DRUMROLL…
I mean this in the nicest way possible: the decisions I make in my writing are for the benefit of the characters. It's not just what you guys want, or just want I want, but a good balance of both. I hope you don't quit reading for this choice! The main focus of this story is RUCAS. I will be turning the attention back to rucas ASAP! Thanks for all of your support. :) Love to all of you!
Guest: Keep reading to find out who Maya picked!
nona0310: Aw, it made me so happy to read your review! I hope you'll always enjoy these updates. :*
jaleftwich: I hope you accept the choice Maya made :) It'll be for the best reasons. I didn't quite understand the congressman joke, can you explain it to me? Thanks for your positive words!
violet1429: Lucas will hopefully keep being more confident with Riley. Thank you for liking my writing! Today, you'll see what happens when you don't follow the doctors orders. :X Thanks for your lovely and positive review!
Guest (2): ;) I don't get influenced easily… ;P
CodenameR.A.L: YOUR REVIEW MADE ME LAUGH XD Don't worry, that horrible cliffhanger choice that makes no sense will not appear in this story. Maya WILL make a decision! And hi! My name is Nicole. :D Now you know me!
Discursus: Your review reminded me of the great need of Topanga and Riley moments :( I will be including more of those in here!
Marissa Davis: Same here! To this day I have a hard time between choosing Markle or Joshaya.
…..
The day seemed anything but slow for Maya. She was aware that by tonight, she would have clarified who her future involved: Farkle or Joshua. When the school clock struck three, Maya rushed into the girl's bathroom to meet up with Riley.
"Hey Peaches! Guess who's gonna be with Lucas all afternoon?!" The clumsy brunette closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. It seemed like her mind was occupied with the same thought since the past Friday.
"Riles, I'm happy you're going to be with Ranger Rick, but right now I need you to be in Mayaville. I'm about to meet up with your uncle and Farkle outside the school." Maya paced inside the small bathroom while scrunching her hair in a fist. The blonde walked up to the vintage sink and looked at her reflection on the mirror. "I never thought I had to make a decision like this. One of them wants me to be mature, and the other wants me to be responsible. How can I be both?"
Riley smiled and wrapped an arm around her favorite companion. "I've seen you grow, pup. The Maya you'll become is going to be both those things. Right now, if you follow both your heart and your mind, you'll make the right choice." She grabbed both Maya's hands. "Think about which of the two will make a better partner. If you make a great team, nothing will be impossible."
Maya nodded and bit her lip. Her eyes were gleamy. "This is the first time I don't want to hurt Farkle." Both friends laughed lightly. "We're seniors. The choices we make from now on aren't so temporary. They'll leave permanent tattoos."
Riley shook her head. "Don't get a tattoo you'll regret. Actually, don't get any tattoos, peaches."
Hart smirked at her pure best friend. "Thanks, sunshine. I'm going to meet with both of them right now."
…..
Joshua awkwardly whistled as he stood near Farkle. He leaned on the concrete building wearing dark wash jeans, a purple v-neck, leather jacket and black combat boots. "So… You managed to confuse Maya. But I'm not mad at you. It means you're probably a better man than me."
Farkle stood with perfect posture and straightened his navy blue sweatshirt and black jeans. He tapped his sneakers' heels. "Maybe. Maybe not. We'll see what she decides when she arrives." The bright young man didn't intend to give an attitude. The only reason why he responded so quickly was because of his nerves. Ever since he met Maya, he's never wanted to cause her any harm. They're friendship was important to him.
A minute after the boys exchanged words, Maya Hart appeared. She strutted in a black skater dress, black tights, green military jacket and booties. As she got closer to both, her heart quickened. Maya coughed. "I'm glad to see both of you. Now I'll tell you both how I feel. I love…"
Josh and Farkle shuffled uncomfortably as they waited for an answer.
"I love both of you. Josh, you look for my best interest. You waited for me to be older to date me. At first, I believed you didn't like me. I now understand you wanted me to be ready for a real relationship." The confident blonde then directed her gaze to Farkle. "And you, you've always been by my side at school. You have faith that I can do so much in the world, even though you're more economically sound than I am."
"Maya, we're here so you could choose. Are we at the same position from the beginning?" Farkle Minkus frowned.
"No. I did make my choice. I love both of you. Now I realize, I love you both differently." Maya bit her lip while tears obscured her vision. "Farkle, you're my friend. You're only my friend." A tear rolled down her freckled cheek. "Lately I guess I started to look at you differently, but it was only because of your exterior. You haven't changed from the inside… I haven't changed the way I feel about you. You're a really close friend."
The genius looked at the ground as he heard Maya speak. His ears became red.
"I never wanted to hurt you. And right now, I'm crying cause I don't want you to hate me." More tears rolled down Maya's cheeks. "I also know, you still have feelings for Smackle. And I know Smackle isn't over you. I want you to go find her so you can be happy with her. You said it yourself with Napoleon, you can still love someone even after they've hurt you." She cautiously walked over to Farkle and wrapped her arms around him, in a hug.
After that emotional embrace, Farkle energetically ran inside the building to obey Maya's advice. Smackle had been on his mind for a while, but he realized that he mixed those feelings with his feelings for Maya.
When the intellect ran off, he left Maya and Josh to speak alone.
"I'm sorry I doubted us, Josh. Ever since I first laid my eyes on you, I really thought you saw me as an annoying little girl. When you called me on Saturday, I realized I've loved you for a long time. Especially since you're a Matthews." The petite blonde leaned into the taller brunet. She softly pressed a kiss on Josh's lips.
"I hope you're ready for the future, Maya." Josh smiled and lifted Maya in his arms. He spun her around and kissed her.
…..
Riley grinned at Lucas as he dribbled the basketball with ease between his legs. "Yes! You got this!" She pumped a fist in the air and stomped on the floor.
Lucas beamed as he heard the brunette's words. He passed the ball to his team mate and ran across the court.
Billy Ross shot a basket and ran to the Texas teen. "Dude, your girlfriend must be a pretty lucky charm. Your passes have never been better!" Billy patted Lucas' back. "Let's keep it going!"
Riley over heard the comment and blushed profusely. She fiddled with the frills at the end of her purple dress. The brown laced-up boots that covered her feet swung. Riley's heart pounded fiercely and she sensed the happiness inside her about to burst. Suddenly, all that bliss floated away.
"Excuse me? I'm looking for the imbecile named Cory Matthews."
The quirky brunette glanced at her crush and observed his frown.
Lucas shouted, "Dad?" He quickly raced to the bench and found his father present. "What are you doing here?"
"Get out of my way boy!" Mr. Friar charged to the ball room at the end of the gymnasium.
Mrs. Friar soon followed her husband in pursuit. "Leave the man alone! Don't get angry!" The older woman grabbed Mr. Friar's muscular arm and tried to pull it towards the exit. Unfortunately, her strength was small compared to the man's.
Cory furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked at his clipboard. Originally, he was making an inventory of all the school's equipment. As soon as he heard his name, he exited the ball room and stood straight. "Hi Mr. Friar! How are you?"
The Texas man laughed sarcastically. "You have the nerve to be a hypocrite?! Y'all teachers think my boy is a joke! He's blind! And you're making him play basketball?!" Mr. Friar charged towards Cory with full force.
In a matter of seconds, Mrs. Friar, Lucas and Riley were trying to hold the angry father back. Shrieks erupted from Lucas' mother. Riley winced as she tried to use all her strength against the powerful man. On the other hand, Lucas was the only one that handled the shoving and pushing from his father. "Calm down, dad."
Shockingly, the man calmed down and stopped his attack. Despite the lack of resist, Lucas sensed things still weren't right. "Let me go." Mr. Friar spoke sternly towards the three people. "This is what you deserve!" He swung his fist in the air towards Cory. It was a hit and fall.
However, it wasn't Cory who was hit.
Lucas laid on the ground, blood flowing from his mouth. His eyelids were closed. It seemed like a total knockout.
Mrs. Friar screamed in terror. "Look at what you did! You just hurt our son!" She wasn't the only one in shock from the sudden events. Riley bent down and began to sob.
The brunette lifted Lucas' upper body and held him in her arms. She grabbed a napkin from her dress pocket and wiped the blood from his lips. "Dad! Call the ambulance!"
Cory quickly took out his phone and dialed 911. He stepped aside and spoke to the emergency operator. As he began to speak, several of the school's security guards ran inside the court and grabbed Lucas' dad. Meanwhile, Mr. Friar just looked at his son in utter horror. He began to stutter, "I-I, never meant t-to hurt, my son. I-I love him!" The man was restrained of any movement.
…..
Inside the hospital, Cory and Lucas' mom spoke with the doctor. Riley sat next to Lucas and hoped he would regain consciousness. "Lucas, speak to me." She whispered as to not scare him. "Wake up." Her small hands tapped his arm lightly.
The young man's eyelids lifted slowly. Once he completely opened his eyes, his confused facial expressions became expressions of relief. "Riley." Lucas smiled. "You being the first thing I hear reminds me things will be okay." He casually grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I'll be fine. Is your dad okay? Did my dad hurt him too?"
Riley's eyes began to water with tears of joy. "I'm so happy you're okay. My dad's fine." She wrapped her arms around Lucas and silently cried into his hospital gown. Riley felt the dirty blond play with her hair. "Your dad really wants you to quit basketball," she said quietly into his ear. "What are you gonna do?"
Lucas shook his head in disagreement. The two lovers parted from the hug reluctantly. "I am not going to quit. I believe that the greatest risks lead to the greatest rewards." He smiled at the brunette.
"You're crazy, you know that?" Riley questioned in a mere whisper. Her head titled to the side as she admired him. "I already told Maya, Farkle and Zay to come over and visit you."
"Let's stop talking about me, Riley. Why don't we talk about your search for the person who sent your application to NYU?" Lucas smirked and laughed. "I see someone has a secret admirer."
"I don't even know if it's a guy or a girl! Don't get me started on the NYU application. I mean, it's my dream school, but what if I'm actually not prepared for this big change? What if, whoever sent the application has the wrong idea of me?" Riley gasped. "What if he wants something inappropriate or illegal in return?!" Her face was flushed in embarrassment and worry.
Friar chuckled. "I don't think that's the case. Whoever sent your essay to the university must know who you are. You're Riley Matthews. You look for the best in everyone and you'll try to make things right in the world. You believe in second chances and you work hard." He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "In fact, you've changed me. Back in Texas I had anger issues that still have traces today. I threatened Maya when we stopped spending time together. Now, I'm trying to work hard to be better than I was."
The brunette's heart bursted with joy once again. "I've always felt like a nobody. It's always mattered to me what other people think. What you just said has made me forget all of that. Thank you, Lucas." Riley smiled.
…..
"Mrs. Friar, I believe we could operate on your son soon! What is your opinion?" Doctor Michaels clicked on his pen.
"Um, n-not yet. My husband and I will let you know when." The woman bit her lip and put a hand on her temple. "Thank you."
"No problem. I'll be right back." The doctor left Lucas' mom and Cory alone in the waiting room. Both of them stood there in silence.
"I'm so sorry about my husband, Mr. Matthews. My husband has some anger management problems that need to be controlled," the green-eyed woman said. "Thank you for being a great coach to my little Lucas. He has said nothing but good things about you."
Cory smiled. "I'm sorry to cause confrontation in the family. I think Lucas is very bright and capable of playing basketball. The incident from last time wasn't related to an actual game, I'm not sure if your husband knew." He looked at the woman with a questioning look. "If you don't mind me asking, why don't you want Mr. Friar to have the operation?"
…..
ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER. Review! ;D
BTW! I'm planning on writing another Rucas story after I'm done with GTTC! Do you guys want it to be a one shot or a full chapter story? Also, I'm going to write it with Paris as the setting... If any of you live in France, tell me what I should include from the geography. THANKS AGAIN!
