Val Meets Texas (Part 2)
I don't own Girl Meets World!
Previously...
"It's exactly what you're doing. You're asking me to break the boy I love's heart so your best friend, who has never been my friend by the way, can have a so called 'chance with him?'" Val made quotation marks with her fingers "No way in Hell, Riley. We may be young, but I care about Lucas a lot. And I've done the whole giving up thing before, I'm not putting myself through that again."
"But you didn't give him up, you're with him now!" Riley complained.
"Yeah! 'Cause I realized it was a stupid and unfair decision, for both of us." Val replied, rolling her eyes "I realized that my personal happiness matters just as much as yours. I realized that I wasn't fair to Lucas, turning him down for you when he had no romantic feelings for you. I'm not giving up someone who makes me happy, who I hope I make happy too, for you or for Maya."
Val turned to go back inside but Riley grabbed her arm "Val, please."
Val wrenched her arm away "I'll say this one more time, so clean out your ears and listen up. I am not breaking up with Lucas for you or for Maya. My happiness matters just as much as either of yours."
She walked back inside, letting the door swing shut behind her, closing with finality, leaving Riley outside staring after her sister.
Riley had reentered and told Lucas that she loved him like a brother, glaring at Val the whole time. Lucas was extremely confused by what was happening and said nothing more than a very awkward "Um, okay?"
Farkle watched Riley with thinly veiled suspicion, knowing she was up to something, but what he didn't know. Maya stayed silent, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Zay could sense the tension between the Matthews sisters, it was high and with the glares Riley was shooting at her sister she seemed to want something. Val simply sat with Lucas's arm around her shoulders, her arms crossed as she firmly looked anywhere but Riley.
Lucas noticed the hostility too and quickly stood up "I need some air. Val, wanna join me?"
"Sure. Just let me change quickly, it was a little chilly out there." Val headed to the room she'd changed in before.
"Okay, I'll meet you out there." Lucas agreed and walked out onto the porch.
Zay shot Riley and Maya a suspicious look before he followed his friend out without a word. Farkle, however, was in no mood to stay silent.
"What was that?" He questioned.
"I figured out my feelings for Lucas." Riley shrugged "He's my brother and I'm his sister. That's that."
Farkle frowned "Mm-hmm? Is that so? And how'd you figure that out?"
Riley hesitated for a fraction, looking like a deer in headlights before she calmed herself "When he was riding the bull, I realized I only love him like a brother, nothing more."
"Yeah? Okay." Farkle scoffed "See, I don't believe you in the slightest. I don't know what's going on yet, but you'd better believe me when I say that I'll figure it out."
Val stepped out of the room in a dark blue dress with white flowers on it and a purple jacket "Farkle, want to come outside?"
"Yeah." Farkle turned on his heel and hurried out the front door to join the others on the porch.
Pappy Joe was already out there, sitting in an old rocking chair. Zay was on a bench where Farkle joined him while Val joined Lucas, who wrapped his arms around her, at the railing, looking out at the thousands of stars in the sky.
"Brother and sister...Riley and I are brother and sister now...What does that even mean? I mean, it's weird, right?" Lucas glanced down at Val who hadn't said a word "Especially since you and I are together."
He could see Val gnawing on her bottom lip and felt his concern spike.
"What does anything mean out of the mouth of a girl?" Zay shrugged "I mean, I used to tell Vanessa, clear as day, 'Vanessa, I'd buy you a house, and I'd be yours forever, and I'd buy you ice cream,' you know what she'd say? 'I don't want you to buy me a house, I don't want your ice cream, and I don't like you.' How am I supposed to understand that?"
Lucas felt Val's shoulders tense and he gently rubbed her arms, worried she was cold.
"I understand it." Farkle piped up.
Riley and Maya came out, each dressed slightly warmer than they had been that day. Riley wore a deep blue shirt and a printed skirt, while Maya wore a white flowing dress and a thin flower crown.
"Whoa. Gentlemen, look how lucky you are." Pappy Joe laughed "You treat 'em right. And by you I mean you two." He pointed at Zay and Farkle "Lucas already has a lovely lady for the night."
Val felt her cheeks heat up and she ducked her head.
Riley frowned slightly "Thank you, Pappy Joe." She walked over to the steps "I see why you get homesick for Texas sometimes, Lucas. I never knew that the sky had this many stars."
Lucas nodded distantly, looking at Val worriedly as she was glaring so hard at the big tree on the lawn he thought she might burn a hole through it.
"You know what else?" Riley walked over and pulled Val out of Lucas's arms so she could stand right in front of him and wrap an arm around his shoulders "I don't get nervous when I'm with you anymore. We're doing the right thing." She aimed her last sentence at Val who scoffed and rolled her eyes.
Lucas shifted uncomfortably away from Riley who still had a hand on his shoulder and followed him.
"Ah. Remember when we couldn't even say 'Hi' to each other?" Riley reminisced "Remember how we'd go, 'Hi.' 'Howdy.' 'Hi.' Remember? Now watch this. Say 'Hi' to me." She pressed.
"Hi." Lucas mumbled.
"Hi, Lucas. What up, brah? What's up with you, man?" Riley tried to seem cool but failed miserably "You good? You cool?"
Now very scared and concerned Lucas stared at her and awkwardly repeated "Hi."
"Still got some catching up to do." Riley sighed,
"Riley, I-I don't even know what's going on right now." Lucas scowled.
"What's going on is that we're gonna be the best of friends and care about what each of us has to say for the rest of our lives. Like you and Val." Riley smirked "Like brother and sister."
"Yeah, I sorta already have that. With Val. But we're not brother and sister." Lucas took a breath "What does brother and sister mean?"
Riley's eyes got big "It means...you know...Poom!" She punched his chest.
"Hey!" Lucas protested.
"Ping!" She punched the other side of his chest.
"Riley!" Lucas shouted.
"Ha, you said that just like brother would." Riley grinned like this proved her whole point.
Val let out a long sigh "No, he said that like a person who wanted you to stop punching him."
"We're just like how you and Maya were." Riley spoke over her sister then leaned in and gave a weak "Ha-hee!"
"You don't even do it right." Maya complained.
Riley twirled around "Oh! Maya, I thought you weren't talking to Lucas."
Maya shook her head "I'm not talking to him. I'm talking to you."
Lucas stepped forward "Maya, are you seriously not gonna talk to me?"
"You could've gotten hurt on that stupid bull." Maya growled "What do you think you getting hurt would've done to the people who..."
Zay stood up "Care about you?" He offered "I think you were gonna say 'Care about you.'"
Maya shook her head rapidly "I'm not talking about me. You think I'm talking about me?"
"Yes, I do."
"I'm talking about everybody here." Maya corrected.
"Maya, Lucas is okay." Riley soothed "He didn't get hurt. All of us are okay."
"Mm, no, we're not." Val spoke up "Boys, can you give us a minute?"
Zay immediately nodded and dashed into the house, Farkle followed quickly, but Lucas and Pappy Joe paused.
"Well," Pappy Joe stood up "I think I'll just go check on the horses." And he meandered over towards the stables.
"Go, Lucas. It's fine." Val nodded reassuringly.
Reluctantly, Lucas went inside.
"So, Maya," Val turned to the blonde "You like Lucas?"
"I-I mean-I don't really know how I feel." Maya stammered "But yeah, kinda."
Val hummed "And tell me, were you scared today because you like him and you were worried he'd get hurt, or were you scared because you like him and if he got hurt it would be, at least partially, your fault?"
"My fault?!" Maya squawked.
"Yes, your fault. You two signed him up to ride the bull without his permission or knowledge, you two went behind back and got him in that situation." Val nodded "If you hadn't done that, he wouldn't have been in any danger."
"But-but-" Maya spluttered "You encouraged him to ride!"
"I encouraged him to do what he thought was right." Val corrected "Riley, let's be nice and say she encouraged, him to ride."
Now it was Riley's turn to squawk and splutter "I just wanted him to redeem himself in the eyes of his community!"
"For falling off a sheep when he was five?" Val snorted "Right. Let me make this very clear. He was FIVE, he didn't need to 'redeem himself,' he was a child who didn't even do anything wrong. You both meddled in his life, brought up unpleasant memories, and put him in danger."
"We didn't mean to!" Maya scowled.
"You didn't mean to put his life in danger, but you meant for something else to happen."
Riley and Maya fell silent, having no argument there.
"Look, we're going out tonight. If you two can behave maturely and nicely then you are welcome to join us." Val regretted saying that the moment the words left her lips but they were out now and she wasn't one to go back on her word "We're going to eat barbecue, hear some music, dance a little, and have fun. If you two cause trouble or can't be nice, you're going to come right back here."
Maya's surprise was clear on her face "Why would you want us to come with you? Aren't you mad at us?"
"Oh, I'm furious. And I don't particularly want you to come. But this is Lucas and Zay's home and they want to show us the sights." Val explained "I'm not interested in us fighting the whole time we're here and ruining Lucas and Zay's visit. I don't want to fight at all. This is a chance for me to get to know the place where the boy I like grew up. I want to meet his friends, see his favorite places, I want to have a fun experience with my friends and you two won't ruin that."
Riley bit her lip "I don't want to ruin that."
"Neither do I." Maya agreed softly.
"Good." Val opened the door "You can come back out now."
Lucas, Farkle, and Zay filed out as Pappy Joe came back from checking on the horses.
"Where should we go tonight?" Val asked the Texans.
"I've been reading about Austin, and they call it a music city." Farkle offered "They call it the live music capital of the world."
"That's absolutely what we should do." Zay nodded excitedly "Show them the town and listen to some music."
"Yeah!" Lucas grinned "Anyone good playing tonight?" He asked Pappy Joe.
Pappy Joe settled back down in his rocking chair "If I was a young buck trying to impress my friends, I might suggest Chubby's Famous Barbecue Pit. Always's good eats, always good music."
"But barbecued foods aren't good for you." Farkle frowned.
Lucas quickly pulled Val away from her spot beside Farkle and stepped in front of her as if to shield her. Zay tugged Riley and Maya a few steps away as well.
Pappy Joe slowly rose from his chair and stood, towering over Farkle "Let me tell you what ain't good for you."
"You're not gonna do anything to me because you know I'm a New York intellectual and you don't want to be a cliche." Farkle shrugged.
Val slapped her hand to her forehead "What kind of flowers would you like at your funeral? I'm thinking geraniums for foolishness."
"Lucas," Pappy Joe said, not taking his eyes off Farkle "Fetch me my shotgun."
"Okay." Lucas turned to go inside.
"Lucas!" Farkle gasped.
Lucas turned back around "Okay."
Farkle sighed "Okay, I'll go to Chubby's, I'll eat your food, I'll listen to your music, but don't expect a changed Farkle, Hombre."
Farkle marched off the porch and Riley, Maya, and Zay followed him. Lucas and Val paused next to Pappy Joe.
"You coming with us?" Lucas asked his grandfather.
"Appreciate the invite. I'm extremely busy..." Pappy Joe shooed them away.
Lucas and Val nodded and headed after their friends.
Behind them they heard Pappy Joe finish "...As I've learned, this chair won't rock itself."
"You excited?" Lucas asked Val as they walked down the path towards town.
"I am." Val nodded "I want to see where you grew up."
"It's a great place." Lucas's voice was wistful.
Val was reminded that he'd never really wanted to come to New York in the first place. Texas had been his home and she knew that moving away had been really hard on him. She wasn't sure what to say to comfort him, so instead, she slipped her hand into his and squeezed gently, putting all the love and comfort she could in that simple gesture.
Lucas smiled, maybe he hadn't wanted to move to New York, but he was glad that he had. Sure, the circumstances of the move weren't great, his expulsion had been fresh in his mind and leaving his friends had hurt more than he'd ever really admitted. But, he reminded himself, if he hadn't moved to New York, if he hadn't gone to John Quincy Adams Middle School, he never would have met Val. Being back in Austin was painful, but he could bear it, as long as Val was with him.
The two walked, hand in hand, the rest of the way. Enjoying the softly chirping crickets and the millions of stars in the sky.
The group sat at a table in Chubby's staring.
"While I understand barbecue is not your thing, Farkle, you do seem to have found a new appreciation for our hometown cuisine." Zay was struggling not to laugh.
Farkle's face was covered in barbecue sauce. The plate in front of him, which had been ordered for the whole table, was now only a pile of bones. Farkle had taken one bite and immediately scarfed down the whole plate before any of them could react.
"More." He demanded.
"Easy, cowboy. You need to calm down." Lucas tried.
"Oh, I have to calm down?" Farkle scoffed "They make a big deal out of you riding a bull for four seconds. Well, I ate him."
Val smiled, trying not to giggle "I guess you like barbecue now?"
"More."
Across the table Riley turned to Maya "Will you please say something to him? I know that you care about him. It's okay."
"I just don't want anything to change." Maya sighed quietly.
Riley leaned across the table "Hey, Huckleberry...are we dancing or what?"
Lucas looked up, confused "Oh, uh, sure. Val, wanna dance?"
"I think I can handle this kind of dancing." Val nodded.
Riley frowned slightly before she quickly fixed a smile back on her face. Lucas led Val out onto the dance floor and Riley found herself a few paces behind them.
Back at the table Farkle was watching Maya, who looked anxious and awkward "Maya, what's going on with you?"
"I don't know." Maya said quickly "Do you know? 'Cause...Help me."
Farkle could see how upset and nervous she was. They may not have been great friends lately, but Maya still mattered to him, so he scooted his chair closer and offered her his arm. Maya took it and rested her head on his shoulder.
Val and Lucas were having a blast dancing.
"Oh, you've done this before?" Lucas asked, impressed by how well Val was doing.
"Only a few times." Val shook her head "I'm not nearly as good as you are."
"You're doing great." Lucas assured her "I'm impressed if you've only done this a few times."
"Did you come here a lot?" Val asked.
"Every Friday night and most Saturday nights too." Lucas nodded "Dylan, Asher, Zay, and I had our own table and everything. We knew all the staff by name, this was one of our favorite places."
"Do you want to try and see Dylan and Asher while we're here?" Val offered "You haven't been back since the seventh grade elections. I know you miss them and I'm sure they miss you too."
"Yeah, I do." Lucas nodded "I'd like to see them again. But, I don't know, I haven't talked to them as much lately."
"Well, call them tomorrow and set up a time to see them before we leave." Val suggested "You've been busy. Sometimes friendships are hard to maintain when you don't see each other almost every day."
"What if they don't want to meet up?" Lucas asked, his nerves coming out.
"I talked to them to help make that video, remember? They cared about you a lot then, I'm willing to bet they care just as much now." Val said gently "I think they'll be happy to see you."
At the table, Maya was getting steadily more tense. Farkle was putting two and two together and he moved back suddenly.
"You didn't want him to get hurt because you care about him." He challenged.
"I care about all of us." Maya denied.
"You care about him."
"I care about all of us."
"You care about him."
"I will kill you." Maya warned.
Zay spoke up, reminding them he was at the table too "I'm not gonna care about anybody for the rest of my life, all right? I tried it once. Didn't work. From now on, I like nobody."
"Zay?"
"Unbelievable." Zay groaned as a dark haired girl walked up to the table.
"How's New York been treating you?"
Zay stammered out a "Good, yeah. Just trying to fit in. Making new friends..."
"Well, looks like you made some." Vanessa's eyes flicked to Farkle and Maya "Wanna introduce me?"
Zay was a deer in headlights for a moment before he shifted "Yeah. Um, this is Farkle..."
"Texas lady." Farkle greeted, nodding at Vanessa.
"And, uh, this is my, um, friend Maya." Zay gestured.
"You did not just do that." Maya stood, slamming her hands on the table.
"What?" Zay asked nervously.
Maya rolled her eyes "You did not just introduce your girlfriend as your friend."
Zay scoffed "Um, what?"
"Isaiah Earl Babineaux..." Maya sighed.
"You're middle name is Earl?" Vanessa's brows furrowed.
"No."
"The next time you introduce your girlfriend as your friend, we are through. Do you hear me?" Maya demanded.
Zay frowned "I mean, I hear you, but I..."
"Put your arm around me." Maya ordered.
Zay did so awkwardly.
"Twirl my hair."
Zay got his fingers tangled in the blonde's long tresses.
"Call me Honey Nugget." Maya instructed.
"Hi, Honey Nugget." Zay tried to untangle his hands.
"Hi, Hunkalicious." Maya rested her chin on her palm with a big smile.
Val and Lucas noticed what was happening.
"Vanessa?" Val checked.
"Vanessa." Lucas confirmed.
"A little possessive, no?" Vanessa joked.
Maya shrugged "Well, the good ones you don't let get away, you know what I mean? With all the girls chasing him around New York City, you have to swoop right in or he'll be gone." She batted Zay's hands out of her hair.
There was a pause.
"I said, 'You have to swoop right in or he will'-" Maya enunciated.
"Isaiah Hank Babineaux." Riley swooped into the chair on the other side of Zay and pulled his arm around her.
"No-" Zay tried to say.
"I don't care." Riley interrupted "I only care that you don't let Maya get her hooks into when you know you are mine."
Zay removed his arm from Riley's shoulders "This is my friend, Riley-"
"Now, how do you like it when he calls you a friend, Riley?" Maya asked.
"I like it." Riley smiled.
"No, you do not like it." Maya corrected.
"I do not like it when you call me just 'friend.'" Riley parroted.
"Well, what would you like for me to call you?" Zay asked desperately.
Riley hesitated, thinking "I would like for you to call me...Cotton Candy Face."
"Good girl." Maya patted Riley's shoulder "I know that was hard."
"Zay, is it possible I've misjudged you?" Vanessa asked.
Zay looked over his shoulder at Val and Lucas "Help."
Val grinned and patted Lucas's shoulder "I got this."
"Go get 'em."
Val headed over and held her hand out to Vanessa "Hi, I'm Val."
"You another girlfriend?" Vanessa asked teasingly as she shook her hand.
"No, I'm just a friend." Val shook her head "But I'd say I got a pretty good deal. Zay's a great guy, I'm lucky to call him a friend, and I am extremely lucky that he calls me friend."
"I can see that." Vanessa nodded.
"I think you did misjudge him, Vanessa." Riley nodded.
Vanessa frowned "How do you know my name?"
"Um..." Riley's eyes went wide.
"Too much." Maya shook her head.
"Too much." Riley agreed.
"Too much." Farkle dashed for the dance floor to seek shelter with Lucas.
Riley and Maya followed, leaving Val, Vanessa, and Zay still at the table.
Val stifled a snort and apologized "Sorry about them. Have a nice night, Vanessa."
She waved, sending Zay a smile that clearly said "You've got this." and headed to the dance floor.
"Hey, everybody." A manager got up on the stage and announced "Welcome to Chubby's Famous Barbecue, home of the best ribs in Texas."
The crowd cheered and clapped loudly.
Over the applause, Farkle shouted "I grew up here!"
"Okay, well, we're about to introduce two lovely ladies and one of them grew up here as well, about two hours down the road in Sugar Land." The manager grinned "Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome Maddie and Tae!"
Everyone clapped again as two girls climbed onto the stage.
"Well, it feels real good to be back home in Texas." One girl laughed.
"This first one's a love song." The other told the crowd.
"Uh-oh." Riley, Maya, and Farkle muttered.
"And it's called No Place Like You."
Lucas turned to Val and asked in an overly posh accent "May I have this dance?"
"I'd be honored." Val replied, laughing.
As the music played, Lucas spun Val in circles, making her giggle uncontrollably. They swung back and forth, both grinning wildly the whole time. Riley and Maya stayed on the edges of the dance floor, both watching the two dance with envy in their eyes.
"You know, there really is no place like you." Lucas told Val when the song ended.
Val felt the heat rise in her cheeks "No, there's no place like us."
They all walked back to the house, chatting and chuckling. Riley and Maya hung back a bit, Riley whispering to Maya. Pappy Joe was still on the porch, sitting in his rocking chair.
"You just been sitting here, Pappy Joe?" Lucas asked.
"Oh, after you run around enough, you'll find that a comfy chair on your own front porch is your favorite destination. Oh, by the way..." Pappy Joe stood up and tapped the window like a blackboard "Lord Chesterfield's letters to his son."
"What?" Lucas frowned.
"You've spoken to our Dad, haven't you?" Val sighed softly.
"Lord Chesterfield had a son who traveled the world."
"What is that? What are you doing?" Riley asked.
"It's a blackboard." Pappy Joe explained.
"Our Daddy made you do this." Riley gasped.
"He's good people." Pappy Joe nodded.
"No, he's not." Riley grumbled.
"I called it." Val grinned.
Pappy Joe continued with the "lesson" "Chesterfield writes him letters about how he should behave himself because a father knows...The only way for a kid to really learn anything is to go out into the world and find out who he is."
"Daddy is trying to teach us from beyond the grave." Riley declared, pointing horrified at Pappy Joe.
"Matthews wrote us a letter, didn't he?" Maya asked.
"He did." Pappy Joe confirmed, he pulled out the letter and started to read it "Dear my favorite children...Take care of each other. Enjoy the world."
He passed the letter to Riley who couldn't hide her smile, despite her annoyance that her father was still teaching them from miles away.
"I don't want this night to end." Farkle said, sounding sad.
Val rubbed his arm gently, she understood. It had been a fantastic night, she'd gotten to see the city her friends had grown up in, experience live music, and eat amazing barbecue. But the moon was high and the stars already shone in the sky. It was times like this Val wished she could just stop time, hit pause and enjoy herself for a little longer. She wanted the world to stay like this, she wanted to live in this peaceful feeling for just a moment longer. Realistically, Val knew things changed, the leaves turn colors and fall, the stars move across the sky, there was no stopping time.
"What do you do around here when you just want to look at each others faces a little longer?" Riley asked, struggling not to look at Lucas.
The six of them sat around a small campfire, roasting marshmallows and admiring the thousands of stars that decorated the sky like someone had spilled a tube a glitter on black paper.
Pappy Joe brushed his hands off as he finished setting up the fire "Please do me the great favor of dousing these embers real good when you're done. That house and me might be real old, but we ain't quite ready to be burned down yet."
"Well, I never thought I'd say anything like this, but...I'm real sad I don't have a Pappy Joe of my own." Maya smiled, her eyes a little wet.
"Thank you, Maya." Pappy Joe tipped his hat "I wish you'd consider me yours till the time I...I...You know...Bleh."
"Okay." Maya laughed a little.
Pappy Joe turned and headed back to the house.
"You guys were lucky." Farkle sighed.
"How come?" Lucas asked.
"To grow up out here..." Farkle gestured at the trees and fields around them "To have this sky...And the stars...This has been the best weekend of my life. Thank you."
"It's beautiful out here." Val agreed "I'm gonna be sad when we go back to New York. I'll miss the stars and the grass...I've only been here a few days, but this place already feels like a home."
Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled closer to him.
"Promise we'll always be friends no matter what." Riley asked softly.
"Riley..." Maya tried to say.
"Promise." Riley demanded gently "No matter what happens, I am telling you that I will always be your best friend. No matter what."
"Oh." Maya looked down "There's nothing I could do-"
Riley shook her head "No, there's nothing you could do, Maya. Do you understand? It's you and me until the time we...You know..."
Both girls put their hands over their hearts and said "Bleh."
"Zay?"
"Vanessa?" Zay stood up to greet the approaching girl.
"Pappy Joe told me you were out here." Vanessa explained.
"You were looking for me?"
Vanessa nodded "I wanted to tell you I was sorry."
"What'd you do?" Zay asked, confused.
"I never really gave you a chance." Vanessa shook her head "Now I'm too late because I could never steal you away from your new friends...Could I?"
Zay looked back at the people who had changed his life in so many ways over the last year. Riley and Maya, who kept him on his toes. Farkle, who helped him study the things he didn't understand so he got good grades. Lucas, who was his best friend, who Zay had worried for so long blamed him for getting him expelled, who in the end had accepted him and stuck with him.
Val, who had helped him in so many ways; with his anxiety, with his homework, with his life. Val, who was a constant, someone he knew he could always count on. Val, who, when Zay had first seen her thought she was beautiful, but when he got to know her saw that she was kind and caring. Val, who he might have had a tiny crush on at first before he realized that he still liked Vanessa despite the miles between them. Val, who helped build him up when he felt low, Val who understood.
"Steal me from these people?" Zay asked "Hmph. No. No, you couldn't."
"What if I bought you ice cream?" Vanessa joked.
Zay laughed a little "You know, Vanessa...They're not really both my girlfriends. Or either of 'em."
"I think I knew that." Vanessa nodded "That's not what impressed me. They're your friends who stuck up for you, so I must have missed something...Or you must have changed."
"Well, I've learned that people change people." Zay smiled.
"Secret of life." Val whispered.
"Hm, from beyond the grave, he's teaching us." Riley mused.
"We're breaking up with you, Honey Nugget." Maya smirked "Let her buy you ice cream."
Zay's smile turned into a full blown grin as he looked at his friends.
"Vanessa, you made a mistake with this one." Riley said.
"He's pretty wonderful." Val finished.
"Well, let's go see." Vanessa looked hopefully at Zay and held out her hand.
Zay paused for only a heartbeat before he took her hand and they walked off together.
Riley looked around the fire. Maya was avoiding looking at Lucas, Farkle was staring into the flames, Lucas had his arm around Val who was roasting a marshmallow, watching it turn golden brown and gooey.
"Do you want me to buy you ice cream, Farkle, Val?" Riley offered.
"What?" Farkle asked.
"What?" Val echoed.
"Do you want me to buy you guys ice cream?" Riley repeated.
"Oh, are you sure?" Farkle asked.
"Yeah, let's go." Riley stood up "Val?"
Val knew this was more than likely a trick to get Maya to confess her feelings to Lucas, but there was a small part of her that hoped this was an olive branch from her sister. That maybe Riley was trying to do something nice. If it was a ploy to make Maya talk to Lucas, Val wasn't too worried, she trusted Lucas.
Deciding to take a chance, though she had a feeling she would regret it later, Val stood up "Sure. Lucas, do you want me to get you anything?"
"One scoop of chocolate, please." Lucas nodded.
"Riles, what are you doing?" Maya asked quietly.
"You need to feel whatever you feel, Maya." Riley responded so only Lucas and Maya could hear her "It's you and me forever. There is nothing that you could ever do to change that."
Val watched as Riley stood up and walked over to sit on the rock next to her and Lucas's log. A feeling of hurt rising in her stomach and anger, at herself for hoping her sister might try to do something kind and at her sister for what she knew was coming.
"Maya likes you." Riley said, looking Lucas dead in the eyes.
"Riley!" Maya cried.
"She's been hiding it all this time. That's why she couldn't watch you at the rodeo."
"What are you doing?" Maya protested.
"I saw you, Maya." Riley rose again "I saw how much you cared."
Val sat back down and stared into the fire, watching the logs burn and the flames dance. She felt the fire in her heart burn a little brighter as she saw the sparks flying and the embers glow.
"It's why she makes fun of you, I think." Riley kept going.
"Riley," Lucas stood up too "I-"
"Lucas..." Riley sounded close to tears "We will always be there for each other." She looked at Maya "You stepped back. I know that you stepped back."
Val's heart was pounding in her ears, blocking out the conversation, rage fueled adrenaline coursing through her, but for some reason, she couldn't open her mouth to say anything. Her jaw was clenched and after a moment she realized fear was locking her body together, controlling her tongue so she wouldn't say a word. Panic replaced her anger.
Quickly, Val took deep breaths, reminding herself that she trusted Lucas to be honest. She had stepped back for her sister. She wasn't willing to step back again, unless Lucas and she broke up.
A hand like a vice on her arm pulled Val up and away from the fire, making her stumble slightly. Riley was dragging her away, ignoring the way her sister shook with repressed tears and fear. Riley pulled Val away from the house towards the ice cream parlor down the road, Farkle followed them his eyes fixed firmly on Val's trembling form.
They were in the ice cream parlor before Val realized what was happening, her shaking hands got worse as Riley kept a tight hold on her bicep. Her breaths were shuddering and her eyes glazed with unshed tears. Farkle brought the ice cream to the table and pulled Riley off, handing Val a chocolate cone for Lucas and a mint chocolate chip for herself.
"Go." He whispered "I'll distract Riley. Go take Lucas his ice cream."
Val's breathing eased, she had a plan now, something to do. So she stood up and left, the small bell ringing behind her.
As she approached the campfire she could hear Lucas's voice and his words were soothing.
"...Maya, I'm sorry if this hurts you, but I'm with Val. I love Val. You're a good friend, even when you make fun of me. I'm glad you're my friend. But, Maya, you need to understand that I don't like you like that."
"Ice cream?" Val reached the campfire and held out the chocolate cone to Lucas.
Lucas faced her, surprised that she'd come back. He'd been afraid she would step back again, like she had for Riley. Seeing her in front of him made it clear she wasn't stepping back this time.
"Thank you." He smiled.
Val's gaze fell on Maya, who shifted uncomfortably "I think Riley got you some too."
The dismissal was given, loud and clear. Maya nodded and started to walk to the ice cream parlor. Val and Lucas sat down again on the log and watched the fire start to burn itself out.
"Are you okay?" Lucas asked.
Val's sigh told him everything he needed to know "Not really." She admitted "I'm hurt that they would try to ambush you with something like this. But I'm glad it didn't work. I'm furious that they did this when we've had such a great night. I'm angry at myself for hoping that we could have a good night. And I hate that I can't explain all the emotions I'm feeling right now because I can't even identify half of them!"
"Don't let them ruin this night." Lucas rubbed her shoulder "What Riley did was wrong, but it was never going to work."
Val sniffed "I know, I just can't understand why she keeps doing this sort of thing. Sometimes she's not all bad, sometimes it feels like we could be sisters again. But then she does something like this, trying to push you and Maya together, and I can't understand how I ever thought we could be family like we used to be."
"What about Maya?" Lucas asked "You're mad at Riley more than her?"
"I understand that she can't help her feelings." Val mumbled "I wish she went about handling them differently, but I know she can't help feeling them. Maya didn't want to tell you, Riley made her. And I know I shouldn't let them ruin this beautiful night, but I can't help but feel it's been completely spoiled."
Lucas paused "I can think of one thing that might make it a little better."
Val looked at him curiously "Yeah? What?"
Lucas took her hand "I know we haven't officially labeled ourselves as boyfriend and girlfriend. We've been together for a while, we've kissed, and I love you. Would you want to...Would you be okay if I called you my girlfriend?"
"Only if you're okay with me calling you my boyfriend." Val felt a smile spread across her face.
Lucas grinned too and kissed her cheek gently "I don't know if I've said it before, but I'm always going to care about you, I'll always love you. I don't care what happens."
"You were right."
"Huh?"
"It did make tonight better."
Val and Lucas watched the fire splutter out before they doused the last cinders and headed back inside.
Word count:6260 words
Hey, sorry for the long wait on this chapter. School and finals happened, then I went home and I've been doing a lot of odd jobs for my family and dealing with a lot of other stuff.
I have a job this summer so I do not know when I'll update next, please don't just comment begging for updates. I love getting comments but sometimes only seeing "Update" is a little irritating. I do have a life and responsibilities. I'm glad you like the story so much but I can't write 24/7 and my schedule is sometimes unpredictable so I can't have a solid update schedule. Not to mention writing these chapters takes a lot of time because I want them to be good.
On to happy things, I really appreciate all the questions people asked on Val Meets Texas (Part 1). I loved answering those so if you have more please ask them! Getting questions like those really brighten my day!
Please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists! Also stay home, stay safe, stay healthy, wash your hands, wear a mask, and get vaccinated if you can! #BlackLivesMatter #SaveOurChildren
Thanks for reading!
Love,
The Author