notes: written for my dear friend kalista who literally brainwashed me into writing hartford. luv you babe. also: charlie is a lacrosse player and lucas is an asshole/bland piece of bread sorry i don't make the rules
/
There is a scandal at school.
Well―
If you can call Missy Bradford flirting with Maya's ex a scandal.
/
(8:01 am) charlie
(8:02 am) chaRLIE
(8:02 am) is there a way to
(8:02 am) like
(8:03 am) kill someone?
(8:03 am) like you know
(8:03 am) casually
(8:06 am) i don't know?
(8:09 am) is this about missy bradford
(8:09 am) it could be
(8:09 am) i don't want ANYTHING to do with this
(8:10 am) too late
(8:10 am) do you think if i searched this up tht it would put me on watch lists
(8:10 am)
(8:11 am) most likely, i would think?
(8:11 am) are you seriously
(8:11 am) like
(8:11 am) yes
(8:13 am) also how would you get rid of the bloodstains?
(8:13 am) wait never mind thats a dumb question
(8:14 am) is it really?
/
It happens on a Thursday.
It's a deplorable, listless Thursday, and Maya is a pitiful figure, slouched on a cement bench in out on the quad, watching Missy Bradford flirt seamlessly with Lucas Friar, who doesn't even seem to mind Missy's efforts.
And Maya is miserable, miserable and furious, furious with Missy and her perfectly manicured hands that casually trail down one of Lucas's biceps; furious with Lucas, who'd imposed their breakup only a week before with an apologetic frown; furious with herself with not being able to look away.
Okay, Maya isn't furious, she's―
She watches as Missy squeezes Lucas's arm and smiles.
She's livid.
/
(12:11 pm) have i ever mentioned that i fucking HATE missy
(12:11 pm) she's an abomination to society
(12:12 pm) where the FUCK are you u piece of shit i need to complain to you in person
(12:13 pm) hanging back to talk out w one of missys followers arent u
(12:13 pm)
(12:14 pm) what IS it maya!
(12:14 pm) jesus
(12:15 pm) can't a guy just talk to another girl for a few minutes? damn
(12:15 pm) no
(12:15 pm) unless the girl is me
(12:16 pm) that's the thing
(12:16 pm) it's not
(12:17 pm) dont fucking play with me dipshit
(12:18 pm) being a bitch isnt cute on you fyi
(12:18 pm) why am i even FRIENDS with you
(12:19 pm) you know you love me
(12:19 pm) esp more than you love riley matthews
(12:21 pm) that's debatable
(12:21 pm) hurry up and meet me before i track you down and beat up ur sorry ass
/
The great tragedy begins in sixth period biology. It begins only a day after the rumors, and the rumors had begun after the Incident―naming it anything else would be inaccurate―and the tragedy begins as all tragedies do.
With Missy-fucking-Bradford smoothing her skirt prettily in front of the class and looking on, oblivious to the drooling underclassmen and the embarrassingly eager biology teacher, oblivious to the eyerolls of the aggressively self-righteous junior sitting to Maya's left, oblivious to Maya herself, glaring daggers at Missy's typical army green jacket, nonchalantly perfect, just like the person wearing it.
It's revolting.
"Missy, take a seat wherever you like," the teacher is saying, his normally monotonous voice glowing with uncontained enthusiasm.
"Thanks, Mr Browne," Missy replies with a smile, and it's a smile reserved for sucking up to people, Maya can tell; it's all shining teeth and courtesy and sickeningly sugary innocence.
The teacher practically fucking swoons.
And then, just like all of Maya's nightmares coming true, Missy takes a seat on Maya's right and the vanilla perfume that she's wearing sours in Maya's nose and Missy's skirt sweeps around her thighs in a perfect little arc; she can't lie, it feels like the universe is playing one huge joke on her—Missy's smile curls into a smirk right in front of her fucking eyes—
"I was just explaining our new project, Miss Bradford," Mr Browne is saying. "You can be partners with, um, Miss Hart, over there."
So, not only is the universe playing an astronomically miserable joke on her, but everyone else is too.
/
(8:30 pm) just got back from lacrosse practice talk to me
(8:36 pm) do you think that
(8:36 pm) like
(8:36 pm) i should confront missy
(8:37 pm) because you can fucking see it in her eyes she knows what shes doing
(8:38 pm) no don't do it!
(8:39 pm) nononononononono
(8:39 pm) seriously don't do it
(8:42 pm) is this about riley matthews
(8:43 pm) just don't do it
(8:43 pm) i knEW it
(8:44 pm) sorry not sorry lover boy
(8:44 pm) time to sing into the bitches shell
(8:45 pm) fml
/
Maya decides to confront Missy the next Thursday.
The students are few after school, and the sky is gloomily overcast, perfectly matching what Maya will hopefully inflict upon Missy, and with as much confidence she can muster, Maya marches over to Missy's locker―which is on an entirely different floor, in an entirely different wing of the building, that is how much Maya cares about Missy's shenanigans―and as soon as Missy glances away from her locker, Maya steps into Missy's line of view.
"Hey, Missy," Maya begins, leaning against the side of Missy's locker casually. She can smell vanilla again.
Missy barely glances at her.
"Just text me if it's about the project."
"It's not actually; came with a request." With a surge of confidence, Maya says, pasting on a smile, "Can you please just keep your hands to yourself for 5 seconds?"
This has Missy's attention.
"What do you mean?" she asks, smiling at Maya, oh-so-sweetly and deceptively innocent.
She's too fucking good at this.
Maya ups the fake appearance of her smile.
"Well, you know how a girl feels when she breaks up with someone she's been with for over a year."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Missy gasps. Maya grits her teeth—they both know this is all for show. "I had no idea! That must be so tough for you."
"It sure is."
"I'm sure you'll find someone new," she continues with that tone that feels filthily patronizing. "You're cute, with your whole blonde hair, blue eyes thing, and people like your...temper."
Maya can fucking feel herself fuming.
"Thanks, Missy," she chirps. "I'll text you tonight, seeing as how I can get your number for Lucas—he always gets so many of these types of girls' numbers after a breakup, it seems. I mean, I wouldn't know, I was never one of those girls; he was the one chasing me."
"That's sweet," Missy croons with a plastic smile, closing her locker door. "See you tomorrow, Maya."
/
"I hate Missy," Maya hisses venomously to Charlie as they cross the quad, where―predictably―Missy and her troupe of girls stand, talking animatedly to each other. "I hate her smile, I hate her personality, I hate her friends―"
"Some of her friends are nice," Charlie interrupts absentmindedly, worrying the hem of his shirt, staring past her at Riley.
Maya glares at him.
"What is it with you and Riley? You've got your head so far up her ass I don't even know if you can hear me anymore."
"Hey, can I help it?" Charlie protests as Maya drags him along. "It's not like you don't rant to me about Missy and Lucas every five seconds. Practice what you preach, Hart."
"Don't sass me," Maya retorts. "Haven't you heard? Riley was planning on asking Lucas to prom until Missy started kissing up to him."
Charlie's gaze snaps towards hers in shock.
"What?"
"Looks like the Lucas situation involves you after all," Maya simpers mockingly, patting his cheek. "Hurts, doesn't it?"
Charlie glares at her, then sighs defeatedly. "Why are your problems always my problems?"
"Looks like you chose your friends well, Gardner."
/
The next day is a disaster of all sorts. For one, Lucas won't reply to Maya's texts―a jackass move, considering the fact that he was the one who broke up with her―and Missy―
Missy is just―there, looking effortlessly gorgeous, a Dutch Bros iced mocha clutched primly in her manicured hand and and hair swirled in a perfect french braid and a tiny lacy halter top that has Maya seeing red. And she makes Maya's life abysmal with her sly, passive remarks about Lucas ("That's such a cute jacket, Maya! It looks like the one Lucas put over my shoulder yesterday") and vaguely classist comments ("We can use my laptop—it's high speed and pretty expensive") and if she's not forwardly torturing her, she's winking at Maya in the halls and blowing her vintage bubblegum into basketball-sized spheres in front of her and Maya—
Maya wants to scream at her.
On top of that, the crappy printer Maya bought at a garage sale weeks earlier for twenty bucks has finally paid its dues and decided that today at six am was the perfect time to rest in peace, despite Maya and Missy's twenty page paper that needed to be printed out right then.
As a result, sixth period biology is the tenth circle of hell.
"So, Maya," Missy is saying, her voice rotten with sugar, leaning forward with that look on her face that Maya detests with her life. "Because your junky printer was clearly not adequate enough to print out our paper the day it was due, I had to go up to Mr Browne and ask if we could get a hall pass during a lab in class, which, if you can imagine, was highly embarrassing."
"I can imagine," Maya replies with her own sickeningly sweet trill. "Too bad we didn't use your high tech, cutting edge printer because you didn't want to waste ink that you could have just replaced with your abundance of money."
"Oh, right," Missy sneers. "I should have known that you wouldn't have the ink to spare."
"Girls?" Mr Browne calls from the front of the class, completely unaware of the escalating argument. "You can head out to the computer lab now."
"Thanks Mr Browne," the two of them chirp simultaneously.
Right after they leave the classroom and turn the corner into an empty hall, Maya raises her voice. "No offense, but what the fuck is your problem?"
Missy has the nerve to feign innocence.
"What are you talking about?"
"You are the rudest goddamn person I have ever had the unfortunate chance of meeting," Maya fumes. "Ever since I approached you, you've been a bitch."
"It takes one to know one," Missy shoots back.
"I tried talking to you nicely―"
Missy cuts her off with a laugh sharp with disbelief, stopping in front of a janitor's closet. "What? Are you hearing yourself right now?"
Maya sputters. "I was diplomatic―"
"You came up to me with the most hostile request I've ever heard―"
"Okay, that's a fucking lie! You knew what you were doing―"
"He's a hot piece of ass! You can't just dictate the people around him―"
"I don't give a shit about Lucas, you were doing it to rile me up―"
"Oh, so this is about you now―"
"It definitely looked like it was on purpose―"
"He's not your property!" Missy screeches, loud enough that it echoes in the hallway. "You guys broke up! If I want him, I'll get him. Your opinion shouldn't matter anymore―"
It really isn't Maya's best moment when she kisses Missy Bradford to shut her up.
And Maya can bet that it isn't Missy's best moment either when she fucking whimpers into the kiss and knots a hand through Maya's hair, and suddenly Missy has got her pressed up against the wall in the hallway and Maya's hands are messily undoing Missy's braid. The kiss is all lips and teeth and sweet, sweet acid as Missy tilts her head like that, tasting like black cherries and brown sugar. And suddenly Maya's hands are up Missy's shirt and Missy is frantically trying to open the door to the janitor's closet and they're falling in―Maya trips over a mop on the ground and steps on Missy's foot by accident, but it doesn't matter, because Missy is unbuttoning Maya's jeans and Maya's doing this embarrassingly breathy groan because god is she turned on.
It really isn't Maya's best moment when she hooks up with Missy Bradford in a disgusting janitor's closet.
Or maybe, she thinks obscurely as she looks at Missy coming down from her climax, it's actually her best.
/
(2:14 pm) charlie
(2:14 pm) fucking HELP me
(2:15 pm) im freaking out
(2:18 pm) what is it?
(2:19 pm) i'm in cladd
(2:20 pm) i mean class
(2:20 pm) i think im having a gaylife crisis
(2:22 pm)
(2:22 pm) please elaborate
(2:23 pm) ok so i made out w this person today
(2:23 pm) lets call her
(2:23 pm) olivia benson
(2:24 pm) you need to stop watching l and o svu
(2:26 pm) no
(2:26 pm) anyways ur missing the point!
(2:27 pm) i made out w a GIRL
(2:28 pm) and i liked it?
(2:28 pm)
(2:30 pm) cool?
(2:31 pm) and i hooked up w her in the janitors closet in the science wing
(2:33 pm) shit is that bad
(2:33 pm) shit i just hooked up w a girl!
(2:34 pm) wtf maya
(2:35 pm) couldn't you wait until you were at home or something?
(2:36 pm) Jesus take the wheel
(2:38 pm) thats it?
(2:39 pm) what else do you want me to say?
(2:40 pm) it's not like you were gonna listen to me if I told you to stop having sex at school
(2:42 pm) its not weird to u that i like girls
(2:40 pm)
(2:41 pm) wait i still like boys
(2:42 pm) does that make me bi?
(2:43 pm) oh shit thats kind of kinky
(2:44 pm) not really
(2:45 pm) you know I love you, bi or not
(2:47 pm) fuck i love you too
(2:47 pm) i dont deserve you charlie
(2:49 pm) as long as you don't hook up with riley I'm cool with whatever you decide you are
(2:49 pm) cause I think she's into me finally!
(2:50 pm) just kidding ive lost all respect for you lmao
(2:51 pm) hmu when u dont turn into a spineless wiener around matthews hahahaHAHA
/
Maya reflects back on her decisions after she has sex with Missy for the third time in the greasy bathroom located at the art hall.
The whole thing is becoming uncontrollable, really; it's sort of a drug, the way Missy flicks a tongue over her peachy matte lipstick and grins―not maliciously, but slyly, seductively at Maya. The way she presses a strand of hair behind her ear with a single white-tipped finger―
The way they're kissing in the handicapped stall, slow and provocative, pressing Maya hard against the wall and rocking into each other. The way Missy groans obscenely into her hand. The thrill of something secret, something deliciously hot, as Missy's mouth goes everywhere and Maya whites out.
It's definitely a drug.
Maya's addicted.
"I'm staging an intervention," Charlie says one morning, looking ridiculously like a mom, all hands on hips and raised eyebrows. "You keep ditching me at lunch! I have to eat with Farkle and all his math buddies."
"How tragic," Maya replies.
"Do not tell me you've been having sex with 'Olivia Benson' after fifth period," he says, making air quotes with his fingers.
"I am."
Charlie shoots her a very disappointed look.
"At least I'm getting some!" Maya protests, shouldering her backpack. "You're standing around just waiting for Matthews to flock to you like some sort of tropical bird. By the time you finally make a move, you'll need viagra."
Charlie puts a hand to his ear. "Could you please say it louder? I don't think everyone in this hall could hear you."
"Shut up, Gardner."
"Maybe you should too," Charlie says. "And don't pretend like your love life is all secretive. I know who you're hooking up with."
Maya crosses her arms.
"Oh yeah? Who?"
Charlie gives her a creepily similar parody of her own smirk. "Missy Bradford."
It's disgusting to see how smug he is.
Maya looks once, twice at both sides of the hall, then twists her hand in the front of his shirt, presses him against his locker and demands, "How did you know?"
"You smell like vanilla all of the time!" Charlie protests, his voice a pitch higher. "And I checked the art room three days in a row during lunch, and you weren't there, plus I know that you would rather eat Yogi's fingernails than do something academic when you don't need to."
"Ugh, you're right, I'd even give Yogi a blowj―"
"Also," Charlie interrupts, "your clothes are constantly rumpled, and you always look daydreamy and faraway, and you haven't insulted Riley as much, which automatically told me there was something wrong."
"Rats," Maya says. "I just knew that was gonna be the giveaway."
"Talk, Maya." Charlie's squirmed his way out of her grip, looking especially disapproving, his arms crossed and his mouth a suspicious tilt. "How did you start hooking up with her? And when? I know it was at least recently because I was walking in the science wing last week and I saw a traumatized freshman walk out of the girl's bathroom."
"I didn't know we were that loud," Maya scoffs.
Charlie clears his throat.
"Okay, sorry. But it began when Missy was being really rude―to be fair, so was I―but then we got into this huge argument in the hallways, and I kissed her to shut her up." Maya shrugs. "And then we had really good sex in the gross janitor's closet at the intersection near the main hall."
"And you've been doing it ever since."
"I texted you, like, after school the day it happened."
"Well, you didn't tell me about the other times."
Maya snorts. "You just expected it to be a one time thing?"
"You hook up with people all the time!" Charlie protests, flushing red. "You had sex with that guy Brandon after that one party."
"He was hot! What was I supposed to do, hold his hand and call it a night?"
Charlie shakes his hand, but he's laughing. "Jesus, Maya."
"And yes, I will admit to it, I hooked up with Missy. And then again. Then again, and again, and again; and probably more times. And that's all she wrote."
There's a pause, where she watches Charlie open his mouth, close it, then start to speak again.
"So what now?"
"I don't know, I keep having sex with her?"
Charlie releases an exasperated sigh. "Do you like her?"
"What do you mean?" Maya asks. "Like, am I sexually attracted to her? Or do I have a crush on her?"
"Well, you'd better make up your mind on both, because Lucas asked Missy out on a date yesterday. And Missy said yes."
There is a stunned moment where everything short circuits.
Maya runs.
/
"Maya," acknowledges Missy as Maya approaches her, red-faced and steaming at the ears. Missy's applying a layer of liquid lipstick onto the beige pink of her already-perfect lips. "Do you think we might have to still…"—this is accented with a wink—"work on biology during lunch?"
"Cut the shit, Bradford," Maya snaps, backing her against the neighboring locker. "I know that you're going on a date with Lucas. It was your plan all along, huh? Fucking with me?"
Missy's pupils are blown out. Maya tries not to look down at the swell of her breasts rising and falling when she breathes, "Figuratively or literally?"
"Goddamnit, Missy," Maya blows out in one breath. It feels like she's trapped in this cycle, with the way Missy's looking at her.
"Maya," Missy says like a plea, her mouth dangerously close to Maya's, "I don't―I didn't mean―"
As it turns out, it really doesn't take much to shut up Missy.
/
"So, about the thing you said before," Missy is saying as Maya pats down her hair, "I'm not trying to fuck with you."
Maya glances up with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm serious!" Missy insists. "If I wanted to do that I would've kept flirting with Lucas. I would've hooked up with him, in fact. He's pretty easy."
"Okay, calm down," Maya says, a little sharp. "I was just…"
"Jealous?" Missy suggests, clipping on her bra.
Jealous.
Missy's smile is cutting and understanding.
"And Lucas?" Maya asks instead.
Missy leans close, her breath fanning across the shell of her ear. "Don't worry about him."
"Difficult, since you're going on a date with him."
"Not if I go on another one with a pretty girl instead."
Missy presses her lips against Maya's neck.
"You're assuming," Maya chokes out, breathing hard, "that the pretty girl wants to go with you."
"You're saying that the pretty girl wasn't being a jealous bitch earlier."
Maya stares at her, keeping her expression as blank as she can. Missy rolls her eyes and peppers more kisses onto her jawline, rolling a nipple in her fingers.
"Okay, I'll go out with you," Maya pants, locking her hands behind Missy's head. "Just make this quick so you can cancel the date." She bucks against the stall door. "Asshole."
Missy hooks her fingers into the sides of her underwear. "I'll do it in five minutes."
"Do it in four and I'll pay for dinner at whatever trashy diner you choose."
Missy grins, slow and smug. "You're on."
/
(12:32 pm) maya where are you
(12:32 pm) zays fucking asking me where you are
(12:33 pm) says he wants to tlk to you about lucas?
(12:33 pm) probably the whole missy lucas thnig maya where the hell are you
(12:34 pm) fuck you ur probably having sex with missy again arent you
(12:36 pm) i told him you went off campus
(12:37 pm) i just covered your ass now you have to help me with rileys promposal ok and im not taking no for an answer
(12:37 pm) stpp texting me pls thanks
(12:38 pm) i knew it