A/N: So this is a little three shot I worked on after finishing Someday You Will Be Loved (and it's not exactly little, the chapters are pretty long in comparison to some of my multi chapter stories). It started out as a plan for a long one shot, but then it got a little away from me so...three shot. It notes it in the story, but this is an end of high school age up, possibly with the understanding that no romantic relationships really happened post New Year's. It was the product of a single scene (which will be in chapter two) and the intention of showing Zay a little love by actually utilizing him in the story, ha. So, on with chapter one. Enjoy! R&R! Thanks! ~Mac
Disclaimer: I don't own GMW.
What Nature Creates Has Eternity In It
Chapter One
"What nature delivers to us is never stale. Because what nature creates has eternity in it."
-Isaac Bashevis Singer
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"This has you written all over it, Cowboy," Maya accused, shoving another blanket into her duffel bag. "Being one with the great outdoors and some Texan euphemism that I don't have the energy to whip up because I'm so. not. happy."
"It was actually Zay's idea," Lucas said, not looking up from where he was organizing the other camping equipment, even though he knew she was probably glaring at the back of his head from across the Matthew's living room.
"Hang a fella out to dry, why don'tcha?" Zay replied as the old sleeping bag he was wrestling with unfurled again.
"You're doing that all wrong," Farkle commented with a nod to the unruly sleeping bag and then another to the two neatly rolled, bagged and packed sleeping bags at his feet.
"I know how to roll a darn sleeping bag, little man," Zay narrowed is eyes and Farkle surrendered with his hands raised. "Don't need a genius level IQ to wrap up a blanket, man. It don't gotta be fancy."
"I was just saying..." Farkle trailed off and went back to packing. "I could help if you—"
Farkle was nearly knocked clean over when the sleeping bag Zay had been working with flew through the air and caught Farkle around the head and shoulders. As he tried to untangle himself from the sleeping back, Zay just shrugged and coughed to disguise the small laugh he emitted.
"Cool it, you two," Riley said and walked over to help Farkle find his way out of the sleeping bag. She stared Zay down over her shoulder. "Go help Maya with the extra blankets."
Zay did as he was directed and joined Maya where she was folding up blankets and packing them by the window. He bumped his hip into hers and took one of the blankets from her hands to fold. "Whatcha got against nature, anyway?"
"Nothing," Maya rolled her eyes. "I love Central Park. I like trees. I am definitely a fan of fresh air that is not ninety percent engine fumes and pollution. You want to go for a hike? Let's do it. But overnight?"
"Technically, two nights," Farkle said.
"Two nights," Maya forced a smile. "Even better."
"You'll survive," Lucas said. He ticked off items on his list.
"Sure, sure, but the question is will I want to?" Maya replied. She took the last folded blanket from Zay and zipped it into the duffel. Then she turned toward Lucas, her hands on her hips. "It's a matter of quality of life."
Lucas rolled his eyes this time.
"You'll put me out of my misery, won't you, jellybean?" Maya whined dramatically as she went over and draped herself over Riley.
"Ma-ya!" Riley exclaimed when Maya tightened her hold each time she tried to wiggle loose. Knowing her attempts to escape were futile, she relaxed into Maya's hold and patted one of Maya's arm awkwardly. "You'll be fine. It's going to be fun."
"Ring power?" Maya tried.
"Not this time, Peaches," Riley patted her again. "I already used it to get you to agree to this."
Maya groaned and released Riley. She stepped away enough to let Riley get back to her task, but poked Riley's arm as she went. "How'd you even get your parents to agree to this? An overnight trip with teenaged BOYS!" Maya gestured wildly in Cory Matthews fashion. "Your dad should be having a field day with this. Instead, we've turned your living room into an outdoorsman's wet dream and he's nowhere to be found. What is this madness?"
"He's under the impression that sleeping on hard ground with cancel out any inappropriate intentions," Riley said. She nodded in the direction of the stack of camping gear set up by the front door. "Also, individual tents."
"I call that more work," Maya spared a glance to the stack of—so much assembly acquired—tents. "And Maya doesn't do work. This was long ago established. Like day one type stuff."
"I'm not gonna complain," Riley said. "This is our first big trip, just us with no parental units or subsidiaries thereof. And high school is almost over, which means there's only so much time left for us to make memories like this with each other. This is a good thing."
"We have very different definitions of the word good," Maya said flatly.
Riley smiled and reached over to pinch Maya's cheek. "That's why we're such great friends."
"Argh!" Maya cringed and swatted away Riley's hand. "I'm rethinking that relationship status."
"No you're not," Riley singsonged and went back to what she was doing.
"No, I'm not," Maya conceded, her shoulders drooping in defeat.
There were a few minutes of quiet as the rest of the packing up got done by the others and Maya considered what other tactics she had left up her sleeve. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with this group full of her favorite people in the world, especially now, before they, most likely, all went their separate ways and never spoke again—maybe that wasn't the most likely scenario for post high school, but it was possible, so she should be seizing the moment. And, yes, she was intrigued to find out what they could get up to without the ever present Parents Matthews, but she would have chosen a different venue. Maya wanted this weekened, but she could already feel the discomfort waiting for her, so she wanted to drill some into the others while she had a chance. They were all just so upbeat about it. She didn't like it.
"Ranger Rick!" Maya called out, or rather called on.
"What now, Maya?" Lucas asked. He and Riley were the only people who could say those words in that order without a hint of exasperation. Maya had long ago given up trying to figure out exactly what would get this one to loose his patience with her.
Maya crossed the room yet again, this time to join Lucas by the kitchen table where he was ticking the last things off his list and packing the first aid kit, flashlights and other essentials into a bag. She stood beside him, her hands firmly on her hips. She knew she was hardly intimidating when she stood nearly a full foot shorter than him, but she tried to look fierce and immovable. Too bad he had perfected a glance that could tame her in an instant.
"You know I'm not built for this," Maya said.
Lucas straightened up, angling himself toward her, and his eyes gave her a once over. An eyebrow raised and his mouth opened.
"Ah, ah," Maya held up a finger as she deciphered his expression. "Do not say what you think I'm built for, or you'll spend the weekend walking with your legs on backwards."
Lucas cleared his throat and figured out something new to say. "The campsite is only an hour or so away. It's not like we're wandering out into the arctic tundra."
"Why are you doing this to me?" Maya moaned and leaned her forehead into Lucas's chest, letting all her weight fall into him.
Lucas sighed and shifted so he could wrap an arm around her. It kept her upright, instead of sliding to the ground in an awkward crumple, and he patted her back softly.
"Buck up," Lucas said into her hair. "It's not the end of the world."
"You. did. not. just. say. that. to. me," Maya punctuated each word, although they were muffled into his shirt as she nuzzled her face into his chest. "You're killing me, Huckleberry."
"We should probably start loading up tonight, so we can get an early start tomorrow," Farkle said once he had finished with the last sleeping bag.
"Yeah," Riley nudged Farkle and sent him a frowning glare. "Why don't you and Zay help me get some of this down to the car right now."
When Farkle frowned back at her, Riley jerked her head with little finesse or subtlety toward Lucas and Maya. Farkle's face lit up with realization. "Oh, right, let's go."
Riley pointed out what each of the boys should take and grabbed a couple bags herself. Then she gestured them out the front door and slowly followed after them. She glanced over her shoulder just before the door. "Lucas? The keys?"
"Jacket pocket, by the door," Lucas answered.
Riley reached into the jacket and pulled back her hand with the set of car keys. She palmed them and murmured a quick thanks before she slipped out the door.
There were a few more moments of Maya leaning like dead weight against Lucas's chest before she spoke up, her voice almost echoing in the nearly empty room. "Did they just leave us alone so you can contain me?"
"I think so, yes," Lucas said.
With a sigh, Maya backed away from Lucas. She patted his chest affectionately, her gesture of gratitude for him letting her prop herself up against his body, as she went. "They've been doing that a lot lately."
"She's been doing that a lot lately," Lucas corrected. "The other's just do what Riley tells them to do."
"She's got something up her sleeve. I don't like it," Maya said. She ran a hand through her hair and then over her face. "Now I have to deal with that on top of the camping trip from H-E-double hockey sticks."
"You honestly think it's going to be that bad?" Lucas asked.
"Yes," Maya shrugged. "No, maybe, I don't know. I'd rather not have to find out."
"If we said you could, would you let us go without you?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not," Maya said. "I'm not going to be left out. I'll suffer through whatever I have to so I can spend time with all of you goofballs. I just thought, when you said 'let's go on a fun trip,' you meant something along the lines of an amusement park or like a music festival. Ya know, something fun."
"This will be fun," Lucas said. "You just gotta give it a chance."
"Are you gonna make it fun for me, Huckleberry?" Maya's lips turned up in a half smirk. She was satisfied by the lovely flush that rose along Lucas's neck and up to his ears. It was the reaction she was going for, even if he didn't let himself entirely rise to her remarks.
Lucas cleared his throat and looked away. He muttered simply. "It'll be fun."
"I'm gonna hold you to that," Maya said. She picked up one of the nearest bags. "Come on, let's get the rest of this stuff down to the car."
"Does this mean you're done complaining?" Lucas asked as he helped gather the rest of the things to take.
Maya huffed a laugh. "Not a chance."
…
"Tell me you have more than just country stations programmed into your radio," Maya said, reaching over to fiddle with the dials and fill the car with music.
"Maya, you're in my car all the time," Lucas glanced away from the road just long enough to take in her figure curled up in the passenger seat. "The only presets are the ones you put there."
"Then it is all country," Maya replied, laughing lightly to herself, and flipped through the stations. "That is something I would do."
Lucas rolled his eyes and tried to focus on driving. Tuning all of his radio presets to country stations was exactly like something Maya would do. The previous April Fool's Day, she had gotten a hold of his mp3 player, deleted everything off of it and filled it to storage capacity with straight Bluegrass—all of which was meticulously mislabeled so as not to raise suspicions. He had to commend the effort she had put in to pull that off; he could only imagine all the hours she had spent finding and downloading the music and laughing her head off as she swapped in the track names and artists from his favorites. Although, he had not appreciated plugging in his headphones to cue up his workout mix and getting blasted with banjo instead. He would never admit it, but he had left some of it on the player even after he was able to restore his original collection of music, left mislabeled for his own safety. He would never live it down if Maya found out he actually enjoyed some of the music she had handpicked to be entirely obnoxious. No, their dynamic worked best when he maintained the appearance of someone unaffected.
It was hard to seem unaffected when his ears began to be strained by Maya's incessant flipping through the radio stations, not landing on any single one for more than three notes or a syllable of lyrics. Luckily, Riley spoke up from the backseat to put an end to it.
"Just pick something," Riley said, nearly yelling to be heard over the stuttered bursts of music. "Have mercy on our ears."
"We've only been driving for seventeen-point-five minutes," Farkle added.
Maya twisted around in her seat to look back at the other two rows of car occupants. Riley and Farkle sat together in the middle row, both of them staring back at Maya as soon as she turned. Zay was in the far row by himself, walled in by the bags that didn't fit in the back. Seventeen minutes on the road, only or not, he was already asleep with his head angled to rest on someone's backpack.
"We all know how to tell time, Farkle," Maya replied.
"What I meant to say is, we have approximately seventy-three minutes of drive time left, depending on traffic flow," Farkle said. "Can we try to be more agreeable, at least until we're closer to our destination?"
"What Farkle said," Riley added.
"You sayin' I'm not being agreeable, Boy Genius?" Maya raised an eyebrow.
"That's exactly what he's saying," Lucas said.
Maya punched his shoulder playfully. "No one asked you."
"Hey," Lucas swatted her hand away blindly as he watched the road attentively. "No hitting the driver. Unless you want to start this trip off with me rear ending someone before we're even out of the city."
"That would give me an excuse to stay in the city," Maya replied and, dodging his hand, reached in to pinch his side.
"Normally, I find your banter-y, unresolved tension thing adorable," Riley's hand shot out to grip Farkle's forearm with white knuckles when the car jerked ever so slightly as Lucas avoided Maya's physical assault, "but if it gets us killed, I will have to reconsider my opinion on the matter."
Farkle winced as Riley's nails dug into his skin. "She's saying in the nicest way possible to STOP IT MAYA!"
Maya threw her hands up and put on a sheepish smile. "Fine, I'm done. I'm just gonna—"
"Don't touch the radio!" Riley exclaimed and Maya froze with fingers hovering over the dials. "We're listening to this the rest of the way."
"Fine," Maya huffed and settled back into her seat.
"It's not adorable, it's exhausting," Zay mumbled from the way back. While delayed, it proved he wasn't as knocked out asleep as originally assumed. "Need to...get themselves...together."
"What did he say?" Lucas asked, his eyes darting to the rear view mirror in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the other occupants of the car.
"Nothing," Riley said and squeezed Farkle's arm once, despite the danger of the wreck already avoided, to prompt him to close his mouth before he answered otherwise. "He's just talkin' nonsense in his sleep."
Maya turned to stare at the side of Lucas's face. "That's what I call Riley's 'I'm hiding something' voice. Notice how all the words go up in pitch at the end."
"I'm not hiding anything," Riley insisted, then heard what Maya was saying about her voice. She cleared her throat and repeated herself in a raspier, gruff tone.
"And that is Riley's 'I'm trying to hide my I'm hiding something voice' voice," Maya pointed vaguely into the backseat.
"Interesting," Lucas said.
"Isn't it, though?" Maya said cheerfully, the sarcasm evident.
"Must be about us," Lucas tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
"When is it not?" Maya replied.
"HA," Zay burst out without otherwise stirring.
Riley took the neck pillow she was using and threw it over the back of her seat, nailing Zay right in the head. "Shh."
Zay startled, grumbling as he blinked fully back to reality. "What? Why?"
"You know why," Riley stared him down and he met her gaze without wavering.
"I thought the blonde was the crazy one," Zay said, juggling the neck pillow between his hands.
Riley's expression softened. "I'm gonna need that back."
Zay placed the pillow around his neck instead. "Come and get it."
"Nope, don't do that," Farkle grabbed her by her middle when Riley attempted to do just that, halfway to climbing over the seat.
As a debate broke out in the back over whether finders keepers applied to projectiles aimed at someone's head, Maya grinned at Lucas until he had to look over at her momentarily. She had pulled up one of her legs, and she rested her chin on one hand, looking calm and relaxed for the first time since they started planning the trip—even as everyone else was suddenly on edge.
"You having fun yet?" Maya asked, batting her eyes at him.
Lucas rolled his eyes. "At least wait until we get where we're going before you judge."
"Only fifty eight minutes left," Maya said.
…
"Well, what do you think now?" Lucas asked as he walked up to stand beside Maya.
As soon as they pulled up to their campsite, they had all piled out of the car. It hadn't been that long of a trip, but it was long enough for them to be ready for a good stretch to work out their limbs after being confined to cramped seats. Maya had stumbled straight out to the middle of the campsite, her chin tilted upward as she took in the canopy of trees. It was there that Lucas joined her and his eyes followed the same path she directed her gaze along.
In her head, she was painting. The way the sun shone through the leaves, the hundred earthy tones in the ground beneath her feet, and how everything here was so vibrant and alive in comparison to things in the city. Every tree and bush surrounded by cement and steel might as well have been a plastic potted plant in comparison to this. She wished that she had paint and canvas in this instance; a paintbrush between her fingers at this moment could have worked a masterpiece. She would have to settle for committing the sights to memory, and maybe to her sketchbook later. It didn't change how she felt about the trip though, at least not much.
"It's all very pretty," Maya said.
"I figured you'd enjoy the view," Lucas responded, looking back down at her. "I am."
Maya met his eyes, hers slowly tracing the lines and angles of his face, committing them to memory for later as well.
"Maybe you two could help unload so we can all get a chance to enjoy the view," Zay called out. He waved them over, then yanked one of the tents from the back of the car, lost his grip on it and it went tumbling to the ground. "See, this wouldn't happen if everyone was helping."
"Careful," Maya exclaimed and headed over. "That one's mine."
Zay retrieved the tent from the ground and passed it to Maya when she made it to his side. "No harm done."
"Uh-huh," Maya mumbled. "Let's just get setting this stuff up over with so we can get to all this fun you claim we'll be having."
"You are going to come around," Zay said.
"You think so?" Maya asked.
"I know so," Zay nodded confidently as he pulled out another tent, this time without dropping it, and passed it off to its owner.
"Oh, you do, huh?" Maya tilted her head and narrowed her eyes to study his expression.
"I know stuff. I know a lot of stuff," Zay smiled at her. "I know stuff about you."
"Well, I know nothin'," Maya said. She pointed to one side of the campsite. "So, I'm gonna be over there knowin' nothin' and trying to put this thing," she crinkled her nose and tapped the tent, "together."
The five of them spread out to claim spaces for each of their tents. They formed a sort of semi-circle around the fire pit near the center of the area. Maya and Riley ended up as bookends, their tents going up across the clearing from each other. Only, Maya's tent wasn't going up. She was still struggling with hers long after the other four were standing and ready. Even Lucas, who had been the last to start was finished; his tent mocked her from where it was settled next to her. She did everything she was supposed to do and it still continued to collapse in on itself, until she was muttering under her breath and ready to tear the thing to shreds.
"Having some trouble there?" Lucas approached with caution, gauging her current state of frustration. He dusted his hands off on his jeans.
"I think this thing is broken," Maya replied. She eyed Zay where he sat inside his perfectly intact tent at the center of their semi-circle. "It took a bit of a tumble earlier."
"It's not broken. Do you mind if I…?" Lucas trailed off and held out his hand to offer his assistance.
"Knock yourself out," Maya said and passed him the, in her opinion, absolutely worthless excuse for a tent. Even if the problem was her, she was going to blame the tent.
Her fingers brushed across Lucas's as she handed over the tent and it made her snap her eyes up to his. He had the makings of a smug grin at the corners of his mouth. On anyone else it would have been irritating, but this was Lucas and, instead, it made her stomach flip. Maya swallowed hard as she recovered from the immediate reaction and released the tent to him. Then she backed away, admitting defeat. She retreated far enough away so she had the vantage point to admire his use of skills she had never managed to acquire. Riley stood a few feet away, watching the exchange between the two, so Maya went to join her.
"You're the worst at this," Riley said, her hands on her hips.
"You mean no one's gonna ask me to put up a tent again?" Maya asked in faux wonder, her eyes as wide as saucers and her mouth slack jawed into an overly dramatic O. Realization struck Riley and Maya prompted, "Say it."
"You're a genius."
"Oh, stop," Maya did the trademark gesture before focusing her attention back on Lucas, who, of course, already had her tent pretty much upright and functional. "That's absurd."
Lucas backed away from the completed tent, looking triumphant. This time when he looked up to meet Maya's eyes, that smug smile was full grown and unmissable. At her display of disbelief, he remarked, "It takes a special touch."
Riley laughed lightly and walked away to sit with Farkle on one of the natural log makeshift benches that surrounded the fire pit.
"I'll show you a special touch," Maya mumbled as Lucas approached her with that darn beaming grin.
When he was right in front of her, Lucas leaned in with his eyes right on hers and whispered, "Please do."
Maya gave an involuntary shudder as his low tone settled over her. She hadn't reacted to him in that way since middle school—at least, not out where anyone could see it, not where he could see it. She bit her lip and tried to think up something to say that would distract from it. She came up with absolutely nothing that was witty enough to not be more embarrassing.
Instead of using it against her, Lucas seemed to ignore it. He took in a deep, overemphasized breath of fresh air and glanced around. "Do you know what I like about places like this, Maya?"
She shook her head slowly. "I assume you're going to tell me."
"What I like about the great outdoors, as you called it, is that there are no doors, no windows—nothing to shut you out. Everything is wide open and free roaming," Lucas explained, his gaze intense on hers with each word. "It breeds possibilities. A little exposure is good for everyone, every once and awhile."
The way he was looking at her in that moment made her wonder if maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all. She was surrounded by a natural masterpiece, enough inspiration to keep her painting for months once they went home, and Lucas was looking at her like that. He was right: a little exposure was good for everyone. Maybe she would have fun, if she gave it a chance and seized the possibilities opening up for her.