TS42- Chapter 34: The Final Fight (Before College):
Hey everybody! I just realized something... When I like someone in real life, I feel more motivated to write romance fanfics and when I don't, I'm more motivated to do my school work and write articles. Hmm... Funny how that works. I guess I feel it's a good way to just let my feelings get out. Anyways, time to continue going on with this awesome writing spree, and get another chapter of this up. Only Chapter 35 and then the future stuff happens! :D
Lucas's POV:
The worst part of the school year. Finals. They come really early this year as seniors too, and it's terrible. I mean, it's just a great big test on everything we've learned all year. It's not really a big deal for everyone else who have a lot more time to study for theirs like the freshman, but for us seniors? It's make or break. I mean, better for us to take it early than the younger ones I suppose, but it doesn't mean I like doing it this way now. I have to try so hard not to think about Riley... It's almost impossible to not talk to her while I study. Since we don't have a lot of the same classes anymore it's hard to study as a group. It's pretty much Maya and I and Riley and Farkle. Yes, I'm studying with Maya for the biggest test of the year. Five years ago that wouldn't have made any sense, but... It does now. It's amazing how much we've changed since seventh grade...
*FLASHBACK*:
"Ugh, I hate tests!" A seventh grade Riley said. Farkle was the only person in the room who wanted to take the History exam.
"When you get to high school you all will be glad that you're practicing with tests now!" Cory had said.
*Lucas suddenly wakes up from his daydream*
"Lucas! Hello... Are you alive?" Riley asked me
"Yeah, just had a little flashback moment. What do you need?" I ask my favorite girl in the world.
"Nothing. It's just that you weren't replying when I asked you a question and I wanted to make sure you were still alive." She said, which made me laugh a little.
"Well, I hope I'm alive for a long time. Enough time to have grand kids would be nice." I say, before realizing that saying that this early in our relationship as only 18 year olds might not have been the best time for that.
"Well, we still have a while before I want to think about that, alright? I mean, let's live our own lives first." She said, and I absolutely agree with that.
"Yup... What do you you have to study for?" I asked her.
"Well, I'm starting with Spanish first. Should be the easiest but one of the more important. I'm right on the edge of an A in the class, and I want that A!" She cheered.
"Can't blame you there. I'm saving French for later. I'll start with artistic design." Riley quickly offered to help me a little with asking me questions, but helping her with Spanish went terrible because she kept on correcting my pronunciation of everything, so I helped her with Humanities instead since I had actually read some of the books to her. Overall, spending time with Riley is all I need. I need to think about my future with her though. I mean, are we just going to be boyfriend and girlfriend for ten years? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but, I mean, I'd like it to be more than that. Develop into something better. Like marriage. I mean, yeah I have a lot of time, especially with college and all, but still. I feel like we're in a stalemate and we can't go anywhere else. What can I do about it? I don't know, and that's where I'm struggling. I'm just fighting myself over and over again and it doesn't help when I can't share this problem with the one person who solves all my problems because it's about her. I wonder what she's thinking about regarding our future?
Riley's POV:
Twitter status- when your boyfriend looks like he's thinking about something other than studying for his final exam review but you're afraid to ask what it is.
You know, that's how I feel right now. I don't want to know why he's thinking about something so serious other than studying. It's nothing bad, but the problem is he knows I'm always here to help and I'm sitting right next to him yet he's still not asking me for anything. Well, I guess I should ask him.
"Lucas, what are you thinking about?" I ask him.
"Life after high school. What do I do when I'm done with these exams?"
"Relax, take the summer off, then head off to school like the rest of us." I say, not getting what is upsetting him.
"No, no. I know that! I mean, like... With you. I'm thinking about the future." He says.
"What's wrong with being in the moment? Can't we just carry on as we are? I mean, we are both happy like we are, right? Why do we have to change?" I respond.
"Oh, not now... Now is too early. I'm just thinking down the line. In college for example. We know we will be on the same campus, but we won't be able to see each other as much. Being in a relationship might get hard." Hard?
"What would make it harder than it is now? I mean, I thought we got through the hard stuff already. In eighth grade. I thought that was the hardest time in a relationship." I answer.
"Well, that it was. I just want you to know that no matter what I still love you and you're mine, I'm yours and that's the way I hope it is for the rest of time." *Riley Faints*
"Well, I'm assuming that's a good idea then." Lucas says without Riley knowing.
General POV:
Lucas then waited for Riley to wake up, but the future gave Riley so many good daydreams she couldn't wake up. She didn't want to, and there was really no reason to except for study. Studying was the last thing on Riley's mind though. When she heard Lucas say that last sentence, it was almost like one of the daydreams she had a while ago when he asked her to marry her. That's why she fainted. It was quite surreal for her to imagine what Lucas had said under just a normal circumstance, that she couldn't imagine how she was going to accept his marriage proposal. It was a shock Lucas hadn't already asked her to marry him after high school. It seemed like a sure thing, but Lucas wanted to wait. Just like he waited for his moment in middle school. He was more than willing to wait for an even better moment to propose, and while she was supposed to be studying for Finals without him was clearly not the best time. He had set a specific day in mind, of course nobody else knew that, and it all depended on what was going to happen leading up to said day, but he was ready. He still had a long time, yes, but he was ready.
Maya's POV:
Well, I guess our relationships are flipped. Instead of Lucas wondering about the future for the perfect pair, it's me for Farkle and I. The most upsetting part about leaving high school is leaving what you know so well. It's nothing like going from middle to high school. That jump was nothing because of all the friends and support systems and everything else we all had. This one, including possibly being totally isolated from all my friends, including Farkle, will be impossible. I'll have to call them all the time but they won't answer because they'll be busy doing formal papers and things. Oh well. I guess we couldn't be like this forever. There comes a time when all good things must come to an end and a new era begins. I guess college must be that time. Fortunately, first. We got one last challenge to face here. Our hardest final exams yet. Starting with Military History! I'm ready to conquer the pieces of paper that lie before me next week! I'm ready for this! I'll be ready.
Farkle's POV:
I'm so ready for these tests! If they're as easy as the AP Exams were a couple weeks ago, these finals will be no problem. Just have to keep on studying! Have to stay focused. Can't think about Maya, college, or whatever else I might think about thinking about. Nothing. Except. Exams. Math...
"Maya, can you help me?" I ask, totally ignoring my prior statement about just saying I didn't want to think about her during study time.
"Sure, with what?" She asks, always ready to attempt to help me with things she has no idea about but is still willing to try.
"This. I can't think! I mean, I don't even remember much of what we did in Calculus last month, let alone last year! 2018 was so long ago! (They are in May 2019).
"Oh, um... Math... You see, uh I'm way behind your genius-ness in Math, and I have no idea what this sign even means... I mean, I wish I could, but you will have to ask Riley. This is way past me." She explains quite expectantly, as she goes to call Riley for me so that we can change partners and she can go work with Lucas, who is taking some of the easier classes and can help her better than I could.
"Farkle, give me a minute, I have to bring something personal up with Riley." She says after talking with her on the phone for around a minute or two. I wonder what she couldn't tell Riley about without me there?
Maya's POV:
"Riley, you there?" I ask to make sure.
"Yes, Maya. The phone stopped ringing." She said.
"Why haven't you answered my texts?" I ask
"I was knocked out. Unconscious!" She says.
"Why? What happened?!" I immediately go full on protective mode of my best friend, thinking someone beat her up.
"You see, Lucas was talking about our future... And, he said something, and I almost had a mini heart attack, and then he said something different and I fainted." She said, making me less worried.
"Well, maybe I should tell Lucas about that one time the third." She instantly gasps, knowing full well that my threat is serious and could threaten her secret from getting out.
"Maya! Why would you do such a thing! I wouldn't tell Farkle about you're...The day the second." I instantly hold my breath, fearing she would do such a thing.
"I have more blackmail on you than you do me." Is my smooth response.
"Well, mine is deeper, and more sacred. You just have more. I'd say we are pretty even. Why did you even start making these threats about the time the third anyways?"
"Farkle needs your help and I need to give you a motive to come over here." I explain to her,
"There has to be something else. What is it?" She asks.
"Well, you see... It's recently come to my attention that what happened on that time the third was no joke, and that even though you said you were kidding, you really weren't. Even though it was practice for anyone, it was very clearly practice for Lucas, which you made clear by the pictures on that day, as well as other things. I have the biggest piece of blackmail on you anyone has ever discovered, and that is that you-" she cuts me off.
"Okay, okay! Don't say it! Nobody can listen to anything about that time, or the secret that has been revealed, okay?! Now be quiet about it. I'll be over in 10 minutes once I find Lucas." She answers, satisfying my request. Wonderful, I now have total control over Riley, all due to one single moment in time...
-Flashback in Riley's POV-
"Alright, here's a candle, here's the picture and here's the ring, and the dress, and everything. Time to consult the checklist. Ring, dress, shoes, lucky charm, picture, candle, music, and food. My list is complete! Thank goodness I still write in this diary despite what I told dad. Now, time to cue here comes the bride! Ah... Hopefully less than ten more years until this moment comes true... Lucas is just standing there smiling, just like in the picture, with the beautifully scented candle just giving off a nice flame... All of a sudden, the window opens, blowing out the candle, freezing my room, and chilling all my wonderfully prepped food.
"Maya! Ah!" I scream "This is a private ceremony! Nobody was invited!" I flipped out that someone had witnessed my fake wedding scene with Lucas.
"Aw... How cute! Riley's practicing for a wedding with her little cowboy crush in a few years. Isn't that adorable! My little plant is growing up so fast..." (Before the play that was the last time Maya called Riley that name). "She's so embarrassed. Look at her blushing! I need pictures of this!" She takes out her camera and snaps photos of me and my room which looks like a church would during a wedding ceremony. She shows me the photos and how red I am from blushing so hard. This is easily, the most embarrassing day of my life.
"Aw... Riley, nothing to be ashamed about... It's alright. All it did was give me blackmail for the future, that's all." Maya said not helping me whatsoever.
"Maya, this is private! Personal! It was only for my own benefit, but you came without my permission and you must sign this contact." I give her a contract to sign, that says she must abide by the secrets rules, meaning she may not tell anyone regardless of the reason unless she could prove to me that there is reasonable proof to establish breaking our terms of agreement, which allow me to break the rules for one of hers shall she do so on this case.
"Haha Riley, wrong contract. This hardly looks like one your mom would make." Maya says, showing me the contract I made for myself to sign for Lucas for my little wedding ceremony showing that the wedding took place on September 9th. I gave her the correct one and she signed it, labeling it as The Time III.
-End Flashback- Maya's POV Again:
Ah... All I have to say is TTT, and she will instantly obey every little word I say, and hang on to it all for dear life.
"Maya, don't you dare..." She reminds me.
"Oh, but what do I have to lose?" I irk her on, promoting an aggressive response from Riley.
"Maya, I refuse to fight with you. Just don't tell, and I won't have to bring out my secret weapon." Probably video of me doing the same thing. "John and Matt." She adds, instantly worrying me, and making me regret my decision to even threaten the girl look extremely stupid. How could such a shy girl be so cruel?
"No fighting. Done deal, let's switch partners." I say wanting to get back to normal. Hopefully that's the closest we will get to having our final fight before college starts.
Riley's POV:
Humph. At least I didn't lose another fight to Maya. That should be our final fight before college too. A lot of final fights lately. All four of us against each other and school all at once. Hmm... Just glad the school one ends soon.