Girl Meets the Mind of a Genius

Genius Meets Love

Farkle (con)

- present - 

Riley stays silent, taking everything in.

"So Maya told you to talk to me, but it took Smackle telling you I'm single to do it?"

I nod, "Absolutely it did. I was going to do it soon, but the second I heard that Lucas had no right to kill me because you two broke up, I ran over here."

"Wow," Riley shakes her head, "You're really that scared of Lucas."

I shrug, "You can't really understand how scary Lucas can be until you think he's going to punch you. Add in some crippling anxiety, and you have me."

Riley turns away and smiles softly. 

Nothing makes me happier than when she smiles. 

"When did Smackle tell you we had broken up?" Riley asks. 

I laugh to myself, "A solid five minutes before I got here."

"You came right away?"

"Of course I did." 

She looks at me like she's surprised I would come here so fast. 

She doesn't realize how valuable she is. I would do anything to make her happy, including running across the city to tell her just how much I'm in love with her. 

But first I need to really wipe the slate clean.

"I'm sorry, Riley."

She tilts her head, "You've already apologized."

"You deserve a real apology," I say sincerely. 

She nods, "Okay."

I take a deep breath and stand, "I've been dishonest with you for years."

Riley looks up at me, "What do you mean?"

I start walking around, "Remember when I told you I loved you since we were little?"

"Of course, you said that you loved Maya and me the same since we met."

I stop, "Do you know when that changed to equally?"

She looks at me confused, "What do you mean? Why does that matter?"

"I said I loved you the same, until we got older," I pause, "Then I started saying equally."

"So?"

"I realized then that I didn't love you the same. I believe there are different kinds of love. There's the love you have for family, the love you have for friends, and the love you have for significant others. They're all strong, but the feelings behind them are different."

I smile, "For the longest time, I loved you and Maya like someone loves their best friends. I would move mountains for you two, no matter if you threw me aside for every Lucas and Josh that came around."

My smile fades, "Then Smackle came, and I thought I loved her romantically. But I was lying to her and to myself. I never loved her like that, and I feel bad for trapping her in a relationship where she thought I did."

Riley shifts uncomfortably, "What changed?"

I sit on her bed, "We did. We all started thinking critically about our feelings. Relationships were less about experiments and more about being true to ourselves. My fatal flaw was taking too long to figure that out."

Riley and I lock eyes, "I've known I love you romantically for a long time. But dating Smackle and repressing my feelings was easier than taking a chance. I grew up, we all did. And now I'm here."