Perfectly Put Together and (Im)perfectly Brought Together

Summary: When Farkle off-handedly flirts with Lucas, it sparks something that could change their friendship for good

A/N: So I wrote more Larkle bc feels...takes place during/after the events of Girl Meets Belief...also this is super angsty, so prepare yourselves :)

"You have a better life because of…look at ya! Your freak face is just a collection of cells and bone structure that was randomly and somehow perfectly put together! That if there was a force that did that for you, I'll tell you right now: he hates me!"

Lucas wasn't sure how he managed to keep the blush off his cheeks until Farkle walked away. Lucas hated (loved) it when Farkle tossed him compliments like that. It didn't matter that Farkle probably never meant it the way Lucas was always going to hope he did; it still made his breath catch, his heart do backflips and his stomach twist.

"You gonna stop looking at Farkle like a lovesick puppy so we can work on this?"

Riley's voice suddenly assaulting his eardrums nearly caused Lucas to topple off his stool.

"What?" Lucas chuckled, wringing his hands nervously. "I d-don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't have to hide it," Riley shrugged, rolling her eyes. "I know you like Farkle."

Lucas' elbow slid out from underneath him, causing him to lose his balance and nearly face-plant on the countertop.

"W-who told you that?" Lucas whispered harshly.

"No one," Riley replied. "Anyone with eyes can see it."

Lucas paused, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm his racing heart.

"So are you saying he already knows?"

"No, he doesn't notice, mostly because he's too busy giving you heart-eyes back," Riley grinned.

"Hey, that's not funny!" Lucas exclaimed, reaching over to playfully slap Riley's arm.

"Who said I was joking?" Riley winked, stopping him in his tracks. As Lucas slumped back into the stool, he swore he was starting to feel lightheaded, and he leant over to grip the edge of the counter for support. He opened his mouth to question Riley further, but she was no longer looking at him, focused on reading the open book Farkle had left sitting there. He looked back at the other boy, sitting on the couch next to Maya, feet propped up on the coffee table, and shook his head, forcing Riley's words to the back of his mind. As long as Farkle didn't know, Lucas was okay.

He tried to focus on Joan of Arc, he really did, but instead of focusing on the words on the page in front of him, Lucas found himself glancing over his shoulder every fifteen seconds to look at Farkle, Riley's words continuing to echo in his brain. Riley chose to ignore him, working on the report without his help, only sparing a snigger every couple of times he peered over at Farkle.

When they finished, Lucas quickly tossed his things in his bag, turning around to join up with Farkle to walk home, but to his dismay, he found Farkle was already halfway out the door.

"Farkle?" Lucas called, but the door had already swung shut and the boy didn't hear him. Lucas let out a heavy sigh, tossed his bag over his shoulder and trudged home by himself, wondering why Farkle had taken off so rapidly and why he had left him to walk home alone (the jerk).

Farkle stumbled inside his house, slamming the front door and leaning heavily up against it as he let out a breath he swore he'd been holding ever since those words had started tumbling out of his mouth.

"You have a better life because of…look at ya! Your freak face is just a collection of cells and bone structure that was randomly and somehow perfectly put together! That if there was a force that did that for you, I'll tell you right now: he hates me!"

Farkle groaned as the words replayed in his head. He had to stop saying things like that to Lucas, because there was no way he could to get away with it over and over again like he had been so far. If what he was thinking kept slipping out without his brain's permission, hopping right over his mental filter, eventually Lucas would realize that it wasn't jealousy talking.

Lucas.

He slid down to the floor, propping his back on the door as he pulled his knees into his chest, silently cursing himself. Why did he have to be crushing on his best friend? His best friend—who liked Riley—or Maya. It didn't matter to Farkle which of the girls Lucas liked, because it already meant he didn't feel anything for him. Why would—why should he when he had two very beautiful girls both chasing after his affections? Two girls that were both so beautiful in their own ways that it didn't matter who Lucas picked, he wasn't going to lose. It was plain, simple, and painful: Lucas was never going to pick him over Riley or Maya.

Farkle willed himself to hold the tears back as his heart clenched at the reality of the whole situation. "I always get my hopes up and then something happens to hurt my little Farkle-heart," he had once said. He didn't remember who (or what) he'd been talking about then, but whatever heartbreak that was had to have been insignificant when compared to the pain he felt right now. Lucas, the boy he'd unknowingly given his whole heart to, was crushing it without even realizing it.

A choked sob escaped from his lips before he could stop it. Farkle clapped his hands over his mouth. His mom was supposed to be in the house somewhere, and the last thing he needed was someone trying to comfort him. He hated people seeing him vulnerable, and besides, nothing anyone could say would make him feel better right now—or maybe ever. Clumsily rising to his feet, Farkle sprinted for the safety of his bedroom, closing and locking the door behind him. He dove into his bed, curling up into a ball and roughly shoving his face into a pillow, letting the tears and sobs come freely.

Lucas lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, thinking about just how screwed he was. How did he even end up with a crush on Farkle? Lucas remembered when he first met the boy, Lucas found him brash, loud, over-confident and grating. If Farkle hadn't already been friends with Riley and Maya, Lucas would've avoided associating him at all costs.

But as he spent more time with him, Lucas learned his bravado was merely a façade, covering up a person who, at his core, was deeply insecure. Especially when Farkle was with him, away from the girls, Farkle showed him parts of himself that Lucas wouldn't have thought were there from the face he showed the rest of the world. Like the reason Farkle hated relying on other people was that he had been on his own a lot, since his parents had constantly left him alone once he was old enough to take care of himself. Or that Farkle hated yelling because whenever his parents were home, that's all they did: scream at each other. Or that Farkle had never had any real friends. Or that the things other people said about him actually hurt him, even though Farkle had always said they didn't.

He learned the last one when Billy had called Farkle the "biggest nothing in the whole school" and Farkle had hidden away in Janitor Harley's closet, stopped wearing his turtlenecks, and started avoiding him and Riley and Maya. In fact, still remembered the intensity of rage, unlike anything he'd ever felt before, when he found out that someone had the nerve to say that to Farkle. If it hadn't been for Maya, he probably would've gotten expelled again. He had just been itching to bring his fist to Billy's face as he held him up against the wall, itching to make him hurt the way his words had hurt Farkle.

That had been the first moment Lucas had realized there was something different about the way he looked at Farkle, about how his feelings seemed to be on a different level of intensity. Then the yearbook came out, and Farkle wanted to stop being Farkle, calling himself "Donnie Barnes." Lucas had been so upset, unable to hide his desperation as he tried to make Farkle see how he couldn't just change who he was. How Lucas wanted—no, needed him to be Farkle. Thank God he had gotten through to him (and Riley, but he had been more concerned about Farkle). When they had been sitting outside Topanga's, talking about it all, and when Farkle told him he was trying to find himself, the reality of his own crush had hit Lucas like a tidal wave.

Lucas didn't know what to do then, and he still didn't know what to do now. This wasn't like flirting with Riley and Maya. That was easy because he didn't feel anything, but anytime he was even near Farkle, Lucas got so nervous he could barely think.

"Ugh, why does this have to be so hard?" Lucas groaned, rolling over on his side to see his mom standing in his bedroom doorway.

"Riley and Maya again?" she asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"No, it's um—Mom?" Lucas said, taking a deep breath. It was about time that he came clean to the person who he trusted the most. He desperately needed her advice right now. "There's—there's something important I need to tell you."

"What's that honey?" she replied softly, walking over to sit on the edge of his bed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

"It's not Riley or Maya. It's not—it hasn't been about them for a while," Lucas mumbled, biting his bottom lip. "There's someone else that I like—a lot more than I ever liked Riley or Maya."

"Who?"

"F-Farkle," he answered, staring at his lap.

"Okay, I see. So what's the problem?" she questioned.

"Wait, so you don't care?" Lucas blurted out incredulously.

"Care about what?"

"That I like another boy."

"No," she shrugged, smiling at Lucas. "You're my son and I love you no matter what. Besides, I've had my suspicions since you were a little boy. So—Farkle, huh?"

"Yeah," Lucas replied, letting his face break into a shy smile that held for a few seconds before fading. "I didn't think he liked me back, but then Riley said…and I just don't know."

"What did Riley say?" his mom pressed, an unreadable expression on her face. It made Lucas wonder what she was thinking.

"She—she said that he's always giving me heart-eyes," Lucas stammered.

"That's true," she nodded knowingly.

"What? How did—how do you know?"

"I see it every time he's over here. He has all the classic characteristics of a lovesick puppy."

"But what if—well he's always been really jealous of me, so what if—" Lucas said, trying to rationalize away what his mom had said. He wasn't sure if he could believe it.

"Oh honey," she chuckled, placing a hand on his knee. "Trust me on this: he's not jealous of you."

"You really think he likes me back?" Lucas inquired hopefully, perking up.

"Absolutely. So let me ask you: what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not sure. It's not like with Riley where I can just ask him out."

"And what makes you say that?" his mom asked pointedly. Lucas knew exactly what she meant, and that was definitely a big part of his hesitations.

"Well because—"

"Is it just because he's a boy?"

"I—maybe a little," Lucas sighed. "But it's because I'm too nervous to."

"Don't let the fact that he's a boy stop you. And you know, you're always going to be nervous to ask out someone you like," she shrugged, patting his knee as she stood up. "You might as well just do it."

"Yeah, okay."

Part of him wanted to wait until school the next day, so he's have more time to screw up his courage, but another, bigger part of him wanted to just get up and go over to Farkle's right now. Lucas jumped up, ready to run out of his room to go over there, when he realized he didn't even know where Farkle lived. They always hung out at Topanga's or at his house. Lucas groaned and flopped back down on his bed, deciding he might as well just wait until the next day; he would surprise Farkle by going in early, be there first, and then do it right away when Farkle got to school. Lucas quickly sent Farkle a text (it not occurring to him that he could ask Farkle for his address) before heading out to the kitchen to bug his mom until dinner was ready:

Hey, come find me tomorrow when you get to school

Eventually, Farkle ran out of tears to cry, and he unsteadily rose from bed, padding into the bathroom, startled when he took in his puffy, bloodshot eyes and splotchy cheeks. No matter how much he liked him, Farkle knew Lucas wasn't worth this. He'd never cried over Lucas before, but some instinct told him that this wasn't going to be the last time. He had to get over him.

Farkle shuffled out into the kitchen, bracing himself for the questions he knew his mom would ask him when she saw that he had been crying. When he entered the room though, all he found was a note on the table, apparently scribbled in haste.

Had to leave for work. You'll be on your own until Friday.

Love, Mom

Farkle exhaled, thankful for the privacy he would be afforded over the next few days. He'd made up his mind: he needed to distance himself from his best friend. It was probably going to be more painful than Farkle could even guess at, and not having to worry about someone looking over his shoulder as he dealt with his emotions regarding the whole ordeal was going to be a huge relief.

Now knowing that, Farkle grabbed a box of cereal from the cabinet and retreated to his room. He shoved a couple handfuls in his mouth before setting the box down and diving underneath his covers. Taking his phone out of his pocket, Farkle shut it off and tossed it on his bedside table, laying his head on his still damp pillow, closing his eyes and fighting off the tears that were welling up in his eyes again until he fell asleep.

Lucas was at school earlier than he could ever remember being there before, either here or back in Texas. He let out a yawn, resting his head against the cool metal of Farkle's locker. Even though he had asked Farkle to find him, Lucas figured he shouldn't take any chances and make it easy for Farkle to seek him out. He closed his eyes, shielding them from the harsh fluorescent lights as he waited to hear that familiar voice.

"Whatcha doing?"

Lucas peeked out from under his closed eyelids, frowning when he saw it was only Riley.

"Waiting for Farkle," Lucas shrugged, clenching his eyes shut again.

"Are you going to ask him out?" Riley questioned, nudging his shoulder gently. Lucas sighed, and then nodded in reply, covering his ears as Riley shrieked.

"MAYA!"

"What is it?" Maya asked as Lucas groaned.

"He's finally going to do it!" Riley giggled, jumping up and down.

"You've finally admitted you've got a crush on the little nerd, huh Huckleberry?" Maya teased.

"Not finally admitted, just finally decided to do something about it," Lucas countered, regretfully opening his eyes and glancing over at the clock. "Hey, have you seen him yet?"

"No, we just got here," Riley answered before she grabbed Maya and wandered off towards their lockers. Lucas checked the clock again, starting to worry, since Farkle was usually here by now. Lucas stayed waiting at Farkle's locker until the last second, sprinting to make class on time, surprised when he found Farkle already sitting at his desk. Lucas stopped and gaped at the boy, fighting his brain to find some words to say.

"Ahem," Mr. Matthews cleared his throat. Lucas quickly stepped out of the doorway, striding to his desk, all the while shooting Farkle questioning looks, none of which were even acknowledged. Mr. Matthews began class and Lucas didn't pay attention at all. He kept looking over at the boy who refused to even spare a glance in his direction. Farkle hadn't even scooted his desk over closer to his, and that extra foot of distance felt like a gulf, suddenly opening miles of space between them.

When he realized Farkle wasn't going to pay any attention to him, Lucas took to watching the clock instead, willing time to move faster. This rapid change in Farkle's demeanor was both unnerving and so unlike him, and Lucas had to figure out why.

"Hey Farkle!" Lucas said as soon as the bell rang, standing up to walk with Farkle. Farkle, however, kept walking out, leaving Lucas standing at his desk, wondering what the hell was going on.

Farkle had seen Lucas standing at his locker when he walked into school. He'd gotten Lucas' text, and he didn't know why, or what Lucas wanted to talk about, but Farkle wasn't interested in finding out. His only interest was in maintaining as much distance between himself and Lucas as possible. So he turned around and went the long way to Mr. Matthew's classroom, avoiding Lucas all together.

When Lucas walked into the classroom, Farkle knew that he was staring at him, but he willed himself not to look into those bright green eyes, knowing that the second he did, he would crack. He ignored the glances Lucas would throw his way every five seconds, ignored the way his heart leapt every time he did, ignored the guilt and sadness that built up in him every time he paid no mind to Lucas' concern. He busied himself with the lesson, trying to let the one thing he always counted on—learning—to provide distraction and comfort.

But then class came to an end and Farkle rose to his feet, trying to get out of the room as fast as he could, which he did, but not before he heard Lucas calling out his name.

"Hey Farkle!"

Farkle had to fight every fiber of his being and force himself not to turn around, hating the way his heart sunk lower in his chest with every step he took in the opposite direction, away from Lucas. Once Farkle knew he was out of sight, he ran to Janitor Harley's closet, the one place he knew he could hide away for the rest of the day.

Lucas didn't see Farkle anywhere the rest of the day. Lucas desperately needed to talk to Farkle, but he had to find him first. Lucas skipped his last class of the day, using the time to check nearly everywhere in the building, from the bathrooms, to empty classrooms, to every nook and cranny he knew of (save one that he had forgotten about, the one place where he would've found Farkle). At the end of the day, with still so sign of the brown-haired boy, he resignedly walked out, trying to figure out a Plan B. He came up with nothing, until he caught sight of the light blonde hair that belonged to Maya, causing a light bulb to go off in his head.

"Hey Maya, wait up!" Lucas shouted, immediately sprinting after her.

"Woah, slow down Ranger Rick!" Maya exclaimed as she turned around, just in time to avoid being run over by Lucas.

"Sorry," Lucas replied quickly, sounding only slightly out of breath. "Hey, do you know where Farkle lives?"

"Yeah. Why? I thought you were going to talk to him this morning."

"He's been avoiding me all day," Lucas explained with obvious frustration. "Will you please take me? I have to talk to him."

"Okay fine, but we have to wait for Riley," Maya sighed, giving in to Lucas' pleas.

"Thanks," Lucas muttered, already turning his attention to what to do when he got there.

They walked in silence (though Lucas knew Riley and Maya were having some kind of quiet conversation) until they reached Farkle's building.

"He's in room 1123," Riley said. "Do you want us to come up with you?"

"No, I need it to be just me and him," Lucas answered.

"Okay. I hope it goes okay," Riley smiled, giving him a short embrace.

"Yeah, me too," Lucas mumbled.

"Good luck Huckleberry," Maya said as he walked inside the building.

He trudged up the stairs, walking until he reached Farkle's apartment. He took a deep breath before he started knocking, rapping his knuckles on the door rapidly. When a full minute passed with no answer, Lucas knocked again. When Farkle still didn't answer, Lucas began repeatedly punching the doorbell, determined to annoy Farkle into opening up the door. Five minutes passed. Then ten minutes. By fifteen minutes, Lucas was about to give up when the door swung open.

"What do you want?"

Lucas was taken aback by the harshness in Farkle's tone, in both the edge and the rough quality his voice possessed.

"Uh—w-why did you avoid me today?" Lucas stuttered, thrown off balance by the way Farkle greeted him.

"I wasn't avoiding you, I was just busy," Farkle argued feebly, unconsciously taking a step back.

"Why are you lying to me?" Lucas questioned, regaining his conversational bearings and taking a step forward to match Farkle's backward step.

"How would you know?"

"Because we've ate lunch together almost every day since I started going here, no matter what you've been 'busy' doing," Lucas explained, walking over and sitting down on one of the three couches in Farkle's living room. "Why are you avoiding me Farkle? Did I do something to hurt you?"

"No, I hurt myself," Farkle admitted, sitting down opposite to Lucas and watching as his eyes went comically wide.

"What do you mean? Are you okay?" Lucas inquired, worry coloring every word.

"I guess I will be eventually," Farkle replied, devoid of emotion.

"What happened?"

"I fell for someone I can't have," Farkle mumbled almost inaudibly. Anywhere else, Lucas wouldn't have heard it, but the words reverberated in the vaulted, empty space of Farkle's living room.

"Farkle—"

"No Lucas, stop!" Farkle demanded, leaping to his feet. "Please don't."

"Wh—"

"Don't try to make me feel better. You're only going to make it worse," Farkle cried, feeling tears start to trail down his cheeks.

"How can—"

"Because it was you, okay? I fell for you Lucas! I fell for your perfect freak-face and you cowboy charm and…" Farkle paused, lowering his head to examine the carpet, taking a breath to collect himself. "But you don't like me, and I was avoiding you because I needed some space to get over you. I just—you just really need to go."

"What if I don't want to go?" Lucas smirked, pacing over in front of Farkle, grasping one of Farkle's hands and softly grabbing his chin with his other hand, lifting Farkle's head so he could see into the other boy's piercing blue eyes.

"Lucas," Farkle gasped in surprise. "Lucas what are you—" he continued before his voice faltered.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Farkle nodded, not trusting his voice to respond.

"What would you say if I told you that I fell for you too?" Lucas asked quietly. "That I'm not actually someone you can't have."

"I—I'd say you were joking," Farkle whispered, his entire body trembling as Lucas leaned in closer to him.

"Well I'm not joking," Lucas muttered before softly pressing their lips together. Farkle didn't understand what was happening, but for the first time in his life, he couldn't find it within himself to care about figuring it out. He simply put his hands on Lucas' waist and pulled him in closer to his body, soaking in the feeling of kissing someone he'd been crushing on for so long. This was better than his first kiss with Riley—by a long shot. If this was what kissing was supposed to feel like, then his "kiss" with Riley wasn't really a kiss at all. Farkle whined when Lucas pulled away far too soon for his liking, the feeling of Lucas' lips still ghosting on his skin even as the other boy removed them.

"There was something I was going to ask you earlier, but couldn't because you never came to school," Lucas mumbled, leaning their foreheads together.

"Yeah?"

"Would you go on a date with me?" Lucas asked breathlessly.

Farkle replied by kissing him and then asked: "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah," Lucas grinned.