TS42 Chapter 44:

Hello everyone, thanks for coming back to chapter 44! Got six more chapters left including this one, so hopefully you guys can all stick with this until the end! First though, I'd like to address a guest review, I don't know what hint I'm supposed to be taking, but I'm quite aware I had 43 chapters and I am also not aware that I have triple digit reviews, as my review count says 60 reviews, almost 50 favorites and almost 40 follows. I'd like to give all of you guys another shoutout for the support, as I really appreciate it! This would not be one of the very few fics in the fandom with over 100,000 words without all your support. Anyways, now that I have addressed that review for now, I will get to the next chapter, a special chapter in case you couldn't tell by the title; I've Taken On The World, and I'm On Top Of It!

Lucas's POV:

I can't believe it is already Christmas time! Time to go back to Texas to go ring shopping. Never thought I would be doing this with my mom at the age of 19. The only other person who knows anything, is Mr. Matthews. Luckily he's seen me grow up and trusts me enough to take care of her and he said it was okay, so that's why I'm doing this so early.

"So, Riley, I'm going to Texas tomorrow. I'm not going to be there long, but I wanted to let you know that I won't be back until Christmas Eve," I told her.

"That's not too long I suppose. I mean, it's just a week, right?" She asks.

"I hope not. It's only a couple of days! Not a couple of months like last time I went," I explain.

"Well, I guess we just have to spend as much time together now while we can before you leave," she said, leaving me questioning what she's doing.

"What do you want to do before tomorrow?" I asked, pretty much completely at her mercy for the rest of the night.

"You know what I want, I want to spend time with you," Riley said.

"Of course you do, but doing what? Nothing?" I ask.

"I don't care what we do, just as long as we are together," Riley says.

"That doesn't give me any ideas," I say, looking for help.

"You always come up with great ideas! Just think of stuff we normally do on a date," Riley says. Well, our dates are pretty much the same. Activity, food, cuddle.

"Well I have one idea, but it's not a good one," I said.

"Well, I don't care what it is as long as we do it together," Riley said sticking to her point.

"Alright, what food do we have?" I asked her, as she went through the cabinet at her dorm room. I knew what I had at mine, and it wasn't anything worth cooking.

"Well, we have different kinds of meat, poultry, etc. and many different kinds of pasta," Riley tells me. Good, pasta is fun.

"Have any spaghetti noodles?" I ask. Riley smiles and nods. I know she likes spaghetti. It's one of the things she gets when I take her to an Italian place.

"You know I love spaghetti. See, you do have good ideas. But who's cooking it?" She asked. I just smile, but it turns out more like a smirk.

"Us. We are," I tell her. Hoping she gets it.

"Well, I know that, but who's like, actually, cooking it?" She asks, obviously not getting it.

"Both of us. You and I are going to the kitchen and cooking spaghetti together," She smiles, finally understanding it.

"Well, let's get started!" She is now excited and happy Riley. The one I love.

"Yo! Stop daydreaming about me! Just looking at this is making me hungry," Riley tells me.

"Oops, alright, you do step one?" I ask trying to recover.

"Nope, I'm waiting for you to help me and show me what to do," Riley says. We then do everything together. It surprisingly turned out okay, surprisingly, and it was fun doing something new with Riley. A good way to spend my last night with Riley.

"So... I'll see you in a couple of days?" She asked me.

"Yeah. A short couple of days. If you want to talk or need something let me know, I'll have my phone with me pretty much the whole time except for my second afternoon," I tell her

"What are you going to be doing then?" She asks.

"Something secret. Well, actually, it's not really a secret, but I'll be getting your Christmas present," I tell her, not explaining what it is.

"You have to go to Texas to get it?" She asks the one question I know not how to answer.

"Yeah, my mom said she wanted to help me pick one out for you. I don't know why, but she said that it's important I get you something special now like I never have before," I tell her. She just looks confused and suspicious.

"If I call your mom, would she tell me the same thing you are right now?" She asks, not believing me, or at least wanting to make sure she believes me.

"Of course, why would I tell you she was involved if she wasn't? I know you talk to her,"

"Just making sure. This whole thing sounds suspicious..." She says.

"If you want, Maya and or Farkle can go with me, they'd tell you the truth," I add.

"Yeah, but I think they have their own plans. I'll just trust you, it's not hard," she says.

"Thanks, Ri. I'll see you soon, alright?" I tell her. We both smile as I leave, and I go get ready for the next couple of days in Texas.

"Riley, what would I do without you," I say to myself as I finally lie down in bed after a long day. A fun day. I hear Danny chuckling on the other side of the room, as I fall asleep quite quickly.

-The Next Day-

I got to Texas quite early. It didn't take me long to unpack the few things I had, and by the time I was done with my quick goals for the day, it was only five oh clock in the afternoon. I decide to call Riley and talk to her for a little bit, but she said she was going out with Maya. I texted Maya making sure Riley was okay, and she said she was going to make sure they had an excellent time while I'm gone. I was quickly relieved, as I decide to just take the rest of the day off, knowing I was going to have a busy day tomorrow.

-The Next Day Again-

I get up quite early, which gives me some time to call Riley before I leave. I know she likes to sleep in, but it's about 10 oh clock her time, and I'd like to ask her some questions before I go so I know exactly what I'm looking for when I go.

"Hey Riley, you're up early today," I ask.

"Yeah, you too. What's up this early?" She asked more of in a joking manner. I immediately think how I can dance around the topic, but I decide to do things the hard way.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about things you like," I can imagine Riley being confused on the other end of the phone.

"What do you mean, what I like? I like you, you know that," she said. In some ways that hurts a little, but in some ways it feels good to hear her say that again.

"Haha, no I mean, like your favorite color and stuff," now I see her looking a little sad with me not knowing her favorite things. "In case they changed," I explain.

"Well, try guessing everything you want to know, and I'll tell you what it is if you're wrong, how about that," she agrees, trying to test me. I agree to it.

"Well, favorite color is still light blue, I'm pretty sure you still like lavender, silver and gold right?" I ask. I can see her being slightly surprised I remembered that...

"Sounds about right. Don't forget I don't really like diamonds," she says, obviously clueing in on what I'm asking her for.

"What brought diamonds up all of a sudden?" I ask.

"Well, all the things you're talking about are common jewelry things. If you were getting me like a necklace or something I wouldn't want a diamond on the end. That blood diamond movie still has me mad," Riley explained. I instantly feel relieved she doesn't suspect anything. I want this to be a total surprise. "You want what to be a total surprise?" She asks me. Uh oh!

"Oh, I was talking to my mom, and by the way, it wouldn't be a surprise if you knew what I was talking about would it?" I add with a bit of... Sass almost.

"Fine fine... I think I gave you enough to go on. I'll talk to you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah, talk to you tomorrow. Love you!" I tell her. She loves me back, and hangs up. Time to draw up something perfect. While I don't have Maya's art talent, I do have some. I draw exactly what I want, ready to take my picture with me to the stores I go to.

-A Few Hours Later-

I think I found something. This company lets you create your own style, and what I want is not really that much. While most rings go for a couple thousand dollars, the design I wanted could be custom done in two days for about 750 dollars. That's nothing! I instantly tell them exactly what I want, and it will be done the same day I leave, but ready to be picked up in the morning while I leave late at night on the 24th.

"Thanks, and have a nice day!" I tell the shopkeeper, and she responds the same as I walk out the door not feeling any stress about my proposal. Only excitement. Of course, who knows how things will change later.

-Two Days Later-

Finally. It's Christmas Eve night. I have the ring done perfectly as I wanted it with me, ready for tomorrow. I then quickly make sure it is safe, and it is. Ringholders are now closed tighter and have special ways of keeping the ring in the place until you take it out. It gives me the same feeling as itself. Security, a good feeling to have. It was a little hard to get on the plane with it being metal, but I explain to them that it's a ring I just got today and I forgot I had to take it out, so they let me pass once they inspected it to make sure it was nothing dangerous. The only thing left to do is fly back to Riley, sleep tonight and then the big day tomorrow. I finally get on the plane after what seems like a month being away from her, and the plane takes off smoothly. I sleep while the plane is in the air, after I called Riley of course to let her know I am safe and sound in the plane. I fall asleep with the feeling of being secure and complete for what feels like the first time in ages.

Riley's POV:

Lucas sounded calm when I talked to him. That's quite weird. Most of the time he has some readable expression in his voice. Happiness, sadness, anger, embarrassment, any number of things, but one thing not in that list is calm. Peaceful, serene, it sounded like Mariah Carey singing Oh Holy Night or something graceful like that. It was soft, relaxed, like that. I instantly remember what he was talking to me about before. He mentioned light blue, silver, gold and lavender. I mean, those are all great, but they don't at all go together! What could it be, what could it be?! I ponder my thoughts before deciding to google it. You can find almost anything online, and it will always give you an answer. The first thing that comes up is the sunset, and the metals. Not exactly what I'm looking for. Then bed bath and beyond comes up with a different result for everything also. I call Maya deciding to ask her.

"Maya! Thank goodness you answered," I say, relieved believing she may be able to answer my problems.

"Well, that's a new one. What's going on dear?" She asks. I invite her over so we can talk. She instantly agrees, as Val is gone on vacation for the rest of the week so it's just us two for as long as we want.

"Maya, I need help! Lucas is killing me!" I exclaim.

"What did he do now?" Maya asked. She has no idea. That's just ! Not.

"He asked me about what I liked a couple of days ago. He asked about my favorite color, and he asked if I like silver, gold and lavender. I asked google to help, but it said nothing," Maya frowns. NO!

"Well it's disappointing you chose to ask google before me," Maya said. I apologize for my wrong doing. "But, I see why. That riddle is almost impossible to figure out, I mean, Lavender is a scent, silver and gold are metals, and blue is a color. Nothing in common," Maya agrees, much to my dismay.

"Well, I guess I may actually have to be surprised when I get my Christmas present from him tomorrow," I say, while realizing I was too busy focusing on what he was going to get me instead of the other way around. A look of horror comes to my face, like I'm watching a scary movie. I just sit there shellshocked.

"HOW COULD I FORGET TO GET HIM SOMETHING?!" I ask/yell/freak.

"I'll go with you to get something. What do you think would be good to get him?" Maya asks trying to think of things to get Lucas is like trying to pick out what day your firstborn child is going to be born on. Near impossible years before you even think about having kids.

"Well, I need to call him and ask him what he likes! I'm scared Maya!" I ask as I grab my phone. I dial Lucas's number but he doesn't answer. I instantly realize he said he was going to take a nap on the plane ride and recognize that he must have turned his phone to silent. This is the first time I've ever procrastinated anything when it came to Lucas, at least this bad, and I see why. It's unnecessary worrying and fear and anxiety and...

"Riley, just... Relax. Everything will be okay. Almost everything is open tonight. It's Christmas Eve! It's like Black Friday!" Maya tries to comfort. I take a deep breath, knowing I have to think rationally here.

"Okay, time to think. Aha! I'll google it!" I say, forgetting my mistake with Maya, who gives me a look, while I type in what do college boys like for Christmas in the google search bar. A lot of inappropriate stuff comes up, but then I find something good. A gift basket.

"I like this idea. I just need a basket, and some wrapping paper!" I ask Maya, who instantly gives me an are-you-serious look. I realize that maybe I wasn't thinking about the idea the correct way.

"Riley, a gift basket is when you put gifts into a basket, and give them multiple gifts instead of just one. You don't actually gift the basket," Maya explains. I blush.

"Technically-" I try.

"No time for that. Let's go get stuff!" Maya says, while I agree. Maya drives as she is currently the rational more aware person, and takes me to a chain store.

"Okay, Riley, I have an idea. Write down a list of things you want, and draw the basket, putting some of the things in it," I quickly do what Maya says despite the bouncy car ride. Despite that, my drawing turned out pretty good, and my writing was still legible. Suddenly, everything came to me. We arrived at the store, and I picked up everything I wanted. I picked up the basket, the decorations for the basket, and all the things that go inside the basket. We then hurry through the check out line, and get home at just about 11:00 at night. I hurriedly put everything into the basket in a still very organized way. Maya finished wrapping Farkle's present while I put together Lucas's. Tomorrow was going to be a fun day.

-Christmas Morning-

My alarm goes off to The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. I always set it to that for Christmas morning. I get ready really fast excited to see Lucas again, as well as Maya, Farkle, and most of all my family so that I can exchange presents with them. I get changed into a nice light blue long sleeved shirt with some yoga pants so that I feel comfortable from head to toe. I might be a little cold, but I have my winter coat with me, as well as my boots, so I should be fine to last a little while. I see my parents car waiting in the driveway, so I bring all my gifts out with me, but it takes me two trips. Careful not to break anything, I decide to set my presents next to me rather than the trunk despite the extra space.

"Merry Christmas, Riley!" I hear mom and dad say in synch.

"Merry Christmas!" I reply. Auggie is probably still sleeping, it's only eight in the morning, or he would likely be here too. I talked to mom and dad the whole car ride to their house about school, and life and all kinds of things like that. It was a pretty smooth ride. Not physically, no, that was bumpy. Just talking wise. It was good to just spend some time away from school for a little bit. We then got to their house. Apparently Farkle and Maya were both staying together at Maya's mothers place for the night before, so they were already there, and Lucas was going to be quite late because of his late night plane ride last night.

"So, how are we going to do this with Lucas coming late?" Dad asked suddenly concerned about Lucas being here the whole time for the first time ever.

"I don't think it matters too much. We can start without him," I suggest.

"Yeah, but everyone got him something, and I'm sure he would like to eat with us and see what everyone else got from everyone," Dad replied. Mom just looked pleasantly surprised, while Maya and Farkle looked happy. It was nice.

"He's not going to be here for a little while he said around 11:00 and it's only... 9. Two hours seems like a long time to wait," I say.

"It's not, Riley. Two hours is really not a long time at all," mom says, agreeing with dad.

"Why don't we just sit and talk and hang out for a little while. We can tell stories and watch a Christmas movie together or something while we wait," mom suggests.

"Oh oh oh! I vote for Charlie Brown! The one with the sad Christmas tree!" Mom smiles.

"We will watch that with Lucas like normal. Instead, we are watching..." Mom looks through the Christmas movies.

"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!" She says. Auggie cheers, Maya and Farkle still keep smiling, dad steals one of my Yay's and I just agree finding it a good way to pass time. A little ways into the movie, a familiar song starts.

"Silver and Gold," I say. Everyone else must be in on Lucas's plan. Obviously not Maya because she looks at everyone strange while they all just smile back at her. Apparently Lucas didn't trust Maya enough to keep the secret from me, which I guess I understand, but I still don't know why it has to be a secret in the first place.

"Eureka!" I exclaim. Everyone holds their breath. I got it. I know Lucas's secret.

"Lucas is giving me a special ornament! It's silver and gold!" I exclaim, finally figuring out what he was telling me, although I don't know how that explains the light blue and lavender.

"How does that explain the light blue and the lavender?" Maya asked me. Everyone else smiles knowing they wouldn't have to talk. I sigh, giving up.

"Riley, relax, you only have like an hour left. Just wait," Farkle says.

"Waiting is hard!" I whine, while Auggie shushes me saying he's trying to watch the movie. I then get out my phone and ask Lucas when he is going to be here. He replied saying he is in a cab, and he's stuck in traffic, he will probably get here around 11 like he said, which gives me another 45 minutes of watching the movie. I decide to relax, although I feel like a little kid anxious of open presents on Christmas, except I feel more like an adult in the sense I'm excited to give them to everyone also. The wait is long and devious, and torture, and painful, and many other words that are not at all associated with Christmas, but I've waited on Lucas before and everything's turned out fine, right? I'd like to think that. So, I just sit back, relax and enjoy the movie. The movie then ends with no sign of Lucas, so Maya convinces me to help her harmonize on Christmas songs in my old room while we wait. We do some easy ones, like White Christmas and things like that, and we do some harder ones like Jingle Bell Rock. Right in the middle of I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas, Lucas knocks on my door. I hurriedly answer, give him a great big hug and kiss, and he just plays it cool.

"Well, you two do sound good, unfortunately, no hippos in Texas," I try my hardest to give him a weird look, but it turns into me smiling and holding back a laugh. I shake my head, realizing that Lucas was laughing at my reaction. I grab his hand and pull him into the living room so that everyone knows he's here and we can start. First thing is first, we always eat ham. Mom made it, and it was obviously very delicious, but the best part was the talking. It was just like the car ride. Everyone was enjoying talking to each other, and just radiating happiness on a glorious Christmas Day. Soon enough, it was time for presents. We gave Auggie all his first, because he was the littlest and Christmas presents mean the most to him. Everyone got him some sort of toy, of course, being only twelve (I think?) except for mom and dad, who gave him a 5 year treasury bond, of which Auggie has no idea what that is. We then go to Farkle, who gets a lot of business, law, math and science stuff from us, including Maya who gave him a business timeline book, which was pretty cool actually. It focused on the top fifty businesses in the US today and had a timeline of when each company reached significant milestones and such. Maya showed it to me last night when I was wrapping Lucas's present. It was then Maya's turn to unwrap, and she seemed happy with her gifts. Lucas got her a book about the history of Texas, which he surprisingly didn't do up until this point, Farkle got her some new art supplies she needed, and I got her some things for decor, like pictures, frames, things like that for her room. Next was Lucas, who opened up all his gifts except for mine which he said he was saving for later. Apparently he really likes being surprised with Christmas gifts, which kind of surprises me, haha I get it! Farkle got him a movie about wild animals, which was pretty interesting, and Maya got him a stuffed horse, and a miniature cowboy hat for it, which everyone including Lucas thought was really funny. Then I opened all my presents, except for Lucas's since he said that was waiting for last. I ended up getting the bunny movie from Maya of course, a gavel from mom, a fake apple from dad with #1 daughter engraved on it, and spirit wear for our school from Farkle, which I thought was perfect on so many levels. I'm a spirited person, I enjoy supporting my school, and it's clothing, which I also love. Even Lucas seemed impressed by Farkle. I was. That was a good surprise. Next it was my parents turn to exchange gifts, which was quite pleasant, especially for Maya and Lucas. Maya because she always loved my parents exchanging gifts because her dad not doing that with her mother, and Lucas because he was thinking about me, and what was about to happen with us exchanging next. We then let them finish up, before mom and dad saying they were going to be in the other room cleaning up, while Maya and Farkle decided to stay and watch. I get even more excited than before about opening up Lucas's gift, but he tells me he wants to save his for last, so I let him do that and open mine first.

"Dang, Riley! You got me, like, everything I could ever need!" Lucas says surprised. It was a true statement. I found an Easter egg basket, and decorated it for Christmas instead. I put in some nice fruits and vegetables for decor as well, but they are actually to be eaten too. Good way to conserve resources. Inside was a collection of all kinds of different things. Personal care items, a watch that wasn't at all expensive, a phone case because for some reason he didn't have one, and for a little bit of personal touch, I added something of every color to the bin. I gave him a red drawstring, orange fruit, the watch was fake gold, which it considered yellow, the phone case was green, the basket itself was different shades of blue, black socks and a white music shirt. It seemed like a good idea when I thought of it, and it still seems like a good idea now. I think that's probably one of the best things I've ever done, at least for Christmas wise. I then hug him and kiss him back, giving him probably the best Christmas he has had in his life. Then, everything stopped. Time stopped, my brain stopped, the world around me stopped. It was like I had just come out of the freezer after being a bottle of water in there for a long time. Nothing was happening. It was just Lucas and I. It was a really weird paradox almost. Like time itself was messed up. I don't know. Everything would go really fast, and then slow down. Then go really fast, and slow down. I was waiting for everything to go back to normal before I opened anything, which probably felt like forever for Lucas. I must be dreaming. I see us like I just saw mom and dad...

"Riley?" Lucas asks, with everything suddenly returning to normal. Bam! Smack! Right in my face. I widen my eyes to the sudden realization I had chosen a very weird time to daydream about Lucas.

"Sorry, I was just daydreaming. It was kind of weird, anyways, how do I do this?" I asked, as he just gave me a bag with a bunch of little wrapped things inside, almost like I did for him.

"Any way you'd like. They're all yours," he says.

"Okay?" I say as I gently unwrap some of the items one by one. Each one with different meanings. Different color ponytail ties that made a rainbow, a rainbow of pencils for class, and then the personal care stuff like lavender shampoo, light blue makeup, a gold colored water bottle and a silver necklace. Each explaining him asking me those questions. Why I didn't think they were all separate before was surprising to myself, probably because he said gift instead of gifts. For some reason I feel like it's not done yet.

"Lucas, where's the thing with the smiley face? You always get me something like that!" I say jokingly. This have him a chance to talk.

"That's the first thing you say? Haha, just kidding. I didn't think I'd need to give you something like that. It's better to see your smiling face than a fake one," He says as he gets one more gift from his coat pocket. "I have a feeling you feel pretty much the same way," he continued.

"Yeah, I do. And sorry about that, it's just my scatterbrained mind tends to think off course a lot. Thanks Lucas, that was really sweet, but it doesn't look like we are done?" I tell him, but it comes off more like a question.

"Don't open that yet," Lucas instructs, so I look at him confused. I look over to a smiling Maya and Farkle. Oh geez.

"Wait... What's going on here?" I ask out loud.

"Patience, Riley!" Maya demands of me, so I just sit down on the couch and wait for Lucas to talk. After about a minute or so of silence, he finally collects his thoughts and talks.

"So, we met on the subway in eighth grade, what seems like ages ago. I then felt like my life was made, all the way from head to toe," Lucas starts to recite like a rhyming poem. "We both have had to face our fears, we've laughed and cried so many tears," Lucas recited. This was planned. This is what everyone knew about. This was the big deal. "We both have our own missing parts, and filled them in each other's hearts," Lucas continued. "There's still so much more left to see, and I hope you and I can be," Lucas said leaving the verse unfinished, he then holds up a little sign saying open the wrapping paper, but give me what's inside, so I follow the directions he gave me. "Together," he then goes down on a knee, finishing with "Forever," as he opens the box I see a beautiful ring. I'm glad I'm sitting down right now. Why am I thinking about that?!

"A-Are-Y-You-As-Asking ME? R-R-Riley... T-To-B-B-Be... With... You?!" I ask. He just nods, with a hopeful look on his face. I dwell in the moment as I start to cry tears of joy, it's not even like my dreams. My dreams aren't real. This-this is. "Riley Friar?" I question. He nods again, a bit more of a determined face this time. "I could go for that," I say. His face lights up a little bit, but I think he may be as shocked as I am in being proposed to. "That's your cue to get up off your knees and hug me and kiss me for-" he cuts me off, as he does just that. He grabs me like I'm his life, and now his future wife. His fiancé. I like that word now. It's a fun word to say. Fiancé. Maya and Farkle just take pictures, while my parents come out of their hiding spots and cheer softly like Maya and Farkle.

"Welcome to the Family, Lucas," My dad tells my future husband.

"Thanks. I'm happy to be a part of it," my husband to be replies. I just can't stop saying that. All the years were actually worth it. The wait for my Christmas gift today, him going to Texas this week, everything, it's all worth it. Every single moment. I feel secure now. I feel safer than I have ever felt. I don't feel like a vulnerable little girl anymore. I feel like Riley Friar. A young, strong women who can do anything she wants. As Lucas slips the ring on my finger, I stare in amazement. It's perfect for me. It's got a light blue tiny aquamarine stone in the middle, with a gold band and silver accents. It has a little bit of an earthy green for the lining too. The best part, is Lucas listened to me. There's no diamonds.

"Okay, another mood killer, but how could you find something like this?" I ask, in awe of what he found and how it fit me so perfect.

"I didn't actually find it. I kind of did it custom in Texas last week. Pretty much everything except for the sizes and such is what I thought suited you. Plus, you answering every question I asked you honestly always helps," he says smiling.

"So, when do we start?" I ask, referring to the Wedding planning.

"Doing what?" He asks. "Being a married couple?" He asks.

"Well, I was first thinking about planning the wedding, but that works too," I reply.

"Well, I already have a wedding day picked out," Lucas said much to my surprise.

"Confidence much?" He just smiles, before I ask when.

"Well, yeah. I felt pretty good. Oh, and the day I picked out? September 9th. That sound good?" Maya and I both look. Starstruck.

"Maya... When did you..." I asked. Only Maya knew about that day. Nobody else.

"I swear! I didn't say anything!" Maya said, just as shocked as I was. Someone wasn't shocked though. Farkle.

"Good choice Lucas," Farkle said. I look almost as surprised at him as I did Lucas, who is now laughing at my antics.

"Farkle... How did you know about it..." I ask seriously.

"I saw it," HE SAW IT TOO?!

"How?! When?! Where?! Huh?!" I ask.

"How? My eyes. When? That day. Where? The roof," Farkle adds.

"So then you told Lucas," I almost demanded.

"When he was worried about when to propose I told him if you have your wedding September 9th you should propose around Christmas," Farkle said.

"So you don't know the whole story?" I asked Lucas.

"No, but I can pretty much figure it out," he says.

"Well, there goes that secret. Tell me one of yours!" I ask.

"What secrets haven't I told you? I can't think of any..." He says. Oh really?

"Yeah, sure you can't," I give him an evil looking smirk.

"No, really! I try to tell you everything! What do you want!" He asks.

"Something juicy. Something good. Something... I don't know," I explain.

"Well... I got one thing. It's pretty embarrassing-" I cut him off quickly.

"Tell me," I demand.

"Fine, my mom named the bird that always wakes her up every morning after you," I blush a little, as does he.

"Aw... How cute!" I say. I guess this is just the beginning of a more open relationship. What a good day. What a really really good day. After all is said and done, I can't really imagine how else my Christmas this year could have gone. Not any better, I know that much!