It's Tuesday night, and Maya Matlin is at the Torres house with her older sister, Katie, Katie's boyfriend, Drew, and Drew's brother, Adam. She doesn't know how she got talked into going over and having a "pizza and game night" with the three of them, but she did. She somewhat regrets it now. Especially since Drew and Katie are being all cuddly and disgusting. Some people would find Drew and Katie's relationship cute and adorable, Maya finds it nauseating and puke-inducing. She has to fight to not roll her eyes at almost everything they do.
Needless to say, it's been a pretty boring night. Maya loves her sister and loves spending time with her, but this isn't really her idea of a good time. Maybe if it was with people she knew better, but not at this moment. She sighs as she watches her sister and her boyfriend flirt more than anything else. She really wishes she could go home.
During Scrabble, Adam leans over and asks if she wants to go downstairs and play video games. It's not the escape she's looking for, but it's a way better alternative to what's happening now. She nods and the two go to the basement. They play some war games that Maya doesn't really understand, but kind of gets the hang of after a few rounds, and listen to Dead Hand – Adam's favorite band.
The blonde doesn't realize how much time has passed. She's enjoying her time with Adam, and some of his reactions to what happens in the game are funny enough to make her smile or giggle. So, when Katie comes down, saying it's ten o'clock and they need to go, Maya's a little surprised. She nods and the four teenagers walk to the door. Katie kisses Drew goodbye, and Maya waves at Adam. The boy waves back. As the two girls make their way to the car, Maya can't help but be very thankful that the younger Torres boy had been there.
XX
A week or so later, she runs into him in the hall. He gives her a smile and a friendly hello. She returns it, and she can't help but like his smile. She shakes the thought away immediately. She thinks back to the beginning of the year with Drew, and all the good her crush on him did her. And Adam's two years older, not to mention her sister's boyfriend's brother. She has no chance with him. She's not sure she wants one – but she's not sure she doesn't either.
"So, you up for playing more video games soon? You weren't that bad." Adam says. Maya looks at him like he's crazy and he laughs. "Okay, you weren't as bad as me when I first played the game."
"Wow, you must have sucked." Maya says, joking, getting him to laugh again.
"Drew wanted to ban me from the game, because I kept getting him killed." He replies, laughter still in his eyes. Maya giggles at his comment and he smiles at her. "So, are you up for it? I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get Drew and Katie to hang out again."
She nods, a smile still on her face. "Yeah, sure. It'll be fun." The bell rings and she makes a face. "Great, I'm late to biology. Again. I'll see you around, Adam." She states, before hurrying off to her class, her mind still on the boy she ran away from.
XX
They have a weird friendship, her and Adam. They hang out whenever Drew and Katie are together and they're with them, but they don't really talk outside of that. Maya's beginning to wonder if all Adam sees her as is a distraction from Drew and Katie. She can't help but feel a little bit of disappointment at the thought. Adam seems like a really cool guy. But at the same time, why would a Junior want to hang out with a Niner like her? It doesn't add up in her head. So, she pushes it out of her mind.
She's studying in the hallway with a few other kids during study hall, when she hears someone walk up and sit next to her. She looks over to see Adam. He glances up and sees her looking at him and he gives her a quick smile and says, "Hey, is it okay if I sit here?"
She nods. "Yeah, sure, we're friends, right?" She says this as a fact, but also a test. To see if Adam really thinks of her as something -anything- outside of Katie's Little Sister Who Plays Video Games. Adam nods, questioningly.
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess we are." He replies, before looking back down at his text book. Maya looks at him for a few more seconds before looking back at her own study material, not completely sure why she's so glad Adam likes her enough to be her friend. She just knows she is.
XX
She breaks down and calls Tori a few days later. She doesn't want to talk to Katie about Adam, because she's afraid the girl would tell Drew, and Drew would tell Adam. She thinks it's best to leave Katie out of this. Besides, Tori seems to know a lot about romance and boyfriends, stuff that Maya doesn't have a lot of experience with. So, she calls Tori.
"Aw, you have a crush on Adam, that's so cute!" Tori squeals after Maya tells her the story. Maya rolls her eyes at Tori's eagerness. She doesn't want the conversation to go like this. She wants advice. She wants advice on not to become all about the crush she has on him, like some girls she's seen.
"Well, do you know him? Does he seem nice?" She asks, biting her bottom lip.
"Oh, yeah, Adam's great." She replies quickly. It makes her think that if she told Tori she had a crush on even on the Devil himself, Tori would say he was great, just as long as it kept Maya from liking Zig. "But you, um, know he's trans, right?"
"Oh, yeah." Maya responds. It was one of the first things Katie told her about Adam after she met him last year. Maya doesn't care, though. Adam's a guy. Maybe not physically, but he's still a guy. It doesn't freak her out at all.
"Well, I say go for it. Adam would make a GREAT bf." She says. Maya can practically hear the smile. "Hey, I gotta go, May. Tris is calling my other line. I'll see you tomorrow, though, okay? Bye!"
Maya puts her phone down and thinks about what Tori says. Maybe she should tell Adam. There's no harm in telling him, right? At least then he'll know how she feels, and she'll know if he feels the same. She decides she's going to tell him.
XX
A few days later, Maya sits on the bleachers at the football game that Tori begged her to go to. Tristan is next to her, and they watch as the Power Squad performs their routine, cheering for both Tori and Zig (who is the mascot) as they finish. Once the game starts again, Maya excuses herself and goes to the concession stand. She's shocked when she sees Adam standing behind the counter.
"Adam?" She says, surprised. Adam looks at her and smiles.
"Maya, hey, what can I get for you?" He asks, nothing but friendliness in his voice. She looks at the menu and orders a hot dog and Reese's. Adam gets them for her and she pays him the two dollars. "Hey, my shift's over in like five minutes, if you want to hang out." He says.
Maya nods, a little hesitantly. "Okay. Sounds fun. I'm sitting next to Tristan in the bleachers." She replies, before walking back to her seat.
He shows up a few minutes later. Tristan smiles at the older boy when he sits next to Maya and Adam gives him a friendly smile. Maya wonders how they know each other, but doesn't ask. As they watch the game, Maya can't help but feel a little jittery. She wants to tell Adam how she feels, but she doesn't know how. Tristan leaves a few minutes later to go get a snack and Adam turns to look at her.
"How did Tori convince you to come here? You don't seem like a football person." He asks. Maya shrugs and he grins. "Oh, well, I'm glad you did. You're fun to hang out with."
"Yeah, so are you." She replies, and he looks back at the game. She sighs and does as well. She's missed her chance. The Panthers win and everyone in the crowd celebrates. Adam even hugs Maya in his excitement. Maya hugs him back, happily, and looks at him when they pull away.
After a few more minutes of celebrating, Maya tells her friends she's going to go. Adam waves goodbye to her and she begins walking. She makes it to the parking lot before she hears footsteps running to catch up with her. She turns around to see the younger Torres brother.
"Hey, can I walk you home?" He asks. Maya nods happily. They talk as they walk, and everything seems great. When they get to her door step, Adam leans over and kisses her cheek. She blushes, and she's sure she can see it on her face when he pulls away. "Sorry," He says, "I've just wanted to do that for awhile."
"Don't apologize. It's okay." She says, and hesitantly leans over and kisses his lips. The kiss ends as suddenly as it began and she looks at him, wide-eyed. She can't believe she did that – even if he kind of admitted he might like her.
Adam's face broke into a huge smile. "So you like me back?" He asks, sounding happier than Maya's ever heard him. She nods slowly.
"Yeah, I guess I do." She replies, her own face breaking out into a smile. She can't help it.
Adam pulls her into a tight hug and she hugs back, content. Before they completely pull away, Adam leans over and kisses her cheek again. She smiles at him. "Bye, Maya, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He asks. She nods and watches until she can't see him anymore, the smile still on her face.
No, her and Adam aren't technically "together," but they aren't not together, either. And she knows that there are going to be way more things to get over, but she doesn't care. All she really knows is she likes the Torres boy a lot. That, and she really can't wait for tomorrow, so she can see him again.
Fin.
I know this is bad. This was going to go in a completely different direction, but this is what came out. I'm sorry for the evident OOC-ness, I'll work on it, I promise. I have more ideas for Adam and Maya (who I actually really like together, since I kind of like Zig&Tori now), but it depends on if you guys want to see more of them.
I'm really sorry if this sucked, but I just had to get it out there. I feel like this could've been executed way better, but oh well. I hope you guys like it. Oh, and I'm really excited for Degrassi's return. I think it's going to be a really good season. I hope there are a few Adam&Maya scenes (I mean, their siblings are dating [or were] – shouldn't they know each other from that?)
Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, if I did, Adam and Maya would have way more storylines, and at least a little interaction.