Riley was sitting in her room around 9:00 that night doing some homework. She had already eaten dinner and had announced that she'd be turning in for the night. That's the only way she could see Lucas without her dad watching every second.

Maya had come by for a few hours after school too, and they worked on a project for their art class. Then she went home to see her mom because she was off of work.

There was a tap on the window, and Riley looked up to see Lucas smiling at her through the glass. She smiled back and then walked to the bay window, sat down, and opened it.

"Hey, babe," he greeted her.

"Hey," she replied, giving him a quick kiss.

"So, what'cha doin'?" he asked as he climbed in and sat down.

"Just working on some homework."

"Oh," he commented. He had a somewhat strained look on his face and Riley could see it, but she didn't know how to bring it up.

"What is it?" she asked him, after a few moments of silence.

Lucas looked at Riley thoughtfully and then took her hands.

"What are your plans for after high school?" he asked her.

"Lucas, you know what my plans are. We're going to NYU together with Maya and it'll be just like it is now. Except we won't have Farkle," she said, frowning slightly. "But we can video chat, so it'll be okay!"

"I know all that, but what about us?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "We'll be together at NYU!"

"Well," he began, the strained look becoming more defined. "We'll be living on our own in college, so we'll have more freedom."

"Yeah, I know that," she said, even more confused. "Lucas, what's going on?"

"Won't you want to go out with other people there? I mean there's going to be thousands of other people to meet. Don't you think we'll want to see other people?" he asked her.

Riley looked concerned at Lucas and swallowed hard. "What are you saying? No, I don't want to meet other people! That's why we're all going to be together, Lucas. So that it doesn't get to that point!"

"Trust me, Riley, I know that's the reason we're going there," he said, looking away.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's just that you know I've looked at other places," he said, looking at her again.

"I know that," Riley said. "But you decided on NYU, right?" she asked him.

"I paid my enrollment deposit," he answered.

"Okay, so that's it."

"Except I also paid my enrollment deposit at Davis," he said slowly.

"What? Why would you do that? I thought you're going to NYU," she said, taking her hands back.

"I thought so too," he said.

"What, you don't want to be with me?" she asked.

"No, that's not it. The only reason I wanted to go to NYU was because of you. Because I know that I need you in my life," he said, leaning toward her from the intensity of what he was saying.

"But you said that you liked the veterinary program," she said.

"I told you that because I needed to have a logical reason to go there. I couldn't just say I was going there for you or you never would have let me do it."

Riley looked down, concentrating on her thoughts, unsure of how to respond.

"You're right," she said. "And now I'm not going to let you. You have to go to Davis," she said, looking up with tears in her eyes.

"Riley, I don't know what to do," he said, taking her hands again.

"You're going to Davis."

"You can't decide for me. I have to decide for myself. I have to decide between Davis and you. And it's impossible," he said, shaking his head. "How do I choose between my dream college and my dream girl?"

A tear fell down Riley's face and she scooted close to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I guess you have to decide which one means the best life for you," she said, looking up at him. "A great veterinary career or me. But Lucas, you have to understand that Davis is the better choice. You've heard that no one keeps their relationship after high school, right? I mean, there's the occasional exception."

"Like your parents," he interrupted.

"Yeah," Riley answered. "But they knew each other since they were two and they were crazy my Uncle Shawn says," she said, laughing weakly. "Anyway, the point is that you have to go to Davis. I won't accept anything else."

"Thank you, Riley," he said, looking in her eyes.

"I don't deserve a thank you," she said, shaking her head. "I almost forced you to go to NYU and destroyed your dream. This is the least I can do to make it up to you."

Lucas looked thoughtfully at Riley and said, "You have nothing to make up to me. You make me happy every day just by being you."

Riley smiled at Lucas and began to cry softly.

She hugged him and whispered, "I love you."

He stroked her head and said, "I love you more."

Okay, so a sad Rucas chapter. Lots of Rucas though. Was it what you thought would happen? Hope you enjoyed it even though it's sad. I don't know why I keep writing these sad chapters! Same thing happened with my other story, Cory's Birthday. Oh well. Things have to be sad to get good again.

Thanks for reading! Please review!