A/N: Thank you guys for engaging with the previous chapter. I love reading your response and seeing your reaction, it means a lot to me as a writer. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because A LOT happens. As always, feel free to let me know what you think.
Katy Kear: So glad you're catching on. It makes me so proud. Thank you for the review girl.
GuestEstelle: You made many points in your review. And I'm glad you caught onto the Joshaya and Rucas comparisons. Even though Joshaya is apart most of the time, they still have a stronger and healthier relationship than Rucas who is ALWAYS together. My reviewers are so smart.
Hey: There are a lot of factors that contribute to Rucas' toxicity, control is one of them. Lucas has done it to Riley all the time and now she's retaliating. This is how she's reacting to the cheating and we'll see what that leads to. Joshaya is the healthy version of Rucas and you guys are catching onto that.
Guest: Hope you enjoy it.
Frey: They lack communication and are very territorial and controlling. It's what they do. And you're asking all the right questions. I don't have any plans on writing a sequel for LYTLM if that's what you're asking. I'm giving this story an official ending without any loopholes and plot holes, but if you guys have any ideas I'm open to hearing them.
Hey: Okay, sis go off. You made many points. So proud.
Chapter 18
Lose You to Love Me
you got off on the hurtin' when it wasn't yours
ooo
Lucas desperately sat in class, eyeing his exam. The clock on the wall told him he had less than an hour to finish the test, and he had spent the first ten minutes of that precious hour panicking.
The test questions were meant for somebody who had paid attention to and studied the material and he wasn't one of them. He recognized bits and pieces of it from Riley's notes, but even then that wasn't enough to help him.
He turned around to glance at the rest of the class, there were over fifteen students - him being the fifteenth - and one teacher to handle their testing session. And it wasn't just any teacher, it was Mr. Clanton, the person they dubbed 'Hawk-Eye' for his acute seeing senses.
Nobody ever got away with cheating in his class.
Feeling sweat pouring down his back, Lucas looked at his paper once again. He was screwed.
Riley, on the other hand, was perfectly fine. She was answering every question and reviewing them before flipping the page over and moving onto the next. She did this sporadically, with her pen in her hand, bubbling in her answers as she went.
Just then, she heard a whisper beside her and felt a vibration near her thigh. She turned slightly to her right to see Lucas mouthing the words, Check your phone.
For what? She mouthed back.
Just do it.
Slipping a hand down, she carefully whipped her phone open and rested it against her open test folder.
Lucas: help me out pls. I don't know anything
She turned to him. "Are you serious?" she whispered, "I gave you my notes, why didn't you study them?"
Please, he mouthed once again. This time his eyes were pleading for her help.
She turned to look at her teacher, who was distracted in the assignments he was grading, then back to Lucas. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and typed the answers on her phone. "Wait, what version do you have?"
B, he mouthed back.
Riley sighed, she had version A. Luckily for them, Mr. Clanton's tests were always arranged to have the same questions in the same order regardless of their version, the only different thing was the order of the multiple-choice answers.
A minute later, Lucas' phone vibrated multiple times. He didn't dare glance at her, refusing to draw attention to their bad acting because they didn't want to get caught.
Test V.B.
1. Salt Tax
2. Cold Wars
3. Europe
4. Central Powers
5. Russia
6. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
7. Axis
8. WWI
9. Nagasaki
10. Pearl Harbor
The message contained more than he hoped for, but he didn't complain since it was working to his advantage.
When he finished bubbling them in, he realized he still needed an entire page to fill out. And to his disadvantage, Lucas knew absolutely none of it. He felt himself sigh again. He was going to need to ask her for help once again.
Riley sighed when she heard him call for her once again. She felt her eyes touch the back of her head from how hard she rolled them. Supplying answers was a lot easier than listening to them, but just as risky. Slowly, so as not to confuse Lucas, she murmured each answer, spelling them out if needed.
As she did so, she looked around. They weren't as discreet as she thought they would be, but Mr. Clanton was still busy eyeing his assignments. From a far, it looked like they were reading the test questions, but to someone closer, it was obvious Riley was actually murmuring answers.
"Are you done?" she whispered, turning her paper over to the first page.
"What'd you say the last one was. I need to write it down."
"First Battle of Marne," she answered.
"Battle of what?"
"First Battle of Marne," she repeated.
He nodded, jotting it down. "Is this how it's spelled?" he turned the paper over to her and she glanced at it, nodding in confirmation.
"Ms. Matthews, Mr. Friar, come here please," Mr. Claton called out to them both. "And bring your papers, please."
Instinctively, the entire class stared at them. Lucas and Riley turned to each other before standing up and heading over to his desk.
He took their papers and eyed them carefully, from the first glance he couldn't see anything wrong, but the more he stared the more he found that there were many similarities. "Don't make plans after school tonight."
"Why?" Lucas asked.
"Because you both have detention," he answered, meeting both of their eyes. "I'll also be making a call to each of your homes and giving you a zero for this exam. Now go take a seat."
ooo
Riley let out a long and dreadful sigh the second the bell rang. Her one hour sentence was about to begin and she was in no way interested in attending, but she had to. Or else her parents would be getting her in trouble for more than one thing.
"Can I just say I'm so proud of you?" the bad-influence-blonde congratulated with the biggest grin on her lips. "I never thought I'd see the day my best friend got detention."
"What are you talking about? I've gotten detentions before."
Maya folded her arms and brought them closer to her chest, "Girl, no you haven't."
"Have too," she stated firmly. "Remember that one I stayed with you after school because you set the sprinklers off in class?"
"I got the detention," Maya corrected. "Not you."
Realizing the blonde had made a point, she picked up her backpack and walked away. "Well, then I guess today's the day."
She headed straight to the class where the detention was located. As expected, she was the first one there. She set her detention slip down on the desk and checked off her name on the sheet, confirming she had shown up.
"Ms. Matthews?"
Riley glanced up to see one of her favorite student teachers. "Mrs. Calvert? You're hosting today's detention?"
She nodded, "What are you doing here?"
"I got in trouble today," she revealed. "I know, I know. I'm not proud of it, but I'm here."
"We'll talk later, but for now, put your phone in the basket and take a seat."
She turned her phone off before handing it over and sat right in front of the clock, counting the minutes away. A few minutes later, more students arrived, and just before Mrs. Calvert was getting ready to close the door, Lucas made his way inside.
He smiled when he saw Riley.
"Why are you sitting next to me? There are like 30 more seats," she asked him. She was still upset that she was in detention because of him.
"I just figured..." he began, but he trailed off when he noticed she was mad. "I just thought we'd sit together."
"Don't sit next to me."
"Alright then," he nodded and sat a few seats diagonal from her.
"Okay, class. Detention will be over in one hour, I have some assignments to grade so I'll be in the next classroom. I can hear everything you say, so don't say anything at all, understood?"
"Understood," the class responded.
After a few minutes of sheer boredom, Riley opted to do her homework. Halfway through, she felt something small hit the back of her shoulder. She turned around to catch a very playful Lucas smiling back at her.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"C'mon, don't be mad at me."
"Well, I am," she responded, turning around to complete her homework. Not long after, she saw him sit beside her.
"This is stupid, c'mon just talk to me. We're in detention together, this is funny."
"It's not funny, Lucas. I don't want to be here."
He sighed, "You're overreacting babe. It's just for an hour."
"It's not just the detention," she informed. "My parents are gonna know I cheated on a test, they're gonna be upset with me."
He hadn't thought about that. He could tell this was Riley's first time being caught and everything she was feeling was new to her. "You failed one test out of many, big deal Riley. Chill."
She turned to him, "Stop saying that. This is serious."
"It's really not."
"You know what, it doesn't matter. You cheat all the time you wouldn't know how wrong it is."
His expression fell flat, "What's that supposed to mean?" He didn't know which form of cheating Riley was referring to. He'd done both after all.
"Doesn't matter."
"Alright, look. I wasn't even gonna mention it, but you're mad at me for no reason. You're the one that got us caught, if you hadn't made it so obvious we wouldn't be here."
"That's such bullshit," she whispered, glaring at him. He was trying to shift the blame from himself to her, and she wasn't going to allow it. "None of this would've happened if you studied the notes I gave you. It was an easy test and an easy subject and even then you couldn't learn it."
He looked away.
"Why don't you take some fucking responsibility, for once? Maybe you'll learn something."
He took a deep breath and looked around the classroom. There must've been at least fifteen students and they were all doing their homework, except for him. The only thing he could bring himself to do was shift uncontrollably on his desk and wait till it was all over.
The more and more he sat beside her, the more he realized he didn't like it when she was mad at him. He liked talking to her and the silence was killing him.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have asked you to help me cheat."
She turned at his words, but she didn't respond. Why was he the only one speaking? He asked himself. Some things needed to be said and she was just sitting there tight-lipped while he held up the conversation singlehandedly.
"C'mon, just say something. What can I do?"
"Oh my God, don't do anything. Just let it go, you'll only make things worse."
"Then say you forgive me." When he realized his words weren't doing anything, he grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Pretty please?"
The brunette shifted her head left, glancing back at him, catching his gaze. He looked adorable making the puppy dog eyes and showing his pearly whites. She turned away quickly, noticing the gestures were making its charm on her. A small warm shiver ran through her as she sensed his emerald green eyes on her. As much as she tried to deny it, she liked it when he asked for forgiveness. She wanted his attention, his focus. She wanted him to want her.
And he always proved it to her.
His lips spread into a coy grin as she thoughtlessly tucked her hair behind her ear, a gesture she often made when she was blushing. "Okay. Fine. I forgive you."
ooo
Riley walked into school the next morning wearing a black halter top and light blue jeans. She had her hair in a ponytail and light makeup to match her complexion. As she passed through many students in the hallway, Riley stopped in her tracks when she spotted Lucas. He was talking to Victoria and she immediately felt her smile fall flat.
Her back was turned to her and she was on the opposite side of the hallway so neither could see her, but it was obvious to her that Victoria was flirting. It was clear in the way she curled her hair with her finger and casually touched his shoulder. She made her way closer to them, making sure they couldn't see her so she could hear their flirtatious commentary.
"It's at Michael's tonight, he's not posting about it so it's invite only. He told me to tell you in case you wanted to go."
Lucas nodded, "A'ight. Cool. "
"You're going right?" she asked, curiosity sparking an interest.
Lucas thought for a while, "I don't know yet, I have to see what Riley says. We might have some plans later on."
"Just cancel," she suggested, taking a step closer to him. "She doesn't need to know."
This bitch, Riley muttered to herself before marching towards them. As she neared them, Lucas took notice of her and immediately kissed her cheek. "Hey, babe."
"Hey," The brunette faked a smile as her hands instinctively met with his, staking her claim on the blonde.
Victoria took notice of the gesture, but she didn't draw any attention to it. "Hi, girl. How've you been?"
"I'm good," she answered pretending to be her friend, "What were you guys talking about?"
"Not much," the lying teen answered as if she had prepared her lie ahead of time. "Lucas and I were just catching up, he doesn't really hang out with us anymore. Right, Lucas?"
"Y-yeah. Yeah," he stammered unconvincingly.
"Really?" she drew the word, seeing right through him.
There was an awkward silence for a moment and Lucas's gaze on her seemed to retract; almost like he was scared to make eye contact. Riley, on the other hand, was surprised Victoria had presented herself so friendly to her. She couldn't believe that after what she had done, she would act as if she forgot about what she did that night on Halloween.
Truth was, Riley didn't forget. She couldn't.
The two bonded at a party and Riley was content with their newfound friendship. Thanks to her, Riley learned about Missy's jealousy. An hour later, after they parted ways and Riley went on a wild hunt to search a very drunken Lucas down, Riley saw what Victoria posted.
She found herself staring at a picture of Victoria touching Lucas and kissing him in his cheek, the entire thing looked intimate and Riley couldn't help but feel betrayed. Lucas insisted that nothing happened and Riley believed him.
Until she later learned from Missy that Victoria and Lucas had actually made out in the bathroom, and she only posted the picture to get back at her for kicking her out of their friend group. And since Missy had a crush on Lucas and Riley was dating Lucas, Victoria was able to manipulate both parties, and kill two birds with one stone.
But both Victoria and Lucas didn't know that Riley knew the truth. Instead, she feigned ignorance of the entire issue because it gave her the upper hand. In moments where she wanted to make Lucas uncomfortable. Like this one.
"By the way, I love the new look," she crowed extending her arm to touch her hair. Her eyes then trailed down to her outfit. "And the dress..."
"Thank you, it's brand new by the way. If you ever want to know where I got it from just let me know."
"Oh, I will. Thank you. What about you, babe?" she said turning to her boyfriend, she had a sneaky suspicion on Lucas and his response. "Doesn't her outfit look great on her?"
"Uhh..." he began awkwardly, realizing they were both waiting for an answer. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know why Riley would expect him to compliment another girl. "I-I-um...it's just that..." He shook the question off with a halfhearted smile of his own as he absentmindedly played with his fingers.
Riley turned back to Victoria, who she for some reason was treating like her best friend. "Who would've thought you had it in you? You left my boyfriend speechless."
She smiled sheepishly. "I gotta run, but it was nice seeing you again. Bye Lucas."
When Victoria walked away Riley turned to him. She knew any reaction out of him would make her suspicious, but he didn't this time. He didn't even bother to turn around and watch her walk away, something he did when he wanted to see how a girl's ass looked.
Sensing the tension between them, Lucas didn't know whether or not he should hold her hand. He normally made the first move, but now he wasn't sure. He decided to test the waters and graze his fingers against hers when she didn't move it, he intertwined his fingers with hers.
"Why didn't you say she looked pretty?"
He shrugged, "I just... I don't think I should. I mean... did you want me to say she looked pretty?"
Riley, still testing him, looked into his eyes. He was genuinely concerned and confused about it. "Lucas, it's okay. You can say it."
"Okay," he nodded.
"So what did you think of her outfit?"
"I thought it looked nice," he revealed. "It suited her."
Riley smirked. She only practiced the art of deception when she thought it was for the benefit of someone she cared for...until recently she found herself doing the exact opposite. She fooled him just like she knew she would. Preparing to strike an insult, she disentangled her hand from his grip and spoke, "Well I think that guys who like girls who dress the way she did are the kind of guys who would cheat on their girlfriends."
He stopped in his tracks, a shadow of bewilderment crossing his features. "Alright," he reached for her hands and pulled her in his direction. "Come with me."
And just like they were good at, they argued. That's all they ever knew how to do after all. They yelled at each other and argued in his truck until they had said every possible insult they could think of to each other.
"I didn't know what you guys were talking about…" she yelled at him.
He scoffed, "You're doing it again. You can't trust me. You're never gonna stop bringing that shit up."
"Of course I'm not!" she snapped, "I'm sorry, Lucas. I'm not the type of girl you can cheat on and expect me to forget about it. I mean what have you done to make me forget every fucking mistake you've made in the time we've been together?"
He didn't say anything to her.
"You get angry with me for talking to guys, you complain about every single thing I do, you start fighting with me for no reason and you continue to fuck up all the chances I give you," she yelled.
Lucas reached for the back of his neck as she listed his many offenses. At times like this, when he was tired of hearing her yell, he wished he could permanently mute her so that he didn't have to hear speak again.
"And believe me, Lucas. One day I will run out of chances to give you. Believe that."
"So you think what you did in there was okay?" he questioned, "Did you think setting me up like that would somehow make you feel accomplished?"
Riley sighed not interested in anything he had to say.
"Well congrats," he clapped, "You ruined a perfectly good day, Riley. It's ten in the fucking morning and we're already arguing. Shit! How long did it take you to act on it?" he asked. "Did you just say the first thing you thought of or did it just naturally vomit out of you?"
Silence.
"I asked you a fucking question - "
"...that I'm not gonna answer," she blatantly stated. "Better yet, how long did you think about cheating on me before you actually did it?"
Lucas ran a hand through his hair. "You're testing me, Riley."
"Oh, am I?" she asked in a naturally relaxed tone, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to."
He knew her far too long to recognize when she was being sarcastic and this was one of them. "This is why I cheated..."
On instinct, she pulled back, somewhere between stunned and stung. She felt her eyes water as the words rolled off his tongue. She wanted to cry, but that had only lasted a second. It wasn't long before that sadness turned to anger. "Fuck you!"
She turned to leave, but Lucas had grabbed her arm and locked the door before she could even open it. "You're not leaving. We're not done."
"Open the door."
He shook his head no. "We're not done talking."
"I'm done talking to you. Now, open the door."
He rested on his seat, taking a deep breath and controlling his anger. "What do you want to do later tonight?"
"Oohh, Lucas. Shut up! Don't talk. You're stupid if you think we're doing anything today."
He didn't pay attention to her. He knew he was upsetting her, but he didn't stop. It was something he did that he knew annoyed her. He tried diverting their argument by pretending they were on good terms. He didn't exactly know why it pissed her off so much, but he did it anyway. "I was thinking we could go downtown to Dave and Busters and - "
"Lucas, oh my God. Open the door."
"Or we could just go on another date? Maybe a boat ride? Or what about a walk across Central Park? We could visit the rocks by the pond where we celebrated our one month anniversary?"
"You're about to get slapped -"
"No, I got it!" he said as if a light went off in his head. "A museum. You love those."
"Open the door."
"No can do, baby."
Her gaze turned to him, staring at him venomously for holding her hostage. "If you don't open the door I'll break your window."
Her threats only made him laugh. "You're so cute."
She pulled on the lock furiously, attempting to get out. When she knew it was no use she stopped and took a deep breath. The way she wanted to hurt Lucas was too much for her to handle. She could physically hurt him if she wanted.
Instead, she decided to do something far worse. "How's your dad, Lucas?" As expected, the smile on his lips fell flat. "Is he still kicking you?"
"Riley - "
"Or is he still ignoring you?" Riley asked, mimicking Lucas' previous behavior. "Actually, how does it feel to be the least favorite son? Do you still think about it? It must suck having a dad that probably doesn't love you. Or a mom that probably doesn't give two shits about you. I mean if she did she'd step in every time your dad made you feel bad about yourself."
He turned to her, Riley was generally a gentle person. She was much stronger than she or most realized and if any subject could push her over into violent territory it was the one they were currently on. That was enough to make him unlock her door.
When she slammed the door on her way out, all the anger Lucas felt was let out. He punched his steering wheel many times and sighed. The only reason Riley had said all those terrible things to him was a result of the insult he said to her. The one about cheating on her.
He felt like he had messed up once again and all he was left with was the silence in his truck to remind him of it.
ooo
Riley spent the entire period angrily grading her teacher's chemistry tests. She hadn't been in the mood to talk to anyone after Lucas had so effortlessly ruined her day. Instead, she kept to herself, listened to music, and drowned herself with the stack of papers in front of her.
The deeper and deeper she got into the stack, the more and more she thought about their argument. His words were permanently engraved in her head and they were all she could think about.
This is why I cheated...
This is why I cheated...
This is why I cheated...
She didn't realize thinking about it so much accidentally made her crumble the paper she was grading. She took a few breaths to relax before focusing on the rest of the upcoming assignments. And as if fate itself was testing her temper, Lucas' paper popped up.
She rolled her eyes and reviewed the entire test front to back. He got a 19/25 which was 76%; possibly the highest he'd ever gotten in his chemistry class.
Riley sat back on her chair and eyed the exam, a thought she never would've imagined unless she was mad came to light. Lucas had passed the test with a surprisingly good grade compared to all his previous ones, and on any other given day she would've been proud of him, but today was different.
Their argument was blocking her from feeling any joy for him. She wasn't happy that he did good on a test and sabotaged one of hers. So, acting on impulse, Riley marked on his test that he got a 13/25 which would imply that he failed. Refusing to stop there, Riley went onto her teacher's grade book and added the graded test, bringing his official grade in the class down to an F-.
And to add icing on the cake, she marked him down tardy for seven classes which would undoubtfully grant him another detention.
Riley knew she was doing something wrong, but she didn't care. She was far too angry with Lucas to even care about her actions. All she wanted to do was hurt him and she would certainly be successful in doing that.
ooo
Lucas was called into the office not long after. The alert automatically transferred onto their principal's computer and that's how they were able to track it down so quickly. He was seated in front of principal Butler, confused as to why he was there.
"It's been brought to my attention that you haven't been doing so good in your Chemistry class," he began, his eyes glancing at the teenager in front of him, "Lucas, as a graduating senior this year it's important you do well in your classes."
He nodded, understandingly. "Yes, sir. I'm aware."
"And you're aware that you're failing, right?"
His brows furrowed, "I'm sorry, I'm failing in general as in I'm not graduating or I'm failing just Chemistry?"
"Just chemistry," Principal Butler clarified. "This was your final warning, son. And you're still failing."
Lucas was still confused, he was certain he had been doing really well in that class. The last time he checked his official grade was at C; approaching the B+ average which meant he was passing. He was also confident he was supposed to receive a good grade on his chem test because he studied for it like crazy, so it didn't make sense to him that he suddenly dropped so low. "I'm sorry, I just... I thought I was passing."
"That's not what this says. See here?" Principal Butler said, turning his computer screen towards Lucas. The blonde was met with a chart that listed all his grades when his eyes trailed down to his Chemistry class he could see the F- staring back at him; updated 15 minutes ago.
Just then, he pieced the pieces together. Lucas was a hundred percent certain his grade was at a C because the last time he checked that's what his grade book revealed. So it didn't make sense to him that he was now failing. Until he realized this was the period Riley was supposed to be grading his test, and if he was certain he was supposed to pass his test, this meant she had purposely sabotaged his grade.
He didn't have the heart to share his conclusion with Mr. Butler, doing so would get Riley in trouble and he didn't want that for her. So he sat through the lecture, thinking about what Riley had done.
She'd officially taken it to far. He would've never imagined Riley would stoop so low and take her revenge out on his grades; purposely failing him so she could get back at him for what happened the day before.
"As a result," Principal Butler began, "You'll be enrolled in an after school homework help program starting next week. Failure to attend will result in more detention, got it? The only way you'll get out of it is if your grades improve, so don't miss out, all right? This isn't time to be slacking off, are we clear?"
All Lucas could do was sigh. This was the last thing he needed, more school. He hated that Riley had done this to him and there was no way she would talk to him about it considering that she had already started ignoring him, refusing to answer any of his text messages. He stared back at his Principal and nodded, "Solid, sir."
"Okay. Glad you're accepting. Now, go back to class."
ooo
"Okay, honey," Katy began as she picked up her coat and purse from the couch, "I'm gonna head to work. There's food in the fridge and I left you a twenty in case you wanted to order a pizza."
The blonde nodded with her laptop in hand. "What time will you be back?"
"Midnight," Katy kissed her daughter's forehead and caressed her cheek, "Tell Josh I said hi."
"I will. Bye, mom."
"Bye, sweetie. And clean the house. Or you're grounded."
Once Katy was gone, Maya checked in with Josh to confirm if he was still available to talk. When he responded with a thumbs up, she squealed in excitement and FaceTimed him. Today was a very exciting day for her and she was so happy to share the news with him.
"Hey, baby," she greeted with a sheepish smile. She didn't know why she always felt extremely shy at the beginning of their calls, "How are you?"
"Better now," he smiled. "I have good news."
"Yay! What is it?"
"Okay, get this! So for my Journalism class, I needed to write an article based on a topic that we handpicked off a hat. The best article in the class was going to get their's published in the school's newspaper. Are you following?"
The blonde nodded, "I am."
"Guess who's article she published..."
"Did she publish yours?" she asked.
"She published mine," he confirmed, holding the printed edition of his article. "I still can't believe this. I've never been published before this is huge."
The blonde couldn't help but smile at his excitement. He looked like a little kid who finally convinced his parents to take him out for ice cream. "What was it about? What did she like about it?"
"Cultural gatekeepers. I won't bore you with the details or whatever, 'cause I know I'll lose you, but she said and I quote, "Josh Matthews perfectly captures the pros and cons of cultural gatekeeping while appealing to an audience of Millenials. With his inquisitive and compounding parallel structure, Matthews effectively grabs his reader's attention and draws them in.' There's obviously more, but that was basically it. Can you believe it, Maya?"
"I'm so proud of you."
"Just when I was starting to think that I wasn't getting anywhere," he kissed his copy and set it down beside him. "Okay, but enough about me, what happened?"
She fixed her hair and smiled, taking a deep breath. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, I'm ready."
"Are you sure you're ready?"
Josh nodded, "I'm pretty sure I would know."
"I don't think you're ready - "
"Just tell me."
"Okay. Jeez. So a month ago I submitted one of my paintings for the GoldLight Gallery art show that's coming up in a few weeks. I didn't tell anyone about it in case I get rejected, but just yesterday I got a call from the owner telling me that he really liked my painting. And that it's been chosen! Josh," she squealed. "I've never been this happy before."
"Maya, the GoldLight Gallery? That's huge. Rich people and I mean filthy rich people go there, your painting can be bought for like a thousand dollars..."
"I know, I know," she smiled, "I'm so excited I'm shaking. Look." She held her hand high just enough for him to see and even through the screen it was obvious. "But it's not just about the money, it's about the recognition. People will get to see my work, see me for me and I... I can't even describe it. I guess it just feels like...people will get to see my heart."
"Someone is gonna buy it, I can tell. I just know they will."
"Fingers crossed. I can't wait to tell Riley and Isadora."
"Why haven't you?"
"I wanted them to call and confirm everything before I tell people. But, Michel - the owner of the gallery - has been talking to me since. I think that's a good sign, don't you think? Like I'm actually making conversation with him and I refuse to believe he's keeping contact with his other submissions."
"No, that's good. You're gonna get this! You're Maya Hart, an amazing artist, he'd be a fool to let you go."
"I really hope he's not. I'll get back to you when I hear back from him. You're gonna be the first person I tell."
Being their first for everything was always a thing they did, even when they didn't plan it. The more and more they dated, and the more and more news they had to share, the more and more it became their thing. They did it all the time that telling someone else about their accomplishments before telling each other felt weird to her.
That night they talked about many things. They started discussing their favorite show and their favorite theories as well as the next time they were going to see each other. Maya couldn't wait to hold him, the feeling she felt when she was near him was unlike anything she ever felt and she went to sleep that night dreaming about it.
ooo
Cory Mathews hovered over his desk, attempting to sort through the chaos of homework assignments in front of him. It had become normal for him to stay a few hours after school ended to gather a lesson plan for the upcoming week, and since his class was testing it had made things a bit more difficult for him.
He'd just finished filling out the agenda for tomorrow when he heard footsteps trailing down the hall. When he glanced up to see who was standing in his doorway, he was shocked to see Lucas. "Mr. Friar…I wasn't expecting you," he said.
He didn't think his daughter's boyfriend would show up at his school. He didn't know him very well, but he was aware that Lucas had turned out to be a kind, compassionate, honorable young man, who Riley was very fond of.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Friar," Cory asked curiously.
Lucas stepped forward, anxiously fidgeting with the strap of his backpack.
"It's about your daughter, sir," he began.
Cory's eyes sparked with interest at the mention of Riley, his features falling as he took note of the young man's troubled expression.
"Is something wrong?"
"There is, sir," he confessed, strangling the strap in his hands.
He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but everything that had gone down between them led him here. They were treading a treacherous path these days and the last thing he wanted was their relationship to spiral down alongside it.
"There are a few things I think you and Mrs. Matthews should know," he continued.
"What kind of things?"
As Lucas stared at Riley's expectant father, he debated whether or not he should be completely honest about his troubles with Riley. Confessing everything would make their acquaintance rather awkward and uncomfortable for both of them, but he felt like it was something that must be done; especially when Riley left him no other choice. She was back to ignoring him and ignoring his calls which is why he decided to talk to her dad in the first place.
He thought about waiting it out, giving her a couple of days to calm down, but he didn't want that anymore. His patience wore thin. If she continued her current path it was possible the bonds of their relationship would fray to nothing. He couldn't allow that.
The number of times he tried to stop himself from walking into her father's class was too many to keep track of. He feared he'd only complicate things, but that thought alone only went to show how bad things were between them. Going to her dad for help should be a good thing, not something he should be worried about because of Riley.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized he needed to act quickly. She was as stubborn as she was beautiful and the chances of her gearing up for her next strike were extremely likely. As he stood in her father's classroom for the first time, prepared to tell him whatever he needed to tell him to win her back, Lucas feared he might be fighting a losing battle.
"I just..." he took a deep breath looking back at his door as if he'd find something there. "Your daughter and I haven't been doing so great recently...and..."
Cory waited for the green eyed teen to continue. Whatever it was he could tell was taking a toll on him, considering the number of times he played with his fingers.
"We got into an argument. I've tried calling and texting her so we could work things out, but she won't talk to me. And just today, I found out that she lowered my Chemistry grade during her T.A. period on purpose just to get back at me. She still refuses to see me."
Unlike him, Riley seemed to enjoy the fighting. She took pride in hurting his feelings while Lucas simply tried to control her. No matter how many times he started the argument, he never liked the in-between. He didn't like the insults they traded back and forth. They hurt him more than he let on.
Though that hadn't been the case with their last confrontation. In his anger, he had shouted the harshest words he knew she was most vulnerable to, and they'd struck with deadly aim. He hadn't meant to take it so far, but the damage had been done.
"Riley did that?" Cory asked and Lucas nodded. He was stunned to hear something like that, the Riley he knew would never hurt a fly and to hear that she had done something wrong only made him want to investigate further.
"Yes, sir. I've been trying to take control of the situation, but she tends to get reckless when she's upset and... I just want us to go back to the way things were initially."
Cory sat back down on his chair, thoughtfully. "You said she won't talk to you?"
He nodded.
"Okay," he started packing his things, "I'll talk to her, Lucas. You don't need to worry."
"Sir?" the teen called and once his eyes were on him, he continued, "I really love your daughter and I want what's best for her, but something happened recently that I should've come to you about sooner. I was just trying to be a good boyfriend to your daughter, but I realize now that you deserve to know."
"And that is?" His brows narrowed expecting Lucas to tell him what he knew.
"I know Riley's been getting high with Charlie Gardner," when the words rolled off his tongue, he knew he'd have Riley calling him to apologize judging from the look on her dad's face. In a way, he only told her dad that part because he was still upset that Riley sabotaged his grades, and he needed to get her back somehow. "I already talked to Charlie and I told him to stay away from her. Riley, on the other hand, refuses to listen to me. She hates me right now and I'm scared that she'll break up with me, or worse, she'll get hooked onto that kind of stuff and start hanging out with the wrong crowd."
"It sounds like you two have been having these problems for some time now, why are you barely telling me this now?"
Lucas tilted his head, forming a response. "I've realized that she's been doing this a lot and I want what's best for her. The reason that it's taken me this long, however, is that she's threatened to break up with me before every time I tell her not to do these kinds of things. I guess I'd rather have her break up with me than let her be influenced by the wrong crowd."
"Thank you, Lucas. You're a good kid, I'm really sorry this has been happening between the two of you. But I'm gonna talk to her, okay? You don't need to worry about that anymore."
"Thank you, sir."
"No problem." By the time Cory was gone, Lucas was left to think about everything he told her dad, he told the truth - for the most part - but he only seemed to care about Riley learning her lesson about sabotaging his grades, rather than fixing the error in their argument.
ooo
"Hey, Riley," Topanga called out to her teenage daughter as she sat on the living room couch. "Help me set the table, will ya?"
"Sure."
The mother of two returned her focus on the pasta she was cooking. All the silence between her and her daughter reminded her of the day before when she was being lectured for cheating on a test. To lighten the mood between them, she decided to express interest in her daughter's future career in law. "How did it go with Viola?"
Viola Lexington was one of Topanga's best friends in the firm. When she found out that she was willing to guide Riley through the journey and help her out with everything she needed, the mother immediately jumped at the offer and told her daughter. Riley was just as happy to meet her and they set up a lunch date. They met a few days ago and she forgot to ask her how it went.
"She was great. And she agreed to let me shadow her, I just need to hear back from her," Riley informed as she walked into the kitchen to pick up a few napkins. "Did you know she defended an innocent man who was being framed for murder by his own wife? It's insane. She was telling me about some of her cases, the ones she was allowed to talk about and I was in awe. She's amazing at her job."
"Why do you think I was so excited that she wanted to guide you?" Topanga asked, "She's brilliant you're gonna learn a lot from her."
"Hey, mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Why didn't you want to be the one to teach me these kinds of things?" she asked, sitting on one of the chairs. It was a question the teenager had in mind, but she didn't have the courage to ask until now.
"Riley, you know how I feel about my work. I can teach you the basics, but if you're gonna learn from someone it should be Viola Lexington. She's brilliant. You're in good hands, okay? Trust me." The real reason Topanga didn't want Riley to shadow her was that she was currently defending a man she knew was guilty of murder. The evidence presented itself, but as her job required, she was supposed to defend her client at all times. She didn't tell Riley because she didn't want to cloud her judgment on the law just yet, and she didn't want the first case her daughter learned about to be the one she was currently working on. It would set an ugly example and she didn't want her to know about it just yet.
"Well, just know you're still my favorite lawyer."
"Thank you, Riley. Now go get the cups your father should be home soon."
As if on cue, Cory Matthews stepped inside his apartment and set his coat down on the hanger. When his attention turned to Riley, his expression fell and the brunette noticed it.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
"Did you do it?" he asked his eighteen-year-old daughter. She was standing in the kitchen completely unaware of the knowledge he knew, but the fact that she seemed casual just a few seconds before he asked her showed that she in no way was feeling sorry for her error.
Riley turned to her mom, confused as to what her dad was asking. "Do what? What are you talking about?"
"Cory, what's wrong?" Topanga chimed in, noticing her husband's expression.
"Lucas told me all about it. Did you do it?" he asked once again, part of the reason he was asking the complete question was that he wanted his daughter to openly confess to it, without directly being asked about her mistake.
"Dad, I don't know what you're talking about. What - "
"Lucas told me his Chemistry grade randomly dropped after the two of you got into an argument. He says he was called into the office during the period you were supposed to be grading his Chemistry test. Did you drop his grade on purpose?"
Riley stood there in silence not registering what he had asked. She never expected him to find out about it and it was at that moment that she realized the trouble she had gotten herself into.
"What?" her mom asked, unable to believe the accusation. "Cory, why would you think that?"
"Topanga, he dropped a whole letter grade based on a test that was 10% of his grade. He also says he knew the material and that he was supposed to get a good grade. And I believe him. Either way, it doesn't make sense, his grade wouldn't drop that low unless it was done on purpose. Did you do it, Riley?"
She could only stand there in silence. Her cocoa orbs clouded in confoundment at the way he received her.
"This is ridiculous. Riley wouldn't do something like that. She wouldn't."
"I can get to the bottom of this if I wanted to," he continued, staring at her. "I'm good friends with Mr. Sims I can ask him all about it. But I want to hear it from you, Riley, did you drop his grade on purpose?"
"Cory, do you hear yourself? You're accusing our daughter of something she would never do in a million years. You're basing this off of a complete misunderstanding, Riley wouldn't do this - "
"I did," she confessed. She couldn't stand to hear her mom defend her when she was guilty of doing what she was being accused of. "It was me."
The silence following her confession was unlike anything she could ever hear. She could feel her father staring daggers into her while her mom was shocked at the response.
"You did?" he questioned once again and she nodded.
Her eyes began to tear up as she felt both her parent's eyes land on her. She had never felt so judged by them and she only had herself to blame for the mistake. She wanted Lucas to feel her pain, but it backfired and blew up on her face. Truth was, she never expected him to talk to her dad about it. Lucas wasn't the type of guy to do that, but now that he had, it made her wonder how bad their argument must've been for him to resort to such an extreme measure.
"Riley, can you go to your room your father and I need to discuss some things?"
She was getting ready to leave when her dad stopped her, "That's not it. I have something else to ask her. It's a yes or no question I don't want anything else."
She nodded.
"Did you get high with Charlie Gardner?"
Her face froze. He wasn't supposed to know that. Not know not ever. The tears in her eyes pooled as she glanced up at him, knowing what she was about to say next was going to ruin the image her parents believed her to be. "...I did."
He sighed, disappointedly. He turned to Topanga looking for what to say or do next, but all she could do was shrug. They've never gotten her in trouble for something she's done, especially something as big as this. "You're gonna call that boy and apologize. He really cares for you and what you did to him is unacceptable. Do you know how that makes you look, Riley? Your mother and I raised you better than this."
She continued to cry. Everything she'd done had begun to eat her, picking at her morals and questioning herself and her actions.
"I'm disappointed in you, Riley."
That night, Riley's energy had become nonexistent. She didn't have the heart to argue with Lucas anymore and all she could bring herself to do was call him. She needed to be around him and to apologize. She needed to see him and to succumb to his comfort. At times like these, he seemed to be the only person that would be there for her and understand what she was going through.
Even though she recognized that Lucas was the one who had turned this all on her, she was entirely aware that she could tell her parents about all the things he'd done to her. They'd realize that what she did compared to the things he's done was nothing and she'd have their love and support again, but that would come at the expense of Lucas'. And she loved him too much to let that happen to him.
Plus, the embarrassment she felt from her dad pointing out her errors was too much for her to handle and she wasn't sure she could face him just yet.
When she felt her phone vibrate, she didn't even need to check who it was to know Lucas was outside her room. It was a habit she had picked up, she knew him so well, she basically knew when he'd text her without even having a reason to.
"Hey," she said to him as she joined him outside on the fire escape. He was wearing a nice gray sweater and his hair was touseled from the gust of wind that passed by every few seconds.
"Hey," he said back as she sat beside him.
The silence between them was just as awkward as the one she experienced with her parents. They sat beside each other not knowing what to say or when to apologize. All they could do was stare out into the city and admire the stars along with it.
She had just gotten out of her shower and her hair was still damp, she wore pajamas and a blanket to shield herself from the cold. In a way what she was wearing perfectly represented the way she felt. Overwhelmed.
When she turned to look at him, presumably caving in defeat, Lucas could sense how delicate she was from the sound of her voice. All the scrutiny she was put through by her parents had taken a toll on her and it was obvious, she was fragile and in desperate need of a hug.
In a way, she was glad he did what he did in order to get her to realize what she was doing was wrong. The longer they stayed away the harder it would be for them to return to each other, no matter the reasoning for the distance between them would be. She couldn't be mad at him for making an effort and doing something that potentially saved their relationship.
"Did they get you in trouble?" Lucas finally asked. The silence was too much for him to handle and he needed to hear her voice again.
Riley nodded, "Grounded. Two weeks."
"Can I still see you?" He asked innocently, his expectant gaze saying it all. She pulled him closer and leaned her head on his shoulder, "You kidding? They love you right now."
He threw his arm around the brunette and kissed her head. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier today in my car. I didn't mean that I was just upset."
"I'm sorry too. I'll talk to Mr. Sim's first thing in the morning and I'll tell him that I lowered your grade - "
"No," he interjected, waving her off. "Don't do that. He'll suspend you if you do and that will only make things worse."
She sniffled, her plump lips and flushed face taking its full effect. Of course, he'd protect her despite what she did. That's just the way he was and that's why she loved him. He always forgave her.
"When I said - "
"We don't need to talk about it, it's fine." The brunette didn't want to dwell on that feeling for too long, nor did she want to be fighting with her boyfriend. She only wanted to dismiss the entire thing. Everything was still new to her and she hated the way she acted, it made her feel terrible about herself and she wasn't interested in revisiting any of those emotions. "I love you."
He turned her chin towards him and kissed her lips. It was a complicated process. The only time he could live with what he's done to her and accept how unfairly he treated her, was in the moments he was kissing her.
And he was willing to succumb to that every time.
oOoOoOoOo
A/N: As always let me know what you think. I love reading your reviews and I always respond. And I don't really like to do this, but we're so close to a hundred reviews. It'd mean a lot if we could reach that milestone together.
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