A/N: Hey, readers! A million thanks to those who are still reading and sending in their reviews. I apologize that it has been months since I last updated, but I got a bit side-tracked and life got in the way as always! I really hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Everyday seemed to get worse.

His parents were arguing again and he was sitting on the back seat of the limo trying to not hear them. He didn't bother to care what it was about this time. It was always the same meaningless argument. They mainly fought about business, their crumbling marriage, and most of all, Lucas.

He looked out the window and watched the buildings and people on the street pass them by. What was going outside was far more interesting than the argument.

"I'm just saying, our son deserves to play in the championships, don't you agree?"

Lucas heard his mother released a heavy sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ease the headache that was starting to form. Thanks to his father who seemed to drive everyone around him crazy.

"Lucas," his father addressed him. "Don't you think you should play?" He simply shrugged his shoulders, keeping his eyes out the window. "Son, you have every right to be on the field with your teammates. They wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

"But they did." Lucas retorted, annoyance nipping at the edge of his words. "I missed a couple of games, and they got to the finals without me."

"Are you saying you don't want to play?"

"Of course I want to play, Dad. But I messed up, and I'm paying for it as I should."

Mr. Friar regarded him carefully. "I can speak with the Dean on your behalf."

"Dad…"

"I can reason with him."

Lucas shook his head and sighed.

"Lucas—"

His eyes trailed to the streets ahead of him when he suddenly spotted her. Brunette hair curled back behind her ears and cascading over her shoulders, with a radiant smile that reached her brown eyes as she passed by other pedestrians.

Seeing her made him forget everything else. She made him smile and his heart do funny things on his chest. And when they actually became friends, he could only remember how happy he was spending time with her.

"Son, are you even listening to me?"

They were a block away from the high school when Lucas signaled the driver's attention from the rearview mirror. "Andre, pull up here." He demanded.

"Lucas."

He ignored his Dad as the driver pulled up to the side of the road.

"Bye, Mom!…Dad."

Lucas hastily opened the car door and stepped out, not looking back as he rushed towards her down the sidewalk.

"Hey, Riley." He greeted, catching his breath upon reaching her.

She spun around and smiled brightly at him. "Oh hey, Lucas!"

He naturally fell into step with her, both not saying a word for several moments. As soon as their high school building approaches, Lucas peered at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. The sun was shining brightly around her, highlighting the pink patches on her cheeks and making her hair appear lighter. She was utterly beautiful in a white short sleeve blouse and uniform plaid skirt that made her legs look like it can go on for miles. She wore a little make-up; a clear gloss that coated her full, pink lips and a touch of liner that brought out the softness of her brown eyes. Her strawberry vanilla scent was filling the small space between them at an alarming rate, infiltrating his senses as he took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

"So…are you planning to see Auggie at practice today?" He asked, breaking the comfortable silence as they ascended up the stairs to the school's main building.

"I wish I could be there, but I'm tutoring."

"Tutoring? Since when?"

"Since my Dad found out I went to Missy's party."

Lucas raised a brow at her in surprise. "You lied to him?" He wore a confused expression on his face, which fell slightly when Riley nodded sheepishly. "Why? You're so much better than that."

She shrugged it off and sighed heavily. "I've been following the rules all my life, Lucas. For once, I wanted to let loose and do something that is unexpected of me."

They stopped at the top of the stairs, staring at each other longer than they should. "Look, I get it. We're in our rebellious teen years and we are going to get in all sorts of trouble. But...you're different. You're good. It's what I like about you. And I wouldn't want you to change who you are."

There was a bit of hopefulness in her eyes as the pink hue in her cheeks made him smile wider. "Really?"

He released a short chuckle, amused by her reaction that made her look even more adorable than she already is. "Yes, really."

She pressed her lips together, her brown eyes searching his green ones. Suddenly she was aware that his face was only a few inches away from hers as she drew in a nervous breath. "I wouldn't want you to change who you are too, Lucas."

The softness of her gaze brought a flutter to his stomach. They fell silent, their eyes locked on each other. They were too far off in their own world, they didn't hear anyone approach them.

"Hey, guys." Zay greeted from behind as Lucas and Riley both jumped at the sound of his voice. "Oh um…was I interrupting something?" He asked, staring between the two with a silly grin.

Lucas and Riley exchanged nervous looks, unsure of what was happening—unsure of the warm fuzzy feelings lurking in the pit of their stomachs. "No, we were about to head to class." Lucas answered, clearing his throat to steady his voice. She looked down and smiled shyly, which only served to frazzle his mind even more.

"I'll see you guys around." Riley said cheerfully before walking past them. Zay's curious eyes watched Riley until she was out of sight.

"So…were you guys having a moment?" Zay grinned, looking at Lucas with a slight raise of his eyebrows. "Because it looks like you two were having a moment."

Lucas stared at the ground, trying to hide his smile before he muttered, "Shut up."

It was the first break period and the scorching heat in mid May brought many students outside. With the air conditioning down and maintenance currently working to fix the problem, students found some relief from the ungodly heat. By the time she stepped outside, the shaded areas were already occupied as Riley Matthews sat on the stairs in front of the school, getting more agitated as the sun was beaming down on her relentlessly. She rapidly fanned herself with a notebook when she heard running footsteps rush past her. Riley glanced up ahead of her as the blonde, blue-eyed female she recognized from Missy's party dropped a notepad at the bottom of the stairs with its contents scattered on the steps.

"Shit. Really?!" The blonde cursed under her breath in frustration. Without hesitating, Riley stood up and began picking up the loose papers as she makes her way down the steps, staring at what appears to be beautiful works of art. From sketches of New York's finest landmarks to portraits of people hand drawn in strikingly vivid details, the drawings were really pretty and realistic as Riley stared at them in amazement. "You don't need to do that." She snapped, making Riley jump in fright as she turned to her with a polite smile.

"I know, but I want to." She said cheerily, handing her the pages that fell from the notepad.

"Thanks."

"Maya, is it?" Riley's voice broke through the brief silence as the blonde nodded absently.

"Yep."

"I'm Riley."

"I know who you are." Maya smirked. "We met at the party."

"Did you draw all those?" Riley asked curiously causing Maya to roll her eyes.

"Why? Is it really that hard to believe?"

Riley's gaze widened a bit, realizing she was easily misunderstood. "No, of course not! That's not what I was—" She trailed off nervously and sighed. "I was gonna say...you're a really great artist, Maya."

She was looking at Riley with a thoughtful and surprise expression gracing her features. She then weakly smiled, her tone doubtful and wary. "Thanks…do you draw?"

"Yes. Terribly."

Maya raised a brow at her for a brief moment and chuckled. She could see everything Lucas had said about her. From her over-the-top bubbly persona to her infectious charm—she was the kind of person Maya would normally get annoyed of. But it was not hard to see why Lucas was instantly drawn to her. She was kind, genuine and surprisingly funny with an upbeat personality that was refreshing and sincere. She was unlike most girls in the school who tried their hardest to fit in, and often used their high society status to get by.

"But I do appreciate fine art when I see one." Riley added as Maya could feel a blush creep up underneath her cheeks at the compliment. Even though her best friends often praised her for her artistic talents, hearing it from someone outside of their close-knit group meant so much to her than she'd imagined.

"Thanks..."

Her blue eyes looked at her kindly and Riley smiled. "You're welcome."

Another moment of silence followed before Maya spoke again. "So…um…is your friend Smackle okay? She was pretty tipsy that night."

"Oh yeah, she's fine. She swore never to drink again." Riley said with a giggle. Maya broke into a wide grin when movement from the corner of her eye drew her gaze. She spotted Thor, in his letterman jacket and uniform khaki slacks, heading in their direction as her soft expression turned to one of irritation. 'Great.' She thought.

"Hey, Maya." He approached her with a smile. "How's it going?" She glared at him as his eyes trailed to the invitation that was sitting on top of her artwork. He reached out to grab a copy. "Summer Masquerade Ball…" he read, admiring the calligraphy with raised eyebrows. "Wow…you outdid yourself this time, Hart."

"What do you want?" She asked, his presence already making her nauseous.

"What? I can't say hello?"

Maya skeptically furrowed her eyebrows, studying him carefully. "Hi…?" She didn't know how to answer him as he quietly chuckled at the uncertainty in her tone of voice. He then flickered his gaze over to Riley and she noticed his expression brightening at the sight of her.

"Hey, Riley!"

"Hello, Thor." She beamed.

"Guess who aced their history exam?" He exclaimed, a wide smile breaking across his face as he showed her the test results. Riley briefly scanned the paper before looking back at him with wide eyes.

"That's great! I knew you could it." She praised happily.

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you."

Maya fell silent, momentarily puzzled as she stared between the two of them.

"Anyway, just wanted to thank you for all your help. I guess I'll see you after school? Same time?"

"Yep. I'll see ya."

Thor turned his gaze back to Maya, her blue eyes wide and troubled with confusion. "Later."

The blonde nodded mutely as he carried on and walked away.

"Riley, what are you doing with him?" Maya asked with a more serious tone. "He's bad news."

"I'm just tutoring him." She shrugged, a tinge of annoyance coloring her voice.

Maya sighed. "Just be careful, okay? He's not exactly the nicest guy to be around. I mean, I would know."

Riley furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment. She knew the kind of person she was dealing with, but she still harbored hope in her heart that Thor was an inherently good guy despite the things he had done to make others think otherwise. "Why is everyone telling me to be careful?" She asked. "Does this school really have that bad of a rep of how people treat each other?"

Suddenly, the bell sounded, indicating the end of break. Maya placed her hand on top of Riley's shoulder, moved by her unwavering faith and optimism in others, which would only disappoint her in the end. "Sadly, yes." She said as she turned around and retreated back to her classroom, leaving Riley's curious mind to ponder.

The excitement on the boys' animated faces was enough for Lucas to realize how much fun he was having. Never mind having to miss out on playing for the state championship. If this was Mr. Matthews' idea of a "punishment," he'd be happy to do it all over again.

The sun was beginning to set as the heat of the afternoon sun gradually subsided. It was another successful day of coaching as Lucas, Josh and the entire Little League baseball team headed over to Topanga's to cool off. Tables were joined together as they occupied half of the entire space. The boys chatted amiably as Lucas and Josh discussed the starting line-up and various plays for the little league season opener next week. They waited until their smoothies arrived when Lucas felt the vibration of his phone from his back pocket. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen. His mood changed instantly when it was his father checking in for the third time, asking about his whereabouts and demanding him to head on home. Lucas ignored the messages and the missed calls as he threw the phone in his backpack and released a heavy sigh.

"Is everything alright?" Josh asked worriedly, stirring him from his thoughts.

"Yea, man." Lucas forced a smile as he reached forward to grab his drink from the table. His enjoyment faded even further when he suddenly looked up and spotted Riley and his nemesis seated in the corner of the room, buried in textbooks.

His lips were parted and his face remained impassive, but inside, he was seething. "Excuse me, I'll be back." Lucas stood up from the table with clench fists. He mentally prepared himself for what was about to come. He didn't want to let his anger take over his body, especially in front of Riley. And he certainly didn't think it was worth getting in trouble for over a guy like Thor who has tormented him for as long as he could remember. But when it came to his friends, and someone like Riley, who he cared about and grew fond of for the past few weeks, he knew he had to keep her safe, no matter how she felt about it.

"Thor," Lucas said sternly as he approached their table.

"Lucas," Thor replied, expecting to be in this situation. He knew at some point Lucas was going to confront him about the whole thing.

"May I have a word? Outside, please." He demanded.

"Lucas…"

He glanced over at Riley and saw the concern in her face. He simply smiled at her, hoping to ease her worries.

"Just to talk." He reassured her, putting his hands up calmly. "I promise."

Riley believed him as she nodded her head nervously and watched the two of them exiting the bakery.

"This thing between you and me needs to stop." Lucas spat as soon as they stepped outside, turning his body to face him. "I'm done fighting with you. I'm done trying to reason with you. I'm done being mad at you and I'm done getting in trouble because of you." Lucas finished, his tone revealing just how serious he was.

"I agree."

Lucas gritted his teeth. "Then what the hell are you doing with Riley?"

"Nothing!" Thor almost choked on his own spit as he stared at him in confusion. "Dude, she's tutoring me."

"She's tutoring you?" He scoffed in disbelief.

"Yea…I was assigned to her." Thor responded firmly.

Lucas stared at him with blank eyes. Thor took his silence as a cue to continue.

"Look, I didn't know you two knew each other. So if you think this is just another one of my stupid schemes to get back at you…it's not. I'm done with all that."

Lucas' gaze hardened with a glare. He knew he shouldn't; he knew that he had no reason to trust Thor; after all this time; for the past 2 years, all he's done was make his life a living hell. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Thor shrugged, letting out a sigh. "I guess…someone made me realize a few things about myself that's all." He answered, remembering what Riley had said to him at the tutor center as her words resonated with him.

They stood in silence for a few moments, both lost in their own thoughts and waiting for the other to speak. "I'm sorry. About everything."

Lucas blinked, not expecting an apology. Thor looked back at him and he could see the guilt in his eyes. Lucas had been expecting to be told off, or to be fed some bullshit line. He never thought he would apologize. And for the first time in a long time, Lucas could see the guy who was once his friend, whose bond he thought would never break, slowly become himself again.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better I'll ask for another tutor."

Lucas shook his head. "No, don't do that. Riley is great. You won't find anyone better." Thor nodded, a small genuine smile forming at his lips. "And I'm sorry too."

Another moment of silence followed as the two stared at the ground.

"Anyway, I should head back inside. Riley is probably in there freaking out."

Lucas quietly chuckled. "Yea."

Thor turned back around to head inside, but stopped halfway before reaching the door.

"Oh and Lucas?"

"Yea?"

"Do yourself a favor and ask her to the dance." Thor smirked, pressing the invitation onto his chest before walking back inside the bakery.

Lucas stared at the invitation in hand, his breathing suddenly going quiet and deep. He looked up and peered at Riley through the window, his mind racing, wondering how the hell he was going to find the courage to ask her to the dance.

To be continued...

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! Next chapter is when a lot of things will go down. Stay tuned!