I do not own GMW or any of the characters. The gang is in their junior year of high school.
Maya was sitting on her bed working on her latest art project and listening to music. She was adding shading to the background of her project when she heard a knocking at her window. She slowly raised her head to find a pair of familiar green eyes staring back at her. She made her way to the window, letting her guest in.
"What happened this time?" Maya asked closing her window as Lucas made himself comfortable on the edge of her bed.
"I got a B+ on my AP chemistry exam," Lucas replied, "you know how he gets when I get less than an A on anything." Maya could see the black eye starting to form on Lucas' left cheek. What their friends didn't know is that Mr. Friar was abusive and that Lucas would come to Maya's house when he needed to escape for a little bit. The first time it happened was two weeks into their eighth-grade year.
Maya was lounging on her bed staring up at her ceiling while listening to music. It had been a rough week at school and she was ready for the weekend to start. Suddenly her phone buzzed. She checked it and had a text message from Lucas:
Lucas: are you awake?
Maya: yeah, why?
Lucas: do you mind if I come over?
Maya: sure.
Lucas: good. i'm here.
Maya looked up and met Lucas' eyes through her window. She made her way over to him, opened the window and let him into her room.
"Okay, what's up? Why did you want to come over?" Maya asked as Lucas sat at her desk chair.
"My dad and I got into it and I needed a place to go to just get away." Lucas simply replied.
"What do you mean 'got into it?'" Maya asked taking a seat on the edge of her bed.
"He got mad at me about not cleaning my room to his standards. We started to argue and he backhanded me across the face. He told me to go to my room and to come out when I learned 'some goddamn respect,'" Lucas replied, "I came here instead."
"Oh my god!" Maya exclaimed, "are you okay? Do you need some ice or something?" Maya had no idea what to do in a situation like this. One of her closest friends just told her that his dad hit him and he said it so nonchalantly that she was certain this wasn't the first time it happened.
"No, I'm fine. He didn't punch me this time so I shouldn't need the ice, but thanks for asking." Lucas replied with a small smile.
"So this isn't the first time something like this has happened?" Maya asked concern in her voice.
"No, it happens pretty regularly, this time just got too much and I needed to get out of the house before I exploded," Lucas somberly stated, "I'm sorry for just showing up like this. I shouldn't be bothering you with my problems but I thought you might be the only one that would kind of understand, you know…shitty dads."
"It's fine, I wasn't doing anything particularly important," Maya replied smiling at Lucas hoping to make him feel just a little bit better, "and any time you need to get away from him you are always welcomed at Case de Maya." Lucas laughed at Maya's comment, which her smile widened.
"Thanks," Lucas replied, "do you mind if I just stay here for a little bit before going home?"
"Of course," Maya quickly replied, "stay as long as you like."
Now it had become like their tradition. Every time Lucas felt he needed to escape, he wound up on Maya's fire escape knocking at her window. It was their little secret and Maya liked that Lucas felt safe and comfortable telling her the darker sides of his life. At first when he came over they would sit in silence until Lucas felt "ready" to leave. Eventually, they began talking to each other. First, about the situation that led Lucas to Maya's window, but then their conversations grew into deeper things. They talked about their hopes and dreams, their biggest fears and secrets they hadn't told anyone else. Over the course of three years, Maya and Lucas had grown closer due to their secret meetings. Also, over the course of those three years, Maya had found herself falling more and more for Lucas, although she was positive he did not feel the same for her. She didn't want to ruin her friendship with Lucas, since she was the only one he trusted with this part of his life and she didn't want that to disappear because she caught feelings. So she kept it to herself and planned on keeping it that way.
"So, what happened?" Maya asked.
"He asked to see my test grade, I showed him my test with the B+ at the top and he fucking lost it," Lucas replied falling back onto Maya's bed, "he called me a worthless piece of shit and told me that I would never have a future with grades like that. I started yelling back and then he punched me in the face. After I was on the ground he got some kicks in before my mom ripped him off of me." Lucas pulled his long sleeve shirt up to show Maya the bruise that was forming on his right side. Maya reached under her bed and pulled out a cooler and a first aid kit. She opened the cooler and pulled out an ice pack. She then opened the first aid kit and pulled out a washcloth and the bruising ointment. She wrapped the ice pack in the washcloth and handed it to Lucas to put on his eye. She then opened the ointment, put a decent amount on her hand and rubbed that over the bruise forming on his stomach. She wiped her hands off on her sleep pants and returned the cooler and the first aid kit to their original spots. She had started keeping them in her room after Katy caught her getting the supplies from the kitchen one night. She lied to her mom and said that she had gotten a paper cut while working on an art project and was being "proactive." Maya could tell that her mom didn't fully believe her but she also didn't ask any more questions.
"I still can't believe after three years your mom doesn't take your aunt up on her offer." Maya replied sitting next to Lucas on the bed. Lucas had told Maya that Mrs. Friar's sister had offered to let her and Lucas move in with her to get away from Mr. Friar, however Mrs. Friar's pride wouldn't let her take the offer.
"You know how my mama is," Lucas commented, "moving in with my aunt would be admitting there's a problem and she'd rather pretend none of it is happening. Plus, I'll be going to college in two years so she figures it'll work itself out."
"It still doesn't make it less sucky." Maya argued turning to look at Lucas.
"I know. Thanks for letting me crash here again. I know I've been here almost every night this week," Lucas stated. Mr. Friar's boss had been riding him all week due to some quickly approaching deadline, which meant he was stressed, which meant that his fuse was even shorter, causing him to freak out on Lucas more often, "you must be getting sick of me."
"You know I'd never get sick of you Huckleberry," Maya replied, "because of you I actually turned in my homework every day this week. My teachers probably think I was taken over by a pod person."
"You're smart, you barely needed my help," Lucas argued placing the now warmish ice pack next to him on the bed, "you just like to keep up your 'too cool for school' reputation."
"Hey, someone's gotta be the slacker in the group.," Maya argued back, causing Lucas to crack a smile. "Finally!" Maya exclaimed, "I finally got you to smile."
"Shortstack, you always make me smile." Lucas replied his smile widening.
"First, you compliment my intellect, then you tell me I make you smile. Now if I didn't know better Ranger Rick, I'd say you're flirting with me." Maya half joked.
"What if I am Shortstack?" Lucas questioned a smirk replacing his smile.
"Then you're heading towards some dangerous territory, Hop-a-long." Maya replied. She couldn't tell if they were joking anymore and it was causing a swarm of butterflies to freak out in her stomach.
"Maybe I like being dangerous." Lucas countered-back. However, before Maya could come up with a retort Lucas' lips were on hers, his hand in her hair. That one kiss caused the swarm of butterflies to explode. She kissed back with as much fever and gripped onto Lucas' shoulder for support. Their lips molded together perfectly and Maya pulled Lucas closer till their bodies were flush against each other. With a surge of confidence, Maya pushed back against Lucas until he was on his back, never breaking the kiss. She straddled his hips and smirked slightly at how fast Lucas' hands fell to her hips. Maya rolled her hips against Lucas', causing him to groan against her lips. This snapped Maya back to reality like a bucket of cold water. She quickly got up and started pacing the floor in front of her bed.
"Oh my god, I can't believe I did that. That wasn't supposed to happen. " Maya rambled continuing to pace, "I promised myself I wouldn't let you know how I felt. Now I've gone and ruined everything. I can't believe I could be that careless…"
"Maya what are you talking about?" Lucas asked interrupting her mini-meltdown.
"What?" Maya asked looking up at Lucas. She completely forgot he was there and had heard everything she just said.
"You just said, 'I promised myself I wouldn't let you know how I felt,'" Lucas reiterated her words, "how do you feel?"
"Um...well I...I've liked you for almost three years now," Maya admitted looking at the ground. She didn't want to look Lucas in the eye while he told her he didn't feel the same way, "but I was sure you didn't feel the same way and I'm the only one you trust to talk about how shitty your dad is, so I just kept it to myself. Until now I guess."
"What makes you so sure I don't feel the same way?" Lucas asked, causing Maya's head to snap up.
"What?" Maya asked loss for words.
"I said, what makes you so sure…"
"No, I know what you said, but you don't have to say that just to make me feel better," Maya replied, "I'm a big girl, I can handle rejection."
"Maya, I have liked you since the first time I crawled through your window and told you about my dad. You were concerned but you let me sit in silence for hours until I felt ready to go home. You didn't push me to talk about it and you even left a mixed CD in my locker of songs to listen to when my dad got too much. You called it 'Shitty Dad Mix.'" Lucas admitted never breaking eye contact with Maya, "You're the only one that I feel truly comfortable being myself around. You're smart, confident, funny and an amazingly loyal and protective person. Why wouldn't I like you?"
"You're not just saying that to be nice?" Maya asked a small part of her still not believing what Lucas had just said.
"I promise you I am not saying it to be nice," Lucas replied grabbing Maya's hand and pulling her closer to him, "Maya Penelope Hart, I am so in love with you it scares me sometimes."
"I'm in love with you too, Lucas." Maya replied smiling widely.
"So, will you officially be my girlfriend?" Lucas asked a smirk pulling at his lips.
"Of course I will." Maya answered pulling Lucas into a kiss. She couldn't believe that the guy she had fallen for, had actually fallen for her too.