Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything from Girl Meets World.

Well…the brilliant writers of Girl Meets World sunk my beautiful Lucaya ship this weekend so here we are. This is only the first chapter so don't despair. There will be plenty of Lucaya to come. Enjoy!

Chapter One: The Talk

It had finally happened. The day Maya had been dreading finally came to pass and the big secret was out. Well technically two big secrets were out but who's really counting anymore? The point was that life as Maya and her friends had known it had been turned upside down and no one seemed to know how to make things right again.

Two weeks ago she was in Texas with her best friends in the world, and now here she was dating one of those friends. Maya didn't expect this to happen. Never in a million years would she have even anticipated liking the same guy as her best friend, Riley. The two girls had such distinct preferences for so many other things that Maya naturally assumed their taste in guys would never overlap. Life had a very cruel way of showing them otherwise.

Maya heaved a deep sigh of exasperation as she let her eyes wander over the colorful array of paper mobiles that hung on the ceiling of the art room. She had just spent the last half hour laying on one of the art tables, mulling over the emotional rollercoaster ride that was currently her life.

"Why me?" Maya groaned as she buried her face in her hands.

Suddenly she heard a knock on the door. Maya sat up as Lucas entered the room and the two teenagers exchanged timid smiles.

"Sorry I'm late," Lucas said as he set his backpack down. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Maya quickly replied with a brush of her hand. "I was just…thinking about my painting for the art exhibit next week."

Lucas's gaze moved to a large canvas across the room. Half of the canvas was covered in shades of blue paint that was still wet. Within the sea of blue, Lucas could make out the dark silhouette of a large, leafless tree that hovered over the edge of an unfinished lake.

"I was working on it earlier," Maya explained as she studied her painting. "But I couldn't really get myself to finish it."

Lucas met her gaze. "Well what you have so far looks incredible. You're a good artist, Maya."

"Thanks Ranger Rick," she quipped in hopes of dispelling the insidious awkwardness that followed them around like an unwelcome guest.

Lucas felt it as well as he shifted uncomfortably in their brief conversational lull.

"So I was thinking about where to go for our date tonight," he said at last.

"Yeah, about that…" Maya interrupted.

She took a big gulp as she slid off the table and stood next to Lucas. It was now or never.

"I don't think we should go out tonight," she said without meeting his gaze.

Confused by her statement, Lucas hesitated before saying, "Okay…well we can stay in and watch a movie at my place if you–"

"No, Lucas," Maya said firmly. "I mean I don't think we should go out on these dates anymore."

"Wait," Lucas said, taken aback. "I thought you liked me."

"I do like you," Maya insisted. "But it hit me recently that I never even bothered to ask if you feel the same way about me."

Lucas was speechless when he realized that Maya was right. Amidst the drama that had unfolded since the trip to Texas, everyone had been so concerned about what Riley and Maya were going to do that no one seemed to question his feelings on the whole matter. Until now.

"So?" Maya quietly said, breaking him from his thoughts. "Do you even like me?"

"Of course I like you Maya."

"You know what I mean, Lucas."

Lucas could tell she was holding her breath, bracing herself for an unstated answer that she was afraid to confront. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her but he didn't want to lie to her either.

"I think you're an amazing girl, Maya, but...no, I don't know how I feel about you," he finally stated. And that was the truth.

A faint shadow of anguish quickly passed over Maya's face as her blue eyes threatened to fill with tears.

"Listen, Lucas. I don't wanna be the second option just because Riley took herself out of the running."

At that moment, Lucas felt lower than dirt and inexplicably guilty like someone who had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. He watched as Maya stepped away to put some distance between them.

"So I guess this is it then," she said, forcing a smile.

Lucas frowned. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why should I be? I can't blame you for how you feel, Huckleberry."

"So what happens now?"

Maya shrugged. "We go back to the way things were; just two good friends who look out for each other."

After a few moments of thoughtful silence, the two teenagers gathered their things and headed out the door. They exchanged an awkward farewell and made their way down opposite ends of the empty hallway. Though it was Maya's best intention to try and relieve some of the burden of their dilemma, neither Maya nor Lucas was truly convinced that they could ever go back to simpler times. However it seemed like they had no choice but to try.

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