"Would you like to dance?"
"I think I'm okay here," Maya says from her spot in the corner of Missy Bradford's living room.
With Riley and Farkle having Friday date night, Maya decided she would go to Missy's party alone. She was a few drinks in and while she was feeling a good buzz, she wasn't feeling up to dancing with some guy who's just trying to get into her pants.
"It's just one dance. It'll be fun," The guy says. Maya thinks his name is Nathan.
"And I said no, thanks." Maya started to walk away but Nathan grabbed her arm.
"Then I'll just grab us drinks and we can talk," Nathan insisted.
"I've already got a drink," Maya gestured to her mostly full solo cup.
"Alright… so why are you alone tonight?"
"Who said I'm alone? My friends could just be dancing or in the bathroom."
"Sure, they could be. But you've been over here in the corner all night, all alone. Plus, you only ever hang out with Riley, Farkle, and Lucas. And I haven't seen any of them tonight." Nathan rattled off his reasons for believing Maya was alone.
Maya, giving in, responded, "Farkle and Riley have date night."
"And Lucas?"
"Why are you so concerned?" Maya asked.
"You wouldn't dance with me, you wouldn't let me get you a drink. At least let me make small talk," Nathan replied. "Or we could skip the small talk and just move upstairs."
"You wish."
Maya surveyed the room for a place to get away from Nathan.
"Come on, don't be like that. You know you want to."
"I'd rather go upstairs with anyone but you." Maya made her way to the back door to get away from this creep.
Thankfully, Nathan didn't follow her outside. With nothing to do, Maya decided to call Lucas while finishing her drink.
"Maya?" Lucas answered groggily.
"Sorry, Huckleberry. Did I wake you up?"
"Yeah, but it's okay. What's up?" Lucas asked.
"I'm at Missy's party but I'm stuck on the back porch so I thought I'd call you," Maya told him.
"You're alone at a party? Why are you stuck outside?"
"Calm down, Moral Compass. I didn't wanna miss this party but I'm all alone. Some guy tried to hit on me, so I went outside and now I don't really want to go back in," Maya admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going?" Lucas asked. "I would have gone with you so you didn't have to be alone."
"I don't know. I thought it'd be fine," Maya decided. "But now I really want to go home but I'm a little too tipsy to drive."
"Alright, Maya. I'm on my way to pick you up."
"You don't have to do that," Maya slurred.
Worried by Maya's slight slurring of words, Lucas hurried to throw some clothes on and ran out the door to his car.
"It's too late, I'm already on my way," Lucas announced.
"You didn't have to do that. But I'll see you soon."
Lucas told her to stay safe and he'd see her soon.
As soon as Lucas got to the party, he ran around back hoping Maya would have stayed there. To his dismay, Maya was no where outside. Lucas headed inside to find Maya being led upstairs by some guy he barely recognized. Maya was wobbly on her feet and didn't look capable of consent.
"I think you should walk away from her," Lucas suggested to Nathan. "She's clearly drunk."
"Back off Friar, she wants it," Nathan responded.
"I need to hear her say that," Lucas stated.
As Lucas thought, Maya couldn't form a coherent sentence.
"Alright, I'm taking her home."
"She's staying with me," Nathan demanded.
Lucas swiftly picked Maya up and headed towards his truck.
"You don't get to decide that for her," Nathan yelled. "Put her down."
Lucas ignored him and walked out the front door. At his truck, Lucas had to carefully prop Maya up to keep her from falling out of the truck, and to keep a bucket under her head. Half way back to Lucas's apartment, Maya starts sputtering before releasing the contents of her stomach into the bucket that her head had been resting on. Once her stomach was clear, her whole body slumped back into its previous position. At Lucas's apartment, he cleans Maya up with a rag from the back seat, pulls her into his arms, and carries her to his bedroom.
The next morning Maya wakes up in Lucas's bed alone, confused as to how she got there. Searching the room, her eyes land on Lucas laying on the floor, just barely awake.
"What the hell happened last night?"
"Apparently you thought it was a good idea to go to a party alone, get shit faced, and let a guy try to take advantage of you," Lucas stated.
"I would make some comment about you being my western hero but I only had 3 drinks last night, Lucas," Maya replied. "There's no way I was shit faced. But the last thing I remember, is going outside to finish my 3rd beer in peace and then I woke up here."
"Maya, you called me slightly slurring your words and by the time I got there you could barely keep yourself standing."
"That son of a bitch!" Maya exclaimed shocked.
"What?"
"I'm pretty sure he drugged me," Maya said. "I was sober enough one minute and the next I was plastered. You said he was trying to take advantage of me. It all adds up."
"Maya you can't be serious," Lucas disagrees. "You had to have miscounted your drinks. Why would someone you go to school with drug you?"
"I-I don't know," Maya replied in a small voice. "He was being so forceful though and I really don't think I lost count of my drinks."
"I'll kill him. He's dead." Lucas's ears were steaming.
Maya was in shock and scared. She never thought something like that would happen to her.
"What do I do?" Maya pleads.
"I think we should go to the hospital immediately."
"I don't want to move, Lucas." Maya admits trying not to sob.
Lucas hurries over to Maya to hold her.
"Maya I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'm right here. I'll always be right here."
Letting her sobs escape Maya whimpered a small "Thank you for being there," to Lucas.