AN: Hey all. This is my next chapter. I am updating as I write the chapters, so please ignore all the grammar and spelling mistakes. Also, that means I don't exactly have an updating schedule. I will try my hardest to do at least a chapter a week, but no promises since real life for me is pretty hectic right now. Please, please leave a review. I am really into writing this story, and I would love to know if you like it too.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Girl Meets World or A Walk to Remember. This is for fun, not profit. Enjoy.

Over the next few weeks, it had become very much apparent how badly Lucas actually sucked at acting. At this point in time, sucked badly was a gross understatement. And yet, Lucas persevered through the ridiculously cheesy and over dramatic dialogue to try and get it right. He had been reading his lines every day after coming home from school since he was given the damn script. He had no time to spend with the crew, and had to deal with all the teasing. This entire mess was getting on his very last nerve. Lucas had all the intention to quit, screw the consequences, by the end of the first week. However, after the first Thursday night he had the script, he couldn't bring himself to.

That Thursday night had gone the same way all the previous nights had. He came home, half-heartedly did his homework, did whatever chores his mother had asked him to do since Thursdays were her late nights, and then started running lines. Lucas would remember all the dialogue in some places, but then would completely blank out at the others. Not only that, but it was never consistent. While during one read through he would remember his lines, the very next time he would forget the very same ones. The constant flipping close, and then needing to open up of the script not even two seconds later was starting to frustrate him. To avoid giving in to his temptation of ripping the script up into shreds, he flung it against the living room couch and walked away. A break was a good idea.

However, as even as he walked away, the words of dialogue swirled through his mind. Wrapping themselves around every nook and cranny of his thoughts, he began citing the lines in his head. Eventually, without realizing it, he went back to the couch and took the script in his hands. All the while, he started saying the lines out loud.

Lucas was doing well up until he got to the part where Alicia was introduced. That was the part where he made the most slip ups. But he pushed on with determination to remember.

"Who are you, Doll? Where did you come from? Of all the nights, of all the places, to have met? Is this…" At this point Lucas started struggling. "Is this… damn…Come on, Lucas, you got this. Is this… Is this what you would call destiny? God, please tell me I got that line right, please."

Lucas flipped open his script and read from the pages. His face broke out into a huge grin. "Yes!" He yelled in triumph, elated with pleasure. "I remembered!"

"Good going, Lucas. I guess you really are getting some sort of hang of it then?" A voice broke through his celebrations.

Lucas startled and turned towards the voice. So engrossed in rehearsing, he didn't even hear his mother came in through the door.

"Mom, hey. You're home earlier than I thought you would be." Lucas said with a cough, cheeks tinged rosy pink.

Mrs. Friar just smiled. "Yeah, I finished all my work for the night quicker than usual so I picked up some Chinese for us to eat. Have you eaten yet?" She asked her son, holding up a takeout bag.

Before Lucas could open his mouth to answer, his stomach gave a massive growl.

"Well, I guess that answers that question." His mother said with a laugh. "Come on, let's eat."

Following his mother into the kitchen, Lucas saw his mother put down an envelop on the side table in the foyer.

"What's that envelop, Mom?" He asked, after they entered the kitchen. He took the bag from his mother, placed it on the counter, and took out some plates.

Lucas heard a flurry of movement as his mother took the cartons out of the bag. "Oh, that? It's this month's check from your father." She said nonchalant.

"Oh." He responded harshly.

Mrs. Friar looked at her son to find silent rage paint his face. It was a standard Lucas response to whenever his father was mentioned. "Which reminds me, have you talked to your Dad lately? He was worried about you with the whole school incident."

Lucas scoffed. "Worried about me? Why the hell would that prick be worried about me? And you know I want nothing to do with that asshole, so no, I haven't talked to him."

"Lucas." Mrs. Friar started saying.

"Mom, just let it drop. I don't know how you could even forgive him for doing what he did to you, but don't expect me to be able to do the same."

Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Friar answered him. "Honey, when you finally find someone who you love with all your heart, it wouldn't matter what pain you end up going through as long as they are happy. Your father isn't perfect, Lucas, no one is. But I would never regret being with him or be angry at him because he gave me you."

Wanting the subject of his father to drop, Lucas decided to get back to what they were originally doing. "Whatever. Let's just eat, yeah?"

Subject effectively dropped, Lucas and his mother made other small talk as they ate their Chicken Lo Mein and General Tso's chicken, avoiding the massive five year pink elephant in the room. It was when dinner was over and Lucas had finished loading up the dishwasher when it happened.

"Lucas, I know with everything going on I haven't said it recently, but I just wanted to say how proud I am of you." His mother told him, taking his hand in hers.

"What do you mean, Mom? Why are you proud of me?" Lucas was so confused. He had done nothing to make his mother proud of him lately. Did she forget how he almost got arrested? Or how his actions got a fellow classmate seriously hurt enough to need physical therapy? Or even the fact that he only narrowly avoided expulsion?

Mrs. Friar heaved a giant sigh, knowing exactly what her son was thinking. "I know that you had done some pretty bad things lately, but you have taken to your punishments so well. To see you actually get up earlier than the sun on Saturdays when you usually wake up at two in the afternoons just to tutor; or just watching you try your hardest to remember your lines for the Spring play. It makes me so proud to see you making an effort."

Lucas was speechless. Trying to cover the fact that his mother's words left such a huge impact on him he cleared his throat. "Thanks, thanks Mom." He said quietly.

"No problem, Honey." She replied back to him, smile still on her face.

"I'm gonna go to sleep now, school night you know?" Lucas told her, trying to leave.

"Yeah, I know. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

It was that conversation with his mother that made Lucas suck it up and go forward with the play. Knowing that his mother was proud of him regardless of messing up so much in recent years made Lucas really want to be better. He put more effort into the play and didn't half-ass it anymore. He wanted his mother to be able to tell people that it was her son up on stage doing the amazing job as the lead character.

However, as it was turning out to be, that wish would just be another pipe dream to add on a long list of pipe dreams that Lucas would never tell a soul about. It appeared that no matter how many times he practiced he just wasn't improving. Lucas thought that if he ran the lines with someone else, it might help him get into the rhythm of performing the play. Unfortunately, the only person who would even agree to help him was Zay.

"I've come to see if you're ready." Zay read from the script, grabbing a fistful of potato chips from the bag placed in his lap.

Zay had been coming over to Lucas's apartment for the past two weeks to help Lucas with his lines. According to Zay, it wasn't that much of a chore for him. He was able to get free food and hilarious entertainment every day after school. What more could he possibly want?

While Zay was chilling out on the couch, Lucas was hobbling back and forth on his crutch hoping movement would make it easier for him to recall the dialogue.

"Take a good look, Lady, cuz the only thing I'm ready for is a dirt nap." Lucas replied.

"Ready to look inside your heart, Tom Thorton. Your words have been heard. And not just by me." Zay responded back, dramatically at a higher pitch to sound like a girl.

Shaking his head at his best friend's antics, he tried to remember his next line. Not wanting his crutch anymore, Lucas hobbled towards the couch to put his crutch down. Seeing Lucas struggle with it, Zay took it from his hands, his eyes never straying from the script as Lucas started speaking again.

Lucas started limping as he started pacing again. "When you walked into…Oh shit" He hesitated, drawing a blank, and opened up his copy of the play. "When you walked out of the rain and into my club, that wasn't a coincidence was it?" He said, closing his script and getting really into the story.

"Nothing's coincidence, baby, you know you're the only one who can make me say…" Zay started saying, eyes wide and overly flirty.

"Come on, man, come on." Lucas snapped at him, not here for his shenanigans. "You know I only have another three weeks to memorize this stuff right?"

Zay let out a low whistle. "Dude, I love you, but you couldn't pull this off even if you had three months. Ryan Gossling couldn't even make this shit work."

Lucas gave him a pleading look. "I didn't write it okay?"

"Well, yeah, obviously. You have an emotional depth of a spoon for the performance arts." Zay told him bluntly.

"Zay."

The boy in questions raised his arms up in defense. "Look, all I'm saying is that you may not have written it, but you are the one who is supposed to say it. You are the one who's going to make a jackass out of himself in front of everyone who sees the play." Zay said.

Running a hand over his face, Lucas responded. "It's not like I have a choice, Zay. So would you help me out please?" He pleaded.

Zay got up from the couch and made his way towards where Lucas was standing, and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know I'm just playing right? I'm gonna be there opening night, front row, and you can count on it. With tomatos." He told Lucas with a bright smile.

Lucas couldn't help but laugh. It was one of the many things he liked about Zay. That in any given situation that is tense, he would always find a way to make Lucas laugh. "Thanks man." Lucas told him, putting his arm out for a fist bump which was quickly reciprocated.

As they were getting back into going over lines, they heard the apartment door open.

"Hey boys. Care to help a poor woman out with bringing in the groceries?" Mrs. Friar called out, hands full of bags. The two saw that there were still plenty more on the floor of the hallway outside.

"Sure thing, Mrs. F." Zay said immediately, walking towards her and taking the bags off her hands. "My momma and pops raised me to be a gentleman." He informed her, big charming grin spread across his face. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Pretty sure that was Meemaw Carmichael." Lucas corrected him with a smirk, taking the bags still in the hallway into his hands.

"Damn straight. That woman was fierce. I loved her to death. God rest her dear soul, but that woman scared the bejesus out of me." Zay said with a shiver.

"And yet you couldn't seem to find yourself out of trouble?" Mrs. Friar asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Had to give the old lady something to look forward to, now didn't I?"

Mrs. Friar laughed. "Oh Zay."

While Lucas looked at his mother and Zay talking, Lucas was fighting an internal battle with himself on a completely different topic. He knew that he needed to get better with the play and he had a very limited time to do it. There was really only one person he knew that could even begin to help him. All he needed to do was swallow his pride and just do it.

Lucas was going to ask Riley Matthews to help him memorize his lines.

The next day at school, Lucas waited until the hallway was empty to talk to her. She was at her locker putting away some of her books.

"Riley." He called to her.

Riley turned away from her locker to face him. A brief look of confusion flitted across her face before she adopted a more neutral expression.

"What do you want, Lucas? In the past five years, you have never been the first one to say hello."

Lucas rubbed his neck in anxiousness. How is it that talking this to girl could throw him so off balance?

"I need help with my lines." He said, saying the words quickly and quietly even though no one was around to hear him ask for assistance.

"Lucas Friar is asking me for help?" Riley asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, yeah."

Riley looked like she was thinking about it, but answered him swiftly. "Okay. I'll pray for you."

"Riley, look," Lucas started, starting to sound desperate. "I really…"

The slam of Riley's locker door interrupted Lucas from talking.

"Obviously you've never asked anybody for help before right? A request like yours requires flattery and groveling. It can't be all about you and it has to be for the common good for everybody." Riley said, walking away from him.

Lucas walked faster to catch up to her. "It is for the common good." Seeing the look of disbelief on her face, he decided to change tactics and use something that he knew would make her reconsider. It was underhanded, but he was utterly desperate. "Farkle Minkus deserves the best, don't you think? Please?"

Riley hesitated a bit, and started considering it. Lucas knew that she was going to give in before she even opened her mouth.

"Okay, but one condition though, Lucas." Riley said, letting out a breath.

"What's that?" Lucas asked. Thousands of possibilities of embarrassing things she would make him do passed through his mind before he realized that he was dealing with "Smiley Riley" (who was just too good to do anything mean to anyone), and not Maya (who would destroy anyone if she wanted to without caring for the consequences).

"You have to promise you won't fall in love with me." Riley answered, looking him straight in the eyes.

Lucas let out a low chuckle. She can't be serious. However, looking at the expression on her face she was very much serious. "That's not a problem." He told her.

Satisfied with his compliance to her rule, Riley nodded her head. "Okay. I'll see you this afternoon after school."

"Okay." Lucas said.

And with that the two of them went their separate ways to their next class. As they were leaving, Lucas was struck with a sudden bout of doubt and was tempted to run back to her to call the whole thing off.

Something in his gut was telling him that, for better or worse, the cautiously crafted life that Lucas had made was about to crumble to bits.