I Write Sins, Not Tragedies
A GMW Fan Fiction Series
Chapter 36: Riley's Epic Plan
A/N: Hi! So, this chapter was half planned out and half spontaneous. Let me know what you all think? I love getting your reviews. And be prepared for pretty spread out review for the next week, because I move back into my dorm in just under a week so until then, I'll be busy with last minute errands and packing. But, I'll try to work on all of my stories as much as possible in the meantime.
"Shopping!" Smackle cheered, hooking her arms through Maya and Riley's own as the led her two best friends through the noisy, crowded mall. "I'm so excited for this!"
"Isadora Smackle is excited to go shopping?" Maya laughed, raising her eyebrows as she walked with her friends.
"Isadora Smackle, the feminist extraordinaire is actually excited to be nominated for Homecoming court," Riley pointed out, smirking at the other two with a devious look on her face.
The other two girls had been cautious when it came to discussing the topic of their nominations, neither one wanting to hurt Riley's feelings. After all, homecoming was a thing that mattered to girls like Riley and it was something that mattered a lot. Having her two best friends nominated and lacking a nomination for herself had to hurt her.
But, as soon as the gang had settled into Riley's room the previous night for their pre-game ritual, she had started to babble on about how excited she was for her two best friends to be nominated.
She had asked Smackle if they should start planning a dual-campaign. The glossy haired nerd had refused, because she had believed that Maya stood a far better chance of winning anyways, but the offer had meant the world to Smackle and it had told the rest of the group that they were fine talking about the nominations in front of Riley and Farkle.
Of course, it was obvious that Smackle's slowly growing relationship with Zay was a large part of the reason behind her nomination. And Riley's strange and confusing relationship with Farkle, no matter how short lived it was, was a large part of the reason for her lack of a nomination.
Besides, as Riley had stated, it was better for her to stay under the radar, so that she didn't have to deal with the attention. Because Riley wanted to avoid attention for as long as possible, so that she could work her hardest at keeping her secret from the rest of the school. Because she definitely wasn't ready to come out of the closet yet to anybody other than her closest friends and family.
"I'm just excited to finally feel like I'm a part of something," she shrugged her shoulders.
"You've been a part of our group ever since the eighth grade," Maya rolled her eyes.
"Because I was dating Farkle," Smackle pointed out.
"That's not true," Riley said.
"You guys wouldn't have given me any sort of attention if I wasn't dating Farkle. You knew who I was from before seventh grade and until Farkle started to give me attention, you guys didn't give me an ounce of it," Smackle stated.
There was no bitterness in her tone. She was just stating the facts. And she didn't think that there was anything wrong with that. She just thought that that was the truth, and she wasn't going to let people try to say that things were different from how they really were. Because Smackle was a woman of science and that meant that she was a woman of facts.
"We're your friends, Smackle. It doesn't matter how we met. From here on out, we're your friends and it doesn't really matter who you're dating, because we're always going to be your friends," Maya stated firmly.
"I know," Smackle smiled. "But, sometimes it's just nice to be reminded that I have two of the best friends in the entire world. It keeps me grateful, remembering how lucky I am to have you both."
"We're the lucky ones, Smackle," Maya insisted, resting her head on Smackle's shoulder as they walked.
"Best friends forever-it doesn't matter what happens. The three of us are always sticking together," Riley affirmed, flashing the cheerful smile that the other two girls had come to find so much comfort in over the years of their developing friendship.
"So, should I be looking for anything specific in my dress since I'm on court?" Smackle wondered as the girls riffled through racks in their favorite store.
"Try to go with something that has silver in it, in case you win. It'll match the crown," Maya explained as she started to stack dresses on her arms.
"Besides that, it really classes up any dress," Riley said, peering out from around a rack of sparkly dresses. "And if we all get something will silver in it we can all kind of match, without looking like we planned it or anything!"
"I still can't believe I was actually nominated," Smackle said, shaking her head as she toyed with the hem of a dress hanging on the end of the rack.
"Why do you find that so hard to believe? You're gorgeous and you're talking to Zay," Maya rolled her eyes.
"But girls like you or Missy or Riley are supposed to be nominated. Not girls like me," Smackle shrugged, letting go of the dress. "Not nerdy, know-it-all, four-eyed freaks. Girls like me don't get nominated for stuff like this," she sighed.
"Shut up and go put on this dress," Maya ordered, holding out a gorgeous yet simple dress. "Try the dress on and then look in the mirror and try to tell me that you aren't the type of girl who should be nominated for Homecoming Court," she instructed.
"I don't really get what that's supposed to prove," Smackle sighed, accepting the dress.
"It's just an experiment," Riley said cheerfully, dancing her way over to her friends with a stack of dresses piled impossibly high on her arm.
"How is this an experiment? There don't seem to be an variables or-"
"Smackle!" Maya laughed. "Get your perky little ass into the fitting room and into that dress before we make you do it!'
"I don't get what-"
"Alright, come on," Riley rolled her eyes, dropping her pile of dresses down onto a chair pressed up against the wall near her and hooking her arm through Smackle's and pulling her towards the fitting room.
Maya shook her head, giggling at her friends' antics as she continued looking through the racks, adding to the pile on her arm until it felt like the weight of the dresses was overbearing. And then she spotted the perfect dress, which caused her to immediately shove the other dresses back onto the rack and hurrying towards the fitting room.
She got there just as Smackle was being pushed out of the room by Riley, wearing the dress that Maya had selected for her.
It fit her like a glove. With a form fitting bodice, high swoop neck and a flowing, simple skirt, it was just enough to accent Smackle's features. The bodice was decorated with an elaborate silver design and the neckline was studded with silver, appearing like an elegant, collar necklace and her thin waist was lined with the same silver accents. The dress was a deep shade of dark purple and it would look perfect with a pair of strappy silver heels and a silver clutch. Maya could already picture Smackle's hair curled and pulled back, left down but away from her face, with diamond, drop earrings barely seen beneath her glossy, dark locks. A stack of silver bangles would be the perfect finishing touch.
"Look in the mirror and try to tell me that you don't belong on Homecoming Court," Maya smirked, entering the fitting room Smackle had just ended and dropping Riley's former pile of clothes onto the floor at her feet.
"You've only got one dress?" Riley asked as Maya pulled the door shut behind her, leaving Smackle to admire her reflection.
"It's the perfect dress," Maya replied as she tugged off the black, razor back tank top she was wearing.
"How can you possibly know that if you only try on one dress?" Riley rolled her eyes, yanking off her red, swoop neck tee shirt.
"Did I find the perfect dress for Smackle in just one shot?" Maya challenged, shimmying out of her light denim shorts.
"How do you do that?" Riley whined, kicking off her dark wash, cuffed shorts.
"Put on that yellow dress, okay? That's the one," Maya replied, pulling on her own dress and dipping out of the room, ready to admire herself in the three-way mirror.
"Holy shit, Maya-you seriously look like royalty. All you're missing is your crown," Smackle admired as Maya approached her.
The brunette stepped aside, allowing Maya to stand on the pedestal in front of the mirror so that she could get the best angle of her reflection with the best lighting.
She had been right. The dress was absolutely perfect. It was a deep, bright shade of red and had a high neckline with a thick lace coating surrounding her neck. A sheer material showed off her ample cleavage. The bodice of the dress had silver threads woven into, creating a textured pattern and the skirt flowed out in a cross between a ballerina's dress and a figure skater's costume, skirting out around her legs and leaving the majority of them bare.
It was going to be perfect, with a pair of feathered, silver earrings and a sparkly silver clutch. Silver, pointed toe heels would be the finishing touch. She would take her curls and just pin them up, keeping them in a low bun at the nape of her neck, allowing for a crown without messing up the style.
"How do you do it?" Riley admired as she stepped out of the fitting room, drawing Maya's attention onto her.
She turned away from the mirror and admired her best friend. Before leaving the fitting room, Riley had pulled her hair into a half-bun-half-ponytail, making it appear shorter than it was. If her hair had been curled, it would have been the perfect style for her dress.
The dress fit her like a glove and the shade of bright yellow matched her bubbly personality. The neckline was sheer with cap sleeves. The bodice was lined with silver teardrops at the top and the waistline was emphasized with the same decorations. From the waist down, the skirt began to flow out around her legs. It matched Riley's typical styles of dresses, but with a more formal edge to it.
With a pair of super strappy, silver heels and chandelier earrings as well as a silver clutch with just the slightest amount of sparkle, it would be perfect.
"That was so much easier than I imagined it being after last year," Smackle observed as she glanced between her friends and her own reflection with a content smile on her face.
"Well, let's go buy these dresses and then get some accessories. Then, we'll get some sushi and head home?" Maya grinned.
"And get you all dolled up for your date at Sardi's with Lucas tonight?" Riley teased as the girls made their way back towards the fitting room.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Maya rolled her eyes.
"You're bailing on girl's night to hang out with your boyfriend," Smackle pouted as she closed the fitting room door behind her.
"Why don't you and Zay do something?" Riley wondered as she slipped out of her dress. "I have a ton of homework to catch up on anyways. Spanish is kicking my ass," she shrugged as she hung the dress back up on it's hanger.
"We're not exclusive," Smackle shrugged, squirming out of her own dress.
"What's that mean?" Maya wondered, hanging up her own dress. "I thought you guys were talking?" She pulled her tank top back on.
"Yeah, well, he's also talking to Larissa Jacobs," Smackle rolled her eyes.
"Freshman cheerleader Larissa Jacobs?" Maya gasped as she pulled her shorts back on.
"The tiny little red head with the killer curves and the bad attitude? She'll eat Zay alive," Riley snorted as she put her street clothes back on.
"That's not the point," Maya rolled her eyes, slipping back on her black flip flips. "The point is that he's going on a date with some other bimbo instead of being loyal to our Smackle!"
"It's not a big deal…I would have stayed with Farkle if he wasn't in love with Riley," Smackle shrugged, slipping into her grey and white checkered print, high waisted shorts.
"I still feel bad about that," Riley flushed.
"You can't control Farkle's feelings," Smackle rolled her eyes, pulling on her grey, cropped, cap sleeve top.
"Wait, so you're not into Zay?" Maya frowned.
"Zay's cute and he's super sweet and he's really funny, but nothing is going to change the fact that he's been in love with Maya since the day he met her," Smackle rolled her eyes, leaning over to tie her Converse.
"What?" Maya laughed uncomfortably, shocked by what her friend had just said. "What are you talking about? Zay isn't in love with me," she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, he is," Riley snorted, slipping into her black and white stripped flats.
"What makes you two so sure about that?" Maya furrowed her eyebrows together.
"He was going to tell you so many times. Seriously, how did you not know that he was in love with you?" Riley shrugged.
"When did he ever try to tell me that?" Maya wondered, grabbing her dress and turning around, ready to leave the fitting room.
"I knew that Farkle, Lucas and Josh were blind to his crush, but you're an expert at figuring out how people feel. How'd you miss Zay's obvious love for you?" Riley rolled her eyes, grabbing her own dress and following after the blonde.
"He's never gonna act on it, Maya," Smackle explained, taking her dress to follow after her friends. "He would never do that to Lucas and he knows that you're in love with Lucas anyways. So, he's going to pull a Maya and try to get over you by throwing himself into other relationships," she shrugged her shoulders.
"Pull a Maya?" Maya shrieked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you're obviously in love with somebody but you give them up for the happiness of others, and then try to get over them by throwing yourself whole heartedly into your next relationship," Riley explained.
"How long has this been a thing?"
"Since Riley and Lucas got together," Smackle replied.
"How have I never heard you guys use that before?"
"Because we were always careful not to say it in front of you, because we knew that you'd get pissed off," Smackle shrugged as she followed Maya towards the shoe department of the store.
"Well, it's sort of insulting," Maya muttered.
"Get over it," Riley rolled her eyes. "You guys say that somebody's taking a trip to Rileytown every time they're overly happy and choose to ignore the bad things happening in the world, don't you?" She accused.
"Alright, fair enough," Maya said, unable to fight the grin that begin to spread across her pouty lips. "But next time you guys coin a catchphrase with my name, could you inform me about it?"
"Yeah," Riley shrugged.
"I guess that's fair," Smackle agreed.
"That's all I ask."
"How do I look?" Maya asked, throwing her hands in the air and striking a pose for her friends.
Everybody was settled into Maya's bedroom and she had just emerged from her giant, walk-in closet to show everybody the finished product. Smackle and Riley had picked out hairstyles for Maya to choose from and given her three outfit choices for the evening, but they had no idea what Maya had chosen for herself.
This was the big reveal and Maya couldn't have imagined it going any better.
Her hair had been straightened to perfection, falling down to her hips and appearing just a little bit longer than it usually did. She was dressed in a black, asymmetrical hem tulip skirt that showed off her long legs and emphasized her curves. A sliver of her toned stomach was revealed due to her pale pink, ribbed, sleeveless turtleneck crop top that hugged her chest just enough.
She was wearing a pair of matching, lace-up, pointed toe heels with a Pandora-box styled purse in the same color. Each wrist was wrapped up in a rose-gold cuff bracelet, each with a different design to it. Feather drop earrings in that same color peaked out from beneath her long, bright blonde locks.
A dark, smoky eye elaborately lined with black, winged eyeliner finished her look and she wore a pale pink lipstick. She had a pair of cat-eye sunglasses tossed into her purse with her rose gold iPhone 6S wrapped in it's cut-out case and she had thrown her black leather jacket over her shoulder as she struck her run-way ready pose, with one leg out in front of her and her hip jutted out.
"Smoking!" Riley exclaimed, immediately grabbing her silver iPhone six plus so that she could snap a picture. "Give me a little more attitude with your pose!"
Maya giggled, turning around and looking at her friends from over her shoulder, with one hand on her hip and the other one bent behind her head, the accessories in her hands thrown aside as she pursed her lips and winked at the brunette's sitting on her bed, staring at her in awe.
"Lucas is going to lose his shit when he sees you," Smackle nodded her head in approval. "Seriously, he's going to want to skip the date and fuck the shit out of you instead."
"Have you guys done that yet?" Riley asked, throwing her phone aside and bouncing on the bed, curling her legs up into a criss-crossed position in front of her. "You didn't tell me that you guys were doing that!"
"We haven't had sex, Riley," Maya rolled her eyes.
"Promise?" Riley accused.
"I swear," Maya laughed at her friend's antics.
"Ask her again after tonight and she's going to have a totally different answer for you," Smackle shrugged her shoulders innocently.
"What you talking about Smackle?" Maya gasped, head snapping towards the other brunette who was lying on her stomach on Maya's bed, flipping through a magazine.
"I'm saying that you look hot as fuck and there's no way that Lucas is going to be able to resist you tonight when he can barely resist you when you're in your cheerleading uniform, regardless of the fact that he should be used to that sight by now," Smackle replied, attention back on the glossy paged magazine she was reading.
"What's up with this language?" Riley wondered. "You never swear this much," she observed.
"Yeah, well, I'm trying something new," Smackle shrugged.
"I'm not going to have sex with Lucas tonight," Maya insisted, bringing the attention back to her.
"Then why can't we sleepover tonight after your date?" Riley pouted.
"Because…well, we're probably going to be getting back late and I'll probably be tired and my parents are out of town and-"
"Why'd you tell Riley to say you were sleeping over at her place?" Smackle asked innocently. "When you're just coming back here?"
"Because my mom would lose it if she found out that I was staying home alone when she and-"
"Stop making excuses," Riley rolled her eyes. "Or we're staying here all night," she smirked.
"Alright, fine," Maya sighed, leaning back against the wall behind her and holding up her hands to show her sign of surrender. "Lucas and I were planning on hooking up tonight because we have the apartment to ourselves. So, I need Riley to cover for me," Maya admitted.
"That's all you had to say," Riley replied.
"Yeah, I don't know why you're making such a big deal about this," Smackle rolled her eyes, a teasing smile on her face.
Before Maya could muster up a response, there was a knock at the apartment door and the girls all shot into action. Maya started to gather up the rest of her stuff, while Riley and Smackle lunged from the bed, tripping over themselves as they tried to race out of the bedroom and towards the front door, attempting to be the first one there so that they could answer the door and let Lucas in.
Maya rolled her eyes, shaking her head at her friend's antics before slowly following after her friends, figuring that if they were going to make fools of themselves, she might as well use that extra time to make a grand entrance for herself. After all, it was always fun to watch Lucas's reactions when he was taken by surprise with her, and with Riley and Smackle's reactions to her, she was positive that Lucas was going have an even better reaction to her than she had originally hoped for.
As soon as she heard the door open and Riley and Smackle greeting Lucas, she took a deep breath and made her way out of her bedroom, entering the leaving room and walking towards the front door with her head held high, just waiting for Lucas to notice her.
"Riley, that's really interesting and all but…..holy shit, Maya, you look….wow," Lucas trailed off from his conversation with Riley and focused in on the blonde with eyes growing wide as he reached up to scratch behind his neck with one of his hands.
Maya wasn't able to contain the smile that started to slowly spread across her lips at the compliment. Lucas pushed his way between Smackle and Riley, approaching Maya with an eagerness that she had never seen in him before. He took her bag and her jacket, tossing them onto the counter besides the couple and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her in close to him and pressing his lips against hers, claiming her mouth in one of the most intimate kisses the pair had shared, ignoring the audience that they had.
Or, at least, trying to ignore the audience that they had because Smackle and Riley were not the type of girls who just allowed themselves to be ignored by their friends.
"I want that," Riley whined. "Why can't I have something like that?"
"I hate them for being so adorable," Smackle said with an eye roll.
Without breaking her kiss with Lucas, Maya just smiled into the kiss, raising one hand up to give her friends the finger, telling them exactly where they could go.
"Well, we can take a hint," Riley said indignantly. "We know when we're not wanted."
"We'll just take this as our cue to leave," Smackle replied.
With her lips still attached to Lucas's, Maya unfolded her fist and waggled her fingers at her friends, signaling them off with a sarcastic wave of her hand. She knew she was being a little bit snarky with her friends, but she knew that they understood and that they were in on the joke with her.
Besides, she was in love and that was taking over her life. Slowly, but surely, Lucas Friar was taking over her entire world and while she had always argued that she was never going to be the type of girl to dedicate her life to a boy, she couldn't help it when it came to him. And she honestly didn't really mind when Lucas Friar was the boy in question. Because, at least she knew that he was more than worth it.
Which was exactly why she was so okay with their plans for that night, without the tiniest bit of regret or doubt. She was ready-she was honestly ready. And she couldn't wait for it to actually happen. Because, as long as she was having her first time with Lucas, everything was going to be okay.
He would go slow and he would be patient. He would make sure that she was comfortable and enjoying every moment. He would be loving and he would stay with her, cuddling with her all night long. He would always be there for Maya, because he had always been there for her.
So, as long as her first time was with Lucas, she knew that it was going to be absolutely perfect, for once in her life.
"Maya's so lucky," Riley sighed, walking into her bedroom and handing Smackle a pint of cheesecake core, cookies and cream Ben and Jerry's. "I mean, I know her love story is messy, but the most adorable ones always are," she swooned, dropping down on the bay window with her newest best friend and immediately dipping into her empower-mint Ben and Jerry's.
"Do you have, like, an endless supply of Ben and Jerry's in your freezer?" Smackle wondered, popping a spoonful into her mouth.
"Well, yeah," Riley answered, frowning as though Smackle's question had confused her. "Doesn't everybody?"
"Most people just have, like, a gallon or two at a time and they're pretty basic flavors," Smackle explained, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Especially health nuts like your mom," she pointed out.
"Well, my mom's biggest weakness is ice cream, so whenever she goes to the grocery store she gets whatever flavors they have in the pints," Riley shrugged her shoulders.
"How big is your freezer?" Smackle gasped.
"We go through it pretty fast," Riley admitted. "But, anyways, back to Maya and romance and relationships!" she said excitedly, pulling her feet up so that her legs were criss-crossed in front of her.
"What about it?" Smackle frowned.
"So, you and Zay aren't gonna work, because he's in love with Maya, as we all knew…" Riley explained, her voice trailing off as she waved her ice-cream covered spoon in the air, emphasizing her point.
"What are you getting at?" Smackle made a face, showing her confusion.
"So what now?" Riley bounced up and down in her seat excitedly.
"Nothing," Smackle shrugged.
"What do you mean nothing?"
"I mean, the guy that I like is in love with a girl who's never going to care about him the same way, and the other one who I thought I could work things out with is stuck swooning on somebody who's completely unattainable to him," she rolled her eyes.
"Zay and you could still work! He's just being a typical, hormonal teenage guy," Riey rolled her eyes.
"I'm not talking about Zay," Smackle said, staring down into her ice cream.
"Then who are you-oh…oh!" Riley gasped in surprise as she realized what Smackle was talking about, or, more specifically, who Smackle was talking about.
"Yeah," Smackle rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
She knew how ridiculous she sounded, after all. She knew that she was wrong to still be pining over Farkle, when he was so in love with Riley, even knowing that she was never going to have feelings for him. At least, she would never have any sort of real feelings for him. She had been so repulsed by their kiss that she had been driven to tears over the realization that her inability to love somebody like Farkle made what she had feared about herself for so very long true.
Smackle was a smart girl. One of the smartest people that she knew. So, for her to still be obsessing over a boy when all of the facts told her that it was so very wrong, she knew that it made her seem like an idiot. She seemed foolish to hold onto this fantasy of a perfect, fairytale type of relationship.
But, matters of the heart couldn't be considered the same as scientific fact. So, it was either break her own heart every day by refusing to try to make things work and completely give up on Farkle and all of her dreams of being with him, or she could break her own heart every day by pining over him, but knowing that she was giving him every possible chance to be with her, if he ever changed his mind. And, Smackle had learned something from her scientific knowledge that carried over into affairs of the heart. It was better to know the truth, rather than to spend the rest of her days wondering what could have happened.
"Well, you know, you happen to be very lucky to have me as a best friend," Riley said, bumping her shoulder against Smackle's with a mischievous grin.
"Why's that?" Smackle wondered, the confusion evident in her face.
"Because I know exactly what type of girl Farkle likes and I happen to know that you perfectly fit that mold," Riley continued to smile, going back to cheerfully enjoying her ice cream.
"If that's true, then I have two questions for you," Smackle sighed.
"Yeah?" Riley wondered, obnoxiously licking at the large scoop of ice cream decorating her spoon.
"One, if I'm the type of girl that Farkle likes, why is he so in love with you?" Smackle wondered, giving Riley a pointed look.
Riley froze, eyes growing wide as she held the spoon up to her mouth, drips of ice cream starting to run down her hands, mouth parted just slightly from the shock and the bite of ice cream she had been about to take a bite of.
"And two…if I'm the type of girl that Farkle would love, why is he out on a date with Theresa Perron?"
"He's what?" Riley shrieked, dropping her spoon down onto the carpet as her jaw completely dropped and her half-full tub of ice cream tumbled off of her lap, eyes bulging out of her head. "He's on a date with that skanky freshman cheerleader whose best friends with Larissa?" Riley gasped.
"I don't know who she's friends with and I don't know anything about her reputation. I just know that she's a cheerleader and she looks like a mini Maya, with the big blonde curls and the wide blue eyes. The only difference is that she's got your body type," Smackle shrugged.
"Yeah, that's her and she's a major skank," Riley muttered.
"You're swearing," Smackle observed.
"Because I'm pissed off. Farkle's out with a girl just because she looks like mine and Maya's love child when he should be working on a plan to win you back," Riley scoffed.
"He's on a double date with Zay. Besides, he probably figures his chances with me are shot, since he stepped back for Zay and he admitted to being in love with you. He probably thinks I don't want anything to do with him. And he would never do something like that to Zay," Smackle shrugged.
"Yeah, well, I'm going to make that boy see reason. Ready for some fun?" Riley asked, rubbing her hands together deviously.
"What do you have planned?" Smackle groaned.
"Nothing all that awful. I was just thinking that we could ruin Farkle's little date-and, that would involve ruining Zay's date as well, so it's twice as much fun," She smirked.
"Are you sure you're not Maya?" Smackle questioned.
"I'm all Riley! And I'm just saying-we're not allowed to date people that they don't approve of, so why can they date people that we don't approve of? And they didn't even make sure that we all knew about their dates, which is totally unfair!" Riley protested.
"We date guys that they approve of because we just keep cycling through the same four guys," Smackle pointed out.
"Well, I can think of a guy that they both despise. A guy that even Lucas hates. And he would be more than willing to help us with a plan to piss those guys off. So, whaddya say?" Riley asked, wiggling her eyebrows excitedly.
"Who did you have in mind?" Smackle sighed, leaning back against the mound of pillows behind her.
"What would you say to a date with Charlie Gardner?"