I know I know, two chapters in one month! Wild! I have exams to study for and this seems to be the best way to procrastinate. I hope you enjoy it !
*One week later*
MAYA POV
I was waiting patiently at our lunch table hoping that today would be better than the rest of the week. Riley shut down after Lucas's confession. She was stone cold, which was an odd way to describe a girl who quite literally could be compared to sunshine. Lunch was awkward and she would leave immediately after Lucas showed up, shoving her food down her throat, throwing us a lame excuse on her way out. She refused to talk about what happened, what that meant, and what exactly was going to happen at this point. I know it's not that big a deal so this boy doesn't like you, there will be more. But this was the first guy she liked and I guess she always hoped she'd have a story like Corey and Topanga. Corey and Topanga ruining the idea of what love really is, it's not a fairy tale and you usually don't end up with the girl you fell in love with when you were six.
Zay and Farkle sat down leaving a space empty next to me for Lucas.
"You think it's going to be better today?" Zay asked as he shoved a fry into his mouth.
"Probably not, I've seen her the most out of all of you and I think we've exchanged like 50 words to each other " I replied, taking a bite out of my apple.
" I think I'm going to tell her" Farkle said, putting his drink down on the table, Zay and I looked at Farkle confused, our eyes telling him to elaborate.
"About me and Isadora, I think I'm ready for her to know. So act surprised when I say it out loud." He explained
"Wow, really? You figured out how you felt for her?" Zay asked
"Not exactly, but uhm - I'll just explain everything when Lucas and Riley get here." Riley sauntered in and sat down at our table next to Zay. Gave the boys a tight smile, and took a sip of the tea that she had in her hand.
"Hey Honey" I said brightly, she gave me a small smile before reaching into her bag and pulling a book out. I exchanged a look with Zay and Farkle before returning to my own lunch.
After ten minutes of eating in silence, Lucas joined us at the table, he sat down with a thud. Riley looked up and quickly began packing up her stuff.
"Riley stop, it doesn't have to be like this." Lucas said his voice leaking with frustration
" I have study hall."
"We can come with you" Zay offered,
"I'd rather be alone" She replied with a dry laugh
"Well Riley, I uhm I have some news and I'd like you to stay." Riley paused pressing her lips together in thought before turning to look at Farkle.
"Please"He added, She studied Farkle for a minute before sighing and sitting down in her seat.
"Well the reason um Isadora hasn't been around much is because we broke up a few weeks ago." I watched Riley's eye widen and her jaw drop
"Oh Farkle are you alright?" Her voice dripping with concern. She reached across the table to place her hand on his, it was the only hint of the real Riley that we saw all week.
"Oh my god what brand new information?!" Zay exclaimed, it pained me not to laugh at his antics, Farkle rolled his eyes, and I giggled as I watched Lucas kick Zay in the chin.
"I'm fine Riley, really."
"Promise" she asked with a small reassuring smile
"Promise" he replied returning her smile, she gave his hand a squeeze before moving it back to her lap.
"How are you feeling about it all?" Lucas asked him
"Better now, uhm so much better." He said letting out a breath,
"It was messier than I'd like to admit. And I love her, I do but if she thinks being friends is better than I'll take it. I'll take being friends then losing her forever." He said softly. I watched Riley bite her lip, her gaze moved from Farkle to Lucas for a brief second before once again focusing on Farkle.
"I Just, It's going to take me some time for us to be friends but I finally feel like I can tell you guys and be okay with it."
"Why tell us now? What changed?" I asked him, because I truly wanted to know. He was so against talking about it, and would rather jump out of a building then tell Riley. He blushed and scratched the back of his neck nervously.
"Well uhm- well you see,I uhm kinda, I just" he stuttered nervously, which was new for Farkle indeed. The boy doesn't get nervous.
"Spill it Minkus" Zay said with an eyebrow raised
"I kind of uhm have a date tonight." did I hear that right?
" A date? With a girl?" I asked
"Yes, A date with a girl Maya." He rolled his eyes before continuing
"Remember Amanda Luchiago. The uhm hot brunette from my English." he said with a small smile
"Ayy good for you man! She's hot as hell!" Zay said with a laugh
"How did this happen? When did this happen?" Lucas said with a smile
"Um well at the party, we were friendly, made out a was fun, she's just fun" Farkle said his grin growing wider.
"I can't believe she would rather sleep with you then me or Lucas" Zay said shaking his head seriously thought his voice was playful and teasing.
"Farkle's a superior being, I think I'd choose him over you two nimrods as well. And seeing as you're single" I said giving him a wink, before taking a sip of my drink. Farkle blew me a kiss as Riley and Zay laughed.
"But how did it go from being friendly to an actual date?" Lucas asked. I felt like my child was growing up. My baby Farkle was now making out with random girls at parties.
"She talks to me in class, flirts and I uhm flirt back and she's not looking for anything serious and I can't do serious. Not right now anyway. I mean schools ending in two weeks and I just want to have some fun"
"Don't you uhm think you're moving on too fast?" Riley asked him
"There's no point in being stuck on someone who doesn't want me. And it's not like I'm asking her to be my girlfriend or anything, I won't even see her over the summer cause we'll all be in Texas." He said with a shrug
" Did she give you a reason why?" Riley asked, I watched Farkle cringe before answering
" Yeah, she said it wasn't love."
"Do you agree?" She asked
"Not exactly, but arguing isn't worth it. So yeah maybe it is a little quick to go out with another girl but who cares, it's nice to be with someone who is funny and just has no expectations, who doesn't know me or have any opinions about what I should do."
"Well I support it, it's necessary after a break up to have yourself a rebound, get laid have some fun, go Farkle! " Zay said. Farkle shook his head with a laugh
"I'm not trying to sleep with her"
"Oh but you will, she's into you, like really into you and doesn't seem like the chick to beat around the bush" Lucas said with a suggestive smile, while wagging his eyebrows
"Shut up, Lucas"
"I'm for it too, Whatever makes you happy Farkle" I said as I took another bite of my sandwich
"Thanks Maya" he turned to look at Riley
"What do you think Riles?" She shrugged her shoulders
"It uh really doesn't matter what I think."
"It does to me." he replied earnestly.
" I'm not the one to talk about relationships Farkle. I'm sorry things didn't work out with Smackle, and I guess I hope you find the fun you're looking for with Amanda."she said before once again pulling out her book and going back to reading. It was an improvement to leaving I suppose. I turned to the blonde boy next to me and studied his face. He obviously heard the small jab she made towards him. I placed a hand on his knee
"Hop-along?" He looked down at my hand before turning to smile at me
"Yes, Hart."
"What do I need to pack? We leave what next week?"
"Ah Yeah, um I was thinking you just stay at my place the night before cause we need to be at the airport at 6 am"
"Hoo hoo sleep over at Friars" Zay said with a wink
"Shut up Zay" We said at the same time
"What do I need? "
"I can come over and help you pack tonight"
" I don't need help packing"
"Yes, you do. If I give you list you're gonna forget half the stuff on it. You aren't exactly responsible" I looked at him offended
"Excuse you, I am the most responsible person here."
"You almost blew up your kitchen yesterday" Farkle supplied, with a full mouth, I glared at him.
"And I took responsibility for it!" I exclaimed, the boys chuckled as Riley smiled softly
"I thought I would help you pack Maya. I thought we could do it together before you left, it'll be our first summer apart" She said softly.I looked at her and then turned to look at Lucas. I would invite both of them but uh we all weren't really at that place. I bit my lip nervously trying to figure out the diplomatic way to deal with this situation. Which again was tough because Riley was the diplomatic one.
"I uhm"
"I'll give you a list by the end of the day, Maya." Lucas said placing another hand on my hand and giving me a squeeze, His eyes telling me to pick Riley. I smiled up at him, thanking him silently before turning to Riley.
"Sure, Riles, that sounds like a plan. We could even go shopping after school!" I looked at her with excitement
"Yeah, Sure peaches. Whatever you want!" She said with a smile.
"I'm excited for Texas" Zay said
"So fucking excited! We haven't been home in ages." Lucas said with a boyish grin. The boys have lived here for 3 years yet they still never thought of New York as home.
"I was talking to Wyatt the other day and he's planning this lit ass party for when Farkle and I fly in. I haven't been to a proper Texas throw down in so long."
"Yeah I know, he wants to take Maya and me to the barn for BBQ and drinks that night we get in but I don't know. You know how he is with pretty girls" Lucas gave Zay look like he was trying to tell him something. Zay nodded scrunching his nose up.
"You think I'm pretty Hop along" I said, blowing him a kiss.
"Oh yeah I think you're hot in the silent I want to murder you kind of way." He replied taking a bite of his burger. I laughed throwing a fry at him
"You're such an idiot" I said leaning closer to him, he leaned in even closer and had a goofy smile on. I felt a warm feeling stirring in my stomach, a feeling I only got when he smiled at me like that.
"I'm your idiot" I felt a fry hit me in the face I backed up from him realizing how close we actually were. I looked at Riley who had an expression I couldn't quite read on. I felt that wave of guilt once again. Here she was hurting because of Lucas and I was parading him in front of her face
"You're both disgusting" Farkle said
"I don't think Wyatt would try anything with Maya especially if he knew that yanno" He said pointing to me and then back to Lucas. Lucas looked at me then back to Zay before shrugging. They did that a lot, Lucas and Zay loved to have these silent conversations and quite frankly it was annoying as shit.
"Knew what ?" Riley asked her tone accusing Zay of hiding something
"That Maya's a good friend of ours, he wouldn't try anything on you either Riley. We wouldn't let him" Lucas intervened, Riley looked at Lucas before sighing and biting her lip nervously. She took a deep breathe before opening her mouth.
"I uhm I don't think I should come to the wedding. I would have to cut my family vacation short to travel by myself and I just I don't know" The words spilled out quickly. It was the first time she spoke directly to him all week. I looked at Farkle, who looked concerned, Zay pitched the bridge of his nose. Lucas looked at her with disbelief
"You're kidding, You're going to bail on Texas?" His voice held silent anger
"I don't know, Perhaps I should."
"No, You really fucking shouldn't. Your parents don't care that you're leaving your family vacation early and the travel is a couple hours on a plane. The reason you're bailing is because you want to avoid me. At least tell me the truth."
"That's not true" She insisted
"It is, look I gave you the week to think about what I said.I'm not doing this anymore. You're really going to throw our friendship out the window because I don't want to date? Do I mean that little to you?" He said leaning closer, I could see the fist he was making under the table I moved my hand from his knee to hold his hand instead. I saw his Jaw relax a little.
"I think this should be a private conversation" Zay said shooting a look to Lucas clearly telling him to shut up
"No. Riley refuses to have a private conversation, so I guess we're going to have this here with all of you. You can't tell me you all aren't annoyed with this tension and the fucking cold shoulder."
"Lucas!" Farkle exclaimed sternly
"Farkle, It's alright. Look I'm just. I'm hurt." Riley said simply,refusing to make eye contact with anyone at the table. I felt sick, She didn't deserve this. She really didn't. I felt Lucas relax beneath my hands. That's when I realized I shouldn't be touching him, I removed my hand placed it on my knee,I could feel his eyes on me before they shifted to look back at Riley.
"I'm sorry, Riley. I am" He said, you could hear the authenticity of his apology in his voice
"Yeah I uhm I should go. I'll think about Texas. I wanted to ask my teacher a few questions before class starts. Bye guys." We all watched silently as she grabbed her stuff and walked away in a hurry.
"You handled that great you Moron." Zay said, as Farkle punched Lucas on the arm
" What was I supposed to do?" Lucas asked his annoyance showing on his features
"Handled it when you two were alone"
"She doesn't want to be alone with me"
"It doesn't matter man, that's embarrassing." Farkle said with a sigh
"Honestly, this wouldn't have come up if Zay, didn't have that slip up " Lucas said trying to defend himself
"Me? I didn't even slip up. You two are the ones flirting without a care in the world. Maybe don't flirt so fucking obviously"
"We weren't flirting" I said as Lucas rolled his eyes. We heard the bell ring and began packing up
"I'll leave the list in your locker, is that cool?" Lucas asked. I nodded before walking away from the group. I felt awful, Zay was right. I needed to stop. I'm an awful Fucking friend.
RILEY POV
I waited at my locker patiently for Maya. The mall then packing that was the agenda for today. I wasn't really up for it. I had the strong urge to cancel.
"Got the list! You ready to go to the mall?" Maya's voice brought me out of the trance I was in. I didn't even realize she walked up to me.
"Uh yeah sure, What are we getting at the mall?"
"Food. And Swimsuits.I don't have any that fit." I nodded as we walked out of school
"So uhm, how are you doing?" She asked softly.
" I don't know how to answer that. I'm just feeling so many different things"
"Let me help you sort through them" I bit my lip as we walked slowly towards the subway.
"Can we talk about this later?" I asked, she looked disappointed but nodded. We reached the subway and took our seats silently. This was new for us, I don't think it's ever been this awkward between us. I was punishing her for something she didn't even do. I was being a bad friend. I was letting Lucas come between us and I hated that. Nothing should come between us.
"Riles"
"Maya" We said at the same time, looked at each other and giggled.
"You first" She told me with a smile. I grabbed her hand.
"I feel like we haven't talked in forever."
"That's cause we haven't!" She said shaking her head at me
"I'm sorry, I was just being a baby" I explained with a laugh
"No, no don't apologize, I thought you could do with some space"
"I hate that term." I told her
"Space?" She asked with a giggle, I nodded
"So fill me in! What's going on with the incredible Maya Hart? What happened at the party? Farkle and Amanda?" I bombarded her with questions. She laughed
"Hm nothing big really happening with you, same old yanno. Oh but I have a secret about the party. You can't tell anyone." I looked at her with intrigue. I missed her.
"Pinky promise" I said sticking out my pinky. She intertwined hers with it before leaning close to me
"I made out with Brandon, I kissed him first." I felt my eyes widen as I looked at her. I never really had an issue with Brandon. The boys didn't like him. I kinda saw why, he was rebellious and loved to party but he was nice to me and I think everyone deserves a chance. He was big on making today the best day ever, living life to the fullest. I appreciated that quality about him. He was also super easy on the eyes. But he did hurt Maya, that was the only thing I held against him.
"Maya Hart!"
"I know. I know. Don't lecture me about." she said with a roll of her eyes
"Lecture? Why would I lecture you about? I liked Brandon. I want details." Her grin grew wider
"It was really good Riley. I was like just inhaling him. he apologized to me and I just melted. I was putty in his hands"
"Is that rekindling something?"
"Ah probably not. We agreed to be friends. It was just nice closure"
"Closure? Maya closure is getting coffee or writing each other a letter, it's not letting him stick his tongue down your throat."
"Riley!"
"What it's true!" She laughed
" I guess you're right. I don't know. Do I miss him? Yes, at the most randomest times. Like sometimes I could be brushing my teeth and I'll think of him but like do I really want to be his girlfriend? Not really. I just I kinda like being single." She said with a shrug. I felt a wave of guilt for doubting her relationship with Lucas. For doubting my best friend to go behind my back and do something that would hurt me. I missed her.
"Single's not too bad" I replied,
"I still have trouble believing Farkle and Smackle broke up" Maya said after a few minutes of silence
"Me too! They were so cute"
"And like perfect for each other."
"I thought they'd end up like my mom and dad" I confessed
"Your mom and dad are lucky. Not everyone ends up with the first person they like." Maya replied, I nodded
"Okay but who even is Amanda? That's so random" Maya shrugged
"She's real pretty, Even Lucas and Zay were hitting on her when she asked Farkle to come to that party." I felt a small pang of sadness hit me.I watched Maya wince.
"I'm sorry Riley, that was insensitive of me."
"No, it's fine. So she asked him to her Party last week and you all went with?" she nodded
"Yeah, it was a chill party. She's uhm cousins or something with Brandon which is why he was there. You could've came."
"Parties aren't exactly my scene"
"Yes, Because they're Farkle's scene"
"Apparently they are because he's now picking dates from them."
"Oh they definitely aren't. We left the party super early I was home by like 11:30. I think Amanda's a rebound, You know how boys are after a relationship ends"
"Farkle's not like other boys though"
"I guess, but I don't know this might be his process and we have to accept that. And she really is nice. You'd like her" Maya said as we got off the subway and entered the mall.
"I like everyone." I said simply as she laughed and pulled out a list from her pocket.
"That's a long list Maya" she scrunched her nose up
" I know, but I guess it makes sense I'm am staying there for like 2 months."
"OK what's the first thing on the list."
"A formal dress. I need an outfit for the actual wedding. So heels, jewelry and all that to match the dress" she handed me the list, i looked at Lucas's scratchy writing and noticed that next to the formal dress he wrote preferably in a dusty pink.
"Why dusty pink? You hate pink." I looked at her confusion
"Uhm I think he wants me to match the theme of the wedding. We can both get dresses in pink."
"I still don't know if i want to go. I don't want to be around him really."
"You have to come. The trip isn't about him, it's about all of us being together having fun under the Texas sun."
"Like I told him, I'll think about it. I can buy a dress on my vacation if I decide to come" She sighed
"So My mom asked me to be her maid of honor." Maya said effectively changing the topic after the awkward pause.
"Ouuu that's so much fun!"
"Yeah, i'm excited! I think I wanna throw her and Shawn a surprise engagement party before I leave"
"You leave next week. How is that enough time to throw a party?"
"Well I don't know, I was thinking we could have it in the coffee shop, have a nice cake, maybe. I mean you'll obviously help me plan." I rolled my eyes with a smile. I don't think Maya has planned anything in her life.
"Yes, Of course i'll help you. It'll be nice to have a small get together before you all leave."
"I know plus the guest list won't be that huge. Just us five and our families you know. The friars probably won't be able to come anyway. "
"yeah , probably busy with their own wedding plans." Maya nodded
"How do you know them so well?" I asked, remembering how close they all seemed at the football game.
"I uh don't. Well I know his mom well but that's about it. I met his dad and siblings like twice." she said avoiding my eyes. She looked guilty but about what I could not tell.
"Let's get some swimsuits, I wonder if boys from Texas are hot." She said with a giggle as she pulled me towards the swimwear store.
Don't hate me dsjfhd I know I know, why is Farkle with another girl?! Because i'm just trying to be realistic, Jumping into another serious relationship so soon after his first one makes the first one seem insignificant and that's not what i'm trying to portray. Honestly I'm not even sure if I want Farkle to end up with Riley so that'll be something I wanna play around with Farkle and his entrance back into being a single guy, I just think that transition is important I also high-key love him. SO for now y'all are going to have deal with maybe a hoe? Farkle? haha. Also I read a comment about Riley and Maya being the only ones who see this Riley and Lucas thing! You're absolutely right and I will tackle that in the upcoming chapters, Riley will come to a realization while she spends some time away from her friends :) Anyway Please Review! Love you loads
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