Wasn't sure what direction I was trying to go in this chapter so I wrote aimlessly. Mostly a filler chapter. Thanks again for all your feedback.

Chapter Six

Lucas texted Farkle and Zay to meet up with him at a bar that night. He couldn't make a spontaneous trip home without seeing his best friends. Lucas arrived half an hour early to the bar to get a couple of drinks in before the guys arrived. He really needed the extra alcohol in his system in order to forget about what happened with Riley earlier that day. When he noticed his two friends walk in, he waved to them to come over.

"Lucas, man, we missed you," Zay said as he gave Lucas a pat on the back.

"I can't believe you're back," Farkle beamed as he gave Lucas a fist bump.

"I fly back tomorrow," Lucas replied then took a shot of vodka. His friends frowned. "Still have that internship, remember? I'll be back again in a couple of weeks, don't worry. The summer's flying by. Besides, you guys have been busy, too. I'm sure you haven't even noticed I was gone."

"Of course we noticed!" Zay said. He and Farkle took a seat on either side of Lucas. "It's been all work and no play. This semester of summer school better be worth it."

Lucas chuckled, "I've never seen you so focused on school."

"I have no choice," Zay shrugged. "My GPA after first year was so shit." He gave Farkle a look. "And Smarkle has no time to tutor me anymore."

"Hey, Smackle and I have our own education to worry about," Farkle defended himself. Back in high school, the genius couple always offered to help their friends out with school work. But once university started, the heavy course load was too much, even for them.

"You know I could've tutored you, Zay," Lucas said.

Zay smiled and shook his head, "No, you couldn't have. When you weren't in class you were with Riley."

Lucas clenched his jaw at the mention of her. He wanted to have a good time tonight with the boys, he didn't want it to turn into a therapy session with his two best friends. He looked forward and was fortunate to see a bartender approach them. He figured now was good a time as any to order drinks for him and his friends.

"So what brings you back here so sudden?" Farkle asked once the three got their drinks. Unlike Riley, Lucas hadn't kept touch with the boys. Even with the lack of communication, they knew they'd always be best friends whenever they reunited. That's just how male friendships worked.

"Uh," Lucas looked around, trying to find the right words. "I came back for Sienna. Something was going on with her. Figured I needed to come check on her because she really wouldn't say anything over the phone." Technically, he wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling them the whole truth. Not that they needed to know right now, anyway.

"You came back for like a day just for your cousin?" Zay said. Lucas nodded. "Family goals right there, man."

"I mean, how could I not?" Lucas shrugged. "She just moved to New York right when I was about to go to Texas for the summer. I knew the transition was going to be hard on her without me here."

Farkle and Zay had agreed earlier that they weren't going to bring up Riley. But since Zay already did, Farkle decided he would to. So he asked, "So you're saying you didn't come back for Riley?"

Zay shot daggers at Farkle without Lucas noticing. Zay so badly wanted to hit Farkle over the head with a wine bottle. They needed to stay out of it. He knew he had mentioned Riley moments before, but it wasn't like he was prying into Lucas's relationship. And if there was one thing they learned from meddling whenever Riley and Lucas had a fight, they knew that the couple would be able to fix it themselves.

"Well, of course I did," Lucas replied truthfully, seeming to be unfazed by Farkle's question. Though Lucas figured it was because of the alcohol in his system that allowed him to feel numb. He took a drink of his beer and shrugged. "But she's been doing fine without me."

Zay and Farkle exchanged looks once again when Lucas took a sip from his drink after answering Farkle's question. They knew they shouldn't interfere, but they were so curious as to what went down earlier that day at Topanga's.

"She's missed you, Lucas," Farkle told him. "And I know you missed her."

"Can we not talk about her tonight?" Lucas requested. He had grown irritated in the short moments they've talked about her, and he was glad that he wasn't completely sober, otherwise he knew he would've just lost it at the thought of her. "I just want to have a guys' night. I really need this. I have long shifts at the clinic and I barely have any free time. This is the first time all summer that I've gone out."

Strange. Lucas always liked to talk about Riley, even during a guys' night. He was just that smitten with her. Zay and Farkle figured that there was something really wrong going on between the two. And they needed to know. They realized that the only way to get any information out of him was to get him more than a little bit tipsy.

After the Riley and Maya closed the bakery, Riley went home while Maya took a quick trip to her apartment. Riley requested Maya that come over and Maya wasn't going to leave her best friend like that alone for the night. So she went to grab her overnight bag and quickly packed what she usually brought for sleepovers, then rushed to go be with Riley.

"How's my honey doing?" Maya asked as she crawled in through Riley's bedroom window. Even at nineteen, she still couldn't break the habit of entering the Matthews' apartment through her best friend's window.

"I'm holding up," Riley replied. She was laying in her bed under the covers. She wanted to get some sleep that night, and she knew she would since Maya's presence would give her enough comfort to actually sleep through the night.

"Farkle texted me, he and Zay are out with Lucas," Maya informed Riley, typing a response on her phone to send back to Farkle. She sat at the window with her overnight bag beside her.

"I don't care," Riley huffed, pulling the covers over her face.

Maya rolled her eyes and got up. She walked over to Riley's bed and pulled the covers off of the brunette. She narrowed her eyes, "I know you do."

"Well, I wish I didn't," Riley pouted.

"Hello, my intellectual inferiors!" a familiar voice came from the window. Riley and Maya turned their heads towards the sound and was greeted by a cheery Smackle. She crawled in through the window with a duffel bag in hand.

"Smackle, what are you doing here?" Riley asked. She hadn't seen her in weeks. Smackle was volunteering at a research lab with Farkle for the summer and so they spent most of their time at the university. Riley got up from her bed and walked over to Smackle to greet her with a hug.

"Farkle told me Lucas was in town and that they were having a guys' night," Smackle said, placing her bag beside Maya's. "So Maya invited me over so we can have a girls' night!"

Riley looked over at Maya, who plopped down on the bed and threw her hands in the air. "Surprise!"

"I really don't want to do this," Riley groaned. "Thanks for coming, Smackle, but I don't think we'll be having any fun tonight."

"And why not, bubbles?" Smackle asked, putting her arm around the brunette.

"Something happened with Lucas," Maya informed the genius. Riley shot the blonde a look. Maya looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, Riles, but you know all of our friends are going to find out eventually. He's bound to tell Farkle and Zay. And Farkle's going to tell Smackle anyway."

"Yeah, besides, you know I'm here for you," Smackle said, resting her head on Riley's shoulder. In response, Riley gave her another hug. Once they parted, Smackle said, "I was wondering why Lucas wasn't spending time with you and is with the guys instead. And I assume he won't be in the city for very long since he still has the internship. What happened?"

Riley sighed. She dragged Smackle onto the bed to sit beside Maya.

The boys decided to play some pool while at the bar. They played a couple of rounds, and Farkle and Zay watched Lucas drink like his life depended on it. They didn't need to order him drinks in order to keep their plan moving along, since Lucas was already doing it himself. Drink after drink. They'd never seen him drink that much before, but they knew of his high tolerance of alcohol, so they weren't too worried. In fact, they were thrilled. The more alcohol he consumed, the higher the chance he would tell them what happened with Riley. Drunk Lucas was very stubborn and had no filter, so he would do and say things without a second thought. Plus, drunk words were sober thoughts.

"Think he'll be drunk enough to let us talk about Riley?" Farkle nudged Zay as they watched Lucas take his turn at the pool table.

"I've never seen him drink this much before," Zay replied. "So I would say yes." He shrugged. "Well, I mean, if he doesn't, you know, pass out before we get the chance to ask."

"Can I get another beer?" Lucas requested as a waiter walked by.

"I think that should do it," Zay muttered.

"It better," Farkle said. "I feel like I'm going to throw up if I watch him drink any more. How does he do it?"

Lucas looked over to his friends, "Did you guys want another one?" The boys shook their heads frantically before continuing their discrete conversation.

"He was a social drinker in high school, remember?" Zay reminded the genius. "Whenever he went to a party his teammates threw, he always got hammered."

"Riley didn't appreciate his drinking habits," Farkle commented, shaking his head.

"No, she did not," Zay agreed with a nod.

When Lucas got a hold of the beer he ordered, his friends watched him down the liquid in one go. At this point, Zay and Farkle didn't even react. Lucas had been that way the entire night. They weren't quite sure how he still managed to be standing straight and speaking with an understandable slur.

"Wanna try it?" Zay nudged Farkle. Farkle nodded and walked around the pool table to stand beside Lucas.

"What happened with Riley?" Farkle asked.

Without hesitation, Lucas replied, "Oh, her? She's a cheater."

"Cheater?" Zay's eyes widened.

"Yup," Lucas replied, popping the 'p.' He walked over to a nearby vacant table to sit down. The two followed and sat with him.

"Riley, Riley Matthews?" Farkle said. "Riley cheated on you?"

"Uh huh," Lucas confirmed with an unsteady nod.

"You must be kidding," Zay said monotonously.

"No!" Lucas said a little too loudly. "Why would I be kidding about this shit? She kissed Evan! It happened weeks ago and she didn't bother to tell me."

"Evan?!" the two exclaimed in unison.

"The guy she hired?" Zay asked to clarify.

Lucas gave them another shaky nod. The alcohol was starting to really get to him.

"I don't like him," Farkle concluded.

"You never even met the guy!" Zay pointed out. It's not that Zay was trying to defend Evan. That wasn't the case at all. He was just stating facts. Farkle hadn't met Evan before.

"Neither have you!" retorted Farkle. "But the guy's a scumbag. If he was able to kiss Riley while she had a boyfriend, he's automatically no good. He's a bad influence. Riley would never do anything like that."

"God, Sugar is like one of my favorite people," Zay shook his head. "Rainbows and sunshine and all that good stuff. I thought she overcame Sassy Halter-top when she apologized for eating my cookie all those years ago?!"

Zay grabbed his face with his hands in frustration. Farkle didn't even know how to react. The information was too much for them to handle. Was Riley Matthews really capable of cheating on Lucas Friar? It didn't sound like something she would do.

Once Smackle was caught up with what happened with Riley and Lucas, she initially was shocked. Who wouldn't be? Riley wasn't that kind of person. But as a woman of science, Smackle tried to make sense of it all.

"I'm not proud of what you did, Riley," Smackle said truthfully.

"I know; I don't expect you guys to side with me!" Riley said as she buried her face in her hands. She wanted to feel better, but talking about the whole thing made her feel worse. She couldn't justify what she did. Her only excuse was that it was in the moment, she was vulnerable, and she missed Lucas. She didn't expect anyone's forgiveness for this.

"Oh, honey," Maya said as she rubbed Riley's back. She shot a look at Smackle. "Smackle, get to the point!"

"Okay, okay!" Smackle replied. "I'm not proud that you did it but I think I know why you did. You've been really stressed out with the bakery, with what I can tell. And I assume you and Lucas were communicating less and less because you were both so busy. You were weak and so you kissed Evan. But you imagined it was Lucas the whole time."

"Yes, you totally get me!" Riley exclaimed, then threw herself at Smackle. She sobbed heavily into her shoulder. "It was all just a silly mistake. I really do regret it. I don't even like Evan like that! My heart belongs to Lucas. I want him back. Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"Well," Smackle said, "I don't think it'll be all that simple."

"You should talk to him," Maya suggested. "To clear things up."

"I don't think that's going to happen," Riley sighed. "I tried to explain but he just walked out on me."

"He's in that initial state of shock," Smackle responded. "He needs some time to think. That was a lot of information to process. Maybe you should wait until he comes to you."

"And what if he doesn't?"

"Then I don't know," Smackle shrugged with a frown. "I'm a genius but you know I've never been good with feelings."

"Okay, enough with this, let's put in a movie and make some popcorn," Maya said, getting up and finding the remote for Riley's TV. "Now that Smackle's caught up, we can have a relaxing, peaceful girls' night. I promise we won't talk about him for the rest of the night."

"Okay," Riley nodded as she pulled herself out of Smackle's loose grasp. The corners of her mouth curved up to form a weak smile. "I'm really grateful to have you guys in my life. I don't know how I'd be able to handle all of this without you. I'm sorry I dragged you all into this, though."

"No, bubbles," Smackle said. "The only person you should be apologizing to is Lucas. We're just here to comfort you."

"I'm over it," Lucas said, shaking his head. "I'm over her."

"Lucas, you're drunk, you don't mean that," Farkle said, gripping both of the green-eyed boy's shoulders.

"Yes, I do," Lucas replied.

"No, you don't," Zay insisted. "This is why Riley doesn't like you drinking so much. You become stubborn and more susceptible of saying and doing stupid shit."

"Whatever," Lucas waved his hand in the space between him and his friends. He sluggishly got up and practically dragged himself to the bar to retrieve another drink.

"Does he even have a limit?" Farkle asked.

"No, but I think this may be his last drink," Zay commented. He walked over to their extremely drunk friend and put his arm around him. "We're taking you home, buddy."

The boys got an Uber to Lucas's apartment. The bar they were at was only a couple of blocks down from the apartment, but Farkle and Zay decided against attempting to drag a very stubborn Lucas all the way home.

When they got inside, they were greeted by Sienna. Zay was delighted to see her, as the last time he saw her was back in Texas, but Sienna disregarded his and Farkle's presence immediately, running over to her clearly intoxicated cousin instead.

"What did you do to my cousin?!" Sienna screeched, helping Lucas sit on the couch. Drunk Lucas seemed tired out, as he immediately laid down, his limbs flopping around in the process. Sienna had come over to Lucas's apartment because he promised that when he came back from the bar, they'd watch a movie and catch each other up with their lives. She did not, however, expect to see him flat out drunk.

"More like what did he do to himself," Farkle corrected. He held out his hand to the girl. "You must be Sienna. I'm Farkle."

"Hi Farkle, you're the genius, correct?" Sienna shook his hand. Farkle nodded. Sienna then shook her head, "Okay, back to the situation here. What happened to Lucas?"

"He drank a little too much, obviously," Zay snickered.

"Why did you let him get to this point?!" Sienna asked.

"We cut him off, if that helps," Farkle shrugged. "He handles his alcohol well. He's drunk, but he's not blackout drunk."

"Yeah," Zay said. "He'll remember everything in the morning."

"Does this have anything to do with Riley?" Sienna immediately asked. Sienna also knew that Lucas was a heavyweight when it came to alcohol, but it was unusual that he would drink that much. She's never seen him that drunk before where his friends had to carry him home.

Farkle and Zay exchanged looks. It made sense to them now. Why he had drunk so much. He wanted to forget about Riley. But instead, he was forced to tell his friends what she did. In their defense, Lucas voluntarily told them. They just asked.

Sienna, impatient for their answer, rolled her eyes and ushered them out the door.