Disclaimer: I don't own these Characters, but I worked pretty hard on the story. D:
Maya stood in the kitchen, stirring a bowl full of cake batter and looking dreamily out of the window. She was caught in one of her daydreams again. You see, she was in love with a boy named Chase. She had tried to cook for about a year, to no avail. She was just no good at cooking, mostly because she daydreamed feeding Chase a fantastic dish while trying to make the dish. In fact she had had many daydreams over the past year, all about Chase. There was the one about feeding him delicious food, and the one about them falling in love by working with each other day after day after day. There was also one where she and Chase went on a hike and he saved her from hungry bears. But this one was by far the best one she had ever had the pleasure of making up. Her stirring slowed as her mind went deeper and deeper into the fantasy, and further away from the cake baking reality.
"Oh Chase! I knew you loved me!" Maya exclaimed, jumping into Chase's arms. Chase had just proposed. They were only on their third date, but he had loved her personality and her cooking so much, he just couldn't wait any longer. Chase slipped the engagement ring onto her finger, and she looked up dreamily at him. It was all perfect, because she wasn't herself in this daydream. No, she was a beautiful, graceful woman who could cook even better than Chase could. She was a woman that any man would be lucky to have, and that only the one she chose could have. She picked Chase, and he was grateful just to be in her presence. He fell in love even more every time he gazed into her eyes. She glanced dreamily at the ring upon her finger and backed away from Chase.
"Yes. From the moment I saw your lovely face, I knew I had to have you for my own. You're sweeter than pumpkin cake." Chase said, taking her hand and kissing it. She was a queen, and Chase was her king. He was so handsome in a black tux, and his eyelashes were so light, yet so visible in the moonlight.
Maya blushed at his comment, knowing that cake of any variety was hard to beat in sweetness, especially when Chase made it. But, in her daydream, things were slightly altered. Her hair was long, down to her back, and she had on a beautiful shade of makeup that made her look more mature. Her dress accented her figure, and made her assets look larger than they actually were. Or.. maybe that was just part of the daydream too. The dress was red, and made her look like a dream. No man would be able to resist her in that dress. And no man could. But, in her daydream, Chase was the only one that she wanted, no matter how much the other men begged to have her. She would only have Chase, because she loved him and only him, and that's all she would ever do.
Her dream was interrupted by a simple thought. She looked down at her cake batter and gasped. "OH NO!" Maya exclaimed. She had over-mixed the batter by about ten minutes. The once pure white batter had turned a sickly brownish color. She knew it was okay though, it was only a color, it wouldn't effect the actual cake she was making for him. Maya poured the batter into the mold and stuck it into her oven. It oozed large bubbles at the disturbing movement, and made a movement itself that could make anyone shudder. Luckily for Maya, she didn't see it. So, she turned on the oven, and turned back to the window, putting her dishes in the sink to soak.
Now that everything was taken care of, she could think. In that daydream, she had looked gorgeous... no, absolutely amazing! Maybe she could hook Chase with a dress like that? It was a solid thought wasn't it? Sure, she wasn't a good cook, but maybe if she looked beautiful, Chase would like her more! Of course! All guys liked beautiful women! Every male had the shallow gene that girls could use to capture the guy she wanted! She just needed the dress, and she knew just the place to get it. The Tailor's Shop had just opened about half an hour ago, and she knew that they were capable of making a dress. She needed it made by tonight, so that she could go and impress Chase down at the bar. It would be a daydream come true, and she and Chase would live happily ever after! She had been trying so hard to get Chase to notice her... Now she had the means to get the job done!
Maya had been saving money for buying Chase something, but she figured that the dress would be for Chase anyway. So, Maya ran to her room and dug her piggy bank out of a pile of conveniently placed clothes under her bed. She ran out of her room and out of the house without even thinking to close the door, or shut off the oven. She was much too excited to think of food or any cake now! She was much too excited to eat! She was finally going to get the man of her dreams, after all of this waiting. She didn't even like cooking that much. But, if Chase was a good cook, and he liked to cook, she figured that she could at least try to cook for him. Whenever she let him taste test things though, it didn't really go as the daydreams told her it would, normally because she spaced off and neglected the food.
After that ordeal Maya ran out of her house and down the two sets of the stairs into town. She ran the streets with her piggy bank clutched tightly to her chest. Her piggy bank was going to make her wishes come true, there was no way she could lose him now! She slid to a stop outside of the Tailor's Shop and opened the door, rushing inside. She didn't hesitate to shout, being riled up. She needed to make something happen!
"I need a red dress STAT!" Maya cried out.
She startled Shelley at first, but she quickly apologized, realizing that there was plenty of time to get her dress ready for Chase, and not necessarily enough time for Shelley to live life shout free. She apologized again and then went up to Shelley, speaking a little loudly, not knowing if her hearing was still up to par. She just needed to make sure that everything was perfect. After scanning the things on the wall and not seeing anything remotely close to her dream dress up there, Maya spoke to Shelley once more.
"I would like a custom made red dress. It needs sparkles, and it needs to make me look thinner and more mature without limiting my 'assets'." Maya said, "Oh, and it has to be full length with a slit up the side. It has to say 'I'm sexy and I know it'. But most importantly it needs to make a man look at me and only me, despite any faults I may have in the area of cooking or otherwise." Maya blurted everything out without thinking about it. Shelley seemed to be lost. But thankfully, Luna had been in the room to overhear her.
"Don't worry Maya, we can make a Chase hooking dress for ya." Luna said, smiling. Luna was a very intelligent, almost sneaky girl who happened to be very good at making fashionable items quickly and at low prices. But, despite all of that, Maya couldn't help but notice she had mentioned Chase already. Had the thing with the 'faults in cooking' given it away? Or maybe it had been the 'I'm sexy and I know it'... but she doubted the latter as being an option for giving her crush away.
Maya blushed. "Oh gosh, is it that obvious?"
Luna answered with her facial expression instead of words. She looked at Maya with a raised eyebrow and a look of deep sarcasm before they both moved on, the question not needing to be answered.
After a short walk, Luna and Maya stood in the fitting room of the Tailor's Shop. It had a table and needles and cloth and thread, everything they needed to make a dress! Maya was tickled pink already, and started to look for the materials that she needed for her dream dress.
"Now, I overheard what you wanted. We can't make it. We don't have red sparkly material, and we can't order it in time for you to hook Chase as fast as you want to. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I do see that you have quite a fund in Mr. Pigglesworth there, and so I'm willing to make you something fabulous." Maya was immediately disappointed, but, that was soon replaced by suspicion.
Maya squinted her eyes suspiciously. "How did you know his name...?" Luna had guessed the name of her piggy bank spot on... This was something very strange... very strange indeed.
Luna gave an exasperated sigh and pulled Maya to the back room. "Come on. No more questions, just picking."
Building the dress took the entire day. First, they had to choose a style. Maya didn't want to change it, but Luna insisted that it was just too fancy for the one town bar they had. So, Luna picked a couple of simple designs, and Maya reluctantly agreed to one. She tried to get away with something long, but Luna insisted that it was just too fancy, and shortened the lengths to knee and above. Then they had to choose a color. Maya again insisted that the red color stay, but Luna said that Yellow would match her personality and hair color much better. So, Maya reluctantly agreed to a yellow dress. Next was material. Maya begged that it be sleek. But Luna shook her head. "Cotton for you would be best." Maya hung her head and reluctantly agreed.
So, by the end of it all, she had a dress. Maya slipped it on in the dressing room, and despite her disappointment was surprised. The dress was a bright yellow, which made her hair stand out, the blonde highlights shine brightly. It was strapless, like her original dress, but it was shorter, down to her knees. It fit her perfectly, and showed her 'assets', which made her double happy. But, her hair... and her face. Her face looked so plain in comparison, and her hair looked so childish. She wondered how she had ever expected Chase to see her looking like that in the first place. How was he supposed to fall in love with somebody so plain?
Luna came in and seemed to read her mind.
"Oh gosh, I can't let you leave without a free makeover." Luna said, again pulling Maya away.
They both settled in Luna's room. Maya's hair was first. Obviously the pigtails had to go. The style had left little waves in her hair that weren't acceptable. Luna started by brushing her hair and then curling it properly until she looked like a little doll. Maya clutched her fingers and begged herself not to panic when she felt the heat of the iron nearing her ears. But, Luna had obviously done things like this before, and they both got through it with no burns.
Next came the makeup. Luna had a hefty supply of it, so it wasn't hard finding a pale yellow that made Maya's eyes seem bigger. The shadow was followed up with a light pink gloss. Luna made Maya's eyelashes darker by applying mascara, and gave her eyes an edgy look with a touch of eyeliner. The process didn't take long, but the result was... amazing.
Maya was allowed to look at herself in the mirror and was astounded at the transformation. In just a minute or two, she had gone from plain Jane to Magnificent Maya. She was tickled pink just looking at herself. He would definitely notice her now. After a couple spurts of a light flowery perfume, it was time to go to the bar.
When Maya got there, she didn't really know what to think. What would he think? What would anyone think? This wasn't how she imagined it to be. She imagined she and Chase alone in the courtyard behind the bar, a secret proposal, and a happy marriage with lots of kids that knew how to cook well. She never imagined the bar to be full. She didn't have the red dress. She was in a small yellow one. It didn't make her feel confident, it made her afraid. What if he took to her in this dress? She didn't feel she had the confidence for a proposal.
"What'll ya have?"
Maya looked over at the door, seeing somebody come in. "Oh, a nice blueberry cocktail will be fine, thanks."
"Coming right up."
Maya looked around. Where was Chase right about now anyway? Maybe he was out in the courtyard, having seen her beauty first and fled. She could just imagine it now...
Maya ran out to the courtyard and opened the door. There stood Chase, looking at her with wide eyes.
"Y-you... found me."
Maya walked up to him. "Found you? I've been looking for you since the day we've met."
Chase backed up a little. "I can't stand to think of what I said about your cooking. You're just so beautiful, I don't deserve you."
"Hush," Maya said caressing his face, "I love you, that's all that matters."
"Hello?"
"Huh?" Maya questioned, before snapping back to reality. There Chase was standing in front of her. He looked exactly like he had, it was almost astounding. But the eyes were a little bit different. Oh well, there was bound to be something that she didn't imagine perfectly.
"One blueberry cocktail." Chase said, moving away just as Maya was about to talk to him. Maya downed her blueberry cocktail in frustration, to the shock of Cathy who had been watching nearby.
Maya sighed, her daydream being lost forever. She hadn't imagined that it would go like this. She imagined him to be dumbstruck, not her! She wanted him to drop to his knees at her beauty, or at least comment that she looked different than usual! But, there was only a cold, business like, 'One blueberry cocktail.' That had been their entire exchange for the night? She couldn't believe it. Just to make sure, she turned around, her eyes finally locking on her target. She watched Chase briefly as he delivered a drink to Angela and then sat down and chatted with her for awhile. He had time for Angela, but not for her? Did he... like Angela? Maya turned back to the counter, her eyes betraying her emotion only for a split second before dulling. He had never looked at her, had he?
"Can I have another?" Maya asked, looking at Cathy. If she wasn't going to get Chase, well, nothing was stopping her from getting drunk. Isn't that was people with broken hearts did? They drank right? She saw no problem with it. The first cocktail was already kicking in, and with another one coming, well, she decided that she felt pretty comfortable. She doubted that her emotions would come pouring out if she were drunk, at least, they wouldn't if she only got so drunk, but not too drunk.
Cathy brought it right over, a worried look on her face. When Maya downed another, and another without a word, Cathy decided to comment.
"Woah cutie pie, you might want to slow down on those cocktails." Cathy said, putting a hand on Maya's shoulder. Maya felt the hand on her shoulder. She looked at it. It wasn't Chase's hand, but Cathy's. She looked at Chase and Angela for a split second. They were still chatting merrily, sipping cocktails with each other like old friends. She had spent more time with Chase than Angela had... and Chase had never looked at her that way...
Maya all of a sudden broke down crying. "Bring me another one." She said through her non running makeup. "And make it quick."
"I don't think-"
"Don't you see that I've lost?" Maya questioned to Cathy, "I've lost." Maya's voice was dangerously quiet, so Cathy went to get her another one.
Maya thought about the words for a moment. They seemed to ring true throughout her entire body. She had lost... Had she even been in the race? Losing was one thing... had she been in the race? Had she... had Chase even entertained giving her his heart? No... she guessed he hadn't.
Cathy brought her another drink as Maya drank the tears away. Maya hadn't even noticed when Cathy started to bring her water instead of cocktails, but she wouldn't have cared either way, they were all on the house because she worked there in the daytime. At the end of the night, well, technically early morning, Maya felt good and numb, and she hopped off of the barstool. She wobbled in place for a second, and then another before attempting to stumble out of the bar.
Then, she stumbled too far in Luna's new high heels. She was prepared for the fall before she realized that somebody had grabbed her arm. Maya looked back, hoping that Chase had finally come to her rescue. Was it Chase? It wasn't. It was only Hayden, making sure that none of his customers had a bad time. It was then when she started to tear up again. She stumbled out of the bar, ashamed for even hoping that he was there. There was no reason for her to hope for him. He wasn't hers. He didn't want to be hers, and he never would be as long as she wanted him. Maya kept stumbling, but she wiped off her makeup. And she took off her shoes and her earrings, and she re-braided her hair into a long braid on the side.
This was her. This was bumbling Maya, the red haired freckled girl that couldn't cook. She couldn't really do anything. She was clumsy, and energetic enough to be clumsy two times over. She was an annoyance, and on top of that, she would never have the boy that she had carelessly thrown her heart at and said 'catch'. He hadn't caught it. There lay her heart in left field, beating helplessly, and starting to bleed.
"I was foolish to hope." Maya said, wiping her eyes as she stumbled up to her house.
When she got there, Yolanda was in bed. Maya sat on a stool in the kitchen with the lights off, her legs dangling and her vision blurred. She had no recollection of where she had put Luna's shoes, but she didn't really care. There really wasn't anything to care about at the moment. She had lost the man she loved, now was a perfect time to sulk, and nobody could tell her not to. Suddenly, the lights turned on.
Maya looked at the light switch and saw Chase standing there. She rubbed her eyes, and still saw him. It was probably just another daydream. The alcohol had made her so delirious that she was seeing him in her own kitchen now. This was ridiculous! Was he ever going to leave her alone? He had rejected her heart hadn't he? So what? Was he coming back for her soul and her mind too? Maya squinted at Chase and pouted lightly, struggling to balance on the kitchen stool.
"Get a little drunk did we?" Chase questioned.
Maya, her cheery disposition lost and replaced with a headache, smirked. "Oh, maybe a little. But I have a good reason you know."
"Oh really?" Chase questioned, leaning against the counter, "Enlighten me."
Now she knew it was a hallucination. Well, at least she could talk to her hallucination and bear her feelings. She had wanted somebody to know these feelings without betraying them, and the perfect opportunity had come. Here was a hallucination of the guy she liked, who would never breathe a word to anybody but her. The real one would never know anyway, so she wondered what she had fussed about all of those other times.
"Well, I've been trying so hard to get your attention. To get a glance from you, a smile, anything. I've been trying to cook for about a year, but you know how that's going." Maya looked down at her lap and started tearing up again. "I've tried so hard to gain something remotely affectionate from you. I'm not as pretty or as talented as the other girls in town. I think, the part that made me drink so much was seeing you talking so much with Angela. You brought me my drink, and didn't even wait for a thank you, but you brought Angela her drink and then sat down to talk."
Maya was crying even more now. Chase, hallucination or not, listened quietly as she emptied her heart into the room. "That's the part that kills me. And, I think, the Alcohol made it better for a little bit. But, that's not the worst part. There's one more thing." Maya said. Chase just leaned against the counter, listening and looking out the window with a frown, "This is the thing that makes me want to keep drinking. I fell in love with you. I don't know how I did it, but somehow I managed to do the clumsiest thing and put my whole heart on the line for you. And the thing that makes me want to keep drinking, is a simple fact. It's the fact that you'll never love me back, that you'll never actually know how I feel about you. I mean, I'm so drunk I'm hallucinating that you're here, and that makes me think that I'm hopeless."
Chase looked over at Maya and sighed. "And what are you going to do about it?"
Maya looked over at Chase. "What?" Maya questioned, "What do you mean, what am I going to do about it?"
"I mean, what have you tried to get me to fall in love with you? Have you ever really confronted me about this? Have you done anything that you don't do naturally? Have you even thrown a hint my way? I mean, come on, you can't really expect me to love you if I don't know that you love me." Chase explained, looking down at his fingernails.
Maya sniffled lightly. "What do you mean? I've tried everything! I've tried to cook the best I can, and I've given you taste tests. I talk to you at least once a day, hoping that one of these days you'll at least pretend to like me. I got all dolled up on an impulse, just in the hopes that you'd cast a single glance my way and see me as more than a nuisance. And when that didn't work.. well.. there's nothing I can do to make you see me. I can't make you see me as a woman, just like I can't make you see that I love you. This is the first time I've hallucinated you, but I wish you were really here so you'd know. I just.. don't know what I'm going to do. For the past couple years I've been living my life trying to get you to see me.. and it hasn't worked. I'm not good at anything.. I'm useless without you.. no.. I'm just plain useless.
Chase was silent for awhile. The room was completely silent in the dead of night. Then, Chase decided to answer. "I guess, you can keep on hoping that I'll see you. Who knows, maybe I see you right now. Maybe I just started to see you the moment you said, I can't make you see me."
Maya laughed lightly. "As if. I doubt a hallucination can see anything." It was true. A hallucination wasn't real. She wished he was real.
Chase smiled lightly. "Maybe I'm not a hallucination. Maybe I followed you to check up on you."
Maya looked down at her lap and dried her tears. "I wish. But you went home at least an hour ago."
"Maybe I waited."
"You wouldn't wait for me."
"Maybe I was concerned about how drunk you got."
"You've seen plenty of people drink more."
"Maybe I care about you."
"Yeah? And maybe I could learn to cook one day."
Chase stood in front of Maya and smiled. "I'll take you up on that."
Chase slid his arms around Maya and kissed her. Maya's eyes widened before her entire body relaxed. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. They broke the kiss and Chase's eyes looked down at hers. And then she knew it was real. She could have never imagined his eyes so perfectly. But, there were so many doubts... maybe this whole thing had been a giant day dream. Chase walked her into her room and set her down on the bed. He tucked her in with a smile and kissed her forehead.
"Wait!" Maya said as Chase turned to leave. Chase turned back for a second. "How do I know that this actually happened?"
Chase thought for a moment. "Well, I dunno. You'll just have to kiss me later and find out."
The lights went off in Maya's bedroom and she slipped into a deep sleep.
When Maya woke up she had a splitting headache. There were crackers and tylenol by the bed for her, obviously Yolanda had heard of her escapade. She took them gratefully and slipped into her clothes for the day. She kept her hair in the long braid she'd made it into and then went out of her bedroom door. The house was empty. Maya trudged lightly over to the kitchen entrance. She saw Luna's high heels inside the door and then looked at the counter. There was cake on it, with frosting.
"Wait a minute... cake?" Maya questioned. Her eyes widened and she walked over to the oven. Her cake had long since been removed. Yolanda must've gotten home early that day and taken it out in time. Maya looked over at the counter and saw a slice missing from the cake. She took a knife out of a drawer and cut herself a slice. She took a cautious bite out of it, just in case it had been her cake. No, it was much too sweet to be her cake. In fact, this cake was delicious. She had to ask Yolanda for the recipe later. After finishing off her strange breakfast, Maya got a glance at the clock. She immediately seized up, her whole body waking with the discovery of the time.
"OH NO!" Maya shouted, "WORK!" Maya ran out of the house immediately without even thinking to shut the door. She ran to the bar and opened the door quietly. Wow, was she dizzy. But, that didn't matter. She walked inside, holding her head lightly before making her way to the kitchen. She was trying to remember what all happened last night, but for some reason, she couldn't remember much. She did remember sitting on a stool in the kitchen...
Then she saw Chase. As if by magic, the words echoed in her head. 'You'll just have to kiss me later and find out.' Everything that had happened came flooding back to her. The dress, the drinking, the hallucination, everything. Had it all been a dream? No, it couldn't have been, or else she wouldn't have had the tylenol by her bed. Maya took a deep breath and made a decision that would change her life. Everything that he had said in that conversation last night came back to her.
'Did you even hint to me that you liked me?' Well, she decided. If that was a hallucination last night, she was going to make it real. So, with the decision made, Maya slowly stepped forward.
Step by step, Maya confidently walked over behind the counter and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, looking tired, as if he'd had a long night. Had he been to Maya's house last night? Or maybe he just couldn't get to sleep? All things aside it was what happened next that woke him up quite a bit.
Maya reached up, arms around his neck, and kissed him right on the lips. His eyes widened, and then relaxed as he kissed her back, smiling. Had he been there? Or had it really just been fake? Had he never really cared about how drunk she was? Or had he travelled up to her house, put her to sleep and then went to bed? Had he gotten as little sleep as she had and then not expected the kiss so soon? Or was the whole thing a hallucination and he was just happily surprised to receive her first real hint to him that she liked him?
Maya would never really know if the whole thing was real or fake. But, there was something she did know. She knew that her future husband, Chase, would love her and care for her as long as she told him what she felt.