Emily's POV

We were outside now. It was kinda awkward still.

"Brother and sister..." Lucas says. "Riley and I are brother and sister now. What does that even mean? What does anything mean out the mouth of a girl?"

"I mean, I used to tell Vanessa, clear as day, "Vanessa, I'd buy you a house, and I'd be yours forever, and I'd buy you ice cream," you know what'd she say? "I don't want you to buy me a house, I don't want your ice cream, and I don't like you." Zay says. 

"How am I supposed to understand that?"

"I understand it." Farkle says.

"Gentlemen, look how lucky you are. You treat 'em right." Pappy Joe says.

"Thank you, pappy Joe." Riley says.

She walks to the railing of the porch, looking up sat the sky. "I see why you get homesick for Texas sometimes, Lucas. I never knew that the sky had this many stars." She says. "You know what else? I don't get nervous when I'm with you anymore. We're doing the right thing." She tells Lucas. "Ah. Remember when we couldn't even say "hi" to each other?" She asks. "Remember how we'd go, "hi." "Howdy." "Hi." Remember? Now watch this. Say "hi" to me." She says.

"Hi." He says.

"Hi, Lucas. What up, brah? What's up with you, man? You good? You cool?" She asks.

"Hi." He says again.

"Still got some catching up to do." She says.

"Riley, I... I don't even know what's going on right now." He says to the brunette.

"What's going on is that we're gonna be the best of friends and care about what each of us has to say for the rest of our lives." She says,

"Yeah, I sort of thought we had that." He says. "What does brother and sister mean?" Lucas asks her.

"It means... you know... Poom!" She says, hitting him in the shoulder. 

"Hey!" He yells.

"Ping!" She hits him, again. 

"Riley!" He scolds.

"Ha, you said that just like a brother would." Riley says to him.

"Well, can I hit you back?" He asks. 

"No." She replies.

"Only you get to hit me?" He asks her.

"Mm-hmm. We're just like how you and Maya were." She says. "He-hee."

"You don't even do it right." Maya says. Riley turns to the blond.

"Oh! Maya, I thought you weren't talking to Lucas." Riley says to her. 

"I'm not talking to him. I'm talking to you." Maya says.

"Maya, are you seriously not gonna talk to me?" Lucas asks the younger blond.

"You could've gotten hurt on that stupid bull. What do you think you getting hurt would have done to the people who..." Maya cuts herself off. 

"Care about you? I think you were gonna say "care about you." Zay says I smirk, knowing he's right. 

"I'm not talking about me." Maya says. "You think I'm talking about me?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'm talking about everybody here. All right." Maya tells us all. 

"Maya, Lucas is okay. He didn't get hurt. All of us are okay." Riley says. "And we're gonna go spend our first night in Texas... What should we do?" Riley asks.

"I've been reading about Austin, and they call it a music city. They call it the live music capital of the world." Farkle says. 

"That's absolutely what we should do. Show them the town and listen to some music." Zay says. 

"Yeah! Anyone good playing tonight?" Lucas asks Pappy Joe. 

"If I was a young buck trying to impress my friends, I might suggest chubby's famous barbecue pit. Always good eats, always good music." Pappy Joe replies. 

"But barbecued foods aren't good for you." Farkle says. I sigh and give my boyfriend a look.

"Let me tell you what ain't good for you." Pappy Joe says to the younger boy.

 "You're not gonna do anything to me because you know I'm a New York intellectual and you don't want to be a cliché." Farkle challenges. Oh god.

"Lucas, fetch me my shotgun." Pappy Joe says.

"Okay." Lucas replies. 

"Lucas!" Farkle and I yell at the same time. 

"Okay." Lucas says.

"Okay, I'll go to chubby's, I'll eat your food, I'll listen to your music, but don't expect a changed Farkle, hombre." Farkle says.

------

"More." Farkle growls after he had finished a whole bunch of ribs and has barbeque sauce all on his face.

"Easy there cowboy." Lucas tells him.

"You need to calm down." Lucas says.

"Oh, I have to calm down? They make a big deal out of you riding a bull for four seconds." Farkle says then continues. "Well, I ate him."

"Zay?" A girl asks, walking up.

"Unbelievable." He mutters.

"How's New York been treating you?" She asks him. 

"Good, yeah. Just trying to fit in. Making new friends..." He says. 

"Well, looks like you made some. Wanna introduce me?"  

Yeah. Um, this is Farkle..." Zay says. 

"Texas lady." Farkle says.

"This is Emily." Zay says. I give the girl a smile, which she returns.

"And this is my friend, Maya."

"You did not just do that." Maya says. 

"What?" Zay asks.

"You did not just introduce your girlfriend as your friend." Maya says.

Zay scoffs. "What?"

"Isaiah Earl Babineaux..." Maya says. I cover my mouth to stop from laughing.

"Your middle name is Earl?" Vanessa asks.

"No." He says. 

"The next time you introduce your girlfriend as your friend, we are through. Do you hear me?" Maya asks.

"I mean, I hear you, but I..." Zay says confused.

"Put your arm around me." He does so. "Twirl my hair." He does what Maya says again. "Call me honey nugget."

"Hi, honey nugget." He says, noticeably uncomfortable. 

"Hi, hunkalicious." Maya says.

"A little possessive, no?" Vanessa asks. 

"Well, the good ones you don't let get away, you know what I mean?" Maya asks. "With all the girls chasing him around New York City, you have to swoop right in or he'll be gone." Maya says. "I said, "you have to swoop right in or he will"..." She repeats and Riley sits right next to Zay on the other side.

"Isaiah Hank Babineaux." She says.

"No..." Zay says. 

"I don't care." Riley says. "I only care that you don't let Maya get her hooks into you when you know you are mine."

"This is my friend, Riley..." Zay introduces. 

"now, how do you like it when he calls you a friend, Riley?" Maya asks our best friend.

"I like it." Riley says. 

"No, you do not like it." Maya says. 

"I do not like when you call me just "friend." Riley tells Zay.

"Well, what would you like for me to call you?" He asks.

"I would like for you to call me... Cotton candy face." She says.

"Good girl. I know that was hard." Maya says to her.

"Zay, is it possible I've misjudged you?" Vanessa asks him.

"It's possible, Vanessa." Riley says. 

"How do you know my name?" She asks Riley confused. 

"Um... Too much." Riley says. 

"Too much." Maya says.

"Too much." Farkle says.

"Too much." I say.

We all get up and leave the table.

-----------

"You've just been sitting here, pappy Joe?" Lucas asks once we get back to Pappy Joe's house. 

"Oh, after you run around enough, you'll find that a comfy chair on your own front porch is your favorite destination." Pappy Joe answers. "Oh, by the way... Lord Chesterfield's letters to his son." He says and taps the window.

"What?" I ask him, confused. 

"Lord Chesterfield had a son who traveled the world." Pappy Joe says.

"What is that? What are you doing?" Riley asks.

"It's a blackboard."

"My daddy made you do this." Riley says. 

"He's good people."

"No, he's not."

"Chesterfield writes him letters about how he should behave himself because a father knows... The only way for a kid to really learn anything is to go out into the world and find out who he is." Pappy Joe says.

"My daddy is trying to teach us from beyond the grave." Riley says.

"Matthews wrote us a letter, didn't he?" I ask.

"He did." Pappy Joe chuckles. "Dear my favorite children... "Take care of each other. Enjoy the world." He reads the note. 

"I don't want this night to end." Riley says.

"What do you do around here when you just want to look at each other's faces a little longer?"

Pappy Joe brings us to a camp fire. "Please do me the great favor of dousing these embers real good when you're done. That house and me might be real old, but we ain't quite ready to burned down yet."

"Well, I never thought I'd say anything like this, but... I'm real sad I don't have a pappy Joe of my own." Maya says.

"Thank you, Maya." He says to her. "I wish you'd consider me yours till the time I... I... you know... bleh."

"Okay." Maya says and he walks away.

"You guys were lucky." I say to Zay and Lucas.

"How come?" Zay asks me. 

"To grow up out here..." I say. "To have this sky... And the stars..." I say. "This has been the best weekend of my life. Thank you." I say to them.

"Promise we'll always be friends no matter what." Riley says. 

"Riley..." Maya says. 

"Promise." Riley says. 

"No matter what happens, I am telling you that I will always be your best friend. No matter what." Maya says. "There's nothing I could do..."

"No, there's nothing you could do, Maya." She says to Maya. "Do you understand? It's you and me until the time we... You know..."

"Bleh." they both say.

"Zay." A voice says. We all look over and see Vanessa. 

"Vanessa?" He asks. 

"Pappy Joe told me you were out here." She replies. 

"You were looking for me?" He asks. 

"I wanted to tell you I was sorry." She says.

"What'd you do?"

"I never really gave you a chance. Now I'm too late because I could never steal you away from your new friends... Could I?"

"Steal me from these people? Hmph. No. No, you couldn't." He tells her.

"What if I bought you ice cream?" She asks. 

Zay sighs. "You know, Vanessa... They're not really both my girlfriends. Or either of 'em." He says.

"I think I knew that. That's not what impressed me. They're your friends who stuck up for you, so I must have missed something... Or you must have changed." She says.

"Well, I've learned that people change people."

"Hm, from beyond the grave, he's teaching us." Riley says.  

"We're breaking up with you, honey nugget. Let her buy you ice cream." Maya says to Zay. 

"Vanessa, you made a mistake with this one." Riley says. "He's pretty wonderful."

"Well, let's go see." She says and the two leave.

"Do you wanna go get ice cream Farkle?" I ask him.

"What?" He asks.

"Do you wanna go get ice cream?" I ask.

"Sure, Em." He says with a smile. He grabs my hand and we stand up

"Let's go." I say to him.

"I'll come with you guys!" Riley says quickly. I turn to her confused.

"Riles, where are you going?" Maya asks her. 

"You need to feel whatever you feel, Maya. It's you and me forever. There is nothing that you could ever do to change that." Riley says to the younger blond. She turns to Lucas. "Maya likes you."

"Riley!" Maya and I both scold the brunette.

"She's been hiding it all this time. That's why she couldn't watch you at the rodeo." Riley tells him. 

"What are you doing?" Maya asks her.

"I saw you, Maya. I saw how much you cared. It's why she makes fun of you, I think." She says.

"Riley, what are we?" Lucas asks her.

"I told you what we are." She says.

"What if that's not what I think we are?" He asks. 

"Well, then you better start thinking of us like that." She tells him.

"Riley, I..." He starts. 

"Lucas... We will always be there for each other." She says. 

"You stepped back. I know that you stepped back." Riley says then walks away. I give Riley one last smile then me and Farkle walk off.

-----

Farkle and I were sitting at a small ice cream parlor. Riley went to Pappy Joe's house to go to sleep early.

"What's wrong?" Farkle asks me as I was staring at my wrist, thinking.

"What?" I ask, looking up at him, snapping out of my thoughts.

"What's wrong?" He asks again.

"Uh, nothing. Nothing. I'm fine." I say to him.

"You sure?" He asks me. "I know when somethings not right with you."

"I- I got a letter the other day." I say to him.

"From who?" He asks me.

"My dad." I answer. His facial expression changes every quickly from curious to confusion and some what mad.

"Why? Did you open it?" He asks me.

"No, it's sitting in my book bag. I had to hide it from Katy and Maya. I don't want them to know he wrote me." I say to her.

"Are you gonna open it?" He asks.

"I don't know. I don't know if I want to." I answer.

"I'll be here for you. I'll be there if and when you open the letter, if you want me to be." He tells me.

I nod at him. "Thank you Farkle." I say to him.

"Always Em." He says to me with a smile.

----------

This is shorter than the rest, sorry. :/ Anyways what do you all think? Em got a letter from her dad. She'll either open it next chapter or in GM Forgiveness. But please comment guys. Thanks for reading. Bye.

-Kelly.