Disclaimer: I do not own Girl meets World or their characters or the TV shows or Books I reference in this story.
Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay guys, been super busy! busy weekend got a car, and I was watching old Disney movies that I grew up on. PIXEL PERFECT omg lol I loved that so much! Okay and people I saw the season 3 premiere and I have a few things I really didn't like (I won't spoil!) but all I will say is how much I loved Riley in that episode. I liked all the Riley and Maya scenes.
XOXOX
At ten in the morning, Riley heard her mother call her to the living room, saying Lucas was here to see her. Riley took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her mom helped her pick out a soft white long sleeved shirt with her deep red knit leggings. She kept her beige boot like slippers on and put her hair in a ponytail, her long hair slightly curled. She wished herself luck as she walked out of her room and saw Lucas there, looking almost as nervous as her.
He was wearing a dark forest green shirt and dress black pants and was fiddling with a small present in his hand. He looked at her and gave a soft smile while he politely excused himself from Topanga and Auggie.
"Hi." Lucas says to her as he walks closer to her.
"Hi Lucas." She smiles back and is surprised when he pulls her into a hug. She hugs him back softly and sees her mom giving her an encouraging nod.
"Do you want to go to my room to exchange gifts?" She asked him and he looks at her and bites his lip nervously.
"Is that okay with your parents?" He asked her, not wanting to upset Mrs. Mathews or hell, even Auggie, who already threatened to destroy him if he hurt his sister again.
Riley looked over to her mother who was not so subtly eavesdropping on them. Topanga was giving a small smile at the two kids. She really hopes Lucas' intentions are pure; for she just wants her daughter to be happy and for awhile, Lucas did make Riley happy.
"As long as you keep the door open, we should be okay." Topanga teases and gives her daughter a little wink.
"And don't forget what I told you mister!" Auggie yells out to Lucas giving him a mean glare making Lucas nod nervously.
They walked into her room silently and Lucas immediately goes and sits at the bay window.
"It's so weird." Lucas comments, making her turn to look at him before she could grab his gift.
"What is?"
"This place that was once so special to you and your friends, you barely even glance at. It's even a little dusty." He replies. His voice isn't accusing like she would have expected but just a matter a fact and he was right. She barley paid attention to the bay window in her room anymore. It held a lot of memories for her and most of them were good. However, some of them were horrible. She had memories on that bay window contemplating if her life had any meaning. She had memories where she would just be sitting on that stupid fucking* window sill crying her eyes out and thinking she was worthless.
"You're right, I hate looking at that window sill." She tells him honestly as she turns back to get his presents and sits on her bed. It's a little further than either of them would have wanted but it's just the way it's going to be.
Lucas takes out the box that was in his coat pocket but before he hands it to her he knows he had to tell her what happened yesterday.
"Before we exchange gifts, I need to tell you something." Lucas says and Riley bites her lip nervously.
"Okay...what is it?"
Lucas takes a deep breath, he knew this would be hard, but Riley deserved the truth.
"So after we went to my locker, Maya caught up with me before the day ended...She thought that I was being dishonest with her about wanting to figure my feelings out and was sneaking off with you behind her back." He started to say and she looked at him with a little confusion. She doesn't know where he was going with this.
"Okay..." She said and Lucas got up from the window sill and knelled in front of her. He took her hands in his.
"She was a little upset with me, saying a bunch of things about how we all abandoned her and how she couldn't lose me...so she kissed me." He tells her honestly and she couldn't help but suck in her breath.
She couldn't help but feel angry at Maya for one not trusting Lucas but in disrespecting his wishes and throwing herself at him. If he wasn't ready for anything, Maya should understand that. It's better to stay friends with someone than to do something so unforgivable that you DO lose them completely.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you were stuck in this position since Texas. I never wanted this for you Lucas, you have to believe me. That's why I tried pushing you away; I knew that if Maya liked you she would put her whole heart into you and I didn't want to get in the way of her happiness but I also thought she was better for you than me." She tells him as she grips his hands tighter in hers. She never was able to tell him the full story about why she lied to him in Texas, but it felt good to tell him the truth.
"I hate that we made you feel like you weren't good enough for us...that you weren't good enough for me." He whispers.
She gives him a sad smile.
"I got over that. We accept the love we think we deserve and I no longer think I'm worthless. I do have feelings for you Lucas...I always have but I'm not ready for anything other than friendship anymore. I thought I was ready...but I'm not." She tells him softly, not wanting to hurt him by telling him that the whole time she was pushing her feelings on him, she wasn't even ready for a relationship.
Lucas, who was still holding her hands, stood up. She was so afraid he was just going to walk out of her room and all the progress they made; their talk at the ski lounge, him joining Book Club, them hanging out more would be all for nothing.
Instead he pulls her up and gives her a hug. He hugs her tightly until she returns the hug and her forehead is on his shoulder.
"Thank you for being honest with me. I'm not ready for a relationship either with anyone." He confesses and she pulls away from him and she can see the true honesty in his eyes. It made her feel like free to finally be honest with Lucas but mostly to be honest with herself that she wasn't ready for a real relationship.
"How about we continue to get to know each other better? We can hang out more just the two of us." Riley suggests and he lets out a smile.
"I'd really like that Riley." He says before they both sit on her bed.
"Okay before anything else happens I really want to give this to you." Lucas says before handing her the small box.
Riley smiles as she hands him his gift. She opens the card first and reads the message he wrote her.
"Remember...my moment will be my moment. I hope the holidays bring you happiness and clarity. From, Lucas." She reads out loud and laughs when she sees the blush on his face.
She delicately opens the package and is shocked to see a silver charm bracelet. She gasps when she picks it up and sees three beautiful charms. A horse, a book, and a princess crown.
"It's...so beautiful." She whispers not tearing her eyes away from the amazing gift. It was...something she knew she would cherish.
"I don't think you remember but the book charm isn't because of Book Club. It's to represent the library we went together..." He says sheepishly which makes her smile.
"Where we learned how to talk to each other." She finishes and Lucas nods.
"That's a day I know I will never forget. The way you listened to me when I told you my biggest dream...it was something no one has ever done for me. You just told me to keep talking, to tell you more about myself. No one ever listens to me the way you do." He says softly and she smiles happily.
"That's a day I'll never forget either. It was amazing how you described giving birth to a horse; the way your eyes completely lit up! It was magical. It's a part of the you in Texas you seemed afraid to tell anyone, and it made me feel special that you told it to me." She says taking one of his hands again. It felt good to have him here so close to her again after so long.
"Open the present first please." She said when she saw he was about to open up the card first. He nods and opens up the package and is happy at what he sees.
He holds up the black tee shirt that had the state of Texas on it, made with a bunch of words that most people describe Texas as. However, that wasn't all that was in there. On the bottom of the box, was a little gift bag. He opens it and sees the state of New York on a long silver chain.
"Now you can read the card." She whispers and he shakily opens the card and reads her message out loud.
"We always used to say there are two sides to you: Texas Lucas and New York Lucas but the truth is, you were always New York Lucas. You just hid him from all of Texas and were only known as the bad boy, the tough guy while you gave birth to horses and dreamed of becoming someone who helps people. Now you hide all the parts of you that you are ashamed of when you should be wearing your past with pride! Be proud of the person you were; it helped you become the person you are and don't let the past dictate your future."
When Lucas is finished reading, he has tears glistening in his eyes. He looks up at Riley, the girl who always saw him for the person he is and the person he was. She always has faith in him.
She is smiling and all he can remember is the girl that fell on his lap in the subway. This angel of of a girl that smiled at him and made his heart glow. She may look different, she may have grown up emotionally and physically but he will always remember when he first laid eyes on her.
He leans in closer and...
XOXOXOX
(Christmas Eve)
Riley looks around her home and sees it slowly filling up with her family. Her mom and dad were talking to her grandparents while Uncle Josh was having fun with Auggie, asking him if he was checking the Santa locator to find out where he was. Auggie's eyes were glued to his uncle's phone as he explained how the app kept track of where Santa was for the next two days.
Uncle Shawn, Maya, and Katy were there too. They were at the living room bay window talking about how much planning they had to do for their spring wedding. Maya had a small smile on her face and Riley was extremely happy for her. Shawn was going to be the father in Maya's life that she always craved for. He was going to be there for her in a way Riley's own dad was to her. She knew Maya was the maid of honor and was so going to be staying with them while Katy and Shawn were on their honeymoon. Riley was going to make sure that week she stayed there was going to be comfortable for both of them.
She heard a knock on the door and quickly ran to open it and was excited to see Uncle Eric and Shawn's brother Jack. Both of their arms will filled with gifts but Riley knew that wasn't going to stop her.
"Uncle Eric!" Riley exclaimed as she jumped into his arms.
"Neech!" He yelled even louder giving her a giant bear hug.
"Jack, it's so good to see you again!" Riley says to her uncle's friend before she gives him a big hug as well. They only met once, but they seemed to get along well; not as close as her and her uncles but he seemed like a good man who just lost his way.
Jack smiled at the young girl and returned the hug. It's been so long since he was included in the Corey/Topanga/Shawn/Eric times so he felt a little out of place. Eric reaching out to him after so many years threw him for a loop. For a long time he did only what he thought would benefit himself when he could have been doing things to help others. Losing Rachel really messed him up and it took almost 20 years to see what he should have done was stay close to his family. Eric, sweet, simple Eric has been pushing him back towards his family and friends since they met up almost a year ago. He introduced him to Riley at one of their "date nights" and he can see Corey and Topanga in the girl. She was a sweet kid and he could tell she was a very good person.
Shawn stands up in shock at seeing his half brother again after so long. It's been a good five years since he saw him and that was only in passing. He wonders how the older man kept in touch with Eric and even knew Riley. He was never that close to his brother, except after their father passed away but they just came from two different worlds.
"Jack...wow. It's good to see you." Shawn says as he moves in closer to Eric, Jack, and Riley to give his brother a hug.
Jack gives a sad smile and hugs him back lightly. He has never been as close to his brother as he wished he could be; something he had in common with Eric but after so many years of Shawn's resentment of his family having money, Jack stopped trying and Shawn never reached out either. It hurt, but it was his reality.
While Corey, Topanga, and the elder Mathews go to greet Jack as well,Topanga looks at Riley who was excited to see Jack too.
"So Jack, when did you meet Riley?" Topanga asked curiously and Jack scratched the back of his head nervously. Topanga always gave him the creeps just because she could be so intimidating.
"We actually met a couple weeks ago when Riley and Eric went out to dinner." He replied and Riley nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah! I didn't tell you I invited him over tonight because I wanted everyone to be surprised!" She answers happily and looks over at Shawn who seemed embarrassed that he didn't even know his brother was in town.
"Well you know you've always been welcome here Jack." Corey says softly as he puts his hand on his daughter's shoulder. He's so proud of his daughter who is not only branching out herself, but bringing back relationships that have been damaged since he was little. Him and his older brother have never been as close as Riley and Auggie are, but thanks to his brother's involvment in his kids' lives, they finally got to know each other for real. This is the first time in a long time Eric and him have been remotely close and he has Riley to thank for it.
"Uncle Eric! Uncle Eric!" Auggie screeches doing his little dance at seeing his uncle. He may be getting a little old for this but it was their tradition and it was pretty fun.
"Oh! Oh! It's cousin Auggie!" Eric jokes before running to give him a hug too.
After they eat dinner and everyone is relaxed, they decide to open some gifts before dessert. They all sat in the living room close together while Maya and Riley passed out presents. Riley could see in the corner of her eye something around Maya's wrist. It was the Alex and Ani Wings of Change bracelet she gave her for Christmas. She thought that was the best thing she could give her old friend and remembers writing her a long letter, wishing her all the best happiness in the world.
Maya catches her eyes and gives her a smile as they hand people their gifts. They all decide to open two gifts each and either take the rest home or wait until tomorrow.
Topanga thanks Riley for the Alex and Ani Mom charm bracelet and Katy for a gift certificate for a spa day at her favorite spa place.
Corey thanks his parents for the work vests and Auggie for the work planner.
Katy thanks Maya for simple gold mom necklace and Corey and Topanga for the gift card to Home Goods so they can add things to their new home.
Amy and Alan thank their grand-kids for the photo collage frame of them, Corey and Topanga, Josh, and Eric as well as Eric for a dinner for two at their favorite restaurant.
Auggie thanks Uncle Eric for the movies and his grandparents for the toys he's been wanting for a long time.
Josh thanks Riley for his hat and gift card and Corey on his very filled Metro card for the subway, both will help him a lot next year.
Eric gets extremely giddy when he opens the bag filled with candy from Auggie and the nice wool scarf from Jack.
Maya thanks the Mathews for the artist marker set and the gift card from her mom.
Jack who wasn't expecting anything since no one knew he was coming was surprised to see Eric and Riley each give him a gift. He opens a picture of him with the rest of the gang from college in a simple black frame from Eric and a canvas quote that said "Family don't end in blood boy!" from Riley. He looks at her a smiles.
"It's from Supernatural but I figured you'd like it, even if you don't watch the show." She says shyly hoping Octavio didn't give her bad advice on what the quote should be.
Jack shakes his head.
"I actually love Supernatural! It's my guilty pleasure show." He admits and Riley laughs before giving him a small hug.
Riley looks at Shawn who was watching the exchange somberly before she gets up and hands her godfather the gift she got him and mentions for him to open it.
He looks at her confused but opens the gift just the same to see a moderate sized black photo album. He opens it up and sees it's filled with pictures of him and Corey, him with his friends, Katy and Maya, Katy and him, and just some of Maya alone. On the last page he sees a note from Riley that says, "Treat them well. They deserve only the best."
He looks at his best friend's daughter and sees her talking to Josh, Eric, and Jack laughing about something and a pang fills his heart. He probably will never get a real relationship with his god daughter and yet she was wishing him only the best for him as well as Katy and Maya.
She was definitely Corey with Topanga's hair. He doesn't thank her but he knows no matter what he says will be good enough.
When it's Riley's turn to go, she picks up a present from her parents and one from her god mother Nebula who shipped her and Auggie's gift a couple days ago.
She gasps happily when she sees the beautiful dress her mom had to have picked out. It was exactly what she would have picked if she saw it. The whole thing was lace but it had a modest V-neck and the lace on the bottom seemed to be fanning out. She remembers seeing it on display on Hot Topic and thought it was simple yet beautiful.
She looked at her mom and gave her a giant hug. They have come so far since the beginning of the year. Last year her mom and her barley knew each other and now her mom knew something she would absolutely love.
"Thank you so much! I love it." She whispers and Topanga was so happy to hear that.
When she opens up the gift from her godmother, she is so happy to see a beautiful wooden jewerly box that her aunt tells her was made special for her from a friend she has in Africa. She opens the box and sees a handmade elephant necklace. It was so beautiful, she knew she was going to write her aunt a thank you letter as soon as everyone went home.
Just as she was about to set up the dessert plates, Josh insisted that he open the gift he bought her. She agreed since him and everyone seemed so excited and took the small box he handed her and she saw him give her parents a little nod. She gave him a confused look but he just motioned for her to open it.
On the top was a framed photo of her, Josh, and Eric at the park. She remembers them taking it the day they took her away from her parents; the day they told her mom and dad that they were failing her. They took her to the park to get ice cream and to feed the ducks. They ended up talking for hours about their hopes and dreams.
Her uncles helped her be happy with herself. Everything that happened between her and her parents faded away because she knew she had them. She likes to think she's had an impact on them as well.
She goes to thank him but he shakes his head.
"There's something under it." He tells her with a smile and she lifts up the frame to see an envelope. Cautiously she opens it up and gasps when she read it.
It was a plane ticket to Florida for her birthday.
"You, Eric, Auggie, your parents, and I are going to Disney for your birthday in February." He tells her and she screeches and jumps into her Uncle's arms.
"I can't believe it! This was your idea!?" She asks him when she breaks apart and Josh nods.
"Well it was my idea, but we all pitched in." He says and she looks over at everyone who seems happy for her, even Katy, Shawn, and Maya.
"Thank you so much! You all didn't have to do this and I couldn't be more excited!" She squeals and everyone laughs.
Auggie comes over to her and the two of them start jumping up and down in excitement. She just couldn't believe it.
XOXOX
That night when everyone goes home and her parents finished reading "The Night Before Christmas" to Auggie, Riley wishes her family a goodnight and heads to her room to relax a little.
When she finishes getting ready, she sits on her bed and notices a box on her bay window.
