Chapter 28

Lucas was sitting up in bed, running his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. He took a few advil and chugged some more water. The running back had no idea what was about to happen.

Ding Ding

Almost there :)

The green eyed boy tossed his phone and balled up his fist. He had no choice, Missy was going to tell her if he didn't. And, that would make everything worse. A few more minutes went by and there was a knock on the front door. Lucas answered it, the rest of his family was still sleeping. He unfortunately, didn't sleep a whole lot last night. "Hey babe!" She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hi. How are you feeling?" Riley's finger drug across his abs.

"So much better. Thank you, I wanted to talk to you, can we go outside."

"Sure." They walked into the backyard and dipped their feet into the jacuzzi. Lucas' heart was pounding. "I wanted to tell you something too." Riley exhaled and realized she was extremely nervous. She clutched his hands, hoping to relinquish some nerves.

"You first." Lucas' eyes had sadness hidden in them, and she found it. "Are you okay?"

"I don't really know how to tell you this." The brunette furrowed her brows and stared at him. "So, i'm just going to say it. I played a few games of beer pong last night with Chase and decided to walk home." The cheerleader sat silently, waiting for the part that was upsetting him. "Missy came with me, she lived 4 blocks away and I told her she'd have to walk the other 2 without me. I um, well since I don't drink a lot the beer got to me, I tripped and fell to the ground."

"Get to it Lucas." Riley was breathing heavily, her chest was moving up and down and it was extremely visible. Hoping to God, that it wasn't what she was thinking.

"She kissed me. And for about 10 seconds, I let her." Riley dropped his hands and stood up. "No, no please don't leave. As soon as I realized what was happening I ran home." He stood up with her. "Let's talk about this, please." He tried to raise her chin to look at him.

"Trust me, you don't want to look into my eyes right now." The brunette was trying really hard not to cry, but her eyes were red. Riley didn't know whether to be livid or be devastated. How could he do this? He was the one person that Riley truly thought would never, ever hurt her.

"Baby please don't go." Lucas' voice was shaky as he stroked her hair. His hands grazed down her arms until they were intertwined in hers. "What are you thinking about? Talk to me." His voice was shaky and his hands were trembling, she could tell he was upset, but for the first time Riley didn't care.

"2 months. Almost 3 if you count the one where you were trying to sweep me off my feet." She raised her head, and Lucas saw the tears fill the brim of her eyes, his heart broke. "I've gotta go." He clutched her hands and prevented her from walking away. "Look, I have to do what's best for me. And being here isn't doing what's best for me, you let her kiss you Lucas. I'd understand if you pulled away immediately but, you even said you let her."

"Because I was drunk Riley." His eyes were mocking Riley's. "I didn't, I couldn't-"

"Too drunk to realize who you were kissing wasn't me?" She went to walk away when he ran in front of her.

A tear fell from his eye. "What about us? Riley, what about you and me?" They touched foreheads and a tear fell from her cheek onto the concrete. The cheerleader didn't want to leave him, she loved him, but Riley was sick of being in relationships that hurt her.

"Trust Lucas. We don't have it anymore. I hope you understand, but I can't keep staying in relationships that aren't good for me." Lucas' chin started to tremble. "You taught me that." She sniffled and pulled her hands away. "Thank you." Riley placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him. "Don't worry you'll be okay." The brunette grabbed her shoes and left out of the back gate. Lucas stood in his backyard, dumbfounded and heart broken. He'd never felt this way before, almost like he couldn't breathe. The droplets from his eyes were consistent and he had no idea what to do.

He whispered, "No. I won't."

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"Hey honey, how'd it go?" Mrs. Matthews looked up from her book and saw her daughter's tear stained face.

"I'm going to lay down."

"Honey, what's wrong?" Riley ran into her bedroom and covered herself up in blankets. Topanga followed her and knocked on the door. "Baby girl, can I come in?"

"No." The door creaked open. "I said no."

"I'm your mother, i'm allowed to disobey you." The mother laid down beside her daughter. "Why are you crying?"

Riley finally broke down and started sobbing. "He kissed someone else last night."

"I'm so sorry baby girl."

"He said he drank too much." Topanga didn't like that. "Since he never drinks it must've hit him pretty hard."

"Come here." The brunette rolled into her mother and cried. After an hour, her daughter fell asleep and Topanga snuck out of her room.

Maya, are you busy?
No, why?
Riley needs you.
10 minutes.

Topanga grinned, she loved how Maya was always there for her. Sometimes a girl needs her best friend. A minute later there was a knock at the front door. "That was fast." She opened the door and saw Lucas.

"Mrs. Matthews, please don't slam the door in my face." The running back had obviously been crying.

"I wouldn't do that. No matter how much I want to. What can I do for you?"

"Is Riley here, and available?" Mrs. Matthews didn't say anything. "Please, just let me talk to her." She leaned her head on the door.

"Yes, but no. She has cried herself to sleep." Lucas dropped his head and tried to contain his tears, but was unsuccessful.

"Um, I know I have no right to ask this of you. But, can you please give her this note when she wakes up." Topanga gently grabbed it out of his hands.

"Sure. Lucas, I don't know the full story but I hope you two can work it out."

"Me too."

"I'd get out of here Maya's on the way." His green eyes had turned dull, and after a head nod he turned on his heels and left their home. The mother shut the door and glanced at the note in her hands.

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"Riley?" Maya was sitting at her bedside and the brunette pulled the covers off of her face. Her eyes were swollen and red.

"Hi peaches."

"Your mom called. Are you okay?" The brunette shook her head from side to side and lifted up the covers for the blonde to join her. "I'm sorry honey, your mom told me.We should've taken him home last night."

"I wouldn't even be mad if he didn't let her kiss him for 10 seconds. That's a lot of time!" She exclaimed. Riley sniffled and pulled the covers over them. "Like, if he pulled away immediately whatever."

"He was really drunk Riles."

"He knew he wasn't with me." She chuckled and felt the blue eyes staring at her. "Man, 2 months ago, eh i'll stretch it a bit 2 and a half months ago I would never let myself get in this situation. I wouldn't be laying down in this bed, crying with my best friend if I had just kept my guard up. I would rather be mad and yelling at him."

Maya held her hand. "It's okay to let your guard down peaches. He made you happy." Riley started sobbing.

"Yeah, he did. Very, happy. I went over there this morning to tell him I loved him."

The blonde hated seeing her friend this way, mostly because it never happened. She had never seen her bestfriend this way and quite honestly, she had no idea how to console her. "Do you want me to beat him up?"

"No. I don't need to ask you to do that. You should just do it."

"I think he loves you too ya' know." She rolled her eyes. While Maya pulled the covers over both of them.

"Tell Josh not to kick his ass either." The blonde looked at her friend and widened her eyes so she'd respond to her previous statement. "I'm not going to dignify what you said with a response." There was a knock on the bedroom door and Mrs. Matthews walked in.

"I feel like there are 2 of my favorite girls in here, but I can't see them." The girls threw down the comforter to reveal themselves. "So, I have cookies and a note for you."

"I'll take the cookies."

"I'm going to set the note on top."

Riley sniffled. "Boo!" Maya grabbed the plate and tossed it on Riley's chest.

"Read it!" Snapped her best friend. The brunette snatched the note off of her chest, and opened it.

Hi beautiful, I know you probably hate me and are extremely mad at yourself for letting your guard down but please, don't throw this letter away. Knowing you, you probably already have your fists crumpling the paper, where you're holding it. Riley glanced at her hands and relaxed them. Once you left this morning I didn't know what to do. I had never felt that way before. So I sat back down in the jacuzzi and not ashamed to admit, I cried, there are some things I can't get out of my mind and quite frankly I don't want to. Like your smile, the way you look when I move the hair out of your face, and the way your eyes light up when you see me. Nothing I can say will reverse the pain i've caused you. But, for what it's worth i'm so sorry. Please meet me at our spot at 3 o'clock, I want to talk to you.
Love,
Lucas
P.S. I will never be okay with out you.

Riley crumpled the paper and threw it in her trash can. "Ever considered playing basketball?" The brunette didn't answer. "What'd it say?"

"It said exactly what i'm feeling. It said exactly what I wanted to hear and he wants to meet me at our spot at 3." Maya looked at her phone.

"So in an hour and a half?"

"Boo!" The brown eyed girl continued to stare at the ceiling and reached out for the plate of cookies.

"Sounds to me like he knows you pretty well."

"Of course he does. We've pretty much been inseperable for 3 months." She finally found a cookie and grinned.

"Are you gonna go?"

"No. Probably not." Maya laid back down next to her friend."This is the part, where you try to convince me to go."

"Yup." She took a bite of the cookie.

"And, now this is the part where I cave and decide to go."

"Mhhmm.. Then what happens."

"I say that i'm not getting back together with him."

"And I say you are."

"No you don't. I'm not getting back together with him." Riley wiped a tear away. "I hate saying that."

"Then, why are you?" Maya rolled her head to look at her best friend.

"I don't trust him, drunk or not, he knew it wasn't me next to him. Even factoring in he was drunk i'd give a 5 second leeway period and he passed that by 5 seconds."

"Why don't you get ready honey?" Maya noticed how red and swollen her eyes were. She wasn't wearing makeup and her hair looked a hot mess.

"No, i'm going to go looking exactly like this. Why make him think i'm not hurting?"

"So you win, like it doesn't bother you."

"And lie. He's going to hurt more, seeing me upset and I kind of want to make him hurt. But, I kind of don't want to at the same time. What does that mean?" The brunette locked her eyes on her blue eyed friend.

"It means, that you love him."

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It was 2:50 and Lucas was waiting patiently at the dock. They had made it a weekly thing to go sit at that spot, they always opened up with each other and Lucas loved having alone time with her. He exhaled heavily and wiped his eyes hearing a car pull up. Lucas exhaled again and walked to her car. "Hi." He whispered.

"Hey." Riley slammed her door shut.

"Hi." His heart sped up seeing her this way, and knowing he was the cause tore him up.

"So, what can I do for you?" The brunette looked into his eyes and his green eyes, even though they weren't as bright as usual still persuaded her.

"Come on, let's go sit."

"Lucas, this isn't the same situation-"

"Let's sit, please. We've always been able to sit and talk at this place." The brown eyed girl sauntered towards the dock keeping her distance from him.

"Okay, so now that we're sitting, how can I help you?" Lucas' heart was hurting, just looking at her.

"I just, I wanted to talk to you." He grabbed her hands and Riley didn't stop him.

"We've established that. About what?"

"I can't lose you Riley." She scoffed. "I thought hearing it from me would lessen the blow because you know what Missy was planning on doing. But, i'm pretty sure we both took a hit."

"You took a hit?" She said sarcastically.

"Yes, I did. You broke up with me, the look on your face and in your eyes just about killed me."

"Good." Lucas was rubbing his thumb across her hand. "Like I told Maya, you had a 5 second leeway period and you passed that by 5 seconds."

"I don't know how it happened. I don't know why I didn't stop it sooner. We were talking about you and how long we've been dating and I don't know I pictured you in my head then she kissed me and-" He stopped himself.

"You're expecting me to believe that you were picturing me in your mind and thought you were kissing me?"

"I'm not expecting anything from you. I wasn't expecting you to show up here at all."

"Just because i'm mad at you doesn't mean I don't like you still." She bit her cheek at the word like.

"That's why you didn't change or put on makeup. You wanted to hurt me." Her mouth opened slightly and her eyes squinted.

"How did you know that?"

"I know you Riley, better than anybody else. Including Maya, I know that the entire drive down here you were wanting to turn around but you didn't because you wanted to see me too." Her heart was beating fast, even sad he looked so handsome, she just wanted to hug him and kiss him. "I have spent every moment since I met you learning everything about you. Like, even though you are one of the best cheerleader's i've seen, you're incredibly clumsy. You couldn't care less what people think about you." He cupped her cheek. "I know that right now you aren't paying that close of attention because you think that it won't make a difference."

"It won't." She tried to push back the tears. One escaped and he gently wiped it away with his thumb. "I can't get back together with you Lucas." The running back dropped his head and the tears came back. "But, I can't lose you either." He glanced at his ex. She threw her arms around his neck, acting on impulse. "You're my best friend Lucas, and if you tell Maya I said that I will be furious, but you are." He embraced her and squeezed her tight, smelling her tropically hair as he liked to call it.

"We're starting from scratch?" His voice had a glimmer of hope.

"We're starting as friends Lucas." She leaned back and sat on the dock. "We're starting over as friends and we're finishing as friends." Riley wiped a tear away from her cheek and put on a fake smile.

"We'll see."

"This isn't a game anymore."

"It never was to me. I earned you, remember? But, i'll take what I can get. I can't not have you in my life."

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