Request: Hi! I have a request for one of your awesome Rucas one-shots. After their talk at the ski lodge, Riley and Lucas have decided to move forward with their relationship. But Lucas still hasn't asked her out on a date because he is nervous about messing things up again. And Riley begins to worry he has changed his mind.

Title: Unchangeable Minds

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"Would you stop obsessing over this?" Maya sat in the bay window as she watched Riley pace back and forth in front of her.

"Maya, it's been five whole days. Isn't that the amount of time where I'm supposed to take a hint?" Riley chomped on her fingernails, a nervous habit she had picked up right around the time she entered high school.

"And what hint would that be?" Maya raised her eyebrows at Riley, waiting for her to answer.

"That he's changed his mind!" Riley exclaimed, much louder than she had anticipated. Maya gestured for Riley to have a seat in the bay window, and she obeyed without saying another word.

"There's no way he'd change his mind about this. He might be Ranger Rick, but he's not dumb," Maya reassured her, as she gave her hand a supportive squeeze.

Just then, Maya and Riley heard a light tap on the glass next to them. They turned their heads to see Farkle crawling through the window, and they automatically scooted over to make room for him.

"Hey, what are we talking about?" He stepped over the windowsill and plopped next to Maya on the bench of the bay window.

"Riley's worried that Lucas changed his mind about how he feels about her," Maya explained.

"That's ridiculous, there's no way he'd change his mind about you," Farkle reassured Riley, and Maya nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. See?" Maya pointed to Farkle in approval, but Riley just shook her head, still not convinced.

"Then why hasn't he done anything about it since we left the ski lodge?" Riley raised her eyebrows at them, and Farkle and Maya exchanged a look.

"Maybe he hasn't found the right time," Maya offered, already becoming exhausted with this conversation.

"Or maybe he's realized that he made the wrong choice," Riley argued.

"Let's not go there," Maya scrunched her nose together in mock annoyance, and Riley nodded, as if she understood.

"You're right, sorry," Riley apologized.

"Just give him a few more days. You know that he's notorious for assuming things about your relationship. For example, things that seem like a no-brainer to you, like say, asking you out on a date, probably haven't even crossed his mind yet," Maya pointed out.

"Yeah, like Maya said. He probably just assumes you guys are officially dating. Remember the semi-formal fiasco," Farkle nudged Riley's arm, and she scoffed as the memory came back to her.

"How could I forget?" Riley smiled.

"Forget what?"

Riley leaned forward to see Lucas making his way through the window. Riley let her mouth hang open in shock as he took a seat next to Farkle.

"Unbelievable," she muttered.

Maya looked from Lucas, to Riley, and then grabbed Farkle's arm to pull him to his feet.

"Uh, Farkle and I will be outside your door pretending like we're not eavesdropping," Maya shuffled quickly across the room, with Farkle dragging close behind her.

"Yeah, talk loud enough so that we can hear!" With that, Maya smacked Farkle upside the head, and he winced in pain. "Ow!"

"What's going on, Riley?" Lucas turned to face her in the bay window, and she met his eyes with a leveled expression.

"You tell me, Lucas," Riley tried her best to stay cool, and to talk this out calmly and rationally like two adults.

"Uh, well Pappy Joe called last night. He talked a lot about the irregular eating patterns of some of his horses and - "

That was it. She couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Why haven't you asked me out on a date in the middle of class in a way that makes my father angry by slamming doors in your face and stealing your shoes and yelling mean things at you like the first time?" Riley blurted out without taking a single breath.

"Riley..."

"It's because you've change your mind isn't it? Just go ahead and tell me now. Rip the band-aid off, I can take it," Riley closed her eyes, and nodded as she tried to put on a brave face.

"Riley!" Lucas snapped, not unkindly.

"What!?"

"I haven't changed my mind, I promise," Lucas assured her. "There's no way I could ever change my mind about you - about us."

"Then why haven't you done anything. Or said anything?"

"I wanted to give you some time to think. To make sure that you wouldn't change your mind about me," Lucas took her hand in his and the corner of Riley's mouth curled into a slight smile.

"Why would I do that, Lucas?"

"I don't know. Maybe you realized I wasn't worth all the trouble I put you through after all," Lucas shrugged his shoulders and his eyes moved to the floor.

"Hey, you told me that you were worth it once, remember? Well, I still believe you," Riley tugged on Lucas' arm and he met her eyes with a smile.

"Maybe I didn't want to mess things up again," Lucas admitted.

"You won't, Lucas - we won't. We're going to do things right this time. No pressure, no rush, just two people who like each other, taking things slow," Riley explained.

"Okay, you're right," Lucas nodded. "So if you haven't changed your mind, and everything we talked about at the ski lodge is still true for you," he began, but Riley answered him before he could finish.

"It is, I promise," she nodded excitedly and Lucas couldn't help but laughing.

"Okay, then this is me officially asking you, Riley Matthews, on a date," Lucas exhaled, as he waited for her to answer. When she didn't, Lucas felt his pulse start to race as the nerves took hold.

"Well?" He raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.

"Oh, I was just waiting for my dad to burst in here, yelling at you to get out of his daughter's room," Riley smirked, and Lucas nudged her shoulder playfully. "Okay, okay. Yes, Lucas, I will go on a date with you."

Riley beamed at him, but he just raised one eyebrow and looked at her with a straight face.

"What, I don't get a famous Riley 'yay,' like last time?" Lucas joked.

"I'm waiting to see where you take me first," Riley admitted, glancing at him as they made their way to Riley's bedroom door.

"Oh, I see how it is," Lucas smirked.

When Riley opened the door, their friends spilled into the room, making it obvious that they had, in fact, been listening to their whole conversation. Riley and Lucas shared an amused look, but passed them to head to the kitchen to break the news to her father. Riley and Lucas were moving forward with their relationship, at their own pace, of their own choosing and it was time that everyone knew.