I posted this chapter the first time a few hours ago and it wasn't showing that it was updated so I wasn't sure if people saw this update or not. So I reposted it. I apologize if you guys got another email regarding this chapter. Been on this site for nine years now and sometimes I still don't get how it works, haha.
Interesting conversation between Zay and another character regarding Riley's situation. Enjoy!
The Art of Letting Go
Chapter Eight
"What do you mean?" Zay asked.
"That means Lucas and Riley aren't dating anymore," Josh said.
"Oh, shut up, Josh! I know what she meant!" Zay retorted.
"Then why ask?!" Josh replied.
"Guys, stop!" Riley interjected. "You both know I still love Lucas. That hasn't changed. But it's the best for both of us."
"Sugar, you can't be any more wrong," Zay disagreed.
"I agree with Zay," Josh said. "Sure, now you have no intention of telling him about Missy, but things are just going to go downhill."
"Why do you guys keep saying that?" Riley asked. "I know what I'm doing!"
"I don't think you do, niece," Josh shook his head, then pulled Riley in for a hug. Zay joined in, earning a look from the two.
"What?" Zay asked.
"Is Lucas upset or is he mad?" Riley questioned. "Not that I care…"
"You totally care," Josh smirked. Riley glared at him.
"I mean he seemed sad," Zay said. "Not sure if he'll be mad about it later. I left before I could find out."
"I hope this doesn't change things," Riley sighed.
"They are going to change, Riley, whether you like it or not," Zay said. "And that deal we made yesterday—just because you think you fixed things doesn't mean I won't tell. You still need to tell them. Lucas too."
"I'm really worried now," Maya declared. The group had gathered at the Minkus residence. Farkle had gotten his hands on a new video game before its public release and invited the group over to play it. He invited Riley, too, but she didn't show up. "Riley's been MIA for days."
"Do you think something could be going on with her?" Farkle asked.
"Well, when I do get a hold of her she just keeps telling me she's busy with school," Maya shrugged.
"That's good that she's taking her studies seriously," Smackle commented.
"Yeah, but it's unlike her," Maya replied. "Even if she did drown herself in school work, she'd always make time for us."
"I mean, there's nothing she wouldn't tell us, right?" Farkle said.
"Well, I guess there's one thing she didn't tell you," Lucas spoke up. His friends stared at him, urging for him to continue. "She broke up with me. So I don't count on her being here."
"What?!" his friends exclaimed in unison, even Zay, just to make it seem like he was hearing about it for the first time.
"She broke up with you and she didn't tell me?!" Maya said. Lucas shrugged.
"So what happened?" Smackle inquired.
"She broke up with me the other day," Lucas admitted. "She said she doesn't feel the same anymore."
"That's all she said?" Farkle asked.
Lucas nodded.
"Well, I'm pissed she didn't tell me," Maya declared. "So basically she's just been avoiding us because of Huckleberry over here."
"I guess," Lucas replied. He had no energy in him to argue with her.
"I don't wanna pick sides!" Smackle quickly said. She turned to Lucas. "I like you and Riley the same. Please don't make me choose sides."
"Relax, Smackle," Lucas said. "No one has to pick sides."
"You say that now, but us being here right now makes it seem like we're on your side," Maya explained.
"Riley not being here is her own problem," Lucas retorted. "She and I may not be together anymore, but that doesn't mean we can't all hang out together as friends like we usually do. I'm not going to avoid you guys if you're with Riley. That's immature."
"Someone needs to tell Riley that," Smackle commented.
Throughout the entire conversation about Riley's whereabouts, Farkle had been observing Zay. He noticed that Zay didn't contribute to the conversation at all, and that he seemed awfully nervous. Farkle supposed that Zay knew something that the rest of them didn't. Farkle waited until the conversation about Riley had died down and the others found other things to occupy themselves. Then, while everyone was distracted, he pulled Zay from off the couch and dragged him to a corner of his reasonably large bedroom.
"Zay, you seemed awfully quiet during that conversation," Farkle noted, squinting his eyes. Zay avoided Farkle's stare, trying to look at his surroundings instead.
"I had nothing to say," Zay shrugged.
"You looked uncomfortable," Farkle continued.
"Sometimes I get anxious about things," Zay replied.
"You know something," Farkle concluded.
Zay didn't reply. Farkle continued to stare at him.
"Okay! Stop looking at me like that!" Zay sighed and gave in. "Riley was getting bullied."
"What?"
"Yeah, she told me not to tell," Zay replied. He pointed a finger at Farkle's chest. "And you can't tell either. Let her deal with it and when she's ready she'll come."
"You idiot!" Farkle exclaimed. "Why did you give her that opportunity? Remember when I tried that when she was hiding her feelings for Lucas for Maya's sake? That didn't work out. We have to tell the others."
"Well, excuse me for trusting in the girl," Zay replied, offended. "She has so much trust in us. Shouldn't we trust her, too?"
Farkle knew Zay had a point.
"Besides, that was so long ago," Zay continued, "I'm sure she'll come around."
"Fine," Farkle demanded. "But you need to tell me the details. I have a right to know."
"You all have the right to know," Zay sighed. "But if I tell you, you also have to promise not to tell. And please don't go to Riley about this. She'll kill me."
"Zay and I are going to get snacks!" Farkle announced to the occupants of his bedroom. He wanted to talk to Zay about this, but not with everyone in the same room.
"Popcorn please, dear," Smackle requested, turning around to lovingly look at her boyfriend.
"Got it," Farkle said before dragging Zay out of his bedroom. They made their way through Farkle's large apartment and entered the kitchen. They sat at the kitchen island to talk.
"Tell me everything," Farkle demanded.
"Well…" Zay's voice trailed off. He didn't know where to start. "So this Missy girl—"
"Missy?" repeated, unintentionally interrupting his friend. "As in, Missy Bradford?"
"Ah, yeah, that's the one!" Zay confirmed.
"Missy Bradford is bullying Riley?" Farkle asked.
"Was," Zay corrected the genius.
"What do you mean, 'was'?" Farkle questioned.
"You wanted me to tell you the whole story right?" Zay asked. Farkle nodded. "Then stop interrupting me, man!"
"Oh, sorry," Farkle replied sheepishly. "I just feel tense knowing that Riley's going through this again."
"So anyway," Zay continued. "A couple of weeks ago, Riley started getting texts from this unknown number, telling her how worthless she is, and that she doesn't deserve Lucas and whatnot—"
"Is that why she broke up with Lucas?!" Farkle concluded, once again interrupting Zay.
"Shut up and let me finish!" Zay snapped.
"Geez, sorry…" Farkle muttered to himself.
"At first, Riley ignored the texts, but then they kept coming and she couldn't stop thinking about them. She didn't want to tell us because she didn't think it was that serious. She just shrugged them off even though it hurt her a little. And then one day she stayed after school to talk to her teachers about stuff and when she was at her locker, guess who showed up.
"Yeah, that's right. Missy. So Missy showed up and basically told Riley that she was the one sending her the mean texts. She didn't faze Riley at first, so Riley retaliated verbally. But then I guess Riley got under her skin and so Missy reacted and grabbed her wrist and twisted it so hard she got a bruise.
"So then I guess that's when Riley started fearing Missy. And then I guess Missy fed off of Riley's fear or whatever because she continued to bully her—verbally and physically. Riley got a lot of bruises. I felt so bad for her. Oh yeah, and then the day I found out… I was just walking down the halls during class because I needed to stretch and then I turned the corner and I saw Missy punch Riley in the face!
"I waited until Missy left because no one was in that hallway except for them and I didn't want her knowing that I saw that. So I went up to Riley when Missy left and she was crying and covering her face. Then when I finally saw her face she had a black eye! So then she begged me not to tell anyone but I couldn't so that's when I made the deal with her. And then she didn't want to go back to class so I took her home.
"So I stayed with her and comforted her and that's when she told me everything and she even showed me the texts. Then she showed up to school with long bangs. She cut it to cover her black eye because she didn't think makeup would cover it completely. And then the other day Missy approached Riley again—not to hurt her or anything, but to offer her a way out.
"She said that if Riley broke up with Lucas, she'd stop bullying her. And so she broke up with him. And at first, when she told me this, I thought she was being irrational because it's not guaranteed that Missy would stop. But I haven't heard anything about it since then, so I can confirm that Missy actually stopped. But now we have a bigger mess on our hands. Riley's just embarrassed and ashamed about the whole thing so she's been avoiding the group. She's been talking to me about stuff, though."
As Zay explained the situation, Farkle started to understand why Riley acted the way she did and why she did things. Everything was starting to click.
"That explained a whole lot," Farkle said, stunned. "I mean, she's smart for not telling Lucas. I get that he has the same right to know as the rest of us but you know how he can be. He would've freaked out, and that probably would've been a bigger mess."
Zay nodded in agreement.
"So what do we do?" Farkle asked.
"We wait," Zay replied. "There's nothing else we can do. She'll figure it out."
"But if she takes too long, we're still telling?"
"Duh."
Really though, even if Zay didn't tell Farkle, he would've figured it out himself. I wonder if Lucas will.
Next: Nature club's annual trip to Mount Sun Lodge. Rilaya fluff.