A/N: hey fam, I haven't posted on here in like three years. Um, I saw Halsey in November and had the idea for this oneshot, but never got around to publishing it. I'm procrastinating homework right now though, so better late than never. Obviously I don't own any characters/people/songs mentioned. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this lil guy and review :)
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"What do you want, Sundance?" Maya Hart asked when she saw one of her best friends, Lucas Friar, leaning against her locker.
"You don't have any plans tonight, do you?"
"You asking me on a date, Huckleberry?" She questioned with a smirk, brushing her blonde hair out of her face. Although she would never admit it, she kind of hoped that he was. She'd thought he was cute when they had met on the subway that fateful day in seventh grade, when they'd dated for all of ten seconds. After that, she'd handed him off to Riley. What she didn't know, however, is that he would end up at her school and she would've ended up falling hard for him. She had kept her feelings to herself, for both her and Riley's sake, for as long as she could. She knew Riles had liked him back then, too, and didn't want to hurt her. Despite their constant flirting, Maya was uncertain about whether or not Lucas felt the same way about her. After him and Riley had ended their unofficial relationship, and the brunette had started dating Charlie Gardner, things had been awkward between the pair. Neither had made a move despite the tension. Despite what had happened that night in Texas. Eventually things had gotten back into their normal flow, and Maya and Lucas were stuck in a never ending loop of almost kisses and relaxed flirting.
"Not exactly. I have something for you," he said, pulling two tickets out of his pocket. As soon as she saw them, she knew what they were.
"How?" She grinned, eyes wide. He had managed to score them Halsey tickets. The show she was playing was small, only five hundred people in an old movie theatre in the sketchier part of town, and it had sold out by the time the page had even loaded for Maya.
"I have my ways," he shrugged. "I'll pick you up at five? It's general admission."
"Sounds great," she smiled again as he turned to walk away. "Hey, Lucas?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
[LINE BREAK]
It was relatively cold that night, and Maya was suddenly wishing she had brought some sort of sweater, even though she really didn't want to have to hold it during the concert. She and Lucas had been standing in line for about an hour and doors were supposed to be opening soon. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, trying to preserve some body heat, as she pretended to listen to what Ranger Rick was saying. "Maya? Did you hear me?"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you were cold."
"Oh, um, nope," she lied, but her chattering teeth outed her.
"Here," he said, as he slipped out of his hoodie.
"I'm fine, Huckleberry," she shook her head. "You don't need to freeze, too."
"I think I'll be alright." He handed the sweater to her, and she made a show of rolling her eyes before pulling it on. She had no idea how the sweater could possibly have been that warm, how he possibly could have been so warm when it was so damn cold. It smelt like him, too. Like mint and laundry detergent. "Thanks," she mumbled, zipping the large sweatshirt over her small frame.
The next thing they knew, the line was moving and their tickets were being scanned for entrance. "Ready?" Lucas grinned, taking Maya's hand in his own.
"Hell yeah," she smiled back and they ran inside, ready to force their way to the front. A crowd had already gathered at the front of the stage. "Excuse us," Maya spoke, although she was awfully distracted by Ranger Rick's large hands on either side of her waist, helping her maneuver through the crowd. She stumbled slightly in her heeled boots, which admittedly weren't the best choice for the occasion.
"Woah there, Blonde Beauty. You good?" He asked as he caught her, arms wrapped firmly around her torso, holding her upright.
"Mmhmm," she mumbled, somewhat breathless. Whether it was from the fact that she had almost face planted in the middle of a crowd where she would've been trampled, or the fact that Lucas was holding on to her like his life depended on it, and it made her insides feel all mushy. She decided it was probably the first one, although the butterflies dancing in her stomach claimed otherwise.
The pair received a lot of dirty looks as they shoved their way up to the barrier, but they really didn't care. They were literally right in front of the stage and Lucas didn't think he'd ever seen Maya so happy. It made him happy knowing he was the one who had done that for her. His hands settled on either side of her on the barrier, their bodies practically flush. "The girl next to us is checking you out," Maya mumbled, leaning slightly into his chest.
"No she isn't," he rolled his eyes the same time the brunette beside him greeted him with a 'hey' and head nod. The blonde between his arms raised an eyebrow, smirking up at him, despite the pang of jealously in her stomach that she chose to ignore.
"Hey," he nodded back before frowning down at Maya.
"I'm Jessica," she continued, batting her eyes ever so slightly.
"Lucas."
"That's a nice name, Lucas, but want to know what's nicer? My phone number."
"Okay," Maya interjected with a snort. "I don't know if you can tell, but Sundance, here, very clearly has a girlfriend," she rolled her eyes gesturing to herself. It was Lucas' turn to raise an eyebrow, grinning down at the small girl.
"Getting possessive now, are we?" He grinned at her, his eyes teasing. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes once again, slipping her hand into his as Jessica scoffed and turned back around. "Thanks," he mumbled, leaning down to speak in her ear. His breath danced across her cheek.
"No problem," she nodded, trying not to think about the fact that his hand was still holding on to hers.
After that, the opening act, a band called Flor, came on. They all had long hair that they flipped around a lot. "Look at his man bun," Maya laughed, nodding towards the drummer, whose platinum blond hair was tied on the top of his head. Since the venue was so small, they had hardly any issues hearing each other, despite the band playing in front of them. "Thank you so much, New York! It was a dream playing for you all, have a goodnight," the singer with the curly hair and floral shirt spoke into the mic, and they all disappeared off the stage with one final wave. "Do you need water or anything?" Lucas asked, and the blonde shrugged. She was kind of thirsty, but there wasn't really much she could do about it, seeing as she nor the tall boy with her would be able to get back to the other.
"I'm okay," she decided, watching as the roadies set up the stage for Halsey. "I'm so excited," she grinned up at Lucas, facing him the best she could, not really having room to turn her body. "Thanks for doing this, Huckleberry."
"It's nothing. You know I want you to be happy, Maya." And she did know that. She could tell by the way he was looking into her eyes with so much intensity, and the way his gaze seemed to flicker to her lips in their close proximity, almost as if he was going to kiss her... The lights of the theatre went out, the ones on the stage illuminating the space as the opening chords of Gasoline played. There was screaming all around them, and the pair was forced even closer together, which they hadn't even know was possible. His body was entirely flush with hers and he really hoped her ribs weren't going to be bruised in the morning. "Sorry," he mumbled in her ears.
"S'okay," she waved him off, screaming along with the rest of the crowd as Halsey appeared.
Are you insane like me
Been in pain like me
Bought a hundred dollar bottle of champagne like me
Just to pour that motherfucker down the drain like me
Maya couldn't believe how close they were. The slight pain in her ribs from being pressed up against the barrier didn't even matter as she sang the words to Gasoline back to one of her favourite artists, who was right in front of her.
You can't wake up
This is not a dream
You are part of a machine
You are not a human being
Lucas could see why the blonde girl singing at the top of her lungs, with the biggest smile he'd ever seen on her face loved the singer. Halsey was an excellent performer, and sounded great. He wasn't really paying attention to her though. He couldn't take his eyes off Maya and how she seemed so totally in her element. She was being so carelessly herself, and was so genuinely happy. Maya had never looked more beautiful to him than she did in that moment. The almost kiss in Texas all those years ago was a close second.
Lucas remembered that night vividly. The way Riley had said they were just brother and sister, and he had thought he was sad, but his thoughts had been so consumed by the blonde across from him and the way her hair looked like it was burning orange from the fire in front of her. He could remember the way she'd gasped ever so slightly when he'd grabbed her face, how soft her skin had felt beneath his fingertips, the way he wanted so bad to kissed her, but stopped himself, not wanting to scare her away. He wondered a lot, what she would've done had he kissed her. Had he made a move back then, maybe they wouldn't be stuck in the whirlpool they were in.
It went on like that, Maya singing her heart out, Lucas having a hard time tearing his eyes away from her to actually take in anything else that was happening. One song, however, caught his attention. "This is Drive, sing along if you know it," Halsey spoke into the microphone as the music started. It impressed Lucas how Maya knew every word to every single song, not that he expected any less from her, and he liked the way she would grab his hand and grin back at him excitedly when one of her favourites was about to happen. He always payed more attention to those ones. That's what had occurred when the opening chords played, but what really peaked his interest was the chorus.
All we do is drive
All we do is think about the feelings that we hide
All we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign
Well that was horribly familiar. Maya glanced back at him then, and smiled softly before looking back to the stage. He placed his hands on top of hers, squeezing softly. Tonight was going to be it. It was going to be the night they finally got their shit together and made a real move. It had been a long time coming, God had it been a long time, and he felt as though they'd finally reached a breaking point. That she'd finally broken him like she promised all those years ago, and that it was time to act on it.
Despite the flawless singer right in front of Maya, and despite the fact she was still singing along whole heartedly as if her life depended on it, her thoughts were consumed entirely by Lucas' fingers that had curled between her own and his torso against her back. This song was so them, so much them that it hurt and she was sure her cheeks were flushed as she felt overwhelmed by everything that was and wasn't happening. "Why didn't you kiss me in Texas?" She called over the music, angling herself towards him the best she could, which wasn't very well since she couldn't actually move.
"I was worried it would freak you out or something," he answered after a moment, hands still resting over hers.
"But you knew I liked you."
"I knew that Riley told me something you weren't ready for me to know, and I didn't want you to feel like I was forcing you into something."
"I wouldn't have felt that way."
"We were young and stupid. I was stupid. I was confused about Riley and her proclamation that I was all of a sudden her brother, and I didn't want to hurt her, and I definitely didn't want to hurt you. I've always wanted what's best for you, Maya."
"You're what's best for me, Huckleberry. You were what was best for me in seventh grade and you're what's best for me right now. You know it and I know it, so why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Why are we stuck, Lucas?"
"You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now," he shook his head, hands moving to rest on either side of her waist. She was sort of expecting something along those lines to come out of the conversation but her chest still constricted and she tried real hard to keep from grinning.
"Yeah?" She asked, wishing more than anything that she could turn herself around to be able to kiss him after all this time.
"Yeah," he smiled down at her, winking.
The rest of the concert, Maya was horribly distracted. Even when Halsey came into the crowd, close enough that she easily could have touched her, her mind was still stuck playing Lucas' words over and over in her head (which she later regretted because Halsey was right in front of her. She could have touched her or made out with her (not that that thought had ever crossed her mind before) but the fact some Huckleberry's hands were resting on her hips was too much for her brain to handle. Ridiculous).
Initially after the concert, neither of them made a move, which was ridiculous seeing as they'd agreed not to do that anymore. Lucas just silently took the blonde's hand in his own, making sure not to lose her in the crowd trying to exit the theatre. They didn't stop moving until they got to the safety of the truck, immediately cranking the heat, allowing the vehicle to warm up before going any further. "Holy shit, it's cold," Maya grumbled, rubbing her hands together for warmth, tucking her knees to her chest on the bench seat, glancing at Lucas. He was already looking back at her with gentle eyes and smile, the way he always looked at her, but for once she could understand what Riley always talked about. "He's into you, Maya," she would say. "It's like his face turns to mush when he looks at you. He's been in love with you since seventh grade and you're in love with him but you're both too stubborn to do anything about it."
"We aren't in love with each other," the blonde would scoff back at her, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Everyone can see it," Riley would sing as they sat across from each other at Topanga's, or next to each other in class. "Just not the two of you."
"Shut up," she would defend after a moment of hesitation because honestly she wouldn't be able to think of anything else to say because deep down she knew she was right. Well, at least right about Maya's feelings. She couldn't speak for Lucas.
But that night, with the post-concert adrenaline still coursing through her veins, and her sticky skin and messy hair that probably smelt like stale cigarettes and buttered popcorn, the same way the venue did, he was looking at her like the stars danced in her eyes. Like she was important and worth something and deserved all the love in the world, and it honestly made her want to cry. He had always gone out of his way to make her feel appreciated and wanted, and yeah, he was a good kid who cares about all of his friends, but with her it was different. It was always a little it extra, always a little bit above and beyond.
"So," he spoke, turning his body to face her. They were in very, very close proximity and Maya could hear her heart pounding in her ears. This was it. After all these years, this was finally it. "You had a good time?"
"Shut the fuck up, Lucas," she rolled her eyes. With that, her hands found the back of his neck, pulling him close enough to brush her lips over his, somewhat teasingly. "You're such a Huckleberry." That was the last thing said before she kissed him finally, allowing all the pent up feelings she had for him to finally break through. He was holding her so, so close, as if their lives depended on this kiss, which it sort of felt like it did. The air felt like static around them, and in that moment, he knew she had done what she promised to all those years ago. She had finally broke him.
