𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓈 ~ 𝓇𝒾𝓁𝒶𝓎𝒶.

Chapter 24: Memories

"How are we going to survive tenth grade?" Riley said, looking up at the ceiling. I just shrugged, not even knowing myself. Ninth grade was already hard to go through. Tenth was probably going to be even worse. It's only going to get harder through the years. Everyone knew that.

"I don't know, Riles. All I know is that I'm going to have you along the way and nothing is going to get in between us," I replied, relaxing my shoulders. I felt so tense for some reason. But, Riley helped me feel a little relaxed.

Riley chuckled softly, blowing hair out of her face. A silence lingered between the two of us, but it wasn't a bad one. It was an angelic one, as if angels were watching over us peacefully.

It was just us two in the world. Just us two in the stars, sleeping peacefully under a angel's wing. Watching the constellations form next to us. Nothing and no one could ever get in between us. Not ever again.

The sky outside was slowly darkening. Stars were slowly starting to form up in the sky. I was slowly realizing again why I fell in love with Riley in the first place. I fell in love with her because she cares about people. She never means to hurt people. Riley never backs down. She is the sunshine to a person's rainy day. To my rainy day. We were so different, but we loved each other.

The sky was fully dark now. "Let's go outside," Riley said, breaking the silence. She quickly stood up, taking my hand and pulling me up. I groaned tiredly as I crawled out the window behind Riley. We went the fire escape until we made it to the sidewalk. We decided to get good since we were hungry.

As we walked to the subway station, I looked up at the stars. A few constellations formed as we moved along the road. Orion's Belt caught my attention.

Riley's hand found mine. "The stars are so bright tonight, aren't they, Peaches?" She said in a happy tone. I just nodded, not sure on what to say. We finally arrived at the subway station and boarded the train.

Riley and I grabbed a pole to hold on to. Riley stared at a seat in the far corner, where a boy who looked about our age was reading a book. Riley chuckled softly. "That's where I met Lucas. Me being my clumsy self, I accidentally fell in his lap and that's where it all started. It seems like so long ago but it only was a few months. But, it's not Lucas and I anymore. It's you and me, Peaches. Forever. It's written in the stars, and the stars don't lie. You and me forever, ok?" Riley said to me, her chocolate orbs glittering in the faint light.

I bit my lip nervously. "Of course, Riley. Nothing can come in between our relationship anymore," I replied. The train finally stopped. Riley and I exited the train and walked the rest of the way to Topanga's. The bells jingled as we walked in. Some of the freshmans in our class were still there, drinking smoothies and eating muffins. I spotted Lucas among the crowd, talking to a blonde girl who looked not interested in the conversation.

"I'm going to go help my mom. It seems like she really needs help with all the students. You'll be ok alone?" Riley said, about to go to the counter. I nodded as she left to go help Topanga. I stood awkwardly in the corner, my arms crossed over my chest.

Lucas must of noticed me because he started to walk toward me, the blonde girl following him. I groaned in annoyance. Lucas gave me a small smile when he came up to me. The blonde girl was still on her phone, tapping away.

"What do you want, Lucas? You just wanted to tell me that you have another girlfriend that is completely off limits? It's ok though. I'm good," I told him, not regretting a word I said. The blonde girl finally looked up, a confused look on her face.

"Um....Is she talking about me?" She asked Lucas. Her voice was soft and a little fragile. Lucas quickly shook his head. "Don't worry, Bella. She has no idea what's she talking about," Lucas quickly said, giving me a sharp glare.

I rolled my eyes, trying to make eye contact with Riley. However, she was too busy helping her mom make pastries. I groaned again, my eyes fluttering shut for a second. "Bella, can you leave Maya and I alone for a second?" Lucas asked the girl politely, flashing her his infamous smile. She just nodded before going over to the main area of Topanga's.

After he thought Bella was out of earshot, Lucas started talking to me, his tone almost sounding sincere. "Maya....I miss you. I miss you being my best friend. I was stupid to betray you after what happened with Riley. I knew you were hurting, but I just left you. Can you please forgive me? Will you ever forgive me?" He said, his green eyes staring into mine.

I bit my lip nervously. I desperately wanted Riley to come so we could finally leave. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to forgive Lucas. Him betraying me hurt me a lot. I can't just forget about that.

"I...I don't know if I can forgive you, Lucas," I muttered under my breath, not bothering to look him in the face. I could tell he just nodded, because he was always ok with everything.

"Yeah, I...I understand. Forget this ever happened. I shouldn't have bothered," Lucas said quickly, before going back to who I thought was his girlfriend. I sighed heavily, my fingers trembling. Riley finally came back, two apple turnovers in her hands.

"Here you go, Maya. On the house. Also, why was Lucas talking to you? I thought he hates the both of us," Riley said, handing me a napkin with an apple turnover on it. I took a bite, my eyes fluttering shut for a second. I loved apple turnovers, but I haven't had one in what felt like forever.

"He said sorry for betraying me or whatever, but I didn't forgive him," I muttered, shrugging my shoulders. It wasn't important. Lucas wasn't important anymore.

Riley just nodded before taking a bite of her apple turnover. We went over to a corner of the café where we liked to sit. We hopped up on the seat and ate our apple turnovers in silence, watching everyone in the main area.

"Who's that girl Lucas is kissing?" Riley whispered to me randomly. I just noticed Lucas and the Bella girl were locking lips like they were the only two in the room. I should've known his apology was fake. He acted as if it never happened.

"Bella," I answered back. "His new girlfriend, I suppose." I didn't care, anyway. Lucas wasn't my number one priority anymore, like he used to be when we were best friends. Riley was my number one priority. I didn't care about Lucas anymore. What he does isn't my business, and it shouldn't be Riley's, either.

After we were done eating, we went outside. We took a subway train to Kayla's house and watched TV on the couch. Riley was snuggled up against me, and I was taking a little nap. It was perfect.

PThe stars were popping out of the sky, grabbing my attention. "Let's look at the stars" was all Riley said before she grabbed my hand and took me outside to the backyard. We laid down on the grass, staring up at the stars.

The sky was a purplish blue. It was so beautiful. A reflection of the stars was glimmering in Riley's eyes. She stared at me, a smile never leaving her face.

"You and me. In the stars. Forever," she said to me, her hand grasping mine.

I nodded, happy tears about to fall down my face.

"Forever."

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A/N: Sorry for the long wait! The epilogue is next chapter! I think it's about time to end this story. Hope you like the ending! 😀😀😀😀