabs on Riley somehow since he was too hurt to speak to the beautiful brunette directly.
Josh was more than happy to let Lucas stay on his couch while he was in NYC. He even offered to pick him up from the airport. He never liked Charlie and how he pretty much guilted his niece into a relationship with him so she wouldn't tear apart their study group because of the weird tension after she turned him down several times. Riley didn't see it that way though. She was too busy trying to see the best in Charlie and how he was going to save lives one day. What Josh knew that Riley didn't was that Charlie was not a good student and could barely pass his classes, especially with him being in some very rigorous sciences. Josh knew Charlie would never get into med school, and when he and Maya tried to convince Riley of that, Charlie started giving Riley less and less time to spend with Maya, his girlfriend. Maya and Riley became best friends as soon as Josh introduced them. They were complete opposites, but they complemented each other. Josh was so happy that his girlfriend and niece got along so well. They were two of his favorite people.
Josh called Maya and told her about Lucas's plan when he hung up with the Texan. Maya was so excited about finally getting to meet Lucas and hoped that he could convince Riley to go to nursing school. As much as Maya didn't want Riley leaving NYC, she was doing her very best at encouraging Riley to go to one of the nursing programs she was accepted to knowing she would end things with Charlie. Riley had told her about Lucas and how in love they were in high school. You could hear the love come pouring out when she spoke of Lucas and when they decided to end things she was devastated. She did not come out of her room for two weeks. Luckily, she had friends that would bring her the work she missed in class and all of her professors allowed her to submit things electronically. Unfortunately, one of those friends just so happened to be Charlie. But hopefully, after this weekend, there would be no more Charlie.
Six Days Later
Lucas's flight landed at John F Kennedy airport at 3:30 in the afternoon. Lucas went to arrival pick up and saw Josh Matthews with a pretty blonde girl he had never met. But from Riley's description, he knew it was Maya, his competition as Riley's best friend. Josh pulled Lucas in for a hug and before Maya did anything she looked him up and down.
"Yeah, I'm definitely Riley's BEST best friend." Maya commented.
"Hi Maya. It's nice to finally meet you." She held her hand out for a handshake, but Lucas pulled her in for a hug.
"Hey! I am from New York! I don't hug people!"
"Sorry, it's a Texas thing I guess."
"Riley said the same thing the first time I met her. Maybe you are her best friend…"
The trio headed for Josh's car and Josh took them back to his apartment.
"So do you have any plans for this weekend?" Josh inquired.
"No, not really." Lucas admitted. "I just, after our last phone call, I just knew I had to see her."
"Well, you couldn't have come at a better time. She has to make her decision on nursing school by the end of the month and I think she is really thinking about deferring it for another year and just staying here at NYU." Josh informed the Texan.
"She mentioned something to me about how her mom and dad asked her not to go yet and how Charlie agreed with them and was trying to dissuade her from going."
"Ugh, Charlie." Maya said with a tone of disgust in her voice.
"You don't like Charlie?" Lucas asked, surprised.
"Let's just say as much as I will miss her, I hope she goes to nursing school far, far away from the city so she will get away from him."
"Is he that bad? Riley has tried to make me think he was a good guy."
"Has she succeeded in trying to make you think that?" Maya asked Lucas.
"Honestly, I probably wouldn't be here if I thought she was truly happy." Lucas answered.
"I think I might kind of like you Lucas." Maya said, smiling.
"I told you that you would babe." Josh said, kissing her hand.
Once they were back to Josh's apartment, Maya called Riley and told her that she needed to come over. She could hear Charlie in the background trying to convince her not to, but Riley said she would be there soon. Lucas could fill the butterflies in his stomach. He couldn't wait to see her. He just hoped that she was excited to see him.
Forty-five minutes later, Lucas, Josh and Maya were still waiting on her to show up. Lucas was starting to get worried that she wasn't coming. He was about to say something to Maya and Josh when he heard the front door opening.
"Honey!" Maya exclaimed running to the door to greet Riley.
"Hi Peaches!" Riley said, but not as enthusiastically as Maya had greeted her.
"Come in! We have a surprise for you!" Maya was dragging Riley into the apartment. Lucas stood up and turned around. It took her a minute to notice the third person in the room, but when Lucas cleared his throat, her head shot up and looked right into his bright green eyes.
"Lucas?" She whispered.
"Hey Riles." Lucas said. He didn't know what to do. He was glued to the spot he was standing in.
"Lucas!" she squealed. She ran over to him and jumped into his arms. He embraced her and it felt like heaven. He didn't realize how much he had truly missed her until this moment. "I can't believe you are here! What are you doing here?"
"Well I missed Josh and wanted to see him."
She giggled at his comment and slapped his chest as she released herself from his embrace. Lucas missed her arms around him already. "Are you really here? Am I dreaming? Why didn't you tell me about this trip when I talked to you last weekend?"
"It wasn't exactly planned until after we got off the phone. I have some time before I start my internship in June so I thought a trip would be fun."
She hugged him again and just couldn't get over the fact that Lucas Friar was standing in her Uncle Josh's apartment. There were butterflies in her stomach and she couldn't catch her breath. She had not been this happy in 2 years, but she couldn't admit that to anyone.
"Well how long are you here Lucas?" Riley asked. "There is so much I want to show you!"
"My flight leaves Monday morning. So we have 3 nights and 2 days."
"What plans do you and Josh have?"
"You know I'm not a planner Riley. You do all the planning and Maya and I will just tag along." Josh said.
"Oh my gosh! I am so excited! Let's go to mom's bakery and we can start planning the weekend!" Riley grabbed Lucas's hand and dragged him out the door.
Maya and Josh looked at each other and smirked. "Oh boyfriend, have you seen her that happy since she has been here in New York?"
"No I haven't beautiful. I can't remember the last time I saw her this happy. I think we may finally get to see the Riley that I grew up with." Josh responded before they left the apartment and followed Riley and Lucas to Topanga's.
The group was sitting in a booth, Maya and Josh on one side and Lucas next to Riley and Lucas just couldn't stop staring at Riley. She was still his Riley, so full of life and so excited about the littlest things. Her phone kept ringing and she ignored it every time. She had planned a trip to the Statue of Liberty tomorrow morning and then the group was going to spend the afternoon and evening in Times Square. She was currently listing out all of the possible things they could do Sunday and kept saying, "I wish you could stay longer. There is so much to do and so little time!" which made Lucas laugh at her each time she said it.
The door to the bakery opened and the group heard, "Riley!"
Lucas saw her smile fade and turn into her fake one and her shoulders drop before he looked at the door. When he looked up at the door he saw a guy who he assumed was Charlie.
"Cheese Soufflé! How are you?" Maya asked the brown hair boy standing in the doorway. Lucas gave her a perplexed look and she whispered, "He hates that I call him that so it makes it all the more fun."
"Riley, come here. Now." Charlie demanded of her. Riley started to stand and walk over to him, but Josh stopped her and said, "No, she is with her friends. You can leave Charlie."
"Josh!" Riley hissed at him. She started to stand again, but Lucas grabbed her wrist to stop her.
Charlie goes, "Josh, don't speak for my girlfriend. Riley, now." Riley looked at Lucas and pleaded for him to let her go with her eyes. He stared right back at her and smirked. Charlie, being an extremely impatient man, walked over to the table and grabbed Riley's other arm and said, "I believe you have some explaining to do as to why you just took off earlier. And why you haven't been answering your phone. And who the hell this guy is."
Lucas let go of Riley's wrist, and held out his hand. "I'm Lucas Friar." Charlie gave him a look of disgust and turned to Riley, completely ignoring Lucas's hand.
"Lucas Friar, as in your ex-boyfriend? Riley, you left from spending time with me to see your ex-boyfriend? I think you are done here. Let's go." He tightened his grip on her arm and tried to pull her out of the booth, but Lucas interjected and said, "I think you need to let go of her right now before we have a problem." Charlie glared at Lucas, but Lucas was not intimidated. He glared right back at Charlie. Charlie let go of Riley's arm and Lucas noticed he had left a handprint on her arm. If Riley had not been blocking him from getting out of the booth, the group might have seen what Riley used to call 'Texas Lucas.'
"Charlie, yes, this is Lucas, my ex-boyfriend and best friend from Texas. He is in town this weekend. And yes, I will be spending time with him." Riley said. Her voice was shaky, but Lucas noticed Maya and Josh look at her with an impressed look on both of their faces.
"I don't think that's a good idea Riley." Charlie tried to argue.
"I don't think she asked your opinion Charlie." Maya said.
Lucas could feel the tension rise even higher than it already was so he tried to lighten the mood. "Riley has planned a great weekend of things for us to do around New York this weekend Charlie. You should join us." The whole group looked at Lucas like he had grown two more heads.
"Are you serious?" Charlie asked as a look of confusion spread across his face. Lucas looked at Riley and noticed her look at him with a crease in her forehead. 'God, she's so beautiful still.' Lucas thought as he looked at her. "Why do you think I would want to spend time with my girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend. I don't want her to spend time with you."
"I'm not just her ex-boyfriend. I am also her best friend. I know it would probably mean a lot to Riley if you took the time to get to know me and spent time with us too." Lucas said. "Because I am her best friend first, ex-boyfriend second." It killed Lucas to refer to himself as Riley's ex-boyfriend. He was still so in love with her, but he had to face reality and get to know her current boyfriend, even if it killed him. He watched Charlie think about what Lucas said for a few minutes. Lucas felt Riley's eyes on him. He looked at her and smiled. She returned one of her genuine smiles that made Lucas's heart swell.
"We had a date planned for tonight Riley. Did you forget about that?" Charlie said.
Riley thought about it for a minute and then asked, "What were we going to do? I guess I forgot about it with all the studying and tests I did this week."
Charlie didn't say anything at first. Lucas found that suspicious.
"Lucas is only in town until Monday Charlie. You can postpone your date until Monday night." Josh spoke up for his niece. He loved her, but hated how she couldn't stand up for herself to him.
"Charlie," Riley started, "we are going to grab pizza and then going back to Josh's apartment. If you want to go with us, you are more than welcome to, but that is what I am doing tonight." Lucas didn't like the way Charlie looked at Riley when she stood up and grabbed his arm. "I am hanging out with my friends tonight. Tomorrow we are going to the Statue of Liberty at 9am. If you would like to go, you can meet us at my apartment then. You have been invited." Riley pulled Lucas out of the bakery. Josh and Maya followed, leaving Charlie standing there scowling. The foursome stopped at Riley's favorite pizza joint before they walked back to Josh's apartment. Maya and Josh kept glancing and smirking at each other as they walked hand in hand observing Lucas and Riley enjoy spending time together. The foursome ended up eating pizza and talking until late into the night. Josh and Maya went into Josh's room and Riley stood up to leave so Lucas could go into Josh's spare room.
"Riley, you take Josh's extra bed and I will sleep on the couch." Lucas insisted.
"I can't Lucas. That's your bed this weekend. Plus mom and dad would probably freak out if I didn't come home." She countered.
"You still live with your parents?" this was a surprise to Lucas. He figured that she would have moved out by now. He didn't realize how strong of a hold her parents still had on her.
"Yeah, since they are paying for my school, I figured I would live at home to save them some money."
"Tell me the truth. Was it your idea or theirs?" Lucas inquired, but was pretty sure he knew the answer.
"Well," Riley hesitated, which confirmed Lucas's suspicion, "they suggested it and so I agreed. It saves them a lot of money though so I don't mind."
'Typical Riley.' Lucas thought. 'Always putting others first.'
"Riley, it's late. Please just take Josh's spare bed. I know you live here, but I am always hearing horror stories about things happening to girls walking home late by themselves on the news. I would offer to walk you home, but I'm not so sure I would be able to find my way back. And I would feel awful about it if something happened to you. And you're at Josh's. Surely they don't mind you staying here, right?"
"You'd be surprised," she chuckled. "But okay. I'll stay. But I will sleep on the couch. You take the bed."
"I am not taking the bed Riles. That is not the gentlemanly thing to do." Lucas argued. He sat on the couch and stretched out so she couldn't sit down. "Good night Riles. I will see you in the morning." He stared at her and looked deep into her eyes. She gave him a real smile and started walking to Josh's spare room. "Good night Friar." He heard her say over her shoulder. He knew the old Riley was still in there; he just had to get her out.