Vanilla Sundae
Author Note: Riley and Lucas are High School Seniors.
"Lucas, Lucas Friar." Riley looked at her boyfriend asleep and smiled at how cute he looked at the soft snore filled the air, "Beauregard Lucas Friar wake up."
"I didn't do it I swear I was home by curfew." Lucas sat up startled as he looked around the dark room before he looked over to see Riley sitting on his bed, "Riles?"
She looked down fiddling with the sleeves of her sweatshirt, "Hey."
"What are you doing here?" He picked up his phone glancing at the time, "It's after four in the morning."
"I was just thinking maybe we could go get some ice cream." She bit her lip before looking over to him with a smile, "Up for a New York adventure?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Only about you" She confessed, "Come on, you were home before curfew, and have your parents ever said you can't go out at four in the morning?"
"I think it's been implied." He rubbed his hair, "Are you okay?"
"I'm just craving ice cream and thought I should go get Lucas and we should go."
He threw back his covers revealing that he was wearing just his boxers to bed. "Let me get dressed."
Riley turned away shyly, biting her lip as she went to his window, "I'll meet you downstairs."
"Wait," He was pulling on his jeans and a t-shirt quickly, "Let me just grab my hoodie."
"Okay." She took a deep breath before turning to look at him even half asleep he was the most hansom boy she'd ever laid eyes on.
He slipped his feet into his shoes and grabbed his phone and wallet, following Riley out his window to the fire escape.
They were quiet as they walked the couple of blocks to their favorite diner they occasionally had breakfast at on Saturday mornings. When they slid into a booth Lucas finally looked into her brown eyes, "Is something wrong Riley?"
"We graduate in a couple of weeks." She took a sip of the water that was placed in front of her, "I'm worried about us."
He reached for her hand, "You shouldn't be, I believe in us, and I believe we have a future that's going to connect us forever."
Riley gave him a smile and quickly ordered their ice cream sundae to split when the waitress arrived.
"Is something else wrong?" He still couldn't fathom what brought her to his room in the middle of the night, it couldn't really be a craving for ice cream.
"What do you see as our future?" She twisted the promise ring he'd given her two years ago around her left ring finger.
"You want the God's honest truth?"
She nodded, trying to ignore the knot her stomach was becoming.
"We'll go to college, we'll get engaged, we'll get married, and we'll have kids, and a ton of animals because let's be honest we're both suckers and we won't be able to say no when little Luke or little Riles brings home a stray dog or cat or bunny."
"You really see that?" she bit her lip.
"Yeah, don't you?"
"I do." She felt a small wave of relief as the sundae was set down in front of them. She took her spoon pulling out a small scoop of the vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. "What if, um, it wasn't, exactly in that order?"
Lucas stopped just bringing his spoonful to his mouth, "Riles, what do you mean?"
"I'm late." She watched the color drain from his face.
Lucas tried to process how this could happen. She was on the pill, they always used a condom. They had only done if five times, five! Her birthday, New Year's Day when her family was out visiting friends, Valentine's day because they're just that damn cheesy, the night of the winter formal when his parents were out of town, when they snuck away on the school ski trip since her parents were the chaperones this time, and that time in her room when they got carried away making out in the bay window while home alone in the middle of the day. Six times.
"So you haven't taken a test yet?"
"Not yet, I'm scared."
"So we pick one up after ice cream from the pharmacy down the street." He rationalized, "And you can do whatever you need to do on it, and we'll find out. No freaking until after, and then we'll figure out what to do next."
Riley nodded thankful he wasn't bolting, not that she expected him to, she knew he would stick around, though maybe now he'll see a window to escape.
"Riles" Lucas reached over tipping her head up with his finger under her chin, "No matter what I'm still with you."
She nodded, trying to will the tears glossing her eyes to go away, wait until she had a reason to cry as they slowly finished the sundae trying not to think about Lucas leaving her, because why wouldn't he leave?
They waited several minutes once they were done before they left, slowly walking to the pharmacy when Lucas took her left hand in his and twisted her promise right, "Riley, I gave you this ring with a promise and I meant every word of it then, and I mean every word of it now. No matter what the outcome I plan on being with you forever. You can try to push me away but I'm going to fight for you Riley, always and forever."
Riley wiped the tears from her eyes, "I don't want you saying stuff just to say it, so please don't think you have to tell me you'll be with me no matter what."
"Oh Riley, my beautiful, but ridiculously insecure Princess, I'm not saying this just to make you feel better. I'm saying it because it's true, because it's exactly what I'm going to do." His hands moved up to caress her cheeks, "I love you, I have from the moment I first saw you on the subway your smile captured me right then and there. I'll love you when you're on the verge of giving birth and cranky at night and want to sneak out for ice cream. I'll love you when you're in labor and cursing at me for doing this to you. I'll love you when you're exhausted, I mean I already do, I love you when you wake me up in the morning to go get ice cream after breaking into my room."
"I'm terrified" she confessed as she wrapped her arms around him, breathing in his scent.
"Honestly I am to." He kissed the top of her head, "But we go and get the test, and then we find out just how much trouble we're in."
She wiped her eyes, "Okay, I'll be right back."
"Let me go with you, we're in this together." He held her hand with a comforting squeeze.
Riley took a deep breath before entering the all-night pharmacy, day was just starting to break as they found themselves looking at the different options before finally picking one and checking out.
Back in her room Lucas sat at the window waiting for Riley to return. His right leg bouncing with nerves as he chewed his thumbnail. Riley came in the stick in her hands as she chewed on her lower lip and handed it to him.
"Okay" Lucas looked at the results, and then up at Riley, "Well what do we do now?"
"This" Riley kissed him, feeling his arms slip around her, pulling her onto his lap, "I love you Lucas I want to have babies with you, just maybe in a few years, when this promise ring becomes a wedding band."
"And it will, I promise it will." He kissed her, feeling the warmth of her body, "I should go get ready for school, and if I don't leave now we're going to need the second test from that box in a few weeks."
Riley sighed, "I'll see you in a little while, right?"
"Of course" He kissed her forehead, "I love you please hide that well or I'll probably lose more than my shoes."
Riley giggled, "I will, don't worry." She watched as he left through the window and she looked at the stick again, feeling relieved.
