Hey guys! I'm glad you liked the last chapter even though Lucas was being mean. Thank you for wishing me luck on my midterms! I don't have school next week so hopefully I'll be able to update a lot more frequently. Also it just hit me that this fic could be finished by the end of next week. So bittersweet. Here's another lengthy chapter!

The Art of Letting Go

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, Zay had gone over to Lucas's house. He needed to talk to him about what went down at Riley's yesterday. When Zay approached the front door, it opened as if on cue. Lucas's parents were just on the way out. They informed him that they would be in New Jersey for the day and to pass the message on to Lucas just in case he forgot.

"Dude, what the hell!" Lucas said when Zay barged into his room. Lucas had just woken up and was still in bed on his phone.

"I sure hope you're texting Riley on that phone to apologize," Zay commented, sitting down on the chair at Lucas's desk.

"What are you doing here, Zay?" Lucas asked, sitting up. "It's ten in the morning on a Sunday. Don't you have something better to do?"

"Yes, and I'm doing it right now," Zay replied. "We need to talk."

"If you're here to talk about Riley, I have nothing to say to you," Lucas warned, typing away on his phone.

"You're being difficult," Zay sighed. "We need to talk about it. You really upset her. You've never yelled at her before. What happened?"

"Well, she upset me," Lucas retorted childishly. He frowned. "We were supposed to trust each other, tell each other everything. She broke that trust. I never want to talk to her again."

"Lucas, go take a shower, make me breakfast and then we'll talk," Zay demanded. "It's going to be a long talk so I want you looking your best."

Lucas rolled his eyes.

Zay got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Lucas sighed. He actually did want to talk to Zay about the whole thing. He wanted Zay to see things from his point of view and not take Riley's side. He also wanted to Zay to tell him the truth, if something was going on between him and Riley that was more than platonic. So Lucas did as he was told. He got up and made his bed before grabbing his towel and headed to the bathroom.

Zay waited in the Friars' living room.

"Alright, I'm decent," Lucas announced as he entered the living room with his arms spread.

"Now make me breakfast," Zay demanded. "Your parents are in New Jersey for the day, by the way. They told me to tell you."

"I remember," Lucas muttered. "Where's my sister though?"

Zay shrugged, "She was already gone when I got here."

Lucas groaned and led Zay to the kitchen. Zay sat at the island while Lucas prepared to make cheese omelets and tater tots for the both of them.

"So first of all, you broke your promise," Zay declared.

"What promise?" Lucas asked, turning on the deep fryer for the tater tots.

"You promised you wouldn't get jealous of all the time I spend with Riley,"

"Shut up," Lucas replied. "It pissed me off when you told me that you were the one who found Riley that day in the hallway with a black eye and that you comforted her. I was supposed to find her. I was supposed to comfort her."

Zay sighed.

"I wanted to tell you!" he said. "She promised me not to tell anyone. Farkle only found out because he noticed I was acting suspicious that one time we were having a group discussion about her. And Maya and Smackle found out not long before you."

"I don't care, Zay," Lucas replied. "You let me think that you guys had something between you!"

"I told you nothing was going on," Zay huffed. He crossed his arms over his chest. "You chose to believe otherwise."

"Well, I mean, it seemed really suspicious okay?" Lucas replied. "You talked to her a lot, and you never used to until we broke up. What was I supposed to think?"

"That's because I was the only one that knew about her situation," Zay explained. "She couldn't go to anyone else. If I hadn't found her in the hallway that day she would never have told me either."

"Still."

"Look, man, Riley was just trying to protect you. I'm really pissed that you yelled at her and that you made her cry like that. What was going through your head, Friar?"

"Hey, I'm pissed too! I was thinking that my ex-girlfriend was hiding things from me," Lucas replied. "It angered me. We were supposed to trust each other with everything."

"She had her reasons, Lucas!"

"She was being selfish," Lucas declared. "You were being selfish too."

"She was protecting you," Zay corrected. "And I don't like her that way! I wasn't trying to keep her for myself."

"I don't know who I can trust anymore, man," Lucas shook his head.

"You can trust me," Zay assured him. "You know, your best friend."

Zay knew it was going to take a while before Lucas had come to his senses, which is why he asked him to make breakfast. And with the way this conversation was going, he was already thinking about telling Lucas what he wanted to eat for lunch and dinner. He overestimated it, though, as Lucas had his moment of realization at around 3pm.

"What have I done…" Lucas whispered to himself. "I need to go apologize to Riley."

"Finally!" Zay commented and threw his arms in the air in victory. He was glad that Lucas finally came to his senses. It took him almost the whole day, but Lucas had a revelation. "Thought you were never going to talk to her again."

"Shut up. I know what I said," Lucas shot back. "Do you want me to go talk to her or what? I know I messed up."

"Yes, go ahead," Zay gestured to the door.

Lucas got up and made his way to his front door, but before he grabbed his jacket and turned the knob, he turned back to look at his best friend.

"Zay?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you were the one who found her," Lucas said calmly. "Thanks for taking care of her when I couldn't."

"Anytime," Zay nodded.

Lucas made his way over to the Matthews residence. He climbed up to the fire escape until he reached Riley's window. The window was locked. After the things he said last night, he didn't expect for Riley to keep her window unlocked. He took a deep breath and tapped on the glass. It took a while, but Riley opened it. Lucas looked at her with apologetic eyes, and with a sigh, she let him in.

Riley looked as if she had just finished crying. Fresh tear streaks were still apparent on her cheeks. She sat at the bay window and her unwanted visitor sat beside her, leaving lots of space between them.

"What are you doing here, Lucas?" Riley asked, wiping her face with her sleeves. "Aren't you mad at me?"

"Yes, I am… But I had a long talk with Zay about it. Come on, Riley, I'm here to apologize," Lucas informed her. "I'm sorry about the way I acted last night. I jumped to a lot of conclusions and I was angry that Missy hurt you. I know I should have acted with more self-control but you know how I get sometimes. I'm sorry for making you cry. Making you cry is the last thing I'd ever want to do and I'm sorry that's exactly what I did. I overreacted to the point that where it pissed everyone off, especially you. I didn't want that."

Riley looked down at her hands the whole time. She felt new tears pool in her eyes. She couldn't look at him.

They sat in silence for a while.

"Please say something," Lucas pleaded.

"You really don't deserve my forgiveness," Riley managed to mutter. "But I can't push you away anymore. I need you in my life, Lucas. You have every right to be upset with me. I get that. I just didn't really appreciate what you said to me, and how you said it."

"I know…" Lucas tried to make eye contact with her. She was still looking down at her hands, playing with them. "I don't want you to push me away either. I should be there for you, and even though we're both upset with each other, I should try to see where you're coming from."

Without any warning, Riley threw her arms around him and squeezed him. Lucas was startled at first, but gladly accepted the hug. He wrapped his arms around her, and she buried her face in his sweatshirt. She started to sob. He rubbed her back.

"I forgive you, Lucas," Riley finally said, looking up at him. Her brown eyes sparkled from the tears. She separated herself from him and returned the space that was between them.

"Really?" he looked at her with hopeful eyes.

Riley nodded.

"Then why are you crying?" Lucas asked. He stretched his hand out to Riley's face, using his thumb to wipe her stray tears. He could feel tears form in his own eyes. It hurt him to see her cry. And truth be told, it took everything in him yesterday not to cry either when Riley broke down.

"Because I'm sorry too," Riley replied. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Missy sooner, and I'm sorry that I made our friends promise not to tell you—"

"Well, they broke their promise," Lucas corrected.

"I'm glad they did," Riley answered, "but I still wish I was the one who told you."

"I get why you didn't," Lucas said, inching closer to her. He couldn't stand that there was so much space between them when she was in his arms only seconds ago. "But please don't be scared to tell me anything."

"Of course," Riley nodded. "And I'm sorry I broke your trust."

"That's alright," Lucas whispered. "I know you just wanted to do what's best for everyone involved. I understand."

"Are you still upset with me?" Riley asked genuinely.

"No," Lucas answered. "Are you still upset with me?"

Riley shook her head no.

They sat in silence as they enjoyed each other's presence. Lucas threw his arms around Riley and once again pulled her in for a hug.

"I love you, Riles," Lucas whispered into her ear. He hesitated to do so, but he realized he had nothing to lose at this point. The worst that could happen was her not saying it back.

"I love you too, Lucas," Riley mumbled, barely audible to Lucas.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Lucas leaned his head closer to hers.

"You know what I said," Riley wriggled out of his grasp successfully. "Don't make me say it again."

"Looks like we've fixed things between us," Lucas replied, standing up. "Guess I should give you some time alone?"

"No," Riley replied softly, tugging at his arm. "Please stay."

"Then I will," Lucas nodded. He quietly sat back down.

They sat the bay window for the next couple of hours. Riley decided to come clean and tell Lucas every detail of what had happened between her and Missy. She assumed that Farkle and Zay told him everything about the situation, but she still thought that he should be hearing it from her directly.

At around dinner time, Topanga entered Riley's room. She was caught my surprise when she saw Lucas.

"Oh, hi Lucas. Didn't know you were here," Topanga greeted. She turned to Riley, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Topanga and Cory were informed of the break up, and although they didn't understand the nature of it, they still supported Riley. Topanga so badly wanted to ask Riley what Lucas was doing in her room, but she chose to save it for a later conversation.

"Mrs. Matthews," Lucas nervously waved.

"Um, so dinner is ready, Riley," Topanga said. "Your father has a meeting with the school board and won't be back till later. Lucas, you're welcome to join us."

"Thank you," Lucas smiled.

Lucas and Riley followed Topanga to the kitchen to join her and Auggie for dinner. Dinner conversation wasn't as awkward as they thought. Auggie was thrilled to see Lucas and had done all the talking., asking what Lucas had been up to and why he hasn't been around much. Auggie wasn't notified of the breakup between Lucas and his sister, but had quietly wondered why Lucas hadn't been around as often as he used to. Lucas caught onto this, and played along, telling the boy that he had been busy with school and sports.

Once they finished dinner, Riley announced that she and Lucas were going back to her room to talk. Topanga gave her a look that communicated to Riley that she wanted the details later. Riley nodded.

"Um, hey," Riley said when she and Lucas returned to sit at the bay window. She put her hand on Lucas's forearm.

"Yeah?" he smiled at her touch.

"You told me you love me earlier, correct?" Riley questioned. Quickly adding, "Love, as in the present tense."

"Yes, that is what I said," Lucas confirmed, nodding his head.

"And I said it back," Riley continued.

"Not sure, couldn't hear ya," Lucas shrugged with a smirk.

"I was thinking…" Riley's voice trailed off, tucking her hair behind her ears. "We both still love each other. And I didn't want to break up with you in the first place."

"Riley Matthews," Lucas gasped, placing his hand on his chest, "are you asking me to get back together with you?"

"Maybe," Riley sheepishly replied.

"Of course," Lucas answered. He kissed her on the cheek and took her hand in his. "I really missed you."

Riley rested her head on his shoulder.

"I really missed you, too."

They sat there again for the next few hours. They lost track of time as they were too busy catching each other up in their lives (as if they didn't keep track of it even when they were broken up), as well as Riley constantly apologizing for not telling him or her friends about her situation sooner. This resulted in Lucas constantly apologizing for yelling at her.

"You know, Zay told me that you thought me and him were a thing," Riley said.

Lucas groaned, "Can we not?"

"You're cute when you're jealous," Riley said. "Not cute when you're angry, though."

"Sorry."

"Also explains why at the ski lodge you didn't look like you were enjoying yourself," Riley observed. "Sorry I stole your best friend that weekend."

Cory suddenly barged into Riley's bedroom. He had heard voices, one that he didn't recognize as Maya's. He was surprised to see Lucas, much like Topanga was earlier, sitting at the bay window with his daughter. He donned a confused look.

"I thought you two broke up?" Cory narrowed his eyes and pointed at the two.

Riley and Lucas exchanged looks, then shifted their gaze back to Cory.

"Just got back together, sir," Lucas replied, taking Riley's hand and holding it up for Cory to see.

"Huh," Cory commented and then checked his watch. "It's midnight. Go home, Friar."

"Yes, sir," Lucas replied.

I didn't want Riley to cave in so quickly, but she just couldn't help herself. So yeah, now they're back together!

Next: Lucas takes matters into his own hands.