Heyo! It's chapter update day! Enjoy!
The hallways of JQA seemed smaller somehow, more crowded, as if the walls were closing in and the students were multiplying. Their voices echoed through the tiled halls, but all Lucas heard was a low mumble, words slurred and impossible to make out clearly.
It had been two weeks. Two whole weeks. He longed to see those warm brown eyes and bright smile, but the girl of his dreams haunted his every step. He swore he heard her voice, or even a little giggle. He would turn around, expecting to see her there.
But she was gone.
There had been no trace of her anywhere in New York City, and the three friend's suspicions that she had been kidnapped rather than gotten lost were shared by the police department. Only a skilled criminal could have made her disappear like that.
Lucas, Maya, and Farkle knew they couldn't give up. But if Riley was even still alive, the chances of finding her were low, and they couldn't afford to miss more school. There wasn't anything they could do, and it was killing them. And now Lucas walked through the hallways, his lips tightly sealed and his emerald eyes focused straight ahead. He could feel student's gazes on the back of his neck, burning as if they were seeing into his very soul. He shuddered softly, staring ahead as he tried to ignore them.
Nobody spoke much to the three friends. Nobody knew what to say. Everyone had lost something important the day Riley disappeared, nothing was the same.
Two weeks had changed everyone. Maya was either with the guidance counselor or in In School Suspension most days- without Riley as her good influence, she had gone wild, and nothing Lucas could say or do would stop her.
Farkle had buried himself in his studies- he tried to forget the world, and pushed everyone away. Lucas tried to help him, but how could he do that when he couldn't even help himself.
And Lucas... Well, Lucas just felt alone. It was all he could do not to resort to his old ways; every time he thought of fighting someone, he imagined how Riley would feel.
He needed Riley. They all needed her. She was the sun- she held all of her friends in orbit. Without her, they were nothing. He couldn't take her place. How do you put together millions of broken pieces when there's no glue to hold them together?
Lucas got his lunch and sat down at the table he usually shared with Riley, Maya, and Farkle, waiting to see if either of them would be joining him. Much to his surprise, both of them did. They exchanged greetings and ate quietly, hardly daring to so much as look at each other. Lucas fidgeted in his seat, uneasy. He glanced at his friends and sucked in a deep breath.
"People change people," he said softly, earning quizzical looks from them.
Maya blinked, lifting her head. Dark circles framed her blue eyes, like she hadn't slept at all since the disappearance. "Yeah, we know, Ranger Rick," she said dryly, though it was clear her heart wasn't in the insult. "Secret of life."
Farkle nodded in agreement, his nosed stuffed in a book. Lucas snapped it shut, and suddenly the boy was sitting up, alert.
Lucas drew in a deep breath. "Well, just because people leave doesn't mean we have to...to un-change. I'm sick of us ignoring each other in a time where we need each other most. We need to talk!"
"Lucas," Maya frowned, her eyes studying the table as if it were the most interesting thing in the world at the moment. She opened her mouth to say more, but Lucas could almost see the words stuck in her throat, and she gagged, as if choking on something. A lone whimper rose from her chest, and tears swam in her eyes. Lucas reached out to comfort her, but a new voice stopped his hand in midair.
"Lost without your princess, aren't you?"
A low growl rumbled deep in Lucas's throat. He knew that voice. Missy Bradford. Great. Just the person I didn't want to see.
Before he could move, Farkle was on his feet, glaring at the girl with narrowed, stormy blue eyes. "Leave us alone, Missy!" He snapped. "We don't need your pathetic a-"
Lucas silenced him with a glare, turning to face Missy with narrowed emerald green eyes. She was standing near the table, bouncing on her toes. Her signature hot pink sweater was tied neatly around her slim waist, and not a strand of her waist-length light brown hair was out of place, framing her makeup-caked face. It sickened him, the innocent look on her face.
Missy's lips twitched down into a painfully fake frown. "I'm only speaking the truth, you know. This is the first time I've seen you three together in one place in weeks, and you know how much I'd hate to see a group of such... close friends such as yourselves fall apart because of the absence of such a childish little girl." She batted her eyelids innocently.
Anger boiling his blood, Lucas forced himself to stay calm, raising an eyebrow at her. "Oh, really? You'd hate to see our friendship fall apart because of Riley? Well you know what I'd hate?" He stood up, keeping his face calm as he stared into Missy's light brown eyes.
She didn't respond, her face emotionless. Lucas grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her face close to his. He could feel her breath on his cheeks, and nearly choked on her Cashmere Glow perfume.
"Well, I'd hate to have to mess up that pretty little face of yours," he growled, and Missy smiled sheepishly, that fake, sickly sweet smile he hated so much.
"So... what I'm hearing is that you think I'm pretty?" She looked him in the eye. "... No? Okay."
Lucas growled softly, letting go of her collar and letting her drop to the ground. He tightened his fists and clenched his jaws, anger blinding him. He was ready to punch her lights out, ready to teach her a lesson about talking about Riley, his princess, that way. But no.
His friends were too good to let him do that.
His fist was inches from Missy's face, seconds away from teaching her a lesson she wouldn't soon forget, when the cry reached his ears, and his blood turned to ice.
"Lucas, stop!"
For a heartbeat, he thought he might have heard Riley's voice, felt her soft, delicate hand block his fist. Then he came to his senses, saw the fierce determination glitter in Maya's familiar, icy blue eyes, felt her strong grip shove his hand back.
"Get a hold of yourself, man!" the petite blonde spat, shooting an icy glare in Missy's direction. "She's not worth it. It's not worth it. Don't."
Lucas drew in a deep breath, slowly letting it out as he turned away from Missy. Tears stung in his eyes, and he nodded slowly. "You're right... Missy's not worth getting expelled again. Missy's not worth another fight."
But Riley is, he didn't say out loud. And when I find whoever took her away from me, be it my father or some other lowlife scumbag, I would hate to be them.
To Be Continued...
So I really like how this chapter turned out. Much better than the last one. The story's almost halfway over, but the major problems haven't even started yet! Stay tuned for next chapter!
