Chasing Butterflies | a GMW fanfic

Girl Meets the Leaves

The start of the school year had come and gone, and the leaves started to fall.

Fall was Riley's favorite time of the year. She adored the crisp air and the crunch of the leaves beneath her feet. She loved all of it.

Riley sat on a bench in the park, her face tilted up to the sun. She was content, at the moment. There was nothing to worry about between her and Lucas, Farkle was happy, and her and Maya were still friends.

Plus, they had a new addition to their group. Cammie definitely seemed like a good person, and Farkle seemed to like her quite a bit.

Their only problem was that time seemed to be going by too fast. Already, it had been a few months since the school year started. So much had happened within their small group, and it was really a miracle that they were all still talking to each other.

Riley saw a perfect red leaf of the ground, and bent over to pick it up. She held it in front of her face, using the stem to spin it around.

Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her, calling her name. She dropped her hand and turned around to see who it was.

Lucas was strolling across the leaf-strewn grass of the park, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

"Hey, Lucas. What are you doing here?" Riley asked, not sure why Lucas was there, honestly.

"Well, I was told by your parents that I might find you here," Lucas shrugged. "They were right."

He walked around the bench and gestured to the seat next to Riley. "Can I sit?" He asked, to which she responded with a nod.

"I'm glad you're here now," she said, smiling.

Lucas grinned and looked down at her hand, which still held her leaf. "You really have a thing for the leaves, huh?"

Riley laughed. "I guess I do." She knew he was referring back to the ski lodge, and her whole thing with the leaf. "I love the colors of fall. They make me feel happy."

Lucas smiled. "So, Riley - I came here to talk to you."

Riley's heart sped up. Normally, when people said those words, it was not good. Ever.

"What do you mean?" She asked, taking a deep breath.

Lucas must have seen how nervous she looked, and he took her hand. "Riley, I'm not breaking up with you. That would make me an idiot, which I hope I'm not. No, there's something else that I wanted to talk about."

"Oh?" Riley asked, relieved. "Okay."

Lucas nodded. "Riley, I want you to come to Texas with me."

"What?" Riley asked, her eyes wide. "I can't move to Texas!"

Lucas laughed. "No, Riley. It's just for a visit. It'll be over Thanksgiving break."

Riley nodded slowly. "Just a visit? Why? Don't you remember what happened the last time we all went to Texas?"

Lucas sighed. "I could never forget what happened."

"Then why would you want to go back there with me?" She asked, slightly confused.

"Riley, there are some people I want you to meet, okay?" Lucas said, frowning.

"Who?" Riley asked. "Do you have more friends in Texas that I don't know about?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, Riley. I-" Lucas paused, and took a deep breath. "I want you to meet my parents."

[A/N: woah! plot twist? and, woah! almost 1k reads? that's pretty cool!!!]