***
When Maya woke up, she wasn't sure exactly where she was. She squinted up at the perfectly uncracked ceiling, discovering that this was definitely not her own room. Bits of drywall and paint weren't snowing down on her pillow.
Just as Maya noticed that the pillow under her head was purple, she felt something wiggle and snuggle up against her. The messy brown hair told Maya that she was in Riley's room, in Riley's bed, and snuggling Riley in her arms. Since the start of their beautiful friendship, Maya slept over Riley's house on the weekends, but lately they've been having more sleepovers than usual. They were dating, though they hadn't told the guys yet, let alone their parents. They'd agree to keep their relationship private, but they usually couldn't resist passing notes during classes or playing footsie at lunch.
As Maya's brain woke up, she remembered flashes of the night before. The gang hung out at their usual spot at Topanga's, butts planted on the couches and enjoying each other's company over a few scoops of ice cream. Farkle and Smackle were deep in conversation over their physics project, while Lucas and Zay were busy arguing over who could stay on a mechanical bull the longest at the county fair. There was never a dull moment with these guys.
Maya also remembered spending an hour kissing Riley's lips and neck before falling asleep right next to her. They had agreed to take it slow in terms of bedroom activity, but Maya did remember throwing both of their shirts off for the first time that night while Riley sat on her lap. Maya wish that she'd taken a picture of Riley's face: her mouth hung open and her eyes glued to Maya's toned stomach. Even with her sport's bra on, Maya made Riley perform a full system reboot. Maya didn't see her favorite band tee shirt anywhere, but she trusted that it was somewhere among the piles of clothes scattered across Riley's floor.
"Morning," Maya said in a sleep-blanketed voice. Riley snuggled back into Maya's chest.
"Shh." "Someone's grumpy," Maya said, rolling away. Riley let out a low growl, displeased with the sudden lack of warmth.
"Smile!" Riley turned to see Maya sitting on the edge of the bed holding her phone up for a selfie. She yanked the comforter up over her tangled hair.
"Maya! I'm not wearing a shirt!" If Riley hadn't been under the blankets, she would have seen Maya's face flush bright red. However, Riley didn't emerge from her cocoon until she heard something land softly on top of her. She popped her head out and saw a blank tank top that she knew read, "It was all a dream."
"...Thanks," Riley said. Maya found the same colored shirt on the ground with the words "Do what you love" written across, almost reluctantly putting it on. Normally, she wouldn't be caught dead wearing one of Riley's ambiguous, whimsical word-shirts, but she was set on this selfie thing.
She heard Riley grumble while throwing on the tank as she sat up and tried to fix her hair as best as she could before resting her chin on Maya's shoulder. Maya planted a smacking kiss on Riley's cheek and smiled brightly.
"Hi."
"Hey. You gonna take this picture or what?"
"Oh, this is a video."
"Peaches!" Riley lunged for the phone, but Maya held it just out of reach as she scrambled away.
"And... saved," Maya said, locking her phone with a triumphant smirk.
Riley scowled at her girlfriend, "Fine, I'm taking a shower."
"Without me?" Maya teased.
"Shut up. You sound like a white frat boy," Riley retorted as she got out of bed. Maya met Riley at the door and wrapped her arms around Riley's waist, "Toast?"
"Yes, please," Riley said, pulling Maya in for a quick thank-you kiss.
***
Maya parked her car in the school parking lot with exactly five minutes to spare until the first bell rang. She and Riley made their way to the classroom in no rush. The hallways were surprisingly empty, and Maya took advantage of the opportunity to grab Riley's hand. Maya was pleased with the little surprised face that Riley made. Riley stood still, making Maya worried that she'd crossed a line.
"Sorry," Maya said, withdrawing her hand.
"No, no, it's okay," Riley said, swallowing loudly before taking Maya's hand back. "I want to."
They walked the rest of the hallway in silence. Maya hadn't realized that she was holding her breath until she head Riley exhale next to her when they stopped at the last corner before their history class.
"We're holding hands at school," Maya said in disbelief. Riley looked at Maya with shining eyes and started laughing. Maya joined in, feeling lighter than she had in a long time. The way that Riley was looking at her made her heart jump, and Maya couldn't help but stretch up onto her toes and kiss her. Riley didn't pull away - in fact, she pulled Maya's face closer and tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth.
"Now we've made out at school too," Riley whispered. Maya felt a grin so wide spread across her face that her cheeks hurt.
"Come on," Riley said, taking Maya's hand again. "We're gonna be late."
They paused outside the classroom and Riley glanced between their hands and Maya's eyes. With unspoken understanding, Maya released Riley's hand and put her own in her pockets. Baby steps were fine with her, and they weren't in any hurry to come out to everybody just yet. She offered Riley a small, sweet smile and opened the door.
As soon as they stepped into the room, they were greeted by a chorus of hollering and wold-whistles. Lucas, Farkle, and Zay got up on top of their desks and started clapping. Fortunately, Mr. Matthews had stepped out to grab one of yesterday's muffins from the faculty lounge before starting class. Riley looked at Maya with as much confusion on her face as Maya felt herself. Slowly they entered the classroom towards the three desks where the boys were apparently giving them a standing ovation.
"Hi, what the hell?" Maya greeted them.
"Hi, same," Riley added.
Farkle was the first to hop off the desk and sit back down in his chair. He pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and focused all of his attention down at the screen in his lap.
"Don't you mean 'good morning?'" Lucas asked, plopping into a seated position atop his desk.
"No, I mean what the hell," Maya repeated. She glared at the boys with a look that told them that they were all definitively in trouble.
Zay cut in. "Hey, we didn't do anything." When Maya looked incredulous, he added, "Seriously. Farkle, please present Exhibit A."
Farkle held his phone up. "Your snapchat story."
They saw Riley grumble, pull a shirt over her head, and fingercomb her hair. They saw Riley settle into the curve of Maya's shoulder, and they saw Maya kiss Riley's cheek.
"Hi"
"Hey. You gonna take this picture or what?"
"Oh, this is a video."
"Pe-"
And the video cut off just as Riley was about to grab the phone from Maya.
The boys looked like three children who had just been told that they could go to the candy store after school. Everyone in the room was watching as everything unraveled. Riley's face was entirely red and Maya felt her own cheeks getting hotter.
"Aw, you guys match," Farkle said, pointing at their faces.
Somebody in the row behind the boys yelled "Speech!" which earned an icy glare from Maya and prompted Riley to open her mouth and close it repeatedly before finally snapping it shut. Maya turned to Riley and suddenly Maya felt like they were the only two people in the room.
"I am so sorry," Maya said.
Riley shrugged and let out a deep sigh, "This wasn't exactly how I imagined this going down."
Zay made an inappropriate joke, but the girls didn't hear him.
"You're not mad?" Maya looked so worried. Riley wanted nothing more than to hug her, so she did. They held onto each other for a moment, and then Maya found Riley's lips. She kissed her hard, swearing that this was right and good and real.
Cheers broke their little bubble, and they separate. They took their seats near the front with Lucas, Farkle, and Zay sitting in their respected spots.
Mr. Matthews walked in with his usual goofy expression as he popped a piece of muffin into his mouth before setting it down on the desk and pointing at the phrase on the board, starting his lesson of the day.
Riley looked down at her notes and immediately started to drown herself in her thoughts, trying her hardest to hold down her impending anxiety attack.
'Please let this day go by quickly...'
****