Way Back Into Love

"This time baby I'll be bulletproof."

Lucas Friar rushed into the Matthews' apartment after receiving a text message from Mr. Matthews demanding him to come to his apartment as soon as possible in the middle of his date with a woman Sadie thought 'would be perfect for him.' Of course like all the other women Sadie set him up with they weren't as interesting as the blonde beauty that broke his heart. The text message from Mr. Matthews couldn't have come at a better time because Lucas was starting to fall asleep in the middle of their date.

         He pushed the door wide open and was greeted by Mr. Matthews standing in front of the door with his arms crossed. "You summoned me sir?"

         "Yes. Do you know why?" Mr. Matthews retorted.

         "Actually I don't." Lucas spewed honestly, looking at Mr. Matthews in a confused state. Even after everything that happened between him, Riley and Maya, Lucas still kept in contact with Mr. Matthews. He'd sometimes come over with Farkle to Mr. Matthews' apartment for family game night since the two girls moved to Paris.

         "Don't you ever check facebook?" Mr. Matthews said exasperatedly, pacing back and forth around the living room. "Okay, I don't think there's a good way to tell you this but Riley and Maya will be here in this apartment in," he paused for a while checking his watch, "ten minutes."

         Dumbfounded, the boy's jaw dropped. He looked at Mr. Matthews. "What? Why wasn't I informed of this?"

         "If you checked facebook you'd know," he pointed out jokingly. "Here's the deal. Remember when you came to me crying about how dumb you are for picking my daughter instead of her best friend? Well this is your chance to fix it. The girls are going to stay here for a long time, they might even move here permanently and I think you have a shot with Maya this time."

         Of course Lucas was tempted to just drop everything and fight for the woman he loved, correction, loves. But is it worth it? The last time they spoke she slapped him and made it very clear that she didn't want to be his second choice or Riley's back up. Lucas understood where she was coming from and if he were in her shoes he'd feel the same way.

         "Why do you suddenly care?" Lucas asked, genuinely curious.

         "Because ever since you broke up with my daughter you stopped being my problem and became Shawn's problem and I like to see my friend frustrated," Cory said, chuckling. "He does the stupidest things when he's frustrated, which is often entertaining like the time he rudely interrupted my wedding."

         Suddenly Lucas heard footsteps from outside the apartment, his instincts told him it was the girls. He wanted to run so desperately but his legs turned into jelly and he froze in the spot. Mr. Matthews walked to the front door and opened it revealing Maya and Riley along with their luggage.

         Maya's eyes met Lucas' and in an instant everything disappeared. "Hey Lucas," Riley said, snapping the two from their moment. "How you been? I haven't heard from you in a while."

         "Hey Riles," Lucas said, averting Maya's gaze and focusing on Riley. "Yeah, I've been busy lately."

         "You've been busy for four years?" Riley asked again, her eyebrow arched.

         Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I'm trying to be a vet remember? It's not exactly a walk in a park. I hardly have time to do anything anymore."

         The huckleberry still couldn't believe Maya Hart was standing in front of him. She hasn't changed a bit except maybe her hair was longer and her look matured slightly. It took everything within him not to stare at her ocean eyes or plump pink lips. He didn't want her to know he's been wallowing over in fear that she'd mock him.

         "What are you doing here ranger Rick?" the words came out of the blonde's mouth. She shifted uncomfortably as she tried to maintain her composure. Her hands fumbled on the pockets of her denim trousers, trying her best to look Lucas in the eye without falling apart completely.

         "Mr. Matthews texted me to come here I didn't know you guys would come here too. I thought you were still in Paris." Lucas said in a bitter tone that could be easily detected. Maya rolled her eyes and scoffed.

         "Yeah, well, we're here so now what?" Maya asked sternly. 

         "I don't know Maya, you tell me." Lucas simply said.

         Maya grabbed her luggage and walked to Riley's room without saying a word. Riley stared at her and then at Lucas. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' and followed Maya. Lucas stood alone again as he always did.

♡

"Do you guys know about Riley and Maya?" Lucas asked in the middle of Movie Night Saturday. The genius, the flirt and the former heiress all turned their heads and looked at Lucas. "Yesterday Mr. Matthews texted me to come over to his place because it's urgent and the next thing I knew Riley and Maya were standing in front of me."

         Everyone remained silent for a while as Lucas processed the series of events that has recently occurred. He couldn't believe his life was turning into a sad scene of some chick flick. At least in the full movie version he'd have his happy ending and would run off into the sunset with the love of his life.

         "Of course we knew," Farkle replied nonchalantly earning a glare from Sadie and Zay.  "It's all over facebook freak face. Don't you ever check your facebook?"

         Lucas shook his head. "Nope. I don't see the point."

         Now Lucas knew Farkle wouldn't be as sympathetic as Sadie or Zay simply because he's always been the blunt friend. The friend that often points out how Lucas' best feature is only his face. Sometimes it hurts but Lucas learned to deal with it because Farkle was one of his best friends. He was also there for Lucas when Riley and Maya left.

         "So, how are Riley and Maya?" Zay asked as his fingers tapped on the cushions. "Are they still the same old Riley and Maya?"

         "Of course they're still the same Riley and Maya," Farkle said before Lucas had a chance to answer. "I Skype them every chance I get and from the looks of it they haven't changed much."

         "Yeah, they're still the same old Riley and Maya," Lucas said in agreement. "Except they're adults now."

         "Duh, freak face, we're the same age as they are." Farkle retorted.

         Sadie pushed herself off the couch and crossed her arms. "I want to see how they look like. Ever since Zay told me about what happened between the three of you," she paused pointing at Lucas. "I've been curious."

         "They're just regular pretty girls," Lucas responded, feeling kind of ticked off that Zay told Sadie the complete story of how he fucked up and ruined his chances with the girl of his dreams. "Regular pretty girls who were once really important to me."

         "Are you implying that they're not important to you now?" Sadie questioned.

         Lucas remained silent for a while until the words came out of his mouth, "They don't. I've moved on and I should be out with other people instead of wallowing in self pity because I made a mistake."

         Sadie smirked mischievously and walked off to her room. Lucas was still surprised by his own words. He then excused himself from movie night and left Zay and Farkle alone to continue The Notebook.