I wanted to get this up sooner, but I have midterms coming up so I haven't had much time to focus on this. Also this is kind of a filler chapter. I just wanted to show how Riley's doing post-bully. And how Riley and Lucas react to each other post-breakup. Next chapter will move things along.

The Art of Letting Go

Chapter Nine

The members of the nature club all gathered at the front of Abigail Adams, waiting for their bus to Mount Sun Lodge. Cory, Shawn, and Katy were standing near the front doors, going over a checklist Cory had made for the trip. Cory had recruited Shawn and Katy to chaperone the nature club's annual trip. Topanga and Josh would usually tag along with Cory to chaperone, but they were busy that weekend. Topanga had a huge case she was working on, and Josh had upcoming midterms to study for.

This was also the first time in a long time where Maya and Riley talked.

"Peaches, I missed you," Maya said, dropping her bags beside Riley's.

"I missed you too, honey," Riley replied. "I'm sorry if we haven't hung out lately. I've just had a lot on my mind and I've been busy."

Maya nodded, "I get that. I'm just glad to have you back."

Riley hugged Maya tightly.

"So, uh, Lucas told us you guys broke up," Maya awkwardly informed her.

"Oh, right…" Riley's voice trailed off. She assumed that Lucas told their friends, because she hadn't. "Can we not talk about that right now? I promise I'll tell you everything, but for now I just want to spend time with you. With all the things I'm going through lately, it's nice to know that some things haven't changed."

Although Maya and Riley told each other pretty much everything, they respected each other's privacy, believe it or not. So Maya wasn't too worried, she knew Riley would come around. She was just glad things were starting to get back to normal with her.

As the two friends talked, Zay, Farkle, Smackle and Lucas approached them. Lucas protested and didn't want to go with them, but Zay reminded him that he said he didn't mind if she was with the group. Lucas remembered what he said, but seeing Riley and being this close in her vicinity since they broke up, made his knees feel weak. He still loved her and although it wasn't a messy breakup, he still felt some kind of hate towards her.

"Who's ready for some nature fun?" Zay asked enthusiastically, mostly to avoid discomfort. Riley and Lucas didn't look at each other.

As if on cue, the school bus pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of the school.

"Alright, kids, time to board the bus!" Cory announced as he clapped his hands. Riley took a sigh of relief that her father had interrupted what otherwise could have been an awkward conversation no thanks to Zay.

Everyone grabbed their bags and formed a line in front of the door of the school bus. Shawn was already on the bus to help the kids put their bags on the shelves above the seats. Students boarded the bus, one by one, as Cory took attendance. Katy stood at the back of the line to make sure no one got left behind.

Riley and Maya sat beside each other on the bus, as expected. Maya took the window seat because she liked it better, so Riley ended up with the aisle seat.

"I'm excited for this weekend!" Riley said, resting her head on Maya's shoulder as the bus began to move. "I can't wait to be out in the fresh air surrounded by all the trees and its changing leaves."

"Oh, honey, you're so pure," Maya commented, petting her best friend's hair.

"I know," Riley smiled, closing her eyes. "How have you been, Peaches? How's everyone else?"

"Honestly, we've been worried about you mostly," Maya replied. "We had no idea what was going on or why you were avoiding us. Then when we found out you and Lucas broke up, I assumed that you weren't avoiding us, but you were avoiding Lucas."

"I'm not avoiding him, Maya," Riley opened her eyes and looked up at Maya. "I told you I have things going on and I don't really need a boyfriend right now."

"Riles, you guys dated for like two years, what changed?" Maya asked. She knew Riley never gave up on Lucas so easily, so the spontaneous breakup was questionable.

"Sh, I'm sleeping," Riley replied, closing her eyes again.

Maya didn't protest, she let Riley sleep during the bus ride to the lodge. Maya leaned her head against the window and put in an ear bud to listen to music from her phone. She tried to fall asleep, but she couldn't so she just observed. Eventually, Riley had shifted so that her head was in Maya's lap, which Maya didn't mind.

At one point, Maya noticed Lucas, who was sitting on an aisle seat a few rows in front of them, look back at a sleeping Riley several times. Maya furrowed her brow.

"Lucas keeps looking at you," Maya informed Riley, shaking her a little to wake her.

"I don't care," Riley replied groggily, her eyes still closed. Maya started playing with Riley's hair. "Tell him to stop."

"As if he'll listen to me," Maya huffed.

"Keep him away from me this weekend, okay, Peaches?" Riley requested. "Maybe then I'll hang out with the group again."

"Wouldn't it be better not to avoid him? So you'll be used to hanging out with everyone when he's there?" Maya suggested.

"Um, no," Riley replied flatly. "I don't care if it's not logical to avoid him. I just want to hang out with you this weekend. And the others. But not him."

"Whatever you say, honey," Maya answered. Maya had no problem with keeping Riley away from Lucas, in fact, she hoped that this weekend would make up all the lost time when Riley would ditch her for her then boyfriend.

"I'm in Rileytown this weekend," Riley declared. "And the population? You and me, Peaches."

"Oh, words can't explain how much I missed you," Maya said, hugging Riley's head. "Please don't leave me with those people again."

"Wow, nothing's changed since I was last here," Shawn commented as he entered the lodge, carrying his, Katy's, and Maya's bags.

"Nope," Cory agreed, following behind Shawn.

Cory went to the front desk to check in and get the keys for everyone. Once checked in, Shawn helped Cory distribute the room keys to the students. When everyone was told their assigned rooms, they all dispersed to put their bags away.

"So this is the infamous ski lodge," Katy said. Katy, Shawn, and Cory were sitting by the fireplace while they waited for the kids so they could start their first activity.

"Yup, this is the place that almost cost Cory and Topanga their relationship," Shawn informed her.

A boy walked by them who looked to be about their kids' age. He headed towards the front desk and replaced the lady who checked them in. Shawn noticed the boy bared a striking resemblance to someone he once knew.

"Wait…" Shawn's voice trailed off, "is that—"

"Yup," Cory confirmed even before Shawn could finish talking.

"Lauren's son?" Shawn asked.

"Yup," Cory repeated.

"Who's Lauren?" Katy questioned.

"You didn't tell her?" Cory asked Shawn.

"It's not my story to tell," Shawn pointed out.

"Well, we have time," Cory said as he looked at his watch. He knew the kids were going to be late anyway. He gestured to Shawn and offered, "Feel free to add to the story."

"Of course," Shawn nodded.

Katy motioned for Cory to start the story.

"So it was our senior ski trip," he began. "I fell off the school bus and broke my ankle. I—"

"So sorry to interrupt," Katy said. "but you fell off the bus, who does that?"

"That's what I said!" Shawn agreed.

It took Cory a while to tell the Lauren story, he explained all the nitty-gritty details. Once he finished telling Katy the story, all the students had gathered in the lobby, prepared for their activities.

"Come on, Dad, time for the hike!" Riley informed her dad, grabbing his arm.

"Okay, okay, let's go," Cory said to everyone, walking over to the front desk. "Evan here will be our guide for this hike."

Evan smiled and nodded.

"I know most of you, so this hike should be fun," Evan said, rushing everyone out the door.

Riley and Maya were inseparable, attached at the hip, a sight that no one saw much of anymore because of when Riley was dating Lucas. They had their laughs and enjoyed themselves on the hike and the other activities they did. Zay even joined the duo for much of the day, which raised curiosity in Lucas, who stuck by Farkle and Smackle in case anything happened to them.

Spending most of the day out in nature, everyone was glad to be back inside. They had dinner in the dining hall and returned to the lobby to watch a movie.

Riley had found comfort in Zay after the day he found her in the hallway with a black eye. She liked that his sense of humor always shone through even in the worst situations. So she sat beside him during the movie when she noticed Lucas didn't. Maya sat with her on her other side.

Lucas couldn't help but keep his eyes on the unlikely pair instead of focusing on the movie. They were never this close, he thought. His imagination getting the worst of him, he leaned over to Farkle and whispered, "What's going on over there?"

"What do you mean?" Farkle answered. Lucas gestured his head towards his ex-girlfriend and best friend, who seemed to be laughing at some joke a character made in the movie. "Oh, that? Relax. They're just friends, you should know that."

"I don't know what I know anymore," Lucas sighed. He thought his relationship with Riley was going great, being together for almost two years, but then she broke up with him out of the blue. Riley and Zay having feelings for each other wasn't that far of a stretch with the way Lucas's life was going lately.

"Shut up and enjoy the movie, will ya?" Smackle barked softly, her eyes not leaving the screen.

"What was that, man?" Lucas snapped at Zay once they returned to their room that night.

"What was what?" Zay asked in confusion.

"You and Riley!"

"What do you mean?"

"You guys sat together during the movie," Lucas replied. "Why?"

Zay understood what Lucas was concerned about. He smirked to himself. Zay knew Lucas still had strong feelings for Riley, and seeing her with him made him angry.

"Why are you smirking? The bro code is serious stuff," Lucas continued.

"Before you go Texas Lucas on me, let me tell you two things," Zay began. "First, me and Riley are just friends, you should know that of all people! Second, because we're friends, we're allowed to sit beside each other, okay? Don't get all jealous over nothing."

Lucas apologized for jumping to conclusions.

"I've never seen you so riled up over a girl," Zay commented, sitting on his bed. He silently chuckled at his lame pun.

"She was my first girlfriend, Zay," Lucas reminded him. "We have a special connection—or had. I miss her. But I can't tell her that. She dumped me."

Zay sighed. He knew both sides of the story, and was peeved that he couldn't tell Lucas why Riley broke up with him just yet. His friends were unhappy, and he needed to find a way to make everything better. If it wasn't Riley's job to fix things, it was Maya's, and if it wasn't her, it was Farkle. But it's Riley's problem and Maya and Farkle were out of the loop, so it was up to Zay to fix them.

"I haven't talked to her about the breakup," Zay lied, "but I'll tell you what. I've noticed the way she looked at you today during the hike. She definitely still has feelings for you, no matter what she says. I can try to get you two back together, if you promise me one thing."

"Promise you what?" Lucas was intrigued. He very much so wanted Riley back. No matter what it took.

"Don't get jealous if I spend too much time with her," Zay replied.

"Fine," Lucas answered.

At this point, I have completely changed the direction that I wanted this story to go. I'm sure you'll like what I have now better than what I had originally planned. Thanks for all your support guys! I enjoy reading your reviews.

Next: Nature club trip continued. Rilaya confrontation. Lucas seeks guidance from someone unlikely.