Chapter 9
"Hey beautiful." Riley didn't even hear him, she continued to think about the choreography. It wasn't till his hands wrapped around her waist and he kissed her cheek that she awoke from her daydream.
"Hey."
"So, it's 1:30 in the morning. I'd say it's time for us to go to bed, since we have school tomorrow. Josh and Maya fell asleep on the couch." The brunette nodded her head and grinned. The green eyed man fixed up the air mattresses and she turned on the TV, because she can't fall asleep without some noise. "I'm sad."
"Join the club." She joked. "Why are you sad?" The brown eyed girl crawled onto the mattress.
"I'm going to have to go home soon." Her brows furrowed. "Now that you're starting to feel better, i'm pretty sure these overnighters are going to slow down."
"Why?" He inched the other air mattress as close as allowed by Cory and laid down.
"You're parents aren't going to let me stay here." Riley held his hand. "I don't wanna leave, I mean I really like you, but I love your parents reaction when we come home. With both, it's kind of win, win." The green eyed man stroked her hair.
"I don't want you to go."
"I'll stay as long as i'm allowed. Do you want to come with me to get more clothes tomorrow?" She nodded her head in agreement.
"Are we together?"
He sighed, everything inside of him wanted to say yes. "No, not until after Nationals. I don't want to distract you. But, the minute you're done dancing, you're coming to kiss me again. I should've kissed you more earlier, that was amazing."
"I felt like I was in a movie." She smiled. "Thank you."
"For what?" His lips touched her hand.
"Giving me a reason to keep living. For staying with me. For reminding me of Auggie. For, everything, helping me dance today." He stared into her eyes and his lips crashed onto hers again. Riley's body tingled and her toes curled, she rolled on top of him, continuing their embrace.
"I really like you Riley."
"I like you too." The quarterback slowly rolled her off of him.
"I like you so much, that we're going to have to wait so you can stay focused on Nationals and not on me. That was the last time I kiss you, I swear."
"I won't stop you if you try though." She admitted. "Hey, where'd you learn to dance like that today?"
"I didn't learn, I just did what felt right. Following your movements and finding a way to touch you was my main focus." Her eyelids closed. "We moved pretty well together. Didn't we?"
"Mhm." She let out a deep breath and he could tell she was falling asleep. He continued to watch her for another 30 minutes.
"I love you." He whispered.
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"Last time I was at your house, I fell like 3 times." He chuckled and stopped himself from reaching for her hand.
"You've been less clumsy lately, that's what happens when you move slower." Riley rolled her lips in. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"It's okay." It took a lot for her to move, she ate dinner last night but hadn't eaten at all today. It took a lot for her to just continue living daily life.
"Here we are. Oh no." A sigh filled with worry was released from his lips. "One of my parents are home, if not both." He put the truck into park and dropped his hands from the wheel. "Do you want to wait in here?"
"No. Why?"
"I haven't seen them since I broke up with Lindsey. And, my dad isn't the nicest. I mean, he's nice to others just not to me." She nodded her head.
"I can wait. If you'd prefer, I don't want to get in the middle of anything."
He glanced towards the door and nodded his head. "I um, i'm sorry, but I think that'd be best." Lucas' lips touched her hand. "I'll be right back. Promise." Riley saw him run inside and she shut her eyes, hoping for a little cat nap.
"MOM? DAD?" Lucas ran upstairs to his room and packed a few things. Luckily, Topanga was doing his laundry so he didn't need a lot.
"LUKE?" The green eyed man shuddered at the sound of his fathers voice.
"I'm in here dad."
"YOU BROKE UP WITH LINDSEY?" His shoulders dropped and he turned around to face his dad. "Listen to me son, you're going to call and fix it, and you're going to do it right now."
"No i'm not dad. I didn't want to be with Lindsey, and you knew that."
"You're going to blow this for us!" His son sidestepped to leave the room. "Where are you going?"
"A friends house, her brother just passed away, so a group of us have been staying over there to help keep her distracted." The quarterback ran down the steps with the sound of his father right behind him, he reached out for the handle.
"Don't you dare walk away from me boy!" He pushed Lucas up against the door, and the jade eyed man took a deep breath to try and stay calm. "You will call Lindsey and get back together with her."
"NO!" He shoved his dad off and the door flung open. Riley startled awake and saw the fuming father following his son outside. She instantly jumped out of the truck when Lucas turned around to face him, not really sure what she would do Riley put her hands behind her back. "Leave it alone dad."
"No, I will not leave it alone. You've known for a long time why you and Lindsey are supposed to be together and you aren't going to mess this up." His father glanced at Riley. "Who is that?"
"She's the friend I was telling you about."
"She's the reason you broke up with Lindsey isn't she?" The brunette glanced at Lucas who didn't answer. Mr. Friar's face was extremely red and he was literally spitting mad. "You listen to me boy. Either you get back together with Lindsey or you're out on the street."
"WHAT? Are you freaking serious?"
"Mr. Friar, sir, be mad at me, don't be mad at him." Riley swallowed the lump in her throat, unsure why she even said anything.
"Riley!" Lucas snapped.
"I'm the one who put the idea into his head, since he was unhappy. Don't kick him out please." Mr. Friar took a few steps towards her and Lucas stepped in front of him.
"You know the deal Luke. Get back together with Lindsey or you're gone. Take her home and come back." Lucas ran his fingers through his hair.
"Get in the truck beautiful." Riley did as instructed and they drove back to her house in silence, until he put it in park.
"You have to get back with Lindsey." She whispered.
"No. I'm not gonna do that." He demanded.
"But you can't get kicked out of your house. Your parents are going to pay for college and your mom." The brunette glanced towards her fingers. "I'm so sorry that this happened."
"It's not your fault, he's an ass." He heard the shaky breathing of his crush. "Please don't cry."
"I'm fine. Really. I um, i'm gonna go inside. Call me if you need me, okay?" He saw a tear fall from her eye. He hated himself, after everything she'd gone through and now this. Riley wasn't fine and it was apparent.
"Please don't go." He reached for her hand.
"I um, I have to practice but my phone will be on loud if you need me. Good luck." The brunette leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I hope things work out." The brown eyed girl moved even slower as she walked inside, fighting back the tears to make sure he didn't feel bad. The brunette held the handle and turned around to see a red eyed Lucas.
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"Hey peaches." Riley was sitting in straddle stretching when her friend came in. "What's wrong?" The brunette didn't answer. "No, you're past this stage." She stood up and turned on the radio, completely in her own world. "NO!" The brown eyed girl did a russian and free styled to the music. "JOSH!" The blue eyed girl ran into the living room. "Something's wrong with Riles. Call Lucas."
He did as instructed but there was no answer. "Shit. It has to be something with him, he didn't answer." Maya ran back into the garage and saw tears streaming down her best friends face. Josh pulled his girlfriend out of the room and shut the door.
"What are you doing?"
"Let her do her thing. If something did happen between her and Lucas she has to go through these stages. You know that." Josh pointed out.
"She's past this. She was talking!"
"Come here." He hugged her and tried to calm her down.
"What's going on?" Questioned Mr. Matthews.
"We don't know. She's not talking." Mumbled the blonde.
"Where's Lucas?" Maya was shocked that everyone relied so much on Lucas, it used to be her. Now she'd never felt further from Riley.
"We don't know." Josh whispered.
"Screw this, i'm going in there." Maya exclaimed. The white door flew open and Riley was sitting in the center of the room crying. "Peaches, what's going on?" The blue eyed girl sat in front of her and shooed the boys out. "Talk to me honey." Riley's long arms hugged her as she sobbed.
"He's gone."
"Honey, he's been gone." Tears fell from her eyes, the brunette didn't want to tell Maya that she wasn't just talking about Auggie. "He's still watching over you and he loves you so much." She didn't want to tell her best friend that the piece of Auggie she felt from Lucas was gone.
"I'm gonna practice." Her best friend nodded, but still feeling a little uneasy like she wasn't telling the whole truth.
"Okay, you hungry?"
"No." They stood up and the blonde left her alone.
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Hey Lindsey. How are you?
I'm okay Luke, how are you?
Not so great.
Yeah, I lied. I'm not okay either. I miss you.
Lucas didn't say anything, he sat in silence.
Why are you calling? I mean I love it but why?
Um, do you want to get back together?
Really?!
We were together for so long-
Of course I do.
Okay, great. Hey, i'll text you okay?
Okay, bye Lukey. I love you.
He hung up the phone and his green eyes glared at his father. "Satisfied?"
"Very. Thank you for coming to your senses." Lucas' jaw clenched.
"Fantastic."
"Knock it off Luke. This is what's best." His father turned around and stood at the entrance. "It'll be in your best interest to stay away from that girl from earlier."
"I already got back together with Lindsey, i'm not going to stop hanging out with my friends." Lucas rose from his chair with fire in his eyes.
"When a friend interferes with a relationship, you will absolutely-"
"Get out." He pushed the door till it was closed, forcing his father out of his room. His fists were white and the quarterback really needed to punch something, and since his father wasn't around he aimed for the wall.
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Hello.
Hey beautiful.
How'd it go?
I uh don't want to talk about it.
At least you still have your parents.
At what cost?
Me.
My point.
Just relationship wise. So you're back together with her?
He hesitated and swallowed the lump in his throat. Riley, please-
Um, I have to go. But, i'll see you soon.
Will you come to the game tomorrow?
Probably not. I have to practice.
Do you hate me?
Of course not. It was your family or me. I understand.
I hate myself. I hate him.
Don't. Now I can practice with zero distractions and I can quit dragging you down. I can come to terms with the fact that Auggie is gone and the fact I can't get him back through you. This could be a good thing.
It will never be a good thing. And, you never drug me down. He heard her sniffle through the phone and his entire body shook.
I'll talk to you later. Okay?
She hung up the phone and hugged his sweatshirt. "Auggie and now Lucas." Riley felt like she was dying, it was like taking a bullet to the heart before the last wound even healed, which made it even more life threatening. The brunette stared at the air mattress beside her, hoping to see his face, Auggies or Lucas', it didn't matter at this point. She had sent Maya and Josh away, she wouldn't eat, she just wanted one of the men back in her life.
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"Maya where's Riley?" Lucas' green eyes gazed the hallway hoping to see her.
"I was hoping you could tell me. She won't respond to my calls or texts. She sent Josh and I away last night. What happened? All she said was 'he's gone', but he's been gone." He dropped his head knowing what she meant.
"She wasn't in your first period?"
"No. Have you tried calling her? She usually answers for you." He pulled out his phone and stared at his contacts. "I have to go meet Josh, but let me know if you talk to her." The blonde scurried off down the dimly lit hallway and the quarterback put the phone to his ear.
Hey guys, this is Riley. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now. But, if you leave your name and number i'll call you back. Have a blessed day.
"Hey, Riley. It's me, Lucas. You probably knew that, um anyways we're all wondering where you're at. I'm gonna come find you if you don't answer me soon. Okay, so I guess i'll hopefully see you later. Okay? Alright, okay. I've said that a lot, okay bye." He hung up the phone before his tongue fell out of his head and he texted her.
-Hey, where are you? Also, please do us both a favor and don't listen to that voicemail.
Cory sauntered down the hallway and waved at Lucas. "Mr. Matthews, where's Riley?"
"Did she not tell you?" He shook his head no.
"She's not going to be here today. The principal excused her absence considering the circumstances. I don't know what happened but, it's like she's starting all over again. Is there anyway you could talk to her? I know you have a game tonight, but after that?"
He clenched his jaw, wanting to cry. "Um, she probably doesn't want to see me."
"Of course she does, she's been attached at your hip since Auggie-" Mr. Matthews cut himself off, and tried to keep his composure. "I don't know why, but she's very attached to you. And for once i'm not completely bothered by that." Cory patted him on the shoulder and walked away. Lucas immediately ran to his truck.
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"RILEY?" Lucas ran to the garage, then to her bedroom, he sauntered towards the hallway and even opened Auggies room. He ran to his truck and called her again.
"Riley, you're starting to worry me. Please call me back, please." The green eyed man couldn't get to the studio fast enough, his green eyes kept glancing at different parking lots hoping to see her car.
"Hillary!"
"Hey Lucas." She turned around and smiled.
"Is Riley here? She hasn't returned anyone's call or texts all day." The coach smiled.
"She's in the private room, she couldn't focus at home. Back out the hall second door on the left."
"Thank you." The green eyed man took off down the hallway and flung the door open. "Riley!"
She turned around quickly and saw his worried expression. "Lucas? What's wrong?" The brunette turned around and almost fell over from the force of his hug. "Are you okay?"
"No." He whispered, continuing to hold her.
"What's wrong?" The dancer pulled away and turned down the music.
"You weren't at school, and you were upset on the phone last night, apparently you aren't eating and talking, you're starting your stages all over again." Riley tilted her head to the side.
"Luke, that's things that are going on with me. Not you." His shoulders dropped. "I'm not your problem anymore, I asked if you were okay. We're friends." The quarterback forcefully hugged her again.
"I hate that word. Despite what you may think I can't flip a switch on my feelings for you and turn them off. So, of course I worry about you and care about you and like you. And, by the way you were never a 'problem'." The brunette closed her eyes and enjoyed the embrace.
"I'm as good as I can be. I'm just dancing, occasionally talking to Aug." He stroked her hair.
"What are you two talking about?" Her eyes flew open and took a few steps back.
"I just can't nail down this choreography." She turned several times. "So, I have to kick you out."
"Do you have to?" He mumbled.
"You have a game tonight anyways. If you keep skipping school they aren't going to let you play." He dropped his head.
"Will you come? The studio closes at like what 8?" She nodded her head.
"Yeah, 8 but I think i'll just go home and practice some more. But, if I change my mind i'll let you know." Her hands landed on her hips and he noticed Riley's toned body. "Eyes are up here."
"Still not putting up with my BS." He mumbled.
"You're taken now Luke, I can't let you do that." His emerald eyes touched the floor.
"I don't wanna be. Unless i'm taken with you." The dancer blinked several times and turned around trying to stop herself from crying.
"Lucas, you can't say crap like that. I'm not even mad at you, at all I understand why you had to do this. I'd never ask you to give up your family." She did a pique turn and stopped almost instantly. "I just want you to be happy, that's all." Her chin started to tremble and he reached for her hands. "I feel like you're all I have left of Auggie. I always wanted him to be happy and I want the same thing for you." He touched her lips. "No. You can't do that." She whispered.
"Please." He kissed her again and held her face.
"Lucas!" She exclaimed. "You can't keep kissing me, I love it but you can't. When you do that you're asking me to be the 'other woman' and i'm not going to." Lucas closed his eyes and dropped his hands from her cheek.
"I'm sorry Riley. For, everything."
"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm serious, i'm not mad at you it just sucks." She could tell he was extremely upset. "How about this, If you leave i'll try really really hard to come to your game tonight. I might be a little late though."
"If not, can we do dinner after?" He questioned.
"With our friends, we can't be alone." She laughed lightly.
A huge smile approached his face as he hugged her. "I'm gone, but please don't ignore my calls and texts. Also, don't listen to that voicemail. Bye beautiful." The door closed before she could correct him.
Riley placed her hands on top of her head and stared at the ceiling. "Aug, I miss you. A lot." She wiped a tear off of her cheeks. "I'm not going to win Nationals."
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Riley sauntered towards the stadium, she hadn't been to a game since her sophomore year and couldn't remember what to expect. The brunette grinned at her idea.
Hello?
Peaches, will you come outside the stadium and get me. I don't want to walk around aimlessly trying to find you.
Of course. Give me a second.
The dancer inhaled deeply and kept running through the routine in her mind. She finished choreographing it, but Hillary wasn't impressed. Unfortunately, Riley knew her coach was going to slaughter it.
"RILEY!" She took a few steps forward and hugged her tight. "I didn't know you were coming."
"Lucas asked me to, and I said i'd try if he'd leave the studio."
Maya chuckled and hugged her again. "We were worried about you today."
"Yeah, the millions of phone calls and messges made that apparent." The blonde intertwined her arm with Riley's.
"How's the routine coming?"
The brunette sighed. "Hillary is going to Dexter it. She said it was an awful display of my talent." The girls meandered up the steel ramp to get to the bleachers.
"That's harsh."
She shrugged her shoulders. "It's never been this hard for me to dance. I'm glad she's taking it off my plate though." Riley looked up and the bright lights of the stadium burned her eyes. She could hardly hear anything besides the screams and cheers. "Wow, this is a lot more than I remember."
"More what?" Maya questioned.
Riley shrugged. "Just more."
"LUCAS!" The blonde exclaimed. "LUCAS!"
"What are you doing?" The dancer was hesitant to turn towards the field.
"I'm getting his attention, he's been playing awful tonight." With those words she spun on her heels and searched for him. "He may need some inspiration. He's right there number 23." Riley already found him and he was trying to contain his smile, the brunette waved and put her hands back into her pockets. "What's going on with you two anyways?"
"Nothing." The brown eyed girl mumbled instantly. "We're friends and that's all we'll ever be." Her doe eyes glanced towards him again.
"That's dumb. You like him he likes you." She scoffed.
"It's complicated but he's doing what's best for him."
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