[ Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven ]
Prompt: After damaging $1000 worth of private property on a dare Lucas needs a quick way to make the money to pay the guy back. When Charlie Gardner suggests a bet Lucas takes him up on his offer. And what is the bet? Get into the pants of Riley Matthews, the schools very own goody two-shoes princess.
AN: Okay so this one covers a lot ( I think ) in terms of like things that happen. There’s an homage to a certain scene in AWTR. Not a fluffy chapter. But I hope yall enjoy it anyway. xo
Word Count: 3,074
Chapter: 8
♡ ♡ ♡
Things were starting to fall back into place for Riley. Initially her return to school brought along some difficulties, it definitely wasn’t easy seeing Lucas around now that his ankle was healed and he was back roaming the halls and a part of her was certain that when she walked into a room and it grew silent the people inside were just talking about her. But after a while it seemed as if everyone had moved on from the situation. Or at least that’s what she thought.
She started attending drama club again after school and Mr. Vargas graciously welcomed her back with open arms, excited that she was able to continue as Éponine in his school production of Les Misérables which was taking a lot longer than it should have.
She even started to hang out with Isadora and Farkle more. There were times where she felt like a bit of a third wheel but they were really good at including her and for that she was grateful.
She and Isadora were at her locker before last period discussing the game plan for tonight. “So what time should me and Farkle be here for the play?” Izzy asks. “We want to be supportive.”
Riley smiled at the genius, surprised that either of them were interested in coming in the first place. Theatre wasn’t really their thing. They respected the arts but would much rather watch an insightful documentary than a musical.
“It starts at 7 but you can come a little early if you want good seats.” She suggests, grabbing her textbooks and shoving them into her bag.
She stares pasts Isadora and down the hall she could see a small group of football players exiting from the stairwell, rowdy and laughing about something incoherent. Of course Lucas and Zay are among the group but what really catches her eye is the way Annette Sommers was draping herself over Lucas.
She quickly looks away, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach as she returns her attention to her friend. Izzy follows her broken gaze and realizes the reason behind the girls sudden mood change. As they pass the two of them, Isadora can’t help but breathe out an insult or two directed at the rowdy boys.
“Imbeciles.” She mutters with a roll of her eyes, catching the attention of one of the douchier guys, Billy Ross.
“Something to share, Einstein?” He stops in his tracks, eyebrows raised at the two brunettes.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Isadora snaps back. “I’m sorry, what is your IQ again?”
Riley exchanges glances with Lucas, neither of them saying anything but it was as if they were both silently pleading for the other one to call off their friend.
“High IQ or not you’re still a nobody.” Billy scoffs.
Before Isadora has a chance to retaliate Mr. Matthews rounds the corner, feeling the hostile vibe coming off the group, he shoos the athletes off and gives Riley and her friend a stern look, telling them it was time to go to class.
--
It’s a few hours before the play and Riley is doing her best to keep her nerves under control. She takes a seat in the middle of the empty auditorium, staring up at the stage that she would soon be performing on.
As she’s sitting there she remembers a few months back.
She was auditioning for Éponine, standing front and center while the rest of the students were sat crisscrossed on the floor and Mr. Vargas took to the piano. She remembered looking up halfway through the song and seeing a familiar student sitting all the way in the back. One she had never seen take foot in the auditorium unless it was for a mandatory assembly. Lucas Friar.
She felt her heart race as he leaned in to watch her audition, his eyes glued to her, mouth slightly agape as she poured her heart into the song. She couldn’t explain what it was at the time but seeing him so entranced by her voice was stirring something in her that she hadn’t felt before.
“Riley?” The call of her name pulls her out of her thoughts and she looks up to see one of her fellow drama club members hovering over her. Evan was playing the part of Marius in the play, Riley’s unrequited love interest.
“Oh, hey Evan.” She smiles politely, brushing the hair out of her face. “Sorry I was just trying to clear my head.”
“Nervous?” He asks, taking the seat next to her. She nods her head, dropping the tension from her shoulders. “Well, if it’s any consolation you make a great Éponine.” He smiles.
“I’m not sure if that’s entirely a good thing.” She laughs nervously, “But thanks.”
“Anytime.” He nudges her playfully before standing to his feet. “I’ll see you up there.”
--
Coach Lewis blows his whistle, ending practice for the day. Lucas and the rest of the team pile into the boys locker room to get washed and changed. Because he just recently recovered from his sprain, he was instructed not to go as hard as he normally would, so he didn’t feel the need to shower. He sat there waiting for Zay to finish getting ready.
“So, are we going or what?” Zay asks avoiding the glare of his best friend. They both knew the play Riley was in was starting in about an hours’ time and even though he avoided the topic up until now he was still unsure about whether or not they’d be attending.
The posters were everywhere, and every time they passed one in the hall Lucas would either sigh heavily or violently yank it off the wall. He didn’t like being reminded of her, better yet, he didn’t like being reminded of what he lost.
When Riley told him she hated him he was left with this self-loathing feeling inside. A feeling he wasn’t used to. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t used to getting what he wants. Being the sheriffs son and captain of the football team had its perks, but neither one of those things could help him get out of this one.
“Why do you want to go?” Lucas asks, tone slightly aggressive. Zay shoots him a look as he finishes up tying his boots. “Why don’t you?”
As they’re heading out of the locker room, they pass the auditorium and the rather impressive crowd of people heading inside to take their seats. He pauses for a second, trying to decide if he could handle seeing her in that capacity. Zay waits patiently for him to decide, not wanting to influence his decision.
Lucas lets out a deep breath and starts heading toward the play. Whatever happens, he knew someday he’d regret not going in to see her so he swallows his pride and with Zay following closely behind, they make their way through the atrium.
“Oh goodie.” Charlie smiles, rounding the corner with Annette just as the two boys were entering. “We can watch this tragedy together.”
Annette had been hanging around a lot recently since her and her college boyfriend broke up. Like always, she went crying back to Lucas who, for whatever reason, always gave in to her. This time around he couldn’t be less interested, not that she was taking the hint.
The four of them find available seats all the way in the back. Lucas can’t help but wonder if his was the exact same one he sat in that first time he heard Riley sing. The view was familiar but he wouldn’t know for sure until she came out.
The play starts and he finds himself eagerly waiting for Riley to come on stage. His breath hitches at the sight of her, he fiddles with his thumbs hoping it would hide the fact that his hands were shaking. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. It wasn’t like he was the one up there on stage, but still he felt this connection to her that he couldn’t explain.
Her rendition of On My Own was just as beautiful as he remembered and as she’s belting out the last line their eyes meet and he feels a chill run down his spine. But it’s her final moments of the play that really captivate him. Her character Éponine is dying in front of the man she loves and he feels a pang of jealousy as he watches that Evan boy wrap his arms around her.
“Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius…I don't feel any pain…A little fall of rain, can hardly hurt me now. You're here. That's all I need to know…and you will keep me safe…and you will keep me close…and rain will make the flowers grow.”
He watches Evan stroke the hair out of her eyes, kneeling before her. “Just hold me now, and let it be. Shelter me, comfort me.” She sings softly, tears falling down her flushed cheeks.
Lucas swallows the lump in his throat, not realizing that he was leaning forward in his chair, hanging on to her every word until Zay intentionally coughs to grab his attention.
He looks on either side of him realizing, they were all staring at him the entire time. Annette has this death glare in her eyes and Charlie looks amused, a wicked smirk dancing on his lips.
He excuses himself and rushes out of the auditorium, running outside to get some fresh air. He hangs back, waiting for the play to finish and once the crowd starts to disperse, he looks around for Riley. He catches a glimpse of her heading outside towards the parking lot and runs after her to catch her in time.
She was with her parents and even though the last thing he wanted was to speak to her in front of Mr. Matthews he couldn’t fight the urge to call out her name.
The sound of her name being called causes her to spin on her heels, long dark curls fan out as she turns to face him. He can see the surprised reaction settle in, she raises her eyebrows at him expectantly.
Mrs. Matthews gently grabs her husband by the arm to guide him over to their car. “C’mon Cory.” She gives him a look, wanting to give the two teens some privacy. “We’ll be waiting for you in the car honey.” She says directed at her daughter before giving Lucas a sympathetic smile.
He clears his throat as he approaches her, trying to figure out what to say.
“Yes?” She purses her lips together, a confused expression etched on her face.
He smiles slightly, remembering the first time he approached her outside of the school after hearing her sing On My Own. He takes a chance and decides to play on the nostalgia of the situation.
“I didn’t mean to startle you, I just – I heard you singing in there and I just wanted to say, Wow. You’re amazing.”
Realizing what he was doing, she smirks, biting down on her lip to hide her amusement. She was still furious at him, still couldn’t bear to look at him and yet there was just something about him that pulled her in.
“You know, you can’t just rewrite history.” She comments, her softened features furrowing together now. “Nice sentiment though.”
He watches her walk away and get into her parents car, not once looking back in his direction.
--
Riley wakes in the morning with a much more lighthearted feeling in her stomach. She didn’t know if it was because her pneumonia was finally out of her system, if it was the fact that Lucas was actually trying to set things right between them, or maybe it was the fact that she killed it yesterday on stage – whatever it was, she liked it.
She sings her heart out in the shower, hums her way through getting dressed and bobs her head through breakfast. Which doesn’t go unnoticed by her family. She was in a great mood.
She heads straight to her locker once she arrives, completely unaware of the whispers and giggles being thrown her way. Not thinking much of it she heads to her class.
Riley takes her usual seat in the middle and the bell rings warning students to hurry up before they’re late.
A boy who happens to be on the football team, named Dylan walks in and instead of taking his normal seat he makes a b-line straight for Riley, a flirty grin covering his face.
He leans over and taps on her desk. “Hey Matthews, how much?”
“How much what?” She asks in confusion, causing snickering to erupt from his friends on the other side of the room.
The teacher walks in ending their conversation but Riley has a hard time shaking the feeling that something terrible has happened.
Her suspicions are made true when she walks into the lunch room. She got a note in her locker from Isadora saying to meet her in the cafeteria which she thought was weird because they always met up in the library during their lunch period and usually Izzy would text her if there was a change of plans. Still, she decided to go.
As the double doors swing open she sees a cluster of papers plastered all over the first column as soon as you walk in. The table closest to it sat Charlie, Annette, Billy and a few other students she hardly ever interacted with. They were all laughing hysterically, watching her as she approached it.
With trembling hands she walks over and tears one off to read. It was a picture of her face photo-shopped onto the Virgin Mary. The caption read: Real life Virgin Mary for sale! Contact Riley Matthews for more information.
The room starts spinning as she drowns out the sound of their laughter. Her chest felt like it was caving in and the harder she tried to breathe the more she started to hyperventilate. She could feel tears forming in her eyes but blinked them away to the best of her ability, the last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of these people. The good mood she was in earlier had completely vanished leaving nothing but a numbing feeling behind.
There’s a familiar voice breaking through the sound barrier of her heart thumping in her chest. She blinks rapidly, trying to make out where it was coming from and a few feet away from her she spots Lucas.
He was hurrying towards her, a look of worry etched on his face. She can barely hear what he’s saying, but she feels his hands grab her shoulders. He snatches the paper out of her hand and turns around to see the pillar covered in identical copies.
She watches as he angrily yanks them all off the wall, ripping them to pieces before he turns his attention on the group of classmates he suspected was to blame.
“Which one of you pieces of shit did this?” He asks, shoving one of the more intact flyers in their face.
The cafeteria had gone silent as the angry volume of his voice echoed through. Charlie starts to laugh, standing up from his seat. “Calm down Friar, it’s just a little joke.”
“A little joke?!” He drops the flyer, his hands instead meet Charlie’s face, aggressively shoving him against the column. “This shit isn’t funny!”
Isadora and Farkle are on their way to the library when they see the commotion coming from the cafeteria. Izzy spots Riley and rushes in to her side, Farkle joining seconds later. Before they know it, the two teammates are brawling it out on the floor of the lunchroom.
A few faculty members, including Riley’s father, run in to break up the fight. Unfortunately, Mr. Matthews notices the flyers and his heart breaks as he realizes the reason behind the altercation. With the help of Zay he’s able to pull Lucas away from Charlie, leaving the shaggy haired boy bruised and bloody.
Riley, still not having moved or spoken since she saw the flyers, watches as her father escorts Lucas out of lunch and disappear down the hall. Her brain is still trying to process everything that happened. It isn’t until she feels Izzy’s hand link with hers that she starts to come to.
The petite raven haired girl walks her to the library, away from the chaos and commotion.
--
Mr. Matthews leads Lucas into his empty classroom and instructs him to take a seat. He pulls a first aid kit out of his desk and tends to the boy’s bloody fist and knuckles.
Lucas flinches slightly as the disinfectant wipe stings his open cut. He watches the older man, brows knitted together as he bandaged up his battered hand.
“I’m sorry.” Lucas apologizes. He’s not sure what exactly he’s apologizing for but he feels it needs to be said.
Mr. Matthews shakes his head, brushing off the boys apologies. He sighs heavily, leaning up against his desk to get a good look at him.
“I should’ve listened to you when you told me to stay away from your daughter, sir.” Lucas admits, averting his eyes from the history teacher. “This is all my fault.”
“It’s too late for that now, Mr. Friar.”
Lucas stares down at his hands, prepared for the lecture that was bound to happen.
“People change people.” Mr. Matthews says simply, his tone is gentle. “Even though I hated every second of it I saw how much you changed Riley for the better…and don’t think I haven’t noticed the positive impact she’s had on you either.” He pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts, “I guess I’m trying to say thank you.”
“For?”
“I may not agree with your methods but I appreciate you standing up for her.” He says offhandedly, walking over to open the door. “Hopefully Principle Tanner won’t be too hard on you.”
Lucas nods his head and starts to walk in the direction of the main office.
“Uh Lucas?” Mr. Matthews calls out just as the blonde is about to descend the stairs.
“Sir?”
“The library’s that way.” He answers, pointing his thumb in the opposite direction. Lucas raises his eyebrows not yet catching on to what he was insinuating.
“You’ll find what you’re looking for at the library.” He says more clearly, seeing the realization cross the teenagers face.
Lucas nods his head in understanding before darting across the hall and up the stairs towards the library…
