Hope this turned out alright, this is my first time writing these characters. I also couldn't think of a better title, so here we are! Sorry for any mistake I didn't catch. (Takes place during their junior or senior year of high school.)

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Lucas's fingers drum against the table top in front of him angrily, his eyes focused on Maya's back as she stands in line at the coffee shop they've been going to since Freshman Year. The four of them found it one night after seeing a movie–he thinks it was some Ryan Gosling film that Riley had been wanting to see, and the girls had dragged him and Farkle along with them. He only remembers this because it was a sad movie and when he heard sniffling coming from his right, he wrapped an arm around Maya only to find out later that it was actually Farkle crying–Anyway, a storm had broken out as they were walking home and they ended up camped out at the little shop for nearly three hours waiting for the storm to relent. It's a nice little place, quiet and empty most of the time they're here.

Since then, the four have been using the shop for study groups–Topanga's being far too distracting at times.

It was Maya's idea, strangely enough. Sure, Maya really turned a new leaf once they started high school, but studying was never something she really did. It confused him at first, but everything clicked one day their Sophomore Year.

She was doing it for them.

She made an effort to study for Art History with him–because she was acing the class while he was nearly failing for a few horrifying weeks. And she taught Farkle to play the violin for his music final even though he couldn't play an instrument to save his life. Not to mention she always keeps Riley on task.

This coffee shop is their place. For the four of them. Not anyone else. Especially not the guy standing in line talking to Maya as she grabs them all chili fries to share.

Lucas grits his teeth as the guy–Caleb, he thinks. It's Caleb from their Art History class who he always catches staring at Maya from across the room–places a hand on Maya's elbow and leans down to whisper in her ear.

"Lucas?" His gaze snaps to Farkle, who's watching him carefully, concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?" Farkle asks him. Lucas blinks, confused until he realizes he's been staring–glaring–in Maya's direction. Not at her of course, but Farkle doesn't know that. He's about to change the subject by asking where Riley went, but quickly remembers that she couldn't make it today.

It's just him and Farkle and Maya.

And Caleb.

Great.

"I'm fine, Farkle." He sends his friend a strained smile, gaze drifting passed him as Maya laughs, her head tossed back and eyes bright. His heart squeezes in his chest, but he shoves the bitter feeling down. Maya can talk to whoever she wants, he's not the boss of her. Besides, she would kick his ass if she knew he was sour over her talking to another guy. Hell, he should kick his own ass for acting like a jealous boyfriend.

The other male looks at him in disbelief. "Are you sure? Because you've been staring at Maya with this weird look on your face for a while now."

Lucas frowns. "I wasn't looking at Maya weird. I'm just wondering why the line is so long today," he bluffs. Technically, he wasn't looking at Maya weird. He was looking at Maya and Caleb weird.

There's a difference.

Farkle shakes his head, a slight smile on his face. "I wasn't talking about today," he murmurs.

"Hmm?" Lucas turns back to Farkle, clearly having missed the question. Farkle waves him off with a shake of the head, turning back to the History textbook in front of him. Lucas quirks a brow, but something stops him from replying.

Maya giggles. Maya will-punch-you-in-the-face-if-you-say-the-wrong-thing Hartgiggles. It sounds happy and airy and it's what he thinks sunshine would sound like if it had a noise. On one hand he's shocked–completely stunned by the soft sound–because Maya never giggles, least of all around strangers, but on the other hand something warm floods through him, bubbling in his chest and creeping onto his face. Oh, and he knows exactly what it is. He's liked Maya for a long time now, he just hasn't worked up the nerve to tell her yet.

And that's a huge problem in itself, because he's pretty sure the word "love" is practically written across his face whenever he sees her–which is a lot–and he's pretty sure people are beginning to notice–including Shawn and Cory, who take turns glaring at him whenever he talks to Maya.

Lucas's thought process is shattered as Maya's gaze slides to his and she smiles–not a smirk–a real, true smile.

His heart skips a beat.

She turns back to Caleb a second later, laughing at something he says, and places a hand on his shoulder, leaning closer to him.

Lucas looks away.

Clearing his throat, Lucas reaches into his book-bag, blindly grasping for a textbook to distract himself with, and practically slams it onto the table, startling Farkle, who peers at him over a Physics textbook.

Art History

He sneers, shoving the book to the side and running a hand over his face, gritting his teeth.

"What is wrong with you today?" Farkle asks, frowning at him.

Lucas sighs. "Nothing, it's just Monday."

Farkle's frown deepens. "It's Thursday." Lucas groans, cursing under his breath. A sly grin tugs at Farkle's lips "Does your bad attitude by any chance correlate with Maya–"

A tray of chili fries is dropped between the two boys unceremoniously, cutting Farkle off mid-sentence. Both boys startle, Farkle dropping his box and Lucas whipping around to face his blonde friend as she slides into the seat next to him, grinning at the two of them.

"Sorry it took so long. There was a line," Maya explains briefly, giving them a noncommittal shrug. Farkle reaches for the chili fries, but Maya slaps his hand away before he gets too close. "Farkle don't you dare eat all of them this time!"

"But they're so good!"

Lucas snorts, watching them argue–he uses "argue" loosely, as Farkle rarely argues with Maya, but Maya argues with everyone–over chili fries and Farkle always taking them when Maya is helping Lucas study.

Maya shoots him a look, but he pointedly ignores it.

"So, you were talking to Caleb," he says to her sourly, keeping his eyes on the fries.

Maya shrugs. "Yeah, he's a nice guy, funny too," she tells him. Lucas has to fight back an eye roll–because Lucas doesn't roll his eyes.

"He must be," he grumbles, "considering how much you were laughing."

Maya raises a brow at him, lips quirked up in a smile. "We were talking about you and what happened in Biology on Monday," Maya tells him, lips twitching as she recalls the memory.

Lucas groans, ducking his head in embarrassment. He doesn't even want tothink about what happened Monday. "Oh," he replies softly.

She smirks. "You jealous, Ranger Rick?" It's a joke, he can tell, but he takes the bait anyway.

"And what if I said I was?" he asks softly, turning to face her directly, his knee bumping hers under the table. Across from them, Farkle chokes on a fry in surprise, coughing.

Maya shakes her head slowly, her eyes almost sad. "Then I would say you're being silly," she says, sending him a little smile. "We were just talking and I'm not your girlfriend."

Lucas takes a deep breath, steeling himself. "And what if, hypothetically, I wanted to change that?" he asks, voice wavering slightly. The last thing he wants to do is send Maya running for the hills because she doesn't like him the same way.

Maya grins, leaning into him, lips brushing his ear. His heart lunges into his throat and he freezes, heart beating out of control. "Well, hypothetically, I would tell you to ask me out properly."