A/N: So this might be the longest chapter in the series so far. The reason I didn't cap it at 7k and split the chapter into two is because there won't be an update next week. So I decided to give you guys as much as I possibly could. I'm gonna go on a little break because there are a few more chapters that I need to write with scenes that are intense, it gets crazy trust me, and those require a lot of time for me to write. I'm dedicated to finishing this series because it's one of my favorites ever and it means a lot to me.
Cool beans: Your review made my day, girl. You're so sweet. And I'm not going on a break because of any hate, trust me. I'm going on a break to get ahead of my schedule and to focus on the story's direction because trust me, it gets better. And the chapter I return with is gonna be a good one. Thank you for making my day and I'm sending you virtual hugs luv. Stay safe.
Tilly: So true, sorry lmao.
Hi: Yeah, our girl Riley is kind of blinded. You'll see more of that develop in this chapter. And she's like that because she really loves him, she's letting her heart get in the way of what she truly thinks and that was very interesting for me to write. And damn, you went in on her lmao. We dragging characters now? i'm dead. Riley's just very optimisitc and kindhearted, which can make her seem very vulnerable and immature.
selenita: I love you guys for attacking Riley lmao, it's so funny. But this is something most girls can relate to, right? We catch our boyfriends cheating and we go into denial, it's authentic and realistic and that's what I wanted. And that was exactly it, it can get stressful so thank you guys so much for understanding.
GuestEstelle: You made a really good point, but Maya doesn't really know how toxic they are. She just suspected she caught them at a time when they were mad at each other or arguing over something. The scene wasn't meant to be taken that seriously, Riley recognizes that it's her decision in the end. So no need to be disappointed. And we'll definitely see about the whole cheating thing, I'll explore that in the upcoming weeks.
A special thanks to my FF friend Katy Kear for helping me write a scene with Isadora and Farkle. This is a turning scene for the both of them and I'm happy she helped me with it. Thank you guys so much and thank you for reading.
Chapter 15
Lose You to Love Me
to love, love, yeah
ooo
Blinding lights flashed in their direction as Lucas and Riley posed for their Winter Formal picture. She wore a pink quartz tulle dress that featured a pink bow along the neckline, with a cape design around the sleeves. Her long cascades were down past her shoulders with a boho style inspired hairstyle, a smiling gracing her features. Lucas was dressed in a tuxedo with his touseled hair combed to the side while he flashed a smile.
As he kissed her cheek and Riley feigned a smile for the camera, all Riley could think about was the picture of the topless girl on his phone. She knew how she looked and she knew her name was Zuri, but the brunette had never seen her around school. She didn't know how Lucas met her, but she was sure of one thing.
Lucas had been flirting with another girl behind her back.
She didn't know why she couldn't confront him about it. It was like every time the thought occurred, she'd look deep into his emerald eyes and forbid herself from even thinking about it.
Despite knowing what she knew, she still craved his hugs and kisses and wanted to be around him. She loved him and she was sure there was an explanation to all of this, she just wasn't ready to hear it.
She spent the rest of their day fixated on the image of the nude girl. Even though she stared at it for a few seconds, the image hadn't left her head. She was able to read Lucas' response and all he had sent was the heart-eyed emoji.
It broke her heart that he had encouraged the behavior. She wanted to believe he'd never do that to her, she wanted to believe she hadn't seen what she saw and that her reality was lying to her.
There was no way Lucas would be capable of that, right?
Sure he was impulsive and jealous and possessive, but he wasn't a cheater. He would never, right?
He would never hurt her like that.
There were times when they cuddled and she was wrapped in his embrace that he needed to bring her out of her trance. She had overwhelmed herself with the thoughts and ideas of Lucas cheating yet justified every single one of them. Refusing to believe he was cheating.
He just couldn't be.
When they came back from their date to the grocery store and sat in the living room, Riley was struggling to accept her knowledge of Lucas' infidelity. It couldn't have been especially in the way he was holding and kissing her, the thought of him cheating wasn't easy to comprehend.
She was certain of his love for her and he proved it every chance he got which only made all of it impossible to believe.
When they were done taking their pictures, they picked up their copies at the end of the booth and smiled at the result. The developed pictures were beautiful and they looked happily in love.
They sat back down at their table and Riley stared at her best friends. They sat on the opposite side of their table and curiously talked to one another as they checked the boys out who were occasionally stealing glances in their direction.
They were brilliant souls and the brunette always wondered how she was lucky enough to have them in her life. She just wished they knew everything that was going on in her life.
Truth was, Riley hadn't told anybody. Not even Maya, not even Isadora. They would've been the first people she ran to in a moment like this, but she stopped herself.
There was something about sharing this kind of information with them that would tarnish their idea of Lucas and she didn't want that.
She still cared about their opinion of him and telling him what she knew would change that. She knew her friends more than anybody in the world and she was sure they would do the confrontation for her.
Maya's strength coupled with Isadora's remarks would tear Lucas to shred's and she didn't want that. They would cause a scene in front of the entire school and possibly get themselves suspended.
So she kept it to herself.
She just didn't know how long she would be able to do that.
"...so is that a yes?" she heard Lucas say, his expectant eyes on her.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
He sat back on his chair, his green eyes staring deep into her brown, with a quizzical expression. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded almost immediately. "Yeah, I just...you know, these dances can be overwhelming sometimes."
He didn't feel the need to investigate further so he took her hand, "I asked if you wanted to dance."
"Oh," she said before leaving her stuff on the table. "Yeah, c'mon, let's go."
Dancing with Lucas was a feeling she never wanted to get used to. Even after a year of dating he still brought out the excitement in her, when she was pressed against him all she could smell was his cologne and the feeling of comfort. She loved it and missed it every time and even when she suspected him of cheating, and even though she tried to justify it in every way, she still loved him and wanted to be near him.
His hands moved to her waist as he pulled her in closer, placing his chin on her shoulders. "I love you."
She felt her heart drop, she loved him too, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Not when there was a huge cloud of uncertainty surrounding them.
"Why don't you spend the night at my place?" he asked
Riley knew his intention, he knew what he wanted if she spent the night and she wasn't sure she could do that. She couldn't bring herself to even think about it. "I can't. I think that I'm gonna ride home with Maya. It's been a long day."
His brows creased for a short instance, "It's fine, I'll take you."
"I think Maya should."
He took a step back and stared at her for a few seconds. Normally she'd be okay with his offer, but she wasn't now. "Riley, what's wrong?"
She couldn't bring herself to look at him, "I already told you - "
"I don't believe you. I know you, I know when there's something going on, I can tell. It's so obvious."
She gulped, "I don't know what to tell you, Lucas, I already told you there was nothing wrong."
He wanted to keep asking her about it, he would've done just that, but he knew how they got when they pressured each other. He didn't want them to start arguing in the middle of a dance, especially when they were slow dancing. He nodded understandingly and held her hands. "Okay, I'm sorry I asked. We're still on for our date tomorrow, right?" he asked, knowing it would be his birthday.
She nodded. She still had a surprise birthday party to follow through with. "Yeah. Be at my place on time, okay? I'll leave you if you're late."
He loved her sense of humor. It was everything to him and he loved that his 18th birthday would be with the love of his life.
ooo
Since Riley had gotten the idea to surprise Lucas with a birthday party, she immediately recruited Zay, Farkle, Isadora, Maya, and Cara to take charge of the preparation. Due to her planning and quick thinking, she was able to successfully keep Lucas out of his house by arranging that they meet at her place for their alleged date.
So once he was gone, the entire gang snuck in and started decorating the place.
Riley had the entire week to prepare and it was clear to Zay that she had everything under control. She must've repeated the plan to him a dozen times, so much so that he knew it word for word.
The plan went as followed:
When Lucas left, they were to sneak into his house - through the back door - and find the bags of decorations hidden in the hallway closet; which she had hidden the day before.
In one of the bags was the blueprint for the way she wanted the decorations to be set up, she wanted them to follow it exactly since she was picky when it came to stuff like that.
Zay's friends were to show up to Lucas' place a half-hour later to distribute the alcohol and beer through the ice chests in the kitchen and the backyard. She also wanted them to light the backyard with the patio lights Lucas' parents kept in the garage so people could travel in and out of the party.
Once that had been done, their friends should already be arriving. Which meant that Lucas and Riley shouldn't be too far behind.
A half-hour in, when everything was going according to plan, Maya and Isadora were already beginning to feel tipsy. The dark-skinned teen had advised them to stay sober, but together they were impossible to control.
Knowing they weren't allowed to drink, the two took a quick glance around the room to be certain no one would see him, then hastily took a bottle inside their coats. They took a final glance around before sneakily walking into the bathroom to take a handful of shots.
Once they were out, they would casually slide the bottle back into the ice chest and dispose of their red SOLO cups so nobody could catch them. They did this so they would be in the mood to party when their guests began to arrive.
And knowing Lucas' popularity, they were certain they were in for a large birthday celebration. Luckily, there hadn't been any reason to cancel, which is why the quintet on party detail.
The gang equally contributed to decorating the place and following Riley's orders. Maya and Zay were tasked with getting the word out and inviting people while Isadora, Farkle, and Cara focused on the placement of the decorations.
"Ok, so she wants us to hang these balloons up there in that corner," Cara said as she examined Riley's terrible drawing of the place. "And these streamers need to go over there above the door."
"Yes ma'am," Farkle nodded as he climbed the ladder propped against the wall. It was difficult at first since he was carrying the balloons up with him, but he managed to climb high enough until his head was nearly against the ceiling.
He taped the multi-colored balloons to the brown-colored walls as the rest of them watched from below. Once he had finished, he glanced downwards and waited for a thumbs up, "Is that good?"
They nodded. "Yeah."
"It looks cute," the blonde complimented from the other side of the house.
"You can come down no, we still need to hang the banner."
The genius stepped down from the ladder and together they walked towards the door to the main hallway. The entire house was decorated in brightly colored balloons, streamers, and other assorted decorations, and blacklights to illuminate the entire house.
They had even set a table so people could play cup pong and bought a few drinking games which were something Maya was certain she'd be doing in the coming hour.
Farkle stood at the top of the ladder hanging the birthday banner on the wall of the stairwell. He assumed Riley wanted it placed there so it'd be the first thing Lucas saw when he walked in.
Cara detected a slight problem with the banner, a frown appearing on her expression as she pointed to the problem. "Can you straighten it, please? It's a tad to low on the right side." She asked sweetly, trying to hide her displeasure.
"How about now? Is it good?" he asked.
"Yes, it's perfect. Oh, wait that actually looks really cute. Riley's such a great girlfriend to Lucas," she complimented as she took in the environment of the house, "And you guys are such great friends for helping her out with this."
"That's what we're for," he said, referring to themselves as minions which only made her laugh. "By the way, I didn't get to tell you, but I had a lot of fun with you last night. I didn't know you were such a great dancer."
"Am I now? I could've sworn I embarrassed you."
"Embarrassed me?" he questioned as they walked back into the kitchen, "Of course you didn't. I had a lot of fun, I would do it again if I had the chance."
"Do you now?" she asked as she placed a strand of her hair behind her head, "Well... prom is in a few months from now and I've never gone."
"Well, Cara," he said before taking her hand, knowing what he needed to do. "Would you like to go to prom with me?"
She smiled, excitedly. "I would love to, Farkle Minkus."
As they stood grinning in the doorway, a loud call from Zay reverberated throughout the room from the opposite direction of them. They were immediately startled from their trance and turned to look at him.
"Riley just said they'll be leaving their house in twenty minutes. Plus, people are already starting to arrive and we just finished decorating the place, so let's get lit!"
ooo
Lucas didn't expect to spend the second half of his birthday waiting for Riley to finish getting ready. He thought they'd have the rest of the evening to spend together doing whatever she had planned, but he was wrong.
Instead, he found himself sitting alone in her bedroom couch. He was using his phone while waiting patiently, but he got enough of it after two hours.
Seeing the sun go down only let him know they wouldn't be out for too long.
"Yo," he called out, "Riley, c'mon let's go. What's taking so long?"
Unbeknownst to Lucas, the brunette had spent the past fifteen minutes contemplating whether or not she could tolerate seeing him all night; especially after she had found that picture on his phone.
She didn't know if at any given moment she would snap and question him about it. She would feel guilty about doing that on his birthday, she was certain of it, but she wasn't sure if tonight would be the day that happened.
She wished she could forget about everything. She wanted to forget about everything, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to.
She tried her best to be happy, hoping she could manipulate herself into actually feeling it, but she was wrong.
Her find was fighting with certainty and uncertainty and she was struggling to come to terms with what she believed.
Before she could get lost in her own head again, she heard Lucas call out. He was getting impatient she could tell and the last thing she wanted was to get into an argument with him.
She looked at her phone to see any messages from Zay. When she learned that everything was going according to plan, she looked at herself in the mirror and feigned a smile. "Yeah, sorry it took me so long, I kept messing up my makeup."
"You know you don't need it," he said before examining her outfit and giving her a kiss, "You look beautiful... like always."
"Thank you."
As they walked down the stairs and to her car, the green-eyed teen began to grow curious about her secret plans. It was rare for Riley to keep things from him and he needed to know. "So where are we going after dinner?"
She shook her head no, knowing all too well what he was trying to do. "I already told you I wasn't going to tell. We're going out to eat and then the rest is secret."
"You know I don't like secrets."
If only he understood the irony.
"Well, today you do. But wait, before we get in the car, you need to put this on," she said before reaching into her purse and bringing out a blindfold.
He examined the piece of cloth in her hands and narrowed his eyes, "Why on Earth do I need to put that on?" he asked.
"It's a secret - "
"C'mon...," he said dryly, he had just confessed to her that he didn't like them. "Plus, I already know where we're going you said you made reservations at Casoni's - "
"That's true," she confirmed, "but there's something else I had planned."
He decided to take the blindfold from her hands, "You're not gonna leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere, right?"
She chuckled, "Don't be dumb... you'd find your way back."
"I really would," he teased, a besotted grin on his handsome face.
She helped him tie the blindfold behind his head and guided him to his seat before driving the car. She still found it funny that the teen was blissfully oblivious to the fact that they were driving to his birthday party.
A few minutes into the ride, when the silence had prolonged, Lucas reached for Riley's hand. "Is it weird that I'm somehow attracted to this?"
"Uh...yeah, a little."
"It's the mystery behind it that's definitely turning me on," he added. Even though the blindfold, he managed to flash his pearly whites and completely warm her heart. "You're spending the night with me, right?"
Instantly, her smile flatlined and she was glad he couldn't see it. "I- I don't know," she responded. Truth was, she wasn't interested, but she didn't want to tell him that. "I guess that just depends on how you act today."
"What if I'm on my best behavior?" He curiously asked, turning to her.
His words hung in the air for a few moments. "Well then I guess we'll see," she spoke, trying to avoid answering his question.
ooo
"They're here," Zay said quietly from his place in the window as she inspected a car coming through the lone road; but being so small in a room full of talkative people and loud music, nobody heard him.
Maya, taking notice of this, stood on the counter and yelled, "Everybody shut the fuck up! They're here."
Her loud remark made the room erupt in silence as the music paused.
"Nobody says a word until he takes off his blindfold," Cara called before silently squealing, channeling a 6-year-old as she ran with Farkle towards the rest of the crowd that had gathered in the foyer.
"Okay, I thank they heard you, babe," Josh said to his clearly drunk girlfriend. "You can come down from there."
"I'm just so excited," she exclaimed as she jumped from the counter and clasped her hands with his in excitement. Isadora followed her friends and stood beside Farkle, her shoulder accidentally touched his and he flinched in response before regaining his composure.
"Sorry," he said.
"It's fine," she replied, smiling. Although the interaction was small, Isadora realized that this had been the first time they talked in over a month. It saddened her to see how far apart they've become. "Thanks again for the help. I know we called last minute."
He grinned, "It's all right. Just helping a friend."
"Shh, everyone, shh!" the blonde hissed as she giggled in her palm. She was squished in between the rest of the crowd and watched as they all turned to her.
"Nobody was talking," a girl from behind chimed.
"You're so drunk," Josh chuckled as his girlfriend buried her face in his chest with embarrassment. He missed her deeply and he was glad she hadn't changed one bit.
"I guess now's a good time to congratulate you on the Beckerson's scholarship," Farkle began, his attention on Isadora. "That's huge, I'm glad you got it."
She moistened her lips, "Thank you. I worked hard for it so it means a lot."
Lucas' voice was heard, mixing with Riley's as the couple chatted while they made their way into the house. The pale half-moon was still low in the night sky. Snakes of gray clouds slithered over it, making the light flicker. Riley's heart thumped frantically in her chest as the door creaked open, she was guiding Lucas inside and she hoped he wouldn't be able to recognize the smell of his own home.
"Now you can guess?"
"Again? I already said like fifteen different places."
"Keeping going," she advised as she smiled at the crowd in front of him. They were all quiet and the anxiety was making her heart race.
"Uhh...France?"
"France?" she questioned, "Really? I'm being serious."
"Fine," he exhaled slowly, all the guessing was making him tired. "Wouldn't it be funny if you just drove in circles and we're back in your room?"
She planted her hand on her forehead.
"We're in..." he sighed. "I honestly have no clue."
"You need to guess before you're allowed to take the blindfold off. Trust me it'll be worth it."
He still didn't know where he was. "Fuck it, we're in Paris. You finally took me up on that offer."
"We're not in Paris."
"Then we're in the city closest to Paris..."
"Hate to break it you, but we're not."
He stuck his arm out, waving the air. "Where'd you go?"
"I'm like two feet away from you," she answered before taking his hand.
After a few failed attempts and a short argument about which continent India was in, Lucas dropped his shoulders, sighing in defeat. "Babe, you better be naked when I take this off, all this guessing's got me exhausted."
"Oh my God, Lucas just take the stupid blindfold off."
"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled.
The startled birthday boy froze in shock in the middle of the foyer, his wide eyes taking in the room full of people while Riley chuckled amusedly behind her.
"What's going on?" Lucas asked with a confused smile as everyone cheered as the music resumed.
"Happy Birthday, Lucas," Riley smiled as he turned to look at her.
Everyone came to congratulate him, his friends clowning on him and shoving him around as they circled around him. They soon picked him up and started taking him towards the center of the living room while chanting his name.
Seeing him go only brought a smile to her face. She was sure she had done her job in making him happy. She peered around the dim, black-lit room before stepping into the main living room where the rest of her friends resided and nodded in approval of the décor. "Not bad," she observed, taking in for the first time the decorations in the room.
"Told you we could do it," Isadora stated knowingly.
"Yeah, I guess you could," she mumbled in awe as she inspected the house. "Oh my gosh, who put that up," she asked, pointing to a baby picture of Lucas she couldn't see.
"That was Zay," Maya answered. "He had it printed and then we framed it when we got here."
"He looks so adorable," she said, mentally reminding herself to take a picture of it later.
Soon after, Lucas returned from the backyard after his friends got him to take a few drinks with them. His adrenaline was running high and it was obvious to the brunette he was having a good time.
"I can't believe you pulled this off," he said before taking her hands and kissing her lips. "This is amazing, Riley. Thank you."
"It's no big deal - "
"Ayee, everybody," Lucas called out. "Show some love to my girl, Riley! Wouldn't have been done if it wasn't for her!"
The entire crowd began to cheer before Lucas hugged her from behind, kissing her cheek all over.
To Riley, Lucas looked like a completely different person in this setting. He became social and capable of getting along with anybody, he was the life of the party and became a stop for entertainment. In a way, she loved this side of him, she loved his enthusiasm, but this was also the same side of him that drank too much and became hostile.
At times the only resemblance of that side of him was visible to her through his physical appearance.
"Look at his smile," the blonde said as she caught sight of her. "He's having a lot of fun and you should too. C'mon."
"No, I'm fine," she said refusing to take a drink of her beer. "I'm not drinking tonight. Someone needs to stay and clean after."
"Are you serious? You're already thinking about that? Girl, you need to chill. Have fun. And let's be honest with each other, after all this intensive planning this party might as well be yours too."
The blonde made a point. "Okay, fine. Hand it over."
"Atta girl! Drink up!" she encouraged.
Riley didn't realize it, but she needed a night to let loose. She needed to let go of her guard and have fun and what better way to do that than her boyfriend's birthday party?"
Although she knew about the picture on his phone, she had clouded the thought of Lucas cheating with uncertainty. She was no longer sure she believed it anymore.
So seeing him enjoy his birthday party fulfilled the energy she clearly lacked the night before. And that's all she ever wanted.
Plus, seeing him bounce around from conversation to conversation eliminated the thought from her head. With his perfectly sculpted jawline, emerald-green eyes, perfect yet slightly crooked nose, soft pink lips, and blonde hair, Lucas was nothing short to perfection in Riley's eyes.
And she loved him despite knowi
ooo
The music was loud as Riley walked throughout the house in search of Lucas. Currently, there were beer cans strewed everywhere, drunken and high teenagers passed out on the floor or trying to get by, and at least six couples playing tonsil hockey with each other on couches and in the pool.
She had just broken up an argument with two girls who had been been yelling at each other and watched as guys basically picked up random girls and threw them into the pool.
The party was getting wild and hard to control and she was in need of a desperate escape with Lucas; alone.
The only problem was she couldn't find him.
She tried looking for him in the living room, kitchen, study, and his room, but was unsuccessful. She asked his closest friends where he was and they told her he left to use the bathroom, so she looked into every one of them. All five of them.
She had only searched through four at the time when she decided to check the guest rooms, but in doing so she walked in on what was both a very perplexing and alarming sight.
Suddenly Riley heard a small grasp that made her heart drop in shock. She wasn't expecting to see Missy and Zay making out. His shirt was discarded on the corner of her bed as Missy's hair was tied in a bun. When he turned to her, he found they were staring back with a mixture of shock and agony, frozen in place.
"I'm sorry, I didn't..." she realized she was stuck on her words. "I'm sorry," she repeated before closing the door and wishing she could mentally remove the image from her brain.
She continued her search and found herself in the kitchen again. Still no sign of Lucas, only half empty alcohol bottles and a swamp of people encouraging the other to take shots. He wouldn't leave his own birthday party she was sure, his friends also wouldn't lie to her and say he was in the bathroom when he wasn't, so that left her confused and lost.
Riley didn't know where he was.
And then, as if on cue, a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist and kissed her temples. "Finally I found you."
"I was looking for you," she said turning around, catching the smell of his breath. The beer was strong and she could tell he had taken on too many. "Where'd you go?"
"The bathroom," he answered. "I was outside looking for you too, but you weren't there."
"That's because I was upstairs. By the way you're not gonna believe what I just saw."
"What'd you see?"
She thought about telling him, but she was sure he already knew. After all, Zay and Lucas were best friends - even though she hadn't seen them speak to each other in a really long time. "Never mind. It doesn't matter, but come with me I have something for you." She went down to grab his arm. "Trust me you want to come with me."
"Where are you taking me?" he whispered into her ear, taking her mischievous grin into account. "Oh, wait never mind I like where this is going."
They made it to his room, his heart starting to race as he wondered if Riley had finally taken his offer and decided now was the time they had sex.
When her hands went down to lock the door, he was certain she had made up her mind. He instantly brought her closer to him, kissing her passionately and lovingly.
"Hang on, there's something I need to give you first."
His eyebrows rose, his interest highly peaked.
She walked towards the opposite side of his bed, picking something up from underneath it. "Here, this is for you," she murmured, revealing and nicely wrapped box. "I really hope you like it," she continued, her hands twisting together nervously as she watched him tear the paper apart eagerly. "I know how much you like video games and I'm not gonna lie to you I had a really hard time finding it..." She looked at him with a lopsided smile. "...but when I did I just knew it was for you."
He looked into her eyes for a few seconds, their smiles matching each other's. He tore his eyes from her to look down at the gift in his hands, the open lid revealing what was inside.
"...and then I realized you had enough of them so I got you this," she added with a twinkling smile which inevitably made him smile. "It's a vinyl record," she revealed.
He picked it up and eyed the cover. "Did you customize this?"
She nodded. "It's my favorite picture of us," when he returned his gaze to the cover so did she. Her favorite picture of them was taken on the night of their one year anniversary. They went to a fall festival and in the photo they're both wearing matching sunglasses while he had an arm around her. She didn't know why she loved it so much, but she did. His reaction only made her chest tightened with warmth, and affection, and love. "I saw that you have a vinyl record machine at your house and I know you don't use it, but maybe you'll consider it now."
He kissed her nose. "This is beautiful. What kind of music is in this?"
"It's every song that reminds me of you. So whenever you listen to it, you'll know exactly how you make me feel. I had so many, but I was only allowed to choose thirteen."
He laughed softly. "This is amazing, babe. How do you come up with this? I would've never thought of this."
"I guess I'm just the queen of gifts because no one can compare. But...there's one more thing." She brought out a basket for him filled with a bunch of things he'd like. "This doesn't compare to the vinyl, but I just felt like adding something else. So I got you every single thing I've seen you use all the time. There's a cologne I got for you that I can't wait for you to wear, there's some of your favorite snacks, there's a Fireball in there," she said, casually winking in his direction, "...Snickers, those nasty Milk Duds you like, soap, beef jerkey, the rest of the songs that remind me of you and...yeah, just a lot of it."
He took the basket - and what was potentially the best gift he'd ever received - and set it down beside the bed before turning towards what he really wanted; her.
Her chest tightened again, and she could only breathe shakily as he closed the space between them, their foreheads resting together as their eyes stared deeply into each other's.
"Did you like it?" she murmured, as his nose rubbed against hers in a soft exchange.
"Yes," he whispered enchanted. "And I love you." The moment Riley gave him that certain look and pressed herself against him, he had known exactly what was about to happen.
But he was wrong. "We should go back downstairs though," she added before walking towards the door.
"W-w-w-wait," he dragged out the word, slightly running to catch up to her. "What about...?" he gestured towards the space between them.
The brunette feigned confusion.
"C'mon you can't possibly tell me you don't know what I'm talking about. Didn't you feel that tension?"
She shook her head no before caving and smiling blissfully. Just then a small yelp passed her lips as he twirled into the strong set of arms eagerly awaiting her. Instantly she melted into the embrace and reciprocated his kiss.
It felt like a fireworks show dancing in his head as he leaned in and kissed her. He had kissed her plenty before but this time in particular was different. There was passion, there was heat, there was love, and the lack of innocence that multiplied the intensity. He felt her tongue demand entry and didn't deny it. The fireworks in his head were now bursting every split second one right after the other. He had never felt like this before and he didn't want it to stop. She became a necessity in that moment and he needed her more than ever.
But all Riley kept thinking about was kissing him better than any other girl he had ever kissed. She felt the sudden need to show him what she's capable of, to show him what he was missing out on when he was asking and receiving nudes from other girls.
With a strength she didn't know she had, she pinned him against the wall and leapt to meet his lips. Lucas had never seen this side of her before nor had he ever given much thought to what it might be like. He found it strangely appealing being the submissive on trapped between an immovale object and a seemingly unmoveable force.
Against the wall he felt her every need, he felt how much she wanted him and that within itself was a bigger turn on.
Riley knew what he was trying to do. His hands were reaching places he normally wouldn't touch if all he wanted to do was make out. He kissed her differently when he wanted sex, it had been obvious for a few days now and she started to pick up on it.
She couldn't help, but wonder how many times he'd done it before; with other girls.
And with that thought the picture in her brain began to bleed and transform into an image of a nightmare. It was no longer her against the door, but Zuri tangled up in her boyfriend's arms. It was her fingers digging into his hair as he kissed her frantically, as though he would never get enough.
She squeezed her lids shut, willing the deformed memory into darkness. Now ther was only the sound of their racing hearts. She could hear him panting as they continued to grab each other in the dimly lit room. Hearing his voice moan her name like that was more than she could handle.
It became to much for her and she couldn't continue. It didn't feel right knowing she had seen a topless girl on his phone.
Her hands slid from his face to his chest as she pushed herself from their embrace. "Let's just talk," she suggested and took a seat on his bed.
"Talk?" he asked as he lightly laughed. "You really want to talk after all that kissing?"
She played with the fallen shredded basket filler on his bed. "Yeah," she nudged at him to sit down beside her, but he didn't budge. "Tak to me about your birthdays as a kid or something."
"They sucked ass compared to this one," he said before leaning down to kiss her.
Soon after, he broke the kiss and guided her head towards the center of his waist, but she pulled back. "Lucas, c'mon..."
"Riley…" he playfully said realizing she kept stopping.
"I don't think we should," she revealed.
"What are you talking about, c'mon?" he said, he didn't want to stop they were just getting started. His hands moved to unbuckle his belt, but she moved his hands away.
"Lucas, let's just go back downstairs and enjoy your party."
His expression fell and it was visible. What was once a smile had become a flat line and she was sure their two day honeymoon faze had ended. "Are you serious?" he exclaimed watching her stand up and head for the door. "I thought we were gonna… I mean… we're in my room, you locked the door."
"I just don't think I'm ready," she informed, her expression weary.
"You're not ready?" He questioned, slightly irritated. "Not even after a whole year?"
She didn't know what to say to him.
"Riley you can't keep doing this," he protested, "You can't keep playing with me like this."
"What on Earth are you talking about?"
"You make me think we're gonna have sex and when it's time to actually do it you back out. You've done this to me a few other times. And I'm not trying to rush things either and I only want this if you're comfortable, but after a while it gets -"
"Annoying?" She questioned him, partially irritated. She didn't like that he was getting upset about something like this. Even though she wasn't ready and she had probably made him think she was, he had no right to be upset about something like this.
"It's just - it's been a year, Riley. And we haven't done anything besides make out… it's just... it's boring," he expressed with so much passion she physically wanted to punch him.
"Does it really bother you this much?"
"It does," sensing she was angry with him, Lucas tried to lighten the mood. He took her hand, "You're beautiful, any guy would be lucky to have you. I'm lucky to have you and yeah, I want to have sex with you, I'm a guy, I've been wanting to since forever it's just that you're never ready."
She hated that he was criticizing her for it. It was things like this that strayed her away from the possibility of ever doing anything close to it with him.
"I think I should go-" she said before being interrupted.
"Riley," he sighed.
"No, I should really go. There's nothing you can say about this to keep me from punching you, so I'm gonna leave before I do anything I'm gonna regret."
He stared into her eyes and saw the fiery glare staring back at him first hand. She was angry in a way he had rarely seen and he could tell one wrong move would send Riley's fists towards the side of his jaw. He tried to say something to her that could lighten her anger but it was no use. She had raised her hand, cutting him off before he had the chance to finish. It was like she had already made up her mind and decided to be mad; leaving him with nothing to do but let her be just that.
He quickly felt his remorse turn to anger itself and he scoffed, he scratched the back of his neck doing his best to reel in his temper. "Even on my birthday you pull some shit like this."
He never intended to come off as a jerk and the fact that Riley wasn't giving him a chance to prove himself made his blood boil. She wanted a reason to stay away from him and that was something she had a tendency of doing. She purposefully avoided him at times because she didn't want resolution and he was sure of it.
He admired her endless optimism and goofy quirks, but Riley's inability to sit through an argument that could potentially lead to conflict resolution was one of the many things that pissed him off about her.
"So now you're mad at me?" the brunette's eyebrows set in the middle of her forehead as her features wrinkled in confusion. "I wasn't the one that started complaining 'cause his dick wasn't getting sucked -"
"My god," he exclaimed, running his hand through his hair. "You know what," he scoffed, his frustration at an all time high. "Hate me for wanting to have sex on my birthday, I honestly don't care anymore. I can have any girl here with twice as less drama if I wanted it."
For a brief unguarded moment, he had seen all the pain in her face. He spat his words like venom and his intention was to hurt her, but he didn't take as much satisfaction in it as he thought he would.
His words hung in the air as she instantly regrouped, fighting through the pain; hoping she wouldn't burst into tears. It hurt to hear him speak like that, only a guy that was capable of cheating would say that and for that reason she wasn't so sure he had been faithful to her anymore. "Yeah, something tells me you would."
Spots of color appeared high on his cheeks, his skepticism giving way to something else. "If I was Charlie or Zay or maybe even Hayden we wouldn't be having this problem."
"You know what, maybe you're right? They would sure as hell know what to say at a time like this."
Lucas heaved a sigh, his shoulders sagging in defeat. Tempting as it was to lay all his anger and blame at her feet, it wouldn't be fair. He knew he was the reason they started arguing. "I'm sorry."
She exhaled slowly, determined to reel her emotions in.
She sat on his bed and he didn't know whether to join her or not. "Riley, I hate fighting with you. I fucking hate it, it breaks my heart," he swallowed the lump in his throat, "And today's supposed to be special and… can we forget about this? Can we just act like it never happened?"
"Okay," she nodded, solemnly.
He reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder with a consoling squeeze and to her surprise, she held his arm.
They sat quietly, their hands clasped with each other, afraid of saying or doing anything that could break the spell. This is what he wanted, a connection and a conversation no matter how many times they argued. He just wondered if they could have that together and that his birthday wasn't the reason she caved.
Riley got up from the bed and Lucas pulled her in for a hug they both desperately needed.
"Hey, Lucas," she whispered.
"Yeah," he met her gaze, clear brown eyes shimmering back at him.
She hugged him tighter before whispering in his ear, "If you really think I'd forgive you for some shit like this, then you're dumber than I thought."
She pushed him back in a hard shove and walked out his room, slamming the door on her way out. She wished forgiving him was an option, but after everything he had said and done that night she had grown tired and angry of him. And there was nothing he could say to fix it.
ooo
After Cara left Lucas' party, Farkle sat alone in the conservatory. He watched as couples made out within the couches ahead of him and drunken girls pass by nearly stumbling and losing their balance. He made casual conversation with the people around him, but truth was, Farkle's social meter had run out and he wasn't in the mood to party anymore. A part of him felt like staying and having fun, but the other part of him felt the need to go home; he was just looking for the right time to leave.
As he leaned his head back on the couch, boredom clearly present on his face, Farkle received a notification on his phone. The notice was linked to his Instagram.
When he opened it, he saw that someone had commented on his picture; the one of him at a library. Apparently, the person who commented wasn't too fond of it. The comment read:
Get a life, dork.
He rolled his eyes and took the time to respond: At least I'll graduate
He thought about deciding against it, but the temptation was too strong and too convincing. He turned off his screen and slid his phone in his pocket, looking at Isadora who chose to sit beside him.
"Hey, Farkle."
He was stunned. Given everything they had been through and the time apart they spent apart, Farkle would've never imagined that she'd ever willingly speak to him. The entire conversation would've been awkward, but he wondered why she chose to talk to him now. "H-hi."
"Why are you not hanging out with the rest of us," she asked him.
He smiled. Something about her realizing he wasn't with the rest of the gang made him feel happy, almost appreciated. "Just taking time by myself," he said to her.
"You can do that with us, c'mon," she reached for his hand and tried to pull him, but he stayed on his seat. "You're not coming."
"Just give me a minute," he spoke lamely.
"What's wrong?"
Even though the recent comment on his phone didn't bother him, he still felt the need to show Isadora. He was sure she would say something that would immediately make him feel better.
When she read the message, she turned to look at him. "At least you got him back."
"Guess I did."
"But if I'm honest, he's not completely wrong," she began. When he turned in her, she took out her phone and motioned for him to scoot in next to her. She started showing him the pictures he posted on his social media. "You only ever post about school and the library."
"So?" he asked, not understanding what she was trying to say.
"You do more interesting stuff, Farkle," she reminded him. "You're at a party right now so why are you not posting about this? You live in a literal penthouse with a built-in movie theater and a toy train that drives around your room and you never show it off."
"Well, that's true, but..."
"Here," she said before taking his phone and flipping through his apps. "We're gonna take a picture together, and you're gonna smile; you're having fun."
She raised his phone just in front of them and he did as told. When she took the picture, she looked at him for approval and handed it back to him, "Now, post that, take some more with friends, and Cara when you get the chance. Have fun, Farkle, and share it with the world!"
There was something about the way she said that. He hadn't been given advice that warming and comforting and it made him think back to the times they were boyfriend and girlfriend. "Thank you, Isadora."
"You're welcome. Now get your ass up and come dance with me, okay? Your girlfriend left you, but your friend is still here. And she's getting bored."
The touch of her hand on his made his heartbeat with a familiarity he hadn't felt in a while. In fact, he didn't think he could feel something so electric anymore. It was in that moment that he realized that Isadora looked beautiful, and not just in the way a friend would say to another, but in the way, a boyfriend would say to his girlfriend.
And that's when he realized he wasn't completely over her. He knew dancing with Isadora while he still had feelings for her and a girlfriend he was happy dating, wasn't a good idea.
But he couldn't say no. He didn't want to say no.
"Just let me post this picture and we'll dance the night away..."
She smiled at him. "Find me downstairs.".
ooo
To get away from Lucas, Riley decided to hide from him outside in the patio. The last thing she wanted was to be around him because of everything that had happened in his room and she was certain he would come looking for her.
So she declared his treehouse her designated hiding area.
She knew that would be the last place he would go looking for her because he hadn't been there in years. The last time he used it he was in middle school and stayed there to play with his older brother.
As the years passed, the treehouse went unused and eventually became forgotten.
And that's exactly where she was.
Except she wasn't expecting to see Charlie.
On any other given day, she would've turned on her heels and walked away. Charlie had broken her heart in the past and she never dared to speak to him again, but the anxiety of running into Lucas after their argument outweighed the unresolved and haunting issues she and Charlie left behind.
He sat on the stairway staring out into the party infront of him. As she stood there watching she couldn't help, but notice how comtemplative he looked. It was as if though he was thinking of something.
"Mind if I join you?" the brunette asked.
He turned to look at her, slightly stunned that she was talking to him. "Yeah, c'mon," he said before patting the seat next to him. "It's all yours."
As she neared him, the intense smell of weed went in through her nose. The smell was heavy, but anything was better than being near Lucas. "Hey."
"Hi," he greeted.
Sitting beside him didn't feel as weird as she thought it would. She expected an awkward silence but it was far from that.
"Dope party by the way."
"Thank you," she allowed the light gust of wind to pass by before she could say anything. "Why aren't you inside with everybody else?"
"I was," he explained, "I just came outside to smoke. Needed a little break."
She nodded understandingly.
Riley wished she could forget about her argument with Lucas but the thought occassionally crossed her head. There was something about him that made everything else in her life seem unimportant, it was like he was her main priority and every argument of there's outweighed every single obstacle in her life.
She hated it.
She wished she could have fun, even when their relationship wasn't in the brightest place.
But how could she?
In one week, Riley had learned that Lucas was receiving nudes from other girls and that he was growing impatient with the lack of sex in their relationship. Everything about it made her dilemma much worse.
She decided to go through with his birthday party because she was still in shock. She couldn't believe what she had found in his found and if she was entirely honest, she wasn't sure she believed it.
But as time went by, her certainty in his fidelity wavered.
It was as if one moment she believed he was faithful, and the next she wanted to yell at him for doing something as terrible as that.
She thought that his birthday party would be an escape. A day where she could forget about it, but she was wrong. Lucas had been trying to have sex with her all night and she couldn't go through with it. A few days ago she was confident and ready to take that next step with him, but then that changed.
She wished he could make things easy, she wished for the courage to confront him, but she couldn't.
She couldn't and she hated herself for it.
Her love for him overpowered everything else and even though she wasn't a hundred percent certain whether he did or didn't ask for those pictures, Riley felt she could forgive him for it.
"Here, something tells me you can use a hit of this," Charlie said, offering his blunt. Her contemplative state was distracting her from having fun and he wanted to help her out of it. "Do you want to try it?"
Her eyes narrowed in on the object in his hand with a shocking expression. Growing up, her parents had told her to stay away from any kind of recreational drug imaginable, she was also educated about all the dangers of smoking and how it could lead to future kinds of experimentation, but there was something about his offer that wasn't exactly making her want to say no.
Was it really as bad as adults made it out to be? She thought. She'd seen it happen all around her and although she's never been tempted to try it before, she knew that the dangers of marijuana could not compare to that of tobacco and nicotine. If she was going to try it, it wasn't going to be because she was trying to look cool or fit in, she would be trying it because she had been through a lot in the past couple of weeks that she was willing to feel anything other than dread and sadness. She hoped the weed could play it's part and temporarily replace all her pain inside. She reached over for it and held it between her index and middle fingers. For a moment's second she could feel herself begin to double think her decision, but she had brought the joint to her lips before she could change her mind.
She blew a small cloud of smoke into the open air before releasing a light cough.
"It takes a minute," he chuckled, "But you'll get used to it."
"It's not as bad as I thought," she confessed handing it back to him.
The silence lasted a while and Riley was sure things were slowly turning awkward. She was ready to walk away, but Charlie said something she wasn't expecting.
"I know it's probably too late, but I just wanted to stay I'm sorry for bailing on our date. I fucked up, Riley. You're a good girl, you didn't deserve to go through what I put you through."
She was stunned to hear it, but it made her smile. "You're right, I didn't," she stated firmly. "But... I'm not mad anymore. It happened a long time ago."
He handed the blunt back to her, establishing a pattern.
"So we good?" he asked.
She turned to look at him, even though his eyes were blood red and half closed, Riley didn't hold any grudge against him. She had Lucas and even though they weren't on good terms, he filled a hole in her life she didn't know she had.
Had things worked out between Charlie, she wouldn't have dated Lucas.
And she wouldn't have fell in love and found a meaningful relationship.
"Yeah, we're good."
"Dope."
Now that the tension between them had cleared and they had forgotten about their issues in the past, Riley felt comfortable asking him something she had noticed in Charlie and Lucas' friendship. It had been on the corner of her mind and she had dismissed it many times, but now felt like a good time to bring it up. "I'm not gonna lie to you, I was surprised you came...I haven't seen you around Lucas lately."
He didn't say anything for a while.
"Just out of curiousity, did you guys have a fall out? I've noticed that he hasn't really been spending much time with you guys lately and he rarely talks to me about these kinds of stuff..."
"We didn't have a fall out..." Charlie informed.
"Then, why didn't you guys hang out for the longest time? I mean something must've happened right? I know that you guys hung out recently, but before that something happened, right?"
Charlie didn't want to lead her onto anything. He knew how Lucas felt about these kinds of things and he didn't want to start any problems between them, especially when the information she was searching for would most likely cause it.
"I know you guys didn't stop hanging out for no reason. You guys were super close."
"There's a reason," he confirmed, "I just don't think I should tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because if he wanted you to know he would tell you," Charlie answered.
Riley stayed quiet and thought. Charlie was right. Lucas would've told her something like this and the fact that he didn't only confirmed something happened. And she wanted to know why. "You can tell me...I mean it's not like I'm gonna tell him."
Charlie contemplated it, he wasn't so sure if he could trust her. "I don't know, Riley. If he finds out...it won't be good. You know how he can get when he finds out things aren't going his way, he has temper and he can be impulsive."
He was right. "Is it bad?" she asked, needing to know.
They stared at each other for a few seconds and for the first time in a long time, Riley was able to see why she had a crush on him a few years back. Even though they were having a simple discussion and didn't really know each other too well, Riley could see that he was capable of being extremely charming and kind.
"Fuck it," Charlie caved. "I should just tell you. You deserve to know."
Her face fell lose the second she realized she was going to get the information she had been searching for. She wasn't sure if she could take anymore news from Lucas, but her need to know was huge.
If anything there couldn't be any news about Lucas that could make her hate him as much as she already did.
"The reason Lucas and I haven't been as tight with each other is because he told me to stay away from you," he took a hit of his blunt and exhaled, releasing a cloud of smoke. "He cut ties with me the second he found out about us."
Riley looked away when the weight of realization hit, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. How long has this has been going on for...?"
"Shit," Charlie expressed once he started to think about the length of it, "Probably a year. Yeah," he said, sure of himself. "It's gotta be."
The brunette rolled her eyes, "I don't know why he does this."
"He told Zay too. We talked about it right after we just assumed he was upset for some reason, but then he just stopped talking to us. We're cool and all, I mean we went to the gym recently, but lowkey - deep down - I know he'd beat the shit out of me if I said something that upset him."
Riley shook her head no, she wouldn't let it happen. "I'll talk to him."
Charlie looked at her doubtfully, "I say this with all respect Riley, but you haven't see a fraction of the shit he's capable of."
With everything she knew about Lucas, she was sure Charlie's statement stood. She'd seen Lucas say some hurtful things, at times she felt like that's all she'd hear him say.
Afterall, they were talking about the guy that's punched holes in her room - the holes she has covered with old Hannah Montana posters so her parents won't find out. She's seen the aftermath of Lucas physically fighting his own dad and for some reason, it didn't surprise her if he was capable of much worse. "How do you know that?" she questioned him challengingly.
"...because you're still with him."
They stayed quiet for a second and Riley took the joint out of his hand. At times she didn't even think she knew her own boyfriend. That was the second person that had told her that, the first being none other than Missy Bradford.
She thought Missy was lying to her at the time, but now she was sure Missy had told her the truth. And that Missy knew what Lucas had done.
She must've, Riley thought. Missy had been the first to show her evidence that Lucas wasn't the guy she thought he was. Missy provided the audio recording of what appeared to be Lucas making out with another girl and even then Riley had disregarded it. She ignored it because she didn't want to believe it, but the more she learned about him the more impossible it became to keep it all to herself.
"Riley," Lucas called to her. He had spent the past ten minutes searching for her and he was relieved he finally had. She turned to look at him and quickly handed the joint back to Charlie, but it was too late, Lucas had seen. "Can we talk for a bit?"
She wanted to object, but she didn't. "Yeah. Bye Charlie."
"Later Riley."
ooo
Lucas led her to his room once again. They were back inside the same place they had argued just a few minutes before and she wasn't sure how long she could be in there with him. There was something about seeing her present for him discarded on his bed that upset her even more.
"Charlie, really?" Lucas questioned closing the door behind her.
Riley wanted to argue with him, but she didn't have the strength and energy to do so.
"Look," he said taking her hand. He knew she was upset with him and he didn't have another chance to get her to forgive him, so he was trying his best to be patient and gentle. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
Riley felt her eyes water at the tone in his voice. After a long day of arguing with him, hearing his soft and tender voice reminded her of how kind and nurturing he really was. She felt like curling up against him and holding him, crying so that he could make all her angst and pain go away. But she couldn't. She couldn't cry to him because that would mean they would need to have a deep discussion about it, and she wasn't sure she could do that with him.
"Can you forgive me, please?"
Lucas stared at her intensely, his plead could potentially open the door to mending their relationship and he desperately needed for it to work. On the outside he was calm and collected but on the inside his every atom began to vibrate with an anxious energy.
Riley wished she could forgive him, but after everything, she was overwhelmed with what she knew. She needed at least a day to be upset with him, and away from him. "I want to... I just... I can't today."
Lucas blinked absently before his face fell. He wanted to scream in frustration, but he couldn't. That would only worsen things and he could already tell all the arguing had taken an affect on Riley. He had noticed that she began wiping the tears from her face. "Hey," his eyes narrowed as he studied his girlfriend's expression. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing is," Riley said shaking her head. She was attempting to assure the blonde, but the tone in her voice betrayed her. Before she might have been able to get away, but not anymore.
There was still concern in his eyes. He knew there was more than she was saying. It was why she'd lowered her gaze. He thought at first that she was sad over one of their arguments, but seeing her with Charlie only sparked an interest that he needed to ask about.
"What were you and Charlie talking about back there?"
About you telling them to stay away from me, Riley thought.
She shook her head, refusing to tell him. "It was nothing."
"So you getting high with him was nothing too?" he asked. His patience running low.
Riley looked away, she knew he would bring it up. "Actually, that's just none of your business," she remarked with enough attitude to make a statement.
He took a step back, "None of my business? You're getting high with your ex, the same guy who stood you up, and you think it's none of my business?"
She nodded.
"Riley, why are you acting like this? You did that to get me mad - "
"I didn't get high to get you mad. I got high to forget about you. And why are you even mad? It's not like you've been so sober and unaware of the weed I was smoking?" she questioned, "I smell it on you all the time. You're car is filled with it."
He gulped, "Riley - "
"Lucas, yo, you gotta check this out - " his friend Cameron exclaimed running into his room.
"Not now, Cameron, now's not a good time," he interjected.
"It's kind of important."
"What?" he asked frustratedly, "What is it?"
"There's these guys from Liberty High and they're kind of fucking up the place. Just say the word the guys and I will handle it."
"No, no, you'll end up breaking shit, just - " he took a deep breath and turned to Riley, "Please, just don't go anywhere. I'm gonna go take care of this and I'll be back. Okay? Can you promise?"
Riley stared at him sternly, she was tired of him and she didn't care to admit it. "Just go."
He gave her a slight nod, signaling he was grateful she was willing to wait.
The music faded behind him as he walked away and closed the doors. Once he was gone, Riley plopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Their relationship, as she knew it, was slowly falling apart.
ooo
Farkle's conversation with Isadora left him feeling a sensation he thought had sailed long ago. He thought that his relationship with Cara had taken those feelings for Isadora out of existence, but he was wrong.
He still felt something for her and he didn't know what to do. He'd never had feelings for two girls at the same time before and it all left him feeling overwhelmed and confused.
Isadora was his first love, his first everything and he would never forget her. But she had made it clear that they were over when her dad walked in on them. She completely cast him out and remained her distance even when she didn't need to and it broke his heart.
But he loved her nontheless.
Cara, on the other hand, provided new beginnings. He loved the way she made him feel and if he was honest, they were a bit more excitng and exilerating than everything he had done with Isadora.
He just couldn't understand why his new feelings for Isadora kept crossing his thoughts - it felt as though he wanted it.
Just then the loud ringing of his phone rang sharply though his pockets as he stepped away from the crowded living room. Riley and Lucas' party was huge and he needed to be somewhere quiet to hear the person who had called him. Clumsily grabbing his phone out of his pocket Farkle strained his eyes towards the harsh glint of light shining off of it. "Cara? Hey, what's up?" he said as he answered the phone call.
Cara's voice replied clear and panicked, "Hey, you need to come over! Something terrible happened."
The sheer terror in her voice was palpable even through the phone. He knew he needed to act fast. "Okay, just text me your address and I'll be there in five. Whatever it is don't move or do anything stupid, promise?" A hurried promise from Cara echoed thorough the phone as Farkle hung up and sped away.
True to what he said Farkle arrived at her house within five minutes of ending their phone call. When he stepped out of his car, he walked towards the blonde who was standing in her front yard. The first thing she did was throw her arms around him and release a light laugh, when she was satisfied she slowly lowered her arms and turned so she was facing him.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked.
Cara, sounding only slightly calmer than she had been on the phone, answered her, "It happened in my backyard, c'mon. You won't believe it."
They made it to her backyard and all Farkle could see was a decorated trellis and patio lights. They were standing in a garden surrounded by olive trees and dotted with large, exotic shrubs with flowers of vivid pink and red. They were nicely blooming surrounding the entire backyard and in the center was a bench with a few blankets on top of it. Farkle was confused, he expected there to be something extreme, but it only looked peaceful. "I don't get it, I thought you said..." his voice trailed off when he saw that she was smiling intensively. "What's going on?"
She started laughing, "I'm an amazing actress, aren't I?" she asked curiously before wrapping her arms around his waist, "I'm a little turned on by how quick and protective you can be."
"You made me think you were in danger," he hugged her close, "Why am I here?"
"Because I was sad I had to leave early, so I figured why don't we have our own little party? Just the two of us, in my nicely decorated garden?" The smell of blooming flowers flooded the cold air. Diana breathed in and out, feeling relaxed.
He smiled at the idea, "So there's no emergency? Nothing terrible?"
She shook her head no, "I lied. I needed you to get here super fast so I pretended I was in danger. What do you think of my performance?"
"I think you just won an Oscar," he revealed before kissing her.
ooo
Riley had grown tired of waiting for Lucas on his bed. She had time to think while he was always and the only confusion she could bring herself to realize was that she felt like an idiot waiting for him to come back and fix what was already a dying relationship.
She knew time was the only thing capable in this world that could mend their relationship. Time away from him would certainly allow her to miss him and when she missed him she was capable of forgiving anything. And that was something she was capable of letting herself do.
And due to the given circumstances, her patience was wearing low. So she got up and left his room.
She decided to find Maya and Josh who she was sure would provide a lot more fun than Lucas was able to. Her plan was simple, ignore Lucas all day and stick with Josh and Maya like a leech.
But plans aways change.
On her way down the stairs, Riley was stunned to see Lucas talking to the girl who had sent him nudes. She recognized her face and her smile and was a hundred percent certain it was her. Their gestures when talking to each other only let Riley know that they were close and comfortable with each other. Which only confirmed the possibility that they knew each other, which established a motive for her to send him those kinds of photos.
And the reason they had exchanged a few text messages was because they were flirting with each other. It had to have been nobody spoke to each other the way they did and sent those kinds of photos if they were more than friends.
And the thought of Lucas doing something like that behind her back was too much for her to handle.
She felt herself grow numb and weak and she didn't know what to do. All she could do was stare. She thought she was capable of forving him if she had time to herself, but the physical act of seeing them together, talking like what seemed to be a decent conversation, made Riley's blood boil in ways it never had before. The only logical conclusion she could draw and act on was: going home.
She turned away the second Lucas laid eyes on her. The look on his face, the one of worry and fear, only confirmed her suspicion. Lucas would only react like that if there was something to hide.
She started to walk back to his room to grab her purse, the only thing she needed to be was away from him.
ooo
"Alright, this is getting boring," Maya said to Josh as they stood in the kitchen. The blonde was beginning to feel as though the party had reached a plateau and the excitement was dying down.
There was no way she was going to let a party she had spent hours decorating go to waste so she grabbed the nearest bottle of tequila and sauntered towards the living room before calling out, "Everyone listen up!"
The crowd around her turned their heads in the blonde's direction, looks of skepticism passing through their faces. Wondering why she had called out so loudly.
Josh's face mirrored their own blank expression. "This can't be good," he whispered.
"We need to get fucked up drunk in order to have fun," she revealed before taking a seat, "So we're going to play a game of 'Never Have I Ever.'"
The people interested in playing sat beside her, including Missy; a girl Maya Hart wasn't too fond of.
Soon the living room was huddled by eager teenagers ready to play and get drunk and by others who were interested in what was about to go down.
The funny thing was, Maya's plan to get drunk and liven the party had easily shifted into something else the second she saw her best friends arch nemesis. Instead, she was interested in sucking enough information out of Missy to embarass her.
"We know how to play, right?" she asked the crowd, "One person says something they've never done and the people who have done it has to drink."
"We're gonna get wasted, then," Jacob, one of Lucas' friends, said aloud, causing a few scattered laughs to fill the circle.
"It's honestly simple," Maya continued, "The hardest part is thinking of something you've never done to get the others to take a shot. And if you're somehow the only one who drinks, well then you have a story to explain. Got it?"
The crowed nodded.
"You also can't aim a question directly at someone. Or else that would be cheating," Missy added, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Is it?" Maya casually asked with a grin in place, "I'll go first. Never have I ever...been jealous of somebody else? So much that I dedicate the rest of my life to ruining there's?"
The blonde's twinkling eyes stared Missy down. She had intentionally aimed her question at her in hopes of seeing her take a drink, but she never did. When she noticed this, she released a light scoff. Anyone from a mile away could tell that Missy only hated Riley because Riley had everything she ever wanted. "All right, I have a feeling some of you guys aren't being honest."
Josh turned to look at her. On the outside, it looked like she was playing an innocent party game, but he knew she was boiling with curiosity on the inside.
"So I'll ask again, never have I ever been jealous of somebody else?" Just then, a handful of people amongst the crowd drank from their cups, including Missy. "That's more like it."
"My turn," the brunnete revealed, catching onto Maya's scheme. "Never have I ever gone through my boyfriend's texts messages...and then lied about it?"
Maya picked up the alcohol on the center table and took a drink out of it. Leaving a very confused Josh to wonder when she had the chance to lurk through his texts.
"Okay," Isadora chimed in, "I'll go next. Never have I ever secretly made out with one of my friend's boyfriend."
Missy looked around the group of her peers, feeling confident in herself. After all, chances were this was the last time they'd remember anything she had to confess. She raised her cup and took a sip. Her eyes, one again, intensely on the blonde.
"Would you look at that?" the blonde said, a wide smirk plastered on her face. "You're the only one who drank which means you have some explaining to do. And please, don't spare the details. We want to know every last drop."
Missy looked around the group of teens slowly. Their eyes were glued to hers and she felt herself go numb. She didn't expect to be the only one, but now that she had, she felt embarassed. She picked up her things and walked away, leaving behind a very accomplished Maya and Isadora.
The blonde tapped her bottle against Isdora's plastic cup in cheer and they laughed in excitement.
"C'mon, you guys didn't need to do that. She just wanted to play," Josh said to the both of them. He didn't know why he felt bad for her, but he did.
"She should've known better. Plus, that's the same person that has made Riley feel small all these years. It's about time she gets a taste of her own medicine."
"Agreed," Maya chimed. "Bitch can't take a hit."
"I have one," said one of the participants, who to his liking had enjoyed the entertainment, "Never have I ever kissed someone from the same-sex..."
To his amazement, a lot of the people around him took a drink of their beer.
Including Maya and Josh.
"When did you kiss a guy?" the blonde asked her boyfriend with complete curiousity.
"It was part of my sorority," he informed. "I had to kiss a guy at a gay bar to be recruited."
Maya nodded understandingly. She wasn't against it at all, considering the first time she had kissed a girl was to practice for her actual kiss with a boy. "Was he cute?" she asked, jokingly.
"Well," Josh said catching on to her banter, "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but he might've one upped you... he also might've been the better kisser."
Maya laughed. She loved his quorkiness and his goofiness, it made him more attractive to her. She also knew he was joking and that his sense of humor was just a bright as his confidence.
She turned to Isadora, who was sitting beside her. "We're gonna tell Riley all about this."
"Already sending her the text..."
ooo
The brunette rushed into his room to get her stuff. She felt like breaking his presents while she was at it, but she didn't have the heart to do so. She was too hurt and too sad to do anything like it.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, walking inside.
"I want to go home," she stated. She turned around to look at him, she could see he was frustrated and annoyed but he was trying to be sincere.
"Home? Why do you want to go home? You were perfectly fine a few minutes ago. We were going somewhere - "
"Where?" she questioned, "'cause we certainly weren't reaching an agreement."
He ran a hand through his hair, giving up on trying to reason with her. "Riley something's wrong, something bugging you I know it is, and I need to know now."
She scoffed, if only she had the courage to tell him he wouldn't be so demanding as he is now.
"You're right there is," she challenged him. She was ready to yell at him and tell him she knew about the nudes and the text messages, but she bit her tongue. "I'm just tired," she lied. "And I want to go home."
"Riley," his voice was soft like velvet and he spoke like this everytime he wanted to work something out with her. Because of this, she was confident he would say something that would fix everything. "...babe, you can't just throw me this super dope party and then want to leave early - "
She pushed him away from her, upset that he would say something so stupid and meaningless. "You know what, Lucas? I can, and I am. So you either take me home or I ask someone else for a ride? It's up to you."
He felt like punching the nearest wall, upset at the fact that Riley wasn't willing to talk to him and work out an argument on his birthday. She was stubborn and impatient and he didn't know how to handle that side of her. Leaving him with no choice, but to comply. "I got you," he said before stepping back, "Just let me get my keys."
The ride home was quiet, Lucas tried to talk to her like nothing happened, but she was too angry and to upset to say anything to him. He was careless and stupid at times and there were moments when she wanted to hit him with the heel of her boot.
But just like aways, Riley remained her composure and bottled in her anger.
The only thing she wantd was to be away from him.
The car stopped in front of her house and Riley knew she was seconds away from being free of him. She wouldn't need to talk to him anymore and nothing felt greater than that.
She opened the door and stepped out. When Lucas was getting ready to say goodbye to her, she slammed the door on him and walked away; not wanting to hear what he was going to say next.
Riley was sure the guilt would start kicking in in a few days, her heart would ache and she would feel the desparate need to call him and be near him, but as of now, as she walked away from him, she was only sorry she had to do that on his birthday.
oOoOoOoOo
A/N: Next update will be May 5th so stayed tuned. That will be the chapter in which Riley confronts Lucas about the whole cheating thing. Ahhh, so excited for you guys to read that!
Stay safe, ya'll.
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