Again, this is really short, but it's an important chapter. I realize I kinda went straight into the drama… Oops! I'll get better at this, I swear.
Chapter One
After the London scare, Lucas and Riley's break up was never really discussed or changed. The two just faded out of the relationship, which was perfectly fine with Riley. When Lucas asked out Carrie Ableson over the summer, Maya nearly attacked him until Riley calmed her down. She was happy to see Lucas moving on.
"Okay…" Maya said hesitantly, "So why haven't you moved on?"
Riley glanced at her phone, where her background was an old picture of her, Maya, and Farkle at Farkle's Buggy Awards. Sighing, she replied, "I just haven't had the chance to, Maya, that's all."
Over the course of sophomore year and the first semester of junior year, plenty of guys had asked Riley out, and she even went on a few dates. However, no matter what she did, she couldn't get her mind off the fact that at that same moment, Farkle and Smackle were probably sharing a smoothie and discussing their next scientific breakthrough. Riley could never commit herself to someone else, because in her heart, she clung to the chance that Farkle wasn't totally out of her reach.
Her dreams came true when Smackle crawled through the window one cold January day as Maya and Riley sat on her bed watching reruns of Red Planet Diaries.
Of course, Riley hadn't been able to keep her feelings for Farkle a secret forever. Maya was able to catch on, but she was never able to figure out if she supported these feelings… Smackle and Farkle were really great together, but Farkle and Riley had a chemistry that's undeniable. Maya tried to avoid giving advice at all about either relationship, but she had a feeling Smackle came for help.
"Hey Smackle, what's up?" Riley greeted. Though she wanted to hate Smackle, she couldn't. Smackle was a friend, a companion. Riley couldn't be mad at her for getting to Farkle first.
"I need to talk to you guys about something." Smackle wrung her hands together as she seemed to try and find words for what she needed to say.
"Smackle, do you need us to get you something to calm you down?" Maya asked, unable to hide her concern. The whole gang had taken a course on Asperger's, and had picked up on when Smackle might be close to having an episode.
Smackle took a deep breath and sat down. "No. I'm fine, thank you Maya. I just… I came to tell you that I am breaking up with Farkle today."
Riley's heart stopped. She was sure of it. She had died, and there was no coming back.
"W-w-why?" Maya stuttered. "What happened?"
"I... I don't think I love him anymore, you guys." Smackle's voice cracked as she choked out the words. "I want to. I want to love him. But… I just don't. I grew out of it. And I hate that I can't give an explanation to it. I hate that I'm going to hurt him without having evidence to support my decision. How am I going to do this?"
Riley just sat there, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. That is, until a voice came from right outside the open window.
"You just did."
The three girls watched as Farkle flew up the stairs, away from them. "Farkle, wait, please!" Smackle called out. "Where are you even going?" She tried following him, but Riley pulled her back in.
"I know where he's going." Riley breathed, looking straight into Smackle's eyes. "Stay with Maya. She'll help you calm down, okay?"
Smackle nodded and sat next to Maya on the bed. Maya knew better than to touch Smackle without asking, but when she proposed the offer of a hug, Smackle lept into her arms.
Riley gave Maya a look that said "You got this?" and, upon Maya's slight nod, stepped through the window and made her way up to the roof, where she knew she could find her friend.
Poor Farkle… Also poor Smackle. I wanted to make sure no one gets blamed in that breakup… It's okay for someone to fall out of love, you know?
