She laid in bed, shivering inside the covers. Her eyes were shut tight and her knuckles and jaws were clenched. She was buried as deep as she could get into her bed. Her knees were pressed against her chest and her face rested on them.

She couldn't stop shaking. It was just too petrifying. Everything in the room around her was rumbling. Machiavelli's anatomy of the art of war even fell flat on the floor, making her cry harder. Her mom was still at work and she just wanted her to come quickly. Sometimes she wished that her mom had no job. Just sometimes.

She felt helpless.

She reminences on the times when she was younger and she would do the exact same thing. Except her mom was by her side and calmed her down. She helped Maya through the storm.

She remembered how she found the lightning to be so bright that she thought the world was on fire. Her mother pretended that they were in Alaska looking for gold. She said the lightning was the Northern Lights. The Aurora Borealis. There was gold under the covers and she thought there was nothing more amazing than that.

But now she sees no gold. There are no Northern Lights. There is no magic. There is just a layer of blankets, lightning flashes, and thunderstorms. She couldn't make anything out of that like her mother did. She can't do anything to stop the bad in the world.

All she can do is cry.

She heard a faint knock on her window, a voice calling out to her. She wondered if it was her time. "God, oh God, please not yet," she prayed, her hands folded together, "I'll be a good girl, I promise! I'm only seventeen!"

She heard the knock again and she finally got up. She took a few steps closer, closing her eyes as she slid on her back against the wall. There was so much rain, but not too much to not recognize the face out the window.

Lucas.

She hurriedly opened it, giving out a hand to help him in. She shut the window closed behind him as he tumbled into her room, leaving wet marks on her carpet. Her eyes dilated and she gaped with such a livid feeling. She can no longer hear the lightning that still remained outside. All she can hear was the beating of her heart. Everything always seemed to fade out around her when she was with him. When he was finally up, he let out a soft, "hi."

"Lucas! What the hell are you doing?!" She chided, her breathing gradually slowing down then rising up again as if her heart was being attacked by a constant battalion. "It's raining hell outside and you came here to say 'hi'?!" She put a hand to her chest, making sure that her heartbeat is not too fast unless she wanted to have a heart attack.

"Of course not. I just—" He stopped himself and stared at her. He looked at her baby blue eyes, a sudden warmth spreading throughout his body. She started feeling the same. Goosebumps rise on her arms and legs, Maya rubbing it subtly and praying that it would go away.

"What?" He shook his head absentmindedly, a force tugging on his lip. He managed a little smirk on one end which made the blonde blush even more, "Stop staring at me like that. You're making me uncomfortable."

He chuckled, "Yeah, I'm sorry. You just look...cute when you're mad." Maya sucked in her lip and bit hard on it. She was a bit nervous. She might've forgotten what was happening around her and jumped at the sound of lightning.

"That's what I came here for. Now, go on." He gestured to her bed she hurriedly climbed back in and buried herself in the covers. And, no matter how hot she was, she wouldn't take it off. He climbed in with her nonchalantly, as if it were a casual thing to climb in bed with a girl and just be friends. Why should it be weird? Just because a boy and girl do that doesn't mean they are more than just platonic. Well, at least that's what Maya thinks.

While she laid in bed, he just sat up and allowed her to rest her head on his lap. He combed through her hair with his fingers and held her gently. He was tense with her right on him, though she pretended she couldn't feel his uneasiness.

"Thanks, Lucas," she repositioned herself in his lap, making her face look directly up at him, "But, you didn't need to. I mean, look. You got all wet just to keep me calm during a thunderstorm. You can stay here if you want, you know. It's still raining really hard, and I don't want you to get sick. Plus, my mom won't mind it."

"Thank you for the offer. I'll take it. And, don't look at this as an act of chivalry or pity. Just—just know that I'll always be there for you. That even when you feel you have no one to look to, you can come to me." She smiled. She always felt cared for and loved when she was with him.

"You're such a Huckleberry."

"I'm your Huckleberry."

"I'm your Shortstack," she tipped an imaginary hat in mock of him, "and I'll be here all week."