Collide ✖️ Rucas

Chapter Ten

A/N: Quick little Rucas AU edit I made. It has nothing to do with the story.

The next morning when Riley woke up, the first thing she was aware of was Lucas next to her. His hair was messed up and he was sleeping with his mouth slightly open. He looked so cute. Riley shook her head, smiling, and slid out of bed. She got a pair of clothes from her drawers and got changed. As she was sliding up the pair of jeans, Lucas's eyes opened and he looked over at her. She didn't realize he was awake and hastily slipped on a shirt.

"Hey," he muttered. Riley turned and smiled. She picked up his shirt. "Thanks," he said as he took it from her and put it on. He got up and looked at Riley. She had her shirt and jeans on and her hair tumbled down her back. Her walked over to hair and put her hands on her hips. "You okay?" he mumbled, his lips pressing against her forehead.

"Yeah," she muttered and lifted her head, catching his lips with hers. He ran his tongue along her lower lip and she opened her mouth. As her fingers began scaling up his back, there was a knock on the door. The teenagers pulled apart and looked at each other panicked.

"Riley?" came her mother's voice. Lucas dropped to the floor behind her bed. "Riley?" Riley quickly opened the door and slid out. "Ah. Well I'm off, and I'll drop Alice off." Riley took Alice out of her mother's arms and hugged her tightly, kissing her nose. The baby giggled and Riley smiled. "Make sure you pick her up."

"Will do...love you!" she called as the two disappeared. She walked back into her room and let out a gusty sigh. "That was close," she muttered. Lucas's head came up from the other side of the bed and she smiled. He stood up and cocked his head to one side.

"Ever skipped school?" he asked.

As they walked through the near empty park, Lucas became aware of how quiet Riley was being. He attempted to make conversation with her several times now, but every time, she just mumbled something and the conversation had died out. Now, he stopped and leaned against a tree, holding her hand and pulling her closer to him. She looked up at him with a slightly dull look in her usually bright, brown eyes.

"Hey babe, what's wrong?" he asked her. Riley took a deep breath.

"It's not going to change this..." she began. "When I get back to school, people are still going to think I'm a slut..." she trailed off and her eyes watered. Lucas frowned and touched her cheek softly, but she pulled back.

"I don't think you're a slut," Lucas said. "It'll be okay. I'll find out who did this, okay? I promise," he told her sincerely. She nodded and looked up at him.

"Promise?" she asked quietly.

"Promise," he replied, leaning in to kiss her softly. She returned the pressure and pulled him against her.

Lucas went home that night and immediately logged onto the school's social media site. If there was a place he could find this out, it was there. Two of his friends were on there: Zay, and the cheerleader, Ava. Deciding the cheerleaders were somewhere to start, he clicked on her icon. Her skimmed past all the pink, fancy writing and down to the comments. The first couple were from another cheerleader about some hair-straightener, but then it got interesting. The rest of the comments page was taken up by MissyPopular, with a picture of the same dancer who had spoken to Lucas about Alice. His anger built up as he read the comments and then angrily quit out of the page.

Taking in an angry breath, he picked up his cellphone and dialed a number.

Saturday there was practice. Riley had spent hours on the phone with Smackle and Maya in turn, and she decided to go to practice. Her mother had the day off, so she didn't need to worry about Alice as she walked into the Abigail Adams High School gym. Sarah was the first person to notice her, and gave her a big, warm smile. Riley felt uplifted for a moment, until she saw the expression on the other girls' faces. Riley ducked her head and walked over to the bleachers, putting her bag down and walking quietly over to where Sarah was standing beside the CD player.

"The 1975's song, please, Sarah," Riley muttered, and Sarah did as she was told, putting the CD in. It was just a warm up for the girls, and they stretched and danced half-heartedly to the music. The next time the song played, someone burst in on the other side of the gym and the girls stopped and saw Lucas jogging across to them. His eyes looked angry and they skimmed over the girls, landing on Missy. For a moment, she gave him a flirtatious smile, and then realized that he must know, and quickly her face went pale and she dropped her head.

"Lucas?" Riley asked timidly, surprised at him looking so angry. "Are you okay—"

"It was her!" Lucas shouted, pointing at Missy. The dancer's face flushed as the all the girls and Lucas's eyes landed on her. "Her and one of the cheerleaders were the ones that spread the rumor about you." Riley wondered for a second if Lucas had just made a slip-up of words, but then Smackle cut in.

"You mean you spread those lies about my friend?" Smackle hissed at the dancer. Riley felt an overwhelming sense of relief. Not only had Lucas found out who had told everyone, he and her friends were backing her up by saying they were lies. Missy's eyes widened as she realized this as well and her eyes darkened.

"No way! Those weren't lies and you know it!" she yelled. But already, the dancers around her were taking unconscious steps backwards. She spun around to the girl next to her. "It's the truth! That baby is hers!" She looked at Lucas and shouted furiously at him. "You know it! I was the one who told you!"

"And I was almost stupid enough to believe you!" he yelled back. Missy's cheeks flushed with color and her eyes narrowed. But as she looked around she realized she was outnumbered and no one was going to support her. Backing away, she picked up her bag and stalked toward the door. As she reached the door, she spun around and made an unpleasant gesture with her fingers. "How charming," Lucas muttered, coming over to Riley. The other dancers surrounded her as well.

A blonde with curly hair said, "I'm so sorry I believed her...I shouldn't have." Riley smiled back forgivingly. Then she looked at Lucas and mouthed 'thank you' before she was engulfed by the hugs of her friends. Lucas nodded and backed away, licking his lower lip as he turned around and left the gym.
A/N: Okay, well, this story is almost over! Hope you all enjoyed it! One more chapter left!