Dear my lovely readers,

I know I was supposed to have this up a few days ago, but when receiving the news about Disney cancelling the show, I couldn't find myself to write the last bit of the chapter. My thoughts were everywhere. I can't express to you all how much this show meant to me. I know it meant a lot to you as well, being the avid readers of fan fiction and writing them yourselves. We are dedicated and I'm proud of how each and every single person is coming together to fight for the movement of Networks. It's incredible how we in numbers can voice our opinion and speak out about what's important to us. We have true loyalty and I can only imagine how proud and honored Sabrina, Rowan and the others must feel about their fans, because I know for a fact that they have seen what we are doing, because how could they not? Netflix is hearing our cry. I don't know much about Hulu, but I'm sure they could hear us too.

This is the fist Disney show in this generation of kids to give a story, teaching life lessons that you rarely see on television anymore. The others might be funny, but they are full of comic relief, when kids should be learning as well. This show was really important, talking about how people change others, focusing on the subjects of friendship, disorders, depression, loss of family, and love. I can't believe this all started with me just babysitting my little cousin. I grew up watching the reruns of Boy Meets World. My parents eventually bought all seven seasons on DVD. Though I had not grown up in the generation (being a kid) while this show has been airing, I'm still learning a lot about life and have received many of the lessons taught. I was blessed enough to have teacher like Cory Matthews in my Senior year of high school. He related everything to what was going on in our lives and felt that was the best way we would learn the material. I had mentioned calling him Feeny once (because I knew that he would probably know BMW better than GMW) and he thought that was a very honoring compliment. I thought it was cool that I had a reference to one of the shows in my life. I'm also blessed to have a blonde in my life who is the Maya to my Riley. It has always been us against the world.

I can only hope that another network, such as Netflix or Hulu continue the series (not just pick up the next season as the show ends). Riley's world had just begun and if something happens to where the show is over for good, I hope that in my writing, I continue to tell a story you all approve of.

Thank you,

Amanda - Blue Eyed Pandas

GO TO MY PROFILE FOR THE LINK TO THE PETITION TO MOVE GMW TO NETFLIX!

WE ALSO NEED TO EMAIL DISNEY ABOUT RELEASING THE RIGHTS OF GMW TO NETFLIX!


Sense and Sensibility

Summary: How does living with your best friends affect the way you see one another? Join the lives of the original trio and how they are to face the many challenges in meeting the real world.

Word Count: 7,371

Previously on S & S:

He had just got out of the shower, and put his basketball shorts on, heading for the drawer in his room to grab a t-shirt when he heard a door slam downstairs. He ran down the steps t-shirt in hand and into Riley room to find the bathroom door closed. He knocked before opening the door. The dreadful look on Riley's face made his heart clench. "I think there was something more than just alcohol in what I was drinking," she said.

She was still wearing her dress. So he handed her his NASA t-shirt. "Why don't you get into something more comfortable and I make you something to eat. It might help."

After a minute of thinking, she nodded, taking the t-shirt gratefully. He made his way out of the room and into the kitchen. The sound of her throwing up again made him feel terrible.

This was going to be a long night.


Chapter 4: I't Time to ...

Josh

It had been two weeks since the party, and Josh had a full schedule. Traveling with the company was an awesome experience. Being able to go to different places around the US and not just work, but to visit and explore was fun, but he only wished Maya could go with him. He understood that that she had a full schedule of classes and probably wouldn't be able to do much outside the city until the majority of her credits were out of the way.

Josh was sitting on the plane from Seattle waiting to take off talking to his girlfriend on the phone. "I get off late so we can hang out tomorrow? I know you said you didn't work or have class, and I don't work so we'll be able to spend the whole day together," he said, while glancing down the aisle for Dave, his partner in crime.

She sighed on the other line, and he hoped that everything was alright. "I would love to spend the whole day with you, but I told my mom that I would watch Liv tomorrow morning while Cassidy is at school."

"Cassidy?" He asked, when he spotted the blond man about twelve rows up, flirting with the red-headed flight attendant.

He could hear Maya chewing what ever she was eating. "The girl who lives right down the hall from my parents. She's a high schooler who has a babysitting job on the side. So I'll be at my parents till she gets off." Josh moved over to the window seat for a couple to sit next to one another. "You know, you could come over and hang out while I babysit."

"Babysitting?" Josh asked. "A three month old?" He wasn't sure about this. Yes, he could understand why Maya was watching her little sister until the babysitter returned, but why she had asked him to tag along. This was definitely more of Riley's thing.

She laughed. "Josh come hang out and watch movies while I make sure she's eating and gets cleaned up," her tone made Josh swore he could picture her bottom lip curled into a pout, and the thought of that brought a smirk to his face. "Please? I could use some company." He thought about it, and before he could say anything she added, "Your company."

Well, he couldn't say no to that. "Okay."

"Really?"

He nodded, though she couldn't see him. "Really." The flight attendant motioned for him to put his phone away. "Okay, I've got to turn my phone off for the take-off."

"Okay, be safe Babe, I l-'ll see you when you get here," the quickly change of her words and flustered tone made his heart rate pick up. She almost said the words, and he couldn't help but smile like an idiot.

He chuckled. "I'll see you soon, Gorgeous." And the conversation ended.


Riley

The brunette ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to listen to what the professor had to say, but nothing was sticking. Everything was going in one ear and out the other. Her mind was boggled with so much, she couldn't keep up with herself. Between trying to work things out with Lucas, that was going just about as great as hanging by their fingertips on the edge of a cliff, and keeping up with her school assignments and projects, midterm papers and exams, Riley had just barely enough time to breathe and much less eat.

She could feel the back of her head being stared at by the creep Dillon who was still attempting to talk to her. The young man's intense stares and uneasy vibe made Riley feel slightly uncomfortable. His attempt to get her to leave with him at the party freaked her out, considering she barely remembered the interaction, and knowing how nice and accepting she was of people, probably would have let him lead her into a situation she couldn't get herself out of. There was a time in the last few days, she felt the need to keep looking over her shoulder as she walked to the subway that took her to the Upper East Side where she lived. She hoped to God that he didn't know where she had lived. That thought was enough to almost drive her to panic.

The professor dismissed the class, and Riley moved to her next. Before entering the classroom, she noticed a sign on the door that stated class had been cancelled for the day. Her heart soared, knowing that she could actually take one full afternoon to go home and relax and do what she needed to do, which was something she rarely did. She had asked her mom specifically for the afternoon off in order to catch up on some assignments due online, and to work on her term project that was due before Thanksgiving break in one month. She only had a quarter of the project finished. Her life was madness.

On her way out of the building she passed a group of people standing by the entrance hall. Amongst them was Dillon and she avoided eye contact and prayed he didn't see her as she walked out the door. She was only about 100 yards away when she had the nagging feeling to look over her shoulder. There he was quickly looking to the ground, and slowly following her trail. She looked back towards the front, and tried to decided where to go next. Have you ever felt that panic rise from the pit of your stomach to your chest, causing your brain to blank on the endless possibilities of what your next move is? This was how Riley felt.

She made a beeline for Broadway, thinking that if she lost him in the crowd of people on the street, and got on the subway from the station on the other side or further enough away to hail a taxi without him getting in with her, he would stop following her. Glancing back again, he was closer this time, and heart heart started rapidly beating. What could he possibly want with her? What was so special about her that he chose her to stalk? This wasn't good at all.

Just get to the street. Get to a crowded place, she told herself. She was approaching the gate that would lead her out onto Broadway, and he was gaining on her. Just as she rounded the corner, she ran into someone, who immediately caught her shoulders. Looking up, she stared at the green orbs that used to make her heart flutter in joy. "Lucas?" She tried to find the words to say but all she could think of was his name.

He smiled slightly. "Hey, I didn't think you'd be out for another hour. I was going to surprise you." He scratched the back of his head. They had only spoken the night before. She had wanted to have a serious conversation with him, but they kept getting interrupted. Now he was here, standing in front of her, and she was confused all over again.

She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his torso, and he hugged her back softly, said he was trying his best not to break her. "My class was cancelled. I was on my way home." Things were definitely not the same anymore, and the panic feeling in her stomach tuned into a knot that rose to her throat. Why couldn't things just be normal for once?

He pulled away, but still kept her close. "Well, I was thinking we could get lunch."

"Why didn't you tell me last night that you were going to be in New York?" She asked, ignoring his statement. Riley racked her memory for any mention of this conversation.

"Like I said, I wanted to surprise you. But, I'm also helping my parents this weekend move the rest of their things down to Texas." Oh. That's right. The move back. It was the knowing that he won't be linked to the city anymore by blood. His life was definite in Texas. "Something was bothering you though," he stated, "just before you ran into me."

Riley's head whipped back to behind her and Dillon was no longer in sight. Her nerves calmed, and her eyes met his again. "It's nothing. I just . . . let's get lunch. Then I have to do homework."

Things were beginning to seem normal during lunch. They ate pizza and talked about anything other than the problems they were having. Not that they were huge problems, because they weren't. They just seemed to be arguing more often than being the couple they were. Riley thought it was because of the stress in their lives outside of their relationship, and how more than often, they would go days without having a normal conversation, and when one did have time to talk, they would argue because the other would be caught up doing something else.

They also missed each other. Well, Riley knew she missed Lucas. She missed him being there, not because he was her boyfriend, but because they were friends before they dated, and even then, he was one of her favorite people to talk to. She also believed they were both scared. That's why the dreading conversation was hanging in the air, over their heads, but no words were to reach their tongues about it. Scared because splitting might mean saying goodbye, though that was the last thing either wanted. Riley also had the fear of being alone. For the last four years (pretty stinking close to it), she had the label of being someone's girlfriend, and in the beginning, she swore she was in love with him. But now, she knows that she loves him, but she wasn't sure about the "in love" part. There was a connection that they had that just didn't seem like it was surfacing anymore. And she hadn't felt the connection in a long time.

"So how's everyone else?" He asked, taking a bite of his meat lovers.

Riley tore a piece of pepperoni off her own plate. "Um, Maya is busy everyday with school, and when she's not, she's working at A1, continuing her projects, and spending time with Josh. Farkle has a lighter schedule, knowing that he took most of his classes through duel enrollment. He can't begin his full program until next fall because he wasn't quite finished with the pre-reqs in time, so he's been taking some extra elective classes along with the last class he needed to sign up for the program. My parents are busy as usual. My dad is missing us in class, but he has a good group of students. My mom has three cases this month and she's about to explode. And Auggie has fall baseball so that's pretty cool." Her talking fast was not uncommon. In fact, it was normal, but Lucas's face seemed knowing at why she was act this intense.

They stared at each other for a while, munch on their plates. Riley knew deep down of what this weekend would eventually come to, but was it possible she could delay it from happening right at this moment? "Um, so maybe we could do something tonight, just us." His lip quirked up into a smirk. "I have to get few things done for school this afternoon, and I know that you are helping your parents pack."

He nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'd love to do something tonight."

And so the wait begins.

Maya and Josh

She arrived at her parents house in the early morning. She had offered to watch Olivia while her mom spent some time with Shawn. They rarely had time to spend the day together, and since their oldest daughter didn't have work or class, she was happy to take care of her little sibling.

Three months old and little Livvy was about the cutest baby girl she had seen. Her fuzzy head was of dark hair, her round cheeks were the most kissable, and a button nose Maya loved to bop when she played with her. When the baby's eyes were opened, Maya could see the little blue in them. Her mom had said they reminded her of when Maya was little. Katy had dressed her in her Daddy's Girl onesie, which was slightly too big for her because she was still so small.

She cradled her in her arms, soothing her back into a slumber, knowing that once she was asleep again, Maya would be able to set her down in her bassinet, and do her own thing until she woke up again.

An hour had went by and the clock ticked 7 AM. Shawn had sent her a few messages, reminding Maya of where she needed to find everything even though she knew where it all was. She loved seeing Shawn so protective and father like. It was her favorite quality about him. He had taken her in as his own, and since he officially adopted her she was never hesitant to call him Dad. Her eyes ventured down to the little one who was fast asleep once again. Her heart was full, knowing that Liv wouldn't have to grow up the way Maya did. She would know every single detail about her father, and have no doubt he would be there for her every single day.

A knock on the door, and the blonde smiled. She lightly placed her sister back into her bassinet and ran to the entrance of the apartment. Her guest quickly came in and set the coffee and donuts down, which allowed Maya room to practically jump into her boyfriend's arms. Even though it had only been a week and a half, that was still a lot of time they had been apart. Normally she would see him at least for maybe a couple hours all together if they had a busy week, but him flying all the way to Seattle for the company was a far distance in which they had to plan an exact time to talk to each other due to the time difference.

Being as small as she was compared to Josh, she wrapped her legs around him, and his strong arms held her up in place. Did she mention how much she loved the difference in height? Her lips first met his cheek before they reached his lips. "A week and a half is too long. I really missed you this last weekend."

He kissed her again. "I know. Dave ditched me on Friday after work to for some brunette he met at the museum, and Saturday for the Gala, I really wished you were there. I know you would have loved to see the exhibit. I think my curator team did an awesome job this time. The event was super successful."

"I want to go next time," she pouted, sticking her lip out.

His eyes read sympathy, knowing that he knew how much she wanted to be there for every event he went to. "Well, next time I go off for a few days and you don't have a test, you are more then welcome to join me."

"Good," she pecked his lips, as he set her back down on the floor. She went to grab the coffee and donuts while he sat down on the couch by the bassinet, looking at the little girl inside. Maya handed him his coffee and sat down beside him, setting the box of donuts on the coffee table.

They watched television and made small talk conversation while eating their breakfast as Liv slept peacefully. "So, what happens when she wakes up?" Josh asked.

"I'll give her a bottle and rock her. It's not as hard as you think. She's a good baby too, so she's not one to cry much. The only time she does that is when there's too much noise or she needs a diaper change," Maya took a bite out of her powered sugar donut, then leaned over to check on her sister.

About an hour went by before Liv woke up, hungry for food. Josh watched as Maya picked up her little sister, carefully cradling her in her arms, as she went to retrieve the bottle on the counter.

He was amazed at how Maya was caring for such a little human being. She was so sweet and nurturing as a big sister, he could only imagine how she was going to be as a mother of her own. He blinked, looking away. That was something he shouldn't be thinking of at the moment. Not that it was bad to think of her as a mother one day, but it's still early into their relationship, and his only thought was that he couldn't imagine her having that lifestyle with anyone else. Shawn would kill him if he knew this.

Liv was over half-way into her bottle when Maya looked at him urgently. "Could you hold her while I use the bathroom?"

His eyes widened. "Um, how—?" He motioned with his hands. Truth be told, he had never really held a baby this small before.

"Sit down," Maya demanded, and he did as he was told. She slowly placed her sister in his arms. "Make sure her head is propped up, and the bottle is tilted this way, otherwise no milk will come out." After making sure he was stable with her, she ran for the bathroom.

Josh had no idea if he was doing this right. The little bundle was so small, he was afraid he might crush her if his grip was too hard, but he was also afraid she might fall if he didn't hold tight enough. After a few minutes of getting used to her, he examined her face, and saw the perfect combination between Shawn and Katy both. She was by no doubt gonna be a cute kid.

Once done with her bottle she started to get fidgety and he panicked slightly, trying to think of what to do. The only thing that came to mind was to rock her back and forth. While that helped, she was still on the verge of tears. Josh found himself beginning to hum the tune of some song he forgot the name of. As he became a tad louder, the whining stopped, and all little Liv could do was stare in the direction of where the sound was coming from.

On the other side of the apartment, Maya was just getting out of the restroom. She shook her head thinking about how her time of the month wasn't supposed to come until three days from now, but she should have been more prepared. In this last year, her cycle was less regulated and more out of control. Her mother had some suggestions about this, and Maya had yet to make an appointment.

Once she made her way out of the hall and into the kitchen, she could hear someone singing. She smiled slightly, making her way forward, stopping in the archway between the living room and kitchen, watching Josh rock her little sister humming a tune of an old song.

Giving her to him was something Maya wasn't sure about at first, because she knew he had never held a baby her size before, but her using the bathroom was an emergency, and if he was sitting down while holding her, she felt much better leaving the room for a few minutes.

But now, as she stared at him rocking Liv, Maya couldn't help but marvel at how good he was at this. The first time Maya had watched her sister for a couple hours, were the most stressful minutes she had experienced, because she had no idea what to expect and do by herself with a baby. Josh was doing way better in the ten minutes he was holding her than Maya did the whole two hours her mother was away that day. Then again, Liv was also three weeks old then.

Josh hadn't noticed Maya standing there yet, and she hoped that she could witness what was going on just a little while longer before he did. She let her mind wander about the possibilities, and too soon he looked up and his eyes met hers. "What are you thinking?" He questioned.

"What?" She asked, not catching what he said.

He smirked. "You're giving me a look. What are you thinking about?"

The corners of her lips quirked up into a smile. "You don't want to know what I'm thinking." She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him what was going through her head. She wasn't sure if they were ready for that.

"Maya, I always want to know what your thinking. That's what helps us understand each other." She hadn't realized that she was getting closer to him, until she sat right next to him on the couch.

She licked her lips and tried to find the correct words. "I was just thinking . . . you're good with her. It's easier than you thought isn't it?" Maybe she could redirect the subject.

He nodded. "Yeah, it's probably not always easy for your parents, but at this age, they seem to sleep all the time." He looked back at her. "But that's not what you were thinking." Damn. He knew her too well now. She should have known that he was going to see right through her. How could she think he wouldn't?

"I was just thinking . . . you are going to be a great father to your kids someday." Okay, that definitely came out wrong.

His eye squinted and he studied her face for a few moments. "You say that as if they're just my kids and not yours too . . ." The statement made her freeze in her place. Oh no, she thought. Does he believe I doesn't see him in that way? She was searching for the words to say but nothing was coming out. Josh placed Liv in the bassinet, then faced his panicked looking girlfriend. "Maya, is there something you're not telling me?"

"What?" the word came out as quickly as it rolled of her lips. "No, I'm just . . . Uh . . . just don't . . ." instead of looking everywhere but him, her eyes met his. "I just don't want you to think that I'm thinking about this, this early on in our relationship. Because the last thing I want to do is scare you away." At the las comment, he started chuckling, and she was confused all over again.

He turned to face her and smiled. "Maya, you're not going to scare me away. I can promise you that." He reached to grab her hands. "I'm right here and no matter what you say, it's not going to drive me away."

She pursed her lips. "It's not that I don't ever want to think about it, because I do, but I know we're not ready for that."

He nodded, pulling her to wrap his arm around her. "You're right. We're not ready for that . . . yet. Just because we're not ready now, doesn't mean we never will be. And it's not a crime to think about the future now, as long as we're smart and wait for the future to come to us." He looked down to already find her staring at him. "I want you to know that us dating isn't something that I look at as temporary. Because you mean so much more to me than you know. When I look at you, I can see my whole future."

That was the moment she knew. Wherever life decided she was going to go, she knew she wanted Josh to be the one standing next to her. "I love you," the words were quiet and she blinked, realizing that she actually said that aloud.

He smiled bashfully, his cheeks Turing bright red, but he never looked away from her. "You almost said that on the phone last night." He caught that? Then again, she wasn't that good at playing it off.

"I felt it would be better saying it in person," she stated, her heart dropping the moment he didn't reciprocate the words.

She stood up, and made her way towards the kitchen, but before she could get there, she felt him grab her arm and spin her around to face him. Maya felt her back against the wall and he inched closer to her. Her heart rate picked up and just before his lips touched hers the three little words rolled right off his tongue. "I love you too."

Her arms slinked up around his neck, while his wrapped around her waist. Their lips moved in harmony and a little thought in the back of her mind told her that they shouldn't be making out in her parents living room with her sister sleeping, but the other part of her brain simply did not care. She loved him and he loved her. But as the universe always works, there was a knock at the door, which caused Maya to groan in frustration, as this normally happened when her and Josh were having a good moment.

They parted from one another slowly, and she made her way over to the door. Opening it, Farkle Minkus barged in. "Okay, come in . . ." Maya said, but her demeanor changed once seeing the alert look on her best friends face. "Farkle, what's wrong."

"Lucas is in town," he said.

Maya blinked. "What?" Riley never told her that Lucas was going to be in town. "What do you mean Lucas is in town?"

"He's here in New York, because his parents are moving back to Texas and he's helping them." He paced the floor in the living room, keeping his voice low enough due to Liv sleeping. "You and I both know what's going to happen before he leaves."

It was inevitable. Maya knew that. "You don't think that she would actually go through with it, do you?"

"If she doesn't, he will." What did he just say?

Josh stepped between them. "You mean Lucas is going to break things off officially?"

Maya's stomach dropped. "If hurts my girl, I'm gonna go all pounding on his ass."

"Maya . . ." Josh warned.

"No, Farkle what do you mean by 'he will.' Has he said something to you?"

The genius shook his head. "No, but Zay and I talk, and he told me that Lucas has been thinking about breaking things off." He put his hands up. "Not because he doesn't care anymore, but because their hearts are in two different places right now. He's afraid. I'm just stopping by, because you and I have been anticipating this, and we need to make sure that we're okay with Lucas, but we're still there for Riley too, because we know how she's going to react, even if she was the one to break things off herself."

"I just don't know if that's really what she wants," Maya stated.

Farkle's head dropped. "But it is." Maya looked up at him. "I was there two weeks ago. After the party when you guy went back to your place," he pointed at Josh, "Riley felt terrible, and she was sick, and it wasn't that she had too much to drink, but that she felt guilty about why she went out in the first place. I knew that she would feel that way. But then she was angry, because of how she felt. She's tired of feeling this way towards him, because right now it's not love, it's resentment. It hurts her to feel like that towards him, because all she ever did was love him. But she's still Riley, who is going to be heartbroken, and you I are going to be picking up the pieces."

It saddened Maya to know that Farkle knew more about how Riley felt than she did. Maybe this needs to happen. Riley hadn't been happy in along time, and she needs to find that happiness again. Maya couldn't imagine how Riley felt looking at her and Josh together, that must be really hard for her to watch.

"Okay," Maya said. "When do you think this will happen?"

He shrugged. "They're at lunch right now, but Riley texted me, saying that they were going to do dinner tonight. She had some homework to do and he was going to help his mom finish packing the truck. Apparently they leave tomorrow morning."

"So this is definitely going to be happening tonight," she stated, looking at Josh for unspoken support. He reached over to grab her hand. There was nothing that could be said to stop the hurt in her heart for her best friend.

This was going to be a long day.


Riley

She tried. She really did. Trying to focus on her school work was the hardest things to do today. All she could think about was how Lucas would be here to pick her up in an hour and she had no idea what to expect. All she knew was that tonight was going to be a night she wanted to be over with as soon as possible, but also a night that she wanted to last forever, just so they couldn't reach the inevitable decision.

She dressed warm, but casual, knowing that they weren't going to be going anywhere fancy this evening. She heard the doorbell and she walked over to grab her bag. Riley opened her door and walked out to find Lucas having a conversation with Farkle in the kitchen. The genius looked over at her and smiled, before giving Lucas a fist bump. "As Maya would say, take of her," he said, before looking at Riley. "Have fun." He made his way up the steps to his room.

The two college kids made their way out onto the streets of the city. It was nice and cool, but not shivering cold just yet. The silence was comfortable, but she could feel the tension between them. Aside from earlier today, it had been a long while since they held a conversation in person. "So how was homework?" He asked.

"To be honest, I couldn't really concentrate today." Her brown eyes looked over to meets his green ones. He nodded in understanding. "What are we doing this evening? You never told me exactly what we were up to."

He shrugged. "I thought that we could go to Guy's. I missed eating there." She smiled. That was his favorite restaurant to eat here in New York.

"I actually haven't been to Guy's since I went with you the last time," she mentioned. "Sounds delicious." Once on 5th Avenue, Lucas hailed a taxi.

The ride took longer than normal because it was during a rush hour of traffic, and not to mention going down those one way streets. Arriving at their destination, Lucas payed the driver before Riley could reach her bag. He was always the gentleman, even opening the front door of the restaurant for her. He was also smart by making a reservation ahead of time, because they walked in and were seated immediately.

After their waitress grabbed their drinks and food orders, Lucas looked at Riley from across the booth. "So what was bothering you earlier before you ran into me? You waved it off like it was nothing, but I know it was something."

She shrugged. "It was nothing. I honestly think I was imagining it." He waited for more response. "There is this creep in my class. His name is Dillon, and I think he likes me. Well, I want to assume so, since he's hinted several times, but he won't take a hint that I'm not interested or available," she half smiled.

He chuckled. "So you think he's following you?"

"I thought so, but as soon as you showed up I couldn't see him anymore. That's why I think I was imagining it." Riley had no idea if he was really following her. It might've been a guy that looked like him, but she was so sure. Maybe she was just paranoid at the situation.

"If he continues to bother you, let me know. I'll gladly give him a call, since I won't be here. And if anything serious is happening, please go to authorities," he said sincerely. She nodded, letting him know that she would. But it couldn't be that terrible, could it? I mean, those things only happen in the movies right? She thought.

They continued to make small talk. He mentioned how he was able to walk on his ankle, but the doctor hadn't cleared him to play ball just yet. His Pappy-Joe was helping his dad with all the heavy lifting of the furniture, while Lucas only helped his mom with the small stuff. He was mainly there to be an extra driver of one of the vehicles, since his family had two of them.

"It's going to be different not having your mom and dad here," Riley mentioned, trying not to get worked up. She had built a relationship with his parents (more so his mother), and it was going to be strange to know that she wouldn't be able to walk into the Friar house and smell fresh sugar cookies made, or see his two dogs that would tackle Riley every time she entered the house. She had felt slightly guilty that she hadn't seen Mrs. Carol in a few weeks.

Lucas bit his lower lip. "Yeah, it's strange to think they are going back to the same house I grew up in."

"Really?" She asked. "The one house you showed all of us when we were in Texas in the eighth grade?"

He nodded. "That's the one. Pappy-Joe and few of his friends remodeled it, so it looks a lot different then it did before when you saw it." He licked his lips. "But I won't be living there. I'm still on Campus. How's living with Maya and Farkle though? I feel like I'm about to strangle Charlie."

Riley giggled. "Um, well I don't want to strangle them so I think we're doing pretty good. In all honesty, we're all so busy that we don't really see each other that long to get on each others nerves. Since Maya and I have separate jobs and school life, we only get to see each other right before we go to sleep sometimes. I see Farkle more than her sometimes, but that's because we go to the same school and have a similar school schedule. Living with them is fun. We all get along, and we have freedom."

"And how are you dealing with Maya and Josh?" He asked.

She shrugged and smiled. "I'm really happy for them. They're really really happy together, and that's all I ever want for them. It's not awkward anymore. It's actually really cute seeing them interact."

"That's good." He stated as the food came to them. They didn't say much while they ate. Then again, it was Guy's food, so there wasn't much room for them to talk anyway, other than stuff their faces.

Riley's Mac and Cheese Burger was huge and so amazingly delicious. Lucas had the ribs, which Riley found herself stealing one off his plate, with he never minded. The date seemed over all normal, and they found themselves back into the same routine as they were before he left the city.

After they were done eating, they slowly made their way out of the restaurant. His mom had texted him sometime in the last hour telling him he shouldn't be home late due to the fact they would be heading out super early in the morning. Riley understood that. They had a long drive.

On the walk back, he grabbed her hand. Their fingers intertwined like it was muscle memory, but something about this felt different. It wasn't that feeling that she used to feel. It was more friendly, rather than romantic. She needed to say something, but when she began to speak, he did too. They laughed awkwardly. "You first," she said.

He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," the first words he spoke and she instantly wanted to wrap her arms around him in a hug, but she waited for him to continue. "I'm sorry for everything that has happened in these last few months we've been apart. I was acting dumb and immature, and you deserve so much better than that. Long distance is a lot harder than we thought it was going to be."

She nodded. "I know, and it's okay to have dumb moments. We all do sometimes. I have to admit, Maya has been more pissed off at you that I have over all but, I think what has been bothering me most is that I don't know how I feel anymore." She squeezed his hand and looked at him, but his facial expression was the same. They were both confused. "I know that I will always care for you, but this distance that we've had, I think the universe is trying to tell us something."

"At first I didn't want to believe it," he shook his head. "For so long it's been you and me, and how people tell me that I'm not going to get anyone better than you, and they're probably right. You have been the best girlfriend any guy could have and I've been so lucky to call you that." They stared at each other for a while. "You're right though, and I feel the same. I too will always care for you, but we haven't been the same in a long time, and I have not been fair to you to hold you back from doing great things." His thumb slid crossed hers. "I'm scared though."

Riley inhaled at the thought. "Me too. You are my first love, my first almost everything, and I'm afraid I won't find that again." She looked at him. "Is that why you're scared?" He nodded.

"I don't want to lose you entirely either." He met her eyes. "Before you were my girlfriend, you were one of my best friends. I wouldn't be the person I am today because of you, and I have worked my ass off these last few months to not give into so much crap that should be really easy for me to decline, but it's hard."

Of course it's hard, but he had troubles with will power and he knew it. She stopped on the sidewalk and turned to face him. She wanted to look at his face as she said this, but she needed to. "This is going to be really hard for me to say, because I've tried to play this all in my head a thousand times, and every single time, the outcome was terrible, but I need to say it. I want a break from this. I care about you too much, and I don't want this to continue to the point of me not caring about you anymore. You know that I have a guilty conscious and if I do the slightest thing, even if it isn't considered rebelling, but I take it in that way, I get sick to my stomach. I have felt angry and confused because I know that there will always be something there, because you're my first love, but I don't want to be angry with you like I have these last few weeks. I don't want this to continue if all I'm ever going to feel for in the long run is resentment." At this point, she had a couple tears streaming down her face, but she still held on to his hand.

He never let go either, and she could see tears forming in the ducts of his eyes. "I know. It's my fault. I caused this in the first place. I should have never pushed you six months ago, when you warned me that this could happen. I shouldn't have let my personal fears be the reason I dragged you down. I pushed you away, even though that was the last thing I ever wanted. I'm so sorry." With his other hand, he reached out to wipe away the tears on her cheek. "Please forgive me."

She looked up at him and deep down she knew that she couldn't be super angry with him, because if she was smart, she would have had another discussion with him, before this got too far out of hand. But that's what happens when you're confused and don't know what to do. Not being able to find the words, she stepped forward to hug him. He held her for a few moments, as she gained her composure to continue walking forward towards her house.

"I still want to talk to you," she said. "Please don't stop that."

He nodded. "Of course. I don't think I could ever stop talking to any of you." She could hear him gulp. "I know Maya has been pissed off at me for a while. She hasn't texted me in weeks."

"Yeah, well I'll try my best to tell her this was mutual, but she has her own way of dealing with things," Riley stated, knowing that Maya was probably going to go off on him no matter what she said.

They stopped in front of the house. "I'm fully aware of how Maya handles things." He turned to look at her, and she hoped that this wouldn't be the last time she saw him. And as if he was reading her mind, he said, "you'll see me again. I promise."

Riley didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she stood on her tippy-toes and gave him one last goodbye kiss. Though there was no spark like there used to be, it was still nice, and she was glad to end the night on a bitter-sweet note. "Be careful on your drive home. Let us know when you get there safely."

"I will," he gave her one last bear hug and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight Riles."

"Goodnight," the words left her mouth as he watched her go inside.

Just as she closed the door behind her, she placed her back against the door, and all of the feelings buried in the pit of her stomach rose. A mixture of hurt, anger, confusion, and relief poured out. All she did was cry silently at the door, sliding down to hug her knees.

Not soon after, there was someone else down beside her. He didn't say anything, but all he did was help her stand back up again, and she fell into him needing to hold onto something. Someone. After a few minutes, she gained some composure and dignity. Farkle looked so hurt watching her. She didn't want him to feel sorry for her.

"Do we have ice cream?" She asked.

He gave her a small smile. "You go get changed and I'll be upstairs with a pint and Harry Potter ready." She couldn't be more grateful for him. "Maya said she'll be home in about an hour. She and Josh grabbed a bite to eat." Riley nodded, heading to her room to change into a much more comfortable outfit.

Looking at herself in the mirror before leaving the room, she gave herself a mental pep-talk. She was a free woman now. She was going to be strong and independent. She was going to make the grades she deserved and do stuff to make her happy. She wasn't living for anyone else, and though she knew it was going to be hard these next couple of weeks, she wasn't going to let that get in the way of her being happy.

She hoped that one day in the future, things will be back to normal for her and Lucas entirely. She had hope that they would be good friends again, just like before. Cleaning herself up, she was ready for a movie marathon with Farkle.

Five days till Halloween. Then it'll be November. She was determined to start the month of being thankful with a clean slate.


A/N: I'm so sorry this has taken me so long to get up to you. I have been so busy these last two weeks with all of the holiday festivities and the preparing for my semester of classes, which I was on the waiting list for two of them, and ended up in both unexpectedly, so I had to rush to my first day of class, without books or being completely prepared, so that was fun. But now I have more classes than I thought, so I'm sorry if I get behind or sloppy with my writing at times.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was really hard for me to write the split between Riley and Lucas. I wanted it to be super confusing for a reason, because they are both super confused about their feelings and I wanted to show that in their break-up. I'm a fan of all the ships. I really am. There are aspects of different ships that I like a tad more, but I do have a soft spot for every single ship. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!


Preview to next Chapter:

"Are you sure you're okay, Riles?" Maya asked. When the brunette nodded, the blond looked up at Farkle as if she expected him to say something, but there was nothing that could be said. He had already asked his questions.