Chasing Butterflies | a GMW fanfic

Girl Meets the New Girl

Riley sat with her chin in her hand, listening to her dad talk about some historical event that probably related to her life in some way.

So far, nothing had gone totally wrong that day, except the fact that things were awkward between her and Lucas, Maya wouldn't talk about her date with Josh, and Farkle just wasn't talking to her at all.

So, all Riley could do was listen to her dad ramble on.

And, of course, just as Riley began to dream of having a regular day, the classroom door swung open. In walked the principal with a blonde girl who Riley had never seen before. The girl looked nervous - her eyes kept darting around the classroom, like she was waiting for something to happen.

The principal handed a slip of paper to Riley's dad before nodding at the blonde girl and walking out of the classroom.

Corey smiled at the girl, who, noticeably, didn't smile back. Corey looked down at the slip of paper, then turned to the class.

"Everyone, welcome Cammie to our class," Corey said. "She just moved here, so I expect you all to treat her with the same courtesy you treat our other new students with."

Cammie looked down at the floor, and Riley realized how hard it must be for this girl. She had probably spent her whole life with other friends, and suddenly, she was pulled away from all of that and stuck in a classroom where everyone else seemed to already be friends.

"Okay," Corey said. "Cammie, you can sit there." He gestured to the empty seat behind Farkle, where Smackle used to sit.

Farkle, who had seemed unresponsive before, suddenly shot up in his seat. "No," he said.

"Farkle, Cammie needs somewhere to sit." Corey grimaced, realizing that Farkle was now like a ticking time bomb.

"Smackle sits there. No one else can sit there," Farkle crossed his arms and glared at Corey.

"Our new students needs somewhere to sit," Corey said again. "and Smackle is in California. She is living there now. Please, Farkle. Stop being so difficult."

"No. Smackle is coming back. I know she is," Farkle said, before standing up and walking out of the classroom.

"Has he ever done that before?" Corey asked Riley, who shrugged. Corey turned back to Cammie. "Just take that seat, please."

Cammie nodded, sighed, and walked over to the seat. She sat down and, instead of looking at the floor, she decided to study the surface of her desk.

"Isn't anyone going to run after Farkle? You all always do that!" Corey walked behind his desk and sat down, waiting for someone to stand up and follow Farkle outside.

"He won't talk to me, so I can't be the one who does that," Riley frowned, looking back at Lucas and Maya.

Maya shook her head. "He won't talk to me, either."

"And he won't talk to me." Lucas admitted, slumping down in his seat.

"He hasn't been talking to any of you?" Corey asked, almost appalled, as the three shook their heads. "Why?"

"I tried to talk to him after he and Smackle broke up," Riley said.

"I told him he had to start talking to Riley again," Maya frowned.

They all turned and looked at Lucas, who shrugged.

"I tried talking to him, too. He got mad and told me I had no idea how he felt, because I had everything I could ever want. And, I do. But that doesn't mean that I can't help him, right?" Lucas looked at the ceiling, probably hoping he could find some answers up there.

"So then who's going to talk to him?" Corey asked, looking around.

Cammie stood up, and Riley almost fell out of her chair in surprise.

"I'm the reason he left, so maybe I should go try," she said, then looked at Riley. "I mean, if that's okay with you."

Riley nodded. "Yeah, go talk to him. Hopefully, you can help him out. We obviously can't."

Cammie nodded, then walked out into the hallway.

Riley, Maya, and Lucas all exchanged a look before standing up and following her into the hall.

Farkle sat on the bench near the railing, his head in his hands.

Cammie frowned, then walked over to Farkle and sat down on the bench next to him. "I'm sorry about your girlfriend." She said.

Farkle looked up. "What do you care? And, besides, She's my ex-girlfriend now."

Cammie sighed. "It's quite a coincidence, isn't it? Your ex-girlfriend moved from this place to California, and I moved from California to this place."

Farkle sat up, leaning against the railing. "What's it like there, in California?"

Cammie smiled. "It was always foggy in the mornings, where I lived. But, by the afternoon, the fog would clear and it would be a beautiful day. It was always the perfect temperature, too. Warm, but not too warm. I loved it there."

Farkle smiled slightly. "I think Smackle will love it there," he turned and looked at Maya, Riley, and Lucas. "Don't you?"

Riley nodded, then walked over and sat down next to Farkle. "I think she'll love it there, too."

"Thank you," Farkle said. "But why did you want to help me after I was so rude to you?" he asked, looking over at Cammie, who smiled and stood up.

"Pro bono," Cammie said, earning a quizzical look from Maya. "It means 'for the public good' in Latin." She shrugged, then turned and walked back into the classroom.

"Pro bono," Farkle muttered, turning to Riley. "Thank you, too. You tried talking to me, even when I didn't want to talk. You're a really good friend. You all are." He smiled at them all.

"We're just glad to have you back, Farkle," Riley said, leaning her head on his shoulder.