"Maya, please calm down," Riley begged, watching her best friend pace around her room, livid with anger.
Maya, seemingly not hearing her, continued to seethe, "How dare he!" She hissed.
"Maya," Riley carefully stood up from the bay window and approached the girl. "Can we talk about this?" The brunette put her hand on the girl's shoulder.
Maya visibly relaxed, "No, Riley. You can't help me with this one."
Riley held her friend's hand and led her to the bay window where they both sat down.
"Why not? Who is it?" She asked gently.
Maya's blue eyes became clouded with anger again, "That bastard Lucas!" She spat out.
"Lucas?" Riley asked, confused. Last week, they were getting along just fine. Sure, Maya teased Lucas a lot but that was normal. In fact, they didn't interact much today. How did Lucas manage to piss off Maya without actually being there?
"He- he- Ugh! I'm really sorry honey but I can't dump this on you. This is... very personal for me." Maya swallowed the lump in her throat.
Riley's eyes became watery, "But, you always tell me everything! About how annoying my dad is, about how stressed your mom is, about how boring school is. Heck, even about your dad! And that's really personal! What's so unique about this situation?"
Maya wiped the tears threatening to fall from her friend's eyes.
"I want to tell you. Believe me, I really freaking do. But, for now, I can't. I just need you to be by my side and understand that I can't tell you right now, alright? Can you do that for me, honey?" Maya held Riley's cheeks and stared directly into her eyes.
"You've always been by my side and supported me in whatever I do, even when you didn't understand what I'm doing. So... I'm gonna try to do the same for you too, Maya."
They held hands.
"Thunder?"
"Lightning."
They hugged each other tightly.
"But Peaches!" Riley whined.
"Riley, we talked about this. It's time you honor your words, alright? Besides, I'm just gonna talk to Lucas." Maya assured her friend. But they both know that by 'talk to Lucas', she means 'yell and argue with Lucas'.
They were currently waiting for Lucas to show up to school so Maya could privately 'talk' to him.
"Why can't I come with you?"
"Because you can't and because I said so. I mean come on, what's the worst that could happen with just the two of us alone?"
"You beat him up because you don't like what he's saying? Or you guys make out." Riley replied, finding the former more appealing than the latter.
"Okay, the first one is pretty normal, but the second one is just gross. Ew." Maya made a face.
She looked up, "Oh, look. Huckleberry's here." Her face morphed into an angry, twisted grin.
"Maya-"
She went before Riley can guilt trip her out of this. No way in hell will she let this traitor get away with what he has done.
"Lucas!" Maya yelled, stomping all the while.
He immediately paled at the sight of the little angry blonde.
"Hi, Maya." Lucas gulped.
"Would you do this pissed off girl the honor of having a private conversation with her, Sir Lucas the traitor?" Maya sarcastically asked.
She didn't give him much chance to answer before she dragged him by his collar to an empty classroom.
Lucas helplessly looked over to Riley for any assistance, but the brunette looked as horrified and confused as him.
Once they entered the classroom, the little blue-eyed girl locked the door. She made him sit down on a chair and circled around him.
"So, Lucas my friend, last week I trusted you and told you the only secret I haven't told Riley yet because I thought you would understand. Do you remember?" Maya drawled out slowly.
"Yes, ma'am." Lucas kept his head down.
"Do you remember what that secret is, Mr. Friar?"
"Yes, ma'am. You told me that you liked Riley for a very long time now, and it kills you every time she fawns over me." The boy recited.
"And what did you tell me after that?" Maya picked up a piece of chalk and started playing with it.
"I told you that I would help you get together with her. And that I would back off from her because as great and wonderful Riley is, I only think of her as a very good friend." Lucas recited perfectly, again.
He heard the sound of the chalk breaking in half before the blonde demon turned around to face him.
"Yes, Mr. Friar, yes you did. But what the heck is wrong with you?!" Lucas flinched. "You asked Riley out to prom! You ASKED her out to prom! How is this helping?! Are you stupid or what?!"
Maya finally released all of her pent up anger towards the boy.
"Maya, please let me explain." Lucas tried to calm the girl down. It wasn't working.
"Maya, I am willing to be your punching bag for the rest of the day if you would just listen to me."
She stopped yelling, "You would be what?" Maya asked with excitement.
"Oh no." Lucas sighed.
Maya cheered, "Alright! Okay, cowboy, I'm listening." She put her elbow on the boy's table and rested her chin on her palm.
"Why do I do this to myself?" He mumbled. "Okay, I have a plan. I have a plan to get your relationship a starting boost."
"How exactly is asking her to prom gonna help that plan of yours? If anything, asking her out only makes her hope that you have feelings for her." Maya complained.
"Believe me, it's a vital part."
Maya shrugged, "Well, what do I have to do then?"
"Be as you are. Stay close to her and attend it with her. Make sure you look beautiful, not that you're not beautiful. You just have to make sure she notices you a little... differently." Lucas explained.
"You mean I have to catch her eye?"
"Yeah."
Maya sighed, "Your plan doesn't make any sense to me at all. But, it's the only one I got. So, I'll guess I'll follow it."
Lucas smiled, happy that the girl isn't mad at her anymore, "Trust me, okay? I only want what's best for you guys."
"And thanks for that, Huckleberry. You're not so bad. Now, unfortunately, we need to go to class." She pats his back.
Maya unlocked the door and they both walked out.
When Riley saw Maya and Lucas enter the classroom talking and laughing together, she felt uneasy. What was that word again? Jealousy? It was like Missy Bradford all over again. Except for this time, she wasn't sure who she was jealous of.
Lucas was and is her crush, isn't he? Yeah, of course, he is. Riley assures herself. He's handsome, a gentleman, loyal to his friends, and is Riley's date to the prom. But what about Maya? Maya... Maya's her best friend. Her other half. Her... soulmate, the brunette realized
"Honey? Honey, are you okay?" The sound of someone's voice brought her back from her musing. Riley blinked. Not just someone, Maya, her... best friend. She knew she hesitated but pushed it to the back of her back.
She was sitting on the bay window. She didn't notice Maya sneak in and was apparently sitting next to her now.
She saw blue eyes looking at her with worry.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about things." She smiled, finding the girl's worry for her heart-warming.
"So," Riley started. "How was your talk with Lucas?" She asked, trying to sound casual.
Maya raised her eyebrow at her, knowing her well enough to know that's anything but casual.
"It could have gone a lot worse, to be honest. I didn't kill him so. And I guess Huckleberry's not that bad." She shrugged.
"Who's your date to the prom? Mine's Lucas." Riley asked, finding the idea of going to prom with Lucas cute but if she was honest, she'd rather go with Maya as friends. Right, as friends.
Maya's jaw clenched, "Nobody. I actually want to go with you- as friends of course obviously- but I guess I'll just stay at home." She shrugged.
Riley furrowed her eyebrows, "What? No. Come with me!"
"You're going with Lucas though."
"Yeah." The thought left Riley empty, "But aside from the actual dance, I'll stay with you. I don't want you to sulk alone in your room all night."
"I guess that's okay." Maya half-heartedly agreed.
She turned her full attention to Riley, "Anyway, how are you today? You seem really distracted. You didn't even react when your dad asked you something."
Her dad called her? Huh.
Maya studied her face, "What's gotten you so worked up, Riles? You can talk to me about it, you know."
"I'm still trying to figure it out myself. I'll tell you when I figure it out."
"That's good enough for me."
"Have any of you heard the saying 'Trust, but verify'?" Cory wrote the saying on the board.
"The phrase was a translation of a Russian proverb, 'Doveryai, no proveryai'. It became well known when it was used by President Ronald Reagan on the subject of nuclear disarmament. It became his signature phrase, actually. Do any of you know who taught him this line?" He asked.
As usual, the only student who raises their hand was Farkle, "Yes Farkle?"
He stood up, "A writer who goes by the name of Suzanne Massie. She was also President Reagan's adviser on Russian affairs." The boy explained and sat down.
"That's right, Farkle. While Massie was preparing the president for talks with Mikhail Gorbachev, the Russian General Secretary, in 1986. She advised him that the Russians liked to talk in proverbs and taught him a few. And that was the one he really liked. In fact, he liked it so much that Gorbachev actually expressed annoyance at the president because he would use it at every meeting."
The class laughed.
"Taken literally, of course, the saying wouldn't make any sense since if you trust, you don't verify and if you verify, you obviously don't trust. Confusing stuff, huh?
"Now, for your assignment, I want to know if you agree with the saying. Or do you just verify and verify? Perhaps you simply trust in everyone. Write examples from your life or from others. You can do it individually or as a duo, depends on you.
"The deadline's supposed to be on Friday but since it's the prom, and I know most of you will attend it, I decided to move it to Monday instead. That's plenty of time to work on it so I expect you all to submit your assignments."
The bell rang.
"Alright, that's all for today. You can go now."
"Hey Riles, so I have a question. Why do I feel like your dad spies on us?" Maya asks as she enters Riley's bedroom through the bay window.
"Hi, Peaches." Riley greets, already sitting on the bay window. "Well, it's not COMPLETELY off the table. You know how he gets. What if he already hired someone to spy on me?" She joked, unaware of the truth.
Maya almost wanted to say that she IS that spy but she'll save that conversation for another day.
"I wouldn't be surprised, to be honest." She answered truthfully.
"Anyway, what will we be doing today? Lemme guess, cuddle on your bed while watching Netflix?" Maya guessed, raising her eyebrow.
"Ding ding ding! Correct guess, Ms. Hart!" Riley excitedly exclaimed, imitating every generic and obnoxious game host.
Maya laughed at the goofy girl, "Oh yeah? And what did I win, Ms. Matthews?"
The brunette grabbed a box from her bed and quickly hid it behind her back.
"You won a box of..." She slowly put the box in Maya's waiting hands, maintaining an intense staring contest with the blonde so she wouldn't look at the box.
"Wait for it..." Maya felt the box in her hands. She wanted to look down and just tear it open but this was Riley, and she will not do that to Riley.
"...A BOX OF COOKIES!"
"WHAT." Maya immediately looked down and saw the box had a ribbon on top of it. She smiled tenderly, took the ribbon and placed it on Riley's hair.
"Yay ribbons!" She was so easily amused, it was honestly so adorable. People may see Maya Hart as a rebel, but she was always willing to be all cutesy and corny when it comes to Riley Matthews.
"You got me a box of cookies?! Riley, that is AWESOME!"
"Yeah! And the best part is that I baked them! Me!"
"Wait, you did?"
"Yup!"
"I love you so much, honey. And not just because of these cookies."
"I asked my mom to teach me how to bake and when we finished, she told me to give them to the most special person in my world."
"And that's me?"
"Who else could it be?"
"I don't know, Lucas?" She said, with a bit of bitterness.
Riley laughed, "No, I mean I find him cute and dreamy, obviously." Maya grimaced. "But... that's it, he's my crush and my friend. That's nothing compared to you."
"What am I then?"
"You're my best friend, my partner in crime, my... my soulmate."
"And you are mine too, honey."
The two shared a tender hug before Maya pulled back with a smirk.
"Are we just gonna stand around here and be sappy or are we gonna watch some Netflix while eating your homemade cookies?!"
Riley raised her arms, "Netflix!" She cheered.
Maya resisted the urge to say 'and chill' and grinned at the girl instead, "That's the spirit! Come on!"
They both plopped on Riley's bed and the latter grabbed her laptop.
"What do you wanna watch, peaches?" Riley asked.
Maya shrugged, "Whatever's hot right now."
"Well, I've heard of this one show. It's all the rage right now actually."
"What's it called?"
"13 Reasons Why."
"Ohhhhh sounds mysterious."
"Wanna watch it?"
"Yeah sure, put it on." Riley typed the name and they started watching.
They were cuddling and eating all the while.
A few days have passed, uneventful, and it was Thursday now. While most kids at her school feel giddy about going to prom. Maya felt anxiety and dread swirling in her stomach.
She was so nervous; in fact, that she was ten minutes late to pick up Riley earlier. The brown-haired girl almost called the police because she thought Maya got into an accident or something.
In reality, she was just laying in her bed contemplating whether or not she should continue to trust in Lucas. All that he's done so far is grin at her every time their eyes met. Riley noticed pretty quickly and would continuously ask Maya if she wanted to be Lucas' date instead.
Maya found Riley's selflessness cute but seriously, why would she think SHE wants to be that cowboy's date? She glares at him every time he does for goodness' sake. If that doesn't scream 'stop grinning at me you stupid cowboy', then she doesn't know what does.
Unfortunately, the guilt of making her best friend worry overpowered her gloomy self and she eventually got ready.
Maya left her house and made her way downtown- no I'm just kidding- to the Matthews' residence.
"Hey losers, I'm here." She said through the intercom.
Someone buzzed her in.
Maya went up and waited in front of the Matthews' door.
Not even a minute later the door swung open and revealed a very, very distressed Riley Matthews.
The brunette immediately engulfed the smaller girl in a tight hug, breathing in the blonde's scent.
"I'm sorry..." Maya apologized, slightly muffled.
"I thought you had gotten into an accident." The other girl whimpered.
Maya pulled back to stare into her opposite's worry-filled brown eyes, "I'm really sorry that I worried you, honey. I promise it won't happen again." And she intends to keep it.
"It better not or I'm definitely gonna die earlier than expected."
"Earlier than expected? When do you expect to die?"
"Hmmm... never!" They both laughed.
"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Riley asked.
"Yup, I microwaved some leftovers my mom left me. Let's go to school."
"Okay, I'll just grab my things. Go sit inside meanwhile." She dashed to her room.
Maya entered the apartment room and sat down on one of the dining chairs. Topanga was there cleaning up, careful not to stain her clothes. She still had to go to work after all, even if her daughter just sulked and panicked all morning.
"Thank God you're here, Maya. She wouldn't stop sulking, that girl!" Topanga shook her head.
"I'm really sorry about that, Mrs. Matthews," Maya said sheepishly.
"Just don't do it again, okay? At least, tell her if you're running late."
Maya looked down, "Just been thinking about things."
Topanga looked at her with empathy, "Awww, what's the problem, honey? If you can't tell Riley, you can always tell me."
"I- um- Promise me first you won't tell her," Maya said with all seriousness.
"Of course."
"Well," Maya's eyes darted from place to place. "I... I like your daughter." She mumbled.
"I know."
"No! I mean, I like like her, you get it?" Maya explained.
"I know. We all know, Maya, for a very long time now." Topanga deadpanned.
Maya looked at her in surprise, "Seriously? And nobody even bothered telling me? That would have saved me from months of confusion, you know." Maya said with a pointed look. "And who are these 'we' you're talking about?"
"We all thought you guys knew, to be honest. Everyone that has ever seen you guys knows, it just took you both quite a long time to realize it though. It was quite frustrating, actually, watching you and Riley."
"Huh." Maya frowned, how oblivious were the two of them?
"Maya, I'm ready!" Riley hopped out of her room. Maya stood up and held Riley's hand.
"We're going now, Mom!"
"Alright honey, be safe now!"
"Riley, Maya's here!" Topanga called out to her daughter.
"Okay! I'll be there in a minute!" She replied.
"Wow, you look good, Maya. How are you feeling?"
Maya laughed, "Thank you, Mrs. Matthews. I feel nervous yet excited at the same time, to be honest. But, it's not for the reason you might think." She said cryptically.
"Ohhhhh, secrets." Topanga drawled out.
"I'm so excited, peaches!" Riley yelled as she bursts out of her room.
Riley was wearing a vintage checkered gown, black, red, and white. She had her hair in a bun.
"You look absolutely stunning, honey," Maya said, breathlessly.
Riley blushed, "Awww, thanks, peaches! You look fantastic as well!"
Maya stared down at her black and gray gown. As for her hair, she decided to straighten her usually messy blonde hair.
"My mom gave this to me yesterday. She said it can make the wearer's night a very good one. I thought it was ridiculous, but what do I gotta lose, right?"
"Well, I'm glad you decided to wear it!" Riley beamed.
"Awww, look at you two. You've both grown into gorgeous and powerful women." Topanga said proudly. She opened her arms and the two leaned in for a motherly hug.
"Thanks, ma!"
"Yeah, thank you, Mrs. Matthews."
Riley and Maya looked at her with adoration and respect.
"Alright, now go to that prom!" Riley held Maya's hand.
"Wait, Lucas' not picking you up?" Maya asked in confusion.
The brunette shook her head, "I told him I want to spend as much time with you as possible tonight, and he agreed. So it's just you and me, peaches." She gave the girl an adorable smile.
Maya stared her surprised, "You would do that for me?"
"Of course! You're my first priority!"
The blonde smiled tenderly, "And you're mine, honey."
The two walked towards the door and opened it.
"Be back before twelve, okay girls?"
They both nodded and waved goodbye.
"Riley and Maya!" Farkle called out as he jogged towards them.
"Hey, Farkle!" Riley greeted.
Farkle stared at them, "Wow! You guys look amazing!" He said in awe.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Farkle." Maya praised the boy in his choice of suit.
"Thanks, my dad had it made for me."
"Hey, guys!" They heard Lucas' voice and saw him running towards them.
Maya had to admit, the cowboy looked pretty good-looking in his suit.
Of course, Riley fussed over him.
Having no desire to continue watching her best friend, who was also the love of her life, drool over the Texan, she decided to go to one of the tables and sulk.
"Riles," She tapped the girl's shoulder. "I'm just gonna sit over there." The blonde pointed to a table in the back.
"Okay peaches, I'm gonna join you later."
Maya grabbed some food and sat down.
She wasn't really hungry, it was just out of boredom, but she continued to eat anyway.
There were only a couple of people around; most of the people were in the middle and front talking and flirting.
Her peace was disturbed by someone sitting down on the seat in front of her. That someone turned out to be Lucas.
"Whatcha' doing here, cowboy?"
"Good to see you too, Maya." He smiled.
Maya rolled her eyes; she can never get to the guy no matter how annoying her teasing was. "I see you've escaped the clutches of Riley. So, what's up anyway?"
Lucas looked around for anyone who might be paying attention to them before leaning in.
"Hey, stop leaning in so much. It looks like you're about to kiss me. Back off a little bit." Maya scolded.
Thankfully, the boy noticed the pair of brown eyes staring intensely at them.
"Okay, here's the plan. Riley will sit here after I get up, I don't think I need to tell you not to mention this to her. Then, just before the actual dance starts, I'm gonna go up the stage and do my side of the plan." Lucas explained. "If things go right, then you might actually have a chance to be her girlfriend."
"Why are you doing this?" Maya asked the boy.
"I just want you to be happy. Your heart's battered enough as it is." The smaller girl was stunned, sure the Texan was known to have a heart of gold but she teased him mercilessly every day. That would make anyone find her a waste of time but apparently not him.
Maya massaged her glabella, "You just keep surprising me, Huckleberry."
Lucas tipped his invisible hat to her, "That's what I'm here for, ma'am."
She rolled her eyes at him but they both shared a laugh.
Lucas noticed a certain brown-haired girl was approaching and whispered, "I'm going to go now. I hope this goes well."
"I hope so too. Thank you, Lucas." Maya had a genuine smile on her face. That was the first time that smile wasn't directed at Riley or Riley's family.
Lucas was shocked but quickly recovered. He grinned at the girl and swiftly jogged to the front.
"Maya." Maya looked up at Riley.
"How you doin', honey?" The blonde grinned.
"A bit confused."
"Oh? I'm sure your questions will be answered later."
Riley searched Maya's face but the blue-eyed girl gave nothing away.
They talked until it was almost the time to dance.
Maya fidgeted, she hoped to every deity out there that Lucas will do this right.
"Hello? May I get your attention please?" They all turned to Lucas who was on stage. "I know you all can't wait to dance, but I just wanna help out a friend. Mind hearing me out?" The students looked around and shrugged, why not?
Riley turned to Maya, "What's he doing?"
"I honestly don't know either."
"Thank you. So here's the thing, my friend's name is Maya, Maya Hart. And her best friend's name is Riley Matthews, I'm sure you all heard of them."
A chubby black-haired Asian girl stood up, "You bet your cowboy ass we have! I'm the president of the official Rilaya club in the school!" As she yelled, the four people sitting with her stood up as well.
"Yeah!"
A boy at the next table spoke, "You know you're the president of the LGBTQ+ club, right?"
"Shut up Paul, I'm not talking to you!"
Riley and Maya stared at them, they have people shipping them? What the heck?
Maya furrowed her eyebrows, why had she never heard of these people before? She should have been friends with them!
Lucas cleared his throat, "Um, yes thank you for the enthusiasm, Ivy. Anyway, even though they've been friends for a really long time now, Maya realized something about her feelings towards her best friend. I'll let you figure that one out."
People began whispering to each other.
"And I also realized something," Everybody paid attention to the speaker. "I can't keep making you fall for me Riley because I realize, I can't catch you.
"Riley, I'm sorry it took this long, but I finally came to the realization that I only think of you as sister and as a really good friend."
Riley's eyes widened for a minute before they were filled with understanding.
"It's okay, Lucas. I understand." She mouthed.
Lucas grinned, "I can't love you that way, but I know a certain someone who does." All eyes immediately went to stare at the blonde trying to sink into her chair and disappear.
"What are you all looking at?!" She hissed and they all looked away, scared but grinning secretly.
Lucas got off the platform; Cory patted his shoulder and got on the stage.
"Thank you, Mr. Friar, for that... interesting speech. Now, WHO'S READY TO DANCE?!"
Everybody cheered, Cory got off and the music started playing.
It was a very upbeat song to hype up the students.
An awkward silence was hanging over Riley and Maya's table, they were both avoiding eye contact with one another.
Maya made up her mind, it was now or never, she stood up, "Hey Riles, you wanna dance?" She held out her hand to the girl.
Honestly, she didn't know what she expecting, for the girl to slap her hand away or something? But of course, Riley being Riley, looked up with a smile, "Yeah! Let's dance!" They held hands as they walked towards the dance floor.
They made up ridiculous dance moves and laughed at each other. Both weren't talking about the incident that just happened. That continued until the song changed. A very serious and romantic one.
People started to disperse; most of the people that were left were couples.
Maya imitated a man asking a girl to a dance, "May I have this dance, milady?" She offered her hand.
Riley snorted at her antics but held the other girl's hand.
They started dancing, Riley's hand on her shoulder and her hand on the brunette's waist. While their other hands were holding each other.
For a minute, nobody talked. They were just enjoying each other's presence.
"That was some speech, huh?" Maya tried.
Riley laughed and suddenly, breathing didn't seem important to her.
"Definitely. Did he compose that and memorize it or did he just wing it?"
"I don't really know. It's pretty impressive, either way."
"I've been thinking about that for the last few days, actually," Riley said.
"What, which is more impressive, memorizing or winging it?"
Riley chuckled, "No, sadly. I've been thinking about what you and Lucas mean to me."
Maya stared at her; anxiety was once again swirling in her stomach. She gulped.
"And I realized that Lucas is just a phase, a middle school girl's dream. I liked him because he was so prince-like."
Maya mused, "He seemed like Mr. Perfect, huh?"
Riley hummed in agreement.
"So," Maya looked away. "What about me?" She whispered.
Riley leaned in, "You, Maya Hart? Oh, that's simple. You're my soulmate, my other half." Maya's heart pounded loudly against her chest, she felt the dangerous emotion bubbling up inside her, hope. She felt hope.
"He may be a prince, but you're the one that made me feel like a princess." Riley whispered into her ear, "You're my rebel in battered armor."
Maya cocked her head at her, "Battered armor? Why not in shining armor?"
Riley smiled, "A knight in shining armor is the worst kind of knight, he never fights or do anything. He's only there to look good for the princess. While a battered armor is a sign of determination, it says that the knight has been through the most harrowing journeys yet the knight never gave up and kept fighting.
"Now, THAT'S a real knight." (I legitimately forgot where got this but I know I read it but for those that know please comment what that book is, I'm thinking 'Kidnapping The Princess' by YurikoHime on Wattpad maybe? Idk man halp me)
Maya stared, "You've been reading sappy stories again, haven't you?" She joked, in hopes of slowing down her rapid heartbeat.
"You got me!"
The two were quiet for a few minutes.
"What does this mean for us then?" Maya dared to ask.
"What do you want us to be, peaches?"
Maya stared at her long time best friend directly in the eye, "Riley Matthews, do you wanna be my girlfriend?"
"I love it," Riley replied breathlessly.
Maya leaned in and they kissed. A gentle and soft kiss. Just a quick peck, but it felt so much more to the both of them.
They grinned at each other, now they really were Riley and Maya.
The song stopped and a more techno music came on, people started going back to the dance floor again.
"Bay window?"
"Bay window."
It was a good night for all of them, plus they got home before twelve.
Story first published on Ao3.