24I know I need to be getting up a new chapter of The Most Magical Place (and Life After Tombstone), and I do almost have the next chapter done, but after seeing Ski Lodge 2 I couldn't resist this scenario. My plan is to maybe make this a series of firsts in their relationship now that they're together. I know the bus ride has already been done by others, but hopefully this is different enough from those that you won't mind reading about the situation again. Hope you enjoy!
Riley was curled up beside Lucas on the couch, giggling at the story he was telling about Zay trying to catch a raccoon they'd come across on one of their hikes yesterday, when Maya came up to interrupt them.
"Sorry to break you two lovebirds up, but it's time to go." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder to point at the door behind her. "Everybody else is already on the bus."
"They are?" Riley exclaimed in surprise, her curled legs coming down off the couch as she jolted upright. "I had no idea it was that late!" She and Lucas had sort of been wrapped up in each other ever since they'd moved from the bay window to sit in front of the fireplace, she guessed. "I haven't even packed my bag."
"I haven't either," Lucas confessed, and they both scrambled to get off the couch.
"Relax," Maya put up a hand to halt them. "Topanga said she did it for you."
Lucas raised a brow. "Mine too?"
"That's what she said. So come on, let's get this show on the road. Everybody's waiting."
Lucas got to his feet before Riley did, and he reached out a hand to help her up, his lips curled in a crooked little grin.
Smiling at the gesture (and because she just couldn't seem to stop smiling at him), she placed her hand in his, and he pulled her up easily. When they turned to head out of the lodge, he didn't let go of her hand.
Riley glanced down at where they were still joined, then looked up to meet his eyes with a shy curve of her lips.
Noticing the look, and their clasped hands, Maya said archly, "So, everything's all settled? You're together now?"
For the first time in what felt like hours, Riley's smile faltered. "Is that okay? Lucas said you told him you were alright with it. That you'd figured out you didn't like him like that." The last was said questioningly.
"I did," the other girl nodded as she looked over at Lucas with a slight smirk. "Everything's good, Riles."
"Good." Riley's smile returned to full wattage. She wanted more details about how Maya had come to that decision, but those could wait until they were alone.
When they got to the bus, Maya got on first. When Riley moved to follow her, Lucas changed the hold of their hands so that his forearm was underneath hers in support as she prepared to step up.
"Watch out for those killer steps," he said teasingly, keeping an eye on her feet to ensure that she didn't trip.
Having gained the first step, she was just cresting the second one when she looked over her shoulder to make a face at him. That moment of inattention made her misstep, and she lost her balance and started to stumble backwards.
Moving instinctively, Lucas jumped up to the bottom step to fill the doorway and block her fall.
One minute Riley was immersed in the panicky realization that she was about to fall off the bus yet again, and the next, she was crashing backwards into Lucas, who absorbed the impact with only a small jolt of movement.
She caught her breath in relief at the sudden sense of safety that surrounded her, Lucas standing solid and steady against her back, with both hands cupping her elbows. Looking back at him over her shoulder, she gave him a look of gratitude.
Assured of her safety, he grinned. "You know, usually when I catch you, your next line is, 'Hi, I'm Riley. We were just talking about you'."
Riley laughed, then said wryly, "How about I go with 'Sorry. I'm so clumsy and quirky. Boys hate that'."
"This boy doesn't," he assured her, still cradling her against his chest.
They shared a soft smile with one another...
...until it was startled off their faces by the loud clearing of someone's throat.
Riley's mom and dad were right across from them in the seat behind the driver. Topanga, sitting next to the window, was looking at them with a smile twinkling in her eyes. But Cory was standing, practically in the aisle, with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes? Were not twinkling.
"Mr. Friar," he said evenly, "Would you be so kind as to let go of my daughter and separate yourself from her back?"
It was only then that they realized she was still plastered against Lucas's front with him practically wrapped around her. And that the entire bus had fallen silent and were watching them avidly.
Flustered, the two of them separated, and hastily climbed the rest of the way onto the bus.
"Sorry, sir. I saw her falling and I just reacted," Lucas apologized when they were even with Mr. Matthews.
Cory's hardened expression relented as he uncrossed his arms. "I appreciate your quick thinking, Lucas. Thank you for saving her from another fall," he said sincerely.
"Sorry we made you wait," Riley added her own apology, casting a glance at her classmates and feeling a bit awkward when she saw they were all still staring.
"That's okay, honey," Topanga replied kindly. "Why don't you two go take your seat and we'll get going," she urged, and the two teenagers moved further into the bus.
Her Uncle Josh was in the seat behind her parents. He was sitting with his back against the wall beneath the window, his leg stretched lazily across the bench, and his elbow hooked over the back of the seat beside him.
"Glad you guys made it," he told them with a grin and a teasing wink. Riley got the feeling he was talking about more than just them making it onto the bus. "Alright, kiddies, there's nothing to see here. Get back to what you were doing," he called chidingly to the rest of the students.
The bus immediately grew noisy with everyone resuming their chatter and Lucas said gratefully, "Thanks, Josh."
The other boy gave a loose two-fingered salute near his temple in return.
As they moved on, they found Maya in the next seat, sitting beside Zay. "I'm gonna sit here. You and Huckleberry can have the seat behind Farkle and Smackle," she informed them lightly.
It was obvious she'd chosen that seat because it was right behind Josh. Riley saw her best friend give him a coy smile when she told them of her plans to sit there, and she was surprised to see her uncle return it with one of his own.
Lifting a brow, she replied, "Okay. But bay window when we get home."
"Definitely," the other girl agreed.
They acknowledged Farkle and Smackle when they passed them by, then Lucas made an ushering motion towards the empty seat behind them. "Window seat, milady?" he offered playfully, their light mood returning now that they weren't under such intense scrutiny from all the other eyes on the bus.
Giggling, Riley slid in ahead of him with an equally playful reply. "Thank you, kind sir."
She smiled up at him as maneuvered his way into the seat beside her.
When he was settled, he offered her his hand, laying it palm up on his thigh, where it was nearly touching hers. "I'm getting used to this already," he murmured with his head close to hers as she interlocked her fingers with his. "I may hold onto it all the way to New York. Or until your dad makes me stop."
Leaning into him and ducking her head next to his they laughed together under their breath.
"So the triangle's really over?" Half-turned in his seat in front of them, Farkle interrupted their laughter to ask. "You finally chose Riley?"
"Yeah," Lucas replied, sharing a smile with the girl beside him. "And she chose me right back," he said thankfully, and Riley's expression softened.
"And everyone's okay with that?" Farkle swung around to direct the question rather pointedly towards Maya in the seat in front of him.
Maya nodded at him in assurance. "'Everyone' is perfectly okay with it," she replied, placing a dry emphasis on the word 'everyone'.
Farkle gave a sigh of relief. "Can I just say how profoundly grateful I am that's finally over?"
"Yeah, we all are," Zay agreed wholeheartedly.
"Well, I'm a bit sad I never got to be a part of the triangle to see what all the fuss was about," Smackle contradicted, "But I was told it was an uncomfortable and undesirable state for a relationship to be in, so perhaps it's for the best," she concluded.
"It's definitely for the best," Maya affirmed with a nod.
"Yeah. It's the best," Lucas softly added his agreement, gazing at Riley with his heart in his eyes. Her own eyes fell under his warm regard, and she gave a shy huff of laughter before looking back up at him, her features glowing.
The group of friends chatted easily as the bus rolled down the rural highway surrounded by mile after mile of showy autumn color. The late afternoon sun seemed to set the trees on fire, and they glowed like a colorful patchwork of flames in hues of red, gold, and orange.
Riley and Lucas participated in the ongoing conversation, offering lighthearted responses and comments in their giddiness.
Riley hadn't felt this light in a very long time. The triangle had really been weighing on her. It had been weighing on them all. It was a huge relief to finally have an end to it. And that Lucas had chosen her, and Maya hadn't gotten hurt...it was the best possible outcome she could've imagined. It was almost too good to be true. But it had left her floating on a cloud of happiness that made everything seem brighter.
And she wasn't on her cloud alone. Lucas was right there beside her, sharing smiles and quiet jokes with her, and giving her sweet looks that made her feel warm all over.
More and more, when their friends turned to get their input on whatever they were currently saying, they found the two of them with their heads bent close together, talking quietly and laughing with one another. After several times, they gave them an indulgent look and finally just let them be. The two of them had definitely earned some together time.
They all settled in then, mostly just conversing with their own seatmates, and occasionally talking amongst themselves.
Riley and Lucas barely noticed the shift in conversational flow. They'd been playing with each other's fingers the entire time they'd been talking to the others, and now Lucas was using his right hand to flatten hers out atop his left. He lightly brushed the back of each of her fingers to straighten them until their hands were perfectly aligned, laying palm to palm.
"How are your hands so small?" He spoke as if he was making a wondrous discovery. "You're nearly as tall as I am. How do you have such cute, dainty little hands?"
Riley released a breathy little gust of laughter. "They're not that small. Yours are just big." Turning their hands so their arms were entwined and his was now on top, she brushed her free hand gently over the back of his. "That's something I've always noticed about you; that you have these big, strong, capable-looking hands that almost seem like they could reach all the way around my waist."
"You've thought that?" he murmured delightedly, a matching smile stretched across his face.
Her cheeks heated as she realized she might have said too much. Shrugging a shoulder, she answered evasively, "I don't know. Maybe."
"Oh no," he drawled teasingly, "you can't take it back now. I'm onto you, Riley Matthews. You've got a thing for my hands," he charged lightly.
Eyes dropping as she laughed blushingly, she nudged him with her shoulder. "Stop it."
Lucas just laughed softly, finding her flushed, sheepish face pretty much adorable.
"I guess we'll have to try it out sometime. See if they really will reach all the way around your waist." They were both looking down at their hands when he made the suggestion with forced casualness, but then he cut his eyes over to hers, and the look she found there seemed to zing straight through her.
"Okay," she said in agreement, feeling breathless both from the unnameable look in his eyes, and the idea of him fitting his hands around her waist.
They fell silent for a time, their fingers twining together to resume a more natural hold. Lucas's free hand loosely cupped the back of the one he held, the pad of his thumb lightly caressing the soft skin near her knuckles and the fleshy base of her thumb. When Riley chanced a glance at him, he looked deep in thought.
"What are you thinking?" she asked, her eyes crinkling up in inquiry.
A faint smile curved his lips. "Just that it's almost hard for me to believe this is really happening. I was kind of starting to wonder if it ever would," he confessed.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I wanted to believe everything was going to work out okay, but sometimes it was hard to keep thinking that. It did though, right?" She glanced at Maya, then looked to him for reassurance. "Everything really is okay."
Smile becoming tender, he nodded in confirmation. "Everything is more than okay."
They looked at each other for a long moment and their smiles grew wider as the reality of it all sank in once again. Then Riley laughed for pretty much no reason at all, and Lucas chuckled soundlessly.
After that, they slouched down low in their seat, bracing their knees on the back of Farkle and Smackle's, and continued to talk. At one point, Riley proposed they play the alphabet game, so they spent the next hour or so watching the passing scenery out the window and searching for letters on all the signs and license plates they passed.
They were both stuck on Q when the bus stopped for a bathroom break at a gas and convenience store. Everyone filed out of the bus noisily and converged on the store to use their facilities and purchase some mid-trip snacks.
Riley and her friends were near the front of the pack, but she and Lucas got left a little behind the others when some of the kids in the row across from their seats squeezed in between them.
As everyone was shuffling out, Cory was calling out loudly, "You've got fifteen minutes! Any later than that and the bus'll leave without ya," he bluffed. "We'll be keeping an eye on you," funnily enough, he said that part just as Lucas and Riley were filing past, and his gaze zeroed in on them pointedly for a second, "So everybody be on your best behavior in there. No yelling, no rough housing, no throwing things to your friend Larry across the store...just get in, get out, and act like ya got some manners, ya hooligans."
Lucas helped Riley down the steps and onto the ground safely. Then, hurrying away from the bus with quickened steps, they took hold of each other's hands, checking over their shoulders to make sure her dad wasn't seeing them, and laughing as if they were getting away with something. When they got to the door of the convenience store, Lucas reached to pull it open, then paused politely to let an older woman walk through ahead of them.
She thanked him with a smile, then he urged Riley to enter in front of him.
Once inside, they headed to the back where the restrooms were. According to the signs, the women's was on the far side of the store and the men's was on the other.
"I think there's a Snickers bar somewhere in here with my name on it," he said humorously, as they walked along a long line of shelves holding automotive and household items.
"Yeah, I could use a Twix fix, myself," she grinned in return.
When they reached the small group of boys waiting for their turn in the men's room, and it was time to go their separate ways, Riley questioned with a winsome smile, "So I'll meet you at the candy aisle?"
"Deal," Lucas laughed.
As they started to go in opposite directions, their arms stretched out full-length between them when they held onto each other's hand until the last possible second, Riley giggling the entire time.
They finally parted with a smile, and Riley ran into Maya and Smackle when she turned to head towards the women's room.
"You two are so cute it's kind of disgusting," her best friend declared as the three of them walked together.
Before Riley could reply, their path intersected with her Uncle Josh, who'd just exited an aisle juggling a bag of Doritos and a Coke in one hand, and a sleeve of chocolate chip cookies in the other.
Maya handily relieved him of the cookies as they passed him, saying, "Thanks, Boing! How'd you know these were my favorites?"
"Maya," he said in mild exasperation, grabbing for the package of cookies and missing. "Fine," he conceded with a sigh. As he turned to go back and get another package for himself, he chided her playfully. "Behave yourself, would ya?"
"Now where's the fun in that?" she sassed back, grinning in triumph over the prize in her hand.
"Nice move, Maya," Smackle said in approval. "Your dreamboat never saw it coming."
"Thanks, Smackle. It was pretty fun," Maya chuckled.
"So what's going on between you and Josh?" Riley inquired, linking arms with the blonde as they walked.
"Nothing," she lilted in answer. "For right now."
"And you're happy about that?" Smackle asked in some confusion.
"Yeah, I am. I'm actually happier than I've been in awhile," she said a bit wonderingly, as if she were just coming to that realization herself. Then, tightening her arm around Riley's, she added in a teasing tone, "And even though it's obviously gonna be disgusting to watch, I'm happy Riley's happy."
"Thank you, peaches," she replied with a wide smile, laying her head briefly on Maya's shoulder. "I'm happy we're all happy," she proclaimed.
The three girls took their turns in the restroom then came back out to meet the guys and get their refreshments.
When Riley came up behind Lucas in the candy aisle, she saw that he already had a Snickers and a Twix in his hand.
Greeting her with a smile, he lifted them slightly so she could see. "It's not a sandwich or cake, but since I was getting me one, I was thinking to get you one too."
Riley laughed softly at his reference to what she'd said earlier in the bay window, thinking that it was so sweet he'd remembered and was already keeping his promise. Well, almost anyway. "I think you promised me a drink too," she pointed out playfully.
"You're right. That's my bad," he agreed, immediately leading the way to the wall of refrigerated cases holding all the chilled drinks.
As Riley opened the door to pull out a bottle of water, she told him, "I was only kidding, Lucas, you don't really have to get me this."
"I know. I want to," he assured her. What he didn't say was that it made him feel good to think he was fulfilling his promise to her. He didn't know why getting her food was what she'd thought to ask about when she thought of them being together, but he was planning on buying her lots of sandwiches, drinks, and cake in the future.
There was a pretty long line at both the cash registers up front, the cashiers ringing up orders at a frantic pace to try and keep up with the sudden overflow of customers. As Lucas and Riley went to take their places at the back of one of the queues, a middle-aged woman approached from the other direction, obviously heading for the same place.
They all stopped short, then Lucas motioned her on. "You go ahead," he offered politely.
"Thank you, young man," she accepted with a smile, and Riley realized then that she was the same woman Lucas had held the door open for when they'd first entered the store. After they'd all joined the line, she turned and addressed Riley.
"Is this your boyfriend?"
A little taken aback, Riley wasn't quite sure what to answer. Was that what their conversation in the bay window meant, that they were boyfriend and girlfriend now? She thought it did, but she didn't want to be presumptuous if that's not what Lucas thought.
At her hesitation, Lucas felt a jolt of uneasiness. Was this not what she wanted? Was she having second thoughts?
But when they looked at each other, all he saw was a question in her eyes. A question that went away at whatever she was seeing in his eyes.
Their lips tipped up, and he knew they were both remembering the same long ago conversation in a hallway with all their classmates gathered around.
Are we...boyfriend and girlfriend now?
I don't know, you wanna?
I don't know, you think maybe?
"Yeah. He's my boyfriend," Riley finally replied a bit shyly, a thrill going through her at the admission. Lucas was her boyfriend now. Hers and hers alone.
The older lady nodded as if she'd suspected it all along. "You better hang on to him," she advised lightly. "He's a real gentleman and I haven't seen many of those around lately."
Smiling up at him fondly, Riley slid her arm through his. "Yeah, he is."
Watching as Lucas affectionately returned his girlfriend's smile, the woman added admiringly, "You two make such a cute couple."
"Thank you, ma'am," he returned amiably.
"Such a gentleman," she murmured as she turned back to face the front of the line.
Eyes dancing, the two of them shared a silent chuckle.
With food in hand, everyone piled back on the bus for the second half of the trip.
Cory and Topanga boarded the bus after the last of the stragglers, and she started down the center aisle to do a head count. The ripping open of packages, crinkling of cellophane, and the hiss of carbonated beverages as their bottles were opened could be heard all over the bus, leading Cory to call out in warning.
"Remember, you mess it up, you clean it up! And you're responsible for your own trash."
"That doesn't mean throwing it on the floor, leaving it in your seats, or tossing it out the window," Topanga added, walking back to the front after an accurate count.
When they got back on the road, Riley, Lucas, and their friends munched on their snacks and chatted for awhile. When Lucas mentioned the alphabet game he and Riley had been playing, everyone quickly decided they all wanted to play. So they started over with six players instead of two. Josh insisted he wasn't playing, but every so often he pointed out a letter to Maya helpfully.
They were about mid-way through the alphabet when Riley's eyes started feeling heavy and she yawned widely. She'd been running high on emotion up till that point, but her sleepless night was finally catching up to her.
She continued her visual search for a K, but the passing scenery was beginning to blur, and she yawned again. She and Lucas were twisted around in their seat so they were more or less facing the window. And as the miles wore on, she found herself leaning back against his chest more and more heavily.
It wasn't until her head dropped back against his breastbone and startled her awake that she realized she'd actually fallen asleep.
The movement alerted Lucas as well, and he craned his head around to see her face. "Hey, are you fallin' asleep?" he asked with affectionate amusement.
"Yeah, I think I am," she admitted sheepishly. "I was up way past 10:00 o'clock last night," she joked.
It was a testament to how much more secure he felt in their relationship now that the reference to her night spent talking to Evan didn't bother him as much.
"Let's get you more comfortable then," he suggested, shifting them around so that they were sitting properly in the seat, and pulling her towards him to rest against his shoulder. Her head fell naturally against his collar bone and nestled in the hollow near his neck. "Better?"
Riley just nodded, the warmth of his body and the motion of the bus quickly lulling her back to sleep. Just as she was dropping off, she thought she felt Lucas press a kiss to the top of her head, and a faint smile curved her lips as sleep pulled her under.
A sharp jolt of the bus as it hit a pothole woke her up sometime later. She felt so warm and cozy she was reluctant to move though. She'd been covered with something while she slept, and she opened her eyes sleepily to find Lucas's denim jacket draped over her. Tucking her face down inside the collar, she breathed in the lingering scent of Lucas on the fabric. The clean earthy smell made her feel safe and content. Things she associated with her tall Texan.
As she remembered that he truly was hers now, a smile curved her lips, and she was filled with a warm happy glow.
Beyond the expanse of denim, she could see Lucas's hand resting in his lap, and it was lazily twirling the leaf she'd given him by its stem. Its colors danced as it twirled around in one direction, then it stopped and did several rotations back the other way. In her drowsy state, the movements were mesmerizing, and she laid contentedly against his chest to watch it for a time.
But eventually she felt the need to stretch after being in one position for so long, so, reluctantly, she sat up.
For a brief moment she caught a glimpse of the look he must've been wearing when she was lying against him. He was looking down at the leaf thoughtfully with a slight smile on his face. Upon seeing she was awake, the smile grew in proportion, and his expression changed into one that looked happy to see her.
"Hey, sleepyhead," he greeted her tenderly, "Did you have a good nap?" he inquired, reaching to push back a strand of hair that was clinging to her face.
"Yeah," she answered huskily, flashing a smile and feeling a bit shy. "Sorry I fell asleep on you."
"That's okay. It was actually kind of nice," he assured her sweetly.
"I didn't drool on you or anything did I?" Her eyes darted down to his shoulder to check as the horrifying thought occurred to her. That would be horribly embarrassing.
Lucas laughed, and looked down himself. "Nope, shirt's all dry. But I wouldn't have minded even if you had."
"You say that now, but I bet it would be a different story if I'd gotten your shirt all slobbery," she said humorously.
Grinning, he insisted, "I would've just thought it was cute."
Riley wrinkled her nose. "Slobber isn't cute, Lucas."
"Riley slobber would be," he impishly maintained.
Laughing, she shook her head. "You're crazy," she fondly accused, but she was charmed in spite of herself.
They'd made it into the city while she was sleeping, and it wasn't long before the bus was pulling into the school parking lot. As it rolled to a stop and everyone began to gather their things, Riley removed the covering of Lucas's jacket, though she was reluctant to part with the warmth and comfort it was providing.
Holding it out to Lucas, she said, "Here's your jacket back. Thank you for covering me up."
Lucas saw her give a reflexive shiver now that she'd lost the jacket's warmth. The sun was on its way down and the temperature had dropped several degrees during the last leg of the trip. That was one of the reasons he'd covered her up to begin with.
Instead of reaching for the jacket, he gently pushed it back towards her. "Why don't you wear it. It got pretty chilly while you were asleep."
"But then you'll be cold," she protested, trying to hand it to him again.
But Lucas pushed it back. "I promise, I'll be fine," he insisted, a laugh threatening to break free from his throat. The comicalness of the two of them thrusting the jacket back and forth at each other wasn't lost on him. "And honestly, I kind of like the idea of you wearing my jacket," he admitted.
That stopped Riley in her tracks. She was immediately captivated by the idea. "You do?"
He nodded, smiling. "It is a boyfriend/girlfriend kind of thing to do, right?"
"Yeah." A smile spread across her own face. "I guess it is."
Without any further protest, Riley slipped the jacket on. Beaming up at him, she held her arms out slightly and asked, "How does it look?"
The sleeves fell down past her fingertips, and it was big enough to swallow her, but the sight of her wearing something of his stirred something deep inside him. His voice was husky and lower than normal when he answered, "It looks perfect."
Later, when Riley joined her parents at her father's car and Lucas was walking towards his own parents' vehicle, Cory's panic-stricken shout rang out across the parking lot.
"Lucas, you come back and get this thing right now! I am NOT ready for jean jackets!"