Girl Meets Friendship

Maya rolled her eyes. She was holding a horse. Maya Hart, the subway-taking, hotdog-eating, coffee-drinking New Yorker, was holding onto a horse.

'Don't you dare poop.' She told the animal, tapping her foot against the floor. 'The things I do for you Riles.'

But Riley wasn't there. Riley, like most of the other students, had gone home, excited for tomorrow's election. Riley's campaign for Princess had been going as well as could be expected, and she'd been enjoying it. She'd told Maya how grateful she was for the video, and the horse-turned-unicorn, all of it, a million times. Maya didn't really need a thank you. Riley's smile was the thank you. SHe wanted to be a princess, and she deserved to be a princess. And if Maya had anything to do with it, she'd be one.

She heard the clacking of high-powered-lawyer shoes before she saw Topanga winding the corner of the hall with a hat box in her hand. Even Topanga Matthews looked startled by the horse again, and by Maya holding it, one of her impeccably arched eyebrows rising at the scene.

'How do you keep getting that thing places?' She asked Maya, who just shrugged.

'A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do,' she replied, glancing at the horse, which seemed to be looking back at her. 'Don't ask me what I had to do.' She deadpanned, shaking her head with a shudder.

Topanga laughed. 'Okay, kid. Here's what you asked for,' she said, brandishing the hat box before putting it down on the bench outside her husband's classroom. 'What did you want with it, anyway?'

'Riley will tell you tomorrow,' said Maya, smiling. 'If it actually works that is. One of the key components isn't in place...But yeah. Riley will tell you. It's a surprise,'

'You're a good friend, Maya,' Topanga told her, leaning over to give her a one armed hug. 'Why are you still here?'

'Jimmy's coming to pick up this stupid unicorn. I told Riley not to wait.'

'Okay, well, I have to get back to the office. See you tomorrow?'

'Yeah. I'll be there at 7:30,' Maya said, waving Topanga off.

It was another five minutes until Key Component Two showed up.

He was wearing a red JQA Athletic Dpt t-shirt and jeans, and the dust on his hands reminded her he'd just finished baseball practice. The scowl on his face reminded her that he was mad at her. She didn't blame him. What she did wasn't nice, she knew that. He just didn't get what it meant to do everything for your friends. Or maybe he had it all figured out, where the line was, what right and wrong meant. He probably did, being Mr. Perfect Moral Compass and all.

Then he caught sight of the horse.

'Hey,' he said, pointing at it, 'It's not a unicorn.' His sarcasm rivaled her own.

'Don't tell anyone. You're the only one who could figure that out. Us city dwellers don't know the difference.' Maya shot back, rolling her eyes. 'Look, I need you to do something,'

'Are you going to run that story?' Lucas asked, as if that was an answer to her request.

Maya considered this. She gripped the horse's rope tighter. She sighed. Then she narrowed her eyes and spoke. 'Riley won't win if I don't.' She admitted. Like world domination ever had a shot. But president did. A cute, nice, caring, sweet, Mr. Perfect president would beat a lovably naive princess any day. Unless they outed him.

Lucas frowned. 'Riley really thinks that's the right way to win?' He asked incredulously.

Maya shook her head quickly. 'No, she doesn't.' She said honestly. 'But she's not the campaign manager, I am. It's my job to make sure she wins.' It's my job to make sure she's happy.

'So, you think that's the right way to win?' He pressed, crossing his arms over his chest. It suddenly occurred to Maya how big he was for their age. And how menacing he could look when he was angry.

She shrugged. 'Right or wrong doesn't matter. My best friend is more important than right or wrong.' She didn't bother to tell him that they weren't leaking the recording. What she said was true. She'd have run it if Riley had let her, because Riley was more important than what people thought of Lucas, and what Lucas thought of her. 'Which brings me back to what I need you to do,'

She'd expected him to retort something like "Why would I help you?" or something to that effect, but he just uncrossed his arms and strode across the distance between them to pet the horse's nose.

'If it's taking the horse home,' he joked, glancing down at her with that smile of his that seemed to come so easy, 'I can't. My mama wouldn't like it,'

'No, Ranger Rick, I don't want you to take the horse home. But I do want you to ride it,' she said, to which Lucas just blanched. 'Tomorrow,' she explained, 'after the election, you're going to go and get the horse from outside the gym and ride it in. Then you're going to ask Riley to get on the horse, and come for a ride with you,'

'I'm gonna...' Lucas said, trailing off as he processed this. 'Okay. Why am I going to do that?'

'Because. Riley's not going to win tomorrow,' said Maya, sharp twang resounding on her heartstrings, 'but she still deserves to be a princess. And if people aren't going to make her feel like one, you still can,'

Lucas nodded slowly, something about his face twisting slightly. Maybe he felt bad that even Riley's best friend thought she wouldn't win, or maybe he felt bad because it was so obvious he was going to. Maya couldn't tell.

'You want me to give Riley a ride on a horse, so she feels like a princess?' He clarified.

'Yup. Nothing makes a girl feel like a princess more than a prince on a white horse,' Maya said, handing the horse's rope to Lucas so that she could pick up the hat box.

'So, I should give you a ride, too,' Lucas said, only a trace of humor in his voice.

Maya gripped the box needlessly tightly as she turned around. 'Why would you think that?'

'You said nothing makes a girl feel like a princess-'

'I know what I said,' Maya told him jokingly. 'But I'm not the kind of girl who feels the need to be a princess.' She wasn't the kind of girl who people saw like that anyway, aside from what she needed.

Lucas studied her for a moment, and Maya felt herself broaden under his gaze to protect herself from the scrutiny. 'I thought every girl wanted to feel like a princess,'

Maya scoffed at his sweetness, at his country fresh smile, at his eagerness to understand her. 'Yeah, well, not me, Sundance.' She laughed, holding up the box. 'This is-'

'What do you want to feel like, then?' He asked her. Maya swore she could feel the exact moment blood rushed to her cheeks. A sweat broke out over skin.

She gulped before answering. 'To feel like someone values my opinion, I guess? Like someone sees me and thinks I have something to add,' she said honestly. And then, shocked and disturbed by her openness, added, 'You know, besides my joie de vivre and stunning good looks,'

Lucas laughed at that, glancing down at the ground and then back up at her, his turquoise eyes seeming brighter than they had a minute ago. 'You're more than both those things, Maya. Everybody knows that,' he said quietly, still smiling. Maya smiled back, until she realized this whole thing felt a little too intimate. 'Besides, I think wanting that makes more sense than wanting to be part of a monarchy anyway,'

'Don't say that when you're on the horse, okay?' She rolled her eyes and handed him the box, swapping it for the horse's rope. Lucas took the box and lifted the lid, frowning in confusion at its contents.

'What is this?'

'It's like a princess crown costume thing. Some relic from Riley's mom's theatre days...or maybe she just dressed like that back then, I don't know. Anyway, it's for you to give to Riley once you're on the horse,' Maya explained. 'I was going to get a crown but this had more significance. What?' She asked when she noticed Lucas looking at her. His expression was somewhere between admiration and amusement.

'It's just...you really would do anything for Riley, wouldn't you?'

'Yeah, of course. She's my best friend.' Maya asserted easily. 'But I'm not dumb. I know the rest of the class isn't going to vote for her. She's a princess, not a queen, you know? I only nominated her to make her princess wish come true. Now it can,'

'With a little help from her campaign manager,' he added with a wry smile. Maya narrowed her eyes. 'I mean, the rainbow and unicorn show can't happen without someone behind the scenes,'

'Don't make fun of her.' Maya warned the cowboy. 'Riley is the best person in the world, and if you're not going to take this seriously, I'll get Farkle Castro to do it.'

'I didn't mean anything by it,' Lucas insisted, contrite. 'I just meant...I don't know. It's nice of you,'

'Just call me the fairy godmother,' Maya said, rolling her eyes again. 'Anyway, clear on the plan?'

'Yeah.'

'Stash the box in your locker Huckleberry, and I'll see you tomorrow,' she said, hoping Jimmy would turn up soon to collect the horse. She and Riley still had to finish editing their special video project for tomorrow.

Lucas nodded, smiling at her once more before starting off down the hall. She watched him retreat, realising that this was the first time she had seen him in a color that wasn't blue or purple for any length of time. Just as she was thinking this, he turned back.

'Hey, Maya,'

'What's up, Ranger Rick?'

'How'd you know I'd do it?' He asked. 'I mean, I was kinda mad at you when I showed up. How'd you know I'd do this horse thing?'

'Because it's for Riley,' Maya said with a shrug. 'I figured you'd do it for her,'

Lucas's smile fell slightly, a frown settling in his features. Then, as if he realized he'd just revealed something he shouldn't have, he straightened up, and composed his expression.

'Do you...' he started, taking a deep breath, 'Do you want me to wait with you?'

'No, that's okay, Cowboy, you go. Jimmy will be here any second.' She said, and then she sighed into the otherwise silent hallway. 'Yeah, okay. If you're not doing anything,'

Lucas smiled, walked over and put the hatbox down on the bench. He climbed up and sat up on the ledge, his feet on the bench. Maya joined him, still holding onto the horse, which turned its head to look at the unlikely pair.

'So,' Maya said, her voice as level as she could manage. 'I hear you're not doing anything this weekend,'