*Warning: Drug use.
"I need a drink," Riley Minkus muttered as she rubbed her temple in circular motions trying to soothe the light pounding in her head. She had gladly escaped from the crowd and loud murmurs of the strangers around her and found herself a secluded part of the Convention with no random wandering bodies.
Zay passed her the small water bottle he had purchased earlier on in the day. She took it without a word and gulped a quarter of it down before closing off the lid and passing it back. She leaned back against the wall and sighed heavily. The three pupils that protected her sight line remained quiet as they gave the married woman a minute to prosper in silence.
"Feeling better?" Lucas Friar spoke first to the brunette who scoffed as a respond.
"Just for the minute. God, this is going to be a disaster," Riley groaned as she covered her face to envelope her sight with darkness.
"You don't know that. I thought that went pretty well," Zay assured her. "I mean, no hands were thrown...which upsets me since that is the only reason I came..."
The missus glared at the principal who turned away from the evil eye she was giving him. Lucas luckily stepped in, "You did great, Riley. I know it took a lot from both you and Smackle to maintain even an appropriate conversation."
"Thanks Lucas. Although I appreciate them, I'm just a little hurt and a little lost right now," Riley confessed. "Why have you never told us you're still friends with Smackle?"
"That. That was the question I was waiting for," Maya said as she pointed to Lucas to answer.
Lucas shrugged, "You've never asked, and it's not like we hang out all the time. It always depends on our schedules. Mostly we go out to eat about once every other month. My friendship with Smackle is fair."
"I know," Riley said, "And you have every right to be friends with her as she was a friend to you, to all of us. I just would have liked to know because of this feud we have on. Maybe we could have ended it sooner with a help of a mutual friend...? Or maybe she's using you to get insight on the enemy a.k.a me?" Riley's gears were turning for a minute there.
"We've never discussed about you, Riley. I can tell you that," Lucas smiled slightly.
"What about Farkle?" Zay asked. Lucas shushed at his friend and gestured for him to quit talking. Zay hissed at himself, "oh, never mind."
"I don't know what to do right now," Riley sighed in defeat. "I go out there, cameras are on me watching my every move."
"You can't just disappear now. You can't let this stop you from going out there and doing what you would normally do," Lucas said.
"Yeah, you don't go back out there, it's as if you're letting Smackle take over the place," Zay added.
"Exactly," Maya agreed with the principal.
Zay smiled, prideful that someone agreed with him. "Thank you."
"Yeah, don't let it go to your head," Maya commented without taking her eyes off of her distressed friend.
"Maybe I should just let Smackle have this. I've already taken everything else...the spotlight has every right to be on her today," Riley gave off a somber sigh. Maya rolled her eyes at her brunette friend.
"No, Riley. What you need to do right now is step up your game!" Maya said shocking the guys around her along with the woman she was talking to.
"Step up my game?"
"Hell yeah!"
Riley gasped, "Don't say that, peaches! You say it, you go there."
"Oh for Heaven's sake!" Maya groaned in frustration.
"That's much better!" Riley giggled, wearing her signature Riley Smiley that got the guys cracking smiles themselves.
Maya gripped the married woman's shoulders and started off, "You have done so much, Riley, and it was all for the good of humanity. You've helped with global problems and you help anyone that you can. You brighten people's days and your exciting energy is infectiously contagious. No one dislikes you—"
"Except for Smackle. She hates you," Zay interrupted. Riley pouted, and that look on her face made the blonde angrily glare at the man. Lucas stepped in on shushing him up by placing his hand over his best friend's mouth.
"You're so much better than her, Riles," Maya finished.
"I know I'm better than her, but she's better than me at somethings too. A-And I took Farkle away from her..."
"So what?!" Maya laughed out loudly. "As a former loved one of Farkle Minkus, I want to say congratulations. You won! You won Farkle Minkus against me, Smackle, that nasty Natalie bitch—"
"Don't say her name!"
"—that nasty bitch—"
"I meant that one!"
Zay laughed and nudged Lucas, "that was cold." Lucas laughed and nodded along in agreement.
"You won him over every one of those snooty Princeton girl, and you wear that name with pride because you are Riley Minkus and that name is never going to change!" Maya finished her speech as she jabbed at the woman's chest, receiving an expression of hurt from the brunette.
"I didn't win Farkle. I stole him. I cheated in the game of life and didn't play fairly. I had his kid."
"Even if Nova wasn't conceived, there isn't any alternative universe in any galaxy where Farkle wouldn't have realized his feelings towards you were there," Maya assured Riley.
"That's not true. Farkle and Smackle were very much in love with each other," Riley frowned.
"Yeah, in the tenth grade!"
"Even through college."
"Must I remind you the amount of breaks those two had between when they first got together to the last?" Maya asked. "It was a couple of times!"
"I was there when Farkle told the news to her and broke it off," Riley's voice cracked as as she crossed her arms over her chest. "She was so devastated..." Riley covered her hand over her mouth and took in a deep breath through her nose to not let the tears fall down her face from the memory. "I broke her that day, and it killed me to—"
Maya sighed deeply and pulled in her friend to a hug, rubbing her back in comfort as the Minkus wife released her emotions on her shoulder. The blonde gave a disappointed look over to the guys who bowed their heads in guilt. "There, there... don't cry. You cried fifteen years ago, no need to do it now."
"I'm sorry," Riley hiccuped as she pulled back and wiped her tears away, taking deep breathes to calm herself down. "I just—I know that if things happened the way they were su-suppose to, Smackle would be a Minkus, not me."
"Don't say that—" Maya rolled her eyes.
"But it's true!" Riley sniffled. "Smackle and Farkle had mutual feelings for one another; they had established that during their relationship. They loved each other for years. You and I both know that love doesn't just dissipate the moment a relationship ends, especially Farkle's love..."
Maya closed her eyes and took heavy breath. "You think Farkle's still in love with Smackle?"
"She's obviously still in love with him!" Riley let out a cry in her laughter. She wiped away more tears that fell free from her eyes. She looked at her wet hands, both shaking slightly. She shook her head, the action also being done by the blonde friend. "She's always been in love with him, and I—I can't hate her for it. She has every reason to love him...love him just as much as I love him."
"Riley," Lucas spoke up, stepping forward with a smile on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. "I remember during the college years when Farkle would call me up at odd hours of the day and you know what he'd talk about?"
Riley shook her head, sniffling lightly.
"He would talk about you. He'd call me up, tell me how you were doing and talk my ear off about days you two went out and went shopping or took a bite to eat. Then when Nova was born, he talk about you and her. He called me whenever Nova even blinked. Man, I hated him so much at first for being one of those annoying dads that let everyone know about anything that happened with his kid, but I admired him so much because it just showed how much he loved that little girl and how much he loved you."
Riley smiled gently as she looked at her left hand, smiling lightly at her wedding ring that she wore. She took the ring and twirled it around her finger. "I didn't know that."
"Farkle loves you. Anyone can tell that fact just by how he looks at you or talks about you. I don't want you to worry if Farkle loves anyone else—"
"Because he doesn't..." Maya finished for the Texan while looking into Riley's eyes. Riley bit her lip and nodded slowly. If Maya said it, then it must be true.
"I'll try and make it through the day. I've worn a heart of guilt and regret for fifteen years, I should just live this day lightly..." Riley said mostly to herself.
"Heart of guilt and regret? Riley, you shouldn't feel that way. What would you need to feel regret for?" Maya asked.
Riley bowed her head and her shoulders shrugged. Her feet shuffled under her weight as a sigh released from between her lips. "I don't know."
"If you don't know, then don't say that," Maya sternly ordered to her best friend who nodded once again. "Do you want anything? I can get you something. You want me to get you Farkle? I can get Farkle for you," Maya offered.
Riley nodded timidly, "Yeah, um. I'm just going to clean myself up real quick and then I'm going to go find him."
"Okay. No more crying, okay?" Maya said as she patted her friend on the back.
Riley chuckled, "yeah, okay." Riley sniffles before she smiled up at the blonde and pulled her in for a grateful hug. "Thank you, peaches. I know you have a flight to catch, but I'm so glad you had time to stop by. I really appreciate you."
Maya smiled guiltily as she hugged back after a few seconds of hesitation. "Thanks, Riles. I'm glad to have you..." To still have you, Maya really wanted to say but dismissed it.
"I'll see you?" Riley said with so much hope in her voice that it broke Maya Hunter's heart that this is what their relationship has become; Full of possibilities and uncertainties on when the next time will be.
"I'll be around," Maya said softly. It was almost inaudible but the brunette friend picked it up and took it better than nothing.
Riley smiled before she took the strength to move her feet to try and find the nearest restroom to fix her blotchy face. Maya frowned as she watched her married friend walk away from her, feeling an ache deep in her heart.
"I need some air," Maya announced with a heavy breath as she looked around to try and catch sight of the nearest exit.
"I'll come with," Lucas announced.
She turned to point as Zay, "you coming too?"
"Nah. You two go ahead. I'm gonna try and get a head start to try and find Farkle for Riley," he excused.
The blonde woman and man nodded and they went their separate ways. Maya pushed open the exit door that was at the end of the hall they had wandered down. As soon as she stepped out, she felt several pounds lighter. She was away from the large crowds, away from the drama, from the past, Riley... There was almost nothing at all.
She reached into her jean jacket and pulled out a half empty packet of cigarettes. She placed one between her lips before looking over to the cowboy that followed her out. Her eyebrow raised at him. "Want one?"
He said yes and the next second a cigarette was in his fingers and it was lit by the blonde. They both took a drag of their own cigs, blowing outward from the other's presences.
"I thought you quit smoking?" Lucas asked.
"I tried for two years. I used one of those water vapor electric ones—it wasn't quite the same," Maya replied. "Besides, I don't do it as often as I did with Tuck. I just do it to blow off some stress."
Lucas accepted that answer. It was another quiet moment between the two before Lucas spoke up again.
"What time's your flight? I can drive you if you need one."
Maya's eyes shifted slightly before taking another drag. She tapped the side of her stick and cleared her throat, "Monday."
Lucas's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Monday? I thought you told Riley it was this afternoon. That's why you didn't know if you were able to come."
"I know what I told Riley," Maya said.
"You lied to her," Lucas stated, it wasn't a question since he knew the truth.
"I really wasn't going to come. I knew something was going to happen."
"Which is exactly why you had to come."
"Listen, I love Riley," Maya started off with pointing her cigarette at him. "You know I do. It just makes me so angry seeing her so weak and pathetic for stupid reasons. I knew that seeing Smackle would bring back emotions that should have died fifteen years ago."
"You know Smackle never did forgive Riley for what happened."
"I know. I was there at the wedding. That's what pisses me off so much. Riley has tried repeatedly to get Smackle to forgive her but her stubbornness is what makes Riley hate herself, and it shouldn't be like that! If Riley can forgive me for what I did, Smackle can forgive her."
Lucas simply shrugged before taking another drag of the cancer stick in his hand. Maya shook her head lightly as she had caught herself revealing a little more than she wanted to the former friend. "I'm just—trying not the get caught up in anything. That's how I got in trouble in the first place."
"I don't think there'd be anything wrong with you being a part in our lives again," Lucas admitted timidly.
"I'm the reason our group disbanded."
"I don't believe that."
"Okay. If you don't think that, what do you think, Mr. Probation?" Maya snapped, passing over a deadly glare to the man.
Lucas didn't fall into the heat of the moment; he remained calm and collected as he just gave another shrug to her. "I have my own ideas and thoughts on all of this. It'll be hard to explain but everyone can be saved...especially broken souls like you."
Maya's face softened slightly and her eyes shifted to look down at her fumbling hand that twitched the cigarette slightly. "Everyone's breaking, Lucas... I may seem weak but there are others that need more help than I do. I know you like helping people out, but I'm not the one that needs it right now."
"I know you're lying to make yourself feel better and that's fine. I don't need to help the weakest link all the time, I just want to be there for someone... and I'm here for you. Please know that," Lucas said in a comforting tone that made the blondie's heart ache in her chest. She slowly nodded before looking up at him.
"Smooth. I'm surprised some girl hadn't fallen for into your trap yet, cowboy," Maya smirked.
Lucas laughed which made the lady's smirk turn into a large smile. "Some girls don't usually fall for the good guys. I'd think you would know that better than anyone."
Maya gaped at him before letting out an expression of impressiveness.
"Besides, I'm still waiting for you to come around, short stack."
"I'll come around when both of our parole officers give the okay."
Lucas laughed aloud, glad the mood had lightened and it was how it should normally be with a somebody like Maya Penelope Hunter.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Time ticked by about 1/100 of a second slower than what Mrs. Riley Minkus originally liked. She was eyeing the digital clock that displayed the time for every staff and worker in the backstage area. Life was a busy body and it travelled around her constantly at the fastening pace. She took simple deep breathes and glanced between the time of her watch to the clock above head. The clock had turned to read 4:47 p.m. but it was one-one hundredth of a second off, meaning her watch had already had the time.
"I don't like that clock. It's too slow," Mrs. Minkus spoke as she shivered from head to toe, making the assistant by her side chuckle.
"You're nervous, Riley," Sussie stated. The co-CEO didn't deny the fact that it was at least one of the many course of emotions running through her veins at that very minute in time.
"Is everything prepped? Nothing can go wrong today."
"Yes. Everything's in its final stage for the presentation. We are just trying to scout out Mr. Minkus," Sussie announced.
The fact that no one had seen Farkle after he had left the confrontation with Smackle didn't set easy inside of the wife. She didn't have the slightest clue where he would have run off to, but he knew that he wasn't with his ex as cameras had been on her every move and action the entire day. It made her feel a little more easy, but not by much. Her hands ran down her torso, over her abdomen until it settled into each other locked in front of her lap. Her head was raised, chin pointed outward as her eyes looked up to the many sets of televisions that showed visuals of everything going on in the public areas. Her eyes were more focused on the seeking out bodies, a small game of Where's Waldo with selective people who needed an eye kept on them.
"Ah, there he is!" Sussie's exclamation made the brunette turn her head to catch the eyes of her husband who was excusing himself between people to make his way to his assistant and wife. Riley frowned slightly at him, but she felt as if his presence made the air around her less sufferable.
"Sorry, got a bit held up with somethings," he excused. It was half-assed obviously, but Riley wasn't going to start interrogating him. Not when they only had a handful of minutes left until they were to go out there and put on their presentation.
She took a step forward towards him and did the top button of his crisp, white lab coat. Her eyes never lifted past his neck as she pressed her hands to his chest and just laid them there. She knew his eyes were upon her; she could tell by the way his heart was pacing a little more quickly under his lab coat. She wanted to smile over the fact that she could still make him feel certain ways after so long together.
"We'll be fine, right?" It was a loaded question she asks her husband. She took some lint off of his white coat and flicked it to the side.
"Always," he smiled softly taking her hands in his own and kissing the back of them. He ran a thumb over the charred, right one and placed one last kiss on her knuckles before letting their held hands rest by their side.
Time was relative. While it had only felt like a minute or two for the couple, ten had passed by for everyone else. Sussie was calling out for them to get ready to step out from the curtains. Riley took a nervous sigh.
"Always..."
/•/•/•|•\•\•\
"Where were you?"
The words spoken were not what Farkle had expected when he came back to his family dorm in the middle of the night. He turned to find his best friend, Riley Matthews sitting in her fluffy, pink bathrobe at the breakfast bar with the baby monitor by her side on the counter.
Farkle was a bit shocked by her appearance but didn't ignore the question. "Out."
"With?"
"Natalie. Who else?"
"Again?" Riley's eyebrows furrowed.
"She's having trouble in one of her classes. I had to help her."
Riley nodded slowly, looking away from his with a hum.
"Is that it?" Farkle asked. The keys he had in his hand rattled as he shook them nervously.
"I guess," she hummed again.
Farkle frowned and put the key away on the key holder. "Is there a problem? Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened, but there might be a small problem."
"Oh?" Farkle exclaimed a little concerned.
"What's up?"
"It's just—" Riley shrugged. She messed with the volume nozzle on the baby monitor, still not looking at him. "I understand that Natalie's your girlfriend and all, Farkle, but you haven't been here a lot lately and..."
"And what?" Farkle questioned.
Riley shrugged again.
She wasn't speaking but he knew she wanted to say something with how she was pursuing her lips outward as if she was biting her tongue from saying something hurtful.
"You can talk to me, Riles. I'm always open to listening to you. Do you not like Natalie or something?"
"It's not that I don't like her. I just don't like that you spend a lot of time with her when you have a daughter here who needs you."
"I'm here for Nova. I'm here as much as I can—"
"No you aren't, Farkle," Riley groaned. "You're barely here anymore. I've been having Aggie watch over Nova on overtime just to get some quiet time at the library to study. You're not here. In fact, you're never here!"
"I'm sorry. I'm working really hard here to try and balance everything on my plate. You know Dad's promise; If we want him to continue supporting us financially, I need to continue on with my studies," Farkle explained, "You knew and agreed on that."
"I did, Farkle, because I know the importance of education. School is a necessary priority, yes, but so is your family! You have a daughter now, Farkle! You can't been putting her second, third, or fourth on your list of important things. She needs to come first," Riley's voice raised loudly.
"I'm doing all of this for her! Don't you see how difficult this all is? I need to attend my classes and maintain my high marks, Dad is having me take that part-time job at the company, and I got Natalie who's now struggling in her class. There's a lot going on, Riley. Give me a break!"
"I'm not," Riley said bluntly. "I'm not going to give you a break because you don't deserve it. Where's your daughter on that list of busy-work, huh? You're gone so much that waking up to attend her needs isn't on the list; it's on mine! I wake up every time she cries, I attend her doctor appointments, and I'm the one who has to take her with me to class if I can't get anyone to watch her. Do you know how humiliating it is to bring your nine month old to class and be kicked out because she's whining constantly over the fact she doesn't like sitting in an infant car seat? You wouldn't, Farkle! You'd rather waste time with your girlfriend and that hurts. God Farkle, can't you see! She's taking you from us, because she hates me and she hates the idea of Nova!"
"When did this turn against Natalie? She's been nothing but pleasantly nice to you and Nova. She doesn't hate you or the idea of Nova."
"Farkle, she's playing you like a chess board. She can't have trouble with English 112 when she's in one of the most prestigious Ivy League schools in America!" Riley laughed bitterly.
"I know my relationship with Natalie, Riley and that is none of your business. You're just jealous because I found someone willing to be with me for me, unlike you."
Riley's facial expression turned into one of hurt and shock over Farkle's words. Her jaw clenched and her features hardened as she crossed her arms over her chest. She glared up at him, hating that she had to look up at him to show that she hated him.
"Who are you?" She spat. "This isn't you. This isn't Farkle Minkus. The Farkle Minkus I know would get his life straight and realize that his daughter is much more important than a Valley girl who is only with him for the public status and famous name. Farkle Minkus would care for his best friend's well being and help out as much as he could. He would be a part of his daughter's life and try to make it as great as possible. You aren't who you say you are. You're just a stupid, ignorant cool boy who walks around Princeton with a pretty girl in your arm just like all of your friends. You're forgetting about the people who care and love you. I love you, Farkle. Nova loves you. Your family loves you... and you don't care."
Riley scoffed and blinked back the tears that wanted to desperately fall. She wasn't going to allow it, no goddamn way was she going to cry and let her soft emotions reveal themselves now. She was so grateful that Farkle decided to remain silent at that time because if he had spoken even one word, she knew the waterworks wouldn't hold back to save her life.
Farkle couldn't say anything because he didn't know what to say. He was thinking about the past few months he had been with Natalie and yes, he had changed a little along with his schedule but he didn't think it would have a bad effect on Riley. Riley Matthews, his best friend and mother of his child, was telling him and forewarning him about who he was becoming. He looked at her even though she wasn't looking at him.
Her hair was shiny, either in the lack of time to properly wash it or the collective amount of hair product she needs to maintain it from crazy hair days. There were a slight dark tint underneath her eyes, most likely from lack of sleep. Make-up was still on her face and it looked like it had been there for several days. The fluffy, pink bathrobe hugged her comfortably he knew. It hugged her perfectly he noticed when he first gifted it to her. Her curves were more defined in the pink fabric and he liked it. Back then, he would have let his eyes linger down the form of her body, imagining to go back to a time where he'd gently lay it down on either his or her dorm room bed. That was then; now he noticed that she had a little pudgy stomach left from the baby weight. She was trying to bounce back to her former body, he knew, he noticed. She was working hard to be a mother, and a student, a best friend... he knew that and it just added to her beautiful personality. She was beautiful and gorgeous...but he always knew that. After so much time not noticing, he noticed now that the mother of his beautiful, healthy baby girl was beautiful and fantastic in more ways than before. She was beyond definition and beyond words.
The cry of said daughter played through the baby monitor, the lights turning bright red to visualize the intensity of the baby girl's screams. Farkle's maternal instincts were on autopilot as he stepped forward to go attend her, but he was stopped.
"No, Farkle," Riley blandly stated. Her hand rested against his hard chest, feeling his strong heartbeat which hid underneath. "If you never did it then, don't start now."
Riley moved away, going towards the room the little girl was staying at. She stopped at the hallway light and turned back to the father of her child. "Remember, Farkle. I'm the one who allowed you to be in her life. I saw the potential of you being a great father for her. I decided that, I allowed that."
She turned back. The door opened and there stood the ten-month-old Nova Minkus, red face blotched from crying as she stood up in her crib waiting for her mother to attend her.
Farkle frowned as he could hear Riley's hushing from the baby monitor. Nova was picked out of her crib and the sound of hiccups came from the girl. He stood there in his place, hearing as Riley muttered what were comforting words to Nova. He couldn't help but be bothered by her choice of words to soothe the girl.
"Mommy's here, baby girl. Mommy's here."
\•\•\•|•/•/•/
"Riley!"
Fourteen-year-old Riley Matthews jerked awake to her friends surrounding her, giving her concerned expressions on their faces.
"Riley, are you okay?" Farkle said as he was on his knees by her side. She looked at him intensely before releasing a shaky "yeah".
"Girl, you don't look so good," Maya said truthfully as she saw how pale her best friend was.
"Sorry, I'm just—really tired for some reason." Riley yawned. It was very much true that she was tired. As much as she wanted to close her eyes and slip into the land of Nods every time she even as much blinks, clips of dreams come to her in a flash. They were sweet at first but they had recently been harsh, ones that make her wake up with a jerk.
"Do you think you can stand without falling into an intense coma?" Maya commented jokingly, making Riley smile lightly.
"I really don't want to pressure her into moving too much," Lucas stated with discomfort in his tone.
"No, no, I-I'm fine. Standing up will perk me up than just sitting here," the brunette female said before standing up and giving a yawn so grand it made her close her eyes tightly.
/•/•/•|•\•\•\
Riley Matthews sobbed aloud. The back of her hand came up to try and smother the sound but she couldn't hold her emotions in. She was still in her dress that she wore out on her date that she had just ran back from. The date ended quicker than anticipated.
Farkle knocked timidly on her bedroom door that was wide open, the light from the hallway, shining perfectly on top of Riley's form. She turned her head to reveal her face which wore bloodshot eyes, tear tracks, and smothered lipstick.
"Riley..." His tone was so gentle Riley couldn't help but release another cry. He was by her side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"W-Why are guys so freaking stupid?" Riley cried out and she sniffled loudly. The question nearly made Farkle chuckle and give off the sarcastic "woah thanks" but he knew with the crying lady in his arms, it wouldn't be a smart move to do so.
"Do you want to talk about what happened or do you just want to cry? I'm here for whatever choice you decide." Riley's heart ached so much. He was so nice. She loved Farkle so much, but not in the way he loved her. He loved her as the mother of his child and as a best friend who's always been there. She loved him with a passion so strong that having him in his arms but not being able to do anything made the pain in her heart worse than the initial cause.
"The-The-The-The d-date didn't go so good..." Riley shut her eyes tightly to let more tears fall down her face. Farkle didn't say anything. He rubbed his back just like how Riley rubbed Nova's back whenever the little girl cried over anything that wasn't about hunger or a changing. "W-w-w didn't ev-even m-a-ke it to the movie—when he tried—to get b-between my—legs."
Farkle felt hatred and a small pang of jealousy run through him. The hatred was to the guy that dare try something with someone as wonderful as Riley Matthews and not take it seriously and push for something. The jealousy was split between the reasons that he actually got to go on a date with the great Riley Matthews and also getting a chance to try something intimate with her. He knew better than to say or do anything that wasn't going to help the situation. "What'd you do?"
Riley hiccuped, "I left! Screw him."
Farkle smiled and hid it in her hair. "Good. You're so much better, Riles. You got a whole line of guys waiting to be with you."
Riley cried again. She wiped her face with her hands and pulled from his warm embrace. "No, I don't. That guy didn't like me. None of those guys liked me! He even said it. They all just tried to be with me because they thought I'd be an easy lay since—I have a kid!" She expressed her rage before covering her face and letting her hands fall to her bare thighs. "I'm so freaking stupid."
"No, Riley. You aren't stupid," Farkle said sternly. "They're the stupid ones for not trying to get to know you more. You're so much more than people see, and I hate that guy for not seeing it. I hate all of them. Don't cry over them please. They're not worth it, Riles. You're going to find the right guy and he's going to love you for all the right reasons and for more reasons than you will believe..."
Farkle's words were too sweet for Riley's ears to hear. She had found the right guy; she had him but he slipped through her fingers. He loved her for reasons unknown and she reciprocated those feelings. She cried a little harder having to tell only her mind that 'It's you dammit! You're the right guy but I'm not your right girl.'
"Farkle..." she sniffled, refusing to move from his grip.
"Riley..."
"Stay with me... just for tonight."
"Of course," Farkle spoke without any hesitation. His girl needed him. If he was to play the shoulder to cry on or as the knight in shining armor, he wasn't going to back down from his role.
They switched positions so they were holding each other comfortably in each other's arms. Spooning would only bring back memories of the lovely times that had spent nights together, so they had changed it so that Farkle was on his back and Riley was by his side, legs tangled with Farkle's. Farkle looked up to the ceiling, while Riley's eyes closed, wanting only to focus on the heartbeat of the man who truly had her heart.
"I love you, Farkle..."
"...and I love you."
\•\•\•|•/•/•/
Riley opened her eyes wide, a harsh breath releasing from her lips as she felt her lungs compress in their chamber beneath her ribs. The sound of cheering and clapping filled her ears as her eyes snapped over to what had caught the people's attention. It was 5:02 and Riley had missed the introduction for the Minkus couple to come on stage. There was her older self alongside her husband.
Riley and Farkle Minkus walked out, receiving a grand welcome from the crowd around them. Mr. Minkus was all smirks while his companion was wide grins that made her eyes squint. They were displayed on every television screen above and around. After about a minute or so, they spoke up into their headpieces, their voices loudly filling the air of the auditorium the couple was in.
Riley Minkus spoke first. "Isn't it so good to be back?" She laughed. The crowd cheered and clapped again for the missus who couldn't get the overly excited grin off of her face.
"How has everyone been? Good? Enjoying the ton amount of Science around us?" Riley continued. The audience reacted. "I'm loving this. My sweet?"
The attention was passed over the gentleman on stage, who smirked across the way to his stunning wife. "Now, you know I always have the best time here at WSC. Thank you all for coming and showing support by the way. For those who don't know, I am Farkle Minkus, co-CEO of Minkus International, and this is my beautiful and amazing wife and partner, Mrs. Riley Minkus."
Riley blushed and shook her head at her husband. "Boosting your ego, Minkus? You may have married me, but everyone knows I'm great!" She posed dramatically, getting some whistles and laughter from the crowd. Farkle rolled his eyes as she had totally gone off script to take that bite.
"Possibly, but not as great as me, of course."
"Ohhhh" came from the crowd, Riley scoffing lightly as she glared at her man. "Have you lost your marbles? That's it! Farkle Minkus has finally gone crazy!"
"Aren't all mad scientists?"
"Yes, but especially you!" Riley Minkus laughed harmonically.
Riley Matthews's trance was broken from the sound of the younger voice of her destined husband. "What are some things that could help us out on finding this guy? We're searched all over with no clear notion on anything."
"Well, we know he's a scientist," Lucas stated first.
"Not a good one if he needs his wife to get us back home," Maya snarled bitterly.
"That's another thing."
The younger Riley leaned back as she witnessed her best friend's posture correct itself, seeming as if her attention was more alert than before.
"Maya, what's wrong?" The Matthews child had asked.
Maya Hart said, "And I know where he is."
"Who is?" Lucas asked.
"Batman," Maya stated sarcastically with an eye roll. "Dr. Marbles! Who else? If I was coming to the future or the past, The first and basically only thing I'd do is seek out myself. Heck, I'm doing it right now. He needs to keep his distance away from himself, but not be too far away. He knows us; he'd keep close to the people he knows."
"So, if we know he knows us then—"
"Then he's closer than he wants us to lead us on."
Three of the four kids looked around themselves to try and spot the man they've been seeking, except for Maya. "I don't see him anywhere, Maya," Lucas said.
"Not us us..." Her eyes were glued back onto the television monitor that displayed the Minkus couple who were continuing on with their acts. The cameras sometimes panned to the audience and her smile grew when the camera did panorama to the people in the first few rows and spotted the man she needed to get a hold of shining in white.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"They're such losers. I can't believe they're my parents," Nova Minkus groaned in embarrassment to her best friend Alaina who was in the seat beside her. Jimmy was beside Alaina; Nova needed a barrier to separate herself from the boy who loved her in case his weird boy hormones were going to lose control, which she believed were bound to happen. His actions of his first act of physical intimacy with his one true love had no certain explanation, and with no explanation, Nova needed to keep distance to observe the teen boy. He was currently sitting quietly in his seat, eyes looking down at his twiddling thumbs that lay above the button of his pants. His eyes only shifted in three directions; upwards toward the couple presenting on the stage ahead, below to his thumbs, and sideways to glance at his best friends—mostly Nova who was giving him a look that seemed as if she was solving a mathematical equation.
"Remember when we were little and they'd always try and do something to make us laugh," Alaina giggled into her palm.
Nova have her friend a look of disgust, "When we were little? Lainey, that's their goal every year. They make the kids laugh and try to have them pick up an interest in the STEM subjects. My mother's the goofball while my father is the teacher, and it's not funny anymore."
"I think it's funny."
"You haven't grown up, and I hope you never do."
Jimmy smiled gently at his friends and shook his head. Nova glared at him from her seat, causing him to shift and bow his head, eyes paying attention back up to Mr. Minkus addressing the audience about the project presented on the screen. "You're not allowed to look at me," Nova directed to the boy.
"I'm not." The smile on his lips said otherwise but the hotheaded teen didn't want to give him too much attention. She knew it was attention he craved.
Nova looked around to try and spot her other friends who he hadn't seen in the last hour or few. She didn't get them but she did the attention of a man in white, salt and pepper hair and all. He was eyeing her a little too intensely for her liking and the smile that was playing on his lips was too sweet.
"May I help you?" She asked the man.
He shook his head, smiling growing wider. "No."
"You're lookin' at me a little too much for my comfort," Nova bluntly said.
The man chuckled, "I'm very sorry. It's just—You just remind me of someone I knew."
"Knew?" The girl's eyebrow raised.
The man cleared his throat and gulped slightly, "Know. Someone I know."
A figure passed by Nova and she looked away to see it was her new blonde friend. "May, you made the show! What are you doing?" Nova asked as she excused herself to fit between the seats and make her way towards them.
The man in white had wide eyes at the girl who took his hand and started to pull him up from his seat. "I need to borrow you."
The man sighed heavily. "Even in this time I'm used."
"May, you know this man?" Nova asked as her eyes followed them to the exit.
The question was ignored as the two made it outside the presentation room. The teenager faced the older man, a grin growing on her face. "I know who you are."
Dr. Marbles looked shocked at her words. "Really? I must say, I'm surprised. I was expecting one of the smarter ones to get it first—Ow!"
Maya twisted a grip of his coat before laughing out. He gave her a bewildered look. "You're laughing at my pain? What in the world..? You get off on this?"
"I don't. But you are just extremely goofy!"
"That's partly true, but I'll have you know my wife finds me to be quite extraordinary."
"I bet so, but to an extent. Your wife is just the same. I would know."
"You would know. Of course, you would know—" He cursed his words before narrowing his eyes at her. "That was a set up, wasn't it?"
"Of course. Don't you know me, Dr. Marbles? What kind of stupid name?"
The man laughed, " I didn't pick the name. As said, the wife picked it and it stuck."
"She's something else," Maya smirked.
"She is," the man grinned. "But everyone loves her."
"True," Maya didn't disagree. "I hope you know what happens now."
The man's features softened as he nodded. "I do."
"Good, because I have a friend who would really like to go back home soon."
"I'm sorry I haven't put my soul effort into getting you guys home sooner. I'm trying to find an alternative way to get us back to your time period but I won't lie to you, I like this time period. It was a little nice to everyone; a nice long moment of contentment before the storm happened," Dr. Marbles confessed.
Maya didn't like hearing those words come out of the man's mouth. "Does something happen?"
"A lot happens. Life happens, and... I don't know. It's hard to talk about it when you're the only one that knows what's to come."
"You can tell me."
He shook his head. "I'm not putting you through that. Definitely when I know you well enough not to trust you with too much information."
"What are you talking about? I'm trustworthy!" Maya whined.
The surprising sound of deep laughter came out of the man's mouth. "That's gold coming from you."
"Whatever. Since you know where you are and I know who you are, we're confronting you after this ordeal is over."
The man nodded in agreement. "I understand. I had my fun, now it's time to get to the serious stuff. It was my intentions from the start and my promise to keep... Just give me a little more time."
The man walked back over to the door and looked through the glass window of the door they had exited from to watch the show which belonged to Farkle and Riley Minkus. His eyes then averted over to a teenage girl shifting her eyes to catch the attention of her best guy friend and the corner of both of their lips twitched upward at one another.