A/N: Hello again! I hope everyone had a blessed first day of Christmas. Here's the next chapter for you guys. Enjoy!
Like nearly every other day, both Maya and Riley entered the hallways of John Quincy Adams side by side. This time, nothing was being said between the two friends, which was what Riley needed at the moment. As much as she wanted to be able to talk to someone about how she was feeling, she loved having this time with Maya. Maya already knew, so just being able to spend time with her helped Riley a little.
It may have helped Riley to a point; however, Maya wished she could do more. It hurt her to see her best friend in so much pain. Why people would hurt a caring person like Riley was beyond her comprehension. Bullies she understood. They were either jealous or wanted to feel higher up on the social ladder. She could take care of them easily. These people however were not bullies… they acted like Riley's friends and often spoke of including her, but never fulfilled their words. All they ever spoke of was empty promises and hurtful words, and they didn't know what it did to Riley, nor did they care. What were those people called? Did they even have a label? Fake friends? Maya figured that fake friends would at least try to make it appear that they wanted to include Riley, as in inviting her to events that she would actually attend. So did these people deserve that label? Maya thought it was far too lenient for them.
There were several times when Maya wanted to take care of them, but Riley didn't want her to do anything like that. "What good would it do to fight fire with fire?" Maya recalled her best friend saying. What Riley said was true, but Maya still wanted them to feel something for what they were doing to her.
The two friends walked to their lockers and started to grab the books that they needed for the day, but Riley nearly dropped everything she had in her arms thanks to Farkle shouting, "Maya! Riley!" as he rushed towards them.
"Farkle!" she yelled as she caught her books. "Could you please not do that?"
Farkle cringed a bit as a couple of his nerdy friends came up behind him. "Sorry Riley, I didn't mean to startle you like that," he apologized to her. Sometimes he let his excitement get ahead of himself. "Did you guys know that there's a new student here? Apparently he started yesterday; did either of you two see him?"
Riley and Maya looked at each other and gave one another a confused expression, then they both looked back at Farkle. "Nope, neither of us have seen anyone lately."
"I've had my mind on other things lately," Riley mumbled, barely loud enough for anyone to hear, but Maya was standing close enough to hear Riley's comment. She placed her hand on her best friend's shoulder to offer her some comfort.
Riley looked up at the crowded hallway and saw someone she hadn't seen before, which wasn't uncommon. She wasn't one for socializing. He stood around six feet tall and had an athletic build. His hair was sandy brown, and his gorgeous green eyes sparkled, enhancing his smile as he looked at her.
The realization that he was looking at her didn't fully register in Riley's mind until after he had passed them. Wait, what? He was looking at me? A handsome guy was looking at me?
"Was that him?" one of Farkle's friends asked.
Farkle nodded. "I know everyone in this school, and I don't recognize him at all."
"Looks like a book about baseball," the same friend said.
Riley didn't hear a word of what Farkle and his friend said. Her mind was on the guy that looked at her as he passed by. If he was the new student, why was he looking at her? She didn't meet him before, or that she could recall, so why would he look at her? She wasn't anyone special, was she? He was pretty cute. Then again, she could be reading into it way too much, but part of her didn't think so. Was there a reason? What is that reason?
The warning bell interrupted her thoughts and sent majority of the group scattering towards their first classes. The only ones that didn't move right away were Maya and Riley. They stayed standing where they were.
When Riley looked up at Maya, she saw a look on her best friend's face that she knew all too well. Maya's defense mode had been turned on. "I take it I wasn't the only one to see what he was looking at," Riley stated.
Maya nodded. "You would be correct in saying that." When she saw him look at her best friend, the only thought that went through Maya's mind was 'defend Riley.' The last thing she needed was someone to hurt her again, and she was going to make sure that it didn't happen to the best of her abilities.
Riley was sitting right in front of her locker, her book bag lying right beside her, and like every other time when she was alone, she was immersed in a book. The rest of her day had gone as she had expected. She did her best to pay attention in class, and when she wasn't there, Riley did her best to enter another world when she pulled out her book and started reading. As much as Riley loved this world, she tried to escape it as much as she could when she was in school. High school was not a good time, and she wanted to avoid it as much as possible.
Lunch was different today. Instead of sitting at the lunch table with Pam, Abi, and all of their friends, she sat at a different table by herself, once again reading as she ate her lunch. Today she didn't mind it, for Riley was able to get a good chunk of The Scarlet Pimpernel read. She had just reached the part where Sir Percy arrived at the gala when she decided to leave the lunchroom early and visit her dad in his classroom for a bit. That chapter was one of her favorites, and Riley didn't want to get cut off during the middle of it, so she thought she'd take advantage of the fact her father worked here and spent some time with him.
Usually, Riley found that students didn't like it when their parents worked at the same school they attended. Riley was the opposite. She enjoyed it, and saw it as an opportunity to spend some more 'father-daughter' time together. This year, Riley wasn't in any of his classes, but that didn't stop her from visiting him during his planning periods and chat with him.
Currently, Riley was waiting for her dad to finish in his department meeting, then they would be heading home for the night. Again, Riley didn't mind waiting for her dad. If anything, these little moments that they shared throughout the day helped them to grow closer. Now if I could do the same thing with mom.
Riley set down her book and thought about it. Her mother, Topanga Matthews, was definitely something. They shared several things in common, but it was finding time to enjoy those commonalities that was the struggle because of Topanga's crazy work schedule. Being a lawyer and a mom means there's not much free time, but Topanga did her best to find that time. For example, Riley and her mom would pick a weekend and go shopping for most of the day. This way, they could talk about anything they wanted (especially girl stuff since there were no boys allowed on these trips) and enjoy each other's company. Who knows, maybe they could cook dinner together someday; both of them enjoyed cooking, and it seemed like something they'd be able to do together. Riley knew that sometimes her mom needed to stay away from preparing certain foods, like chicken or oatmeal. Otherwise, her mom could be quite the cook.
She lifted her book in front of her eyes and continued to read, laughing to herself at the character's figurative blindness in this particular chapter. If they only put together to obvious hints, she thought, but then there would be no story, and the Scarlet Pimpernel would be in greater danger a lot sooner.
Riley didn't know how much time had passed, she assumed not much because she hadn't gotten far into the chapter, but she heard footsteps approaching her. At first, she thought nothing of it, and when they stopped in front of her, she looked up and expected to see her dad. But when she looked up and saw it wasn't him, her heart seemed to sink and flutter at the same time. So much for not getting interrupted so I could finish this chapter.
It was the handsome guy who was looking at her earlier that day, smiling at her once again.
A/N #2: Bit of a cliffhanger there for you guys. I'm going to go back to weekly updates until I figure out where I want to take this after chapter 10. I have a couple chapters after that point in the works, but where they will fall I'm not quite sure yet. If you could leave me a review before you head out that would be great :) Until next time!