AN: To make up not updating all week, here's two updates in one day! Make sure you read chapter 11 before you read this one. Fair warning, a lot is going on in this chapter. A lot of conversation, teenage angst, fighting, sappiness, and making up.

I hope you enjoy it, and the next chapter should be a bit lighter and fluffier to keep things even. LOL!


Tuesday, July 1st 8:30 a.m.

"I don't want to brag," Smackle said when Farkle left the table. "But you all should have put me in charge of your lives sooner."

"Why's that, Smackle?" Lucas asked with a grin.

"We can cross number 4 off our list. I guarantee the girls are making up as we speak," she said, a self-satisfied smile on her face.

"I hope so," Zay replied. "I want the real Maya and Riley back. They keep saying all these back-handed compliments to each other and they barely even talk or sit next to each other."

Farkle had returned, catching the tail end of what Zay had said. "The girls have always been opposite sides of the same coin. It feels strange to see their relationship so strained, especially when neither one of them is willing to acknowledge it."

Lucas kept quiet but nodded his head. He hated that he was the reason their relationship had lost its spark.

"Well, don't worry, my love, because I have fixed every-"

Smackle stopped talking mid-sentence as Riley came rushing out of the house. Zay was leaning against the railing of the large patio deck and quickly stood up straight holding his arms out.

Without looking at any of her other friends, Riley fell into Zay's arms sobbing painfully.

"Oh, Sugar," he mumbled, bringing his arms around her and stroking her hair softly. "What happened?"

Time seemed frozen as everyone stared at the brunette in shock. She was crying so violently, she couldn't talk, couldn't explain what had happened. Every time she tried to catch her breath, she would hiccup and cry all over again.

"Farkle, get Maya," Lucas said, not taking his eyes off Riley

Farkle nodded and raced inside the house. Smackle turned to follow him, having a feeling that Maya was definitely not what Riley needed right now.

Lucas slowly approached his two best friends, reaching out to rub Riley's back. "Riley, are you okay? Farkle went to go get Maya. I'm sure you need-"

"No!" she shouted. "I can't see her! She can't see me!"

Lucas was taken aback, and Zay pulled her back to get a good look at her face. "What happened, sweetie?"

"We got into a fight. I just need some space."

Lucas and Zay met each other's eyes over her head.

"Why don't you guys go ahead and go on the hike, and Riley and I will stay here?" Lucas asked. "Come on, Riles. We'll go to the beach."

Riley shook her head. "No, no. We agreed this vacation was about all of us spending time together. I'll go to the bathroom and clean up and then we can go."

Like flipping a switch, Riley's tears had dried up, and she smiled brilliantly at the two boys. "I'm fine. We'll be fine."

When she walked away, Zay punched Lucas hard in the arm.

Rubbing his forearm, Lucas asked indignantly, "What was that for?"

"Oh, you know what it was for! I'm going to go check on Maya," Zay said, stalking back into the house.

With that, Lucas was left alone on the patio. He kicked the railing and decided to go for a walk on the beach to cool off.

Zay was shocked to find Maya just as distraught as Riley in Farkle's arms. Smackle was apologizing profusely, anxiously hovering over the two as if she didn't know what to do with herself or her hands, and Maya was shaking her head.

"You were right about everything, Smackle! And now I've lost her!" Maya sobbed.

"You didn't lose her, Maya. You just have to let this thing play out. I'm sorry that Riley upset you, but she needed to get all those negative feelings off her chest. Maybe now you guys can move forward."

Maya pulled away from Farkle, realizing Zay was in the room. He was a little surprised to see her quickly wiping her face and adjusting her pigtails like she didn't want him to see her like that. Didn't she trust him?

"Hey, honey."

Looking at Farkle and Smackle, he said, "Riley's washing up her face and then we can go."

Feeling dismissed, the geniuses left the room. Smackle told Farkle to go after Riley, and she left in search of Lucas.

"Okay, now that mom and dad have left the building, tell me what happened, darling."

Maya sighed, leaning into Zay's embrace as they both sat on the edge of Riley's bed. "I've been thinking lately, and I know that this triangle is ruining the most important relationship in my life."

Zay nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"I told Riley I was stepping back, that I thought Lucas would choose her, and she got upset. She accused me of manipulating the situation to get Lucas, and when I told her that I would never date Lucas if she dated him, everything turned into a big mess. I'm just trying to do the right thing, and I think she may really hate me now."

"Riley could never hate you. I know you think you're doing what's right, but everything has been so horrible for Riley, she's not ready to see your side of it right now. She has been in love with Lucas for a long time."

Maya nodded. "I know, I know. I'm a horrible friend. I should have never gone down this road, no matter what I thought about how Riley felt. I'm her sister. Sisters don't date each other's exes, especially when the relationship wasn't clearly over."

"Maya, there aren't hard and fast rules for how friends should react in these situations. Sometimes you can't help who you fall for."

His last statement seemed to convey meaning that she wasn't ready for, so she ignored it and plowed on. "Yes, that's true, but this isn't some random guy she went to the movies with, like that Charlie Gardener. Lucas was her first crush, her first date, her first kiss. No matter how I was feeling or what I thought she was feeling, I should have never gone there. That is on me, Zay."

"Okay, so you told Riley that. She can have Lucas, and you're free to find your own boyfriend."

Maya nodded. "That's what I wanted to do, but she told me I had to stay in this triangle because she needs to know that Lucas picked her because of her, not because I stepped away."

Zay smacked his forehead. "You three are giving me a migraine! She wants Lucas, Lucas wants her! Why are you all making it so complicated?"

Maya bit her lip, frowning. "What should I do?"

Zay gave out a long, tired sigh. "Unfortunately, I think you have to do whatever Riley wants at this point. She deserves that much."

Zay tried his best not to sound disappointed. In their entire conversation, not once did Maya actually say she didn't have feelings for Lucas, just that she shouldn't act on those feelings. He felt discouraged, wondering if this girl would ever see the real him.

"But, Maya, you deserve happiness, too. You deserve a real crush, a real date, a real kiss. You deserve someone who noticed you first, wanted you first, who is crazy about you and only you."

He brushed a stray hair off her face, both of them leaning in without realizing it. He broke the spell, looking down at their joined hands. How had that happened?

He chuckled silently. "I'm just saying, right now it's Riley's time. I think you might be a bit envious of that, but I promise you one day, you'll look over and see someone, and your heart will skip a beat. You aren't losing Riley, Maya. You're gaining the hope that one day, you'll find your own Lucas... Who isn't Lucas, of course."

Maya laughed at the joke. "Come on, Romeo. Let's go take a hike."

Farkle waited patiently for Riley to come out of the bathroom. When she finally walked out, you would never have thought she spent the last half hour crying her eyes out.

"You ready to go, Farkle?" she asked with a smile.

"No, Riley. I'm not. I'm not ready to go because my two oldest friends have spent the morning in tears, and I can't even say or do anything to make it better because I promised you I wouldn't!" he shouted, breathing heavily.

Riley's eyes widened. "Farkle..."

"No, Riley," Farkle said, putting a hand up. "Let me finish. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't handle the situation better. I'm sorry that you felt humiliated and alone. Heck, I'm sorry that I didn't stop you in Texas from telling this lie in the first place. But mostly, I'm sorry that when you told me to stay out of it, I listened."

"Farkle!"

"I can't stay out of it, Riley! You are my family. You, Maya, Lucas, Zay, and Smackle... You're it. I'm weird and demanding and... I'm hard to love, Riley. I know it, and for some crazy reason, you all love me. You all accept me for who I am. I want what's best for you, for all of you, and I'm smart enough to know this isn't your best. This isn't you."

Riley was stunned, speechless.

"I support you in everything you do, and I will always try to do what you ask of me, but, Riley, when you are hurting, when you're hurting yourself, I cannot, I will not, just sit idly by and do nothing. Please, don't ask me to anymore."

Riley wrapped Farkle in a hug. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, Farkle. I know you weren't trying to be malicious. I know that you don't always understand how to handle things. I shouldn't have waited so long to tell you how I was feeling."

Riley sighed, an arm still wrapped around Farkle's shoulder, as they walked towards the front of the house. "I tried so hard to make sure everyone else was happy that I ignored my own feelings until they got too big to ignore. Now I just feel like I'm blowing up on everyone all the time. How's Maya?"

Farkle smiled. "I have a feeling she will be alright. I don't know what you said to her, Riles, but you weren't wrong to tell her how you've been feeling. Whether she meant to or not, she hurt you. Whether I meant to or not, I hurt you. And whether Lucas meant to or not, he hurt you, too. We all owe you an apology."

"I don't need apologies, Farkle. I need my friends. And for the record, you are so easy to love, Farkle."

Zay and Maya were already at the front door when they arrived. Both girls stopped what they were doing and ran to each other.

Speaking the same thing at the same time, they said, "I was wrong. I'm sorry. No, you were right. I'm sorry. I love you."

They hugged. Then Maya spoke, "You are the very best part of me, and I haven't appreciated that enough. I am sorry I took you and our friendship for granted."

"I'm sorry I let you."

"Yeah, haven't I taught you not to let anyone, not even me, walk all over you?"

Riley nodded. "I should have never spoken to you the way I did today."

Maya shrugged. "I deserved it, and I can take it."

They hugged again. "Where the heck are Smackle and Lucas?"

Zay joked, "Maybe this love triangle is becoming a hexagon."

Maya met his eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. "Maybe."

Smackle found Lucas throwing rocks into the ocean. "Is that a good way to release aggression?"

Lucas shrugged. "I don't deserve either one of them."

"No, you don't," Smackle agreed. "But the good thing is, Riley picks you anyway. She sees the good in you anyway, even when you don't, you're lucky to have her."

"But I don't want to destroy her in the process, Smackle."

Smackle put a hand on his shoulder, halting his movements. "She needed to yell at Maya, and she'll probably need to yell at you. We're getting somewhere. She's reacting again; she's feeling again."

Lucas kicked the sand. "She's hurting again."

Smackle nodded, turning him towards the house. "Change inevitably hurts, but she's strong. Stronger than most people realize. She has managed to take 5 individuals, who are damaged and odd and insane, and make us a family. We'll get through this, together, but only if we stay together, Lucas. Nobody walks away, not even you."

They headed back to the house, both silent as Lucas thought over her words.

Everyone was waiting at the van when they arrived, even Frank.

"I just wanted to say," Lucas started. "I'm sorry. All of you. This mess isn't just hurting the three of us, it's hurting all of us, and I promise that by the time this week is through, we'll all be happy again."

He locked eyes with Riley, hoping she understood his words. Zay clapped him in the back, putting his arm around him and Smackle, leading them to the car.

"I think we've all had enough drama, tears, and apologies for one day. Let's have some fun shall we?"

Everyone agreed, and Farkle insisted Maya and Riley sit in the back with him, so they could look at pictures from past trips to the beach. They spent the ride giggling about inside jokes with Smackle and Lucas playing an intense game of Zombies Ate My Parents 6, and Zay sat up front with Frank, controlling the radio, much to Frank's dismay.

He looked back, watching his five friends. For the first time since he moved to New York, he felt at home.


AN: So...how was that? Maya is finally noticing Zay a bit, Farkle and Riley are on the right path, and Smackle is basically awesome. This chapter was different to write because I had a lot going on at once and a lot of different people talking. I felt like it was a bit over the top, but I remember being a teenager, and most of the time I was a bit over the top, too. Hope you liked it. Coming up we'll have some cute Smarkle time, and some funny misunderstanding with the lovesquare in the woods! See you soon!