Chasing Butterflies | a GMW fanfic

Girl Meets Sweet Potatoes

As they had agreed on before the trip, they arrived back in New York the day before Thanksgiving.

Lucas and Riley had taken the subway back from the airport, and now stood outside the door to Riley's apartment. Riley tapped her foot on the ground and avoided eye contact with Lucas.

"Well," Lucas said. "I should get going now."

Riley nodded, and forced herself to look up at him.

Lucas frowned. "Bye, Riley."

"Bye, Lucas." Riley gave him an emotionless smile.

Lucas returned her expression and picked up his luggage. He turned and walked away, and Riley saw him pause.

But, he didn't look back.

She opened the door to the apartment and stepped inside.

Her mom sat on the couch with her dad, and their heads shot up when they heard the door open.
"She's back!" Cory said, grinning and standing up.

Topanga laughed. "Of course she is. Did you think she would just leave us?"

"I figured she was going to try to join the circus," Cory admitted.

Riley smiled half-heartedly. "It's nice to be back," she said, her tone less than enthusiastic.

Topanga raised an eyebrow, concerned. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Riley nodded. "I'm fine, just a bit tired. That's all," she lied.

"Alright. Try and get a good night's sleep. Remember, everyone is coming over tomorrow, and I'll need your help setting everything up." Topanga smiled.

"Right," Riley said. "Of course."

Riley picked up her luggage and slowly made her way to her room. The apartment felt so spacious and large after spending time in the small house in Texas, trying in vain to tip-toe around Lucas. Now, she was back at home, and everything felt quite different. She opened the door to her room and stepped inside, dragging her luggage in behind her. The door squealed shut behind her, and the took in the smell of her home - of her favorite perfume (which she always sprayed in her room) and of course, the distinct smell that the settling dust always left, no matter how much she cleaned.

But, she was home. She was away from Lucas - for now, anyways. But the realization finally set in - Thanksgiving dinner with him, Maya, Farkle, and her family. Everyone would be there to witness the disaster that was sure to happen.

Riley left her luggage in the middle of the room - it could wait - and she made her way towards her bed. She was close to laying down when she realized she was still wearing airplane clothes. She desperately needed a shower and she needed to change - and to her dismay, she found that her clothes and her hair still smelled like Texas and like Lucas, from the time they had spent on the plane. So, Riley had no choice but to go to her drawers and rummage through for a pair of pajamas - she assumed that her mom had been through her room, looking for any dirty laundry. She settled on a pair of flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt, then headed off to her bathroom for a shower.

On the way, she bumped into Auggie, who seemed to be eating their mother's favorite chocolate - the kind that was put in the pantry where Auggie couldn't reach it.

"Shh," Auggie warned. "Don't tell mom."

"She's very observant, Auggie. She'll notice that it's gone." Riley frowned.

Auggie sighed. "You're right. Probably. If she asks, I'll just blame it on you."

Riley lightly punched Auggie's shoulder. "You can't throw me under the bus like that."