Chasing Butterflies | a GMW fanfic

Girl Meets Goodbye, Smackle

[A/N: Instead of using gifs as the pictures for the beginning of my stories, I've decided to start using songs that I think kinda go well with the chapter. Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you voted on my story and commented your thoughts.]

When Riley arrived at school that morning, she had been positive that it would be a normal day. Everyone would get along, and be happy, and all be friends again.

Then again, when was the last time she had a normal day?

The second she walked in the building, she knew something was wrong.

She walked up the stairs, to the small bench where she had been planning to sit and ponder.

Instead, she found all of her friends sitting on the bench, looking quite upset. In the middle of the group sat Smackle and Farkle, who were both crying and embracing each other.

Riley couldn't help but stare at the bizarre scene, her head tilted, trying to figure out what was going on.

Lucas looked up and saw Riley, his face immediately brightening. He looked over at Farkle and said, "Farkle, she's here."

Farkle looked up at Riley, then back down at Smackle. His face was red from crying, and Riley was beginning to get very worried.

"I need to talk to you," Farkle said, standing up and walking over to Riley. He grabbed her arm and pulled her around the corner, where he leaned against a row of lockers and sighed.

"Smackle is moving." He said, his voice shaky.

Riley gasped. "She's moving? Where? Why? Oh my gosh, Farkle. That's so sad!"

Farkle looked up at Riley. "She's moving to California, because her parents think that she's not getting enough opportunities here." He wiped his eyes. "And that's not the worst part."

Riley frowned, sensing she was about to hear some very bad news. "What's the worst part?"

Farkle sniffled. "She doesn't think she can handle a long distance relationship. We aren't officially over yet, but it's inevitable. And, to think. I thought we'd last forever - maybe even rule the world together."

Riley stepped forward and pulled Farkle into a hug, placing her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Farkle. You deserved to be happy."

Farkle stepped away from Riley and smiled at her. "And I am. Even though Smackle is moving, I'll still have you and Maya and Lucas. Just, promise you'll never leave me."

Riley smiled. "Farkle, I'm never going to leave you. Not until the day I die."

"Good," Farkle said. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have any of you."

-&-

The next day was a Saturday, and it was Smackle's last day in New York. The group was sitting at Topanga's, laughing and chatting like there was nothing wrong. Of course, there was that big grey cloud of dread that hung over them all. As Farkle had said, it was inevitable, and they were all trying to enjoy the short time they had. Of course, Smackle and Farkle didn't seem as close as they had been previously, but for good reason.

Riley just hated seeing Farkle upset. As she looked over at him, she could see it in his eyes as he looked around, glancing at Smackle from time to time. It was like it physically hurt her to see him so sad.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, the sun was setting. A shroud of darkness seemed to sit across them all now, replacing the grey haze that had been there earlier.

Smackle stood up abruptly and looked over at Farkle. "Can we talk? In private, please."

Farkle's face fell, because he knew what this meant. They all knew what it meant. "Sure, Smackle."

The two of them walked outside to one of the tables, and Riley figured it was best to not intrude. Instead, she leaned her head on Lucas' shoulder and wished for the best for Farkle and Smackle.

It seemed like now that something truly awful was happening, time seemed to slow itself down. It seemed like a lifetime before Smackle walked back inside, unaccompanied by Farkle. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy. Maya was the first to stand up, walking over to console Smackle, who broke down in Maya's arms.

Riley glanced over at the door, where she could just barely see Farkle sitting outside. Lucas saw Riley looking at the door and sighed. "It's probably best to give him some time. It's going to be hard for him to let her go." His voice had dropped to a whisper at the end, making sure Smackle wouldn't hear and feel even more guilty about hurting Farkle.

"Lucas," Riley said, turning to look at him. "Is something like this going to happen to us? I mean, what happens when we go off to college, or when-"

Lucas cut her off. "Riley, now is not the time to worry about our relationship. We have to worry about what happened between Smackle and Farkle, and how to keep the both of them from falling off the edge."

Lucas stood up, walking over to Smackle and Maya.

Riley stared at the empty spot on the couch where Lucas had been sitting just a second ago, feeling kind of hurt. But, maybe he was right. Was she being selfish by wanting to talk about her own relationship while Farkle's was clearly not going to well?

She stood up and walked over to the door, ignoring the look Lucas was surely giving her. She stepped outside into the cool fall air, looking for the table Farkle was at.

"Farkle," she said, spotting him at one of the tables. He was sitting with his head in his arms, probably not aware she was standing behind him. "Do you need to talk? Do you want to talk?"

Farkle lifted up his head halfheartedly and gave Riley a look. "There's not much to talk about. I'm sure you can figure out what happened, since you're so smart." He scoffed, then put his head back in his arms.

"I just wanted to help, Farkle," Riley said, taken aback by his outburst. "I get it, she just broke up with you, but it's not like I told you to get over it. I asked you if you wanted to talk." She sighed and walked away.

Farkle lifted up his head just in time to see her walk through the doors, away from him.