Farkle
I meet up with Maya before lunch and we scan the lunch room looking for Lucas, Zay and Smackle.
We see them towards the back of the lunch room, the only three at the table. Seems like they haven't branched out much.
I start to walk towards them but Maya grabs my hand.
"Wait. We need a plan. What are we going to say?" She asks.
"I was thinking of starting off with 'hello.'" I say, giving her a pointed look.
She rolls her eyes. "I know that. What about after that?"
"I was honestly just going to let the conversation carry itself." I shrug my shoulders.
"Seriously?! We haven't talked to these guys for months and you just want to go in blind?!"
"Uh, yeah. They were our friends once. We were able to talk to them. In fact, Smackle and I still stayed in contact so that's a start."
"Ok. Lets go."
"Uh, Maya?"
"Yeah?"
"You can let go of my hand now."
She looks down and her eyes widen. "Oh, sorry. Guess I'm just nervous." She lets go of my hand.
"Since when are you nervous?" I ask.
"Since I lost all of my friends and began questioning every move I make."
"Ok, then." I turn and walk towards the table, Maya walking next to me.
Their conversation stops when they see us coming.
"Hey." I say.
They're all silent.
"Is it ok if we sit here?" I ask.
"It's a free country." Lucas says.
"Thanks." I say with a smile and sit down. Maya does the same.
Lucas and Zay just stare at us. Smackle is eating her food. She definitely doesn't feel the tension, or if she does she's ignoring it.
"Why are you guys here?" Lucas asks.
I take a deep breath and look him in the eyes. "I've realized how much things have changed since I've come back from Germany. And they haven't changed for the better."
Lucas doesn't say anything.
"I was hoping to get the gang back together. It was ridiculous that we broke up in the first place."
"Yeah, well, I tried to rekindle things a couple months ago and it didn't go well. What's so different now?"
"A couple of months ago I didn't see the damage I had already created."
Lucas looks at me confused.
"I'm the one who pushed you and Smackle together, causing the awkwardness between you and Maya, causing us to split up. I regret not seeing it before, but I see it now and I want to fix it."
"Isn't that normally Riley's job, fixing things?" Zay asks.
"Riley isn't really talking to us right now." Maya speaks up.
"Why not?" Zay asks. "I mean, I know why she's not talking to you." Motioning to me. "But why isn't she talking to you?"
"I've been seeing a guy for a few weeks now and I never told her about it. Then one night instead of being there for her, I was out with him. She wasn't very happy about it." Maya says.
"Wait, you're seeing someone?" Lucas asks her.
"Yeah, what do you care?" Maya shoots back.
"Ok, ok." I say. "This is what we're trying to avoid."
Maya looks away and Lucas just sighs.
"Guys, Farkle's right." Smackle finally speaks. "We need to be friends again. We were better together. None of us have been the same. We definitely haven't been as happy."
Lucas and Zay don't say anything, silently agreeing with her.
"I think we should give it a shot. Starting with our safe place. I think we should all go to Topanga's after school." Smackle says.
Lucas nods his head, Zay just shrugs his shoulders.
"That's a great idea." I tell her. "Maya?" I look next to me.
She nods her head in agreement.
"Great." I smile. "So, same time as usual? We can work on homework together."
Everyone nods their head. This is great. This is perfect. Things will finally start going back to normal.
Maybe once we're all friends again, they can help me with Riley.
After school, Maya meets me at my locker.
"Are you sure we should be doing this? What if they don't show?" She says.
I give her a pointed look. "Maya, they're going to come. That, I can guarantee."
"How?"
"Smackle of course. She wants nothing more than for the group to be back together."
"If you say so."
"And you and Lucas need to work on being more civil to one another. I thought you forgave him?"
"I did... kind of. I mostly just said it so he'd leave me alone. I can barely stand seeing them together from a distance, how am I supposed to act seeing them up close?"
"Wait, do you-"
I'm cut off by a look from Maya, who's glancing at something over my shoulder. I turn around.
It's Riley. With him. They're walking down the hallway towards us. I feel Maya grab my hand. I look at her and see a look of sadness, longing, and guilt. I hold her hand firmly, comforting her.
As they pass us, Riley looks at us. Her eyes widen when she sees our hands. Hurt washes over her face and she keeps walking.
I watch her leave. I can't stand not being with her.
"I miss her so much." Maya says, barely above a whisper. I tear my eyes from Riley down to Maya. She's holding back tears. I gently pull her into a hug.
"She's my best friend. She should be here." She says, her voice still soft.
I pull out of the hug and grab her by her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "We will get her back, ok? I promise you, you will have your best friend back soon."
She nods. "Okay."
I smile. "I never knew you to be this emotional."
Maya punches me in the arm while holding in a laugh. "Shut up. Lets get to Topanga's."
When we walk in, we see Lucas, Smackle and Zay sitting in our usual spot. Smackle and Lucas are sitting up against the wall, Zay sitting in the seat across the table from them. Maya and I take the seats in between.
"You guys came." I say.
At first no one says anything, and then Zay speaks up.
"Of course we did, man. We all used to be best friends. I can't believe we tried throwing that away so quickly. I missed you guys."
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