9I lowkey wanted the Matthews to move to London just so we could get an episode similar to A Long Walk to Pittsburgh. So that's what this oneshot is inspired by. I love having Rucas parallel Corpanga. Enjoy!
A Long Way to London
It had been only a day since Riley and her family left New York to move to London, England. Topanga had surprisingly taken the offer and uprooted her kids from the only place they've ever known. Lucas wasn't taking it well. He had been moping around ever since he and Riley shared their goodbyes. He so badly wanted to be at the airport with her and her family, to send her off, but his mother, Liz, forbade him to. Liz knew that if she allowed her son to go to the airport, he'd make a rash decision and get on the plane with her. She didn't want to keep him apart from Riley, but there was no other choice. Riley was gone.
Lucas was having dinner with his parents, but he didn't have an appetite. All he could think about was Riley. They never did officially break up, they had hope for each other. If anyone would be able to survive a long-distance relationship, it would be them. Instead of eating, Lucas pushed around the pasta on his plate with his fork. He had his phone beside the plate. Riley promised she would message him the moment she got a new phone and number. He knew Riley only left yesterday, but he hoped that she would've gotten a new number by now.
"I know you're upset, but you need to eat," Liz said when she noticed her son's eyes glued to his blank phone screen.
"I don't feel like eating," Lucas murmured. He didn't feel like doing much of anything without Riley.
"You gotta get over her," Liz said carefully.
"We didn't break up," Lucas retorted.
"I know," Liz nodded. "But it's been statistically proven that long-distance relationships don't work out."
"There's those few instances that do," Lucas pointed out. He sighed. "Mom, she's the best thing that's ever happened to be since we moved here. I'm not giving up on her so easily."
"And I'm grateful for her, Luke," Liz assured her son, reaching out to cover his hand with hers. "I've never seen you so happy. And I hate to break it to you, but she's gone now."
"I refuse to believe it," Lucas scoffed.
"Tell me, did you honestly believe that you and Riley were going to spend the rest of your lives together?" Liz questioned. She wasn't trying to invalidate her son's feelings for his girlfriend, but she wanted him to know that sometimes relationships don't work out. "You gotta be realistic."
Offended, Lucas stood up from his seat and slammed his palms on the table. This action only startled his father, Logan, who drowned out the conversation between his wife and only son. He didn't do well with feelings and decided to let Liz figure it out. But now Logan was alert to his surroundings.
"Why are you so against me and her, Mom?!" Lucas yelled. He didn't mean to, but he nevered like it when people questioned his feelings.
"I'm not," Liz said softly. She was taken aback. The last time she'd seen him like this was back in Texas, back when he used to get in fights. He wasn't that person anymore. "I just don't think you entirely know what love is."
Lucas clenched his jaw and balled his fists. Logan noticed and gave his son a look, "Lucas, relax."
"How can I relax when Mom doesn't think Riley and I are going to work out?" Lucas said, defeated. He sat back down and slouched.
Logan and Liz exchanged looks. Logan said, "She's making you think realistically. You have your whole life ahead of you. You're going to meet a lot of girls."
"I don't care," Lucas countered. "I only want Riley." He pointed to his mother, "And she's trying to keep us apart."
"I'm not!" Liz defended herself. "If anything, it's Cory and Topanga keeping you apart. They moved her to England, for god's sake!"
"It doesn't change the fact you don't think I don't know what love is!" Lucas said firmly. Lucas stared at his plate. His anger began to subside. "I'm sorry for yelling. I just… Riley. I love her, okay? I knew I had feelings for her since the day she fell onto my lap on the subway. I never thought I'd ever meet anyone like her. She believes in me, Mom, even when I didn't believe in her. She gave me my first kiss; I went on my first date with her. She's really special to me. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have my friends, I wouldn't have survived New York. I feel like I can do anything because of her. She makes me want to be a better person, not like who I was in Texas. I know I haven't known her for long and we're still young but I can tell you that I see myself spending the rest of my life with her. And just because I'm sixteen doesn't mean I don't know what love is. I know what love is. It's when I'm better because she's here."
"You were always very mature for your age," Liz said. She couldn't argue with what her son said. What he said was completely right, and she understood. She understood the bond he had with his girlfriend. And who was she to deny the feelings that he was totally aware of and understood? And if Riley was what made him happy, what made him a better person, she couldn't dare take it away from him. All a mother wants is for her son to be happy.
"That's exactly how I felt about your mother," Logan told his son. He had met Liz at a young age, and even when they felt that all odds were against them, they somehow made it work. He had no doubt in his mind that it wouldn't be the same for Riley and Lucas. "I'm sure you two will find a way to make it work. But for now, you're going to have to deal with her being gone."
"I'm hopeful she'll come back," Lucas breathed.
The first day back at school without Riley was tough on Lucas. He wasn't the only one affected, the rest of their friends were, too. No one knew how to act without her. They felt an imbalance that no one would be able to fix, a gap that no one would be able to fill. They were unusually quiet in the classes they had together, especially history class, where their favorite teacher was replaced with a new one fresh out of teacher's college. They were the most uncomfortable in that class. They stared at the empty desk in the front of the class—Riley's desk. All they could think of was how Riley would sit there and entertain everybody by bickering with her father. They missed that. They missed her.
The five friends sat at their usual table in the cafeteria at lunch. No one really talked. No one wanted to further confirm that Riley was really gone. But Smackle couldn't handle the silence. She had to say something.
"Weird not having Mr. Matthews as our history teacher anymore," she wondered aloud. She looked at each of her friends to see if anyone would react. She sighed and silently ate her sandwich when no one looked at her.
"I miss him," Maya spoke up, refusing to touch her food. Like Lucas, she hadn't had much of an appetite lately. "I was actually quite fond of him. He taught me everything I know."
Lucas couldn't believe they were talking about their former history teacher, especially when Riley was gone. And no offence to Cory, but Riley was by far more important to their friends than he ever was.
"And what about Riley, you don't miss her?" Lucas challenged Maya, cocking a brow. He couldn't stand that they were dancing around the absence of a certain brunette.
Maya was slightly offended by his words. Of course she missed her, she was her best friend! If anything, she was more devastated than he was. But she didn't want to argue. It wouldn't matter. It wouldn't change the fact that Riley was in a completely different country. She scoffed, "I can't believe you just asked me that." She folded her arms across her chest and slid down into her seat.
"We all miss her, dude," Zay chimed in, hoping to calm down his childhood friend. "No one just wants to admit she's really gone."
"Well, she is," Lucas retorted, then took a sip of his water. He gulped. "So then shouldn't we do something about it?"
"Lucas, she's three thousand miles away," Farkle pointed out solemnly.
"I don't think there's anything we can do," Smackle added. She frowned. "Riley is gone. And I don't think the Matthews are going to visit any time soon."
"Plus, Riley needs to adjust to her new surroundings," Zay added.
"That doesn't mean we should lose hope for her," Lucas said. He played with the bracelet that Riley had given him before she left. "She's always believed in us, no matter what. Shouldn't we have hope for her? If it wasn't for her, we all wouldn't be here together. She's the core of this circle of friends we have. She's our Pluto."
"Hope's for suckers, remember?" Maya said with hollow eyes. Since Riley left, Maya decided to scrap her beliefs and returned to her original rejection of hope. Hope was stupid. Reality was, without Riley, hope meant nothing to Maya. And the fact that the world separated the two best friends only further confirmed how stupid hope was. "If hope really was a thing, Riley wouldn't have moved. She would have stayed. But she didn't."
"I can't hear any more of this," Lucas muttered. He stood up and looked at each of his friends. "I can't believe you're all giving up on her."
"I can't believe you think she's coming back," Farkle scoffed.
The forecast called for heavy rainfall for the next few days. Lucas didn't mind it too much. It matched his mood. His friends were right, and only now was he starting to realize it. He couldn't do anything about Riley being gone. And he had to accept it, even though he really, really didn't want to. He felt that accepting it was the first step to them falling apart. And he didn't want that. He still had hope, even though no one did.
It was Friday night when Lucas heard a banging on the door. It was still raining outside, and he was drowning his sorrows by watching cheesy romance movies, ones that Riley forced him to watch with her. He never liked them, but it reminded him of her. He paused the movie and got up. Who could possibly be visiting in the middle of a storm? He sluggishly dragged himself to answer the door. When he opened it to reveal his visitor, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Lucas thought he was hallucinating, something that happened quite often since her departure. He wiped his eyes and shut them. When he opened them again, he expected the visitor to turn into someone else. But nope. Riley Matthews was standing in front of him.
He didn't say a word, and neither did she. They stared at each other, neither realizing they were holding their breaths. Lucas was still trying to mentally confirm her presence, and Riley was trying to read what was going on in Lucas's mind. She shivered as she did so, soaking wet from the New York rain. She took a cab straight from the airport, and when the driver couldn't get the directions right, she decided to walk to the Friar apartment instead. It was usually easy for her to get into Lucas's head, but she had never seen his expression so blank.
Riley was first to break the tension. She couldn't wait for Lucas to react so she threw herself at him and sobbed into her chest. He wasn't quite sure if they were tears of joy or despair, but nonetheless, Lucas's first instinct was to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her wet hair. That was enough to convince him that he wasn't hallucinating. He whispered her name.
"I'm sorry I got you wet," Riley apologized when she pulled away and noticed the wet spots on Lucas's shirt. She chuckled lightheartedly, something she hadn't done since before her parents relocated her. She wiped her tears.
"I don't care," Lucas shook his head. To prove his point, he pulled her to his chest and squeezed her. He whispered, "I missed you."
"Lucas, who's at the—" Liz's face dropped when she saw a drenched Riley standing in their apartment. It wasn't that she was upset to see her, but she was in shock. Riley was supposed to be three thousand miles away, but for some reason she was in New York. And she had a feeling her parents were unaware.
Lucas pulled away from Riley and took a step back, startled by the sound of his mother's voice. He and Riley turned to look at her.
"Riley, honey, you're soaking wet," Liz said as she quickly attended to the brunette. She led her to the couch and sat beside her. She turned to her son, who followed. "Lucas, can you get Riley some clothes to change into? We don't want her getting sick."
Lucas nodded before disappearing into his room. He looked through his dresser to find clothing for Riley. He settled on a grey Texas sweatshirt and plaid pajama bottoms. He had a feeling that she was going to spend the night, and that Liz was going to allow it. He quickly returned to his girlfriend and mother, who were having a conversation when he walked in.
"Sweetie, I need to call your parents," Liz held one of Riley's hands in both of hers.
"Please don't call them," Riley pleaded, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "They're going to kill me!"
"Your parents don't know?" Lucas asked as he plopped down to sit on Riley's other side. He placed his clothes on her lap. Riley turned to him with a guilty expression. He sighed. "Riles. You ran away from home."
"London isn't my home," Riley shook her head, a tear trickling down her cheek. Her voice shook. "New York is. You are."
Lucas rested his elbows on his thighs and placed his face in his hands. He wanted Riley there, of course he did, but he also didn't like that she went behind her parents' back. He knew how important family was to her. And he didn't want to get in the way of that, even if that meant Riley having to go back to London.
"You guys are adorable," Liz softly gushed. "Go change."
"Don't call my parents," Riley whimpered.
Liz stared at the brunette with an remorseful look. Riley pressed her lips together and stood up in defeat. She did as she was told and changed out of her wet clothes. She took a few extra minutes while changing in the bathroom. She couldn't believe she spent all of her allowance on a plane ticket back to New York. All for a boy. It was one of the craziest things she's ever done. Maya would be so proud. But at the same time, Riley couldn't help but be overcome with guilt. She was sure her parents would've noticed her absence by now. It's been twelve hours.
When Riley composed herself, she returned to the living room and sat in between the mother-son duo. She was sure that Liz called her parents, and she wasn't at all prepared for her parents' wrath. At least she was three thousand miles away with a five-hour time difference. They wouldn't be able to get to her that quickly.
"Um, I hung my clothes in the bathroom," Riley awkwardly announced.
"That's fine, honey," Liz said. She scrolled through her phone before putting it down on the coffee table in front of her.
"You called," Riley assumed. Lucas sighed and wrapped his arms around her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Oh, how he missed having her in his arms. A week apart was way too long. He didn't know if he would've been able to last any longer than a week without her.
"Riley, we had to," Lucas broke the news to her delicately. He didn't know how else to tell her. Riley looked up at him with sad puppy eyes. Lucas released a small smile, noting how adorable she was even in her state of vulnerability. "I want you here, don't get me wrong, but your parents have a right to know. They're your parents. I'm sure they're worried sick."
"They can be worried all they want," Riley huffed. She combed her fingers through her now damp hair. "I'm not going back. I want to stay here. I want to be with you. I miss Maya. I miss Farkle. Smackle, Zay." Riley released her tears, wiping them before they reached her jaw.
"I didn't call your parents," Liz admitted. Riley looked at her with hopeful eyes. "I realized I don't have their new numbers, if they got them yet. I called your Uncle Shawn. He said he'll be able to reach your parents. He'll be here soon."
Riley wanted to throw a tantrum, but Lucas held her in place.
"That's even worse!" Riley screeched. Lucas held her close and calmed her down, whispering in her ear and caressing her arm. Lucas wanted to comfort her, to be that sense of security for her. She'd been through a lot in the past two weeks.
Liz looked at the brunette with apologetic eyes before getting up, "I'm gonna make you hot chocolate to keep you warm."
Riley stared at a fixated point in front of her. Lucas noticed the blank expression on her face and continued to hug her. Lucas knew that letting Riley's family know about her situation was the right thing to do, but at the same time he resented his mother for calling. He didn't want Riley, his Riley, to be taken away again. So, he cherished the limited time he had her in his arms.
Half an hour later, Shawn arrived at the Friar residence with Maya and Farkle. Maya ran straight into her best friend's arms. They lightly sobbed together.
"I missed you, please don't leave me again," Maya sniffled as she caressed the brunette's head. She didn't want to let go of her, but Farkle cleared his throat. Riley pulled away from Maya and hugged the genius.
"What are you doing here?" Riley asked. "Not that I don't want you here. I'm just a little surprised. I didn't expect you to be here."
"Farkle and I were working on a project when Mrs. Friar called Shawn," Maya explained. Shawn had officially adopted her only a couple of weeks ago, and Maya was still hesitant to call him 'dad.'
"Geez, Peaches, I'm gone for like a week and you've changed already," Riley joked. Maya sniffled and chuckled. "Doing school work? I'm impressed. Maybe I should be gone."
"Hey, don't joke about that," Lucas stood behind Riley and wrapped his arms around her. Riley looked up at him with a soft smile and he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"I think we have changed," Farkle confirmed. "We've all been miserable without you, Riley."
"Yeah," Maya nodded. "I was only doing my homework to distract myself from thinking about you."
"Okay, that's enough PDA," Shawn chimed in and pried Riley away from Lucas and led her to the couch. Riley chuckled at her uncle's antics. Shawn wasn't opposed to idea of Riley and Lucas, but he just didn't like seeing them being so affectionate. It was comfortable for him, she was his best friend's daughter, after all.
The others surrounded them, intrigued with what was going to happen next. Liz also reappeared in the room after Lucas had notified her of their visitors. Shawn explained that before he got there, he got a hold of Cory and Topanga. It was nearly three in the morning in London, and they had been worried sick about Riley since they returned home and realized she was gone. Riley was able to sneak out of their new flat without her parents noticing because Topanga was at her new job, Cory was out job hunting, and Auggie was at his new school. It was supposed to be Riley's first day of school, too, but she couldn't do it. She needed to get home, back to New York.
"I promised we'd video chat with them once I was with you," Shawn said. He asked Lucas for his laptop, to which Lucas obliged to. Shawn started a video call with Cory. He placed the laptop so that everyone in the living room would be in view to the camera.
Cory appeared on the screen and quickly motioned for Topanga to come sit with him. They disregarded everyone in the room. They only wanted to talk to Riley.
"Riley, I can't believe you flew back to New York without telling us!" Cory yelled. "We were worried sick!"
"We couldn't sleep," Topanga continued loudly. "It's like three in the morning and we didn't know where you were. You almost gave us a heart attack."
Riley began to cry out of guilt. Shawn rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry!" Riley's voice cracked. "I didn't mean for you guys to worry, okay? I know what I did was wrong, but I don't regret it."
"We're not going to keep yelling at you," Topanga said. Cory protested, giving his wife a disapproving look. She ignored him. "Yelling at you isn't going to fix anything. We're just glad you're okay and that you're in good hands."
"I want to keep yelling!" Cory said. He pointed towards the screen. "Riley, you are so grounded when you come home!"
"Why did you run away?" Topanga asked calmly. She knew being angry wouldn't do anyone any good. She had to keep level-headed, no matter how disappointed she was in her daughter for what she did.
"She gets this from you, you know," Cory huffed, nudging his wife then crossing his arms over his chest.
"I don't like it there, Mom," Riley sobbed. She wiped her tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "London isn't my home. It never will be. I want to stay here, Mom."
"That's nonsense," Cory snorted. "Where are you going to stay? You're too young to support yourself. You're not going to survive on your own."
Riley's friends chimed in, each giving her parents a reason as to why Riley should stay in New York. They were sure they'd be able to convince them. They were pretty persuasive people if you asked Riley. Lucas gave them the same speech he had given his parents days prior. He thought that if they knew what was at stake, they'd for sure let her stay.
Topanga took a deep breath. Lucas's speech tugged at her heartstrings, and she felt the nostalgia that came along with it. She knew what she was about to say was going to annoy Cory to end. But she didn't care, she knew he'd agree with her once he understood. "I only have a two-year contract here. I was planning on moving us all back to New York after the two years. I didn't want to tell you at the time because I knew you'd refuse to come with us. But now that we're in this situation, I realize that I can't take New York away from you."
"What are you trying to say, Mom?" Riley asked, her breathing heavy from the sobbing.
"I'm saying you can stay there, Riley," Topanga said softly.
Riley, her friends, and Liz gasped in response. Shawn, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all by neither Topanga's reaction nor Cory's. He knew them well enough to know what they were both thinking.
"What?!" Cory was enraged. How was Topanga making this decision so spontaneously and without his approval? "Topanga, she's still a minor! What are you doing?!"
Topanga turned to her husband. She gave him an annoyed look. She asked, "Cory, do you remember when my parents moved me to Pittsburgh?"
"Yeah…" Cory's voice trailed off, then realized the point she was getting at. It was a long time ago, but they both knew it was a pivotal point in their relationship. Back in the twelfth grade, Topanga and her parents moved to Pittsburgh. A situation similar to Riley and Lucas occurred. Topanga ran away from home and Cory's mother was able to convince Topanga's aunt to let her parents let her stay in Philly. If it wasn't for that, Cory and Topanga might have never lasted.
"That's different," Cory said. "You lived with your aunt after that. Riley has nowhere to stay!"
"I beg to differ," Topanga turned back to the screen. "Shawn."
Cory knew he couldn't argue now. Shawn was the perfect candidate to house his daughter for the next two years. And as much as Cory didn't want to leave Riley in a different country, he knew if he denied her this opportunity, he would have been hypocritical because he fought for Topanga to remain in Philly at the time. And who was he to keep Riley away from his friends, and Lucas, the love of her life?
"I know it's a lot for me to ask, but can Riley stay with you, Katy and Maya?" Topanga asked.
Shawn chuckled. Topanga knew he couldn't say no. Cory and Topanga were practically family to Shawn. In fact, they were there for him when his father wasn't. Shawn didn't need to think twice about it. He would gladly take her in. There was no doubt about it. He loved Riley like his own, she was the perfect mix of his two best friends.
"I'd be delighted to watch over baby Cory," Shawn confirmed, pullng Riley into a hug. Everyone in the Friar household was happily surprised. Lucas and Farkle exchanged smiles. And behind Shawn and Riley, Maya squealed loudly and intertwined hands with Riley. Riley let out her signature enthusiastic 'yay.' Shawn shook his head and pointed behind him as he leaned closer to the screen. "Is that going to be my life for the next two years?"
"I'm afraid so," Cory nodded. "That's been my life for the past eight years."
Cory and Topanga talked to Shawn about the specifics of the new arrangement. And Riley couldn't have been any happier that her parents were so understanding. Sure, she was going to miss her parents, but at least it was only for two years. She was glad she was still going to be able to get through high school with the most important people in her life other than her family.
As Shawn was still talking to his best friends, Lucas pulled Riley aside. Maya and Farkle watched on with shimmers of hope in their eyes. They were happy that Riley was given the opportunity to stay in New York, and they were even more happy that it meant Riley and Lucas were going to stay together.
"I love you so much," Lucas hugged her tightly. Riley looked up at him and placed a tender kiss on his lips. "I can't believe you get to stay."
"I love you too, Lucas," Riley replied, nuzzling her face into his neck. "Thank you for having hope in us."
"I'll always have hope for you, Riley."
Lucas proceeded to squeeze her tightly, not daring to let go. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.
Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!