Chapter Two

     After everyone eventually walked off Smackle and Farkle were left alone in the bay window.      "What did you mean when you said we cant protect them forever?" Farkle asked Smackle "Well, Riley is super optimistic but eventually she will have to find out about the poverty, wars, climate change all of that." "But why cant we keep it from her? I dont want her to change." Farkle says looking straight at Smackle. "I dont want her to change either, Farkle. But we cant just block the world out for Riley. One day she will be living in the world, she needs to know what is going on." Smackle says to Farkle who at this point looks aggrevated. He gets up and leaves. Smackle leaves the bay window.        Riley and Maya go back to the bay window everyone looking at them. "Riles?" Maya says concerned. "Yeah peaches?" Riley says noticing her friends and Maya's concern. "I just dont want anything to change. I thought we were fine the way we were. Everyone just wants answers right now cant we just slow down? Farkle and Zay want to know because they have been waiting forever. I dont want to know because someone is going to get hurt and I dont want it to be me and I dont want it to be you." Maya says. Then the girls notice their friends listening and watching them. Maya gets up and walks outside. The rest of the gang just watches Maya sitting outside and Riley sitting in the bay window.       Cory and Topanga walk in and see everyone not together. "Everything okay you guys?" Topanga says a little concerned. At this point Maya is standing in the door way. Everyone looks at Riley, their little optimist knowing she will say everything is okay and it always will be. Riley looks at her friends and then back to her parents. "No. I am not okay." Riley says and storms upstairs everyone looks around. "Riley is the optimist. Something is seriously wrong. Sit and explain." Topanga says gathering the group up to talk.          "Lucas has to make a decision and no one wants anything to change." Farkle says. "Okay then. Why cant we just keep it the way it is and we all stay friends?" Maya says starting to get really upset. "That would be easy, huh?" Cory says "You cant just ignore your feelings. That is how you get caught up and thrown on the ground." Topanga says finishing Corys sentence. "Mrs. Matthews, I dont want to hurt anyone. There is no easy way out." Lucas says looking at Topanga. "No Lucas, no there is no easy way out. No one said there would be. There is never an easy way out. Its just hard and harder." Topanga says to the entire group.         At that point Lucas had made his decision and didnt tell anyone. Riley was sitting on the bench at the top of the stairs crying. Maya was sitting next to him in the bay window getting teary eyed. He didnt know that his decision would be this hard to make. He did know, though, his decision, his girl.