The Bet

Detour

Lucas ran.

He ran with a speed he didn't know he was capable of. One stream of consciousness running through his head as he raced through the halls and up the stairs toward the library. Riley. He had to know if she was okay.

His feet slapped at the vinyl tile of the school floor as he thundered around the corner. The closer he got to the entrance the faster he sped up, since his adrenaline was still high it causes him to slam against the wooden library doors harder than he anticipated, his elbows hit the hard surface and a bolt of pain lanced through his arms, not that he could feel it.

The librarian practically jumps out of her skin, shooting the clearly shaken up boy a stern disapproving look before returning to her computer. He saunters off, not wanting to cause any more of a scene, his eyes rapidly scanning the rows between the bookshelves until he spots her.

The second he walks into her line of view, she looks up at him, a pair of dazzling, vivid brown eyes piercing his insides as he stared back at her. She was hunched over, arms wrapped around her knees as Isadora stood by, patting her back lightly as to comfort her.

Riley stood up slowly, unfolding her petite frame. The silence between them spoke volumes, she stretched out her arms pushing her slim waist forward as she stood on tip-toes, engulfing him in an embrace once he reached her.

His initial shock to her gesture wares off and he reciprocates the affection by wrapping his arms around her, holding on to her as tight as he could without crushing her. He felt her nuzzle her face into the crook of his neck and breathes her in.

Isadora, seeing that it's an intimate moment between the two, quietly walks away to give them their privacy.

Riley finally peels herself away, and her mahogany colored eyes are pooled with tears. She does her best to fight them from falling but her rapid blinking causes a few to fall, which she quickly wipes away with the back of her hand.

"I am so sorry that happened to you." He says just loud enough for her to hear. There wasn't really anyone around aside from Isadora who was now sitting a couple of tables away with her boyfriend. Lucas admired how much the girl cared about Riley, he could tell she was determined to stay by her side until Riley demanded otherwise. Not that she ever would.

"How are you here right now?" Riley asks, her voice was hoarse and came across as a whisper. "Shouldn't you be in the principal's office?"

"I had to make a detour." He smiles softly, caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Make sure you're okay."

Her face drops slightly and she takes a few steps back. He could see that she remembered how she felt about him prior to this incident. "This doesn't change anything."

"I know." He holds her gaze, "You've made it perfectly clear that you hate me. But Riley, you hating me isn't going to stop me from caring about you."

"And why is that?"

"Because I l–."

"Friar!" The sound of the principal's voice echoes through the library, interrupting their conversation and snapping their focus away from each other and onto the burly man in the navy blue suit. He sticks his pointer finger towards Lucas and calls him over. "My office. NOW."

Riley watches the two of them vanish behind the double wooden doors. Once they're out of sight, her shoulders slump and she lets out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Isadora and Farkle are at her side before she knows it, offering to drive her home for the day.

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