A/N: This is by far the most popular story I've written. Thank you all for making that happen! One of the background characters is going to be OOC (considering how other fics have built this person's character, including some of my fics). Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own it

Riley was woken by the sharp tones originating from her alarm clock. She rolled over towards her nightstand, shut off the annoying sound, and rolled onto her back. The sun's rays started to shine through her window, and she could hear some birds chirping off in the distance. Riley sat up in her bed and let out her breath. She could already tell it was going to be a good day from the way she was feeling.

She placed her feet on the floor, stood up, and began to get ready for the day. After taking a quick shower, Riley got dressed and placed everything she needed for the day into her bag. Riley took one last glance at herself in the mirror and headed out into the kitchen. Like every morning, she found her dad sitting at the head of the table, and her mom finishing preparing the family's breakfast.

Just before she sat down, the apartment's intercom buzzed.

"Hey, it's Maya…"

"…and Farkle…"

"…and Lucas."

Riley's smile grew as she headed towards the door. "Come on up," she replied, and then headed back to her seat.

As Mrs. Matthews was setting the family's breakfast on the table, Riley's three friends came walking through the door.

"Maya, breakfast," Mrs. Matthews ordered.

Maya simply nodded and took her place at the table, with Farkle close behind her. She gave up trying to argue with Mrs. Matthews several years ago, and the reason being was because she appreciated the fact that Mrs. Matthews loved her like she was her own daughter.

Lucas followed his friends to the table at a slower pace. Despite still not being fully recovered, Lucas was determined to go to school that day. He couldn't take sitting around his apartment and doing nothing any longer.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Friar?" Cory asked as Lucas sat down alongside his friends.

"Better, sir."

Cory smiled. "That's good to hear," he replied.

"So, hop along," Maya said to Lucas after taking a bite of her breakfast. "Think you'll be able to keep up today?"

Lucas narrowed his eyes towards his friend. "I'm definitely going to try," he commented. "There's no way I'm staying home and doing nothing again. I can't take it anymore. Besides, I've missed enough school work as it is."

Maya nodded as she finished her breakfast. She understood that sitting around for so long can drive anyone crazy. Maya felt the same way after being sick for a week. She never enjoyed school, but she was happy to be doing something besides lying on the couch once she returned. After a few more minutes, Riley and Maya finished their breakfast, and the four friends headed off to school.

Once they were there, Farkle took ahold of Maya's hand and started to pull her away from the group a bit.

"Maya and I are going to spend a bit of time together before class starts. See you around!" the lanky teen said as the two headed off.

"Alright, see ya!" Riley called out to them as she and Lucas continued on to their lockers.

When they walked towards Riley's locker, they were both surprised to see someone standing in front of her locker waiting for them. Riley was really surprised when she realized that it was Missy Bradford. What is she doing there? Riley wondered.

As they got closer, Lucas noticed that there was a slight discoloration underneath Missy's left eye. What happened while I was gone?

Once they stood a few feet away from her, Missy looked up and saw the two standing in front of her. Thanks to her time in detention with Mr. Matthews, she had some time to think about what she said to Riley. It was probably the worst thing she had ever done to her. Sure, she teased Riley every now and then, but what she said that day was crossing the line. And now that Lucas was here standing alongside Riley, it made her feel even worse. Here he was, almost fully recovered, and she was trying to convince Riley that he might die because of her. How could I be like that? How could I say such things?

Missy straightened her posture a bit, and tried to maintain eye contact with Riley. "Riley," she began. Missy bit her lip as she collected her thoughts. "I wanted to apologize about what I said to you. It was uncalled for. I know this doesn't help, but I honestly have no clue why I said it. But I know now that I shouldn't have said it. You were going through a really rough time, and I didn't help any," she concluded. Her eyes started to become glossy as she finished her speech.

Lucas looked from Missy to Riley. Riley's expression didn't change; it was still a look that didn't reveal any emotion, as if she was never going to forgive Missy for what she said.

But what was really going through Riley's mind was the fact that Missy was actually apologizing for something she had done. She had never done something like this before. I guess people really can change.

Missy broke eye contact with Riley and looked down at the floor. "I get it if you can't accept my apology. If I were you I wouldn't either…"

Riley shook her head. "Of course I'll forgive you."

Missy looked up. "Really?" she asked, somewhat shocked with Riley's answer.

"Yeah," Riley replied with a comforting smile.

A small smile came over Missy's lips as a tear fell down her cheek. "Thank you," she whispered, and then headed into the crowd.

After Missy was out of sight, Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You really forgive her?" he asked.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, there's no point in holding a grudge. What's done is done…I know the whole thing wasn't my fault, and she's truly sorry for her actions. What would be the point of staying angry at her?"

Lucas nodded. "Touché. I figured that much, I just wanted to make sure."

Riley smiled as she opened her locker. "Thanks."

He returned the smile. "I noticed that there looked to be a bruise under her eye. What happened to her? Did she get hurt?"

Riley bit her lip, not quite sure how to explain what had happened considering Lucas wasn't a fan of fights. "Uh, well… let's just say I wasn't the only one who heard her words and they didn't take to kindly to that."

"Let me guess, Maya heard her and was defending you?"

"Yeah."

Lucas shook his head. "Missy's lucky that's the only thing Maya did."

"You can say that again," Riley replied as she shut her locker.

A/N #2: The reason why I had Missy apologize is because people really can change once they step over that line. Something similar happened to me. A bully crossed that line, and ever since that her attitude towards me changed. She didn't apologize, but she respected me after a while. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you could leave a review on the way out that would be great. Until next time!