Riley's POV

"Evil. She chooses evil." a voice cackle. 

"Shut, up, Terry! It's her decision!" Maya screams. 

I take a deep breath. "I choose-" 

"Evil!" 

"Shut up, Terry! How do you know what I want? You don't even know me!" I scream. 

"Really? I don't know you?" Terry smirks, and walks towards me. I straighten my back, not letting him scare me. Lucas jumps in front of me before Terry can get to him. "Lucas. I can do this. Trust me." I whisper. He turns to me. "Riles, I'm not going to loose you again. I love you too much to let you go alone. And, as your fiance, it's my job to protect you." he says and kisses my forehead. "I know, but this is a battle I need to fight on my own, okay?" I nod, but he shakes his head. "I won't let you." he says. Terry is almost here, and I can see him about to strike at Lucas. I gasp as my eyes widen. "Lucas!" I scream while pushing him behind me. Terry's black magic strikes me, leaving a streak of black on my face. I stay standing through the pain, not letting him control me. 

"Riley!" Lucas screams. I turn back around. 

"Lucas, listen. You need to run far away with Maya, Farkle and my family. Go as far away as you can, okay? Stay out of this. Please. Just trust me." I hug him, and push him towards my family. Once I get there, Maya, Farkle and Lucas all charge for me and Terry. Then, black magic swirls around them, and creates a cage. They bang on the bars, desperate to escape. 

"Riley!" Lucas screams. 

"Peaches!" Maya yells. 

I ignore all of their yells, and walk back towards Terry. 

"So where were we? Oh yeah, you were saying that you knew me?" I say crossing my arms. 

Terry steps closer towards me. "Yeah. And you were saying that I didn't." he snarls, spitting on my face. I wipe off the spit, in disgust. 

"Say it, don't spray it." I hiss. Terry laughs. "Intimidating." he says sarcastically. 

I roll my eyes, and wait for him to speak again. 

"You really think that you know me?" I say, breaking the silence. 

He nods, and looks at his nails, like I usually do. "Yep." 

"Prove it." I snap. 

He steps back, and a black spark comes from the ground. The spark turns into multiple sparks, and swirl around him. He opens his arms out, like he's motioning for someone to give him a hug. He starts to levitate, while his eyes slowly close. The sparks start to glow, lighting up the abandoned yard. Soon, I can't see him anymore, the sparks swallow him whole. 

As the sparks start to fall to the ground, the reveal him. Or should I say- her. 

His once worn out combat boots are now shiny black heels, and his once ripped up black jeans and leather jacket are now a flowing black dress. The dress is tight at the top, all the way to her waist, and flowing down from her waist. Lace boarders the outline, and her heels poke out from beneath the dress. Her waist is slim, and her chest is broad, making the dress fit perfectly. The sleeves cut off at her shoulders, much like a tank top. Her arms are built well, much like her legs. 

Her face is finally revealed, and I gasp. 

Her brown flowing hair is shinning in the moonlight, every single curl seen. Her cheek bones are well structured, and her lips are thin, and a deep purple. Her eyes are an oval shape, the hazel color blaring. Her eyes are brought out with a deep smokey eye and a winged eyeliner. Her eyebrows are shaped, and her skin is a pale that shines in the light of the moon, much like me. 

My eyes widen as memories flood my mind. 

"Bethany." I breathe. 

"Hello, daughter." she smiles evilly. She opens her arms out for a hug, but I stand still, not daring to move. 

"You know that it's rude to not hug your own mother." she places her hands on her hips, trying to act like she's offended. She laughs. "Yeah. I get it. Evil mom. Yeah okay." 

"You are not my mom." I say. 

"Well, I gave birth to you, so I'm pretty sure that I am. That Topanga chick has been stealin' all my thunder." she says, raising her hand. 

"Topanga is my mom, no matter what." I hiss, stepping forward. 

She chuckles. "Yeah, just like you love that Lucas guy." she rolls her eyes. 

"I love Lucas! And I will never stop!" I scream. 

"Riley! She's getting to you! Just ignore her!" Maya yells at me.

I nod, and take a deep breath. 

"Really? Your friends are going to help you now?" Bethany laughs. "They're just going to run away from you, like everyone does." I shut my eyes tightly, trying to block her out. 

"Jane left you. Your father left you. Hell, even Maya left you." she says. Her voice is growing louder, so she's coming closer towards me. 

Tears stream down my face like a waterfall. 

"No one has ever loved you. And no one ever will. That's why you need the dark. Darkness is where you belong. It's where we both belong, together. We can love each other." she says. 

She's right. No one has ever loved me, and no one will. Maybe she's the only one I can trust. 

Maya's POV

"Hell, even Maya left you." Bethany strikes at Riley, and it hits her like a bullet. She tenses up, and her eyes stay shut. 

"Peaches?" No answer. 

"Peaches?!" my heart flips. 

"PEACHES?!" It's too late. She's already gotten to her, and we've lost her. 

"Riley!" Farkle is yelling, trying to get to her, but can't. 

"RILES!" Lucas is screaming, louder than he has ever screamed before. He's banging on the black magic, but it's stronger than before. He can't get through it. 

She's right. No one has ever loved me, and no one will. Maybe she's the only one I can trust. 

Riley's thoughts enter my mind easily, and I scream. 

"RILEY! RILEY DON'T LISTEN PLEASE RILEY CHANGE YOUR MIND! RILEY WE LOVE YOU! WE NEED YOU! PLEASE! PEACHES! RILEY! RILEY! RILEY!!!" 

Tears flow down my cheeks, swallowing me whole, not letting me breathe. 

"Listen, your friends don't even carer about you. Thy're not even saying anything. They don't love you. They never did. But, I always have." she walks closer to Riley, who is now collapsed on her knees, her face buried in her hands while she's sobbing. 

"NO! RILEY, PLEASE DON'T LISTEN TO HER! SHE'S MAKING YOU NOT HEAR US! PLEASE LOOK UP!" Lucas screams. Tears are flowing down his face, and won't stop. 

Riley's POV

She's right. They're not even saying anything. How could they?!

I look up, and see Maya with tears streaming down her face, and it looks like she's screaming, but I can't hear her. Farkle is yelling, but I can't hear him either. Lucas has a waterfall of tears stained on his cheeks, and he's pounding on the black magic. 

Once they see me, their faces light up. 

"RILEY!" Lucas screams. 

"Riley? Can you hear us now?!" Maya yells, panicking. I nod slowly. She sighs heavily, and looks back up. 

"Riles, we love you! Don't listen to her! She's trying to change you! Please listen to us! We love you more than anything in the world!" Lucas pleads. I nod, tears streaming down my face. 

I get up, and walk towards them slowly, blocking out anything and everything that Bethany says. I get to the cage that they are in, and touch Lucas' hand. He grabs my hand without thinking, and kisses it. 

"Thank god, Riles." he sighs and smiles. I smile back. "There's my Smiley Riley." Farkle says. "Peaches." Maya breathes. 

"I'm okay guys, just a little shook up." I say, my tears finally calming down. 

They nod, their tears stopping after a minute or so. 

Then, Maya's eyes get wide. She opens her mouth to speak, but I interrupt her. "It's okay, Peaches, I got this." I say holding my hand up. 

I turn around and come face to face with Bethany. 

"You took everything away from me. You took the people that I cared about the most away from me! You never cared about me, and never will! How could you?! You ran away from me, and threw me out. You rejected me, and threw me in a cell, and watched my world crumble before my eyes! You saw me raped, beaten, abused! You saw everything, and didn't stop it! You've never loved me, and never will! And I will never ever forget you as the person that ruined my life! You convinced me that the people that care about me the most don't love me. You made me forget about them! You made me leave them! You-" I gasp as I fall to the ground, a light blinding me. 

Riley is sitting on the floor of her room, which is an abandoned house, with no light or heat. Today was her 7th birthday, and nothing happened. Well, something did happen. But it happened everyday. 

She sat in the cold corner, hugging her knees to her chest, terrified. Tears ran down her face, staining her cheeks slowly. She rocked back and forth, sobbing. The cold floor brushed against her skin, leaving a trace of chills on her feet. 

Her hair was cut, but uneven and frizzy. Across her face was a scar that she had gotten a year ago on her 6th birthday. Bruises covered her arms, painting her skin with blue and purple. Blood slowly drips down her neck, from a freshly formed cut. 

Next to her is a broken beer bottle, the shards covered in her blood. A rat crawled across the room, causing her to jump. She heard her sisters voice in the back of her head. 

"Run." 

She tried that day. She tried to run, but she was caught. She was thrown back into the house, and abused. She was hit and broken. 

At seven years old, she has seen more darkness than someone three times her age. She didn't understand it. She didn't know that there were people out there that actually cared about others. She thought that everyone was viscous and cruel. 

Although, her heart was made of gold. She cared about everything, and held her head up high, pushing her way through the darkness, somehow finding light through all of the confusion and hurt.

She's fought through wars and battles, and has almost lost. But when she lost hope, hope always found her. And every scar that she has gotten, has been her trophy. Every tear, her medals. Every drop of blood shed, her pride. Every scream, her bravery. She's almost won this war, and once it's over, it's over. 

"RILEY MATTHEWS!" her mother called, storming into her room. 

Riley looked up, terrified. Tears filled her eyes as she screams. Her mom grabs a beer bottle from the floor, cutting her finger in the process. She chucks it at her daughter, it shattering against her skull. Riley's scream was deafening, and could be heard from next door. 

Her mom throws another, but it's caught. A man stands in front of Riley, holding out a gun to her mother. Two more men come in, and take her mother away, leaving the 7 year old girl confused. 

"Where are they taking my Mommy?" she asks, trying to suppress her cries. The man with the gun picks her up, and carried her outside. 

"Your Mommy is a bad person, sweetie. She hurt your Daddy. I'm afraid that you can't see them anymore." he said calmly, setting her in the back of the wailing truck. 

"But, my Daddy is a nice person." she says, as the man cleaned the dried blood on her head and neck. 

"I'm sorry. But your Mommy killed your Daddy." he said, looking at the seven year old's tearing eyes. 

"Will I ever see him again?" she asked, hopeful. "I'm afraid not." the man said as he hugged her. He put bandages on her wounds, and lied her down. 

"Then who's my family?" she asked, her eyes closing slowly. The man did not answer, yet, he closed her eyes and watched her breathe steadily as she slept. 

"Hopefully I will be someday." he whispered, kissing the sleeping child on the forehead. 

I gasp for air as my eyes shoot open. The sky is above me, the sun rising slowly. Colors paint the sky, and for a moment, I'm happy. 

"Your poor princess is gone!" I hear Bethany yell, making the smile on my face vanish. I turn my head slowly, trying to be still. Bethany is standing in front of me, and Maya, Farkle, and Lucas are all still in a cage. They're crying, and Lucas is in the corner, his face buried in his hands. Maya's cheeks are stained with tears, and a waterfall washes it away, slowly creating new stains. Farkle stands there, as still as me, not daring to move. 

How long have I been out? Do they think I'm dead? What happened? What was that dream? 

I inhale sharply, yet silently. The dream floods my mind, and replays over and over, like a scratch on a disc. 

I slowly stand up, not daring to make a sound. Now, Maya and Farkle have joined Lucas at the corner of the cage, their backs turned towards me. Lucas' face is still buried in his hands, and I don't think that he's ever going to look up. 

"You! You were the one that abused me! You killed my father! All this time, my life has been a lie! You've lied to me! Cory saved me from you! He took me in as one of his own, and treated me like family, and that's all I've ever wanted; to be loved. But you. Oh, you! You are selfish and cruel, and truly evil! Your heart is cold stone, and you've never been loved! You ruined my life, and now, I'm going to ruin yours!" I walk closer towards her, not paying attention to their screams. 

Bethany and I are face to face, and her eyes are shooting daggers at me. She raises her hands to use her black magic, but I immediately grab them, and force them to her sides. 

"No, you are never hurting me again! You are never hurting my family ever again! You have hurt me too much, and I've seen what you're capable of. Just know, that I'm capable of things ten times worse." I hiss, as she tries to step back and release her hands. 

I tighten my grip, and push her up against the cage. She winces through the pain, and her eyes become wide. 

"You have ruined my life, Bethany Matthews. And now, I'm going to ruin yours." I breathe. 

Her face grows pale, and she stiffens. 

"I." 

I grit my teeth. 

"Choose." 

I step as close as I can to her, where I can feel her breath on my face. 

"Good."