A/N: The next few chapters are based on 3 tweets I read from the GMWWriters account

Tweet 1: Nobody's guessed the story? Biggest clue in the pilot. This continues in GMThe New Year.

Tweet 2: Friday: Triangle. Why? It was clear from the pilot. What's the secret of life? Oh, for those of you who don't like triangles... It isn't.

Tweet 3: Minor issues resolve quickly. This won't. Because if you know us, you know we'll do much more than a triangle. This all began in the pilot

Here's my take: I think that Riley is stepping back in a pseudo attempt to "be" Maya. In the pilot, Riley says she wants to be just like Maya and makes some small effort to become her in class. Riley thinks too much and Maya doesn't think at all. Riley's decision to "brother zone" Lucas was done without any real thought. The secret of life is that people change people. The last few episodes have given the illusion that Riley and Maya have changed places. I ship Rucas and I am praying the writers resolve this situation without destroying Rilaya.

I'm trying something a little different this time around. I have found that most of you appreciate the more detailed looks at the minds and feelings of each character so these chapters are going to be very introspective. I plan to do one for Lucas, Riley and Farkle. I struggle writing in Maya's POV, I will attempt to write one but I don't know how it will go. I will go back to writing more interactive scenes and fluff but find myself curious to see if we see/think the same things about how each of them truly think/feel. Please read and review- even if you want to tell me it sucks and you hate it…but please give me a quick reason why you hate it.

January 2,2016

The 4 friends hadn't talked to each other in 2 days. No one quite knew what to do about what happened on the roof that night.

Farkle was full of mixed emotions. He desperately wanted to talk to his friends and see if they understood why he did it. He knows that all of them are in an unknown place right now and it scares him. It scares him to think that he may lose his best friends. But he also knows that he HAD to do it. He couldn't let Riley sacrifice her happiness for Maya. He couldn't stand by and watch as she slowly changed. Oh, he knew she would change and that it would be slow and painful. Sure she would act like she was happy for Maya and Lucas but that's all it would be… an act. She would slowly change from Smiley Riley to only a shell of herself. One of the things he loves most about Riley is that she does everything wholeheartedly, she doesn't know any other way. She is the glue that keeps their little group together but more importantly, she is what keeps him together. She is his best friend, the one that he can turn to for advice on any subject, for help on any topic and know without fail he will get it. He is closer to Riley than Maya because Riley is not as guarded. She hasn't had the heartbreaks that Maya had so she is more open. When he was dealing with a bully in school, she was the one who figured it out. She was the one who refused to let him change to appease the bully. When Riley was being bullied, he was the one to figure it out. He knew that no matter how any of his other friends reacted, (he admits that he was scared by Lucas that day) he would race to her side and offer his full support. She wouldn't let any of them deal with an issue alone so he was damn sure not going to let her do it.

Everyone laughs when he says he's been in love with her since the first grade. They don't understand that it is true, he still loves her, though not in the same way anymore. Now instead of a romantic love, he loves her like a sister. Everything changed when she fell for Lucas. It was after watching them together that he realized that while he loved her, he would never be able to bring the sheer look of joy to her face like he did. It helps that he views Lucas as one of his best friends too. He knows what type of guy Lucas is and it makes him glad that one of his first loves fell for a decent guy. He thought that they were made for each other, that they belonged together. He couldn't imagine Lucas ever hurting her, so he never imagined he would have to worry about HER hurting Lucas. There is no doubt in his mind, that Lucas is hurt, confused and probably a little angry. Everything seemed to happen in the blink of an eye and that's what worries him the most.

Riley is a planner, a weigh all options kind of girl so when she lied to Lucas and called him her brother, Farkle was floored. He knew she didn't view Lucas that way and he was certain that she would have talked to him about her changing feelings if they had in fact started to change. That is one of the best things about their friendship, they can discuss everything and anything. No topic is off-limits; it is how they work. Once he saw her with Charlie, he knew that the girl with him was not his Riley. Her smile was gone, she tried to pass off a smile once or twice but it never reached her eyes. She no longer looked carefree, instead she looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Knowing that she would never admit to it, he knew that she was suffering. He was the only one in the group to realize it. He's not surprised that Lucas didn't see it as he has been in a constant state of confusion since they got back from Texas. Had things been normal, Lucas would have been quick to point out the changes in Riley and would have demanded that she tell him what was wrong so that he could fix it. Lucas would move heaven and earth to make sure she was ok. Even now, he was certain that if Riley asked Lucas for help, with anything, for any reason, his friend would not hesitate.

However, he is surprised and disturbed that Maya hasn't noticed or if she has, her apparent lack of concern is even more troubling. There was a time when he was certain that the two knew everything about each other, noticed every breath, every eye blink, they were best friends, nothing could come between them or so he thought. Things have been off between the 2 girls for a while. He's not sure when things started to change but he knows that they have. He doesn't understand Maya right now and as cold as it may seem, Riley is his priority. Yes, he considers Maya one of his closest friends and at one time, thought she would be the first Mrs. Farkle Minkus, but he finds himself angry with her. Angry that she doesn't seem to care what her actions are doing to Riley. He knows that it's not fair and that she is not totally to blame but he can't help the way he feels. He wants to feel more sympathy for Maya but he's struggling to do so. He can't understand how her "sister" doesn't realize that Riley is hurting. He realizes that while he is a genius when it comes to "stuff" he is a novice when it comes to matters of the heart.

He's not sure what will happen between Lucas and Riley, he can only hope that they find their way back to each other. He knows without a doubt that Riley still loves Lucas and he is anxious to see how Lucas feels about Riley, based on his reactions, he feels that Lucas still has very strong feelings for her. He hopes that this whole mess has not destroyed any chance of them becoming an "official" couple. But most importantly, he wants the 4 to remain friends, that their bond is strong enough to weather this storm. But, if he is honest with himself, he knows that things will never go back to being the same. He worries that he will have to choose between Riley and Lucas. While he considers Lucas one of his best friends, he will always choose Riley. Hopefully it won't come to that. He wants them all to remain a big part of his life.

In the end, he knows he did the right thing. He knows that he had to say something in order to be able to look at himself in the mirror every day.

If he stood back and let Riley shatter, he would have shattered right along with her.

Sometimes, being a brother, means having to use tough love…even when it hurts you too.