Make This Leap 1/1
Title: Make This Leap
Author: ariafree (Moria)
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Riley Matthews/Maya Hart; Lucas Friar/Farkle Minkus; mentions of Cory Matthews; mentions of Topanga Matthews; mentions of Katy Hart
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters mentioned in this story. That right belongs to creators of Girl Meets World, Michael Jacobs and April Kelly. I'm just a writer wanting to tell a story.
Warnings/Spoilers: CHANGING POV; FEMSLASH; SLASH; SPOILERS FOR ALL GMW EPISODES--JUST TO BE SAFE
Summary: Riley, Maya, Lucas and Farkle go camping with their History class. Expectations are met. Truths are realized. And friendships become stronger than ever when they follow their hearts.
AN: I tried to write a follow-up fic from "Girl Meets Fish". Then I watched "Girl Meets Yearbook". Too many FEELS, guys. <3 So this was the result. This one was written for holly_blackmoor. I love you, sweetie! I hope you like it! :)
Maya groaned loudly, rolling over onto her back, flinging her arm out away from her body as she slept.
“Ow,” came a muffled voice to Maya’s left. Maya cracked an eye open, glancing in Farkle’s direction, watching as he poked his head out of his sleeping bag where he’d been attempting to sleep.
“You’re not fooling me. You weren’t really asleep, Farkle. I can’t sleep either. Not without Riley,” she said, sighing heavily.
“Yeah, which explains the drooling on my shoulder and the obnoxious snoring for the past five minutes,” Farkle replied dryly, burying his face in his arm, trying to ignore Maya when she rolled over on top of him. “I’m not your bed, Maya,” he mumbled as she made a pleased noise in the back of her throat, her eyes closing again.
“Don’t care. You’re softer than the ground. Camping blows. I miss Riley,” she replied.
“And I miss Lucas. He would’ve been able to lift you up and off of me. When’s this whole ‘Operation: Sleeping Arrangements’ happening anyway?” Farkle wondered aloud.
Maya giggled. “Ranger Rick would carry me all the way to Riley’s tent if we asked him to. And how do you expect to make world domination a reality if you won’t even listen to my master plans?” she demanded.
Farkle huffed out an annoyed breath. “Excuse me for getting sidetracked by the idea of sleeping in a tent with my boyfriend all night long!” he exclaimed in a harsh whisper.
“And this is why I’m king, and you, darling, are my queen,” Maya replied, breaking into her best attempt at an English accent.
“But-but I’m supposed to be King George,” Farkle whined softly.
Maya rolled her eyes, her heart melting at her best friend’s pathetic adorableness. “Fine, you win, Georgie. Riley’s my princess anyway.”
“And I’m Farkle’s ‘Mad Dog’. Right, Batman?” Lucas asked, directing his question at his boyfriend as he stepped into Farkle’s tent.
“’bout time, Huckleberry,” Maya muttered, her hair falling into her eyes as she rolled off of Farkle, back onto her own sleeping bag.
“Sorry. Riley and I had to wait for Mr. Matthews to go to sleep,” Lucas reminded her. “That was the plan, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in Maya’s direction.
Maya glared at him. “You’re lucky I’m not up for my usual form of retaliation at the moment, Lucas.”
Lucas’s eyes widened. “Using my name? You are tired, aren’t ya, Maya?” he asked, smirking at her.
“I’m making you my hiking buddy tomorrow,” she retorted vengefully.
“Looking forward to it, Ma’am,” Lucas replied, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat at her.
Grabbing her sleeping bag off the floor of Farkle’s tent, Maya shoved past Lucas and out into the campgrounds.
Swallowing hard, she willed her breathing to slow as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, afraid of alerting her fellow classmates who slept in several other tents surrounding the area around her.
Walking as quietly as she could, she drew up short outside Mr. Matthews’ tent, which was strategically placed in between Farkle’s and Riley’s tents. Not hearing anything but the expected rhythmic breathing, she sighed softly before making her way past her sleeping History teacher and half-walked, half-stumbled into her girlfriend’s tent.
“Maya?” Riley asked sleepily, lifting her head as Maya came in and unceremoniously dropped her sleeping bag to the tent floor before falling on top of it.
“You weren’t asleep, were you, Riles?” Maya asked incredulously, an amused, disbelieving look cutting across her features.
Riley shook her head, her long, dark hair bouncing slightly with the movement as she smiled at her girlfriend.
Maya nodded in understanding. “Right. Well, sleep would probably be a good thing actually. I volunteered myself to be Ranger Rick’s hiking partner tomorrow. I’m sorry, honey,” she moaned softly, putting her head on Riley’s stomach.
Riley gently began stroking Maya’s hair. “It’s okay, Peaches. I’ll be Farkle’s hiking partner. It’s not like the four of us won’t be hanging out together the whole time anyway,” she reassured Maya. “So, ‘Operation: Sleeping Arrangements’ went off without a hitch, huh?” she asked, her eyes darting nervously toward the side of the tent where she knew her father slept in his own tent mere feet from them.
“Mmmhmm. Perfectly,” Maya mumbled, moving over until she was stretched out on her own sleeping bag again. Closing her eyes, she blindly reached out until she was holding Riley’s hand. “I love you, Riles,” she said.
“I love you too, Maya,” Riley murmured, the two of them quickly drifting off to sleep.
**
TWO DAYS EARLIER…
Riley and her friends were crowded around a table at Topanga’s, a large pad of drawing paper in front of them.
Maya had a marker cap in her mouth and was twirling the marker she held from finger to finger as she plotted. While Riley on the other hand, sat next to her and kept glancing in her parents’ direction.
“Do you think they know what we’re planning?” she asked nervously, giving Cory and Topanga a broad yet forced grin. The two of them stood over by Katy, Maya’s mom, who was working behind the counter.
“If they haven’t figured it out yet, they will if you keep looking at them like that. Knock it off, woman!” Farkle reprimanded, giving Riley a stern look.
“Does this whole thing really have to be so complicated?” Lucas asked, reaching out and putting his hand on Farkle’s leg underneath the table.
Farkle jumped at the unexpected touch, causing the whole table to shift. Maya spit the marker cap from her mouth at the movement, growling as she looked at Lucas.
“You know just as well as I do, Ranger Rick, why the plan has to be this way,” she insisted in a whisper.
“But if Mr. Matthews is going to have you and Riley in one tent and me and Farkle in another, what’s the problem?” Lucas asked, genuinely confused.
Maya groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Farkle, would you please explain to your boyfriend why we need to go to such lengths to make this work?”
Farkle nodded, turning his attention to Lucas. “It’s simple, Lucas. To make ‘Operation: Sleeping Arrangements’ a success we need to have several steps. First, we’ll be set up with Maya and Riley in one tent and you and me in another. But since the class will assume Riley and I will be switching tents in the middle of the night so the two of you can be together, Mr. Matthews will then have me and Riley together in one tent and you and Maya in another. But after he talks things over with Mrs. Matthews, because he will, he’ll realize he can’t do that either. Boy and girl in the same tent? Definitely frowned upon by the PTA. And well, Darby and Yogi would pitch a fit because they obviously want to be together. Anyway, we’d end up back with our original scenario.”
“Okay? So why not stop there?” Lucas asked, still not seeing the problem.
“Because, after Mr. Matthews goes to sleep the class will still be expecting us to switch tents. So, to make it look like you and Riley fell asleep together you’ll go to Riley’s tent and Maya will come to mine. Once we’re sure everyone is asleep you and Maya will switch places again,” Farkle said.
Lucas blinked at his boyfriend, finally giving Farkle and the girls a half-hearted smile. “So much for a relaxing trip in the mountains, huh? Okay, could we go through the plan one more time?”
“It’s easy, Huckleberry…” Maya explained, pointing out x’s and o’s on the piece of paper in front of them as they once again went over the logistics of her plan.
**
PRESENT DAY…
Lucas woke up to the feeling of Farkle’s back pressed to his chest. His own arm was draped over Farkle’s waist, the bridge of his nose lightly brushing the back of his boyfriend’s neck.
“Mornin’,” he mumbled, his voice deep and gravelly as he watched Farkle stir beside him before rolling over to face him.
“G’ mornin’,” Farkle replied, his eyes dancing with pleasure as he looked at Lucas.
“I could really get used to waking up every morning next to you,” Lucas murmured, gently wrapping his hands on either side of Farkle’s face and pressing soft kisses to his boyfriend’s lips.
“Mmmhmm,” Farkle hummed happily in agreement, smiling against Lucas’s mouth.
“Come on, Ranger Rick! Riley and I can’t explore without you and Farkle. Let’s go!” Maya insisted from outside the tent.
Lucas groaned softly, burying his face in his pillow for a moment. “Now that? I could go the next several years without waking up to that every day. I love Maya. I do. But Riley’s a saint.”
Farkle chuckled. “Maybe. But she also loves Maya differently than you or I do, Lucas. And that’s a good thing. I love them both too. You know that. And I love you. Differently than we love the girls. You knew that too,” he murmured, brushing his lips against Lucas’s.
“I love you, Farkle. But… what’re you getting at?” Lucas asked softly, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“I’m sorry. For going along with Maya’s plan. It shouldn’t matter what the rest of the class thinks or what they want to happen between us. What matters is Riley loves Maya, and I love you. And that should be enough,” Farkle replied.
“Hey, I went along with it too. No need to apologize, all right? And you’re right, it shouldn’t matter what others think of us. But it’s okay if it does matter sometimes. As long as it’s the right people. The people in your life who help change you for the better. Like you, Riley and Maya are for me. And don’t worry, Farkle. We’ll get there. The four of us. We’ll get to that point where we can truly be ourselves. Where we won’t have to pretend anymore for the sake of others around us,” Lucas said, kissing Farkle again. “Yeah, we’ll get there,” he promised softly.
**
“Finally! Took you two long enough. What were you doing, anyway?” Maya demanded, crossing her arms at her chest and raising an eyebrow in the boys’ direction as they stepped out of Farkle’s tent.
“Rude!” Riley chastised her girlfriend, frowning at Maya. “The two of you missed breakfast,” she said, handing both Lucas and Farkle a granola bar.
“Oh, right. Here. Recharge,” Maya replied, tossing an apple first at Farkle then at Lucas, the boys’ fumbling to catch the fruit. “All right. Can we go now?” she asked, directing her question at Riley.
“You guys ready?” Riley asked the boys.
“Yeah, we’re ready, Riley,” Farkle agreed, giving her a smile, his eyes briefly meeting Lucas’s gaze before returning his attention to his best friend. The two of them walked off arm-in-arm along the trail Cory had told them about the previous day when they were setting up camp.
“What now?” Lucas wondered aloud, sighing softly as he watched Riley and Farkle walk farther away from him and Maya.
“Oh, Hop Along. I thought you would’ve seen this coming,” Maya told him, patting his shoulder.
“Seen what coming?” Lucas asked warily. Without warning Maya jumped onto his back. “Oh, that,” he grunted.
“Relax, Huckleberry. Just, you know… giddy up,” Maya said, patting Lucas on the chest.
“You’re lucky I love you, Maya,” Lucas said. Just as he’d started walking along the trail they were stopped by a pair of girls from their class who’d overheard Lucas’s statement.
“Lucas, you love Maya?” one girl asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
“Ha! I knew it! Does Riley know? Does Farkle? Are you two a couple now?” her friend demanded.
“Wait, I think I know what’s going on here. You two are in love and Riley and Farkle love each other, but you didn’t want the rest of us to know because, well… it’s kind of totally obvious,” the girl told them as if she were unveiling a hidden truth.
“Right. That’s what’s obvious about this whole thing,” Maya muttered, just barely restraining herself from rolling her eyes.
Lucas squeezed one of her legs in an attempt to keep her quiet. “It’s okay, Maya. They’ve figured us out. We should… we should go find Riley and Farkle. Let them know everybody knows the truth now,” he said, letting Maya gently slide down his back before taking a hold of her hand in his own, leading her away from the two girls and further down the trail.
“You want to explain why we’re letting them think we’re together, Ranger Rick?” Maya hissed in a whisper, glaring at Lucas.
“Because of them, all right?!” Lucas whispered huskily, pointing toward Farkle and Riley who stood before them, lost in their own world. Farkle held Riley’s hand and her head rested on his shoulder as they continued to walk through the mountains, trees bursting with vibrant color on either side of them.
“Aww, look at you, Huckleberry. Gettin’ all protective on us. How adorable,” Maya replied, her voice melting into a southern twang.
“Oh, no,” Lucas said, watching his best friend warily, knowing full well what was coming next.
Maya smirked at him. “Ha-Hurr!” Several birds sitting in the nearby trees flew up into the air at the noise reverberating around them.
Upon hearing her girlfriend’s voice, Riley turned around to see Maya and Lucas. Keeping hold of Farkle’s hand in her own, she led them over to her girlfriend and his boyfriend.
“Maya,” she said softly, a broad smile on her face as if it’d been years since she’d last seen her girlfriend instead of just a few minutes. “I saw bunnies.”
“Of course you did, pumpkin,” Maya said with a laugh.
“Can we keep exploring? Riley and I have been having fun. But we’d have even more fun if you two came with us,” Farkle insisted.
“Yeah, of course we’ll come with you,” Lucas replied, swallowing hard as he gave Farkle a forced smile. Riley and Farkle traded worried looks, knowing something was wrong when Lucas moved forward and draped an arm over Farkle’s shoulders, leading him farther along the trail so he could talk with his boyfriend privately.
“Maya?” Riley demanded softly, immediately returning her focus to her girlfriend, the uncertainty she was feeling flooding her features.
“Riles, honey, we need to talk,” Maya murmured, quickly relaying her and Lucas’s run-in with their classmates. “Riley?” she asked worriedly when Riley went several minutes without speaking.
“You know what I think? I think you and Lucas are really good at pointing out when Farkle and I are letting the rest of the class make up our minds for us, but you never admit when they’re doing the same to you. You’re running scared. And I get that. I do. But you being with Lucas and me being with Farkle won’t change that. Aren’t you tired of running yet, Maya?” Riley demanded.
Maya swallowed hard. “Riley, Lucas and I are just trying to protect you,” she whispered, tears in her eyes.
Riley nodded. “I know. And I love you for that. Both of you. But I’m more concerned with protecting what the four of us share together. If we end up going through one more year like this last one, filled with fake dates, relationships, kisses, I don’t… I don’t know how our friendship could possibly survive.”
“Are you breaking up with me?” Maya asked, the fear she was feeling over her question flooding her eyes.
Riley shook her head, smiling at her girlfriend. “Never. I’m just saying I don’t want to run anymore. I love you. I love Farkle and Lucas. And that’s all that matters here. I don’t care what the other people in our lives think of us. They’ll end up thinking whatever they want in the end. What matters is us. Always. And that’s enough for me.”
“I love you too, Riley. So much,” Maya replied, tasting her own tears as she leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend.
When they broke apart, Riley took a hold of Maya’s hand. “Let’s go find the boys, huh? Sound good?”
Maya nodded in agreement, letting Riley take the lead on this one.
**
It didn’t take the girls long to meet up with Lucas and Farkle. The four of them began exploring the area around them. As scared as they were to travel off the beaten path they knew, that together, they could face anything.
And when they were together they ended up finding things that were rare and beautiful. Like their friendship. But in this case they found a waterfall tucked in-between a cluster of trees.
“Wow, y’all. Look at what we found,” Lucas said softly as the four of them took in the beauty around them.
“It’s beautiful,” Riley murmured.
“Yeah, it is,” Maya agreed, unable to tear her gaze from Riley.
“Definitely worth blazing our own trail, huh?” Farkle asked.
“You’re right. And you know what that means?” Lucas replied.
“It means we can do it again,” Riley responded with a small smile, warmth flooding her as she looked at the three people she loved most in the world.
As long as she had Maya, Lucas and Farkle by her side she felt she was capable of anything. And they truly didn’t have to be anyone but themselves as long as they had each other.
THE END
Author: ariafree (Moria)
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Riley Matthews/Maya Hart; Lucas Friar/Farkle Minkus; mentions of Cory Matthews; mentions of Topanga Matthews; mentions of Katy Hart
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of the characters mentioned in this story. That right belongs to creators of Girl Meets World, Michael Jacobs and April Kelly. I'm just a writer wanting to tell a story.
Warnings/Spoilers: CHANGING POV; FEMSLASH; SLASH; SPOILERS FOR ALL GMW EPISODES--JUST TO BE SAFE
Summary: Riley, Maya, Lucas and Farkle go camping with their History class. Expectations are met. Truths are realized. And friendships become stronger than ever when they follow their hearts.
AN: I tried to write a follow-up fic from "Girl Meets Fish". Then I watched "Girl Meets Yearbook". Too many FEELS, guys. <3 So this was the result. This one was written for holly_blackmoor. I love you, sweetie! I hope you like it! :)
Maya groaned loudly, rolling over onto her back, flinging her arm out away from her body as she slept.
“Ow,” came a muffled voice to Maya’s left. Maya cracked an eye open, glancing in Farkle’s direction, watching as he poked his head out of his sleeping bag where he’d been attempting to sleep.
“You’re not fooling me. You weren’t really asleep, Farkle. I can’t sleep either. Not without Riley,” she said, sighing heavily.
“Yeah, which explains the drooling on my shoulder and the obnoxious snoring for the past five minutes,” Farkle replied dryly, burying his face in his arm, trying to ignore Maya when she rolled over on top of him. “I’m not your bed, Maya,” he mumbled as she made a pleased noise in the back of her throat, her eyes closing again.
“Don’t care. You’re softer than the ground. Camping blows. I miss Riley,” she replied.
“And I miss Lucas. He would’ve been able to lift you up and off of me. When’s this whole ‘Operation: Sleeping Arrangements’ happening anyway?” Farkle wondered aloud.
Maya giggled. “Ranger Rick would carry me all the way to Riley’s tent if we asked him to. And how do you expect to make world domination a reality if you won’t even listen to my master plans?” she demanded.
Farkle huffed out an annoyed breath. “Excuse me for getting sidetracked by the idea of sleeping in a tent with my boyfriend all night long!” he exclaimed in a harsh whisper.
“And this is why I’m king, and you, darling, are my queen,” Maya replied, breaking into her best attempt at an English accent.
“But-but I’m supposed to be King George,” Farkle whined softly.
Maya rolled her eyes, her heart melting at her best friend’s pathetic adorableness. “Fine, you win, Georgie. Riley’s my princess anyway.”
“And I’m Farkle’s ‘Mad Dog’. Right, Batman?” Lucas asked, directing his question at his boyfriend as he stepped into Farkle’s tent.
“’bout time, Huckleberry,” Maya muttered, her hair falling into her eyes as she rolled off of Farkle, back onto her own sleeping bag.
“Sorry. Riley and I had to wait for Mr. Matthews to go to sleep,” Lucas reminded her. “That was the plan, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in Maya’s direction.
Maya glared at him. “You’re lucky I’m not up for my usual form of retaliation at the moment, Lucas.”
Lucas’s eyes widened. “Using my name? You are tired, aren’t ya, Maya?” he asked, smirking at her.
“I’m making you my hiking buddy tomorrow,” she retorted vengefully.
“Looking forward to it, Ma’am,” Lucas replied, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat at her.
Grabbing her sleeping bag off the floor of Farkle’s tent, Maya shoved past Lucas and out into the campgrounds.
Swallowing hard, she willed her breathing to slow as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, afraid of alerting her fellow classmates who slept in several other tents surrounding the area around her.
Walking as quietly as she could, she drew up short outside Mr. Matthews’ tent, which was strategically placed in between Farkle’s and Riley’s tents. Not hearing anything but the expected rhythmic breathing, she sighed softly before making her way past her sleeping History teacher and half-walked, half-stumbled into her girlfriend’s tent.
“Maya?” Riley asked sleepily, lifting her head as Maya came in and unceremoniously dropped her sleeping bag to the tent floor before falling on top of it.
“You weren’t asleep, were you, Riles?” Maya asked incredulously, an amused, disbelieving look cutting across her features.
Riley shook her head, her long, dark hair bouncing slightly with the movement as she smiled at her girlfriend.
Maya nodded in understanding. “Right. Well, sleep would probably be a good thing actually. I volunteered myself to be Ranger Rick’s hiking partner tomorrow. I’m sorry, honey,” she moaned softly, putting her head on Riley’s stomach.
Riley gently began stroking Maya’s hair. “It’s okay, Peaches. I’ll be Farkle’s hiking partner. It’s not like the four of us won’t be hanging out together the whole time anyway,” she reassured Maya. “So, ‘Operation: Sleeping Arrangements’ went off without a hitch, huh?” she asked, her eyes darting nervously toward the side of the tent where she knew her father slept in his own tent mere feet from them.
“Mmmhmm. Perfectly,” Maya mumbled, moving over until she was stretched out on her own sleeping bag again. Closing her eyes, she blindly reached out until she was holding Riley’s hand. “I love you, Riles,” she said.
“I love you too, Maya,” Riley murmured, the two of them quickly drifting off to sleep.
**
TWO DAYS EARLIER…
Riley and her friends were crowded around a table at Topanga’s, a large pad of drawing paper in front of them.
Maya had a marker cap in her mouth and was twirling the marker she held from finger to finger as she plotted. While Riley on the other hand, sat next to her and kept glancing in her parents’ direction.
“Do you think they know what we’re planning?” she asked nervously, giving Cory and Topanga a broad yet forced grin. The two of them stood over by Katy, Maya’s mom, who was working behind the counter.
“If they haven’t figured it out yet, they will if you keep looking at them like that. Knock it off, woman!” Farkle reprimanded, giving Riley a stern look.
“Does this whole thing really have to be so complicated?” Lucas asked, reaching out and putting his hand on Farkle’s leg underneath the table.
Farkle jumped at the unexpected touch, causing the whole table to shift. Maya spit the marker cap from her mouth at the movement, growling as she looked at Lucas.
“You know just as well as I do, Ranger Rick, why the plan has to be this way,” she insisted in a whisper.
“But if Mr. Matthews is going to have you and Riley in one tent and me and Farkle in another, what’s the problem?” Lucas asked, genuinely confused.
Maya groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Farkle, would you please explain to your boyfriend why we need to go to such lengths to make this work?”
Farkle nodded, turning his attention to Lucas. “It’s simple, Lucas. To make ‘Operation: Sleeping Arrangements’ a success we need to have several steps. First, we’ll be set up with Maya and Riley in one tent and you and me in another. But since the class will assume Riley and I will be switching tents in the middle of the night so the two of you can be together, Mr. Matthews will then have me and Riley together in one tent and you and Maya in another. But after he talks things over with Mrs. Matthews, because he will, he’ll realize he can’t do that either. Boy and girl in the same tent? Definitely frowned upon by the PTA. And well, Darby and Yogi would pitch a fit because they obviously want to be together. Anyway, we’d end up back with our original scenario.”
“Okay? So why not stop there?” Lucas asked, still not seeing the problem.
“Because, after Mr. Matthews goes to sleep the class will still be expecting us to switch tents. So, to make it look like you and Riley fell asleep together you’ll go to Riley’s tent and Maya will come to mine. Once we’re sure everyone is asleep you and Maya will switch places again,” Farkle said.
Lucas blinked at his boyfriend, finally giving Farkle and the girls a half-hearted smile. “So much for a relaxing trip in the mountains, huh? Okay, could we go through the plan one more time?”
“It’s easy, Huckleberry…” Maya explained, pointing out x’s and o’s on the piece of paper in front of them as they once again went over the logistics of her plan.
**
PRESENT DAY…
Lucas woke up to the feeling of Farkle’s back pressed to his chest. His own arm was draped over Farkle’s waist, the bridge of his nose lightly brushing the back of his boyfriend’s neck.
“Mornin’,” he mumbled, his voice deep and gravelly as he watched Farkle stir beside him before rolling over to face him.
“G’ mornin’,” Farkle replied, his eyes dancing with pleasure as he looked at Lucas.
“I could really get used to waking up every morning next to you,” Lucas murmured, gently wrapping his hands on either side of Farkle’s face and pressing soft kisses to his boyfriend’s lips.
“Mmmhmm,” Farkle hummed happily in agreement, smiling against Lucas’s mouth.
“Come on, Ranger Rick! Riley and I can’t explore without you and Farkle. Let’s go!” Maya insisted from outside the tent.
Lucas groaned softly, burying his face in his pillow for a moment. “Now that? I could go the next several years without waking up to that every day. I love Maya. I do. But Riley’s a saint.”
Farkle chuckled. “Maybe. But she also loves Maya differently than you or I do, Lucas. And that’s a good thing. I love them both too. You know that. And I love you. Differently than we love the girls. You knew that too,” he murmured, brushing his lips against Lucas’s.
“I love you, Farkle. But… what’re you getting at?” Lucas asked softly, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“I’m sorry. For going along with Maya’s plan. It shouldn’t matter what the rest of the class thinks or what they want to happen between us. What matters is Riley loves Maya, and I love you. And that should be enough,” Farkle replied.
“Hey, I went along with it too. No need to apologize, all right? And you’re right, it shouldn’t matter what others think of us. But it’s okay if it does matter sometimes. As long as it’s the right people. The people in your life who help change you for the better. Like you, Riley and Maya are for me. And don’t worry, Farkle. We’ll get there. The four of us. We’ll get to that point where we can truly be ourselves. Where we won’t have to pretend anymore for the sake of others around us,” Lucas said, kissing Farkle again. “Yeah, we’ll get there,” he promised softly.
**
“Finally! Took you two long enough. What were you doing, anyway?” Maya demanded, crossing her arms at her chest and raising an eyebrow in the boys’ direction as they stepped out of Farkle’s tent.
“Rude!” Riley chastised her girlfriend, frowning at Maya. “The two of you missed breakfast,” she said, handing both Lucas and Farkle a granola bar.
“Oh, right. Here. Recharge,” Maya replied, tossing an apple first at Farkle then at Lucas, the boys’ fumbling to catch the fruit. “All right. Can we go now?” she asked, directing her question at Riley.
“You guys ready?” Riley asked the boys.
“Yeah, we’re ready, Riley,” Farkle agreed, giving her a smile, his eyes briefly meeting Lucas’s gaze before returning his attention to his best friend. The two of them walked off arm-in-arm along the trail Cory had told them about the previous day when they were setting up camp.
“What now?” Lucas wondered aloud, sighing softly as he watched Riley and Farkle walk farther away from him and Maya.
“Oh, Hop Along. I thought you would’ve seen this coming,” Maya told him, patting his shoulder.
“Seen what coming?” Lucas asked warily. Without warning Maya jumped onto his back. “Oh, that,” he grunted.
“Relax, Huckleberry. Just, you know… giddy up,” Maya said, patting Lucas on the chest.
“You’re lucky I love you, Maya,” Lucas said. Just as he’d started walking along the trail they were stopped by a pair of girls from their class who’d overheard Lucas’s statement.
“Lucas, you love Maya?” one girl asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.
“Ha! I knew it! Does Riley know? Does Farkle? Are you two a couple now?” her friend demanded.
“Wait, I think I know what’s going on here. You two are in love and Riley and Farkle love each other, but you didn’t want the rest of us to know because, well… it’s kind of totally obvious,” the girl told them as if she were unveiling a hidden truth.
“Right. That’s what’s obvious about this whole thing,” Maya muttered, just barely restraining herself from rolling her eyes.
Lucas squeezed one of her legs in an attempt to keep her quiet. “It’s okay, Maya. They’ve figured us out. We should… we should go find Riley and Farkle. Let them know everybody knows the truth now,” he said, letting Maya gently slide down his back before taking a hold of her hand in his own, leading her away from the two girls and further down the trail.
“You want to explain why we’re letting them think we’re together, Ranger Rick?” Maya hissed in a whisper, glaring at Lucas.
“Because of them, all right?!” Lucas whispered huskily, pointing toward Farkle and Riley who stood before them, lost in their own world. Farkle held Riley’s hand and her head rested on his shoulder as they continued to walk through the mountains, trees bursting with vibrant color on either side of them.
“Aww, look at you, Huckleberry. Gettin’ all protective on us. How adorable,” Maya replied, her voice melting into a southern twang.
“Oh, no,” Lucas said, watching his best friend warily, knowing full well what was coming next.
Maya smirked at him. “Ha-Hurr!” Several birds sitting in the nearby trees flew up into the air at the noise reverberating around them.
Upon hearing her girlfriend’s voice, Riley turned around to see Maya and Lucas. Keeping hold of Farkle’s hand in her own, she led them over to her girlfriend and his boyfriend.
“Maya,” she said softly, a broad smile on her face as if it’d been years since she’d last seen her girlfriend instead of just a few minutes. “I saw bunnies.”
“Of course you did, pumpkin,” Maya said with a laugh.
“Can we keep exploring? Riley and I have been having fun. But we’d have even more fun if you two came with us,” Farkle insisted.
“Yeah, of course we’ll come with you,” Lucas replied, swallowing hard as he gave Farkle a forced smile. Riley and Farkle traded worried looks, knowing something was wrong when Lucas moved forward and draped an arm over Farkle’s shoulders, leading him farther along the trail so he could talk with his boyfriend privately.
“Maya?” Riley demanded softly, immediately returning her focus to her girlfriend, the uncertainty she was feeling flooding her features.
“Riles, honey, we need to talk,” Maya murmured, quickly relaying her and Lucas’s run-in with their classmates. “Riley?” she asked worriedly when Riley went several minutes without speaking.
“You know what I think? I think you and Lucas are really good at pointing out when Farkle and I are letting the rest of the class make up our minds for us, but you never admit when they’re doing the same to you. You’re running scared. And I get that. I do. But you being with Lucas and me being with Farkle won’t change that. Aren’t you tired of running yet, Maya?” Riley demanded.
Maya swallowed hard. “Riley, Lucas and I are just trying to protect you,” she whispered, tears in her eyes.
Riley nodded. “I know. And I love you for that. Both of you. But I’m more concerned with protecting what the four of us share together. If we end up going through one more year like this last one, filled with fake dates, relationships, kisses, I don’t… I don’t know how our friendship could possibly survive.”
“Are you breaking up with me?” Maya asked, the fear she was feeling over her question flooding her eyes.
Riley shook her head, smiling at her girlfriend. “Never. I’m just saying I don’t want to run anymore. I love you. I love Farkle and Lucas. And that’s all that matters here. I don’t care what the other people in our lives think of us. They’ll end up thinking whatever they want in the end. What matters is us. Always. And that’s enough for me.”
“I love you too, Riley. So much,” Maya replied, tasting her own tears as she leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend.
When they broke apart, Riley took a hold of Maya’s hand. “Let’s go find the boys, huh? Sound good?”
Maya nodded in agreement, letting Riley take the lead on this one.
**
It didn’t take the girls long to meet up with Lucas and Farkle. The four of them began exploring the area around them. As scared as they were to travel off the beaten path they knew, that together, they could face anything.
And when they were together they ended up finding things that were rare and beautiful. Like their friendship. But in this case they found a waterfall tucked in-between a cluster of trees.
“Wow, y’all. Look at what we found,” Lucas said softly as the four of them took in the beauty around them.
“It’s beautiful,” Riley murmured.
“Yeah, it is,” Maya agreed, unable to tear her gaze from Riley.
“Definitely worth blazing our own trail, huh?” Farkle asked.
“You’re right. And you know what that means?” Lucas replied.
“It means we can do it again,” Riley responded with a small smile, warmth flooding her as she looked at the three people she loved most in the world.
As long as she had Maya, Lucas and Farkle by her side she felt she was capable of anything. And they truly didn’t have to be anyone but themselves as long as they had each other.
THE END