By popular demand, I am back with more! I have about a month left before I graduate college (yikes) so I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I'm hoping it will be sometime soonish . Inspiration for this chapter came from Kenny Chesney's You Had Me From Hello: /watch?v=HUbxBCmCrMk

Enjoy!

The sun's rays gently kissed Lucas' face as he made his way over to the subway station. It was a bit warm for autumn, but he didn't mind. If anything, Lucas enjoyed it. The past few days had been rather damp and rainy, so he was glad to rid of the bone soaking chill that refused to leave him the day before.

He quickened his pace and headed down the stairs, trying not to trip over his own feet. Lucas and his girlfriend, Lauren, were supposed to meet in a few minutes. While he'd usually prefer to walk, especially in the gorgeous weather, Lucas opted for the subway to make up for lost time. His conversation with Zay and Farkle had run longer than he had intended. Once he was finally on his way, Lucas sent a quick text to Lauren to have her meet him at the stop closest to Central Park, instead of at the park itself, since he was running a bit behind.

Luckily for him, Lucas reached the platform just as the subway was pulling in. Once the doors opened, he made his way over to a vacant double seat and sat down, releasing his breath.

Good, he thought. Now I can try and relax.

It wasn't long after that the doors closed and the train whizzed on to its next destination. Gradually, Lucas allowed his mind to wander as his eyes focused on the passing lights outside of the subway car. Soon, all reality around him started to fade.

Suddenly, the subway jolted to an unexpected stop, causing Lucas to snap back to reality and brace himself up against the wall he was sitting next to. They weren't uncommon, but it they're still hard to prepare for, especially when he wasn't paying attention to the ride like he should have been. To be honest, he didn't even know how long he was spaced out for. Once he took a breath, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. A young lady with brunette hair was stumbling backwards, probably caught as off guard as he was by the sudden stop. On instinct to protect her from any harm, he reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her into his lap.

Once her loose curls fell away from her stunned face, Lucas's eyes widened as he recognized her. Of all the places, of all the time she would come falling back into his life – literally.

"Riley?" he asked.

His voice seemed to send panic racing over Riley's features as she turned her head to meet his gaze. Lucas had forgotten how easy it was to get lost in her eyes – far too easy he found, as his chest tightened.

"Lucas," she breathed, clearly as shocked to see him as he was to see her. She blinked a few times before sliding off of his lap and onto the seat next to him, embarrassed at what had just happened. Again, she turned to meet his gaze, and Lucas found that she had hardly changed over the years. Her hair was longer, but other than that, she was still Riley.

"It's been a while," he commented as a small smile came over his lips. Despite everything that happened to them, Lucas really did miss having her in his life. However, just thinking of that night again brought a small twinge of pain back to his heart. Mentally, he tried to bury it, but it was persistent in staying right where it was

Riley let out a nervous chuckle as she nodded. "Yeah, yeah it has…" she trailed, as if she had a hard time coming to grips that they had stumbled into each other's lives yet again.

Lucas glanced down at the subway floor, trying to figure out what to say to her. It had been three and a half years since they had said anything to each other, which made it even more difficult. He didn't want this to be awkward at all, but if things continued the way they were going, they were going to end up badly. Common ground, find common ground, he thought. He looked back up at her and said, "So how have you been? Zay and Farkle tell me that you're working with Shawn?" Yeah, that sounds good, he reasoned, also hoping that she didn't find it odd that Zay and Farkle mentioned her to him – when in reality, he was asking about her, hoping she was okay.

Riley nodded again. "Yeah, I started last month and it's been a lot of fun. I work a lot with Shawn which is great. I picked up a photography minor in my sophomore year of college and it's really helped with some articles so far," she rambled, making Lucas grin all the more as he thought, Yep, still the same Riley. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Dumb saying but somehow still true. "So what about you?" she asked as the subway gradually slowed down.

"I'm working on my graduate degree. It's a lot of hard work, but it's nothing I can't handle," he replied nonchalantly.

He watched as Riley grinned from ear to ear at his words. Riley was the one who helped him get through so much hard work: school, family, his anger issues, and more. She was probably happy to see that, despite their time apart, she still had an effect on him.

"I'm really proud of you, Lucas. I knew you could do it," she replied as the subway began to slow down.

"Thanks," he returned, as the two stood up and made their way through the exit.

They made their way through the subway station and out to the street, not sure what exactly to say next. It was difficult to come up with something to talk about after not having spoken for so long. Gradually, Lucas' heart sank. This wasn't now he wanted to end his conversation with her. His mind scolded him – it practically shouted at him to say something, but Lucas was at a loss of words.

After a few moments of silence, he heard Riley blurt out, "You know, I was thinking," before she cut herself off.

Lucas turned to face her and raise an eyebrow. The shock on her face said it all. Her outburst surprised herself, and she didn't know if she should go on. He found a small smile trying to creep over his lips – no matter how much time had passed, no matter what had happened, he found himself falling for her all over again. "You were thinking, what exactly?" he probed, hoping for her to finish what she was going to say – and he was hoping for what she was going to say.

Like her typical self, Riley bit her lip and looked down at the ground in front of them before looking back up at him. Here they were again, standing around wondering what the other person was going to say. "I was, uh… I was thinking that maybe we should meet up sometime and catch up, ya know? It's been a while since we last talked, and I don't know about you but I really miss it."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," he responded as relief flooded his entire body.

A huge smile spread over Riley's lips, which made Lucas's heart soar all the more. He found himself losing himself in her, but he snapped out of his haze when the sound of his name met his ears. Lucas turned to face who was calling his name, he saw Lauren approaching them. Once his eyes met hers, he felt his heart swell in sadness. Was it bad that when Lucas bumped into Riley again, he had forgotten about Lauren entirely? Especially since he was riding the subway to meet her?

A few seconds later, Lauren wrapped her arm around Lucas' and placed a kiss on his cheek. Lucas couldn't help but feel her kiss burn on her skin, and he couldn't tell if it was because of his guilt or for some other reason he had yet to grasp. The burning sensation absorbed into his skin and made its way to his heart, causing more guilt to flood into his brain.

"Hey, love! You almost ready to go?"

Lucas cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah. I was just talking to one of my friends from high school I ran into on the subway. You remember me telling you about Riley, right?"

She turned to face her and shook her head. "Of course! I'm so sorry, where are my manners? I'm Lauren," she said, her brown eyes shining in the autumn sun. "Lucas has told me so much about you!"

He watched Riley smile as she met Lauren's gaze. "So nice to meet you," she replied. After a brief moment, she continued, "Anyway, I should probably let you two go. You have plans and I don't want to keep you two. It was nice talking with you again, Lucas," she bid, her voice wavering ever so slightly that if Lucas didn't know her as well as he did, he would have missed it entirely.

Before Lucas could say anything about it, Riley turned on her heel and headed down the sidewalk – weaving through the crowd until he lost sight of her.

"Well, she seems nice," Lauren commented as she looked up at Lucas. She raised an eyebrow as she focused on his face – it was clear he hadn't heard a word she said. He was still staring at the crowd, lost in thought. "Lucas?" she prodded gently, shaking his arm softly. "Are you in there?"

Lucas blinked a few times before he met her gaze. "What? I'm sorry, were you saying something?" he asked, making the guilt in his heart intensify. Wake up, Friar! his mind scolded.

"Yeah… I said she seems nice."

He nodded as they turned in the opposite direction and went down the street, heading towards Central Park. "Yeah, Riley is one of the kindest, gentlest people you'll ever meet. She puts other people's needs before her own. It was nice to see her again."

Lauren smiled. "Then I'm glad you saw her. I know how much your friends mean to you," she replied as they turned into the park.

The two of them continued on and walked amongst the slowly changing trees, their leaves twirling as the fell to the ground in front of them. As they continued on, Lauren kept pointing things out, but all Lucas could do was silently nod. Again, Lauren would have to pull him out of his thoughts. Every time she did, Lucas felt really bad in doing so, but he couldn't stop his mind from drifting to Riley, no matter how hard he tried. It had been years since they saw each other, and all the feelings he swore he was over had come slamming down upon his heart once again. Not only did that happen, but so did the pain of that night.

Yes, he had forgiven her long ago, but could he find himself trusting her again? Lucas mentally scolded himself. Here he was debating on whether or not he could trust Riley again, in that way, while he had a girlfriend on his arm as they aimlessly wandered the park. It wasn't fair to Lauren at all.

"Hey Lucas, can we talk?" Lauren asked as he led him over to a bench.

Immediately, he felt his heart drop. He knew that tone of voice she was using. This wasn't a chit chat she was leading into, but a serious talk. "Uh, sure," he replied as they sat down. "What's, uh, what's on your mind?"

Lauren sighed as she turned her body to face him. "Are you okay?"

Lucas blinked. "What? What are you talking about?"

She took ahold of his hand as she sorted out what she wanted to say. "Ever since we met at the subway, your mind seems to be focused on something else. You haven't really heard a word I've been saying since, and that was over an hour ago. You've also been unusually quiet. I know you tend to be more on the quiet side, but this is something else. Is everything okay?"

"Oh gosh…" he trailed. "I'm really sorry, Lauren. I don't know what's come over me."

Lauren nodded as she looked down at the bench, and then back up at him. "Does it have anything to do with running into Riley on the subway?"

Lucas just sat there once the words came tumbling from her mouth. He couldn't say anything to that, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I'll take your silence as a yes."

He let out a sigh. "I guess you could say that," Lucas responded, his voice an octave lower than usual.

"I know you two used to date. You told me that a year or so after we were together when Zay mentioned her in conversation. I didn't really think anything of it since she helped make you the person you are today, who I love very much," she explained as tears brimmed her eyes. "I saw the way you were looking at her when I approached you two. It made me wonder. Now, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me. Are you still in love with her?"

From the moment he met Riley, he knew the answer to that question. All she had to say was one word. There was something in her voice that made him realize that she was going to be in his life for as far as he could see. He felt it start to grow when they first made eye contact in the subway all those years ago. She had his heart all this time, and she had yet to let it go. Lucas shook his head at his own thoughts. He never had a chance. "She had me from the first time she said hello to me. I'm sorry…"

Lauren shook her head as the tears flowed down her cheeks. "Don't worry about it, Lucas," she replied as she stood up.

He stood up with her and took ahold of her hand again. "I really am sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen at all. I never planned on running into again like that, and I really thought I was over her. I love you, but…"

Lauren let out a small laugh. "Lucas, I'm not mad. Upset, yes… mad no. I really enjoyed what we had, but when I saw you looking at her, I realized that you still had strong feelings for her. I've never seen you look at me the way you looked at her. While you proved you care for me and love me, there's nothing I can do when I know I'm not the right one for you… I'll see you around, Lucas. Thank you for everything you've given me," she bid as she turned around and left the park.

Lucas stayed right where he was in disbelief. Lauren was always one to take the bull by the horns, but this took the cake. He still couldn't believe what had just happened. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. Through his tears, Lucas opened it and saw the sparkling diamond ring sitting in the box as it glistened at him. He snapped the box shut and looked up in the direction Lauren had gone.

"Goodbye..." he whispered.

OoOoO

Lucas trudged his way down the hall to Farkle's apartment. His mind was still having a hard time processing what had happened less than an hour ago. Seeing how Lucas had forgotten all about Lauren on the subway, part of him couldn't figure out why he was in such a fog. But the other part of him knew why. Lauren was a huge part of his life for the past three years – so much so that he was planning on asking her to marry him. Not anymore, he thought sarcastically.

He brought his fist to the door and knocked. Almost as soon as he stopped, the door opened revealing an overzealous Zay and Farkle standing in the doorway with champagne glasses in hand.

"Congratu- wait a minute," Zay started as he saw Lucas. "One of you is missing."

"Where's Lauren?" Farkle questioned.

Lucas stumbled in the apartment as he ran a hand through his hair. "She's gone."

Farkle and Zay looked at each other, and then back at Lucas. "She said no?" Zay asked.

"Nope," Lucas replied as he flopped down on the couch. "I didn't even get to ask. We broke up."

The two friends sat on the coffee table, confused as to what could have happened. "What happened?" Farkle asked.

Lucas sighed as he buried his face in his hands. "I ran into Riley on the subway."

"Riley?!" Zay gasped.

Lucas nodded. "Or should I say, she fell into my lap yet again. I was on my way to meet Lauren when she fell right into my lap, and there went all thought of Lauren. I completely forgot about her until she called out to me. After Riley left, we went to the park like I originally had planned for the day, but all I could think of was Riley."

Zay shook his head in amazement. "Dude… I thought you said you were over her."

"I thought so, too. I had the walls built up around my heart for so long because of what happened, I thought they would take forever to fall. Lauren did a good job at chipping them away, but once Riley was in my arms again and I looked into her eyes, those bricks tumbled down and those old feelings came back like nothing happened."

Silence hung over the room for a long time before Farkle asked, "So, what are you going to do?"

"Think," Lucas started. "I just need time to think things through," he finished as he stood up and headed for the door.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Lucas shook his head. "Nope. I need to figure this out for myself."