Song: A Drop In The Ocean By Ron Pope
"A drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather,
I was praying that you and me might end up together,
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven."
Maya bites her lip as Riley gets into the bed next to her. The brunette turns towards Maya and smiles. The blonde tries to force a smile, and Riley seems to buy it. The girl sighs and snuggles into Maya. Her breath ghosts on Maya's neck, and the girl feels tears well up in her eyes. She wasn't going to have this for much longer. Soon, Riley would be out of her grasp.
She snakes her arms around the brunette, holding her tight. Maya is going to miss this. Feeling a tear leak down her face, Maya studies the sleeping brunette's face. The blonde tries to memorize each feature on her face. She doesn't get any sleep that night.
"I don't wanna waste the weekend,
If you don't love me pretend,
A few more hours then it's time to go."
"Hey, Riles, what do you want to do today?" Maya asks as they exit school.
Riley shrugs, "We could just sit around and watch TV."
Maya frowns a little, wanting to do something with Riley she can remember forever. Riley raises an eyebrow at her expectantly for her input. The blonde puts on her signature smirk and links arms with Riley.
"That sounds... Fine. Come on, let's head over to your house. We can even build a pillow fort," Maya suggests with a grin.
Riley squeals and gives the blonde a big hug, "Pillow forts are the best! Thanks, Maya! You are the best! I promise next time we can do whatever you want!"
Maya bites her lip and forces a smile. There wouldn't be another next time. Her time with Riley was almost up. She just wanted the last moments with the girl to be happy.
"As my train rolls down the east coast I wonder how you keep warm,
It's too late to cry,
Too broken to move on."
Maya stares at the brunette curled up on the bed. She gathers up her bag and puts on her shoes. All her belongings together, the blonde heads over to Riley's bed. She smiles sadly seeing the brunette smiling and hugging the pillow she thought was Maya tightly.
The blonde leans down and gives Riley a kiss on the forehead. With that, Maya heads over to the bay window and opens it up. She takes one last glance at Riley and places the note she had written on Riley's bay window seat. A tear rolls down her face as Maya turns away from her best friend. She slips out into the night, knowing this is the last time she will ever see this apartment or the family inside of it.
"Goodbye, Riley. Thank you..." Maya whispers, shutting the bay window.
She runs out into the night, heading to the train station. The blonde furiously wipes her eyes, stopping the tears from trailing down her face. No, it was too late. There is no turning back.
With a deep breath, Maya steps onto the train. She finds her seat and stares out the window. She needed to move on, have a fresh start, but Riley won't leave her mind. The blonde presses her forehead against the cool glass, hugging her jacket closer to herself.
"And still I can't let you be,
Most nights I hardly sleep,
Don't take what you don't need from me."
Maya stirs restlessly on her bed, her dreams plaguing her with memories of Riley. She opens her eyes, not able to sleep seeing the smiling brunette. The blonde bites her lip, holding the tears threatening to leak out at bay. She missed Riley. Oh, she missed her so badly.
The blonde walks over to the balcony and stands in the cool air, glad for the fresh air. She leans against the railing, looking at the moon and the glittering stars. Maya slumps in defeat as the memory of Riley teaching her about the constellations comes back.
"You always are there, even when we are hours away..." Maya whispers.
The dam finally breaks, and Maya lets her sobs wrack her body as the night slowly turns to a light gray.
"It's just a drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather,
I was praying that you and me might end up together,
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven."
Seventeen year old Maya stands on the busy streets of the city, spray paint cans and pieces of paper surrounding her. The blonde had a backwards baseball hat on with a black tank top and baggy jeans. Her face had streaks of spray paint on it, and her hair was in a messy ponytail, small amounts of paint evident in it.
"Spray paintings only ten dollars!" Maya calls into the busy street.
"Maya?" a voice calls.
The blonde freezes, recognizing that voice anywhere. She bites her lip and begins to pack up her spray paints into her large bag. She stuffs all of her items into her bag and begins to walk briskly away from the voice.
The voice calls out again, "Maya!"
Maya begins to run, her bag making it difficult to move fast. She hears footsteps growing closer, and the blonde begins to panic. She turns down one of the alley ways, but her heart leaps into her throat when she reaches a dead end. The footsteps grow even nearer as she scrambles to find any means of escape.
The footsteps finally stop, and Maya turns around to face the brick wall. She feels a hand on her shoulder, and Maya is slowly turned around to face the voice that haunts her dreams. Riley had found her.
Her breath catches in her throat as she sees how mature her old friend looks. She decides not to look at the brunette any longer in fear of cracking into an emotional mess. Instead, Maya stares at the ground, her eyes on her old, stained converse.
"Where were you?" Riley whispers.
Maya doesn't answer, but her heart aches from the pain in Riley's voice. She feels Riley shake her shoulders, demanding an answer. As Maya continues to stay silent, the brunette begins to yell about how painful it was to see that her best friend had just left without even saying goodbye, and all that she got was a tiny note. She yelled about how she began to get bullied from Maya's absence, and that Lucas and Farkle were the only ones there for her through it all.
"I know," Maya says quietly.
Riley glares at her old friend, tears in her eyes, "I should hate you."
Maya nods, "I know."
"Why can't I hate you?" Riley whispers in frustration.
The blonde looks at the ground, "You should. I abandoned you, Riley."
Maya feels a tear trail down her face. Riley's anger crumbles, seeing her old friend's pain. She wraps her arms around Maya, hugging her tightly.
"You're still my best friend," Riley whispers.
Maya grips her tightly, "You're still mine, too."
Everything seemed right with the world again. Maya missed Riley's warm embrace. She missed her sunny smile. The blonde simply missed Riley. And it killed her that she had to leave again.
"Misplaced trust in old friends,
Never counting regrets,
By the grace of God I do not rest at all."
"Why did you bring us here, Maya? It's, like, midnight," Farkle mumbles sleepily.
"I'm leaving," fourteen year old Maya chokes out.
They gasp in shock and begin to ask questions. Maya hushes them quickly and then explains how she doesn't want Riley to know until she is gone. The two friends look at her quietly. Farkle looks out at night sky, deep in thought. Finally, Lucas takes a step forward, his back straightened and an icy glare pointed at Maya.
"Get out of here," Lucas hisses out quietly.
The blonde looks at him, pleadingly, "Lucas..."
"I don't care about your explanation, Maya. You are abandoning us. You are leaving your own friends, Maya. How can you even live with yourself?" Lucas lashes out angrily.
Maya winces at his words, "Don't say that."
Farkle bites his lip, "Maya... You are abandoning us. Can't you tell us why?"
"I... I can't, Farkle..." Maya says, the tears coming back.
Farkle looks at the ground, "Maybe you should leave, Maya."
Maya looks at them pleadingly, "Guys, please... I need someone to take care of Riley."
Lucas deflates a little, "Go, Maya. We will take care of Riley, but I don't know if I can trust you again after this. I swear, you better have a good reason. Go, before I change my mind..."
The blonde turns around, running out of the alleyway, tears trailing down her face. She had hurt two of her closest friends. Maya had hurt them more than she thought. She feels her chest tighten, regret consuming her as the girl flees to her apartment. She only had one day left until this would all be haunting memories. Until she left Riley.
"And New England as the leaves change,
The last excuse that I'll claim,
I was a boy who loved a woman like a little girl."
Eighteen year old Maya sighs, hugging her knees to her chest as she looks outside her dorm window. She did it. The blonde had gone to the college she had been dreaming of: Suffolk University.
None of that seemed to matter, though. Maya's heart was aching, and she had become a complete shut-in besides shopping and classes. She had made excuses for herself, saying that she had given Riley all she could. That she was a bad influence. Riley didn't need her.
The worst part was all of that was true. Maya was the one who needed Riley. Riley was the one who kept Maya out of trouble. Her heart constricts as she remembers the brunette's smiling face. She buries her head in her hands, the tears not stopping.
"And still I can't let you be,
Most nights I hardly sleep,
Don't take what you don't need from me."
Maya takes a deep breath, getting off the plane. She had graduated from Suffolk and didn't have the money to stay in New England. She grabs her luggage and begins the trek outside, hoping to find a taxi. She shudders, remembering the last time she had been in New York.
Somehow, Riley had found her, and she had trapped the blonde in an alleyway. She had screamed, cried, and hugged the blonde tightly as Maya just stood there in her own misery.
That day had haunted Maya for months and years. The twenty one year old shakes the thoughts from her head and waves at a taxi. She tells them the address, and they drive her to the apartment complex. Maya thanks the driver, handing them a twenty dollar bill. The driver nods in appreciation, and just like that, they drive off.
Maya lifts up her luggage and heads into her old apartment complex. She walks up the stairs to her mom's apartment, knocking on the door lightly. She hears the door click, and then it opens up to show Maya's mom, Katy.
"Maya!" Katy gasps, hugging her daughter tightly.
Maya smiles, "Mom."
She wraps her arms tightly around her mother, missing the embrace. Maya feels her heart warm a little, but the weight of abandonment still weighs heavily on it. The blonde grins and walks inside, placing her bags by the entrance.
The blonde yawns, tired from the late flight. Maya's mom shoos Maya to bed, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Maya gratefully falls into her old bed, loving the feeling of the lumpy mattress that was so familiar. With a sigh, Maya closes her eyes.
For a moment, she thinks she will actually be able to sleep until she remembers Riley's heartbroken face. Her eyes open, and the girl hugs her knees, sighing in defeat. No matter where the blonde went, regret would always find her. She feels another tear leak down her face. Maya knows she deserves this.
"It's just a drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather,
I was praying that you and me might end up together,
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my..."
Riley hears a knock on her apartment's door. She yells out to the person to hang on for a moment before quickly tying her hair up into a bun. She walks over to the door, almost tripping over the couch. The brunette opens up the door, a greeting on her tongue.
"Can I-" Riley starts, but the greeting completely leaves her mind as she sees the girl behind the door. "Maya?!"
The blonde looks up at Riley awkwardly, "Hey, Riles..."
Riley grins and gathers the blonde up in her arms, hugging her tightly. Maya stiffens for a moment before hugging the brunette tightly. She sighs and buries her head in the crook of Riley's neck. The blonde smiles.
"I missed you, my little plant," Maya whispers.
Riley smiles, "I missed you, too."
"Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore,
No, no,
Heaven doesn't seem far away,
Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore,
No, no,
Heaven doesn't seem far away,
Oh, oh."
"I love you, Maya," Riley whispers, her eyes fighting to stay open.
Maya smiles and kisses the brunette on the forehead softly, "I love you, too, Riles."
They close their eyes, both finding sleep easily for the first time in years. Maya smiles in her sleep, her hand intertwined with Riley's. Finally, she was back together with Riley. She squeezes Riley's hand a little to make sure she isn't dreaming. If she is, Maya hopes that she never wakes up.
"It's just a drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather,
I was praying that you and me might end up together,
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven,
You are my heaven."
A/N: So I decided that I wanted to do a story that was based on your prompts. Also, one-shots and drabbles. So leave your suggestions in the reviews, and I will try and get to them as soon as possible. Warning: these might be short or they might be long. It really depends.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a follow/favorite and leave a suggestion for the next one-shot in this story! You can even asks for a continuation of a one-shot :P Thanks! Stay awesome! Bye!
~rsbaird