fifteen - Exposed

Riley Matthews and Maya Hart entered Mr. Matthews classroom that morning with smiles filled with mischief as Lucas Friar, Isaiah Babineaux, Farkle Minkus and Ryan Collins sat around, enjoying their spare time with one another before the lesson started.

''We have changed the life of somebody in this room,'' RIley announces as soon as she walks in.

''Oh, please, not me,'' Zay begs as he leans back.

''I'm happy with my life the way it is. I got tall and my teeth came in nicely.'' Farkle smiled, exposing his pearly whites purposely for display.

''The only way I want my life to change is for Alex Aiono to marry me,'' She cocks a brow at the girls. ''Is Alex Aiono going to marry me?''

Maya cranes her neck forward with furrowed brows. ''Who?''

Pursing her lips, Ryan shakes her head. ''Just you wait.''

''Yeah, well, we're not talking about you three,'' Maya hints, diverting the conversation to it's original topic.

Lucas features dropped in realization as he exclaims while jumping off of his seat on his desk, ''Oh, no what'd you do?''

''Oh, Lucas,'' Riley continued to smile as she walked further into the room with Maya trailing behind her. ''In your history, we know what has always been your biggest regret.''

Maya stood close behind Riley as she looks away, quietly mimicking, ''Baah.''

Lucas peered over at her with wide eyes. ''What's that? Why would you do that?''

''Okay,'' Ryan breathes out just a she sits up from being leaned back into her seat. She leans forward and places her arms onto the table, furrowing her brows. ''I'm lost.''

''Baah!'' Maya exclaims louder, practically bouncing in place. ''You used to be a champion sheep rider at the Mutton Bustin' rodeo, until you fell off of Judy the Sheep.''

''And then you gave up, but you never got over it,'' Riley adds on.

''That is my deepest, darkest secret,'' Lucas exclaims out of disbelieve. ''No one knows I fell off Judy the Sheep except-..''

When Lucas took his pause, him and Ryan turned to Zay in unison to find him sporting off a goofy grin.

He slaps his hands against his thigh as he briefly explains, ''They made me, Lucas. They made me.''

He folds his arms across his chest. ''How did they make you?''

Zay scoffs out a sigh. ''I said, y'all wanna hear a great Lucas story?,'' He shakes his head, ''They said yes.''

Lucas shakes his head before turning back to Riley and Maya. ''Okay, it doesn't matter. I'm over it. I don't think about that day at all.''

Looking down, Lucas features fell into a frown. Ryan kept her brows furrowed and tilted her head to the side as he sniffles, covering one side of his face with one hand, ''I fell off that sheep so fast. No one likes me.''

''Awe, bubba,'' Ryan couldn't help but giggle.

Zay gripped onto the right side of his shoulder, bowing his head and shaking it while Riley took one more step closer to him, gripping onto the other.

''Lucas,'' She calls. ''You can fix this. Get back on that sheep and be a sheep champion.''

''We have made that possible.''

Lucas looks up to the blonde with lines creasing marks on his forehead. ''How? How'd you make that possible?''

''Show it to him,'' Riley requests for Maya to do, who revealed a piece of paper she was holding behind her back.

''Ride, Lucas!'' Riley exclaims in a southern accent. ''Ride, boy!''

Ryan chuckles, ''Look at Riley, becoming the next Rhianna.''

Maya walks backwards and announces, ''We have entered you in-''

Riley walked backwards with her and continues, ''The annual Mutton Busting Tournament!''

''In Austin, Texas!''

''In front of everybody you know.''

The girls exclaim simultaneously, ''Yay!''

Lucas glanced back at Zay and Ryan who were just as confused as he was before turning back to the two. ''You can't enter me in Mutton Busters. You can't be over eight years old or fifty five pounds.''

''You are wrong, Lucas,'' Maya counters as she walks away from Riley and up to him. ''We entered you last week and your application has been accepted.''

Walking up behind her, Riley holds her hand out for the certificate. Once Maya hands it to her, she reads off of it, ''Congratulations, Lucas Friar. You are an official entry in this years Austin round up rodeo. You will be riding Tombstone the sheep.''

''What?'' Ryan and Zay exclaims. Zay pushes himself off of his seat on his desk and questions, ''Tombstone?'' He chuckles dryly and pats Lucas on the back. ''Oh, well, that's the end of you.''

Furrowing her brows, Maya turns to Riley to find her confused as well. ''Why is it the end of him?''

''What's the difference between riding Judy the Sheep and Tombstone the sheep?''

Ryan arches her brows as she spoke, ''Tombstone isn't a sheep.''

''What?''

''Read it again,'' Lucas instructs the girls. His voice was soft as he leaned his back side against his desk. Maya took the certificate from Riley's grasp and blankly read aloud, ''Blah blah blah- over the age and weight limit for Mutton Busters. Blah- we have placed you in the adult rodeo where you will, blah- ride Tombstone the Sheep.''

Ryan cringed as Lucas yells out, ''Oh! You only got one word wrong.''

''Let's see if they find that one word.''

Maya goes back to reading. ''Blah blah blah blahdy blah blah blah blah blahdy blah blah blah blah blahdy blah-'' Maya looks up with a gasp. ''Oh, bull!''

''Ah,'' Zay snaps a finger and points at her. ''She found it.''

Lucas then clarifies angrily, ''You signed me up to ride Tombstone the Bull!!''

Riley holds her hands up with a smile. ''Are you excited?''

Maya shakes her head and questions, ''What's the difference between riding a sheep and riding a bull?''

Ryan cocks a brow from her furrowed ones. ''I think common sense or google should answer that one for you.''

Lucas turns to her and snaps, ''No,'' He turns to the girls and tells them, ''Death. Death is the difference.''

Mr. Matthews then walks into the classroom. ''All right. May we begin class?'' As The group took places in their seats, Mr. Matthews walks over to the board and points at what was written on it. ''The railroad.''

Farkle furrows his brows. ''I don't get it.''

''What do you mean you don't get it, Farkle?''

''How's the railroad tie into what's going on in our lives, hambone?''

Ryan giggles, eyeing the back of Farkle's head incredulously. ''Hambone?''

Maya points back at Farkle, ''You just gonna let him call you, Hambone, Matthews?''

''The railroad allowed us to travel great distances. The railroad allowed us to see how other people live. When you see how other people live, it changes you,'' He looks down at the blonde. ''And I like hambone. It's cool.''

''Riley, rip it up before he finds out,'' Lucas urges.

''Who?''

''He's gonna find out and when he does, nothing will stop him.''

Ryan looks up at the ceiling with wide eyes. ''Jesus christ, who! Mr. Incredible? Who!''

''No, you'll know who,'' Zay intervenes. ''You'll hear his big booming voice. He'll say something- He'll say something like-''

His mouth was open but no words came out of it. Yet another voice was heard from the front of the room. ''This country was built on railroads.''

Ryan, just like everyone else in the room found an old man with his beard growing grey, leaning against the frame of the open classroom door wearing a cowboy looking costume. ''I, myself, just arrived on the noon train from Austin, Texarkana and Arkadelphia. Guess why I'm here.''

The class was silent. Speechless, if you may say.

Cory turns and shrugs his shoulders. ''Anybody?''

The old man begins to laugh. ''I'm here because I could not be more proud of my grandboy, Lucas.''

Maya turns breathlessly, ''Pappy Joe. That's your Pappy Joe. That's Pappy Joe-'' She slams her hand on the desk with a bright smile. ''Yes! More stuff!''

''Maya,'' Ryan scolds. ''Don't be stereotypical, I'm sure that's not his name.''

''No,'' Lucas mumbles under his sigh. ''I really call him Pappy Joe.''

His grandfather pointe at Lucas. ''That right there is the first Friar that ever had the courage to ride the most ferocious creature in all of creation.''

''Are we talking about Judy the Sheep, Pappy Joe?'' Riley questions aloud.

His grandfather laughs harder. ''Judy the Sheep! Remember when you fell off of Judy the Sheep for about two seconds, boy? Remember that? And we all said it was okay, 'cause you were only five years old. So we said it was okay, but it wasn't okay, because you were a disgrace to the community and you dragged your family name through the mud hole right up to this day. You put us in the mud hole, remember, boy?''

''Yes,'' Lucas flatly responds. ''There is one moment in every man's life that shapes who he is forever. My moment was Judy the Sheep.''

Ryan shifts in her seat uncomfortably and mumbles, ''Jesus. Intense much?''

Pappy Joe pushes himself off of the door frame and folds his arm across his . ''Well, you know what, Lucas Friar? Forgiven. You get on that bull for more than three seconds and you will be the master of Tombstone the Bull, and I'll tell you, I love you. And that's something I've never said to another human.''

''Can we talk about this?'' Cory Matthews pipes up.

''Time for talking's over,-''

''Yeah, because you did most of it,'' Ryan mutters under her breath.

Pappy Joe slips out two pieces of paper from his front pockets. ''I got a permission slip. Babinaeux, got one for you too. Come on, boys. Let's go ride.''

Slamming his hands against his desk, Zay pushes himself out of his desk and roars, ''Yeehaw!''

Ryan narrows her eyes at him as spoke in shame, ''That slipped out.''

His grandfather chuckles deeply as he pats Zay on the back on his way out. Lucas followed, his grandfather pat him on the back.

The sandy blonde turns around and points an acussing finger at Maya and Riley. ''You did this!''

× × ×

''I'll meet you guys at the station,'' Ryan tells Farkle Minkus, Riley Matthews and Maya Hart. The stood in the train station, waiting for Ryan's train to arrive.

They were gonna surprise Lucas by catching the train Zay and him were getting on for Austin, Texas.

Riley furrows her brows. ''What? Why?''

''Saves time, it'll be easier,'' Ryan waves off, smiling meekly.

''What time?'' Maya chuckles. ''We're only packing for two days?''

She winced. ''I take long though.''

She was desperate for an excuse for her friends not to follow. But the more she tried to convince, the more her friends wanted to come.

They couldn't come home with her, at least not yet. She didn't need her social life crashing into her home life. Both lives are complicated alone as it is.

''Even more of a reason why we should come and help,'' Farkle perks up and smiles.

The train Ryan usually takes had arrived. Ryan sat there as the doors opened, allowing people to walk in and or out.

Farkle points to the train cart. ''Aren't we going to get on?''

She shakes her head, her eyes trained on the windows of the cart. ''Nope. I take the next one.''

''The next train? You have to wait a whole ten minutes, why not just get on this one?'' Maya questions over the loud and crowded station.

''No, the next train coming up.''

''The six train?''

Ryan pursed her lips, her eyes following the train that began leaving in its fast motion.

''Ryan, what's going on?'' Riley asks, taking a seat next to Ryan who sat on a wooden bench.

''I sort of moved.''

Maya and Farkle stepped closer to them, towering over the two. ''What do you mean sort of?''

Ryan gripped the egde of the bench tightly before looking around the faces that surrounded her. ''Its something I will explain to you, but not when we get there. I promise.''

''Ryan, you're scaring me,'' Farkle tells her.

She scoffs, a small smirk quirked at a corner of her lips. ''Hey, you're all kind of scaring me just by coming.''

Maya shakes her head. ''This isn't funny, Ry.''

She flattens her lips into a straight line. ''I meant that.''

When the train Ryan takes for her route home, to her new home, arrived, the group got on and took less than ten minutes to get to Jimmy's house.

The group was silent as the walked. Farkle, Maya, and Riley observed their surroundings. The neighborhood was nice, the streets were exceptionally clean, any grass surrounding the trees were trimmed, and there wasn't much traffic in the block so you were able to hear birds chirping.

''I don't live with my dad anymore,'' Ryan blurts out as she pulls out her set of keys Jimmy made. ''I live with his friend.''

''What happened with your dad?'' Farkle asks. They approached the front steps of her house.

She stops on her way up and turns to him. ''I promised you later.''

He pursed his lips and nodded. Riley and Maya looked at each other when Ryan proceeded her way up the stairs.

The group walked through the door after Ryan unlocked it.

''Jimmy?'' She calls. Her voice echoed throughout the halls.

''In the kitchen!''

She turns to her friends that stood huddled by the front door. This home was so foreign to them, they weren't sure being there was a good idea.

''Come on,'' She waves them over. She smiles at them. ''He's really nice.''

The three follow Ryan down the hall and into the open concept kitchen and dining room.

Jimmy sat at the dining table with a couple of papers filed on top of each other and a pen in his hand. There was an orange envelope nearby.

He was filling out whatever it was on those documents.

''I brought some friends over,'' She announce so he could look up. When he did, he grew into a smile.

''Oh,'' He sets his pen aside and stood. ''Hi.''

Her cheeks started hurting from how much she was smiling. His voice was so soft and he couldn't stop rubbing his sweaty hands against the frabic of his jeans. His gaze kept switching from the group back over to Ryan. He was actually shy to meet her closes friends.

''I'm Jimmy Moore.''

Holding onto Maya's hand in one, Riley uses the other to press her hand against her chest. ''I'm-''

''Riley, always smiling, dresses like sunshine and rainbows?'' Jimmy cocks brow.

Maya took this to her advantage. She smirked and asks, ''What about me?''

He takes one step forward. ''Maya, the blonde who likes to even her height with heels.''

''And me?'' Farkle pipes in.

He takes another step closer. ''Farkle, the band boy.''

''No,'' Ryan giggles. She turns to Farkle and clarifies. ''I said you look like your from a boy band.''

Jimmy waves her off. ''We said the same thing. It's a pleasure to meet all of you though.''

Riley tilts her head up. ''Likewise, Mr. Moore.''

''Oof,'' He grimaced, his smile never wavering. ''Call me, Jimmy.''

''Okay, Jimmy,'' Maya nods. ''We have an important question to ask you.''

He shifts his gaze over to Ryan, his smile now faltering with confusion before looking back at Maya. ''Which is?''

''We sort of have a trip going on this weekend, to Austin, Texas,'' Riley begins to explain. ''We'll be there for two days tops, full parental supervision.''

''We were wondering if Ryan could come?'' Farkle asks.

Jimmy sighs. ''Well, that depends. Who are the adults on this trip? Where are you guys gonna sleep? How are you guys gonna get there? When is it?''

''Today,'' Maya answers.

His eyes enlarged. ''Today?''

''I know it's last minute,'' Farkle nods. ''But we would like it if she could come. Lucas, our other friend, his grandfather is gonna be there. We'll be taking the train and staying at his house where the girls will be in one room and the guys will be in another.''

Jimmy furrows his brows. ''Lucas the cowboy?''

''Stereotypical, you say?'' Maya leans over from Riley's side, peering at Ryan with narrowed eyes.

''And, you don't have to give her much money,'' Riley diverts the conversation back on track. ''Like I said, we'll only be there for two days.''

Jimmy looks back at Ryan who eyes him hopefully. She needed to go to Texas, Lucas was her guy best friend. In fact, he's more of his best friend than Maya and Riley's.

''I want you to call or text me every other hour and have fun,'' He cocked a brow. ''You hear me?''

She grins widely along with her friends.

''Seriously?'' She breathes. Jimmy was a pretty chill person, but she knew that he had his limits. She wouldn't think that he'd let her take a two day trip away from home on his third day on being her guardian.

''Go, before I change my mind,'' He chuckles.

Maya and Riley grabbed onto both of her hands before pulling her back up the hallway and towards the staircase. Farkle followed along the trio that giggled all the way towards her bedroom.

''Ooh,'' Riley drawls once Ryan opens her door. ''Super sophisticated, I like it.''

As Ryan walks over to her closet where here duffel bag was on the ground, emptied of all her belongings that were now on hangers or in her drawers, Maya runs over to her bed and jumps on it.

''I can't believe he said yes,'' The blonde smiles as Riley jumped on the bed next to her.

Riley looked around and breathed out a happy sigh. ''Ah, I can't wait to get there. We should go shopping when we're there, dress like we belong.''

''Cowboys and cowgirls,'' Farkle clarifies once he walked into the room. He sat in one of the chairs that were near her bed.

She looks away from her closet and smiles at them. ''Sounds like fun.''

''We should always travel,'' Maya suggested.

''Oh,'' Ryan smirks. ''Now you're speaking my language.''

''We should try a road trip somewhere,'' Riley adds on.

Farkle shrugs his shoulders. ''California?''

Ryan turns with a gasp. ''Imagine? We can go to their beach and surf the waves, call each other bruh.''

Maya sits up. ''We should fly over to Costa Rica.''

Riley shimmys her shoulders. ''Get our spicy Latina on.''

''Or Hawaii,'' Ryan suggests. ''I've always wanted to do hula dancing in the grass skirts.''

Riley furrows her brows at Ryan who sat criss cross on the floor with one shoe from two different brands in her hand.

''Ryan?'' Riley calls.

Her gaze was focused on her shoes. ''Uh huh?''

Maya looks over and asks, ''Whatcha doing?''

She turns to her friends and held up both shoes. ''Vans or Nike?''

''What?'' Farkle chuckles.

''Vans or Nike?''

Riley scoffs. ''Does it matter?''

''Child, we're going to be in mud and dust, I need to know, Vans or- Nike, never mind.''

Ryan began packing at least four pairs of Nike sneakers before standing up. She had three outfits set in her bag, she just needed small necessities like underwear, toothbrush, body wash and so forth.

''You know, Lucas and Zay seemed pretty serious about Tombstone the Bull,'' Farkle pointed out. ''Do you guys think you made a mistake?''

''He'll thank us when he succeeds,'' Riley waves off, smiling.

Farkle turns to Ryan who walked back over to her duffel bag, her underwear and bra held tight in her grasp. She was trying to cover it from Farkle. ''What do you think Ryan?''

After covering her undergarments quickly under her clothes, she leans back up and sighs.

''Well,'' She tugs a strand of hair behind her ear while she propped a hand on her hip. ''I think you guys won't like what you signed him up for.''

''Is it really that bad?'' Maya asks.

She pursed her lips. ''You'll see.''

× × ×

After making themselves comfortable in Pappy Joe's home, Riley Matthews, Ryan Collins and Maya Hart had changed into the outfits they bought at a store nearby. They entered the living room, dressed up for the day's events.

Ryan had her hair down in flowy curls, wearing a black and white stripe halter crop top and a pair of white denim shorts. She matched it off with a pair of brown fringed booties.

The boys seemed to be awestruck by their new appearance.

''Well,'' Pappy Joe starts off by taking off his hat, clinging it to his chest. ''Look at you three little darlin's.''

Riley looked back at her friends. ''Told you this was the best way to spend all of our allowance money on the first day.''

Ryan cocks a brow. ''What are your outfits made out of? Gold? I still got money.''

Ryan turns back to the guys who were still mesmerized by their looks. Was the cowgirl ordeal really working for them?

''Close your mouths, boys, you'll catch flies.''

''Yeah,'' Maya agreed. ''Quit looking at us, Huckleberry,'' Maya teased. But it wasn't just him. Farkle and Zay couldn't stop eyeing the three girls.

Lucas blinks rapidly. ''I'm sorry, Maya. You look..'' He was hesitant. His gaze shifted over to Ryan and then Riley, then back to Maya. ''Good.''

''Oh,'' She jerks back. ''Thanks.''

He nods his head. ''Yeah, you all look good.''

Ryan takes a step forward and crosses her legs, bowing. ''Thank you, Mr. Friar.''

She looks up at him and giggles before taking a seat next to him on the couch. Riley and Maya walk further into the room as Riley suggests, ''You know what this place needs? A bay window.''

Picking up a decorative foot stool, Riley turns to Maya and tells her, ''Bay window, right now.''

She sets the stool in front of the window and sits on it while Maya climbs on top of a saddle. Pappy Joe was rubbing his beard when he peers over at his grandson. ''What's a bay winda?''

''Oh, you know, a safe place where the girls have their private talks,'' Lucas explains.

''Oh, well then,'' He leans up, directly talking to the two. ''I'll make sure those two stay right there, forever.''

''Pappy Joe!'' A man came storming in. ''Pappy Joe! Pappy Joe!''

''Woah, woah,'' He reached out for him. ''Don't be alarmed, it's just Cletus,'' He informs the group.

''Tombstone the Bull gone crazy!'' Cletus exclaims, not even taking a second to greet anyone else in the room or to take a single breath. ''He everywhere! All over the place at the same time like one of them houdini bulls!''

Pappy Joe raised a hand to slow him down. ''Use your words, Cletus.''

''I am using my words, Garducky!'' He stammers. ''Tombstone the Bull gone bananahooey!''

Smiling from laughter, Maya points at him. ''I love him.''

''What did Tombstone the Bull do?'' Pappy Joe asks.

Cletus points a thumb back towards the outside and tells him, ''He done tore up the china shop, ironically. It's true what them say.''

''You mean he broke out of his pen?''

Ryan's eyes went wide as Cletus went all out with his hand motion. ''Oh he bahoomed the pen!''

He stops his rant and leans over to Pappy Joe's side, muttering, ''What's them, a bay winder?''

Lucas leans forward, pointing a finger at the newcomers he was introducing. ''That's Riley and Maya, Cletus.''

Ryan leans forward to show herself from behind Pappy Joe and waved at Cletus. ''Hey, Cletus.''

''Oh!'' He jumps once he seen Ryan. ''Say, your daddy ain't here ain't he?''

She giggles softly. ''No, Cletus. Your good.''

Zay furrowed his brows. ''Why are you worried about Ryan's dad?''

''Er, nothing,'' He murmurs while bowing his head.

Ryan looks over at Zay and prompts, ''One time, Cletus and his wife had a fight and she kicked him out the house for a night. He slept on our front porch and my dad chased him around the front lawn with a garden hose for ten minutes.''

Pappy Joe turned to Cletus, wondering, ''Why did it take ten minutes?''

''Ah,'' He waves him off. ''Who could remember.''

Cletus then turns to RIley and Maya and takes off his hat, bowing for them. ''Well, how dee do, girls.''

''Well how,-'' Riley starts, allowing Maya to continue for her.

''Dee-''

''Do.''

Putting his hat back on his head, Cletus looks back at Lucas and breaks out into joy. ''Lukey! Thissar Lukey!''

Lucas stood from the couch and nods, smiling as well.

''Gah,'' Cletus charged for Lucas and pulled him in for a bear hug.Once they pulled away, Lucas had asked, ''Wait, did they get Tombstone back in his pen, Cletus?''

''Yessir,'' He nods. ''We shot him fulla sleepy juice. But I seen the look in them red eyes just afore he went nighty night and when he wake up,'' He turns to Lucas and forces out, ''Huh-huur!''

Ryan couldn't stop giggling while Lucas lowers his head, shaking it while pinching the bridge of his nose. Maya smoothly slides off of the saddle and walks up behind Cletus.

''What?''

Cletus turns to her and bends his knees to reach her eye level. ''Huh-huur!''

''Oh,'' She then clears her throat and turns him back to Lucas. She bends him again to reach full eye to eye level with Lucas.

Ryan was breathless at this point, her laughter was basically on mute.

Maya walks around them until she was behind Lucas, lifting his head up and making sure his features were leveled and right in front of Cletus'. She takes a step back and repeats, ''What?''

''Huh-huuuur!'' He repeats while shaking his head so harshly that lips smacking against one another.

''I know it's early,'' Maya spoke softly and at ease, nodding. ''But my life is complete.''

Cletus peers at her. ''Well, thankee.''

''No,'' She chuckles. ''Thankee.''

''All I know is,'' Cletus starts up again. ''I feel sorry for the po' fool gonna ride on Tombstone,'' He turns to Pappy Joe that was walking up to him. ''Did I tell you what he done do today?''

Pappy Joe points at Lucas. ''Lucas is gonna ride old Tombstone in the rodeo, Cletus.'

''Oh.'' Realization dawned upon Cletus before he turned to Lucas, whimpering another, ''Oh. Oh no. Lukey..'' He took off his hat and clung it to his chest again. He looked down with a frown. He looks up at Lucas and repeats, ''Lukey.'' He went to pat him on his shoulder but he refrained himself and told him, ''Goodbye, Lucas.''

He went to the front door and turned to him with that same discombobulated from just before he reached for the door knob. He then left the house without another word.

Lucas looks around and lets out a sad, ''Goodbye.''

× × ×

Ryan smiles softly as she approached Lucas from behind, placing a gentle touch on his back muscles. They arrived at the roundup rodeo a little while beforehand and the group was scattered, enjoying their time outside while Lucas was preparing himself by getting dressed for his role and talking to the animals in their pen.

Lucas turns to her sharply and breathes out a sigh.

''Ooh,'' She jerks back, her hand leaving his back to mess with his hair lightly. ''Helmet hair, I see.''

''That's what you're concerned about?'' He chuckles, shaking his head.

''I don't think you should do this,'' She admits. ''No, actually, I don't want you to do this.''

''I have to, Ryan,'' He tells her sternly. ''I need to redeem myself, my name.''

''Bull riding doesn't change we how we see you, you know,'' She smirks. ''We love you and respect you either way.''

''How about,'' He shrugs his shoulders and turns to her. ''I should do this for myself?''

She cocks a brow. ''Are you sure that's what you want?''

He nods his head. ''Yeah, this is what I want.''

Ryan pursed her lips and nods. ''Okay. I'll be rooting for you on the sidelines.''

He furrows his brows and smiles down at her. ''You will? You're not gonna give me no tough love about how I'm stupid or that I'm making a big mistake?''

''Oh, I agree with all those things.''

He chuckles softly which caused her to smile.

''But you taught me that I should be there for my friends no matter the stupid,'' She grimaced, ''Stupid choices you guys make. So, if this is really what you want, I'll support you. I'll believe in you.''

''Thank you, Ryan,'' He nods appreciatively. She continued to smile and leaned her head onto his shoulder, her gaze landing on the bull in front them. ''Oof,'' She looks up and dragged both ends of her lips to the side, down from her jaw to her neck. ''He looks mean.''

Tombstone bellows angrily.

Ryan and Lucas looked over at a little boy that stood in front of Judy the Sheep's pen.

''I will ride you,'' He spoke to the sheep with so much determination. ''I will be the master of Judy the Sheep.''

The sheep responds by bleating.

Ryan furrows her brows, her gaze shifting to Lucas who furiously talked down to the sheep, ''Yeah, that's right Judy. It's me.''

She bleats even louder.

Ryan lets out a giggle, putting a hand on his back when he takes a step back and yells, ''You leave me alone!''

''Good luck, Friar,'' The little boy encouraged once he turned to the two.

Lucas composed himself and nods down at the kid. ''Good luck, Mccullough.''

Just as the little boy tipped his cowboy hat, he adds on, ''And nice girlfriend.''

Ryan chuckles softly and shakes her head. Nor Lucas or Ryan felt the need to correct him, giving there was no point. It was just a title that the people they're close to knows what they are. It was pointless, you could say.

Lucas smiles down at Ryan and wraps an arm around her shoulder while Ryan wraps an arm around his suited torso.

Lucas and Ryan bumped into Maya and Riley who were on their way to the main tent where they held beverage, air conditioning and food.

''Oh, hi,'' Lucas calls out to them. ''Uh, yeah, I just saw Tombstone the Bull, and uh, why do you hate me?''

''Come on, a bull is just a man cow,'' Riley simplifies.

Maya laughs and points at Lucas, ''You're a scared of a man cow. A-moo.''

Lucas points a finger between the two. ''You two never actually seen a bull, have you?''

''No,'' Riley perks. ''What we would like to see are some cold drinks inside an air conditioned refreshment tent.''

Maya points at the tent and flatly lets out, ''Oh, lookee here.''

Riley fakes a gasp before turning at the heel of her foot and walked in with Maya following behind.

Ryan looks up at Lucas who was lost in a daze of disbelief. ''I just think you may react differently when you actually see a man cow.''

She puffs out her bottom lip into a pout before they walked into the tent.

Lucas and Ryan walked into the tent, still holding onto each other as they found Zay, Riley and Maya watching the flat tv screen. It was clips of the rodeo, where people were riding bulls.

Their steps were slow walking closer to their friends as their eyes were glued on the screen. There were so many clips of bull riding failures that looked absolutely painful from the start of it.

Maya turns to Lucas and sternly demands, ''I don't want you going anywhere near that bull.''

He scoffs. ''Yeah, that makes two of us.''

''I want you to take off that stupid outfit, and I wanna get outta here,'' Maya lets out angrily.

''Maya.''

''I saw the bull,'' Maya shakes her head. ''I don't think the bull knows this is supposed to be fun.''

''Okay, Maya, let's not shake Lucas' confidence,'' Riley advises. She turns to him with her arms out suggestively, ''You can do this, right? You can just ride a bull for four seconds and win the master of Tombstone award?''

Ryan cringed. ''It's easier said than done, Riley.''

Maya extends an arm out towards the other brunette that was wrapped against Lucas' side. ''See! Thank you, Ryan. Ryan gets it, this isn't safe. Okay, Lucas is gonna need a Tombstone, there won't be anymore Lucas if he rides that bull.''

''He's going to do great, Maya,'' Riley turns at the heel of her foot. ''Zay, tell him, he's going to do great.''

She turns him around and Zay mindlessly repeats, ''You're going to do great.''

''The truth,'' Maya demands.

''You're gonna die.''

Zay then steps away to get more nuts to chew on.

''I believe in you,'' Riley takes a step forward. ''I believe that you can do anything you want to.''

''Riley, why do you want him to do this?'' Maya questions furiously.

''Because this is better than riding Judy the Sheep, and I don't want him to be a disgrace his community anymore,'' She reasons sharply.

Lucas tilts his head to the side. ''Well, I don't actually think that I'm a disgrace to the community.''

''You are,'' Riley confirms, turning back to him. ''I've been talking to people. They have long memories here.''

A worker walks up to Lucas' side and mimics, ''Baah!''

''See?'' He points out once she walked away. ''I have to do this.''

''Okay,'' Riley nods. ''Then, go out there. Be the hero I know you are.''

''Thank you, Riley.''

''Ryan,'' Maya scoffs. ''How can you let him go through with this? Isn't he your best friend?''

''We talked, Maya,'' Ryan nods. She pushes herself off of him, her hand trailing to his back and rubbed it reassuringly. ''I don't exactly agree with any of this but he wants this. I have to support him.''

Farkle walks in with Pappy Joe and announced, ''The Mutton Busters are getting ready to ride, then it's you Lucas.''

''Make us proud, boy,'' His grandfather spoke.

''Friar,'' A deep voice called from behind Ryan and Lucas. Ryan had lost touch with him all the way, letting her arm drop to her side while Lucas kept his arm around his shoulder as the group turned to him.

''Mccullough,'' Pappy Joe called back, just as intimidating as the other man did.

''I'm talking to young Friar,'' He approaches Lucas free side and grips his shoulder. He looks down at him and asks, ''So, you fixin' to ride again, huh?''

''That's right,'' He nods.

''Well,'' He smacks his teeth. ''Don't think about last time,'' He starts laughing. ''You don't want that in your head. Let's watch my grandson, Timmy master Judy the Sheep. Oh,'' He looks down at him again. ''You were about two seconds on Judy the Sheep, as I recall. But don't let be in your head.''

''How come you ain't out there with your grandson?'' Pappy Joe piped in.

''Well, then, I wouldn't have the pleasure of watching him right in front of your face.''

They turned back to the tv screen as the announcer announced, ''And now, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, it's mutton bustin' time! Judy the Sheep will be ridden this year by Timmy Mccullough.''

''That's my grandson!'' His grandfather exclaims.

The buzzer went off and the gate opens and just as soon as the sheep starts running, Timmy Mccullough fell off within the first second. Ryan brought a hand up to her mouth when she gasped. Meanwhile, Pappy Joe was grinning ear to ear and cheers, ''Ha! That's his grandson!''

''Pappy Joe!'' Riley scolds.

''Sorry, Riley,'' He looks down in shame. ''Stereotypical cultural reductions all I have left.''

''And now,'' The announcer resumed. ''For the event you've all been waiting for, bull ridin'! And this year, will we finally have a master of Tombstone? The record on Tombstone is three point seven seconds. Will someone finally beat it? But first, riding Buttercup, is Eddie Callaway!''

Ryan shakes her head when the bull kicked him off of him.

''Oh! Eddie, that had to hurt. Looks like Eddie's gonna have himself a little lay down for a moment.''

''Are you out of your mind?'' Maya exclaims, turning at the heel of her foot.

Riley turns to him as well. ''Lucas, you're serious right? You can seriously do this?''

Ryan shrugs her shoulders. ''I told you girls, you wouldn't like what you signed him up for.''

''Yeah,'' He nods. ''I learned from the best, actually.''

Maya cranes her neck forward. ''Who's the best?''

He points to the screen. ''Eddie Callaway.''

The announcer began speaking again, ''Coming up, our main event. Lucas Friar tangles with Tombstone.''

Using that same arm that was wrapped around her shoulders, Lucas pulls Ryan into his chest and hugs her. She buries her face into his clothed chest and retaliates the hug back. They were both scared, they didn't know how this would turn out.

She lifts her head from his chest and cooed into his ear, ''Good luck, Lucas.''

The two pulled away from each other before Lucas walked his way out of the tent.

''Lucas,'' Maya calls, walking up to him. ''Look at me.''

He turns to him and threatens, ''If you do this, I will never speak to you again.''

Ryan lagged her head to the side. ''Maya,-''

She swiftly turns to her, ''No, Ryan,'' She then turns back to Lucas. ''I mean it.''

It was now Riley's turn to call her. The blonde turns to her and asks, ''Riley, why are you for this?''

''Because,'' She shrugs his shoulders. ''I want him to succeed. I want him to make his grandfather proud.''

Maya turns to his grandfather, shaking his head vigorously. ''You're not proud of him if he doesn't do this?''

''I think you have a fine grasp of the general situation, yeah. In my opinion, it's about facing life, which runs harder than any bull. You gotta face your fears. You ride them, or they ride you.''

Ryan pursed her lips. ''You know, a simple yes or no would have been better too.''

Maya continues to shake her head. ''I'll never speak to you again.''

× × ×

''Oh my god,'' Ryan felt a burning pit of anxiety build in her stomach. Lucas Friar was on Tombstone the Bull, putting on his helmet. Why did he have to go through with this? Why did he had to be so selfish and make her think of him so much? Make her worry?

''Lucas, tell the bull you want to be a veterinarian! It's your only hope!'' Riley calls out to him. He seemed to have taken her advice because the bull started roughly moving Lucas on top of him, causing him to yell, ''He doesn't care!''

They took another moment before the gate open. She felt hot, it suddenly became hotter than it was before. She couldn't stop gnawing the skin on her bottom lip, er hands becoming shaky just holding onto the metal pole.

He held on for long, that's for sure. Longer than what she seen in those clips.

But it wasn't a couple more turns the bull took before Lucas came flying up, sliding against the ground.

Ryan didn't hesitate jumping over the railing and running over to him. She drops to the ground, turning him on his side so he could face as Riley followed afterwards.

''Hey,'' She calls softly. ''You with me?''

''Lucas!'' Riley exclaims, sliding a seat next to Ryan. ''Is he okay?''

''I stood on for like, thirty seconds,'' He groans.

Ryan breathes out a giggle. She was quick to wipe the small tears that cornered her eyes. ''Oh thank god,'' She whispers from her giggles.

''Yeah,'' Riley nods. ''We knew you could do it.''

Farkle and Zay ran over, helping him off of the ground. Once Lucas was able to balance himself on his own two feet, he took off his helmet.

''Look,'' Zay points out towards the timer. ''You did it.''

''Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that is an official time! He's done it!'' The announcer claims. He made it over four seconds.

''Lukey!'' Cletus came running in a clown costume. ''I'm proud of you, Lukey!''

''We all are, boy'' His grandfather practically squealed as he came running with his silver trophy. He hands it to him and praises, ''I never seen nothing like it in my life.''

Taking a second to look at the trophy, he hands it back to Pappy Joe. ''Wanna hold onto this for safekeeping?''

He smiles as he takes from his grasp. ''I'd be honored.''

''I'll keep it shinin' like the sun, garducky,'' Cletus pitches in.

The crowd cheers for him one last time, applauding him for his accomplishment. The group started leaving, but Ryan pulled Lucas into a hug. A tight one.

''Careful, just because I survived Tombstone, doesn't mean I'm quick to survive your strength,'' He remarks, grunting afterwards.

She rests her chin on his chest to look up at him. ''Don't scare me like that again. Clear?''

He breathes out a smile and nods. ''Crystal.''

Letting one arm go of each other, they held onto each other with one arm as they did earlier while walking out the ring.

''Hold on a minute,'' Lucas calls out to his grandfather. Lucas pulls away from Ryan's grasp and got down on one knee to reach eye level with Timmy, his grandfather leaning against the tree beside him.

''Timmy, you did good out there,'' He praises. A corner of Ryan's lips quirk into a sideways smile. ''Alright, you tried hard. Tombstone is tough, but he is no Judy the Sheep. Sometimes you get thrown, don't let it throw you.''

Ryan places a hand on his shoulder and adds, ''If it makes you feel better, you got a whole lot more courage than any kid I know that rides Judy. She's tough.''

He smiles. ''Thank you, Lucas and Lucas' girlfriend.''

Ryan giggles. ''It's Ryan. Nice to meet you, Timmy.''

Lucas got up from his stance as Timmy's grandfather praises. ''That was a fine ride, son.''

''Thank you, sir,'' He nods.

He turned to Lucas' grandfather and calls him in a much lighter tone. ''Friar.''

Pappy Joe holds a hand out. ''Mccullough.''

He looks down and shakes his hand, calling whatever feud they had to a truce.

× × ×

''I really do wish I grew up with you guys, Lucas,'' Farkle spoke.

Farkle Minkus, Isaiah Babineaux, Lucas Friar and Ryan Collins were back in pappy Joe's house. The guys took up the couch while Ryan sat in a chair. Riley Matthews and Maya Hart were out on a walk, talking. As least, that's what they assumed. Nobody hasn't seen either one since the rodeo.

Lucas snickers. ''You just did, Farkle.''

''Yeah,'' Zay agrees. The guys leaned back into the couch as Zay confirms in confidence, ''From now on, it's just the three of us.''

''Awe, my favorites finally coming together,'' Ryan smiles. She was so happy to see them smile at her back. It made her happy because these are her truest friends. She couldn't meet nobody better, no. These people here were rare and she couldn't appreciate them any more than she does now.

''Listen,'' Ryan leans forward in her seat. She clears her throat, ''I know the girls aren't here yet, but there's something important that I need to tell you of all.-''

''Ah, there's something I gotta tell you too,'' Lucas interrupts. ''Even though we didn't meet from the start, I'm glad that we're so close. It really helped knowing that you believed in me and cared for me so much today.''

''Oh,'' She breathes out. She shakes her head, ''You don't have to thank me, Lucas. That's what best friends are for.''

His face dropped when she finished and furrowed his brows.

The girls then entered and Riley announced, ''Lucas, I have to talk to you.''

''I have something to say to you too, Riley,'' He counters, standing up. ''If it wasn't for you, I don't know if I would have survived in New York. You're really important to me. I'm glad that you were also there for me today.''

''You are really important to me too, Lucas,'' Riley agrees. ''We've always been really good at talking to each other, but we've never been too good at holding hands.-''

''What?'' Ryan bursted out in laughter.

Riley looked at Ryan while Lucas only turned to her.

Her smile dropped as well as her laughter. ''Oh, you're serious.''

''And then we tried being a couple and we couldn't even talk to each other. I don't want that. I want to know you're always there to talk to,'' Riley continues. ''You're my brother, Lucas, and I'm your sister.''

It wasn't until now that Ryan's features dropped like Zay and Farkle's. What is happening?

''That's what you think we are?'' He asks.

''That's what I think we are,'' Riley confirms. Ryan's jaw dropped even further when she kissed his cheek. ''I love you, Lucas, and now I know how.'' She leans over to the side and asks, ''How do you feel about him, Maya?''

Ryan turns to Maya with wide eyes. ''What? Huh? Plot twist?''

Ryan Collin's Outfit #1

Ryan Collin's Cowgirl Outfit

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