groupchats//gmw

forty six

you are now chatting with myhart

smileymatthews: so how is it sharing a room w lucas

myhart: it sucks

smileymatthews: sure it does

myhart: he hasn't spoken to me at all

smileymatthews: and that's a bad thing??

myhart: yes!

myhart: no?

myhart: idk

myhart: why are u still up

smileymatthews: bc i can

myhart: doesn't farkle get pissed if he's not asleep by 11

smileymatthews: i'm in the living room

myhart: wow nice

myhart: gn

smileymatthews: don't forget to tell me everything !! next morn

myhart: yea ok

riley locked her phone and set it down next to her, smiling absentmindedly. the loud sound of thunder made her flinch and she focused her gaze on the heat in front of her. she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and stared harder at the fireplace- focusing on the way the golden embers rose and fell, with each clap of thunder that could be heard.

don't think about the thunder. don't think about the storm. don't think about the nightmares. she repeated those three sentences in her head like a mantra.

"riley?"

she jumped, nearly hitting her head against the sofa as she turned to find the source of the all too familiar voice.

"farkle? what are you doing here?" she watched as he settled down next to her.

"that's funny. i was about to ask you that question." farkle looked at her in a way that made her want to hug him and pull her hair out at the same time.

he knew why she was out here. and yet, she lied. well, she told the half-truth. that wasn't lying, right?

"can't sleep." she fixated her gaze back on the fire, not giving him the oppurtunity to examine her face to see if she was lying.

they sat in silence for a while. the silence being both comfortable and awkward for her. his gaze made her feel like a specimen held under a microscope, giving him the chance to examine her and find out every little detail about her.

"so, lucas and maya, huh?"

that made her grin.

"yeah," she breathed out. "i'm happy for maya."

"and lucas," farkle reminded.

"and lucas? he likes her too?" riley turned to him, eyes wide.

"you can't tell maya!" farkle was panicking now. lucas was going to kill him.

"why not? farkle, this is great news!" she was holding him by the shoulders, her voice a tad higher than it should be.

farkle opened his mouth to tell her that by doing so, she would be causing his death but the sound of an unusually loud thunderstorm outside beat him to it, sending a startled riley into his arms.

she was breathing heavily and unevenly now, and he stroked her hair gently as he calmed her down.

"you were distracting me," she said, her voice muffled against the fabric of his t-shirt.

"yeah, well, i didn't do a very good job of it."

she didn't know what drove her to do it. maybe it was the fact that she could hear the slow, steady beats of his heart- a contrast to her racing one. maybe it was the warmth he gave her with his comforting arms and soft words. maybe it was the familiar scent she had known all her life.

she pulled away from his warm embrace carefully and looked up at him. without a second thought, she leaned forward ever so slightly.

and their lips collided.

***

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