A/N: Hey guys. I decided to write another story. I completed one and I am now doing two simultaneously. Everything you need to know is in the first chapter, but basically Maya and Riley are 18, Lucas is freshman in NYU who just moved from Texas and those are the only major changes. I hope you like it and if you do follow, comment, I would love to hear your thoughts, so let's get started.
„Love sucks. " Young Riley Matthews thought as she laid in her bad with a broken heart. She wasn't used to feeling like this. She loved love. She loved romance. She wanted to spend every day of her life holding his hand and playing with his hair. But he broke her heart.
She remembered the first time they said they loved each other.
They were in an ice skating ring that winter. Charlie held her hand and made sure she didn't fell.
"I'm scared." – Riley said with a laugh.
"I got you. I won't let anything bad happen to you." Charlie told her as he laughed too.
They went around the rink in circles. She always loved skating at Rockefeller Center around Christmas. She just wished she was better at it. But Charlie never let go of her hand. He held her tightly and his warm smile made her feel like there is nothing she couldn't do. She felt confident and so she sped up, still holding onto his hand. Charlie followed her lead. Riley was having so much fun. Maybe the most fun she had in a while. She already pictured them twirling on the ice together. She saw herself doing pirouettes and jumps all around the ice when she suddenly lost her balance and fell down with Charlie's hand still in hers. He fell on top of her. Riley felt embarrassed. Her cheeks already started to blush with color of shame. But Charlie just laughed it off.
"I love you." – He said. As soon as he realized what he said he stopped laughing.
"I can't believe I just said that. We've only been together for a couple of months. I know it's too soon. I…"
"I love you too." Riley interrupted his rambling.
"You do?" Charlie asked bewildered.
Riley chuckled. "Of course. You are perfect."
Charlie got closer to her and pressed his lips onto hers.
Tears streamed down Riley's face as she remembered the way he tasted. That jerk.
A soft knock on her window brought her back from the memory lane. Riley didn't turn around because she already knew who it was. She heard her window being slid open and her best friend entered her room the same way she always did. Maya laid under the covers next to her best friend and asked how she was doing.
Riley shrugged her shoulders in response.
"Come on Riles. You've been at it for three days. He's just a boy. And he is not worth all of this." Maya tried to get her friend out of the bed.
"It hurts Maya. It hurts so bad." Riley cried out to her best friend since birth. "What if he's the only guy I'll ever like? I'll never find love like this again."
"Good." Maya let slip out. She never liked Charlie. And she never hid that from Riley.
"You don't understand. You've never been in love."
"I don't need to be in love to know that guy wasn't right for you. And you are only eighteen. You'll fall in love again. And again and again. Your parents aren't the rule. They're the exception. They are just a painful reminder for the rest of us unlucky bastards." Maya told her friend.
Riley groaned in disagreement.
"I am going to the kitchen to get something to eat and when I come back, you are getting out of this bed." Maya jumped out of the bed, desperately needing a break from the pity party Riley threw herself.
In the Matthew's kitchen, Cory and Topanga were sitting at the table. Cory was grading some papers and Topanga was working on her case. They got used to Maya sneaking in through Riley's window so it didn't even faze them when she just walked in to the kitchen from their daughter's room.
"We do have a door, you know." – Cory said to her, not even lifting his head from the papers. More out of habit than anything else, knowing very well that nothing would change.
"Where's the fun in that?" – Maya teased. She opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the cheesecake out of it.
"How is she doing?" – Topanga asked in a voice of a worried mother.
"Same as yesterday." – It pained Maya to say. – "But I am getting her out of that bed, whether it's the last thing I do." She vowed.
"I just wish she'd talk to us." – Cory said. – "We don't even know why they broke up."
"She told you, right?" Topanga asked her. "Please tell us Maya."
Maya loved Cory and Topanga like they were her own parents. They practically raised her. They babysat her every day after school up until she was old enough to stay home alone, because her mother worked so much. And even after that, she would always come over after school. Even now as they were almost out of high school.
"I can't." Maya said in an apologetic voice. "She'll tell you when she's ready. Just be patient."
"She is our daughter." Topanga stated.
"We can't let her stay in that bed forever." Cory stepped in.
"We have to intervene." Topanga finished.
It was weird to Maya how two people can act as one, like these two did. Especially since that is nothing like the example she had at home.
"Just give me until the morning." Maya pleaded. "And then you can take over."
Cory and Topanga shared a silent look. Topanga nodded at Cory and then he looked at Maya and said: "You have until morning."
Maya was about to thank them and head back to Riley's room when the front door opened loudly and Josh Matthews walked into the apartment.
"Hey family." His voice echoed the room. Maya's knees buckled at the sound of his voice.
"Hey, Maya." He smiled at her and it send a shiver down her whole body.
She thought she was over that stupid crush. She hadn't seen him in a while and he still looked incredible. Maya imagined him walking over to her and kissing her against a wall. She quickly snapped out of it.
"Hey." She smiled at him.
She liked him for the past two years. No one knew about it. Not even Riley. She knew she didn't have any shot with him so she completely blocked that idea from her brain. But sometimes when she laid in her bed at night, and she didn't have to hide it from the world, she wondered how he tasted and if his hair smelled different up close and she thought about how her body would fit with his and she couldn't help but smile.
"I haven't seen you in a while." Josh said friendly. "How you've been?"
"Fine." Maya answered. "I'm always fine. See you Josh." She rushed back in to Riley's room, leaving a confused Josh.
"Did I do something? She seems like she is avoiding me."
"Teenagers. You can never read them." Cory said, even though he had a pretty good idea as to why Maya was acting the way she was.
XXXXXX
Maya wanted to get her friend out of her bad mood, that much was true. But she was also sick of having feelings for Josh, so now it was also personal. She needed a break as much as Riley did.
She put the cheesecake on the table and ripped the covers off of Riley. Riley picked up her head slightly so she can look her friend in the eye but still remained in the fetal position.
"Listen to me carefully. I know how you feel. You feel broken now. It hurts and you feel broken. And it's fine. You get to feel broken. But you need to know you are not. He is not what kept you whole. You are. And he did not break you. You are the only one that can break you." Maya said all in one breathe. "So get up and get dressed. We are going out and we are drinking and making out with boys. Because we are not victims. They did not break us."
Riley felt fired up from the speech. She stood on top of her bed and yelled: "I am not broken!" at the top of her lungs.
Maya joined her on top of the bed. "We are not broken!" They chanted together. And jumped on the bed holding each other's hand.
"You said us." Riley stopped jumping.
"What?" Maya didn't understand.
"You said they did not break us. Who broke you?" Riley wondered.
"No one." Maya quickly responded. "It's just a figure of speech. I said it so you know you're not alone."
Riley bought it.
"Let's get dressed." Maya changed the subject.
XXXXXX
They walked out in to the living room. Cory was playing cards with Auggy and Josh and Topanga were in the kitchen making dinner. Maya and Riley walked out hand in hand, both with full make up on and hear done. Maya was in a black strapless knee-length dress that was wider from the waist down and red stilettoes. Her hair was tied in a braid that started on the side of her head and circled all the way to the other side. Riley wore a low cut navy blue shirt and black skinny jeans that went perfectly with her knee length high heel boots. Her wavy hair was pinned half up. Everyone turned to look at them. Josh dropped a plate and it smashed into a hundred pieces. Cory couldn't believe that Riley was out of her bed.
"We are going out." Maya declared.
"Because we are not broken." Riley added.
"Not dressed like that you aren't." Cory said.
Topanga gave him a serious look. "Our daughter is going out Cory. For the first time in three days. Don't blow it."
"Fine." Cory gave in. "But I don't like it."
XXXXXX
It was Saturday night so girls had a lot of options to where they wanted to go out. Maya heard of a great pub from a friend and she waited for a chance to try it out. So she took Riley there. As soon as the cab dropped them off and they were about to walk in Riley had second thought.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe we should just go back to my house and watch a movie or something." She offered as a plan b. But Maya wasn't budging.
"Not a chance. We are staying." She looked at her friend. Riley looked like she was about to be sick.
"How about we stay for one drink. And if you still want to go home after that we will." Maya offered. Riley smiled.
"But you have to try to have fun." Maya ordered. Riley nodded in agreement. They entered the pub and sat at the bar. The bend was playing a fast song and a lot of people were dancing.
Girls ordered two cocktails. Maya turned around to check out if there were any cute guys around them. She noticed two guys who talked to each other intensely, like they haven't seen each other in a long time. Maya thought they were cute and the tall one looked like Riley's type.
Maya turned to face Riley with a devilish smile on her face. Riley immediately knew what Maya was thinking.
"No. I am not walking up to any guys." She was determined.
"We don't live in the fifties Riles. There are no rules anymore. You can't wait for a guy to come to you. You have to go to them. Give them a little push." Maya explained.
"I am all about the empowerment, but there is no way I can walk up to a guy and flirt."
"Fine. I'll make it happen. You just don't blow it." Maya said and without any further explanation she got up and walked to the two handsome guys she previously spotted. She leaned on their table and smiled at the shorter one.
"You look like you want me to buy you a drink." She said without even flinching.
"You know me so well." The hansom stranger answered.
"Don't you dare leave me alone, Zay." His friend said.
"Zay? I'm Maya." She introduced herself.
"And I am blessed." He said back.
She turned to his friend. "My friend Riley over at the bar could use some company."
"I…" The handsome guy started to say but Zay interrupted him: "She could use some company, man."
Zay and Maya walked to the bar laughing.
XXXXXX
Riley regretted coming out. She got lost in the moment of Maya's speech and she thought that just maybe this would be good for her. But instead it just made her think about Charlie more. She watched her best friend as she fearlessly walked over to the guy that caught her eye. Riley wished that she had just a little amount of Maya in her. She wished she could walk through life knowing that she is stronger than the worst thing that can happen to her. But instead she couldn't even handle a high school break up. How pathetic was that? She took another sip of her mystery cocktail and looked at the bartender. She considered ordering another one.
"Riley is it?" A voice behind her scared her. She turned around to meet the eye of one of the best looking guys she ever saw outside of her TV. For a second she completely forgot her name but she nodded anyways because she didn't see how anyone could say no to that face. He sat down beside her.
"Hi. I am Lucas." He offered her his hand.
Riley shook it. "I am Riley. But you already knew that." She added quickly. Lucas smiled.
"Your friend is with my friend." He pointed to Maya and Zay who sat at the other end of the bar.
"I noticed." Riley said awkwardly. Her eyes landed on her knees.
"I hope I am not bothering you. I don't want you to think I am hitting on you." Lucas tried to make her feel more comfortable. But he also didn't want to offend her. "Not that I wouldn't hit on you. You are gorgeous. Very beautiful. And I did not notice it in a creepy way. I just mean in a rational way. I mean I have eyes. And I can notice a beautiful woman. Or a man. Not that I am into men. But there is nothing wrong if other men are. And I am sure you are more than just a pretty face but I don't know you so I…"
Riley laughed at his babbling. It was the first thing that really made her smile since her break up. She put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. "It's okay. I understand."
"Sorry. I am usually better that this. I am just new to the city. And I don't know anyone here but Zay. I never talk this much." He smiled apologetically.
"I don't mind. I kind of like it. Usually I am the one rambling all the time." They both laughed.
"How about we order another drink and you tell me where you're from." Riley offered, surprising herself with how calm she was.
"I am buying." Lucas agreed.
XXXXXX
"I've never been to Texas. " Riley said as they both put down their second empty shot glass.
"It's so beautiful. I loved growing up there. I used to have all these horses and I'd ride them with my friends and I used to be in all these rodeos and it feels so weird to be so far away from all of that."
"I don't think I could do it." Riley said. "I am so used to my life here, I could never just drop everything and leave."
"Well you'll go to college next year too, so you'll probably have to."
"Not if I go to NYU." Riley found a necessary loophole.
"So we might be going to the same college next year." Lucas concluded cheerfully.
"And you'll be a sophomore by then and you can show me around the campus." Riley said equally ecstatic.
"I'll drink to that." He ordered another round.
XXXXXX
"How can you even say that to me?" Lucas said as they both put down their forth empty shot glass.
"How can you claim that the Godfather is a better movie than Pulp fiction?" Riley said annoyed.
"Not the Godfather, the Godfather part 2. But yes the Godfather as well." Lucas wasn't backing down.
"Pulp fiction is Tarantino at his best. The dialog in that movie is some of the best ever written and the way he goes from one storyline to another, only to tie them at the end…brilliant." Riley argued.
"The Godfather is an institution. The story is captivating and the acting is impeccable. And the sequel is the only Hollywood sequel success story. That just gives it extra points."
"And the third one?" She questioned.
"We don't talk about that one."
XXXXXX
"My last girlfriend broke up with me because I moved to New York. Can you imagine? Just because she was happy with a small town life means I have to be too?" Lucas said as they both put down their sixth empty shot glass.
"I just broke up with my boyfriend." Riley shared her love wounds too.
"What did he do?" Lucas asked.
"What makes you think it wasn't me?" Riley asked.
"You are the one getting drunk with me here and not him."
"I am not getting drunk. You are just getting blurry." Riley responded. Lucas laughed a little too loud.
"So what did he do?" Lucas asked again.
"He wanted me to sleep with him and when I refused he threatened to break up with me so I broke up with him first." Riley opened up to him. She didn't even tell that to her parents.
"Riley Matthews." Lucas said impressed. "You are a badass."
Riley chuckled. "Please."
"No I mean it. He was a jerk for pressuring you when you weren't ready. And you showed him he can't treat you like his doll. You are a badass." Lucas said again.
"I am a badass." Riley agreed. "Cheers to that."
XXXXXX
"I love alcohol." Riley said as they both put down their eight empty shot glass.
Lucas laughed. "Okay. I think we had enough. "
"Not yet. Come on. Tell me something else about you." Riley pleaded.
"What do you want to know?" Lucas played along.
Riley stopped to think for a while. Then her face beamed with realization. "I want to know about your first time."
Lucas smiled but he didn't feel uncomfortable. "You are dirty when you are drunk." He teased.
"Just answer the question." Riley was drunk enough to not feel ashamed.
Lucas stopped for a second but then he decided to answer honestly. "I was 17. I was dating this girl and we were together for like a year and then she broke up with me and I was really upset about it so I went to this party one of my friend was throwing and I got really drunk. And there was this girl and we were both sad and we were both drunk and we hooked up. It wasn't romantic, it wasn't incredible. I found out her name the next morning and I wasn't really proud of myself."
"Kind of like what I am doing right now." Riley said.
"Not like what you are doing. I would never let that happen." They were both honest with each other the whole night. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the strange connection they felt with each other or maybe it was a little bit of both. They didn't care. They both just enjoyed it.
"What are you thinking about right now?" Lucas asked her and mimicked her position as she held her head in a palm of the arm that she rested on the bar.
"I am debating whether I should kiss you or not?" Riley said without any hesitation.
"What are the pros and cons?" He asked amused.
"Well, if I do I am probably never going to see you again because we are both very drunk and it's debatable whether one or both of us would even remember it and I did just break up with someone and you might just be a rebound but if I don't I will probable regret it for the rest of my life."
"Did anyone ever tell you think too much?"
XXXXXX
Maya and Zay sat at the bar making jokes and glancing over at their friends. They ordered another drink and flirted. Maya considered hooking up with him. She found him attractive and he clearly thought the same about her but something stopped her. She wanted more than a simple hook up. She wanted a spark, fireworks. And even though she liked Zay, she didn't feel that with him. Mostly because he wasn't Josh.
"How about another drink?" Zay offered.
"I'd love to, but at the rate Riley is going down there" Maya pointed her head in the direction of her friend, "it seems like I need to stay sober."
"You don't trust me to not take advantage of you?" Zay asked in a mock hurt voice. "I am horrified that you don't trust a complete stranger you just met to take you home safe."
Maya playfully kicked his arm.
"So who's your poison?" Zay asked her. He noticed Maya wasn't interesting in him in a romantic way.
"What do you mean?" Maya didn't understand.
"Everyone has that one person that screwed them over for good. You know that guy that is always running around your thoughts." Zay explained.
Maya smiled. "Who's your poison?" She asked.
"Vanessa." He answered and his eyes shifted from playful to sad.
"Wanna talk about it?" Maya offered.
"Do you wanna talk about yours?" Zay asked.
"No." Maya wasn't ready.
"Maybe in some other pub, on some other night." Zay suggested. Maya laughed and agreed. "I would love that."
She looked over to Riley and Lucas. Riley just stood up from her seat and put her both hands out to Lucas. He took them and followed her. It seems like they were heading to the girls bathroom.
Maya wondered if she should stop her friend or let her have fun.
XXXXXX
As soon as the door behind them closed, Lucas took two steps towards Riley, she tucked on his shirt and their lips met. It was unlike anything Riley ever experienced before. His touch send electric shots down her whole body. He grabbed her waist and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He sat her down next to the sink and kissed her neck. Riley's back arched with pleasure. Her hands were in his hair. His right hand roamed her thigh and a soft moan escaped her throat. His lips found hers again and Riley pulled him closer. In the haze of alcohol and broken hearts, he was the only thing she saw clearly. She inhaled his smell and memorized every nuke of his body. She wanted him to kiss her forever. But instead he let her go and took a step back.
"We should stop." He said.
"Yes. Definitely." Riley agreed. "We are both drunk."
"And I don't know if I can stop myself." He said honestly.
"And that would be bad." She said, but it sounded more like a question.
He looked at her and she was so beautiful.
"We should go back." She interrupted his thoughts.
"Definitely." He agreed. But neither one of them moved.
Riley jumped off of the sink and kissed him again. She pushed him back until his back was against the wall. He turned them around so that her back was against the wall. He pulled back again and placed his forehead on hers. Her fingers were on his cheeks. They were both breathing heavily.
"We really should go back." Lucas said.
"Definitely." Riley agreed. He smiled slightly and softly kissed her forehead.
XXXXXX
They walked out of the bathroom and straight to Maya and Zay.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Zay teased them.
"Hi, I'm Riley." She introduced herself to Zay.
"Zay. Pleasure." He said as he shook her hand.
"We should go." Riley said to Maya. "It's time."
Maya didn't question it or tried to make her stay. She got up and said her goodbyes to the boys.
"Are you sure you don't want us to take you home?" Lucas asked Riley for the fifth time.
"I am a badass, remember?" Riley reminded him. "I can take care of myself."
Lucas smiled. "I'll call you." He told her.
"You do have my number." She confirmed.
They looked at each other's eyes for a while. Riley didn't know if she really liked this guy or if she was just drunk and he was there. All she knows is she didn't think about Charlie once the whole night, except when they talked about their exes and even then it didn't hurt as much.
Maya interrupted their stare: "We should go."
Lucas's eyes didn't leave Riley until her silhouette left the pub completely. When they stepped into the chilly September night, Riley bent over and threw up on the pavement.
Maya rushed to her and held her hair.
"Good girl. I am proud at how long you lasted." She said as she rubbed her back with one hand and held her hair with the other.
Riley stood up straight. "Maya, I don't have any money left."
"You drank it all?" Maya said a little sharper than she wanted.
"I am sorry. It's a force of habit. He used to do it a lot." Maya apologized. Riley knew it was more about her dad than her.
"I don't have enough money for a cab." Maya said.
"We are not taking the subway this late." Riley put her foot down.
"What are we going to do then?" Maya asked her friend.
"There is only one person I am willing to let see me like this." Riley explained.
Maya knew who she meant.
"Crap." She thought.
XXXXXX
It took Josh twenty minutes to come and pick them up. Maya wished she picked a closer pub as she stood in the cold. Riley threw up one more time until he arrived.
Josh parked in front of them with a devilish smile that his lips curled into.
"Don't say it." Maya warned him. Riley laid down in the back seat and Maya sat up front.
"I didn't say anything." He replied as Maya put her seatbelt on.
"But you were thinking it."
Josh put his hands up in the air in defense and then started the car.
"Is she okay?" He asked about Riley who already fell asleep in the back.
"She had a little too much to drink but she also had fun so I think she'll be just fine." Maya said and slipped into silence she hoped would last for the rest of the ride but Josh wouldn't let it.
"Did I do something?" He asked straight forward. He caught Maya off guard.
"You've been very cold towards me lately. We used to joke around and I thought we were friends and then you just shut me out."
"That's not true." Maya protested.
"Come on Maya. I am not blind." He said.
–That's debatable. – She thought.
"I am not avoiding you if that's what you are implying and we were never friends, we just knew each other for a long time. It's not the same. " She said to him.
"We used to talk a lot. You told me stuff. I told you stuff. That's what friends do." Josh told her.
He was right and that was part of the problem. When they were younger they talked all the time but when Maya started to like him, it became so much harder to be just friends. Especially when they talked about each other's crushes. It killed Maya to hear him talk about some other girl in that way, so when she finally stepped back he made it easier for her with his busy schedule.
"You had a lot of preparations for the med school and I've been busy with school. Life got in the way. It happens." Maya justified herself.
"That is such a bed excuse."
"It is not an excuse."
"It so is. Life got in the way. That's bull." They reached the Matthew's home and the conversation ended.
They woke up Riley and helped her to her room. Maya was sleeping over. She wanted to crawl in the bed next to Riley and sleep for days but Josh gently put his hand on her wrist and pointed his head in the direction of the hall. Maya followed him out of the room.
"What?" Sleepy Maya asked.
"I know we grew apart and I know it's my fault as much as it is yours but I really miss my friend and I want her back. Let's just stay up all night and talk."
Maya felt cornered. What could she do? Admit her feelings to him right there or just say no? How could she explain that without having to explain why she didn't want to talk to him? She trembled at the sheer sight of him. How could she spent the whole night talking to him?
"Fine." She finally said. "Let's talk."