Falling Slowly (A GMW Fanfic)

2-Smiling and Crying

Riley's POV

We decided to stay after school for a couple hours just to hang out alone, just the four of us. We are sitting against the wall, underneath the chalkboard. My head is resting on Lucas' shoulder, and he has his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me tight. I start to close my eyes slowly, only to shoot them open again when I hear a loud slam. I look up, and see that Maya had left the room. I sit up quickly. 

"Was that slam Maya?" I ask the boys. They both nod. I jump right up and sprint after her. 

"Maya!" I chase after her and find her in the bathroom. "Maya?" I find the only closed stall door and knock softly. "...Maya...?" And then there's silence. After a couple minutes, all I can hear are her soft sobs. "Maya?" I say softly. "Are you okay?" Then I hear her sob even more. I can feel her back slide down the stall door, so I slide down the door also. "You don't have to talk. Just let it out. I want to be there for you."

I then hear her burst into sobs.

Maya's POV 

I couldn't stand it anymore. I jumped up and sprinted out of the room with tears in my eyes, slamming the door on the way out. I just couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand to see them anymore. I ran straight to the bathroom and locked myself in a stall. The stall I always went to when I cried. 

It wasn't long until I heard the door open and close. "Maya?" I heard Riley's voice. I let a tear slide down my face. "Maya?" Then another tear. Then I hear a knock on the stall door. Another tear. "...Maya...?" she hesitates a little. More tears. Sobs. "Maya?" she says softly. "Are you okay?" More sobs come. I slowly slide down the stall down onto the ground and sob. I feel Riley slide down also. "You don't have to talk. Just let it out. I want to be there for you." But how can she be there for me if she is the problem? Then I just sob more than I have ever sobbed before. 

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We stayed here for about an hour and a half before I got up and unlocked the stall door. Riley saw me, and immediately hugged me. And I hugged back, while sobbing on her shoulder. I don't care if she is the problem, I need someone who I can trust. 

"So, this is what it feels like to have your heart ripped to pieces." I manage to get out, my voice still shaky. Riley looks at me, and hugs me again. She doesn't ask what happened, and I'm glad that she didn't. 

"I'm not going to ask you what happened. If you want to tell me, you can. But if you want to keep it to yourself, you can, too." I  slowly shake my head, to signal that I don't want to talk about it, and she just nods and pulls me in for another hug. 

"I think that I'm going to walk home by myself, so I can think, okay? I'll see you tomorrow, Riley. Thank you." I smile and hug her again. 

"You sure?" she asks, and I nod, wiping a tear and faking a smile. "Okay. Bye, Maya. I'll see you tomorrow." 

And, with that, we are off separate ways. 

Riley's POV

I head back to the room to find Lucas and Farkle in the same places that they were before. Farkle sees me and jumps up. 

"IS SHE OKAY? WHERE IS MAYA?" he practically screams in my ear. 

"Chill, Farkle. She probably just had a bad day. She's walking home now." I reply.

"What do you mean probably? Like she didn't tell you what happened?!" He exclaims. 

"She didn't want to, so she didn't." 

"Ugh! I'm going to go catch up to her, just to keep an eye on her."  he runs out of the room and out the front doors. That is probably the fastest I've ever seen him run. 

"So now it's just you and me." Lucas says as I slide down next to him. 

"Yep." I rest my head on his shoulder, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders. I smile to myself, like I did before. 

"Maya's scaring me. I don't know what's going on with her. It's like she's shutting everyone out. It seems like she can't even talk to us without breaking down into tears." He squeezes my shoulders reassuringly. "She will be fine. She's just probably going through some tough times right now. She'll be okay." I nod, and smile, feeling a little bit better. 

"Lucas?" 

"Hmm?" He hums in response.

"What are we? Like you and I?" I turn my head and look at him. It was a question that has been running through my mind since this morning.

He turns his head towards me, too. "I like you, Riley. I like you a lot. And I know that I want to be with you forever. And that I want to keep you safe for our entire lives. I know that you light up any room you walk into. I know that if I'm with you, I will always be happy. And I know that I love the feeling when I see you. My stomach turns, my heart flips out of control. I know that I will always love that feeling. And I know that I will always love you." My jaw drops, as I wasn't expecting that.

I decide to speak also. "I've fallen for you many times, Lucas. And somehow, you manage to always send butterflies through my stomach. My knees get a little bit wobbly. My heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest. And when I'm with you, I smile. No matter what, when I see you, I smile. And I love that feeling. And I love you, Lucas." I just let everything pour out of my thoughts. And I smile. Lucas smiles back and my whole world feels like everything's going to be amazing forever. 

"So. What do you want to be, Riley?" he asks, looking into my eyes. 

"All I want is you. I want to be with you, forever." I say softly. 

"Then we can be together forever. And I'll love you forever." he says. He then leans in and kisses my forehead. I smile, then snuggle closer to him. And we just stay there for another hour, until it gets dark. 

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Lucas' POV

We are walking back to our apartment building, since we live in the same place. We are just one floor away. 

We are about half way there when I see her hand, and without thinking, I grab her hand, and we lace our fingers together. She lays her head on my shoulder as we continue walking in silence. But, it's a good silence. It's the kind of silence that speaks a million words. 

We get to our apartments a little later and we ride the elevator up. Our hands are still laced together, and I never want to let go of her. I love her and I don't know what I'd do without her. 

We get to her floor, and I walk her to her apartment. We get to outside of her door, and we both look at our hands. We un-lace them and I smile at her. She is just stunning. 

"I'll see you Monday at school, okay?" I say.

She looks down. 

"Riley, what's wrong?" I lift her chin up so I can see her face. 

"I don't want to leave you." she says softly. 

"Riley, look at me. I'll see you in two days, okay?" 

She smiles softly. "Okay. I love you." 

"I love you, too, Riley." I hold out my arms for a hug, and she dives straight into them immediately. I hold her for another minute, and stroke her hair. "I love you so much, Riley." She hold onto me tighter as I said that. "Do you hear that?" I ask her. She shakes her head. I adjust her head so she can hear my heartbeat. She nods after a couple seconds. It's beating faster than it ever has before. "That's what happens when I see you everyday." She looks up at me and smiles. "You're perfect. I love everything about you. Please never change, Lucas. You are perfect just the way you are. And that's why I love you. Because you are you. I love you more than words can describe and I don't ever want to live a day without you." She says, not letting go of me. 

I look at her eyes, and smile. I pull her hair behind her ear, grab her cheeks, and kiss her forehead. "Riley. Never change. I love you. Goodnight." She gives me one last hug and then leaves. 

Right after she closes the door, I jump up and say, "YES!" And all I can do for the rest of the night is smile. 

A/N

So there is chapter 2, with a lot more Rucas in it. I hope you liked it!