#T wants to be left alone (on the phone) on her bday and K wants attention... well... ((once again relating to K))

[wellhellsbelles]

Que Será Será, Part II

i got over excited and couldn’t help but post the second part. and yes, there will be one more part after this because i decided it’d be better if i split the grand finale of the fic into two separate parts. the last part will be the perspective of our dear riley :)

anyway, enjoy!

ao3 link found here.

//

Farkle is twenty-four, going on twenty-five, and his whole world, this existence he’s procured for himself, is getting ready to shatter.

He’s never been one to pace around his house anxiously, but he’s also never been waiting to turn twenty-five before, the seconds ticking away at the clock a reminder of something he’s never once had faith in.

That is, until now.

Even he can’t deny the fact that he wants so desperately to have letters appear on his skin at this point; he’s been fooling himself for years, trying so hard to dispute something that has a high probability of occurring. He’s seen numerous friends go through it that he can’t deny it any longer, which is why he’s wearing a hole into his tile kitchen floor, each minute passing by slower than the next.

Maya insisted she be there, but Farkle wouldn’t let her. This was going to be an experience he had to deal with by himself, to figure out how he felt about it. After all, his opinion on the matter had changed drastically within the course of a month, and he was still dealing with the numerous possibilities that were running through his mind.

Millions of trillions of possibilities, each one a figure he could not even begin to understand, let alone imagine.

It’s probably Riley’s romantic tendencies that have rubbed off on him, he figures, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s waiting for something he never even once believed in.

Until now.

He’s not quite sure what changed his mind. Of course, seeing his friends have the writing appear on their wrists was a factor, but that alone wasn’t enough to change his mind.

Maybe it’s delusions of grandeur.

To think that he’s so important that his wrist warrants a soulmate mark, that he deserves one in the first place, might just be borderline laughable. But he doesn’t ignore his heart’s desires, just this once, and waits for the night to pass and for the letters to appear.

His twelve-year-old self would be laughing at him right now for being so foolish; Farkle’s just glad he’s let himself be open to love. He appreciates not being jaded and cynical, not letting logic rule over every part of him (just most of it).

Farkle is . . . excited. He’s genuinely excited to be a part of this sort of rite of passage, this sort of magic life holds that science can’t explain for, if his apprehensive shifting is any indicator. He stops for several seconds occasionally, just to adjust a picture frame on his wall or to drum his fingers on the kitchen table or the countertops to bide his time.

And then it happens—one minute before the day of his birthday, and the countdown in his head rattles his body, sends goosebumps tingling amongst his skin. Fifty seconds becomes forty, thirty, twenty, and then he’s down to the final ten seconds, and he counts the seconds in his head, practically holding his breath in.

Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . .

 One.

 His phone vibrates immediately, both to relay his alarm for his annual birthday reminder, as well as mass texts filing in from his friends. Farkle places his phone down on the counter gently, wobbling as his breath catches, the anticipation building with every passing second after midnight. Then he lifts his wrist—the left, of course, always the left—and gingerly and carefully moves up his sleeve, the black lettering coming to view almost instantaneously.

And then he gasps, loudly and very audibly, covering his wrist back up immediately.

It wasn’t a stranger. It wasn’t an acquaintance he met once in passing, or a face that only manifested itself in his dreams when his brain was trying to make sense of the world around him during slumber. No.

 It was Riley Matthews.

[Hartbreaker]

yoooooooooooooooooooo who yo soulmate be ya NERD

you can tell me i promise i won’t spill

probably

well maybe not

but you can still tell me

cause

I WANNA KNOWWWW

WILL YOU SHOW MEEEE

I WANNA KNOW ABOUT YOUR SOULMATE MARK, PLEASE

get it? phil collins!!!

. . .

???

u out there???

 -

 [Zayday]

k if u aren’t gonna tell maya then u gotta tell me

we cool

cooler than cool

ice cold

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT

come ON you gotta appreciate that

okay, okay i get it i won’t ask

just text me if u alright?

i won’t do the annoying thing again i promise

. . .

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT

maybe i lied a little about that

sorry man i am who i am

but seriously minkus

TEXT US

 -

 [Huckleberry Friar]

 First of all

Is my name still Huckleberry Friar in your phone?

I feel like you should change that because Maya doesn’t need the satisfaction of everyone in our friend group having my name as that in their phone

Secondly

Are you okay?

I don’t care about the other thing

Just wanna make sure you’re doing fine

Come meet me for lunch if you want I’m going to that pizza parlor around the corner

We can just chill and catch up just lemme know

 -

 [Isadora Smackle]

I have heard that you are not answering phones.

Well, you answered Lucas, which is nice.

But I feel like you owe the rest of us the courtesy of answering our phones.

Also, we have a birthday party planned for you that I was not supposed to spill about, but I feel like you are obligated to come to that.

I am just informing you of this.

I will also drag you out by your ear if I have to.

That is all.

 -

 [Smiley Riley]

Hey, are you doing alright?

Is this a mid-midlife crisis?

Should I be running over to your apartment to check on you?

I just really worry about you, Farkle.

Okay, you definitely don’t have to answer our texts, but you definitely have to show up at my apartment tonight at eight.

FOR NO REASON AT ALL

JUST A COOL FRIEND HANG OUT NO SPECIAL OCCASION HERE

Dress up nice, though. I know you can do it, Minkus!

Also there might be a certain dessert involved?

Also also objects of particular interest to you that are uhhhh covered in pretty paper that will be relinquished unto you??

I’m really bad at this please just come to your party tonight I made a really cool cake (thanks Pinterest!!) and you’ve got lots of good presents and I feel like you need a hug.

See you tonight! ♥♥

  [OPERATION: TOTALLY NOT FARKLE’S BDAY]

 Riley: Okay no one talk about the YOU KNOW WHAT at the party

Riley: It’s officially off limits

 Maya set the nickname for Riley Matthews to Lame Nerd.

 Maya: Uh huh

Maya: Suuuuuuuuuure

 Lame Nerd: Maya!!!!!

 Lame Nerd set the nickname for Maya Hart to Stupid Dummy.

 Stupid Dummy: Good comeback, Lame Nerd!

 Lucas set the nickname for Riley Matthews to Riley.

Lucas set the nickname for Maya Hart to Maya.

 Lucas: Come on, guys.

Lucas: I agree with Riley. Don’t talk about it. If he wants to tell us, he can, but don’t press him.

Lucas: It is his birthday, after all.

 Smackle: I second that. I don’t want you two to ruin the party.

 Maya: You two??

 Smackle: You and Zay.

 Zay: Awwwww how come I gotta be called out like this

 Maya: It is what it is, Zay

 Riley: Alright, you two are outvoted by Smackle and Lucas and I.

Riley: No talking about it!!!

Riley: Also, Zay

 Zay: Yes?

 Riley: Please wear something nice.

Riley: As in, NOT YOUR TUXEDO T-SHIRT

Riley: If you’d like, I’ll send you a list of APPROPRIATE wear

 Zay: You’re no fun!!!!!

 Riley: ISAIAH BABINEAUX

Riley: YOU WILL DO AS I SAY OR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO THE PARTY

 Zay: Fiiiiiiiiiiiiine MOM

 Lucas: Don’t sass your mother

 Maya: Yeah, ZAY. Don’t sass your mother!!!!

 Riley: When did you all agree on me being your mom????

 Smackle: A while back.

Smackle: Mom 

Smackle: :)

 Smackle set Riley Matthews nickname as Mom.

 Mom: I’LL ONLY ALLOW THIS FOR THIS GROUP

 Smackle: Oh, Bubbles

 Maya: Oh, Hon

 Zay: Too late

 Lucas: DEFINITELY too late

 Mom: YOU GUYS ARE THE WORST

Mom: . . .

Mom: Please arrive at 7:30 for set up thank you

Mom: GOODBYE FOREVER

 Mom left the group.

 Maya: Awwww party pooper

  Turning twenty-five is not all it’s cracked up to be.

 As Farkle sips at his light beer, he watches his friends from beside Riley’s bookshelf as they argue about what to do next, and Farkle really loves them, he really does.

But he wants to leave.

He’s got this overwhelming suffocation in his chest, both from anxiety and proximity to Riley, who doesn’t know she’s supposed to be his soulmate. And by the time she does, it probably won’t even matter to her because she’ll be happy where she is, most likely married to her current boyfriend.

 She likes Daniel, as she should—he’s a veterinarian, part-time afterschool tutor. He’s got a great dog that loves her unabashedly, and she fits right into his picturesque home like the last piece of a puzzle.

 And that, that is the reason why he doesn’t tell her. But what does he say? He certainly can’t tell them that his best friend’s name is on his wrist; that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Farkle’s had enough rejection in his life time, and for Riley to find out they’re supposed to be together because some unknown force dictated it?

She wouldn’t care for it.

Yes, she does care for him, he’s not unaware of that fact. But caring for someone and being in love with someone are two different things, and Farkle knows for certain that Riley is not in love with him. If she was, they’d be living together happily, and instead of his party being thrown at her house, it be their house.

But there will never be their house, it will always be his house and her house, and Farkle will remain infinitely in love with a girl who doesn’t feel the same way.

Honestly, this whole ordeal is just a punch to the gut, and Farkle would rather stick his head in the toilet for a full minute than admit what his wrist says, so he decides then and there what he’s going to do.

He’s going to pretend he doesn’t have a soulmate mark and live for an eternity with his wrist covered so that no one ever has to know.

 It’s for the best, really.

 “Okay, Farkle, it’s settled. You’re going to stop moping against this bookshelf and come join us for a fun dance party with no complaints. And you’re gonna dance with me first!” Riley appears at his side, tugging at his left arm. Farkle’s initial reaction is to pull away, but he doesn’t want to make her suspicious, so he complies and lets Riley tug him to the living room as Maya puts on her favorite playlist.

The music starts and immediately Riley starts jumping around, her periwinkle lace dress swishing around her as she beams brightly, her eyes pleading for him to join her. He sighs, setting down his beer so that he can comply, because when can he ever say no to her?

It’s impossible.

And as the room becomes drowned out by Maya’s music and the visage of Riley, Farkle wishes he could live in this moment forever—uncomplicated, undemanding, effortless.

 If only.

 If only, if only, if only.

  Farkle, after turning twenty-five and getting the name of a person who will, despite the forces of the universe trying, never love him back, finds dating to be extremely difficult.

And yeah, it sort of makes sense. People don’t flock to people with soulmate marks, and if they do, it’s because they’re looking for the match to their soulmate mark.

So Farkle quickly learns to deal with the fact that he’s going to be alone forever; that’s just how it’s going to go.

But he tries anyway, because he’s a fucking idiot, that’s what. It never lasts, even the ones that promise him it will, and all of it can be explained by the other person soon finding their soulmate and ditching him. It drives him up the wall, but he gets it. He really does.

It doesn’t help that he knows he’s in love with Riley still, too. How can he not? If he had gotten her name tattooed on his wrist when he was younger, he would’ve fainted, maybe even died from shock. But now that he’s older and his love for her has become more solidified, more an actual part of him rather than just a fleeting feeling, he can’t deny the fact that he is hers forever, regardless of what capacity.

Not that he’d ever tell her what capacity he’d prefer it to be. Riley is his oldest and dearest friend next to Maya. Feelings complicate things and make them messy, and the last thing he wants to do is make things messy with the girl who makes his life better by just being in it.

Ugh, he’s a fucking sap.

He’s also in love with his best friend, and for the first time in his life, Farkle Minkus has no idea what to do.

[2slowgoers]

Ghosts of Christmases Past

Hi L,

I find that since it’s the end of the decade it’d be a good idea to write a tribute to all my fleeting memories of our friendship. Initially a challenge from you because you think I forget everything, I’ve used it as an exercise to remind me of why we’ve been able to become and stay so close in the relatively short 5, 6 years we’ve known each other. I realised that oftentimes it’s not the memory of our interaction but more so a feeling that stayed with me. Thus, the list you’ll see below is vague because I don’t really recalls details, but they’re there because they left a mark (I did use a few hints from my phone album). I’ll be writing this in chronological order from our first meeting to the last time we met in November

I’d love to hear if any of the things I write down are not in your memory or are remembered differently :) Memories are such a curious thing. 

-I think we were in front of LDC? But it was ISO and we were all getting to know each other and you complimented my fashion ;p I really appreciated it. I think at that time I had a pretty good impression of you and thought we might get along (I think I have a pretty accurate first impression of people for myself).

-I also remember me, TT, and ST visiting you in your dorm at Goodhue during spring term maybe? You said that T’s bf at the time had come to visit but I don’t remember that. I just remember you weren’t too happy then but I don’t remember why :\ maybe you were stressed from work?

-winter term after you came back from studying and trekking abroad, I remember feeling nervous messaging you about your trip. Somehow it felt like we didn’t get to talk too much about it during that first conversation, or at least it wasn’t fully positive. I think you’d opened up about the struggles of traveling alone as a woman and getting harassed then?

-feeling replaceable when you and T got close, wondering if y’all would have dated if you’d met earlier. Anyway we talked (I don’t even know how I managed to approach you about this lol), and you talked about being friends with couples in your past

-summer after second year, going to Monterey with your family and eating at the Italian bistro bc your dad loves Italian food

-you visiting me in Seattle that summer and getting high with R. We had lunch with some college mates and were planning to go out but instead y’all just napped all afternoon. That was annoying but funny still

-visiting you in Berlin that fall -- going to all those weird bars, and in the last bar this guy came to sit with us and you talked to him, telling him we were all in relationships and he fibbed that he also was in a relationship. Later you told me his breath stank lol (let’s not mention all the other wildness that night -- still traumatised by the racist heckling and the people openly having sex at KitKat)

-meeting up in Venice (it’s still one of my fondest places that we went to together), trying to find cheap aperitifs and drinking them in front of a church, and lamenting over how romantic everything was and how many couples there were everywhere

-you, TT and ST coming to visit me in Budapest and us going to ruin bars. We left early and I remember being woken up at like 4am to open the door for TT. Also walking around Margitsziget (the island), and going to the open-air thermal bath. Do you remember zipping around in a whirlpool with throngs of people in it? 

-me doing your hair in T’s room the following winter, with you sitting on a pile of newspapers on the ground. I think we were trying to dye your hair brown

-us cooking at your house with your hs friend H and then the garbage can set on fire (?!); I think you were trying to make carbonara that time but the eggs weren’t going great or something; it was also the first time I’d seen anyone microwave tomatoes

-you and V trying to eat her frozen coconut water from a box and using a knife to hack at it. I was so scared for your fingers

-us going to the career center training with a quarter of a watermelon and eating it with spoons. I loved eating watermelons like that and feel like I haven’t really eaten that way since :(

-our birthday picnic and going to Valley Scare -- do you remember being scared? I feel like most of the folks were freaked out by the clowns and I was trying to not exhibit any fear so the attention would get directed to everyone else

-that one group confession/conversation we had in our room where people brought up their insecurities and feeling left out; I later confided in you about my hesitance with everyone trying to uplift each other through their looks

-going tubing toward the end of the year with J and trying to blow up those damn tubes! You had to blow mine up eventually because I was running out of breath

-the next time going tubing with everyone and it being a mess! Definitely thought we were going to die a few times (there was one particular moment where some of us were trying to latch onto a tree but there were bugs on it, and behind us TT and someone else -- was it you? -- got stuck on a shallow pebbly area)

-during graduation, I pulled you and T together to introduce to my parents, purposely to pad their meeting with T. I was hoping also that your dad would get along w my dad but they barely talked :[ 

-visiting you and H with T in August! I remember paddle boarding with y’all (lots of fun), watching you all play games, and going to eat pizza and trying kombucha for the first time. That was a much needed break from my family then

-you and J coming to visit for my bday! We went to Ktown and sang karaoke and ate bbq (J said that while we were waiting in line some girl passed by and gave me a judging side-eye); watching the Parent Trap with you; us all sitting in the pool area and chatting (K and JN came with a cake! it was so good) about the future and all its unknown

-the two wonderful weeks in Taiwan :) the pace was good and I really appreciated having you show me your city (and also exploring new places with you). I remember waking up early and staring out your window as you snoozed next to me; your smelly dog and me not knowing how to pet him; going to the most beautiful little thermal spa (and taking advantage of our time there alone); going to night markets with you and of course getting my ears pierced :)); playing with super fluffy cats at the cat cafe; scoping cute stores and cafes at the artsy warehouse area; eating that nasty eel in Tainan; biking around in Tainan and then you getting bird poop on your scarf (!); the cute capsule hostel in Kenting; driving scooters around Kenting and being terrified of the wind. I’d love to do something like that again, with a nice pace to explore a place that’s less familiar to us both and maybe through a decolonized lens :)

-seeing you and J in the Bay Area after you moved there. We were taking all kinds of photos with different flowers in your neighborhood; going to First Friday in Oakland; eating at a cafe in Berkeley and spotting Nick Robinson even though you and J were sure I was mistaking him; us eating cioppino in that one seafood restaurant outside (I don’t think it was very impressive)

-you came back again in like October and we went to see A in the burbs. It was practically blizzarding and we tried to go to that one mall but ended up at a Mexican resto. I think we ended up going back to her place to play Life? 

-spending Christmas, another precious chill time :) painting ornaments; decorating the tree; you and that puzzle (which still lies on our floor); cooking everyday; watching Strong Girl; going to that comedy show with my cousin and walking back in the cold; going to see the Christmas lights and paying money to see a rather unimpressive “4d experience”; buying a butcher’s knife and you hacking away at some chicken bones happily because I was too scared to do it

-hiking in March was also fun! You chose a beautiful and lovely b&b. I remember exchanging music with you (lots of Spanish electropop); eating that overpriced hotpot; and taking a bunch of photos while waiting for pizza

-seeing you again in June (feeling claustrophobic; going to that strange queer fashion show), 

-August (going to see Yuna <3; that bike trip where you and T were going so fast; eating food at that little pagoda with our hodgepodge of food which was actually pretty good; having Thai temple brunch), 

-September (2x! Spending time with my sister and all the stress incurred on us both that came with it before and after; I really appreciated you being there for me; getting good vegan food and trying but failing to find a plan for M; and trying to find hotpot mix all over the store but it was right under our noses?? -- the 2nd trip you came to Chicago and we watched Hamilton!!) 

-and then November (going to see Mean Girls in NYC and you were waiting in line with that white saviour-seeming lady and the guy in the t-shirt; trying to meet each other’s friends; eating at Modern Love --still the most inspiring place I’ve eaten in 2019 aside from the Mexican Michelin place T and I went to for our anniv; walking around the park and you giving me a leaf for a bookmark which I actually kept for like a month)! 

So many times this year lol, often unexpected and last minute. I’m sure there are plenty other memories rolling around in the back of my mind but these are the ones I wanted to highlight. Although I don’t know when we’ll reunite next, I have no doubt we’ll continue to support and uphold each other no matter the distance and time. You’ve been such a funny, supportive, insightful, and passionate part of many of my best memories in these past few years. I don’t say it enough but I hope you recognise the influence you’ve had on my life and those of others. Thank you, and I love you <3

Onwards to 2020!

W (December 30, 2019)