"A date?" Riley asked, eyes the size of saucers while her mouth twisted upwards into a sly grin. "When, where, who?" she added quickly, practically bouncing up and down in her seat.
From the open window, the warm breeze was playing with the curtains and tossing around the end of Riley's hair. The new school year seemed to have just started, but the warmth of summer was quickly on its way out. Autumn was beginning to peek through.
Maya inspected her braid while the word "date" rolled easily off her tongue, trying to play it cool even though the very idea of it made her stomach begin to flip. This seemed like a far cry from the "dates" she and Riley had been on with Lucas not so long ago. Thankfully, the triangle had long resolved itself since then. Now dating meant more than a ride on the subway with friends, or silently drinking…or maybe pouring…a smoothie. The stakes were way higher now.
She looked up at Riley, practically floating away in all her excitement, and rolled her eyes. Yet, even with all the fear bubbling in her stomach, she couldn't help but let a smile slip past her cool exterior. Sometimes Riley's cheery antics were just too darn cute.
"I don't think you know him," Maya said, taking Riley's hand in hers to calm her down. "But his name is Alex, and he's meeting me after school. He says he's got a whole surprise planned out for me."
"A surprise," Riley repeated, full of awe. "With a mystery boy. How romantic." She turned her head and seemed to melt into a love-sick grin.
"It's just one date, no big deal," Maya said, looking away from Riley to hide the blush she felt spreading over her cheeks. Maya Hart may have been a tough girl, but it was easy to touch her heart if you gained her trust. This boy had found a way past her wall. He was different, maybe even something special.
"He's just a new boy, that's all," she said, turning to face the breeze again. Her cheeks were fully pink at this point. "just a dumb boy."
"So what you're saying is," Riley said slyly, scooting up closer to Maya, "is that you need my help to pick out the perfect outfit to wear?"
Maya beamed at Riley. "Absolutely."
/
"I told you that you'd look amazing in a white dress," Riley said, watching Maya twist and turn in front of the mirror. The lace across the dress was soft and classic, stopping just above Maya's knees, and ending around her elbows in quarter-length sleeves. Yet, the look was perfectly casual with Riley's additions of a brown belt with accented gold buckle, and a pair of brown gladiator sandals.
Maya tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at herself in the mirror. She'd never been especially insecure about her looks, but she'd never thought she was something special. But right now, in this moment, with her hair perfectly waved and perfect flick of eyeliner she felt…well, pretty.
"Are you sure? What if I spill something on myself?" Maya asked, smoothing out the skirt of her dress.
"I'm the superklutz, remember?" Riley said, jumping off the bed. She leaned her head on her shoulder as she appeared in the reflection, arms draped loosely over her neck. "What's the matter Peaches, nervous?"
"Would you blame me?" Maya asked, shrugging a little as she leaned her head against Riley's.
"Not at all, but what I'll tell you is that if this boy can't see the Maya I see, then he's not worth your time, right? There's nothing you can do to scare him away. You're going to be amazing."
Maya turned from the mirror so she could face Riley. "Thanks, Riles," she said, nose crinkling as she scrunched her face into a goofy smile. But despite her silly response, Riley could tell that she'd really gotten through to the girl, and she really was thankful for the reassurance.
Just then, there was a buzz at the door.
"I told Alex he could meet me here," Maya explained. "I'd figured you'd need plenty of time for your beautification processes."
"You get me." Riley nodded. "Well, you stay here a sec, keep him waiting. They always do that in the movies." And with that, Riley skipped off to get the door.
When she got there, she swung the door open in one grand movement. "Well, hello there," she said, dragging out the 'o'.
The boy half-smiled down at her with bright, hazel eyes. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair as he extended the other out to her. "You must be Riley," he said, shaking her hand. "I've heard a little about you."
"Only a little?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Only the best. I'm Alex. Is Maya here?" He asked, peering behind her into the empty living room.
"Maya will be out in just a moment," Riley said. "Please, come in." She gestured with a flourish toward the couch, then walked with her arms behind her back in a butler-impersonation before flopping down onto the couch. Alex followed warily behind her.
"So," She said, "how did you meet my Maya?"
"Well," Alex said, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "I mentor the freshman photography class after school a few times a week, so we happened to run into each other in the art room."
"Oooh, an artist," Riley said, leaning closer to him with her chin resting on her palm. "Good answer." She stayed in that position, smiling at him for a moment, before quickly turning back towards her room and shouting "Maya!"
In a moment, Maya was at the end of the hall with the curling iron in her hands like a bat. "What? What is it?" She asked, poised to swing. Then, noticing the boy next to Riley on the sofa, dropped it immediately. "Oh, uh, hey," she said, waving lazily.
"Hey," Alex said, breaking into a smile. "You ready to go?"
"Absolutely," Maya said, salvaging her calm-cool-collected exterior again.
"Yeah, you kids have fun," Riley said, standing up to trail behind them as they walked towards the door. "Oh, but just so you know, if you hurt her, you'll have to deal with me," Riley said with a laugh.
Alex laughed too, but then Riley immediately straightened up and looked serious.
"I know I look like I'm made out of cotton candy, but I mean it. Maya is my everything." She kept the menacing look up for a moment, but then pushed them both out the door in a sing-song-voice of, "Have fun you two!"
/
"is she always like that?" Alex asked once the door slammed behind them.
"I'd be lying if I said no," Maya said with a small chuckle, finding it hard to look directly in his eyes for too long without her stomach beginning to flip.
"Well, in any case, I won't be thinking about her. I'm thinking about you right now. You look beautiful. Let's get on with our night."
Just a stupid boy, Maya thought. A beautiful, wonderful, stupid boy.
/
Riley, now fully clad in her pluto pajams, flopped on her bed in a sea of magazines, books, comics, and a bowl of popcorn. Tonight was a girl's night in, just for her, and the stories she'd been in the comic books Farkle had loaned her were filling her head with ideas.
She raised a weary eye to the window, imagining an alien creature climbing through, or maybe some kind of sophisticated android designed to steal her place. She went back to the comic, moving to flip the page, but stopped in her tracks when there was a shuffling noise from the outside.
A demon. Or a ghost. A villainous time traveler. Some kind of horrible mutant creature!
Of all the things Riley could imagine sneaking in through her bedroom window that night, the last thing she expected to see was Maya in tears.