A/N: Once again, sorry for not posting. It's been a long time. From now on, I will be writing the story for me, because it makes me happy and I enjoy writing. Thanks to those of you who have supported me! Hopefully now I'll be able to write more now that the crazy in my life is over!

Riley POV:

Lucas tells me he'll be at the football field hanging out with some jocks while I "retake my test." I tell him it won't be long. I start to get a nervous feeling in my stomach but my decision has been made; this is something I have to do. I owe it to myself and to all of my friends to o my best to end this.

I turn around and head to the spanish room. Once I pass the corner I stand and wait, giving Lucas enough time to get to the football field. After I'm sure he has gotten there, I turn back around and head outside the school entrance.

I cross the street to the park and sit on a bench. It's a nice day. I wish I could be at the park under better circumstances. Maybe a picnic with Lucas, or just hanging out with Maya and Farkle, like when we were kids. A said to meet them here, and I'm five minutes early. I wait, and wait, and wait. Once I've been there for over half an hour, I start to worry that Lucas will get suspicious. I decided to text him: The spanish teacher showed up late, and he decided to give me an extra credit option. He's going over it now, I'll be done soon. I send a heart emoji and get one back within seconds. I miss him already. I feel guilty that I'm lying to him, and Maya too. I promised her I wouldn't make any deals with A.

My next step is to be proactive. I decide to text A and ask where they are and if this is just a joke. I get a heart emoji back in response. The same one Lucas sent me just minutes before. I call Lucas, worried.

"Lucas, I'm done, I'm heading to the field." I say as I cross the street and into the school. I'm running. I know something's wrong.

"Riley? I think I'm locked in the locker room." He says. I hear a grunt and a shuffle and the phone gets muffled.

"What's wrong?" Suddenly a robotic voice takes over the phone.

"I told you to end it with him before I had to end him. I don't like giving second chances to anyone, let alone the pathetic Riley Matthews." I start running to the locker room. I take a few turns. It only takes minutes before I'm there. I try on the door and it opens surprisingly easily. Once I open it, steam billows out and I'm left choking.

I push through anyways. If Lucas is in here, he can't breath. I rush in but I can't see two steps in front of me. My foot touches something and I hear a groan. I look down, Lucas is unconscious. I grab his arms and try to pull him out of the locker room. My phone falls from my pocket, with a thud on the ground. I don't care, I'll go back for it later. After I get Lucas Out of her.

Once we're outside I gently lay him down and turn to go back inside. He grabs my hand. "Don't go back in." he chokes. His voice sounds coarse.

"Lucas, I have to. I'll just be a second." What Lucas doesn't know is that my phone has all of the A research I've done over the past two weeks. The bastard can't get his hands on it. It would be detrimental.

I rush in, and a lot of the steam has evaporated, but it's still foggy. It burns my eyes and billows into my nose. I cough a few times as I try to locate my phone. I look across the room and I see a black hooded figure. A. I bend down and pick up my phone, which was right by my feet, and hope it's not damaged.

"Let's make a deal." A says. Their voice is weird like they're using some sort of voice changer.

"Who are you?" I ask, and take a step towards them.

"One more step and you both get locked in here to die." The sincere honesty and seriousness in his tone frighten me. They continue, "Lucas and you break up, and he doesn't die. That's the deal."

"No. You won't kill him anyways because if you did I'd be useless, and you wouldn't have anymore fun messing with me." I say, honestly. Of course I'd be useless without him. I'd rather die than live without him, A must know that by now. Without Lucas, there's nothing A can use against me.

"Stupid bitch. Fine. You break up with him and hook up with someone at that party, and I'll never go near him again." That's a little bit better. A seems desperate to have Lucas so I'm hoping I can get something else out of it. I know exactly what to do.

"And Josh. You won't hurt him either." I say, not sure A even cares about Josh.

"I'll kill Lucas right now, A rages."

"Fine, fine. I'll do it." I say. I need to hurry. Lucas will walk in any second and see what's going on. I turn around and run out of the locker room, hoping A will leave us alone. I step outside the door and Lucas is sitting with his head between his knees. I go over and sit next to him, just to rub his back. We stay like that for a few minutes while he tries to catch his breath. He must've been trapped in that locker room for a while. His breathing starts to normalize and I sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" He asks me, voice still raspy.

"You're seriously worried about me?" He is just so caring, this is gonna be difficult. "I'm not okay, but I'm ready to go home. Are you okay to stand?" I get up and reach out my hand for him. He stands up and leans into me for a second. Something's not right.

"Lucas, I think you should go to the hospital." I say and look up into his eyes while I hold him steady. He's the strongest person I know, and the fact that he's struggling makes me fear for his health. Steamed lungs can't be good.

"No, just call Farkle or Josh or something for help. I'm tired of hospitals." He sounds off and his words are slurrish. I never wanna step foot in a hospital again, but I'm starting to worry. What if there was something else in the steam besides air and water?

I called Farkle and asked him to meet me. Smackle and him usually stay after school and study together anyways. He says he's in the library and that they'll be here in a minute or two. Lucas sits down and I sit next to him. We're lucky that no one really stay this late after school. A probably planned that though.

Farkle shows up and that's when Lucas starts coughing again. He coughs so hard I think he might puncture a lung. I'm on him in a second, "Just breathe. Look at me, just breathe, it's all okay." He makes eye contact with me and starts breathing better. Maybe this is it. I still think he should go to the hospital, but once Lucas decided he's not doing something, he's not doing it.

"Farkle, is he gonna be okay?" I feel the back of my throat start swelling. I cannot cry right now. Not when Lucas almost just died AND I'm gonna break up with him. I start coughing to hold it back.

"Riley?" lucas says.

"I'm fine, I'm okay. Farkle?" Farkle looks at me, unsure who to treat first. "I was only in there for two minutes, he was in there for ten." Farkle gives me a look, but then redirects his attention to Lucas.

"Check his heartbeat, let me know how fast it's going." I've always wanted to be a doctor when I grow up, or maybe a journalist, I don't know, but I did get my CPR certification so I could help people. Now I'm thankful I did. I place my hand on Lucas's heart and it feels normal.

"I feel fine now, guys. Riley are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." I'm just a terrified about what I have to do at this party on Friday. "Lets just go home, it's been a long day. I'm gonna call Maya on the way." I stand up and Lucas stands up with me. I take a good look at him. He really does seem fine, but I'm still gonna worry about him. I get a text and look down at my phone. Lucas takes my hand in his and looks at the phone, as if knowing it's from A. I'm worried A will say something about the deal so I quickly pull away and look at it. I sigh with relief. "It says, 'Don't worry sweetie, it was just steam." It also says, 'I'll get him next time if you don't pull through. But Lucas doesn't need to know about that part. I give him a hug, and then grab his hand. "Let's go home."

We start walking out of the school where we say goodbye to Farkle and Lucas leads me to his truck. We get inside and he takes a pause before turning on the car.

"I'm worried about you baby." He turns to look at me. All I can do is just keep looking forward, and I eventually looked down. I usually love it when he calls me baby, but I hate that he did it right now. How can I look at him when I know I'm gonna break his heart on a Friday night? Which is just two days away? "Riley, why won't you look at me?" He says, I hope that it's just curiosity I hear in his voice, but there is sadness. Maybe it's both. Maybe he knows what I have to do.

"Lucas, I really think we need to end things. I love you, you know I do, but we were best friends for a long time. Maybe we can just go back to that?" I try to say it strongly, but my voice just sounds like a confused, little girl's.

"Why would you say that? We've been working so hard to make it work."

"I know Lucas, but it's just not safe anymore. You could've gotten seriously hurt in there."

"But I'm fine-"

"No. I love you enough to tell you that I can't do this anymore. I'm barely holding myself together. Lucas, I can't protect you anymore. Please just make this easy on me."

"No." He starts to sound frustrated, "I am not gonna let the love of my life walk away angry. I will find this son of a bitch and kill him myself if that's what it takes. I will make you safe again."

"I don't want you to do that." I lean over and try to open the door, before I can, Lucas leans over and pulls it shut again. "I want you to let me go."

"I already said no."

"Fine. I don't need your permission to break up with you."

"So that's what this is? Were breaking up?"

"Yes." I say loudly. I open the door, and before he can close it I hop out of the car.

"Riley." He says, getting out of his truck, following me. "At least let me give you a ride home."

I stop and think. I really didn't think this through. I should've waited till after he took me home. I'm not using him or anything, but I forgot that I was gonna have to ride the subway alone, and that scares me. I'm still in love with Lucas. I just want to protect him. I still feel the most safe when I'm with him. And I want that feeling to stay that way. I want to fall into his arms and feel happy, not worried, not scared. I want to feel content.

If he needs to move on from me until we find A, I'll understand that. It will still hurt so badly. I can't even imagine it. And maybe in a couple weeks, hopefully not too long, we can catch whoever this psycho is and we can be together. I know it's a bad idea, but I decide to get back into the car. I turn back around and head to the passenger door, where he is already waiting to open it for me.

When we got home, however silent the ride was, I found myself wishing we'd have hit traffic or something. Just to make it last a little bit longer. It started drizzling slightly on the way home from school, so that made for a few extra minutes, but it wasn't enough. There was never enough time with him. I step out of the car, and close the door behind me. Lucas had pulled up to the front of the building so I could walk a shorter distance to get inside. I shivered on my way in while the raindrops tapped my shoulders.

"Wait!" I hear from behind me. I turn around and Lucas is rushing towards me. Before I know what's happening, his lips are on mine, and he's pulling me in closer. It's a slow, innocent kiss, but it still means a lot. I pull away after just a few seconds. I want it to last forever. His arm wraps around my waist and he pulls me into a hug. "I just needed to do that one last time." He says. I want to do it again, I want to do it a thousand times, but I can't. I slowly back away.

"Goodbye Lucas." I walk hurriedly into the building. I will not cry, I tell myself. I. Will. Not. Cry. I make it into my room before I break down. It's not the full on sobs I was expecting. Just silent tears. I run out into the living room and do something I've never done before. I grab a half empty bottle of my parents vodka, and head back to my room. Now all I can do is stop and wait. I don't know what I'm waiting for. I just stare out the window.

A couple of shots in and a few hours later, my mom knocks on my door and says that dinner is ready. "I'm not hungry, I already ate." I say. She comes back again, but I don't wanna leave the confines of my room.

About thirty minutes later, I hear her outside. "She won't come out. She says she already ate, but I know something is wrong." Just then someone barges into my room. Even though she's on crutches, she still knows how to swing my door open pretty darn hard.

"What?"

"Get out of here, what are you doing? You never miss dinner. And why do you smell like alcohol?"

"Me and Lucas broke up, for good." I say. I'm not sad. Hopefully I can catch A, and if we're still meant to be together by then, we will.

"Are you sure? You're not exactly a mess right now, besides the vodka."

"Maya, A tried to kill Lucas today."

"What? How?" She seems surprised. Nothing really surprises me anymore.

"Steaming him to death." She looks shocked, and a little confused. She'll probably spend the night tonight, and I'll dive into the details later. Right now I just feel really tired. It's probably the alcohol. "And I guess I'm not sad because I know it's for the best. We'll be together again, we just need to catch this bitch first."

"So what does that mean? You pretend everything's fine until then?"

"I have to. If Lucas even thinks I'm sad, he'll come back to me. We both know that's a fight with myself I can't win. I need to pretend to let him go."

"Drinking your parent's alcohol on a school night isn't exactly acting normal." I shoot her a look. "I love you Riley, and I support your decision. But we have to play our cards right. A knows you've faked breaking up before. What if they think you're just doing it again?"

"Because this time I'm gonna hook up with someone else. I really don't want to. I know it'll hurt Lucas. But I'd rather have him hate me than be dead. If I can prevent that anyway I can, I have to try." I look down. I'm tired of this conversation and to be honest, I have absolutely no idea what maya's gonna say next. I look up at her. I see something pass her eyes. Anger? Empathy? If anyone knows what I'm dealing with right now, even remotely, it's Maya.

"You made a deal with A, didn't you? How else could you know that Lucas will be perfectly safe from now on? And how else could you be so sure about something like that? I thought we agreed with Riley! Making a deal with the devil is a terrible, dangerous, unsafe, stupid-"

"I get it. But I can't protect you, or my brother, or Farkle, I had to do something. As long as I'm miserable, everyone is safe."

"What was the deal exactly?"

"I have to hook up with someone at that party on Friday…"

"OMG." She emphasizes. She looks out the window. Almost like she's thinking about something. Maybe she's thinking about who it will be, something I haven't even been able to process and think about yet.

"I know." I say dryly.

"Who's it gonna be? I have a feeling this is a terrible idea."

"It'll be fine. A didn't say what hookup means, so I'll probably just go makeout with someone." After that we talk for a few more minutes before my mom interrupts, again. I've decided I've had enough time to wallow in my thoughts and if I'm gonna act normal, I have to start now. I run to the bathroom and rinse my mouth with mouthwash, twice. Maya's right. If there's one time I can't slip up, it's now.

As I step out into the kitchen, aromas fill my nostrils. I'm not too hungry at the moment, but it still smells good. Mom made stew for dinner. It's not my favorite, but when I'm hungry it usually satisfies me. I like the mushy carrots.

"How was your day Riley?" My dad asks.

"It was okay, pretty uneventful." I see Maya choke on her food. I give her a look and she stops. My parents seem to notice, but they don't say anything.

"Well, your father and I were thinking. Maybe Saturday night the boys and Smackle could come over for a little bit. Your dad and I are having a date night, so maybe you and Lucas-"

"He's busy." I say, a little agitated. The one time my dad doesn't freak out about me having boys over and I can't even have the one I want.

Maya POV:

This has officially been one of the weirdest Matthews family dinners I have ever had. What a coincidence that Riley's parents keep bringing up Lucas. "Well Riley, I was gonna invite you to have a sleepover at my house instead. It'll be fun." I draw out the word fun to make things seem normal. Where the hell is Josh? I cannot get through this awkward dinner without him. Well, at least it's already Wednesday. There's only a couple more days till Friday, and when the hookup trainwreck is over, I'll be able to relax.

And in walks my savior. "I'm home!" Josh says as we slides through the doorway. He's adorable. I shovel another forkful of stew into my mouth before I look like an idiot for staring at him too long. He drops his football bag on the couch and walks over to the table. The bounce in his step makes me feel a little less like shit after today. He kisses his mother's cheek, hugs his dad and sister, and sits next to me. He wraps an arm around me and I feel more comfortable. Riley is clearly trying to avoid his arm around me, looking the opposite way and staring at Augie's plate. I feel guilty. I shrug Josh's perfect muscular arm off my body, and falls down to the bench we're sitting on.

She's my best friend. I have to give it time with her. I don't want to rub it in her face that my relationship is soaring while hers is falling apart. She has done so much for me. She's my person. I owe it to her to at least try to be respectful of her feelings right now.

Lucas was Riley's rock. They were there for each other through everything. Death, rape, bestfriends in hospitals, everything. Of course I was there for her too, but I understand that she still has an ache in her chest. I try not to think about that same ache I would have if I had to stay away from Josh, or if something worse happened to him. I know exactly where riley's coming from.

Josh looks at me, and I give him a look that says 'we'll talk about it later.' After dinner, Riley goes into her room and I follow her.

"Peaches. I love you, but I think I need some space for a couple minutes. And a long hot shower. Go chill with Josh, I know you want to." She smiles at me. I can't tell if it's genuine or not, but I decide that if she needs a few minutes to herself, who am I to stop her. I give her a hug and walk out. She closes the door behind me. Fast, but it doesn't slam. I walk into Josh's room.

When I get in, he sits up from his comfortable position on his bed and opens his arms to me. I almost fall into them and sat on his lap. I love it when he holds me like this. I used to make fun of Lucas and Riley for doing this so often, but now I understand. I bet she wishes she could feel like this right now. I sigh.

"What's wrong babe?" he asks softly, and plays with my hair a little bit.

"Riley and Lucas broke up, for good this time. No one knows yet except her, him, you and me."

"No way. This has got to be an A ploy. They'll be back together by tomorrow afternoon."

"I don't think so this time. A tried to kill Lucas today. Riley's really done. She won't let him get hurt because of her."

"But that's the thing. It's not because of her. It's all A's fault."

"I agree, but who do you think would feel bad if something terrible happened to him? A? Or Riley?"

"You're right."

"That's why she's not going bat shit crazy like the last time. She thinks that this is for the best. That if they're meant to be together, they will." He moves over to lie down, and I lay next to him. I put my head on his chest, and he rubs my back. I love listening to his breathing, his heartbeat. It's so soothing. This would feel so much better if I knew that Riley was happy and there was no A.

"What do you mean A tried to kill Lucas today?" Josh asks. His smile frowns, and he looks a little distraught.

"Riley said that A locked him in the locker room and turned on all the steamers."

"That can be really dangerous. Was he okay afterwards?"

"Yeah. Riley said he was a little dizzy and coughed a lot, but then they broke up and he drove her home just fine."

"He drove her home after they broke up?" He asks with a coy smile.

"That boy was never gonna let her take the subway alone. He still loves her."

"And I think she still loves him. If this was a month ago, or just last week, I would've convinced her to stay with him. But I really think it's what's best. I mean, not for her, but at least this way she'll know he's safe. She needs to know that for a while now." We stay in silence for a couple minutes afterwards. There isn't much else to say. We get to be here, together, happy, while Riley's in the shower listening to Ed Sheeran and Adele.

"Hey Maya?"

"What?"

"I worry about you like that all the time. I'd like to feel that too." I look at him. He looks sad. I'd love to make out with him, but I know he just needs a hug. His arms make me feel safe, I hope mine can do that for him as well. I wrap my arms as tight as I can around him. He wraps his around me and I hear him sigh. "I love you Maya."

"I love you too. And you don't need to worry about me." He nods his head. I know that he's gonna worry anyways.

Josh POV:

We sit like that for a few minutes. I love being close to her like this. I have no idea what the future, or even tomorrow holds, but at least I know that nothing bad can happen to her right now. She's in my arms. She's safe in my arms.

Maya gets a text and involuntarily starts shaking, but very slightly. I can tell she's trying to hide it. I sit up with her while she gets her phone. She smiles and waves me off like it's no big deal. It's possible that it could be though. I can't believe what A has been doing to these girls. They're even scared of their phones at this point. This can't go on any longer. Maya sits up and takes a deep breath. She seems to remember something and relaxes a little bit. She grabs her phone.

"It's just Shawn. He wants to know if I'm spending the night. Can I?"

"Baby, you don't even need to ask, as long as you'll stay with me."

"Of course, I feel safe when I'm with you, I never want to leave. Promise me you won't get sick of me?" She laughs.

"Never." I kiss her cheek. She texts a few things on her phone.

"I'm gonna call Lucas really quickly, I wanna check on him." She calls, and it goes straight to voicemail. This worries me a little bit, and her too, but I assure her that he's probably sleeping. Dang that boy can sleep.

Maya leaves a little while later. She hangs out with Riley. They talk about Lucas, and all the usual things best friends do when shit like this happens. I'm glad Maya and Riley have each other. I know my sister needs her right now. Probably more than I do. So I refrain from dragging Maya back into my room, and never letting her leave my bed again. It's close to eleven when she finally comes back in.

She climbs into bed with me. She lays next to me and I lean over her. I slowly push my hand under her shirt, until I get to her bra. She bits her lip and smiles. I lean in and kiss her neck, "You are so sexy." She laughs a little bit. I lay my head next to her next and slowly rub my fingers across her bra. Tonight isn't the night for anything. But I can make her feel beautiful, and loved. It's always the time for that. Before I know it, she's asleep in my arms.

But I can't sleep. I have this angel in my arms, who needs protecting. I can't let anything bad happen to her. But how can I protect her, when I don't even know who I'm up against? Even if the odds were a thousand to one, I'd still go to war for her. And that might just be what I have to do.

Lucas POV:

After I drop Riley off, I stand outside her apartment for a few minutes. God, I love that girl so much. She's my everything. I know teenage boys say that all the time, but this one really means it. She stuck by me through everything, even my darkest Texas-Lucas moments. When my Papi Joe died, she came over as soon as she found out. She sat with me and held my hand as I cried and didn't judge me for a second of it. Even when I was done, she refused to leave. She even lied to her parents and said she was sleeping at Maya's so she could spend the night. She made me feel like things were gonna get better. He didn't let me wallow in my self pity. She made it easier to get up the next morning, and the one after that. She gives me the security that I need. I know she's felt unsafe lately, and I've failed to give her that security. Not only as a boyfriend, but as a best friend.

I know why she's done this. She wants to protect me. She made her decision so quickly after the steam attack, they had to be connected. I want to text her, but I think it's too soon. She needs space, I think? I sit and wait for a couple of minutes, but I'm not sure what for. Even if Riley's life depended on running into my arms, she wouldn't do it. She always puts others before herself. She's the most altruistic person I know. It's one of the things I love about her.

When I get home I open the door and go straight to my room. My parents aren't around that often, so there's no one to bug me about it. When I get in there I decide that I need a nap. Sometimes I feel like she's the only reason I function. She motivates me and I'll spend my whole life trying to make her proud. I just want to go to sleep; there's nothing left to motivate me. I don't know how it happens, but soon I drift off.

When I wake up, I have a thousand missed calls. It's also midnight. Damn I slept a long time. I am a little worried about checking my messages, but I do it anyways. One from my mom, which I'll ignore for now. One from Maya, she probably just wants to check in on me and see how I'm doing. Four from Missy, the usual. One from Josh. And a missed call from Riley? She left a voicemail. I'll check that first.

"Lucas? I just wanted to say thanks for everything. You're an amazing person, and I want you to move on. I just need space. This year has been so crazy. You are amazing. I hope you find what I can't give you. Best wishes, Riley."

This crushes me. I think back to when she used to end every call or voicemail with an 'I love you'. How can she just expect me to move on from her. Last time A forced her to break up with me, but did she decide to do this on her own this time? Did she? I don't know anymore. Is that why she seems so much better about it? Was it her choice? It can't be. What we had is realer than anything. How I feel for her is real.

I decided to call Josh. There's no way to tell if he's still up, but I'll try anyways.

It rings and on the second ring he answers it. "Why are you still up?" I ask.

"Maya's in my arms, I can't sleep."

"I feel it man. What are we gonna do?"

"Me? I don't know yet. You? Nothing. You almost died today. How are you feeling by the way?"

"I feel fine, and it's not a big deal. I'm not gonna let this bitch take away the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I know, I know. I want you guys to be together. I see how happy she is with you. She's seemed so distraught today since the breakup. I'm just worried that if we try and step in…"

"Then A will take it out on the girls."

"Exactly. I feel so guilty I couldn't protect my sister, but I'll be damned if anything happens to Maya."

"Yeah I wanna protect her too. How can I just sit here though? How can I stay away when I know shits going on? If I have to see her at school, knowing I can't help, it's gonna eat at me."

"I have the feeling Maya's hiding something from me. Nothing about our relationship or anything, but I feel like she knows something about A that I don't. I can't shake the feeling."

"Do you ever just think about running away? Throwing the gang in a car and just driving, far away from here?"

"Yeah, I do. But how could I leave my parents?" Mine aren't around for me to leave. If Riley told me she wanted to get out of here, even for just a little bit, I'd leave everything for her.

"Winter break is coming up in a few weeks. Let's take them away. Shawn's cabin? I feel like the space from reality would be good for them."

"You and my sister are broken up though, and it seems like she wants it that way this time."

"I know, but does it really seem like she wants it? Or that she feels obligated to protect me. I hate that I make her feel like she needs to put my safety over her own happiness. Is she going to school tomorrow?"

"Not sure. I'm sure she is though. She's probably gonna do everything to convince A that it's over. I swear to god, if Missy treats her like shit tomorrow… I'll kill her."

"I won't let that happen. What do you think I should do though? I can't stay away from her, we all know that. But I need to keep her safe."

"I'll think of something. It's getting late." I check the clock and he's right. It's almost 1:30 already. I have to be up in five hours. "I'm gonna go to sleep, Maya's stirring."

"Okay, goodnight bro, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

Josh's POV:

"Maya?" I whisper.

"Joshua. Don't do anything stupid, I love you too much." She says, clearly still half asleep. She's so cute to wake me up to tell me she loves me too much. I lay down so that we're facing each other.

"I love you too and I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you."

"The only bad thing that could happen to me, is anything bad happening to you."

"Don't worry about me."

"There's no use in you telling me not to worry. Just hold me." I shift her so that my whole body is wrapped around her.

"Goodnight Maya, I love you." But she's already asleep.