Riley's week has been a piece of shit. Farkle wasn't talking to her and she was mad at him anyways. Things with Maya were better, but she was always going off with Lucas, and Riley has yet to talk to him. She decides there was no better time than the present. The second she gets home from school, she jumps on her bed and pulls out her texts with Lucas.

Riley: Hey! Are you doing something rn?

Lucas: Nm, just tryna get through some geometry hw . Wbu?

Riley: Just wanted to talk! I feel like we haven't been talking. I feel like we need to.

Lucas: Me too. It's been a while since Farkle's party...where ya know…

Riley: Bay window in an hour?

Lucas: I'll be there :)

Riley: :))

Read 3:34 pm.

An hour has passed and Riley's getting nervous to talk to Lucas. It's crazy what time can change. She used to be really nervous around him, but the good kind of nervous. Even when she had a crush on him back in middle school, talking to him came easy to her, but now-less than a month since the incident-she's clamming up.

She hears two knocks against her window pane. Lucas.

"Hey," he says as he slides inside and sits on her bay window.

"Lucas," Riley offers a smile.

"Riley, what's going on between us?"

Riley slowly gets off her bed and makes her way to the window to sit by him. She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Well, I just wanted to talk about a few things. Hear me out, okay? I guess I started noticing you and Maya getting closer but I never put it together until Farkle's party. I-,"
"Riley, I'm-I don't even know what to say. I know we should've been honest with you from the beginning, but-," he says, unable to make eye contact.

"I'm not mad, but we're friends. We don't lie to each other, Lucas. And I'm not gonna lie to you, it really hurt me. Thank god for Farkle because losing my other two best friends has not been easy. Why didn't you guys tell me?"

"It just happened! I'm sorry, Riley. Everything with our past is so complicated and I didn't want to make you, or Farkle, uncomfortable. I guess I was just confused with Maya and scared of losing you as a friend that saying anything would be premature"

"But we're friends before everything else. I haven't thought about you like that since middle school, and Maya is my best friend in the whole world. I just figured I'd be the first to find out," Riley frowns.

"I'm really sorry. I wish I could go back and tell you before anything happened, but I can't. Just know I'll always be sorry, and I care about our friendship a lot."

"I want to say that it's fine and okay, but it simply wasn't. But I've been thinking about it and I do understand where you guys were coming from. I'm sorry if I overreacted but you're both so important to me. For the future though, let's tell the truth like we always have."

"Okay," Lucas nods. "Okay, you're right."

Riley reaches over and pulls him into a hug, finally feeling like everything's going back to normal. She tucks her chin over his shoulder and closes her eyes. She's glad to have her friend back.

As she releases him from the hug, she hears clattering outside her window. Her eyes snap outside, but finds nothing. Lucas searches the fire escape for a trace of someone but can't see anything.

"Probably a stray cat," he shrugs.

"Or a sheep," Riley nudges him with a laugh.

"When will you drop it," he laughs, "I rode a sheep one time! This joke will never end."

Riley laughs as he launches into another story about his rodeo adventures in Texas, and forgets why she was even angry in the first place. What could she do without him?

Riley spots Farkle at his locker the next day, scrolling on his phone and looking generally uninterested in his surroundings. He's wearing that NASA tee and dark washed skinny jeans. Riley had never noticed before, but he always kind of looked effortlessly good.

It hits her how miserable she's been without him. It's been a full week, and she seriously doesn't know how much longer she can go without talking to him. She misses his random texts about the science news and watching him rant about things she's never even heard of. She misses his company that lifted her mood when Maya and Lucas both weren't there for her. She misses the way he listened to her every word, no matter how random. She misses everything about him. She never knew she could miss someone this much.

Seeing him in the same hallway she has for years and not being able to walk up to him like she used to hurt her more than she could handle. Something needed to change, and she wasn't about to sit by and let their friendship fall to nothing.

She makes the impulsive decision to walk up to him and do something about it.

"Farkle," she says, marching right up to his face.

He lifts his chin and is taken aback, seeing her standing right in front of him. An emotion that looks a lot like anger crosses his face, but it's gone before she can even process what it means. Suddenly he shuts down, and his face falls to indifference.

"Hey, Riley," he mutters.

"Why aren't we talking?" she blurts out, leaning closer.

He backs into his locker. "We're talking right now."

She gives him a look. "You know what I mean."

"Not really."

"Can you just come over later? Please?"

"I'll think about it," he says, "I'm kind of busy. Finals coming up."

"Please, please think about it. I want to see you. And not just in the classroom."

"Okay, Riley, I'll think about it," he looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

Riley nods. "Great! Okay, then! See you later. Maybe. Hopefully."

He presses his lips together, and brushes past her, leaving her standing there confused but somewhat optimistic. She'll just have to wait and see. They'll work it out, she thinks. They always do.

She tries to do her homework after school, but the anticipation overwhelms her. Talking to Farkle is all she can think about. She texted him to come over around 5, but she curses herself for not making it immediately after school. She can't function.

When 5 rolls around, she's just laying on her bed, playing with loose threads on Farkle's space sweatshirt. She had put it on earlier, before doing her homework, because she missed him so much and felt like it brought her comfort, somehow. She prays silently that he's actually planning on showing up. He didn't even reply to her message.

About fifteen minutes pass, and she hears her window open. Her eyes widen and shift to the bay window, where she finds Farkle sitting there, looking distressed. His eyes dart around the room but never make it to her face.

"I didn't think you'd come," Riley says.

"Honestly, I didn't think I would either."

"So, what made you change your mind?" She asks.

He shrugs. "You're wearing my sweatshirt."

"Thought you wouldn't care," she replies. He looks away. "Anyway...I want to clear things up between us. I wanna know what happened at the dance, and why you were mad in the first place."

"You know what happened at the dance," he mumbles. "You're the one who pressed me when you know I didn't wanna talk about it."

"But I just wanted to know the truth! And if you're gonna talk to anyone, it should be me. I'm your best friend, Farkle. If you're such a genius, shouldn't you know that we've been spending way more time together than you with Maya or anyone else? Why couldn't you tell me?"

"But I haven't even told anyone! If I was ready to, you would be the first person I would talk to. But I just wasn't ready! Can't you understand that?!" he puts his head in his hands.

It's silent for a moment before Riley speaks up.

"I...I know. I messed up," Riley sighs. "I realize I was out of place and I should've been way more understanding. I guess I just wanted to know what was going on with you. You felt distant."

"I don't even know what's going on with me. Things are...really complicated and if I could explain, I would, okay, but-,"

Riley interrupts, "I've missed spending time with you Farkle, I feel closer to you than anyone else…"

"Really? Because I saw you two," Farkle deadpans.

"What? Who?" Riley leans in with a baffled expression.

"The guy you've liked ever since you first met him. I mean, I could never compete with that even as a friend. I saw you two together and you guys seemed closer than friends."

It dawns on her that he must be talking about Lucas.

"What are you even talking about? Do you mean Lucas?"

"Of course I mean Lucas! Who else? It always comes back to Lucas. Always. Even when he's with Maya. I'm glad we've gotten closer, Riley, I am, but it took this whole thing with Maya and Lucas just to push us together. Would we even be this close if it wasn't for the distance you put between you and them? This whole mess, on top of finals, and on top of everything at home…," he gets up and starts pacing around her room.

"What do you mean everything at home? Farkle...what's going on?"

"Nothing! I-I don't know," he exclaims, "I honestly have no fucking clue because they don't tell me anything! I just-" he starts to breathe harder, "I just don't know what to do anymore…"

She can see tears building up in his eyes. She gets up and walks over to him, but he backs away.

"Farkle calm down," she whispers.

"NO! I come here all the time and see your parents and everything is so good and then I go home, and everything turns to shit! And lately, it's been so bad I can't even focus because it's so loud and I'm gonna fail all my finals and I'm not ready and how am I gonna stay top of the class now? And-,"

At this point, his words start to become unrecognizable and he chokes on a sob. Riley envelopes him in her arms at once, letting him shake against her. He feels tense in her hold, but he allows her to lead him to her bed.

They sit down, and he lets himself sink into her embrace. She rubs circles into his back with one hand, and cradles his head in her other one. She whispers comforting things into his neck.

"It's gonna be okay, I'm here, I'm here."

It's quiet, except for the sound of his sobs. After a few moments, the shaking slows. He lifts his head back to look at her and sees her eyes are glassy.

"Riley," he croaks. "I heard them call the lawyer last night. I think they might be getting a divorce."

Her face falls and her posture sinks. "Oh my gosh Farkley. I can't believe this. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this alone. I'm so sorry."

He looks away and mumbles something. "This is the first time in my life where I have no idea of what to do."

She brings her hand up to his face to tilt his chin to face her. "I'm here for you."

"I know," he scans her face, his expression softening. "I know," he whispers.

She hugs him again, and he melts into the touch.

"You can get through this. And I'm always gonna be here for you. I promise."

"What am I gonna do?" Farkle asks.

Riley sighs. "I really don't know. You can stay here as much as you want. We can talk whenever you want. You'll make it through this, Farkle. You've always got me."

Farkle just hugs her tighter, never wanting to let go. She's his anchor to reality. They stay like that for a while, in each others arms.

"I can always take your finals for you," Riley remarks.

He chuckles and leans out of their embrace, and Riley takes pride in the fact that she could make him laugh. "Well, I don't know, I can't let my grades slip like that," he teases.

She shoves him playfully. "Rude, Farkle." She puts a fake pout on, and he just looks at her, thankful. For her.