Avery's POV
I woke up the next morning dreading to go to school. I didn't want to see Lucas/Wes. I didn't want to see him enjoying his new better life without me. I tried to convince mom that I was sick, but it didn't sell. I got out of bed and got dressed. On the way we saw the group walking to school, I told Tyler to slow down for a moment. I saw that Riley and Lucas were holding hands and they were laughing and then they noticed the car going slow by them. And then Maya said something and struck a pose at the car and they all burst out laughing. I told him to speed up again and I looked out my window. A tear rolled down my cheek, but I quickly brushed it away when we got to the school. I stopped by really quickly at my locker and grabbed my books and then I made my way to class. I took a seat in the back row and stuffed my face into a book. I heard laughter and saw Riley and Maya enter. They sat down and Maya whispered something to Riley that made her snort with laughter and they both looked back at me. I glanced up and narrowed my eyes at them. They looked back at each other, Maya looked at Riley with a 'what was that about' face and Riley just shrugged. Farkle came in and glanced back at me and gave me a small smile, then he continued to talk to Riley and Maya. Then Lucas came in. I glanced up from my book. I had a small smile on my face, but he didn't even look at me. He just started talking and laughing. I was boiling mad at this point. I just continued to give him the death glare behind his back. I noticed Riley was looking at me so I turned back to my book. The class was different today. No one seemed to participate except for the four in the front. Farkle then got up and made a grand show of his four hundredth A. When the bell rang they all got up and walked out. I could hear bits of their conversation as I walked out. "…Topanga's after school." They all agreed. "…If ranger rick and you don't … anything later." Lucas said something that I didn't hear, something like. "What would we be doing?" Maya just smirked and puckered her lips a little. My eyes widened when I realized what she meant. I sped up and walked past them. I headed to the library. My safe place. Or so I thought, before Riley and Lucas walked in five minutes later. He pulled the door open for her, bowed and said something that made her giggle. She curtsied and said something back as they entered. They walked over to a table in the back and sat down. They studied for a while and then they got up and left as the bell rang. They headed out the door and I paused. I wasn't sure if they would want me to sit with them again. I mean I didn't want to sit there either. But it was better than sitting by myself in a bathroom stall, so I walked to the lunch room. I got my lunch, which was spaghetti and meatballs and a soda and searched for a place to sit. I saw Farkle wave me over smiling. Riley and Lucas were sitting with their backs to me. I walked over to the table and my foot got caught on a chair. I stumbled and ran into someone and got knocked aside. My tray contents slid off of my tray and onto Riley's head. She gasped when she got covered head to toe with spaghetti sauce and cherry coca cola. "OH MY GOD! I AM SO SORRY!" She didn't say anything, she just stood up slowly and walked out. She didn't even look at me. Maya looked at me and then jumped up after Riley. Followed by Lucas and then Farkle. Who just looked at me sadly and then ran after his friends. I was seriously considering the stall now, but Riley would probably be in there cleaning off. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around. I faced a girl with long brown hair and a lot of makeup on. Kind of like the exact girls that I try to avoid. "That was pretty funny what you just did to Riley." I scoffed and stared at her. "I didn't mean to." "OH, don't be sorry! I can't stand her and her little friends of hers. I'm Missy by the way, Missy Bradford. Anyways, we would like to invite you to sit with us." She gestured to a table with a group of girls who looked just like her. I kind of was shocked. "Um, no thanks. I should probably go check on her." I spun on my heel and ran out the door before she could say another word. I found Lucas and Farkle outside of the girl's bathroom. They were trying to convince Riley to come out. I could hear water running and I heard Riley crying in the bathroom. Farkle noticed me. "Hey Avery. Look, I don't really think that this is the best time to…" "Look, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to! I am just a big klutz. I tripped over a chair and then ran into someone and then my tray tipped over. I am REALLY sorry Riley." There wasn't a reply from the bathroom for a minute. "It's ok. I mean I understand. My inner klutz can come out at the worst times too." She came out a few minutes later. Apparently she and Maya had been washing her hair. She gave me a small smile before heading to class with Maya. I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding in. Geez, who knew new schools could be so complicated.
I entered Topanga's around four o clock later that day and saw the foursome in a group of chairs near the doorway talking to a short brunette woman. "Thanks Mom." I heard Riley say and then the lady went back around the counter. And started talking to a blonde woman. "MOM MAKE SURE TO GIVE ME EXTRA WHIPPED CREAM!" Maya yelled. Mom? But Riley just called… "Sure thing baby girl." The blonde woman called. Just my luck.
I got up and walked out the door. Once I got outside I felt someone grab my arm. "Avery… Hey. We need to talk." I stared into the green eyes that once made my stomach flip upside down. "Oh, so NOW you want to talk?" "Please, Avery. I have to get this off my chest." I sighed and sat down at the table outside of the café. I gestured for him to sit down. He then started to tell me the whole story that he told the group the other day. "So, you regret that we ever dated?" "What, no! I regret how I was when we dated. It was fun. We had fun. I didn't want to ruin that. I know that you're probably really mad at me but…" Before I even knew what I was doing I grabbed him and kissed him. I heard a gasp at the doorway and I saw Riley. She stood there with two coffee cups in her hand. "Riley…" Lucas' eyes widened when he noticed her. She dropped the coffee cups and ran up the steps. "RILEY!" He yelled running after her. I noticed that Maya was standing in the doorway with Farkle behind her. She looked from me to Lucas who was already climbing up the fire escape to Riley's apartment. "Oh, what did you do now?" She sighed before running up the steps and crossing the street to the fire escape. Farkle, just looked at me and shook his head before joining his friends at Riley's window. I could hear Maya shouting at Lucas from here. And I heard Farkle climbing up and attempting to calm her down. All I could hear was. "THE BAY WINDOW IS LOCKED! LOCKED! AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" I could hear the fire escape bang as Maya attempted to attack Lucas but Farkle stopped her. I heard it all, but I didn't see it. I was on the ground leaning against the wall sobbing.
