Vignette Two – Practice Part 2
Author's Note: I separated this story into two parts because I wanted the limited omniscient point-of-view to shift from Riley and Maya to Lucas.
"Lucas! Bro! What's the hurry?" a teammate asks with amusement. He watches Lucas, who has already changed into clean clothes by the time he gets out of the shower, put his things away like a madman.
Lucas looks up at his teammate, who happens to be captain, and chuckles with mild embarrassment. He scratches the back of his head and says, "Uh, no reason. Good practice today!" He zips up his bag and swings it over his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jed!"
"Lemme guess, your girlfriend is waiting in the stands," Jed surmises. At Lucas' tentative nod, he adds, "What I can't figure is which one is she? Does she usually come to practice like the others?"
"Wait, what others?" Lucas' asks with genuine confusion.
Jed throws his head back and laughs, "Are you serious? You haven't noticed that the bleachers are nearly full during every practice since we started about a month ago?"
"No, he wouldn't notice that. He doesn't notice much outside of Riley," Zay says coming from the shower. "Yup, the guy is so blind, he practically needs a walking stick to figure out who's noticing." Zay closes his eyes and begins to mime using a walking stick in the locker room.
Lucas looks between Jed and Zay and shakes his head. "No, I've noticed people in the stands. What I don't get is what them being there has to do with me. I thought this school was just really big on soccer," he explains.
Once again, Jed laughs loudly but Zay joins him this time. Jed goes up to Lucas and touches him on one shoulder, "Lucas, I have played on this team for four years. I have practiced with this team for four years. But I have never seen flocks of girls attending our practices like this until this year. I think it all started when you freshmen were playing without your shirts during a scrimmage."
Lucas puts his gym bag down and shakes his head, "No, they're not here for me. I don't even talk to people other than my friends! I haven't even been on the school social media network in a million years. I think you guys have me mixed up with someone else."
Jed turns to Zay and gestures to Lucas with his thumb, "Is this guy for real?" Turning back to Lucas, "When you score a goal, it feels like we're in Latin America or something because everyone in the stands goes wild. But when I scored that sweet goal with a scissor kick the other day – crickets. A scissor kick! I was showboating for them and got nothing!"
"Yeah, and remember that time Ryan accidentally kneed you in the gut and you fell down clutching your stomach?" Zay asks while making an act of clutching his stomach. When Lucas nods with a raised eyebrow, he continues, "Your fans stood up and gasped. Gasped!" He then imitates the high pitch voice of a teenage girl screaming 'Is Lucas all right?! Is Lucas all right?!'
"Guys, they're not there for me! Jed, I've seen them come up to you. And Zay, you have been on like three dates in the last month with three different girls. No one talks to me," Lucas argues.
"Lucas, yes, not ALL of them are there for you. But most of them are. You see, it's a lot like being in a boy band. Yeah, sure, every member has his set of fans but a majority of the fanbase goes crazy over one member in particular," Jed retorts with a matter-of-fact tone.
Zay corroborates, "That's true. All the members of One Direction have their own fans but let's be real, Harry Styles is the most popular. Lucas, you're Harry Styles." Jed shrugs and nods in agreement.
Still not fully convinced, Lucas says, "But no one talks to me. How do you explain that?"
"Well, how could they? You're the first to leave practice! You go straight to, I'm assuming, this Riley girl who has you wrapped around her little finger. Then during the school day, you probably keep a low profile or Riley keeps them from coming near you," Jed says in explanation.
Zay shakes his head, "No, it's not just Riley. Her best friend Maya is short but scrappy. She's got this really intimidating stare. She reminds me of an angry Chihuahua. The moment some girl even tries talking to Lucas, which would in turn possibly hurt Riley's feelings, she's already sending them running to the hills. You see, Maya is insanely protective of Riley. Don't even get me started on HOW protective she was when it came to this guy!" Zay ends by growling and barking at Lucas like a tiny dog.
Lucas scrunches his brows together and ponders the situation. For the life of him, he really does not notice the way girls treat him. Maybe Zay is right, he thinks, if she isn't Riley or one of his friends, he doesn't pay attention. So IF they are there for him, how would that affect things? Is this a big deal?
"Wait, if you guys are right, do you think this would bother Riley? She's out there right now completely surrounded!" he says anxiously.
Zay bites his lip then says, "Well, knowing Riley, if she knew about this, she would've asked you. But after sitting in the stands throughout practice, I'm pretty sure she knows now. As for all of this bothering her, hard to say. Riley is probably the most cheerful spirit I have ever met but she does have her moments of darkness."
Shaking his head and quickly picking up his bags, Lucas says, "Oh no, I gotta go find her!" With that, he rushes out of the locker room. Since moving to New York and becoming a supposed moral compass, the idea of causing anyone distress was abhorrent to him. When it comes to Riley, however, it's practically a religion. He would not be the young man he is without her and the possibility of her feeling discomfort because of him is making his stomach churn.
He gets to the bleachers and looks for his girlfriend. At his arrival, however, many of the girls take notice. They s say "Hi, Lucas" in unison. All the doubt Lucas has in mind about what Zay and Jed were telling him is destroyed in this moment. In response, Lucas raises his hand and gives an awkward wave. With a tight but polite smile at the girls who continue to wave at hims flirtatiously, he heads in the direction of where he left Riley with Smackle.
When he spots her, his heart flutters. She sees him and gives him a nervous smile. She stands up with her schoolbag, tells Smackle goodbye, and walks to him shyly. She meets him at the bottom of the steps and says quietly, "I think we need to talk."
At her words, Lucas' heart sinks to his stomach. As she turns to walk away, he grabs her hand and frantically explains, "Riley, I didn't know about all of this till Zay and Jed said something about it in the locker room just now. Riley, I would never look at these girls like that. I would never hurt you. I would never…"
He's cut off when Riley suddenly throws her arms around his neck and gives him a searing kiss. He automatically drops his bags and wraps his arms around her waist to pull her closer. For a moment, the whole world melts away and all thought of soccer fans is thrown out the window. For a moment, Riley and Lucas are in their small world again where only the two of them exist.
When Riley pulls away from the kiss while maintaining her arms around his neck, Lucas opens his eyes and looks at her. She smiles and says quietly, "Lucas, I know you would never hurt me and I know you probably didn't know about this since you didn't talk to me about it." She punctuates her statements with a quick kiss.
Lucas is stunned. He and Riley have been getting more and more comfortable these days with public displays of affection but never like this. The longer they stay in each other's embrace, he's realizing how much he actually enjoys it.
"Lucas, I would never let you go over something this trivial. You're stuck with me, Friar. I'm sorry but it's true," she adds with mock sympathy.
"Then what do you need to talk to me about?" he asks.
Riley smile suddenly vanishes and is replaced with a scowl: "Lucas Friar, why have you not changed your relationship status on your school profile?! So when we were going through that thing with Maya, you're quick to saying that 'it's complicated' but when we finally start up, you don't change it? What is that?!" Dropping her arms from his body, she spins away from him and marches off.
Lucas shakes his head, laughs, and follows after her. If she wanted him to change his relationship status to "Eternal Love Slave of Riley Matthews," he would do it in a heartbeat. Even though he knows that he's about to get an in-depth interrogation that would make FBI agents proud, he's relieved. Besides, he's always up for another fascinating conversation with the one and only Riley Matthews.