Chapter 3: Girl Meets Fears

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or settings of Girl Meets World. I do, however, own the characters of Remigius "Remy" Bellamy and his mother Maribeth Bellamy. I seek no profit from this act of fiction, merely recognition from the community of readers. I certainly hope you all enjoy.

Thanks to everyone who read the last couple chapters. For those of you wondering about the Rucas relationship that has yet to have much prominence, this chapter is for you. Also, sorry if down the line this fanfic doesn't align with the show. Danger of writing about an ongoing show I suppose!

The air had gone from crisp to chilled in the days leading up to Halloween, and Lucas Friar stood in the courtyard of Thomas Jefferson High School with a heavy denim coat covering his athletic frame. He and Riley had gotten the grade back on their 100 Year War assignment for Mr. Matthews class earlier that day and were basking in the glow of their "As" as they waited for everyone to show up so they could head to the subway and off to Topanga's.

"My Mom will be so happy." Riley beamed as she looked at the paper that outlined their presentation. Yes, it was an A from her father's class but that didn't make it mean any less. Over the years, she and her classmates had realized that despite the fact he was her father, Mr. Matthews took being her teacher as his first priority in the classroom. That realization came when she received a C on an assignment about Columbus in 9th grade for "going too far off the source topic."

Lucas heard the words that came out of her mouth, but they weren't what he was paying attention to. He noticed her smile, glowing like sun at high noon on a summer day, more than anything else. Her smile was something he always wanted to see. It made her nose scrunch up like a button, her brown eyes close to tiny slits, her teeth gleam like polished ivory, and everything was framed by her long, auburn locks. She stood before him on that day in a purple coat that matched the color of the dress she wore on their first date. It was a little less than 4 years ago that he told her there are moments you'll remember forever...but he never told her that every moment with her was one of those.

As he took in her smile, his own toothy grin spread across his lips. Riley noticed, as she always noticed, and felt a warm feeling spread from her stomach up her entire torso. Nearly 4 years ago, she kissed him on the subway in the same spot that she first met him. What she never told him was that she would do it again a million times over if she had the chance.

Standing at the far end of the courtyard, Farkle observed two of his best friends ogling one another and sighed a content but frustrated sigh. How long were they going to keep playing with each other's emotions? He had realized a long time ago that they were meant to be together. Ever since everyone pressured them into having an "official" title in 8th grade, they never dated again. Coincidentally they virtually avoided dating anyone else either. Riley had gone on one date with Charlie which ended in her realizing that she 'wasn't looking for someone' right then and there. Lucas had gone on one date their freshman year with a girl from their health class, but it was more out of pity than desire. He learned that it wasn't right to do something romantic out of pity. Beside those two, Farkle couldn't think of a single time the two had shown feelings toward anyone but each other in nearly 4 years.

He had made a mental promise a long time ago to not get involved, but when it is two of your best friends it is hard to keep a promise to yourself. Just...a push? I mean, Newton's first law states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted on by an outside force… He said, reasoning with himself that he needed to meddle, if even just a little, to get his best friends to finally realize that 4 years of dancing around the idea is long enough.

Tonight is the Matthews Mega Monster Movie Marathon at Riley's house. It's become a tradition that Riley, Maya, Lucas, and I would take Auggie out trick or treating and then would retire at their house to watch monster movies until we pass out. This year we even invited Remy, but if things were to come up for Maya, Remy, and I so that we couldn't show up, then Lucas and Riley would have the entire evening of watching movies to themselves, like an extra long movie date. Now to just get Maya and Remy on board...gosh, you sure are smart Farkle. Why thank you Farkle. Oh, my pleasure… He thought, his head tilted to the side as pondered and plotted. He was shaken from his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, Farkle. I have bad news...I can't make the movie night thing. Something came up at home and I have to help Mom out. I feel bad, and I appreciate the invite, but could you let the girls and Lucas know? I appreciate it. Oh, and happy halloween!" Remy said, adjusting his guitar case and backpack as he ran down toward the street and hopped in a car. It was unusual for him to take anything but public transit, so seeing him get in a car was out of the norm. Must have been something serious, Farkle reasoned, for him to not even be able to say goodbye to his other friends. Hmm...I'll have to remember to check how things are later, but on the bright side, one down! Farkle thought as he looked back toward the doors and saw Maya walking through them.

"Hey Farkle...what was that all about?" She said, pointing to the car that Remy got into..

"Oh, apparently something came up at home and he has to help his mother, so he won't be able to make Matthew's Mega Monster Movie Marathon night. He wanted me to apologize to everyone. Listen, Maya…" He said, looking at her with almost pleading eyes. "I...have a scheme…" He never, in all their years of knowing each other, thought he would be the one to utter that phrase.

"Woah...you feeling okay there Farky? Schemes are Riley and I's territory. You're usually just a willing participant." She said, ruffling his usually straight, bowl style hair.

"Yes, but not when the scheme involves Riley…" He said, turning her attention to their friends that stood in the courtyard, still apparently oblivious to their presence and making doe eyes at one another. "They've been doing that...for four years Maya. 4 years! That's a college degree! That's an olympic gap! We have to do somethiiiii-iiiiii-iiiing!" He said, shaking her by her shoulders. "And I have a plan! It's rather genius, if I do say so myself. Remy already can't make our annual Halloween event. If we happen to have things come up in our lives as well, then it would leave only Riley and Lucas at the movie night. It would be like a super sized movie date. It could finally push the ignition on their relationship...or at least push it passed all this tip toeing and waiting and...ugh!" He said, finally taking a breath. Apparently his frustration drew the attention of the two love birds, as they waved and called for their friends.

Maya simply nodded and whispered to the scheming scientist. "Okay, deal. I can make something come up." She said as they walked down the stone steps into the courtyard.

"Hey, where's Remy?" Lucas said, noticing the lack of their resident musician.

"Family stuff, won't be able to make the movie night tonight. Wanted Farkle to apologize to everyone. Kinda bad news, but I'm not gonna be able to make it either. Hunter happened to not have to work and wants to take Mom and I out for a special halloween night. I'm sorry guys." Maya said, lying on the spot and turning to Farkle with a 'your move' look.

"Wow, really Maya? That sucks. I can't go either, I completely forgot that I promised Smackle I would help her with her newest entomology project. She's studying various genus of spiders and needs my expertise. Sorry Riley. Sorry Lucas." He said, looking at his friends. I sure hope that was believable...He thought to himself. Maybe he'd go one step further and actually make plans with Smackle this evening.

Oh man, I really hope Mom wasn't supposed to be working at Topanga's tonight...that was an oversight. Shit. Maya thought to herself. She quickly pulled out her phone and texted her Mom her and Farkle's current scheme, knowing that Katy Hart had grown to be a huge supporter of the budding relationship between her best friend and Ranger Rick. Of course, much like everyone else, she had the mindset that they were dragging on for far too long. There were moments that Maya even found herself contemplating if they would ever be an item, or if Lucas did harbor feelings for her like everyone kept insinuating. It didn't matter, at first her heart belonged to Josh Matthews.

Ah, Uncle Boing… She thought for a moment, remembering his constant argument that 3 years was too much of a gap. That she wasn't mature enough. Then there was the night that she and Riley snuck into a college party and she finally was able to really tell him how she felt...and he still denied her. After that day, things changed between then. It was as if Josh was fighting a battle within himself every time he was around her, and she hated seeing him like that, so she made her time around him as minimal as possible. She dwelled for a moment longer and then felt her phone vibrate as her mother replied. Her wallpaper brought her back to reality, without Josh...but with Remy. The picture of him, Riley, Lucas, and Farkle on stage at the Kick Start program, a simper spread across his lips. Music Man…

"Well...damn." Riley swore. It wasn't a common occurrence, but when it did it was clear she was frustrated. "Lucas, you're still going to be able to go, right?" She said, her eyes pleading with the humble cowboy. Is it possible he has gotten cuter in the last 45 seconds?

"I'll be there Riley. Wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm sorry you guys can't make it though. It would've been a lot of fun." He said, a slight frown directed toward his best friend and the brunette rebel.

"Sorry!" They said, in unison. They all walked to the subway car and rode on to Topanga's. As they walked into the small, always busy cafe, Katy Hart walked up and hugged her daughter. "You're ready for tonight, right baby girl? Shawn said it'll be a real thrill. Dinner, then a haunted house, and a couple other surprises." She smiled as she looked at the other kids. "I'm really sorry to steal her away, but it's not often that Shawn isn't out on the road during this time of year." She said, looking at at the fearsome foursome and smiling. "Oh, wait a minute...where is the new kid?" She said, noticing a lack of guitar and southern hospitality.

"Remy had to attend to some family stuff. Something to do with his Mom." Farkle said, really appreciating that Miss Hart was playing along with his scheme. By the end of the night, with any luck Riley and Lucas would appreciate their absence rather than curse it.

"Yeah, seems like everyone suddenly had things to attend to…" Riley said, a bit of bitterness in her voice.

"Sorry!" Maya and Farkle said, once again in unison. Hearing her so hurt tugged at Maya's heart, but she knew this might be for the best . I hope you're as good at this as we are Farky…

They all sat at the cafe for about an hour before Farkle excused himself to begin his trek home, then to Smackles. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, pressing the appropriate keys to text Isadora Smackle. His "arch-nemesis" who had become a very close friend in the years that passed between them. "Hey. What are you doing tonight?" was all the text read, which received an immediate reply.

"Nothing. Do you want to hang out? I can be ready in 15 minutes." Wow...way to not sound too eager Izzy. She scolded herself as she sat on her bed, an entomology book sitting open at her feet. Her crush on Farkle hadn't lessened in all the years they had known each other. If anything, it had grown greater. 3 years ago, she had revealed to him and his friends that she suffered from Asperger's syndrome, and they accepted her completely. It was the single greatest show of human kindness she had experienced up till that point, and because of it she had decided to switch to JQA Middle School halfway through her 8th grade year, and now was happily attending Thomas Jefferson High with all of them. They didn't share classes, sadly, but they often would meet after school or at lunch. The last few weeks she had been to drawn tied up in working on a new entomology paper and several hundreds of vocabulary words. When her phone vibrated again, her heart felt like it might explode with excitement.

"No rush, but I will be there later tonight." from: Farkle "The Hunk". One simple sentence, but it meant the world to her.

Back at the cafe, the group was down to three, and soon to become two. Katy Hart had finished up cleaning around the counters and the cafe was shaped up to close. It was 7 PM, and Auggie Matthews walked through the doors dressed in his costume. A plaid, deerstalker hat, a trench coat, suspenders, a pipe hanging from his mouth, and a magnifying glass, turned the young boy into a the visage of the super sleuth Sherlock Holmes. Following in tow was his mother, dressed in a black, vampiric style outfit was Topanga Matthews. Smiling at the group, she held up a princess dress in one hand, and a rawhide vest in the other. "Time for you two to get in costume, Mr. Holmes wants to get his candy." She said, chuckling as she pointed at Lucas and Riley. "It's a shame you can't join them Maya, but I hope you guys have a great night! Katy, the place looks great as always. See you tomorrow morning."

After the drive home, Maya and Katy both got a good laugh at Farkle's scheme seeming to go off without a hitch. As Katy unlocked the door and pushed it open, they were greeted by rows of jack o'lanterns making a line to their kitchen. Standing at the end of the aisle, in black robes and a ghost face mask, was Shawn Hunter. He chuckled as he held up a knife, dripping with pumpkin guts, and then put it down and ran over to the two women. He spun Katy around and kissed her. "I was able to make it back to town earlier today. You like the surprise?" He said, both women laughing out loud at the coincidental circumstances.

One hour, and several "trick or treats" later, Auggie, Riley, and Lucas had returned to the Matthews apartment, smiling and laughing. Cory and Topanga did the usual thing of taking Auggie's candy and inspecting it, asking how everything went, and setting up the monster movies for their daughter and what would usually have been her group of friends. Cory was mildly suspicious of it being only Riley and Lucas, but he trusted that everything would be fine.

"Thanks for hosting this Mr. Matthews. Keeps a bit of the Halloween spirit alive, ya know?" Lucas said, tipping his cowboy hat to his teacher. Part of him was glad that Maya wasn't there, given his costume for the year. He heard Ranger Rick, Huckleberry, Hopalong, and HeeHaw, enough as it was.

"Of course Lucas. I know you guys always enjoy it...but where is Remy tonight? Topanga told me about Maya having family night with Katy and Shawn, and Farkle texted me for question he and Smackle had, but I didn't expect Remy to miss his first Matthews' Mega Monster Movie Marathon." He said as he put out a bowl of popcorn on the table in the living room.

"He told Farkle that he had a family thing he had to handle. Something about helping his mother." Riley answered, pressing the play button on the remote to begin Dracula 2000.

"Ah...okay." Cory said, his level of concern going unnoticed as he stepped away from his daughter and Lucas. I better make sure everything is okay…

All through out the first movie, Riley would jump at the flash of fangs, or a gush of blood, and Lucas would constantly comfort her with a single arm over her shoulders.

"What are you afraid of?" He would always ask, and she would always answer with exactly what had just happened on the screen, usually with an exaggeration or two thrown in.

Three movies later, she looked up into his green eyes and asked a question that had bothered her all night. "Does anything scare you, Lucas Friar?"

He tilted his head softly at her question and shook his head. "Nothing that they would have in any of these movies."

[I've always lived on the edge of life. I don't fear the dark of night.]

"Then what does scare you? You seem so strong, and brave, and if none of these monsters and blood and gore scare you, then what possibly could?" She took his cowboy hat off and set it down on the seat next to him.

[I may be crazy but I'm not a fool]

He looked down at the girl that had his heart for the past 4 years, his green eyes meeting her beautiful browns and his breathing slowing as he thought of how to word his answer. His mind wandered to two different occasions, one much further in the past than the other. He remembered a conversation that he and Farkle had the day that he asked Riley on their first date.

"We have to do all the asking. All they have to do is say no." Farkle quipped as they boys discussed the situation of asking women on a date. "Or they could say yes." Lucas rebuttled.

As they memory floated by, he remembered another conversation that had happened not even a week earlier.

He and Remy sat in their English Literature Honors class, waiting for the bell to ring as they had both finished the classwork for the day. They were on the topic of timing and waiting verses simply diving right in. Remy nodded as Lucas had discussed the virtue of waiting things out, playing things say, and making a plan. The conversation wasn't about relationships or anything in particular, simply about life...but what Remy said next had stuck with him. He had thought about it day and night for the last week,,,particularly when he looked at Riley. "Life is not infinite cowboy. It has a stopping point, and when we look back on everything in our life, would you rather say "I wish I hadn't done that", or "I wonder what would have happened if I had just gone for it?". No one has ever been on their deathbed saying they wish they had made better plans to do things."

Lucas snapped back to the moment at hand, his emerald orbs locked onto Riley's amber spheres. "I'm afraid of losing you, Riley Matthews." He declared courageously. He did it...he finally admitted how deep his feelings really did go. Sure, he didn't say any words that begin with l, but this was something that might even be more important than that.

[I'd be afraid of losing you. I've looked danger in the eye. I'm not afraid to live or die. After all that I've been through, I'd be afraid of losing you. I couldn't face a single day without you in my life. Your sweet embrace is all it takes to keep me satisfied.]

He...what? He's afraid of...Riley was awestruck. Flabbergasted. Flattered? Yes...that too. "Lucas, you'll never lose me. I promise you...I'll always be here." She said, sitting up and holding his face softly in her hands. "Always...so see? Nothing to be afraid of." She smiled...and then she didn't. Her smile was wiped away by Lucas's lips gentle brushing against her's. The third kiss in the history of Lucas Friar and Riley Matthews. She would always remember their first, on the subway after the shortest date in recorded history. The second was on new year's eve their 8th grade year. A tradition of kissing the person you're with when the new year began. Ever since, they had continued their 'will they, won't they?' story. This, however, was different than any kiss she had shared with him before.

"Mine was like when it's summer and then a breeze comes up and then it rains for for like two seconds and then everything glows and there's a rainbow." She recalled that that was how she had described her first kiss with Lucas to Maya when they sat at the bay window after their collective first double date.

This kiss though, what they were sharing in that moment...it was like the moment of calm when it has been raining for hours, and you know the storm is going to come back but you have to have this moment of calm and comfort and normality amidst the insanity that is the constant downpour. It was warmth and joy, comfort and calm, it was need and want rolled together to make unbridled desire. Lucas was kissing her, and it wasn't two kids kissing on the subway, it wasn't a tradition being upheld, it was want and need and fire and ice. It was lips melding together and spreading, tongues fighting for just a moment of dominance, thumbs stroke cheeks and fingers tangling in the hair on the back of their neck. It was a moment where they felt like they were one...she didn't know how to properly describe it but she didn't want it to end...and then it did.

He pulled away slowly, as air became a necessity, and looked her in the eyes once more. "If you can keep that promise, then yeah...nothing to fear, princess."

[I've always been a restless soul. Hungered for the winding road, but a rebel heart still knows the truth...I'd be afraid of losing you.]

"A promise is a promise...cowboy...and I always keep my promises." She said, flashing the smile that he loved so much. She laid her head on his shoulder, and smiled into the warm embrace they shared. It could have been hours or minutes, but they found themselves asleep in that strange yet comforting position.

Across town, in a similar apartment, Maya Hart looked out into the living room, grinning as she spied Shawn Hunter and her mother curled up and asleep on the sectional couch. She remembered that, what didn't seem so long ago, she was terrified at anything that might take Shawn away. Her fear that her mother pushed men away even though it turned out she was the one was always left, talks of Shawn's ex named Angela, Angela actually showing up, his job constantly sending him all over, it seemed like everything was bound and determined to take away one of the few really good things going for her and her mom...but now, those fears were just fleeting moments in the past. Worries of a little girl, not the young woman she had grown into being. She didn't know what she had feared so much in the first place...but now she had one other fear that gnawed at the back of her mind. As she pulled her phone out and looked at the wallpaper, she thought about Remy...or rather the lack of Remy. I sure hope everything is okay...She thought as she tucked herself into her bed, uneasy slumber taking over.

In the Smackle household, Farkle and Smackle laughed as they looked at the time. They had been working the entire night, lousy b rate horror movies playing background music to their true endeavors of learning about various rare breeds of arachnids.

"I guess we should probably get some sleep…" Farkle said, holding Isadora's hand gentle. She tightened her grip, uncharacteristically for her, as she nodded.

"True...it is rather late...but Farkle?" She questioned softly.

"Yes, Izzy?" He smiled, enjoying the nickname he had given her freshman year when they first entered TJHS.

"Thank you...for tonight. I had fun." She gently spoke, almost squeaking out the last three words. Three words that she was using for replacements of what she truly wanted to say. She wasn't sure if she was truly feeling it or how it was meant to feel or what it even was, she couldn't bring herself to say 'I adore you' to this young man who stood by her side through anything and everything.

"I always have fun when we're together Smackle. I like you." Farkle said. He knew it was hard for her to grasp exactly what it meant when he said it...but something had changed in him since middle school. He realized that sometimes you have to just say what you mean, and mean what you say. It was as if he couldn't be afraid.

Shocked, Smackle merely giggled as he excused himself to the sleeping bag that was set up on the floor. He smiled up at her. "Good night, Izzy."

"Good night...Hunk." She said, whispering the last word almost inaudibly as she pressed a button on a small remote beside her bed and the lights dimmed until they snuffed themselves out.

Back at the Matthew's apartment, Cory stood in the arch of the hallway after noticing the lack of noise coming from the living room TV, and what he saw made him smile. Riley and Lucas had fallen asleep, her head resting on his shoulder and his head cradled by the head cushion of the couch. Cory had fallen asleep in that exact position a few times himself, except that Topanga occupied the space that Riley did, Riley would be on his opposite shoulder, and Auggie would be sprawled out across both his parents laps. Cory was worried about the lack of kids on this night that was usually a group event, but he realize that his fears were minor...except perhaps for one. He held his phone in his hand and looked down at the message on the screen. It was a conversation with a 504 area code. New Orleans, LA. Remigius Bellamy's number.

"I heard why you weren't here tonight. Is everything alright?"

"Ya, Mr. Matthews. She's okay. Just...felt like I needed to be here tonight, ya know?"

"I understand. I'm glad she's okay."

Last message sent at 10:34 PM. 2 hours ago. Cory smiled at the phone, then at his daughter on the couch, then back at his wife that he could barely glimpse through the opening of their bedroom door, slumbering in their bed. "Good night...and Happy Halloween, everyone."

[2 hours earlier]

Remy looked down at his screen before pushing the power button and sliding it back into his pocket. "Who was that son?" His mother asked. He looked over from the lounger, smiling.

"A friend who cares. I told him everything is alright." The young bayou boy said, pushing the perfect circle glasses up his face. Even though he wasn't at any parties, or trick or treating, or going to a haunted house, he still decided a costume was needed. He had painted his mother's face in tiger face paint, and he was dressed John Lennon.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the Super Scary Screen Show or whatever it is called?" She said, feeling slightly bad that her son was with her and not his friends on a childhood holiday.

"The Matthews' Mega Monster Movie Marathon happens every year from what I'm told. Trust me, I'm sure. Ma...I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here…" He said as he pressed the play button on the DVD remote, Nightmare Before Christmas playing over the beeps of the heart monitor and the hiss of the oxygen machines. He sat in the lounger next to the hospital bed that his mother had occupied most days and nights since they had moved to NYC. He grabbed her hand and smiled. "I'm always happy to be right here. I love you Ma."

[I'd be afraid of losing you]

End of Chapter 3 Author's Note: So, there you have it. Wow, 3 chapters in a week. I mean, it helps that my days off are Monday and Friday, and I have been dedicating my Mondays especially to working on this. How about that twist at the end, huh? I promise, you won't have to wait exceptionally long for what is happening with Remy's Mom, or for the rest of the group to know. Obviously, Mr. Matthew's is in the loop. It will all come to a head sooner rather than later. I hope you all enjoyed your first true Rucas chapter, some nice glimpses into Smarkle and Kawny. I hope I maintained the four storylines pretty well. Please, review away! Also, the song for this chapter was I'd Be Afraid of Losing You by Aaron Tippin. I went country considering it was from Lucas's perspective of 'what are you afraid of?'.